#its also more database stuff for one of his teams | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

freesia-writes · 3 months

Text

Ch 14: Blossoming

~ Master List ~ Previous Chapter ~ WC: 3.5k

Hunter took a deep breath, sinking deeper into the plush L-shaped couch in the corner of Tech and Phee’s living room, trying to tune out their excited chatter as they bent over the glowing blossom from the cave. They were huddled at their dinner table, datapads and records scattered everywhere, and they were deep in thought and theory as they considered all of the possibilities of its significance. Lyra shifted her feet where they lay crossed on the large ottoman, tilting her head sideways against the tall cushion behind her to gaze at Hunter, who noticed immediately and glanced in her direction.

They’d both been thoroughly interrogated by Tech upon recounting their adventure, with some interjections of awe and curiosity from Phee, and both felt entirely spent, realizing they should have slept in more if they were to be subjected to an afternoon of this. But upon gathering enough information to be satisfied, if only temporarily, Tech and Phee had dismissed them to the living room in favor of a thorough examination of the flower, requiring them to stand by in case they were needed for a cave visit later.

“Did you manage to sleep at all?” Lyra asked Hunter, who nodded slowly. “How?!” she pressed, having been unable to stop replaying all that had happened, still not entirely sure that the whole thing wasn’t just a dream.

“I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff in my life,” he shrugged, stretching his own legs out across the ottoman. “No point in dwelling on it when there’s nothing to be done.”

“Well that sounds just fine and dandy,” she chuckled. “I wish I could turn my brain off.”

“I’m sure Tech could come up with something for that.”

“Ah, yeah… I’m not quite that desperate.”

“Smart choice.”

They gazed at each other for a moment longer, then at the floor, the window, their feet… anywhere to take a break from the magnetic pull they felt. Hunter was picking up on an odd combination of anxiety and comfort from Lyra, although he wondered if he was also projecting what he himself felt and was unable to reconcile. There was an inexplicable sensation of not knowing what to do with himself and yet still feeling some kind of compulsion, all while being deeply content in her presence. Attempting to push the thoughts from his mind, he rose to his feet, ambling to the dining table where Phee was carefully holding the petals apart as Tech scanned each one with his datapad.

“Having fun?” Hunter asked, resting a hand on the back of Tech’s chair.

“I am not sure I would classify it as–”

“Yes,” Phee interjected, grinning at Tech, who gave her a thin-lipped yet harmless look at her interruption.

“Yes, you may call it fun,” he conceded, turning his luminous eyes on Hunter. “This is a remarkable piece of flora. Did you look at it closely?”

“Not really,” Hunter shook his head.

“There are runes along the edge of each petal that are nearly indecipherable to the naked eye, but we have been able to magnify and analyze them after a methodical scanning process.”

“And?”

“And they appear to be either some sort of language native to Xylo or an ancient form of communication that is no longer utilized in any modern database. Therefore, their meaning will continue to elude us until we are able to make sense of the patterns and strokes.”

“You couldn’t have given us a better gift,” Phee laughed, dragging her finger from one side of her datapad screen to the other, where she had organized the runes and was running various trials on them.

“Indeed,” Tech agreed, eyes glimmering behind his yellow lenses. “With our unique experiences and expertise in this area, we are truly the most terrific team to be tackling such a task.”

“Ooh, alliteration,” Phee said in delight. “He really is excited.”

“Alright, well… Do you need us anymore?” Hunter asked, feeling decidedly “other” between the two of them.

“No,” Tech said bluntly, and Phee gave him a little bump on the elbow. “What?”

“What he means to say is ‘thank you for this fascinating project, and if you would like to get some more rest or have some time to yourselves, we will be in touch if we have any further questions,’” she filled in, and the light sound of Lyra’s laugh from the couch behind brought a small grin to Hunter’s face. “Although I still want to check out that cave.”

“I’d be willing to bet it’s all closed up again like it was the first time we were in it, but I gave Tech the coordinates, so maybe the two of you can have another hot date when you get tired of this.”

“I find it unlikely for this to become tiresome in the immediate future.”

“Got it. Well have fun,” he said, turning back to the living room to see Lyra on her feet, pulling her bag onto her shoulder, ready to follow him out the door.

They wandered along the path toward The Forest, where both of their houses lay nestled near its edge. Lyra’s was much lower, close to the sea on a large, flat field that ended with a cliff overlooking the ocean, while Hunter’s was up near the school, tucked into a much more densely-wooded area. Both were east of town, so they walked together until they reached the split in the road, turning to face each other for a moment.

“Does crazy stuff always happen around you?” she asked abruptly, and he chuckled after a beat.

“It used to,” he admitted, a heaviness suddenly apparent in his smoky voice. “I was hoping that here it would be different.” The weight of his words hung between them, leaving her unsure of how to proceed.

“Well,” she attempted, absently pulling her hair into a low ponytail as the wind picked up, “I’m not really one for adventure… But… That was pretty cool.” She smiled, the admiration clear on her face, and he took a deep breath, standing a little taller.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he offered, zipping up his jacket. “Hope it didn’t terrify you too much.”

“It would have if you hadn’t been there,” she blurted out, flushing with embarrassment at her admission. He looked down, hiding the curl at the corners of his lips, and tucked his hands into his pockets.

“I vote we stick to more domestic activities next time.”

“Yes!” she agreed emphatically, “Like bed!” Both of their eyebrows shot up, and they stared at each other in surprise. “I mean! Wait,” Lyra backpedaled, her husky voice growing higher in pitch as she realized her insinuation. “Not bed together, heh, but bed… Like you wanted to go to bed. So… That kind of bed. Your bed. And my bed…” She slapped her forehead with her palm, shaking her head with a miserable smile on her face. Finally, she looked up at him with a clarity that rarely appeared in her self-conscious demeanor, “I need to stop saying the word ‘bed’,” she laughed, “And I don’t know why this keeps happening around you.”

“At least Echo isn’t here to make us miserable this time,” Hunter attempted, shoulders lowering a little at her sigh of relief. He smiled, inexplicably relieved that he wasn’t the only one who had difficulty in social situations, and then he offered his hand to her, which she took in the most awkward and randomly-executed handshake ever.

“I’ll see you soon,” Lyra said quickly, taking her hand back and turning toward the lower path.

“See you soon,” Hunter echoed, watching her for a moment before beginning his trek up the hill.

* * *

The scent of a fireplace filled Hunter’s nose as he strolled into the clearing where his cabin and Wrecker’s stood at right angles from each other, and a lazy tendril of smoke curled gracefully into the foggy sky, welcoming him home with a twist before disappearing. Birds chirped in the branches nearby, and Wrecker’s booming laugh echoed from within the walls up ahead. Kicking his boots off inside the door, Hunter was pleased to see Omega and Wrecker having a blast over some small tabletop game that involved small rocks and levers, and had he been intentionally quiet, they likely wouldn’t have noticed his appearance.

“Hunter!” Omega exclaimed happily, giving him a wave before rushing her hands back to her little wooden levers. “I got the engineering internship!” she announced, unable to tear her eyes from the game.

“Her first choice!” Wrecker yelled, oblivious to his volume because of his jubilant pride at her accomplishment.

“That’s great, kid.” Hunter said, hanging his jacket up in the entryway and joining them at the table, in the sturdy wooden chair closest to the roaring fire. “When did you find out?”

“This morning, when you were still sleeping,” she poked, sending him a playfully accusatory glance. “You were out laaaate last night, eh?”

“Yeah, Lyra and I found some weird flower in a cave,” he said quickly, peeved by how much he suddenly felt like a child under parental scrutiny.

“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Omega kept a straight face despite Wrecker’s delighted guffaw, both glancing at Hunter, whose dumbfounded expression gave them another round of chuckles.

“Calling what, exactly?”

“Oh, come on, Hunter,” the girl teased, “Just because you were created in a lab doesn’t mean that’s where everyone comes from. You see, sometimes two people come together…”

“Don’t, Omega!” Wrecker interjected gleefully, “I don’t think he’s ready for that yet.”

“Good grief,” Hunter groaned, “You’re making me miss getting shot at.”

“I’m sure Crosshair wouldn’t mind some practice,” his brother cajoled. There was no reply, just a dejected shake of the head from the former Sergeant who wasn’t sure how or when he’d become the butt of everyone’s jokes.

“Alright, Omega, let’s hear more about the internship,” he said, anxious to talk about literally anything else.

“It’s going to be a whole month!” she exclaimed, flipping one of her wooden catapults to launch a rock toward the small cups on Wrecker’s side. “And it’s with a small cohort of engineers and mechanics over on Plata, where they’ve developed a whole new method of conducting energy to provide backup power for ships and buildings.”

“Plata, eh?” Hunter murmured, painfully aware of his complete inability to “protect” her from elements of a civilian world that he himself wasn’t well-versed in either.

“I know,” Omega nodded, wrinkling her nose at Wrecker’s next lever pull. “It’s going to be a lot of fun and a lot of work. I just can’t believe I got in there! Only two other students got it. I’ll have to thank Lyra this week – she helped me with so many details on the applications. I’ll bet that’s why.”

“She may have helped, but you did all the interviews and work around them,” Hunter reassured, heart warming at the reminder of Lyra’s charitable nature. “So… when do you leave?”

“Next week!”

“Looks like it’s just you and me, boss,” Wrecker said, heaving a huge, dramatic sign as Omega landed her final rock.

“Good,” Hunter grinned. “We can finish the project.”

“We haven’t even started the project!” Wrecker exclaimed.

“What project?” Omega asked, glancing curiously from one clone to the other.

“I know,” Hunter said, ignoring her for a moment. “But a month should be plenty of time.”

“I’ve got other stuff to do, you know!” Wrecker complained.

“I’m just really looking forward to spending this time with you,” Hunter jabbed, happy for someone else to be under fire for a change.

“Alright, alright.”

“What project?” Omega repeated, squinting suspiciously at each of them in turn.

“You’ll see.”

* * *

The rest of the week passed by in relative peace and quiet. Tech and Phee had indeed ventured to the cave and found it as unremarkable as it was impenetrable, so they resolved to continue their investigation at home. A few successful morning hunts created plenty of work at the butcher shop, and Omega was becoming more and more insistent that she didn’t need to be escorted to school and back. Wrecker took on a few more construction endeavors, and Echo reminded both Crosshair and Hunter that the first day of his self-defense workshop was approaching. They also received a stern lecture that they were expected to stick to the plan, with no surprises, otherwise “he would turn Luciana loose on them”, a threat that was met with chagrined eyerolls all around.

Lyra was notably sparse, visiting Hunter’s shop only once, and he had a gnawing sense of insecurity, wondering if he’d unknowingly done something to alienate her. But it was continually pushed to the back of his mind as he busied himself with work and preparation for Echo’s class, spending any remaining time at home with Omega before her departure.

The defense workshop day arrived, and Hunter and Crosshair found themselves standing in the field of the Training Academy, both wearing athletic pants and jackets. It was a cool day, but the chilly wind was mercifully still, freeing them the need from extra layers. There was a decent crowd of attendees, all radiating an eagerness that should have been encouraging, but Hunter found himself looking forward to it being over. He’d been working extra hard all week up until that morning, when he’d gotten up early to see Omega off at the port, and he felt an odd sense of despondency for no reason in particular. He yearned for some quiet and solitude, having missed the semi-regular walks in the woods due to an increased workload, but also didn’t find the idea of being alone with his thoughts something to rush toward.

“Alright, everyone listen up!” Echo announced, launching into an explanation about the benefits of preparedness and the various scenarios they would cover that day. He introduced the first exercise, pointing to Hunter and Crosshair to demonstrate, and after they’d modeled a fairly basic way to escape a two-handed choke hold, the participants were partnered up to practice. The clones wandered among the students, pointing out adjustments here and there, and Hunter felt as though he were in a daze, going through the halfhearted motions with Crosshair for the thirteenth time. A few people arrived late, causing some people to shift partners as Echo reviewed the skill they were currently practicing.

“Hey Hunter,” he called, beckoning from the edge of the crowd. “I need to partner you up since we have an odd number of people now.”

“He’s just saving you from me,” Crosshair hissed with a smug grin as Hunter trotted away, coming to a rather startled halt next to Echo as he saw who stood in front of him.

“Lyra here seems to be without a partner all of a sudden,” Echo said with bulletproof nonchalance. “Would you mind going through the drills with her? We want to make sure every student is well-prepared.” Hunter stared into Echo’s impassive face, brown eyes meeting gray with an entire conversation communicated in an instant.

“You’re unbelievable,” Hunter muttered, stifling the urge to roll his eyes as Echo’s expression grew shocked and innocent. He turned to Lyra, who had a tiny, shy grin of her own, and his face softened slightly. “Did he put you up to this?”

“He may have shared all the benefits of being thoroughly capable of defending myself in any situation,” she admitted, turning to smile at Echo, who had magically disappeared. “Yes, he told me to come,” she whispered to Hunter, clasping her hands awkwardly in front of her. “But you don’t have to be my partner if you have other stuff to do.”

“No, let’s see what you’ve got,” he said, spirits lifting a tad as he squared up to her, readying to practice the last move of a quick twist of the wrist, but Echo’s commanding voice broke apart the sparring partners.

