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shihalyfie · 4 years

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“The 02 characters didn’t get any character development”

Yes, they did.

“But -- “

Yes, they did.

Having had the gift of having rewatched 02 recently, I have to say that it still really, really confuses me how the hell people get this impression. It’s not even “I’m trying to see the best out of this” but that I genuinely do not get it, because as far as I’m able to see it’s pretty much literally right there!! This isn’t even tinfoil hat tier!

But in case you have any doubts, sit down because Shiha’s gonna sit here and write a meta about the 02 kids, and how they are perfectly reasonable characters that developed properly fine over the course of the series.

(All below translations of 02 dialogue are by PositronCannon.)

So the first thing to understand about 02 is that it is fundamentally made with a very different writing approach from Adventure in the first place, and therefore it is not meant to be compared in a one-to-one fashion.

This is a point I’ve said many times over and over, and I think it’s to the point where it shouldn’t even really need official clarification, but I’m just going to go ahead and bring up the words from Director Kakudou himself:

For instance, we had the prior series stick out in terms of its points about “what it means to be oneself”, and for 02 we made it so that you would pay attention to “the relationship between yourself and other people”.

Right, so: 02, by design, does not use Adventure’s character development methodology of “self-awareness”. It is built from the ground up by having its characters and character development predicated on relationships instead of singular characters. This might seem a bit odd on its face, but no man is an island, and, in fact, changing the way you interact with other people and with the world in general does speak a lot about one’s personal growth in its own way. And this also means that if you try to analyze 02 by holding it to Adventure-based standards of “character focus episodes” or the like, you’re already on a losing battle.

This means that character growth in 02 is not presented in a way where it’s up-front and center, but rather something you have to glean over the natural course of the series. We’re working off relationships, so you have to actually pay attention to the natural interactions between the characters or what they say even during “off-hours” -- the focus-episode format used by Adventure doesn’t apply here anymore. And it’s something apparent enough from how “evolution” is a metaphor for “personal growth” in this franchise -- in Adventure it was via the Crests, which meant self-awareness, but 02′s key evolutionary trump card is Jogress, which relies on the strength of relationships.

One thing I have to say in terms of my experience as a 02 fan is that I’ve found I actually appreciated it significantly more as an adult than I did as a kid, and that, in general, a lot of the things to appreciate about 02 are things that you really viscerally feel and understand when you’ve gotten that degree of life experience under your belt. Unfortunately, this is kind of a double-edged sword, too, because it ends up becoming the kind of series that often risks going over the heads of the very audience of children it was supposed to be targeting. It’s got a lot of very nuanced depictions of mental health and the childhood experience that are maddeningly subtle, to the point of possibly going over one’s head or even coming off as illogical without sufficient life experience, or simply just not being as visceral (the entire theme of “parents stroking their own ego with their kids’ achievements” hits the hardest when you’re college age).

So what this means is that 02 doesn’t exactly hand its themes or character development to you on a plate. But it is there, once you actually start looking for it.

Let’s start off by talking about our main core cast of characters. Adventure and 02 prided themselves on the fact that they tried very hard to not be adherent to anime tropes, but rather to portray well-rounded, nuanced characters that felt more like actual kids you might meet at school. So how does the 02 cast fare in not being pigeonholed anime tropes?

Daisuke: Even though official freely admits he has “the most anime-like personality”, it’s hard to say he actually falls that much into the generic shounen archetype. For one, he’s actually shockingly humble and polite in certain situations (he’s consistently polite with his elders, and is very quick to admit his own limitations). Actually, he comes off as a surprisingly friendly and deferential person -- it’s just that he happens to have somewhat of an abrasive exterior, and even then it’s implied heavily in the first half that this stems from a lack of validation and purpose. (He actually “deflates” really easily, so you can’t even say he’s all that arrogant past the surface.) Certainly he’s simple-minded, and kind of an idiot, but his abrasive exterior is actually pretty deceptive.

Miyako: Miyako floats an interesting duality of simultaneously being aggressively feminine and being aggressively un-feminine -- not necessarily in the sense she tries not to be feminine (on the contrary, she absolutely embraces it), but more that she’s also an aggressive, “inelegant” mess in ways atypical for a lead heroine in a shounen show, who are usually either cute or “badass action girls” and not...a mess. Despite that, she is also consistently portrayed as capable of heavy emotional depth and being very genuinely kind and concerned about others, which are not in any way diminished by the fact she happens to be an aggressive mess with a severe case of foot-in-mouth syndrome. It’s an interesting mix of character traits that you don’t see often.

Iori: “Designated young characters” usually fall into the “cute” archetype a la Adventure!Takeru or Tomoki, so it’s interesting that the youngest one is actually the most mature one