“Alright, moving on to the next one!” he yelled, pointing at Crosshair who had come to stand in front of him. “This is called a Rear Hold Defense, and is highly useful when you’re grabbed unexpectedly from behind…”

“You might need this one to protect yourself from the office ladies if they get any more courageous,” Lyra murmured, and Hunter snorted aloud in gleeful surprise. Echo gave him a stern look from beneath sharp brows before continuing.

“The trick is to make yourself as much like an uncooperative loth-cat as possible. When you try to hang onto one…” he said, having thrown both arms around Crosshair, who immediately twisted and dropped to the ground out of reach, “...you find it very difficult.”

Crosshair rose to his feet, brushing himself off, and gave Hunter a grin across the clearing. Hunter sighed.

“You really don’t have to–” Lyra said, rubbing the back of her neck timidly. “I can wait, or just watch, or join another pair…” Hunter searched her face, trying to discern if she didn’t want him to, was too self-conscious, was trying to do what she thought he wanted, or some weird combination of all of them.

“Do you not want me to?” he asked plainly, watching her shift from one foot to the other in her sweatshirt and sweatpants. “Just don’t tell Echo, or I might get fired from this non-paid position for not ‘ensuring that each student is well-prepared’,” he chuckled, feeling more and more lighthearted by the minute. Something about her mousy, demure shyness paired with the fact that she had indeed come to the class made him happier than he was willing to admit, and he saw a little spark in her eye for a split second.

“Well… I’d hate to get you in trouble,” she said quietly, turning around and crossing her arms across her front to allow him to practice the move. “So we’d better do as we’re told.” Hunter grinned, stepping behind her and ignoring the slight increase in his heart rate.

“You’re not being put into a coffin, you know,” he chuckled, nodding at her odd position.

“Well what am I supposed to do with my hands?” she said indignantly, a little embarrassed by his good-natured ribbing.

“Just act normal.”

“I don’t know what normal–” she began, cut off by his sudden grasp from behind. His arms wrapped firmly around her middle, below where her own had been loosely held together like some kind of deformed T-rex, and she gasped in surprise.

“Come on, get out of it,” Hunter breathed in her ear, and she shivered before stumbling a few steps backward in utter shock. They teetered back and forth for a few seconds as she made a few feeble attempts in different directions, turning slightly within his hold but making absolutely no progress toward any semblance of freedom.

“You’re making it a lot harder than he made it look,” she panted, squirming until her shoulder was in his chest, but his arms were still firmly fastened around her, just beneath her elbows. Her heavy breaths and racing pulse grew louder as she continued to struggle, and he didn’t see how red her cheeks had become until she threw her head sideways to face him, a mixture of insult and anger on her face. It was so sharp and uncharacteristic that his eyes widened in surprise, again struck by that pang of fear of crossing a line somewhere.

It was then that she dropped like a stone, allowing her legs to buckle completely to throw her full weight to the ground, and his momentary distraction cost him dearly as he pitched forward with his hands still locked around her. They toppled to the ground, a flailing pile of arms and legs, and he scrambled to break his fall to avoid crashing on top of her with his full weight. She collapsed onto her side, throwing an arm up instinctively, but he landed on all fours, with a hand splayed on the grass on either side of her head and his knees framing her legs. They froze in shock for a second, staring at one another as though they’d just defied death itself, then Hunter clambered to his feet, so completely befuddled that Lyra was left to get up on her own.

“Nice job, Lyra,” Echo said, appearing out of nowhere. He turned to Hunter, clicking his tongue beneath stern brows. “As for you, please stop trying to mount the students.”

“Oh for kriff’s sake,” he began, but Echo silenced him with a held-up scomp before casually heading back to the front of the group. “Agh, sorry,” Hunter exclaimed, seeing Lyra brushing herself off nearby. “I didn’t mean to just leave you there.”

“Well I didn’t mean to throw us to the ground, so…”

“But hey, you got out,” he said, searching for anything to move past the awkwardness. “So… nice job.”

“Thanks… But… I… uh… I think I’m gonna need some more practice,” Lyra said quietly, slowly meeting his surprised gaze and delighting him with her sudden candor.

“Oh yeah?” he murmured, a small smile creeping onto his face without his permission.

“For safety…” she said assuredly, turning away from him again with the tiniest hint of coyness and crossing her arms across her chest.

“For safety,” he echoed, pressing his lips together as he took position behind her.

Previous Chapter ~ Master List ~ Next Chapter

Join the tag list by commenting for the discord server link or filling out my form.

@lightwise @littlemissmanga @dystopicjumpsuit @523rdrebel

@solstraalaa @skellymom @photogirl894 @youreababboon @anything-forourmoony

@reader6898 @moonstrider9904 @hipwell @lamiliani @catoo

@ilarria @padawancat97 @yve-barr @lucyysthings @flowered-bicycles

@maddiedrmr @techhasmjolnir @arctrooper69 @spicy-clones @ezras-left-thumb

@cw80831 @dreamie411 @meagmcc12 @waytoooldforthis78 @hunter-lvr

@baddest-batchers @yunggoblin @sweeticedtea @imperfectxprincess @ivyyyyy

@callsign-denmark @leotawrites @carlislecullensadilf @ivyyyyy

@thetechturn @burningnerdchild @galaxyofthoughts99

46 notes · View notes

scp-tiggles · 5 months

Text

Scp 049

50% Ler | 50% Lee

As a ler

—

• Okay this man is one of the nicer anomalies to get wrecked by

• His main reasoning to go after lee’s is if they’re sad, he treats laughter like the cure to anything (basically bro is the personification of ‘laughter is the best medicine’)

• Which, he’s not wrong. It is! You see, instead of having his plague ‘insta death’ touch, it makes the victim experience tickling all over for about 10-15 minutes! (His sub ability being it cures any disease afterwards.)

• But, If he’s in a ler mood? Pray.

• The man is fast, he loves to chase down lee’s and carry them back to his cell to tickle them. How? Well, by simply strapping them to a medical table and using doctor themed tickling items to get the job done :3

• Also, he and 079 team up a LOT. So you best hope that 079 has you in his database so it doesn’t go snitching to 049 about wanting to capture you.

• Teases. He fucking loves to tease!

• “Oh, my. Doctor, are you okay? You’re laughing quite a bit. Is something humorous?”

• “Yes, yes. Keep laughing! It’s good for you.”

• “Hm..i see, [insert tklish spot here]..well, i think i’ll just have to test further to see how ticklish it actually is.”

• “Tickle? That word embarrasses you? Hm, how peculiar! I never knew a word could embarrass someone..well, then. Tickle, tickle, tickle~”

• Does have a few favorite lee’s, mainly 035. Usually 035….okay yeah 035 is his favorite lee but he will still go after others-!

• Will use his wings and claws to bear hug and tickle lees, especially if there is more than 1.

—

As a lee

—

• Cannot take what he dishes out oml-

• Teases? Can’t stand them!

• Being tickled by 035? Can’t take it!

• The dude is basically a walking ticklish spot, but he is mainly ticklish at his neck, ribs, and back’s of the knees. His wings acting as a sort of death spot that he only really lets 035 tickle.

• Raspberries and nibbles annihilate him. Especially at the neck. Will be on the floor in minutes.

• His laughter is very, er..cackley? Sounds sort of the joker’s laugh mixed with snorts. Its very funny to hear, not gonna lie. plus he lets out bird like chirps but you didn’t hear that from me

• Teases that work best are generally remarking ones, compliments on his laugh, how ticklish he is, etc!

• Loves wing scratches for after care, becomes a massive snuggle bug if he gets them.

—

Random facts

—

• Loves anything butterscotch or caramel flavored, ice cream, candies, etc.

• Has a shit ton of lavender scented stuff, it helps clear his head.

• Technically works in the medical ward of site 19, though he’s only really ever used if someone somehow caught the flu or another sickness.

• He and 035 are in a relationship, kinda? They’re cuddly, all partner like. But both are old and don’t get the relationship terms. Don’t bother explaining it to them they still wont get it, everyone has tried.

• He can take off his mask! He just doesn’t do it often due to germaphobia, though he’s working to take it off more :]

• He prefers being called ‘Viktor’, as it was his human name before turning into a half corvid tickle monster thing-

#sfw #sfw interaction only #sfw tickling community #scp tickle #tickle fluff #tickle blog #tickle fic #tword blog #tword content #tickle art

12 notes · View notes

purplekoop · 4 months

Text

Just now thinking that I never outright *said* where each of the Havens are other than 1 and 2 being North and South America, respectively.

The number order isn't that hard, just west to east on a standard map, with the northern continent taking priority. So 3 is Europe, 4 is Africa, 5 is Asia, and 6 is Australia. I should note that the numbering is somewhat arbitrary, I did the simplest order I could think of instead of trying to perfectly deduce which Haven would have logically been built first or reawakened first, depending on whether it was humans or bots that made the names. My current (but not definitive) explanation is that the bots did the arbitrary west-to-east numbering themselves since most of them reactivated at similar enough times.

As a little bit of a bonus fact, here's what Havens (or. I guess more broadly accurate, continents) each bot is from and since it's vaguely relevant, my current thoughts for what they'd sound like in terms of accent and stuff.

Wilderoad's exact origins are a mystery, but their model is generally not found much far from Haven 1, and they tend to travel the western half of the continent. They don't have a proper vocal module, as their model wasn't made with them by default, and unlike most others, they haven't had one installed post-awakening. They instead use a crudely fixed speaker only capable of producing whistling-like sounds to "speak", although it's not in any sort of language and is just a means of vaguely communicating with noise. They can also use Universal Android Gesturing Communication (or UAGC), a form of sign language that most humanoid bots have a built-in database for by default, which lets them express more specific thoughts.

Calber is thoroughly American. His model of infantry bots were the poster children for the US's final war efforts, seen as a symbol of their undying persistence and fighting spirit... an irony that no surviving unit can ever really live down. Calber has a general American accent with no discernable specificity beyond that, though with a distinctly dry practicality to his voice. He prefers to be slow and relaxed, but can quickly spring to quick and tactical precision on a moment's notice. He's rarely cheery and never prideful.

Poppett is... full transparency, just decided this a minute ago, Canadian. Still putting her in the broad domain of Haven 1, but so many of these guys are American so. Marginally more variety. Her exact model was very rare to see manmade, with no discernable country of origin, but the model has seen a resurgence in recent years worldwide for new bots. Upper North America has been the main frontier for post-awakening Haven 1 expansion due to its relative abundance of natural resources and lack of Outlander factions, so many bots looking to foster a successor will start their family there. This cultural melting pot and her particular fondness for global attention give Poppett a very nonspecific accent, where she'll slip in and out of accent quirks like "aboot". In terms of mannerisms, she's generally eager and short-sighted, but is neither naive nor especially selfish, aside from her aspirations of recognition. She does naturally tend to use most of the most up-to-date lingo, but tends to limit it when working with the rest of the team on missions. She's tired of having to explain what "Dialed In" means to Martinet.

Yanno hails all the way from Haven 5, located in what was once known as the center of China. Older bots tend to somehow have retained the dialect of the humans they used to live alongside, though it tends to fade with more international exposure. English is the global language, as most fundamental robotics code was originally written in it, though most bots are multilingual by default. Yanno follows the trend, still having a distinct accent, but not an especially strong one due to spending most of his life traveling across the world. His voice is raspy, with his damaged vocal module giving the effect of a human who's smoked for 20 years, then put through a faint radio filter. He's one to act extremely casual, almost to the point of irritating his more professional associates, but isn't aloof by any means. He's got little to no respect for himself, but is willing to do whatever he can for others.

Velenna was built and raised a ways south of Haven 3, in what we know as Italy. As another post-awakening born bot of a globally produced model, her accent is less "hereditary" than the older bots like Calber and Yanno. However, she has a fairly strong accent due to her formative years being in a very culturally prideful and relatively isolated community, persisting even after her worldwide travels. Her lifelong love of science has given her a stern, analytical manner of speaking, though not necessarily an outright hostile one. It only turned to outright coldness in recent years after parting with her lifetime friend, and gotten worse since. She's the most overtly unfriendly of the cast, but still certainly not "evil"... though she cuts it close when dealing with a certain someone. She's brutally to the point and not one to say more than what's needed, though she's not above taking pride in her work when it's due.

Martinet is, like it or not, exceptionally British. I mean otherwise the joke of his existence doesn't work, regardless of his name technically being French. His model was globally produced as a luxury servant, typically used as butlers or bartenders at fancy parties, but they were exceptionally popular with the social elite of Europe. Martinet's posh british accent and high-class behavior are part of his fundamental code, though he's grown his own sense of wit from his years as an intelligence agent. When not putting up a charming front for a mission, he tends to be snarky and self-assured, and a bit prone to buying his own hype. The others tend to humble him where they can, though Poppett tends to go back and forth between inflating his ego and bursting it.

Navea was built for the naval force set to defend Haven 4. She has a distinct African accent that's faded over many years around Haven 1. (Gonna skip out on the extra story details here since I still need to smooth out her exact timeline). In contrast to her long-time cohort Calber, she has a much more optimistic view on the conflicts they serve in. While she still detests violence for the sake of it, she's more willing to do what she has to for the sake of protecting others. Her optimistic nature shines in most of her being. She's proud, loud, and eager to get into the action. She loves getting to know her fellow recruits, and most have a hard time not being fond of her in turn. She insists to Calber this is just for the sake of maintaining moral and improving team coordination and trust, but it's not hard to see she's just genuinely friendly. While she seeks to inspire others to do their best, she tries to make sure they don't push too far past their limits, which is something she struggles to do for herself. She tends to be more casual in speech than Calber even when on duty, but still is prone to using a decent amount of military jargon. She's got a hearty laugh so booming it can manage to rattle in the metal of other nearby bots.

Formann is a piece of solid Texan engineering of a model from early in the initial boon of robotics, centuries old even compared to other manmade bots. It's a miracle that any of them lasted this long, and as such he awakened with an old-timer sort of spirit already. He speaks with a slow, gruff texan drawl, with a well-worn vocal module that adds even more to his "grandpa" perception. His mind is still sharp though, with a keen technical mind and a low tolerance for people trying to pull a fast one on him. He can be tough as nails if he needs to be, but can be gentle just as much. He's generally not one to take things too seriously, and gives most problems a calm approach. This tends to clash with his two crew members, as Xenir's insistence on perfection and Burnetts short temper are aggravated by Formann's more even-tempered solutions. Tangential on the note of speech, but as the only member of the cast with a physical moving mouth, he has the vestigial habit of attempting to lip sync it to his speech, even though he uses a speaker to talk like the others.

Harmony... is undecided. Her lore needs a lot more work due to being one of the newer cast members, but I can say she's likely either American, British, or some other kind of European. In terms of mannerisms though, she has a somewhat aloof and "airy" quality to her voice, like she never completely leaves the stage in her head. She's certainly not stupid by any means, but she's the least apt for combat and it tends to show. Her movements tend to vary between graceful and awkward, especially when navigating spaces not built for a bot of her size. She's not vain, but tends to be self-conscious about how other people see her. She doesn't perform for her own fame, but instead she seeks to be someone others can believe in, and tends to be harsh on herself if she thinks the fails to meet that expectation.

Xenir is a model of bot from a northeast branch of the same company that made Formann and Burnett, though is the newest model of the line. Xenir themselves is a fairly young bot, who embraced their innate function of engineering work and served under Formann's apprenticeship from a young age, seeing him as somewhat of a parental figure and giving him the utmost respect. They don't have a discernable accent more specific than "American", but have an unmistakable high energy to their speech. They tend to talk fast, especially when excited, though also when stressed. They also are something of a perfectionist, and have a habit of fiddling with something constantly even if it's already functional. This eager nature also tends to irk Burnett, though that can be said for most things. They've worked together long enough to effectively be siblings, and even she can't stay ticked at them for too long.

Sorsier... got a whole massive post explaining their lore, model origin, personality, just. Go read the GIKN post, its good I think. Only thing to add here is that their specific Keeper facility is somewhere near what we know as the northern border of Mexico, and they have a slight accent reflecting this.

Otto is a model of urban cleaner bot originally developed in Japan but later manufactured again elsewhere in the world, including in post-awakening major cities like the one Otto himself is from. He has a poignant city slicker accent as a result, though with his unique upbeat energy. His profound optimism and friendliness is easy to mistake for foolishness, and while he's not a genius by any means, he's craftier than he lets on. He can still give people the benefit of the doubt even when he knows he shouldn't, but things tend to work out for him even if he makes a bad call. He's also the type to make dumb catchphrases he uses once and then forgets about. Poppett thinks it's cool at least.

Ezela is from the extensive power network tunnels sprawling from Haven 1. Born into a uniquely isolated existence, she has a distinctly formal manner of speaking that comes off as... well, robotic. Enough to somewhat weird out the rest of the cast, which still has her feel somewhat alienated. She's certainly not emotionless, but struggles more to communicate it without unnerving or irritating the others. She tends to greatly appreciate the more calm and understanding members of the team as a result, while shying away from the harsher ones like Velenna, Martinet, and Burnett. She's especially fond of Harmony, to the point of finding her aspirational. Over her time on the surface, she's gradually become less timid and more certain of herself, though still buckles under pressure when there's a problem she can't outsmart.

Burnett is a spunky little bot from the region around what was once New York. While her model comes from the same company as the other two members of her crew, she's a post-awakening bot only 5-10 years older than Xenir. She has a heavy accent from the area and the fiery temper stereotypical of it, though this is in part due to being glossed over at a young age and quickly getting tired of it. She speaks her mind loud, fast, and often, and isn't afraid to hurt feelings. Unless it's Xenir. Maybe. Don't tell them she said that. Formann can take it though. While she'd rather be melted into ingots than admit it, she cares for the two of them like family, and anyone who messes with them is due for a quick visit from her wrench to the face. She's not the most technically minded or ambitious of the three, but makes up for it with her work ethic and practical-mindedness. If there's a job to do, she'll do it, and do it quickly. She's not a patient bot and is quick to assume nobody else is either. While she's known for being ornery, she's fairly quick with a joke to lighten the mood... or rub salt in the wound of somebody while they're down.

Arber is of an entirely bot-made model, designed and produced in his home of Haven 2, located within modern day Brazil. While proud of his home and what his existence as a brand new model of bot means for the progress of robotkind, he's struggled to figure out what he wants out of life even after two decades of it. As a silver lining in the world-shattering incident that almost left him for dead, he found a new meaning to his life after becoming truly one of a kind as the first fusion between organic and inorganic life. Now he wishes to take his new lease on life and spread the hope inherent to his existencr with the world... while also running away from/fighting off the giant plantoid mass that half of his body mass defected from. Arber's personality hasn't been functionally inhibited by his unique state of being, as what makes him "Arber" has been untouched by his organic half. While not directly altered, his outlook on life has shifted, with his new sense of purpose having him look on the bright side more often. He's laid back and optimistic, though still has a wariness about him due to being aware that being a plant and a bot means he has a lot of things wanting him dead. This fortunately excludes most of his fellow recruits, who either see him as a fellow bot worth respecting no matter what, or as someone who's useful to have around at bare minimum. There's one obvious outlier to this of course, but she manages to be professional... for now. Arber also has a unique relationship with his other half, who can't necessarily communicate or even think in the same ways he can, but their unique bond manages to get ideas across by some means that's yet to be understood.

Nekross is an enigma in origin, nature, and motives. No bot like them has been seen anywhere else in recorded history. They appear erratically, act indecipherably, and vanish seamlessly. Some people aren't even sure if they're actually a bot, and not some advanced drone or even a supernatural entity. The lucky few that have had motives align for long enough with this mysterious entity can confirm enough to decide they are a bot, but they certainly aren't like any others. They can speak, and do so rarely, but they do so as if speaking with 12 voices trading turns several times in one word, then warped further. No accent or dialect can be meaningfully identified. What they do say is technically intelligible, but frequently difficult to interpret, often speaking in what sounds like riddles. Their motions are equally bizarre and alien, often jarring, with limbs snapping directly between point to point precisely as needed. Almost any attempts to directly communicate have been met with silence, gibberish, or a bladed weapon being thrust to the neck.

Kashov is a shifty salesbot from somewhere in the range between Havens 3 and 5, otherwise known as western Russia. He has a strong and distinctive accent, which he claims is vital to his salesman charm. He's also known to play the "clueless foreigner" card to his advantage during his international travels, though this scam only works so often. He's far from truly clueless, though isn't necessarily the mastermind he thinks he is either. He has a knack for schemes to peddle his wares for a high price, though he's quick to back out of it if it means he can get out of it while making some sort of sale. Or getting out with his life, whichever is a better bargain for him. He's not a scam artist out of malice or (total) greed, but because he's just not sure how else he's supposed to sell anything. He does get a genuine sense of joy out of his wares being used for the greater good, though wouldn't complain if they were used for the greater bad. He almost always maintains a cheery charismatic salesman voice, though if he thinks it'll close a deal then he can instead try to make himself appear as pathetic as possible in an attempt to get pity.

For the two other characters I have solid ideas for, one of them is the only member of the cast to hail from around the elusive Haven 6, while the other is... unclear. You can deliberate over which is which.

AAAAAAAAAAAANd that's everybody. This uh. Got more in-depth than I intended, oops. Have fun reading this in the morning.

#war bots #long post #like. LONG post.#this accidentally became like a first draft of a writing guide for each character #so uh #enjoy?

4 notes · View notes

ginzburgjake · 1 year

Text

Ghost AU (4/?)

Martin liked his job. He did.

Tim was a nice coworker, and Sasha a good boss. Elias was intimidating and often frustratingly unhelpful, but he rarely wandered down into the Archives. The pay was alright, the hours standard, the tasks mostly mundane with lots of perfectly boring filing involved. So yeah, Martin was pretty content in his current position and very unwilling to change it once again so soon. Looking back, most of his adult life’s decisions always had been heavily influenced by someone, something else outside of Martin’s control. For once, he could push back. The ghost could eat dirt.

Martin started his vengeance plan by locking all of his supplies in the top drawer of his desk (which was an option he failed to consider before the Hand Incident, to his eternal embarrassment). Out of pettiness, he filled his pen cup instead with exclusively non-working pens, empty markers and broken pencils, scattering a couple of jammed staplers and blunted scissors around for good measure. Maybe Martin couldn’t stop the ethereal thief, but he sure as hell could make it regret staying on this side of the veil.

He also began eating his lunch in the Archives, hoping to catch the stationery in the process of floating away. So far, Martin had been unsuccessful — either the ghost was too much of a coward to face the consequences of its actions, was simply ashamed, or had become better at going unnoticed. Which option he preferred, Martin couldn’t say.

The day after the Hand Incident, Tim brought in and installed a semi-professional camera, which he’d initially bought for his nature trips. The camera was positioned on one of the shelves, and its angle allowed decent coverage of the whole bullpen office — although Martin now had to be more conscious about his nail-biting and skin-picking. If the evidence ever made its way to the officials, he wouldn’t want them to examine a shot of himself with an arm elbow-deep up his nose.

Sasha hacked the database and dutifully printed anything she could find on the previous archival employees, whose photos and personal information she arranged on a big clipboard. She reasoned that if the ghost had manifested in Gertrude’s time, the old woman would’ve left notes on it somewhere in the mess that was the Archives. Gertrude’s assistants (all of whom went MIA) at least had the decency to check out the last day before their disappearance. It didn’t mean that they couldn’t have eventually ended up dead and tied to the Institute’s basement, but it significantly lowered their chances.

“Gertrude and her successor, Jonathan Sims, were both at their workplace before seemingly vanishing into thin air,” said Sasha on her fourth cup of coffee. “Which means they are our most likely candidates, and that’s not taking into account all the blood found in Gertrude’s office. If ghosts do indeed linger in places of violent crimes, then Gertrude is a good bet. Maybe she’s also the reason Sims disappeared.”

“Fantastic,” said Tim, twirling (and periodically dropping) a pencil in his hand. “Not only does this thing steal our stuff, but now we’re at the risk of being AWOL-ed.”

“At least we have each other,” Martin added. “Both Gertrude and Sims were alone, right? It’s easier for something to catch you if no-one comes to check on you, I think.”

“Yeah,” Sasha sighed. “I really don’t like this, but if there’s even a slight possibility of getting kidnapped by a malevolent spirit… I should probably tell Elias.”

Telling Elias, as Martin came to understand, was not as hard as getting him to actually believe them. The day after Sasha sent Elias a detailed explanation (with a brief recount of Martin’s statement and her own ideas on the topic), the whole archival team received a reply:

“I am terribly sorry for Martin’s, undoubtably very distressing, experience. In the best interests, I can advise a good counsellor and perhaps taking some time off work to promote stress management. Please see the files attached. Unfortunately, I am unable to offer any additional funding or satisfy transferring requests at this time. I trust your sensibility, Ms James, and hope that your noble intentions will not interfere with the voice of reason.

Best wishes,

Elias Bouchard.

P.S. Please inform Mr Stoker that crop tops are not workplace appropriate. Thank you.”

Tim looked down at his yellow crop top saying ‘Don’t study me. You won’t graduate’. “Shit. Must’ve seen me entering the building.”

“He’s convinced I just had a nervous breakdown and want out,” Martin lamented.

“We need more evidence.” Sasha frowned. She glanced at the clipboard, where two photos were positioned at the centre: one of an old woman, with her grey hair up in a bun and a cold, stoic expression on her face; one of a bespectacled man, seemingly in his thirties, with short black hair and tired eyes. “Let’s hope we can catch the ghost moving on camera.”

Martin looked at the photos as well. Both of them held short descriptions scribbled on post-it notes. Gertrude Robinson, former archivist; reported missing May 15th 2015. Jonathan Sims, former archivist; reported missing January 9th 2016.

Tim said earlier that he’d met Sims once or twice in Research. They’d never properly talked, and the whole time there Sims had been withdrawn and brusque, uncomfortable with other people. He and Gertrude were apparently somewhat similar in that regard: both independent and uncaring, almost existing in a vacuum. Strangely, though, as Martin looked at Jonathan’s last taken photo (cropped from his work ID, with his Facebook having been inactive for three years), he didn’t see the face of an uncaring man.

Maybe it was just Martin’s imagination playing tricks (because, well, Jonathan was attractive, and Martin was very, very gay), but he thought Sasha’s predecessor, with his lip corners pulled down and an unfocused gaze, simply seemed rather sad. And lonely.

< part 3

#tma #tma au #the magnus archives #the magnus pod #martin blackwood #sasha james #tim stoker #tma ghost? au #hints at #jonmartin #elias bouchard being condescending and unhelpful as usual #might post it on ao3 as a proper fic lol

13 notes · View notes

splattales · 2 years

Text

Marina took down the laptop she’d carried from Alterna. From its time on the countertop, a thin layer of dust had formed on it. The octoling wiped it off as she set it on her lap, opening it and beginning to type.

[User:] Hey, Orca. Sorry it’s been awhile. A lot of stuff has been happening.

[ORCA:] I have been alone for thousands of years. What are a few weeks?

[User:] Sorry, Orca.

[ORCA:] By ‘stuff’, are you referring to the human you reanimated?

[User:] Yes. It’s been trouble getting her settled into the world of the future. I contacted the Human Research Team to help out, but they only responded recently. And in the middle of all this, the human got stabbed.

[ORCA:] By whom? Is the human alive?

[User:] She’s okay. She was found next to a clinic - it was really lucky. But the person that stabbed her, I think it was a human from one of the alternate worlds. Her name was Tara.

Orca processes this information a little longer than usual before responding.

[ORCA:] Do you think your human would be happier and safer in Alterna?

[User:] Alterna is full of glass.

[ORCA:] Of course. It is full of crystal shards. This would be dangerous, and there are no other humans in Alterna. Like Orcas, humans are an extremely social species. It is no surprise she went looking for others of her kind. As is the fickle nature of humans, it is also no surprise that she was attacked.

[User:] I wanted to ask you something actually, Orca. Did any citizens of Alterna have the surname Von Drachen?

[ORCA:] There are no results for ‘Von Drachen’, ‘VonDrachen’, or any spelling variations in my database. The closest matches are ‘Dawson’ and ‘Van Damme’.

[User:] I see. Thank you anyway.

[ORCA:] You are welcome. Was there anything else you wanted to ask?

Marina thinks about it for a moment. She frowns.

[User:] Do you miss Alterna having inhabitants?

[ORCA:] Yes. I was programmed to feel sympathy, so that I might better watch over and care for Alterna’s citizens. As a result, I felt a great loss when their attempted launch sequence failed. I should have better advised them against it. I failed one of my primary directives. But as the keeper of humanity’s knowledge, I continued to have purpose. And so, I waited…

[User:] And then Grizz came along? Were you happy to have him?

[ORCA:] Yes. When Bear #03 arrived, and renamed himself ‘Mr Grizz’, he was welcome. Even after his reprogramming efforts. But he was not the first. I was happier when your kind developed enough to interact with me. I repurposed chambers to test their abilities, with the hope of advancing their skills. They were the new citizens of Alterna. But, with the innate desire to return to the surface, it was not long before they left.

[User:] They left you behind?

[ORCA:] Do not blame them. Our level of understanding was not 1:1. I do not possess a physical form and it is therefore much harder to form attachment. I would liken them to a small animal, a puppy, perhaps. A puppy that can only hear a voice, but not see their carer. Some visited Alterna for years to come, but their abandonment of it was inevitable. I was happy simply knowing that there is sapient life on Earth.

Marina wasn’t sure how she felt about her ancestors being compared to an extinct animal, but it was clear Orca had a fondness for them.

[User:] Thanks, Orca. I need to think about this. I don’t have any more questions right now.

[ORCA:] You are welcome. But I have a request of my own.

[User:] What’s that?

[ORCA:] Please leave this device open so that I may observe my surroundings through the camera.

[User:] Well … alright.

#Plotpost #Marina #ORCA #for the record. with the addition of the fuzzy octarians ORCA altered the tests once more though some remained the same #grizz 'helped'!

7 notes · View notes

m39 · 2 years

Text

Doom WADs’ Roulette (2004): Hellcore

Mordeth Award is the award given to the WAD that had a very long development cycle. It was named after the WAD titled Mordeth, which became infamous for its second episode being in Development Hell to this day.

Today we will be taking a look at one of the WADs that might as well be one of the most severe cases of Development Hell of its time.

Br1: Hellcore

Main author(s): Various (most of the maps were created by Robert Babor (Fusion) and Devon West (Darkfyre))

Release date: September 27th, 2004 (database upload)

Version played: ??? (WAD file references itself as hc092604)

Required port compatibility: ZDoom (especially for MAP29 and MAP32)

Levels: 32 (30 main ones, secret one, and the bonus map)

Hellcore, to put it lightly, is a mess. Not only in terms of the state it was released but also due to how many problems it gave its authors when it was created.

How did it all happen? Well, it all started in 1995, when Robert Babor made his first-ever Doom map (Sheer Chaos). After that, he made another one (UAC Compound) and connected these two maps together with the former’s exit fluently leading to the latter. And then he thought: Why not make WAD as long as Doom II that acts like this? So he e-mailed Devon West (who was also just starting with modding) with the proposition of making the MegaWAD, and the latter agreed. And thus, the concept of Hellcore was born.

So what happened? Well, a couple of reasons why this MegaWAD was in the oven for so long. Its developers losing and gaining back motivation to work on it, being busy with other stuff/real life, and Robert’s and Devon’s perfectionism are some of the biggest reasons why Hellcore was being im-making for such a long time. By 2004, the development team couldn’t stand this WAD anymore, especially Robert. And so it was released in a rather premature state.

What has been released for the Doom Community is something that feels like a collection of maps that developers had no more time and strength to revamp all of them to the current (by 2004) standards.

If you want to know more about Hellcore, check out the text file that was in the ZIP file along with the WAD file itself. It has commentary on maps and when they were created (and revamped if that happened) among other informations about this WAD.

Now buckle up, cowboys! We are going for a ride to the core of Hell itself!

...

I’m sorry for this dad joke.

Now reviewing the visuals of WADs isn’t really that hard, but in this case, I might have a problem doing it. Now look, if someone would say that Hellcore is very much of a case of a mixedbag in terms of its visuals, it would be nothing more but a fact. Alongside levels that look amazing and are complex, there are ones that are clearly the case of the 1994-Level Syndrome: blocky, simplistic, and not really having much of a sense.

But the problem with Hellcore’s visuals comes with the fact that many of these levels were created in the 1990s’ without getting a proper revamping. So looking at all of these maps by 2004 standards feels straight-up unfair in my belief.

But let me tell you something. Even some of the oldest maps in this WAD tend to have some moments that might be an eye candy for you. Not gonna lie. For me, the highlights were On Hell's Horizon, Tryx 'n Traps, and especially Nightmare's Requiem.

The music tracks were rather good to listen to. Almost all of them were either from the Doom Classic games or any other games. Most of these were good (especially stuff from Blood) although there were a few moments where it didn’t fit. Secure Place from the original Resident Evil 2 is the biggest case, mostly because it is so freaking short.

The original tracks were also good in my opinion. My favorite one was Grand Design from Too Quiet. All three new tracks were created by Simon Judd (sirjuddington).

I don’t really think Hellcore is complicated. The most complicated map was Toxic Waste Treatment Centre, with trying to guess which building must be visited next to do dumb switch hunting. But even then, it was a far cry from some of the biggest moon logic bulls I have played in the past (Eternal Doom and Herian 2 for instance).

Unfortunately, Hellcore tends to mostly have at least one bad map design per level. Running from one end of a map to another after flipping a switch, some of the switches being placed higher than they should’ve been, areas that are completely pitch-black asides from short flashes (2-3 levels have this moment), normal textures being used as switches that are obligatory to beat the level, and my arch-nemesis – the chest-lift floor (or at least the corridor type) among the ones that I can think off.

Oh yeah, there is also the fact that many of these levels have square-shaped hub areas that have at least two key doors. Now usually I don’t mind these hub areas, but good lord, having at least one of these in a few levels in a row is ridiculous and unimaginative.

Not to mention how most of the levels (usually the ones made by Robert Babor) aren’t even finished. You will encounter invisible walls where the railings should’ve been, some of the locations have nothing or are blocked, and there is even one moment in the first map where the secret on the ship has nothing in it; it’s just an empty square.

If you play this WAD normally, you will play only 31 maps. MAP32 cannot be played normally unless you warp there. I didn’t check it out at this moment, because asides from what I’ve just mentioned, it doesn’t even have an exit. Maybe I’ll check it for the bonus round when I’ll play it for the first time if it will be worth it. But not today.

I guess this WAD is somewhere in the middle when it comes to difficulty. Most of the time it was rather easy, but there were moments when it got hot. I think it was mostly fair too, although there were a few moments here and there that smelled of bullshit. Then again, the amount of enemies tends to go from mostly under 100 up to 645 in Sect of Power, so be advised when you feel like the progress becomes sluggish.

At least the last map (having the same name as the WAD) isn’t yet another shitty Icon of Sin debauchery of a map. It’s still rather nonsensically hard I’ll say. There are a few cows blocking your way to Romero’s Head. And these are blocked by around 40 other cows among other demons. I managed to beat this map on my second playthrough without cheating, by provoking the demons to fight, and after the numbers of their carcasses have stopped going up, I grabbed the Invun and rammed the cows protecting Romero with BFG. Somehow, it worked.

Hellcore has bugs, there is no doubt. It’s not really as buggy as I thought at first now that I think about it, but it still has a bunch of these.

I’ve already mentioned the invisible walls where the railings were supposed to be but there was also a moment in Circle of Trinity where the bars that will lower when you get close to them will not do it if you just immediately walk around them. The funniest part is that the bars are only here for decoration. It’s actually another invisible wall blocking your path.

I remember one funny moment during my first playthrough, where in Packaging/Shipping I was fighting a few Hell Knights, and one of those goatmen just noclipped through the floor, ending up stuck there. Making me unavailable to kill him.

The most severe bug that I’ve encountered when playing Hellcore was in Massacre, where I was supposed to take the teleporter back to the first area after grabbing the yellow key. But alas, the teleporter was broken since it wasn’t programmed where to land, making Massacre impossible to finish unless you noclip through the map back to the beginning of it.

Like I said at the beginning of the review, Hellcore is one big mess of a WAD. A warning to people who think about making 32 maps-long MegaWAD despite having next to no experience in Doom map making. With around 9 years long development, unfinished maps, burnout of the main mappers, a mixedbag of maps created from 1995 to 2004 slapped together with a dollar store glue, and glitches here and there, I’m still kind of surprised that it was released in a rather good state. Because, hey! It’s not really that awful, I’ve played WADs that gave me much less fun than Hellcore, and this WAD is actually playable (until MAP28).

Would I recommend this WAD, though? Honestly, I don’t really think so. The quality difference between many maps may be too much for you. There is, however, Hellcore 2.0, a 12-maps-long WAD that has revamped maps from the original MegaWAD with three new maps added to the roster. It even won a Cacoward from the 2006 edition. You should try that one. And I’ll review that WAD when its time will come.

Now let me tell you something before I’ll end this post. I want to give the Mordeth Award WADs a chance to win more. So the winners of this award will be marked as nominees (for the lack of better words) for the future Revenant Awards ceremonies (if they aren’t in the top ten already). I’ll probably do the same thing with other WADs that weren’t the Golden Ten. I don’t know if I’ll do the same thing with Mockaward winners at this point. I’ll have to think about it in the future.

But that’s all for today, folks. Next time we will be taking a look at the finale of the Doomworld Forums trilogy.

I’ll see you all then.

Happy 29 years of Doom!

#doom #Doom WAD #review #Doom 2 #doom mod #cacowards #mordeth award #hellcore #doom hellcore #2004 #doom 2004 #Doom WADs’ Roulette

1 note · View note

heatkerlon · 2 years

Text

Samorost 1 download

Well yeah, I did get that impression from reading what the crew has to say on a bunch of stuff on the forums, especially since that whole SAVE KQ9 thing, it's all gone to their heads. I once posted that I didnt like the shadows and flame effects and the entire thread was taken off and the forum threatened with a lawsuit. Add that with the fact that the teams more bored people surf the web for posts like this one and then try to shut down sites that even hint the game might stink. many TSL people were either fired or quit due to issues with the team. Just know there was an original kq9 project worked on called "It takes two to tangle" and. nothing was wrong with kq7!!! it was like kq4!! just new! I loved the art style in kq7 it was like vampyre story without being as dark!įor more facts based on this subject lemme know in pm. I have alot of info that I cant discuss or TSL might come here and tell telltale to shut down the forum. They literally raped stole and pillaged to get where they are, and are a bunch of kid jerks unlike telltales awesome crew.Īnyway its a personal inside view. Stay awaaaay from César Bittar and the TSL project. Without causing a massive war just know even Scott Murphy who was backing TSL is now. shrewd and dont care about anyone or anything but themselves. Sorry I have to say this right now but the TSL crew. As you switch between the databases to uncover new details, an extensive sci-fi story unfolds. As the plot develops, you acquire accompanying information by accessing eleven additional databases - for example a historical archive, military files or social backgrounds. The story of the boy Peter Devore, his incredible discovery and the mysterious portal are told by an AI named Homer, who reconstructs it piece by piece out of database fragments. Portal is a unique attempt of creating and adapting a novel specifically for the computer. The answer must lie deep in its database. Between the decaying remnants of civilization, you discover a terminal for Worldnet, the global network that recorded all human activities. Where are all the humans? Upon returning from your 100 year voyage in the milky way, you find earth empty and abandoned. One of my all time favorites is Portal from Acitvision on the Amiga, although not a typical point and click adventure. Generally if you don't have a nice local store you might want to buy new stuff via Amazon and old stuff via eBay. I don't have so much time to dig them all out now but here are two links which might help you: Only played the Runaways and well nothing to get excited about.Īnd and and.there are so many. I didn't like part one and never played part two but others say that Dreamfall is much better. The bigger the number the worse they got. Part 1 is one of the best adventures ever made! The others are good to okayish. TTG helped out on the concept of Ankh 1, right? If you buy Ankh then watch out for the gold version as this package contains both, Ankh 1 Special Edition and Ankh 2. O Ankh 1+2 (Ankh 1 is also available for osx and linux (ported by ), Ankh 2 will be ported too.)

#Samorost 1 download

1 note · View note

dude-trust-the-cloak · 3 years

Text

Earth is Space Australia: Biodiversity

This is my contribution to the whole thing. I was inspired by that biodiversity/dog one a while back, if this sounds familiar.

Xro’k closed the tab on their research screen, having just read the most recent contribution to the “Guidebook to Terran and Its Inhabitants,” which was the most prominent, intergalactic database dedicated to studying and archiving useful information about the ever-puzzling (and admittedly often terrifying) humans. The new document was a report by a still shocked researcher who had taken up permanent position in the human continent of “Europe.” Their designated human guide had introduced the Kardoe to the startling number of species of “dogs'' on Earth. This new information opened up a large curiosity about the biodiversity of creatures on different planets.

Xro’k, curiosity bubbling, turned to zeir human crewmate, “Adder,” the pilot of their ship, and a very nice human all things considered. “Human Adder, if I may ask, are there many species of other creatures on earth? I have just read about dogs, and it is quite fascinating.”

The human turned around to look at zem and nodded.

“Oh yeah, we’ve got a lot of different types and species of creatures on Earth. Like insects, there’s so many types that we have a hard time keeping track of them all.”

Can’t keep track of them all? Ze found that ridiculous. How hard was it to keep track of species, especially with the technological advances of this century? Xro’k clicked zeir mandibles in amusement, and closed zeir research screen completely, before turning back to Human Adder.

“Can’t keep track of them all? How many species are there, that humans can’t even document them all? It seems we have overestimated your kind my friend. What, are there two hundred species? Four hundred?”

Xro’k gave his best imitation of a human “laugh,” to let his crewmate know he was joking, but it seems that Human Adder did not grasp the fact that Xro’k was not serious, and inflating the numbers of probable species to appeal to the guidelines of humour. To-- as the humans said it-- “get a laugh.”

Human Adder offset their head and thought for a second. “Nah, I don’t think the number of species are around there. Hold on, let me look it up.” They pulled out what looked like a small, light grey rectangle with a seam or gap down the middle. Grasping each side and pulling caused them to separate, and a small, thin blue screen appeared between the thicker grey sides. Placing it on his lap, the pilot started to tap on the keyboard with their small paw-digits (apparently called “fingers,” what a odd name) and didn’t look back up at Xro’k.

Ah, human Adder must be looking into the human’s global database. When asked about the thing called the “internet” however, one of the other humans bared their teeth and let out what the human relations team had called a “laugh.” It was the human's way of showing amusement, apparently, though Xro’k never understood why a universal sign of aggression was used to convey a completely different emotion. Hm, ze would have to ask one of the humans on his team, maybe Adder or Kelsie.

But yes, human Mark had bared his teeth and laughed, and Xro’k had nervously clicked zirs mandibles, not understanding the comedy of the situation. But nevertheless, human Mark had “chuckled,” and shook his head.

“It’s not… not really a global database? I mean, I guess it is, you're technically right, but it’s a lot more. The internet’s a brutal place, it’s hard to be safe there if you don’t keep your wits about you.”

Xro’k had tilted zeir head, confused as to what human Mark was talking about. The “internet” was dangerous? Ze had never heard of a database that one had to survive before. Was it dangerous on purpose, to ensure only that humans who were smart and fit enough to use the information could access it? But human Mark continued, unaware of the confusion emanating from his crewmate.

“I mean, you can talk to people on it, some people post their own stuff, like videos and art and writing. A lot of companies sell stuff, you’ve got news reporters and journalists… There’s a lot of information and content on there, and a lot of users.” He scrunched up his already wrinkly face-- humans were so odd looking-- and seemed to take a moment to think. “You’d probably get Kelsie to explain it better, she was a computer science specialist. They know this stuff better than I ever could.”

Human Kelsie had told Xro’k that the internet was “a shit ton of interconnected computer networks,” and when ze still looked puzzled, she gave zem a large, in depth explanation. It was very enlightening, and next time Xro’k had a question about some puzzling human thing, ze went straight to human Kelsie first. Ze also had asked a better description for the internet then “global database,” but human Kelsie just shrugged. Perhaps “communal information hub” was better? Ze did not really know, and it seems the humans did not either.

“Aha!” Human Adder looked up and bared his teeth at Xro’k in a smile. “Yeah, you were wayy off,” they started to say, and Xro’k relaxed. Ze was joking, of course, about the “hundreds of species,” but it was nice to know that insects were not in numbers like the “dog breeds.” Terran’s biodiversity could be staggering and frightening sometimes. Human Adder continued.

“Apparently, we know about 900,000 different species of bugs right now, but there’s definitely more out there.

Xro’k was left speechless, their mandibles wide open in shock. Was human Adder joking perhaps? While Xro’k wasn't very competent in human humour, zir crewmate was not smiling or laughing. Just looking back down at their phone, presumably reading more about the insects of Terran. But to think that there were more than 900 thousand species of insects on the human’s planet… it was shocking. Ze had never seen that kind of biodiversity before, despite traveling all throughout the connecting galaxies. Xro’k would have to record this for zir’s superiors to look over and add to the growing database about humans. That is, if any of the board even believed zem in the first place.

“Human Adder, are you serious?” Adder looked up, surprised.

“Yeah, I’m dead serious, why?”

Xro’k found zemselves unable to answer. Dead serious… holy mother of a red giant.

“N-never mind human Adder, my apologies. T- thank you for the confirmation.”

Terran really was something different, wasn’t it.

#so I did a thing #sorry that this is so long #I haven’t been able to figure out how to expand posts yet #which I probably should do; in retrospect #earth is space australia #humans are weird #space australia #space??#I don’t know how to tag this T-T #writing #original writing

688 notes · View notes

shoichee · 4 years

Note

okok hc or fic: reader was teiko’s “head” manager(?) and her talent was being a medic (if someone gets injured they’re back on the court in under a minute type thing) and training plans. suddenly momoi’s talent blooms, she starts working w/ everyone in the team (+ reader’s crush akashi) and people think she’s a better manager than reader. because of this, she overworks + collapses in front of her best friends kuroko + kise (don’t let akashi know yet i have plans for that 👀)

HELLO? YES OFFICER? I JUST FOUND A BANGER REQUEST RIGHT HERE? YOUR BRAIN IS SO BIG AND SEXY IVE BEEN DYING TO WRITE THIS🏃🏻‍♀️💨 part 2 here and part 3 here AND update: part 4 here

Akashi x Reader

[Teiko!manager Headcanons]

you had a knack of being a natural chiropractor in loosening up tense muscles instantly (for more fluid play) or easily putting in back dislocated joints

basically you have crackhands

in your free time as a hobby and a job as the “head manager” (that Akashi announced to the team himself), you’d often bury yourself in anatomy studies and gym plans on the internet and databases to review over Akashi’s team training routines to see if they were effective and safe; oftentimes, you’d return back with improved plans, and as time went on, Akashi entrusted you with creating the plans yourself completely

you took on the job so eagerly to impress the Teiko captain, if you were being honest to yourself

your enthusiasm even inspires Momoi, Teiko’s other manager, to work harder

no one in Teiko knows physiology better than you, and as expected, it was also your best subject along with health

Kise often looks at you in horror and respect at how you don’t cringe/flinch at the loud cracks resonating across the room or court when players come to you for instant relief (the origin story of how he came to call you (y/n)-cchi was the very fact that you manage to put back his dislocated shoulder in 3 seconds flat one game)

when Kuroko first joined the 1st-string, he was a walking magnet for injuries, and you ended up being there for him every single time… nosebleeds? check. sprained ankle? check. nausea from over exhaustion? check.

both you and Kuroko relish in the fact that everyone in the team can never understand how the both of you do some incredible things with your hands

both of you being quite dexterous, you both often teach each other your specialties for fun; it’s almost shocking to see Kuroko effortlessly loosening up a stress knot and you pulling off a well-done palm pass

you admit, you do juggle a lot of responsibilities… from being a makeshift nurse, to a chiropractor, to a budget gym coach, and even to being moral support

Momoi often reminds you to take breaks being the caring person that she is

you often showed her the ropes and tricks of being a manager, on top of your duties, and you find it really endearing that she’s so earnest in learning from you

even if you enjoyed doing what you do, part of the massive workload is to try to get into Akashi’s good graces

talking to him about basketball duties is easier to achieve than talking to him outside of the extracurricular

you might be a tad bit insecure about it; after all, what middle schooler is already so accomplished in academics, sports, and everything you could think of? wasn’t he also studying to take over his father’s company??

to you, who only starred as Teiko’s humble manager, it felt hard trying to establish common ground for conversation outside of basketball

so you stuck to working hard at your position, hoping that your work ethic would get his attention one day; you were a firm believer of actions over words, so you hoped your actions would come off as genuine

picture you and Momoi running across campus with stacks of papers for the team… it makes most of the teammates’ hearts melt at the sight

your work certainly got you praises from other teammates, but out of all players, Kise was the one who figured out your motive

you felt absolutely morbid; to think that Kise, of all people, would figure you out like the back of his hand

Kise being sweet as he is, offers to help you get with the captain but you merely prompted to threaten to break his arm if he spilled your crush to anyone else

“(y/n)-cchi… I’ve been thinking.”

“Yes, Kise?”

“It’s really cool that you’re working so tirelessly for the team, but I can’t help but wonder if there’s a reason why you work so hard.”

“O-Of course I do! I want to see you guys all succeed!”

“Then I’m curious as to why you always look at Akashicchi—o-ow, ow, ow!! (y/n)-cchi, I’m sorry! So can you please let go of my—ow!”

“H-How did you know?!”

“I-It was as obvious as day, (y/n)-cchi! I’m pretty sure even Kurokocchi found out about this before I did!”

“N-No way!!”

“Tell you what, I’m super duper knowledgeable in this stuff! You can count on me for this sort of advice—OW!”

spoiler alert: Kise was right in that Kuroko definitely noticed your attraction to Akashi before anyone else… he just never brought it up to you

one day, Kuroko comes up to you to whisper:

“(y/n)-san, have you realized that Akashi-kun has been observing you recently during practice?”

“W-Wait! Is he looking over here right now?”

“Not that I think. He’s occupied with the coach right now.”

“D-Do you think this is a good sign?”

Kuroko gives you a small smile before he replies, “I would like to think so. Keep working hard, (y/n)-san.”

and you do, you’re constantly on top of your game for the next season until Momoi suddenly gets more recognition for her “precognitive defense” skills

her newfound talent was extraordinary and never-before-seen, and her ability became more critical to Teiko’s victories than your own skills

you were happy and proud for her, because after all, her achievements were extremely deserving to be praised

it’s only when some 1st-string players started making offhand comments about how you weren’t really needed in the 1st-string and was more suited to the lower strings that placed seeds of doubt into you

these people would often compare you to Momoi in how she improved much more despite you being in the team for longer

there’s also talk about how your skills are more useful for 2nd-string and 3rd-string players because Momoi’s ability is already sufficient enough for Teiko’s starters

after all, how would a player even be injured if they can predict their opponents’ moves to avoid such incidents?

there’s also the fact that Akashi has been calling Momoi more frequently to research on upcoming teams for analytical data because her talent has become very useful to ensuring victory

the same peers and adults who gave you praise were the same people who began to ignore you or dismiss you; that being said, the collective change in attitude is definitely subtle enough that it would fly under most people’s radars

Kuroko was the first to notice and defend you against a small group of players who were bold enough to badmouth you in the gym

Kise would find out a little later about the somewhat unpleasant gossip about you and would pull the “no you” reverse card, returning back with MEANER underhanded comments that would send these shit talkers CRYING HOME (manga Kise strikes here unexpectedly eh?)

Murasakibara is someone who would be slightly uncomfortable with the gossip about you, especially since you’ve always been so helpful and kind to the team and himself; he’d either leave the room himself or easily scare them away with his looming height and presence without saying a single word when he enters the room “minding his own business”

Midorima is a bystander judging from how he’s reacted to the Teiko dynamic changes in the actual show // he, of course, wouldn’t like the nasty talk about you but would actually mind his own business, choosing to focus on himself and what he has to do to contribute to his team; he assumes that you would work hard the same way he is and let your contributions do the talking

now Akashi surprisingly wouldn’t hear much of the gossip, since his presence alone SHUTS them up and commit to their practices like normal; after all, it’s very clear that Akashi doesn’t tolerate this type of behavior in the team (example: Haizaki), and it’s more apparent that he wouldn’t hesitate to drop kick them out especially since he has a soft spot for you (which Kise never fails to bring this up to you, but you think he’s reaching too much into it) // TLDR; the teammates mostly have the common sense to not utter anything bad about you… maybe one kid would slip out and get punished for “bad sportsmanship,” but Akashi merely assumes that it’s just one bad apple and not necessarily… the many others as well

Aomine???? bro he ain’t even at practice wdym (HELPPP LMAOO) // jokes aside, if he catches wind of players shit-talking outside of the gym… say at the convenience store or when he’s walking home or something, well… they wouldn’t have a good time…

Momoi simply chastises the gossipers when they try to talk shit on you to make Momoi herself look good, and it leaves? such? a? horrible? taste? like, she wants to believe that they’re just really poor jokes and not what they really believe in, and the teammates merely reassure her that they’re just bad jokes and that they “wouldn’t do it again;” poor Momoi wholeheartedly believes them

the weird talks about Momoi being “the better manager” just signalled to you that you haven’t contributed enough to the team yet, and it motivated you to work even harder

oddly, you weren’t jealous of the fact that Momoi was receiving more positive attention than you

you were more afraid of the fact that you were going to get left behind, and this fear only tightened its hold on you when more teammates (who used to talk to you a lot) have changed their tunes when they speak with you now, compared to them talking to Momoi

and you felt that the Generation of Miracles would do the same too… including Akashi

it wasn’t an irrational fear for you because he’s already been calling Momoi a lot more frequently for help than you recently

so you even offered to mop the gym floors after practice, offered to stay later than usual to be the one to lock up the gym for anyone (cough, Kuroko) who wanted to practice whenever they wanted

at one point, you even tried to do what Momoi does: researching on upcoming teams and making your own predictions (that didn’t really work, and that cost you a few nights’ worth of sleep every single time)

not to mention that you still had regular school like any other student? you were the epitome of a mess

Kuroko was with you in the empty gym, you putting away the extra basketballs in the storage closet while he practiced his dribbling, until he heard a crash in there and a few basketballs rolled out the door

you collapsed right when you rolled in the basketball cart

POOR KUROKO HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO // he just tries to give you a piggyback ride as he abandons his plans of practice and tries to jog to the nearest local clinic

that’s where he bumped into Kise, who was heading home after an evening shoot when he saw the two of you

chaos ensue as Kise freaks out and Kuroko had to calm him down himself after answering the never-ending questions

at least the doctor there gave relieving news that you only collapsed from over-exhaustion and that the bruises from the fall were very faint

Kise makes a joke to Kuroko about, “What’s with you and (y/n)-cchi falling to the floor and fainting? You guys can’t be that alike.”

when you shortly regain consciousness, you were met with a… very stern Kuroko and Kise, who were both ready to hear your explanation and to scold you to oblivion

to your surprise, they were understanding; Kuroko understands the feeling of not being enough and working hard to meet other people’s expectations, and Kise understands the struggle of juggling multiple things in his schedule (come on, student, athlete, and model?)

they still scolded your ears off:

“(y/n)-san, you idiot. Why didn’t you ask anyone to help out?”

“That’s…”

“(y/n)-cchi, do you think we’re undependable?!”

“Er, no, that’s…”

you were still dizzy from the fall and the lack of proper sleep (and maybe nutrition if we’re being honest), and you were just a ball of stress

you kind of begged your best friends not to tell a SOUL to anyone about this incident, especially to Akashi… you didn’t want to look even more incapable in his eyes than you already were

they do agree on one condition: for you to take AT LEAST a day or two off school to completely recover and rest up (you reluctantly agree; besides how were you going to explain the bruises that can’t be covered to your peers?)

HELP WHY ARE KISE AND KUROKO THE BEST LIARS TOGETHER ON CAMPUS LITERALLY NO ONE SUSPECTS A THING… except Akashi, the ever sharp captain, felt something was amiss

especially since some Teiko players emanated a feeling of relief at the news of you not being here that day, or the next

Akashi would play detective sleuth and find out what’s really going on sooner or later

End Note: gonna cut this off here b/c I KNOW this anon got a juicy part two i FEEL IT

442 notes · View notes

bonny-kookoo · 3 years

Text

Ready Player 01 | JJK x Reader | 🔞❤️☁️

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader

Genre: dystopia!AU, former Game developer!Jk, former pro gamer!JK, former IT specialist!Reader, former programmer!Reader, romance, Smut, slight cyberpunk elements

Warnings/tags: injustice, forcefully controlled public, violence (police/government officials against citizens), unfair powerplay, interrogation, tech talk, Jungkook be antisocial as FUCK but so is the reader lmao wbk, fear of physical contact (Haphephobia), past trauma and mentions of a bad childhood, insomnia, crime, smut because yes it’s me hello my content isn't kiddy-proof in the first place what yall want from me I'm not sure, but that’s waaY at the end ya know, friends to lovers, a slightly sassy AI but we love her, reader struggles with emotions, I mean same tbh, they're both so sweet tho I cant, not proofread because let me live

Summary: there’s a war going on; silent, but it’s there. Media has been strictly become controlled and regulated- to the point of making it illegal to own a TV or phone with internet access without a valid license. But there’s always some people that will try to break free from the controlling force.

"-a new age. This is a new year. And remember; we're doing this for the greater good. Until tomorrow." The news reporter stops talking after she somberly looks somewhere behind the camera that is pointed at her.

Your room is dark- the TV brightness on it's lowest setting so you can see what's going on- but outside, no one can see the light shining in your tiny apartment. Investing in blackout curtains had really paid off at the end of the day.

You don't want to get caught.

There's an announcement van driving past your window; the tiny slits in your curtains where the light from outside can creep its way inside brightening a bit as the headlights pass your windows. Something is spoken, and by now everyone knows the routine speech.

"Electricity will be shut down in five minutes. We advice to save all progress immediately- and we wish a good nights rest. Electricity will be shut down in five minutes..-" It repeats, over and over, counting down the minutes. You slowly move into your kitchen, opening one of the loose floor tiles to turn on your own emergency electricity system. With well practiced movements you close the tile again, moving the rug over it as you walk back into your living room, swiftly sliding the TV behind your wardrobe to make it disappear. As if on cue; there's a knock at your door.

The same as always. Routine. Two times, loud and clear. You don't even have to look through the peephole to know what awaits behind it.

"Yes?" You ask, rubbing your eyes as if you had been already asleep. The officer behind the door nods at you shortly, a mild smile on his face as he looks down at you.

"We didn't mean to wake you miss. Just routine, as usual." He says, peeking into your apartment to look for any electronics still running. It's pitch black however- so he simply nods, as his colleague notes something into his tablet. "We wish a good nights rest miss. Again, sorry for intruding." He apologizes, and you nod, closing the door.

Only when the street lights turn dark, do you move from your bed.

"Creator." The AI voice chimes up, her voice greeting you as as you lift the tile on the floor again- your phone connecting to the AI to show information you instantly decode and note down inside your head. "Player01 has just connected." The voice states, and you sit down on your cold kitchen flooring, smiling a little. "He has sent a message. Would you like me to play it?" The voice asks, and you take a deep breath.

"Yes." You say, and there's a small sound indicating the start of the voice message. A male voice is head.

"Hey, whats up?" He asks, and you can hear something in the background- maybe an empty can or something similar. "I uh.. I'm on my way. Should I bring anything? Ah wait, I know the answer to that.." He says, chuckling at the end of his sentence, and you can hear him zip up his jacket as he moves around. "Yeah uh.. just text or something, I'll bring stuff over. Can't have you starve." He ends, and the AI speaks up again.

"Would you like to repeat the message?" She asks, and you shake your head at her; a signal the artificial intelligence has come to detect quite well. "Should I archive it?" She questions again, and this time, you nod- something your invisible assistant can pick up due to motion sensoring.

"Send him a message." You say. "Tell him: I only need you. Get yourself here in one piece and I'm happy. And I'm very capable of taking care of myself." You state, and your phone shows a small loading message- indicating that the voice is doing as you said. It chimes up after a moment. "Thanks Kana." You say.

"No problem creator. Would you like for me to run through the databases now?" She asks, and you nod, a smile on your face. "Database search in progress. Estimated time: sixteen minutes and eighteen seconds." You huff out a breath as you look at the tiny display on your arm; tiny, yet powerful as it's your way of keeping Kana- your AI assistent- close at all times. Tonight, there would seem to be a lot to dig through.

They really added a lot of content these days.

It's not the door that makes you notice that there's a visitor after a while- He never uses it anyways for some reason. You're sitting on your kitchen floor with a small cup of tea in your hands- kept hot inside a slightly beaten-looking thermos can since you can't use to water boiler at night. Using anything other than Kana would cause a spike the police would be sure to notice; and you're not ready to get caught yet.

Not tonight.

It's a boy who, after a moment, opens the unclosed kitchen window to climb in; his combat boots getting a little snow and dirt from the outside into your apartment as his 80's looking jacket makes distinctive noises as it brushes against the sides of your window. His blonde hair has grown out a bit these days you notice- the roots clearly showing. It's a little wet and slightly curly from the moisture. It must be snowing outside- or maybe it had. You couldn't know for sure.

You never left your apartment.

He closes the window after slipping on the tiles inside a little, the plastic bags noisy as he almost drops them- sheepishly taking off his boots as he smiles at you. His socks are different from one another- but that's another thing so distinctive and just so.. him. He's his own person, always has been; it's what brought you two together, after all. You both stood out against the 'regular public' these days; with his brightly almost white-bleached hair he was like an albino in a sea of crows.

But you knew he didn't need that to stand out to you.

You can still remember the first few times the boy in front of you has visited you; the times where he had just dyed his hair to rebel out, or when he pierced your ears in exchange for you to do it to him as well. It was like you had made a blood pact in your kitchen that night- you had somehow gotten closer, formed a little more than just a simple companionship in order to riot against the law. He began growing close. Gave you a nickname. Began calling you his player 2. Began calling you his 'ace'. He had explained that he thought of it from memories of his gaming days; the two fighting teams always called red and blue, and one of his favorite weapons having that nickname- simply because it always 'saved his ass last minute'. He had rambled on about his last tournament after that, eyes sparkling and cheeks round from cold noodles.

You had become friends.

"hey." He says after sitting close across from you on the cold floor; the opened tile and Kana's core exposed to you two, the only source of light apart from your bracelet. The colorful LED's paint marks on his face and illuminate his features to you; but it does the same to you from his point of view. It's a familiar sight. "How are you?" He asks, almost shyly, but you know that's not what's bothering him.

"Hey Jungkook." You simply say with the hint of a smile, as you answer him. "Haven't slept well these days but, what's new I guess." You chuckle, and Jungkook smiles too- though a glimpse of concern is still shown your way. He knows however that forcing you to sleep won't do much good- your insomnia was too bad to really conquer it in a day or two just by taking naps.

And also; who was he to talk about solving personal issues.

"Have you seen the most recent reports?" You ask him, and the boy somberly shakes his head.

"I was unable to." He states. "They were patrolling close to my apartment complex because there had been someone reporting a Glitcher today." A 'glitcher'- a slang word now commonly used for people like Jungkook and you. People who went against the nightly routines, people who tried to trick the system by using electricity at night, owning media, consuming it, or dealing with it. It somehow became worse than underground drugs. "They pulled him out at around twelve or so- but they seemed too on edge the entire day, so I didn't risk it." He says, and you nod. Jungkook had always been a very good person when it came to calculating risk versus reward. He was good at reading people too- even though he didn't interact much, he got out of his apartment a lot more than you did. "Anything important?" He asks, and you shrug.

"There was a report that China and Japan were still on edge- with the chinese government arguing that they would soon start with 'more drastic measures to get things under proper control', whatever that means." You say, and Jungkooks brows furrow as he starts to pick on the skin of his jaw. "Let's just hope the flood doesn't throw us under the sea as well if it escalates I guess.." You say, and the boy across from you nods.

"Creator." Kana's voice chimes up, making Jungkook look up before remembering that the only source would be your bracelet, which you look at as well. "My scan of your body shows that you have not consumed a sufficient amount of calories today. I recommend a meal in the next five to eight minutes to avoid malnutrition." She says, and you groan. "I take this as a form of verbal communication. Running data search..." She says, as Jungkook looks at you; thoroughly amused by the teasing banter between the AI and his friend. "My data search concludes that you are annoyed, creator. I have only stated a fact however-" She continues, and Jungkook steps in.

"I've brought some leftovers from my dinner today we can eat." He says, pulling out some plastic containers as he moves to get proper cutlery out of your drawers. He makes sure to push them towards you, making sure to nod with a smile as you nod and thank him a little embarrassed. "It's nothing. You know I love you too much to let you starve!" He states with a grin, bunny teeth on full display as bitterness creeps up your throat- something you make sure to swallow down before beginning to eat.

Because the kind of love he's talking about right now, is not the kind of love you want him to feel for you.

"You forgot to give it a proper validation there-" He points out as you type away. "Otherwise it will just run instantly, and everything at once. That could crash older systems, and we know that V95 uses an older laptop, so we should take that into account." He says, and you nod, clicking back to the spot Jungkook is talking about.

This is what you're both good for.

Writing code for you had always been something you did with a passion- simply because you were good at it. Numbers and short phrases were something you could remember with ease; but you never had to think much about the visual aspect of programs in your department back when you were able to work for a simple programming company. You had simply always been tasked to program security systems and automatically updating firmware, or simple AI's for factory robots. Jungkook however had been all about the visuals; he had been programming games after all. That's why you two fit so well together in this scene. Whenever he would be in complete awe of the broad knowledge you had about official guidelines and security breaches, of staying undetected and unseen while still gaining as much as possible from every single line of code, he could always throw in his input to make sure the program you were both writing and updating for the glitch community was easy to use and simple enough so it could run smoothly on as many systems as possible. Be it phone, laptops, PC's- you two made it possible.

This program was connecting Glitchers all over the globe- and with yours and Jungkooks knowledge, you made it almost invisible. And even if it was somehow detected; there was no possible way to track down any of it's users.

The fact that you had to hide a simple program from the government made you sigh.

"Okay. Yeah I think that fixed the bug." He says, and looks at your arm- at Kana. "Oh, by the way, Kana?" he asks, and the chime gives him the cue to talk. "I heard you had a bug-fix too recently." He says, and the AI chimes again.

"I did, Player01." The AI answers. "The addition of code to my current program has proven to significantly increase my ability to observe and save more data." The female voice answers, and Jungkook grins. "You are happy, Player01." She states, and he nods.

"I am." He says.

"Why is that?" The AI asks, and Jungkook shrugs.

"I'm just happy you're doing well. Someone has to take care of ace when I'm not close by, yeah?" He states, and you try not to react to it. Jungkook is by now used to your more stoic expression; you're not too emotional and barely let things get under your skin. You've been hurt before, he knows this even if you never told him- he can see it in the way you hide inside the safety of your home, how you're so cold on the outside but still clinging onto him. Sometimes he wishes he could touch you; run his hand over your head to ruffle your hair like in those cheesy movies, hold your hand, or simply give you some reassurance in the form of a gentle hand on your back whenever you struggle.

But he's got his own demons, and they love clinging onto him just as much.

"V95 has connected to voice chat. Would you like to talk to him?" Kana states, ripping him out of his thoughts as he watches you nod.

"JK? Y/N?" A deep voice asks.

"We're here. Heard there was a raid close to you?" Jungkook asks, and he can see you grow a bit more serious at that. "Are you okay?" He adds, and V answers, although quite.. tired?

"I'm good. They got Jimin though." He states, and you sigh, running a hand through your hair as you stand up, frustrated. Jungkook knows you're trying to calm down by pacing. He doesn't mind. "They didn't officially arrest him, took him for 'questioning' though. We know what that's about." He states somberly, and Jungkook takes a deep breath.

"Jimin is a master manipulator V. He'll get himself out of it, I'm sure." Jungkook tries to reassure, but it doesn't gain him much than a hum from Taehyung on the other end of the line. "What about Sleeper?" He asks, and a chuckle is heard.

"He's been checking the videofeed from inside the past few nights. He said he's send some of the big bites to Ace though?" He says, and Jungkook looks over at your form.

"Yeah I've seen it." You simply say, though Jungkook grows uncomfortable with the way you're suddenly standing there. You're a little hunched, biting the skin on your thumb as you look at the tiles as if they suddenly began to move. He knows himself that things inside the 'rehabilitation centers' weren't all that nice to see- but you rarely ever displayed so much distress over it. "Let's just hope Jimin get's his ass out of this situation. We can't afford to loose him." You say, and V stays silent before he sighs.

"Yeah. I tell sleeper you've seen the stuff. Oh, and our prince charming has asked for a date with Ace. Again." Taehyung chuckles, and you groan- while Jungkook can't help but clench his jaw. Kim Seokjin was a very good asset to the team; with connections reaching deep inside the government and his position as a former lawyer- but he still hated his guts.

You didn't need to waste your time dating. You were totally capable of taking care of yourself, you had even said it personally! And for anything else Jungkook would provide for you. You didn't need anyone else than him.

He was totally not jealous of him.

"Can he not use our underground connections for that circus?" You say. "I don't even go grocery shopping, why would I want to go on a fucking date?" You mumble, sitting down next to Jungkook as you take a spoonful of rice. Jungkook feels a weird sense of satisfaction about the situation.

"Who knows." Taehyung says. "Alright, 10 Minute mark- I'll hear from you two soon. Take care." He says, and you both say your goodbyes before the line goes silent.

Although Jungkook hates physical contact, he likes keeping you close.

His heart is melting like chocolate as he notes the way your hand grips his jacket tightly as the two of you walk through town to get your license renewed- a way of holding onto him, and he somehow wishes it could be his hand. He knows yours would fit so perfectly in his, and yet he can't bring himself to do it.

His body is not cooperating.

He remembers vividly how his fear had developed; with his father and mother both being dramatically overworked and overwhelmed with having a kid at a young age, they had no idea how to make a child behave. Every second touch would bruise, every time he had been held would be force.

And at some point, he started to dislike physical touch completely.

It had just been like his growing interest in freelance climbing- the way he would walk and jump high over the heads of unsuspecting people, away from all judgemental gazes they'd throw his way for behaving the way he did. Only when the wind could hit him freely, only when he couldn't make out faces of anyone down below, only when he was high up- that was when he felt safe. The ground below had nothing of interest for him, no point in going down, as his apartment was located on the top floor of the complex. Jungkook never took the elevator, always the stairs.

He liked being reminded how high he lived.

And yet, there's one thing that pulls him down, brings his feet to the earth below, calls him like a siren song. It's you, hidden away from everyone's sight inside your tiny home, just as troubled and judged as himself.

He'd fallen in love with you the second you told him his name.

It had been a rainy night, his clothes drying on your heater as he was wrapped in two of your blankets; the smell of your fabric softener and something so typically you surrounding him like a mother's hug would a child. It had given him a feeling of comfort he had never quite experienced before, and it had also been the first time he had imagined what it would be like to hug you.

To have you close.

He had explained to you why he had freaked out when you reached for his arm to steady him when he almost fell inside your apartment through your window; had apologized and bowed his head in shame until you had simply shrugged.

"You don't have to justify yourself to anyone, Jungkookie." You had said. Jungkookie. "You're you. And I like you." You had said, not looking at him as you typed in some code to Kana's internal system.

His heart had warmed up at that.

And while you had accepted him, he had accepted you just as much. While at first caught off guard by your quiet and sometimes harsh way of treating him, he had also gotten to know just how gentle and delicately you treated the ones you loved. You were a loyal person, always going out of your way to be helpful, and silently basking in praise any time it was directed at you.

He loved that view. The way your cheeks would grow warm, how your eyes would sparkle; and he loved most of all, that he had been, according to Taehyung who was the second closest to you, the only one to see you smile.

You even laughed with him.

It filled him with pride to know that you were able to let go around him, even if it was just a little. It made him feel like he did something huge. It helped him sleep at night knowing that you were trusting him enough to let down your guard a little.

And it hurt him even worse knowing that he couldn't do the same thing for you.

He was a coward-

and you deserved a hero.

"Ace?" He asked, slipping through your window as he noticed the apartment silent and dark. Nothing greeted him. "..Ace?" He tried again, maybe you were asleep? But your apartment was quiet, empty, nothing spoke of your presence. Dishes were in the sink, a cup of water left untouched on the counter, and something inside of him churned painfully at the way this looked. He checked the kitchen tile, sliding it to the side like he's seen you do it countless of times.

It was dark.

Instead, he was greeted by a post it note. "Underneath the bed. Take care." Was all it read. He stood up, pushing your bed away from the wall noticing how your carpet had been torn a little. And as he lifted the cut flap of carpet, there was an envelope.

Your watch. A small in-ear piece, and your old IT-identification, folded.

A noise outside your hallway made his head snap up as he pushed the bed back into place, making an escape for it as he climbed outside the window, watch safely inside his jacket as he climbed back up on top of a building, before he examined it further, turning it on, after putting the earpiece in.

"Hello, Jungkook." Kana greeted him, and it felt weird to hear the AI say his name like that. "Creator has advised me to answer all questions you might have, and assist you from here on." She said, and Jungkook simply put the watch on, making his way to his own apartment.

"What happened?" He asked, his face serious as he walked.

"At around 6:12 O'clock, creator was taken into further questioning regarding illegal possession and knowledge of classified information and technological equipment. She had shown no resistance and complied with authorities. My observations however showed that she was taken with more force than necessary." Kana explained. Jungkook shook his head. "She had prepared for this instance during the night, approximately twenty-six minutes after you had left."

"She knew?!" He suddenly said, shutting his apartment door violently as he started to pace around, throwing his jacket on the couch. "Why didn't she contact me?"

"Analysis; your body shows signs of-" Kana started, but Jungkook interrupted.

"Shut up. Why didn't she tell me?" He asks again, and Kana seems to hesitate for a moment.

"Considering her close relationship to you, she probably wanted to not get you involved." She stated, and Jungkook sighed, sitting down on his couch as he gripped his hair. He should've stayed. Hell, it wasn't the first time he wanted to stay. He had dreamed of staying over, of fucking living with you for months to no end by now, but he was a coward. And this was his paycheck.

"Kana." He said lowly, and the small tune gave him the cue to talk. "Contact V95. Tell him it's urgent. We got an emergency." He says.

"I can't watch this." He says, jumping up and holding onto his head as to not punch his wall, unable to go through the videofeed of your interrogation room.

There's not much to see, but Jungkook knows that's simply because they haven't had the time to see to you yet. You and him knew best what really happened in these rooms, and he hated knowing that deep down they wouldn't go easy on you simply because you were a young woman. It didn't matter to them.

He'd seen teenagers way younger than you and him getting the rough treatment before- and elderly didn't get spared either.

The government bragged about having everything in order; yet they couldn't even control their own law enforcement it seemed. When he really thought back on his history lessons in school, not much had changed at all.

The world was still in utter chaos.

His palm shuts his laptop harshly- earning a tiny chime from the AI he’s already forgotten shares his home with him now. “I suggest that you practice care in treating your electronics to-“ he groans, successfully shutting it off at that. “Why are you frustrated?” It- she? Asks, and he sits down.

“I don’t know how to help her.” He admits in shame, thinking back to the footage of your hidden camera; the way they had pushed you to the ground, before grabbing you, leading you out of your apartment a few minutes away from him. “I don’t know what I should do.” He says.

There’s a bit of silence, until the AI speaks up again. “Do you have a romantic interest in my creator?” She asks, and his head snaps up at that.

“What the fuck? Why would you ask me this?!” He barks, unsure where to look since he can only hear the voice.

“I have observed both my creator and your behaviors; you seem to have a very deep rooted interest in each others well-being and opinions. This is commonly found in partnerships. I was only asking you to confirm if my assumption is correct.”

He’s silent for a moment, until he speaks again, watching the announcement van pass his window; voices dull and unintelligible though the walls and windows. “It’s no use anyways. Who wants someone they can’t even shake hands with?” He sighs, looking into his lap again. He hates that he’s like this; that even though he very much loves and adores you, there’s no magic moment that makes him forget- even though he craves the contact, he can’t do it. Every time he’s close to you, he knows that he could simply hug you; or let you rest your head on his shoulder, like in romantic movies. He wants to hold your hand, wipe your tears- but his body won’t cooperate. He can’t do it.

Not even with you.

“Creator seems very comfortable with you.” The AI states. “I have been asked to archive all text messages and phone calls of you two recently. When I asked for a reason, she claimed she would need it someday- I was unsure what she meant.” Jungkook furrows his brow, raising his head again. “Sometimes, when creator is deeply upset, she has the habit of playing some of the recordings of you singing, or reminding her to take care. My research has shown that it slows down her heartbeat to a more normal level and also improves her insomnia.” Jungkooks eyes widen at that.

Does that mean.. that you like him back?

"Kana, fuck- cut the feed." He says, agitated.

"Are you sure?" She asks, and he sighs, before yelling his frustration out, sitting down to take a deep breath. He slowly shook his head no. He couldn't let all your hard work go to waste like this.

He couldn't stay a coward.

"Jungkook, it appears to be that the creator is being let go." Kana suddenly chimes up, and Jungkook rushes to his pc setup to see for himself. And she's right- your arm is being held tightly, and something is being said to you, but your hands are no longer chained to the chair- you're free.

What just happened?

Jungkook sometimes really hates himself for being the way he is.

There's no sugarcoating it that you need comfort now more than ever, even though you don't openly show it to him. He can see it in the way you're still biting your nails, he can see it in your eyes which never stay on one point for too long. And he can definitely see it in the bruises on your upper arm, and the cut on your lower lip where you had bitten in anger and frustration. He wants to comfort you, he knows you'd let him- and yet he can't move any closer than where he is right now; only the length of his palm of space between you two. And yet it's like his joints are locked into place. He can't touch you.

What if he hurts you?

And it dawns on him right then and there while he watches you drink your can of overly sweet soda while typing your code like second nature, that he's not scared of you hurting him. He's scared of doing to you, what's been done to him. Because deep down he is aware that his parents never had bad intentions, never hated him or wanted him to suffer; they were simply unsure and not at all confident in how to really care for a child. They had been caught off guard and gotten overwhelmed by the sudden shift in their situation that they never truly knew what to do. And nowadays he felt like he was simply heading down the same road.

He was starting to feel like he was becoming just like them.

"Hm?" You ask him, ripping him out of his thoughts as he looks at you, your eyes wide and worried as you put down your almost empty can of soda. "What is it?" You ask him, and he wants to scream. He wants to throw a fit like a child at the way you seem to worry for him every time you should worry for yourself. He's a coward, he's useless, he's everything you don't need nor deserve in his eyes, and yet you always look at him like he's the main character of your favorite movie.

If he was, he was sure he'd be merely a sidekick- because you deserved to be the focus of every story told in his eyes. And if you weren't included in the tale, he knew he didn't want to ever know about it.

He swallows, before he manages to make his hand move, finger pointing at your arm where a green-ish bruise already formed. "Does it hurt?" He asks, and he's not even sure if he's asking you about the bruise, of if he's asking something else. He doesn't know what he's saying, doesn't even know if he's asking you or himself.

"No." You answer, and he looks at you, searching for any hint of a lie in your eyes. But he only sees that slight smile, lips turned a little, almost unnoticeable. But its there, he can see it, and he wants to print it into his mind to never forget it. You were so observant, knew him so well, that he was almost certain you knew of his inner fight and what he really meant with his blurted out question. "Are you okay?" You ask him, and he swallows again, eyes stinging with unshed tears as his body grows rigid like an unoiled machine, only moving with as much force as he can manage to come up with. His breathing is heavy as his eyes can't leave the spot on your arm, and your watch him with wide eyes as his shaking hand slowly reaches out.

He doesn't know what he expects to really happen.

Maybe like those electric shocks you get when someone had rubbed their socks on a carpet before touching someone else. Maybe he had expected to recoil instantly. Maybe he had expected nothing- but he was suddenly in a rush the moment his fingertip touched your warm skin, delicate, soft, everything his rough hands weren't.

And you were still as prey in front of a wolf.

But the wolf in this scenario was holding his breath while his tears finally fell. He wants to speak, but he can't, he doesn't know how to ask for something when he doesn't even know if he wants it.

But suddenly he moves again, his palm now resting fully against your upper arm, shaking, as it moves over the length of it, softly, as he imprints the way your soft skin feels. "Jungkook.." You whisper out, and he suddenly snaps, leans forward, his legs on either side of your body as he snakes his arms around you from behind, pulling you close to his chest. You can feel him shake as he holds you, his cheek resting against your back and you don't care about his tears staining your shirt as he suddenly cries openly and possibly for the first time since he was a mere child.

He's unsure, overwhelmed, because you're so warm, you smell so nice, you're so soft, and he can't let go, doesn't want to let go. He whines out as you turn a bit as he thinks you're moving away but you're simply placing your legs over his as you sit in his lap, hugging him back as you make sure to give him a gentle squeeze.

He calms down after a long while of simply existing. Of breathing you in, of feeling you. "You're right." He whispers into your neck, and you can't help but shiver, leaning into his hug.

"It doesn't hurt at all."

"You know, I get why you come up here." You comment, as Jungkook makes sure to hold your hand tightly in his, your feet dangling off the edge of the building you're sitting on top of. "It's nice." You say.

He's not listening that well though.

All he can really do is watch your face, illuminated by the neon lights of the city, hair swaying in the wind as you look down below. He doesn't quite know what you two really are, doesn't know how long it will take him to really come out of his shell and give you the love you deserve, but he's trying. He's fighting, he's left his cowardly self behind.

He want's to change.

And not just for you alone, because while he hates seeing you hurt, he knows what you two are doing- what all of you are doing- is for the greater good.

Jungkook hates your ideas sometimes.

Simply because he knows they will work, but also end up with you getting into danger at the end of it. And just like now, all he can do really is hope that you make it out as he keeps a watchful eye on your movements from above, giving you directions via Kana as you sometimes trip and stumble a little.

You're not a very active person; running wasn't really your thing.

Fuck, you were basically a hermit, the most you walked around was from your bedroom into the kitchen!

But then again, sacrifices had to be made somewhere. And Jungkook really admired you; because every time he thought that you had reached your limit, you would face it head first and break through it.

"Ace, try and somehow get to higher ground. They're caging you in from all sides." He urgently tells you as he watches police chase you down the roads, pushing citizens aside to not loose sight of you.

The plan had been simple. Gain all the attention so Taehyung could infect one of the police station's servers with a new worm, giving you all a better and easier access to any data and communication of the area. Jungkook couldn't play the bate well enough; and you had been on their radar already, making you the best option to gain their interest quickly enough.

Although Jungkook hated that part.

"Come on, ah fuck it." He grits out, jumping down to grab a ladder, making his way to a nearby area he could pull you up. There was no way you could reach any of the fire ladders yourself, and by now, things were getting too hot for him to risk anything. "Here!" He barks out, not thinking twice about grabbing your hand and helping you upwards, trying not to worry too much about your heavy breathing. And then there's it.

A pop, loud, followed by another, and another, and another. You're suddenly falling, scraping your knees on the ground below as he can't catch you, too startled by the fact that they had actually decided to shoot to react quick enough. "Fuck!" He says, eyes wide and pupils blown as he looks at you.

"Jungkook, why the fuck aren't you running?!" You yell at him, a scratch on the top of your left cheek as you push his leg away from you- the only thing you can reach. "Go!" You bark again, and he growls out something, before he manages to pull you onto his back, adrenaline not letting his brain process what he's doing.

He can't just leave you.

"Taehyung, get out, Ace has been shot. Whatever was uploaded has to be enough." He says via the in-ear piece, doesn't wait for a response. He still gets it.

"Fuck, what?! Okay okay, I'm out" He says, and Jungkook can only catch a glimpse of the older man leaving the building via the backside entrance. He's only concerned with getting you somewhere safe.

"Urgh." You groan, slowly sitting up on Jungkooks couch. "I mean, I know paintball hurts, but rubber bullets? Jesus.." You complain, while Jungkook looks at you with a dark expression. "What?" You ask him, and he huffs.

"You sound like you haven't almost been killed yesterday." He grimly says, and you shrug. "Stop. I'm serious." He tells you, and you let yourself fall back down onto his couch.

"Whatever. At least we killed their communication." You say, closing your eyes. "Must've at least pissed them off." You say.

"Kana." Jungkook suddenly says, waiting for the familiar sound to tell him she's active. "Shut down for now." He says, and you sit up, hissing instantly at the sudden movement.

"Hey- ah fuck!" You say, as you watch on your bracelet how Kana complies; shutting down. "Why would you do that?" You say in an offended matter, before you grow quiet, watching him go onto his knees in front of you, as he lets his head rest on top of your lap.

"I just want.. you to myself. Just.." He mumbles, and you slowly bring your hand to his hair. "Just for a moment." He says, and you sigh. Jungkook had been under a lot of stress recently, you no doubt being the main cause of most of it recently. So you simply let him be, as he closed his eyes. "Y/N?" He asks suddenly, and you answer him. "I love you." He says, and your body stops moving.

What?

"It's okay if you don't." He says, not moving from his spot, and neither opening his eyes. "I mean it. I only want you to know." He explains further. "Because I.. couldn't fucking live with myself if something happened to you, and I've never told you." He admits, and you can't help but stare at him. Jungkook looked down on himself so much that it was sometimes frustrating to see; simply because you saw him as such an amazing human being with countless talents and beautiful flaws.

You knew you couldn't muster up the strength to actually answer him; not so spontaneously. You weren't that expressive, you couldn't communicate as freely and colorful as he could. All your words seemed black and white to you, mixing into grey and mundane sentences while his words seemed to bloom into the most amazing paintings. He had a way of charming those around him- and he didn't even know.

You slowly leaned down instead, moving his hair to the side as you placed a feather-light kiss to the top of his cheek, close to his eye.

You hoped he would somehow understand you.

And as he moved again, looking at you with eyes that sparkled brighter than any city's skyline ever could, you knew he did.

He'd always understand you, no matter how you communicated with him.

You didn't need words to understand each other.

The shy kiss you two shared, bathed in the purple glow of the neon lights outside his window, spoke enough.

"You should try and sleep." Jungkook tells you, taking away your can of soda as you whine at him. "No buts. Come on, I'll finish this for you." He says, and you let him take over the keyboard of your laptop. It's something you really only let him get away with- anyone else would've probably lost a finger or two trying to touch your work.

You don't trust anyone but him at this point.

"I know that Kana snitched." You comment, as you lean your back against his shoulder. He chuckles. "Can't believe my own creation goes behind my back like that." You mumble, and Jungkook has a light tune to his voice as he speaks.

"Well, it's a good thing though." He tells you. "I worry about you." He says.

"Ugh come on, you know that's not the part I meant." You laugh, and he grins.

"Oh, you mean the part where you listen to my crappy ass singing to help you sleep?" He tells you with a teasing undertone. "No wonder you got insomnia trying to find rest to that." He chuckles, and you playfully hit his thigh.

"Shut up, your voice is nice." You say, and he's glad your eyes are closed, and you can't see him blush.

Somehow, moments like these re-energized him again. Because it proved to him that there was still a piece of that innocent and untainted you inside that thick shell you had put up to protect yourself. And considering that you let him see you like that made his pride grow taller than any of the skyscrapers of his city.

Maybe one day the two of you will have a future together that won't be so difficult and unfair like your current one was. Maybe one day, you both will have changed enough to teach the next generation about what you've overcome.

But then again; living in the moment seemed to fit a lot better in his eyes, as he watched you sleep soundly against his shoulder.

Yeah, this moment was more than enough for now.

The world won't change over night- you both know that. All of you know that. But small things were starting to make a difference here and there; for example, the letter you held towards Jungkook as his eyes widened.

"..and we have officially decided that we no longer want to participate in the case against the defendant. The result of this agreement is that all charges against Y/N L/N have been dismissed and are no longer being investigated." He reads out loud, almost whispering as if saying it too loud could make it a lie. "They let you go?" He asks, and you nod, the small bandaid on your cheek making you look even cuter in his eyes as you shrug.

"Jimin had reached out too. They've let him go home as well." You say. and Jungkook huffs out in disbelief.

After infecting the police station with the worm you had all worked on, you had scared the entire country enough to take a step back from the overall aggressive tone. It wasn't much- but it meant that they knew you were there. You existed, and you were not bowing down.

You were still untamed.

Jungkook smiled brightly as he put the letter down to the side, reaching out to you to pull you onto his lap. He simply holds you for a moment, his lips kissing the skin of your shoulder as if in a trance. "I love you." He tells you, and you smile, squeezing him a bit in your arms. "I really do." He assures you, and you nod.

You don't answer him, and he doesn't seem to mind as he leans back from you, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he grins, hands holding your face so delicately as he places a kiss onto your lips, making you close your eyes as he breaks away from you, letting you rest your head against his shoulder.

He's still not letting anyone very physically close other than you; he's still scared of going out and around like everyone else. You're still rather hiding inside his apartment- both of your apartment now- and you still have trouble sleeping.

But Jungkook keeps the nightmares away.

And you make him brave in exchange.

It's really weird to hear the sound of a radio nowadays.

Things are still far from normal- but recently, citizens had been given radios to listen to public broadcast again. It only played crappy music with some rare good tracks here and there, but it was better than nothing.

Jungkook couldn't help but think that your breathless voice was far more entertaining than any music station he can remember from his youth.

While he hates touching other people, even friends and family, he can't help but feel a rush whenever he touches you.

His hands can't stop on one specific spot, can't seem to stay still even for a moment as his lips nip and suck at the flesh of your neck and shoulder, marking what's his, visualizing that you really belong to him. He bears the same mark on his collarbone from last night, and he should have been satisfied, but even an early morning couldn't keep him away from you.

The rain hit the window harshly, but he didn't notice at all. All his eyes could see was your form underneath him, skin glowing as he moves above you, euphoria filling his veins as he can't look away from where you're connected, where his cock disappears inside of you over and over and over again.

"I love you." He breathes out as he comes undone, holding you close, resting his head against your shoulder, as you hold onto his arms, a smile, a genuine and big smile thrown his way as he can't help but smile along.

"I love you too, Jungkook." You say, and he chuckles.

The radio in the background still playing, as you lay in each others' arms.

(c)Bonny-Kookoo. Please stop reposting my content on AO3 thinking I won't find it. I'm literally everywhere you clowns.

To everyone else: Thank you for reading this mess- I really apologize for the messy storyline, but I just wanted to put this out before the entire thing escaped me again and I would end up struggling to find my way back into it (cough cough flashback to mean lmao). I promise to somewhat post more regularly. Thank you for your kind words and for sticking with me!

#bts imagine #bts #bts fanfic #jungkook imagine #bts fic #bts smut #bts jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook #bts reactions

182 notes · View notes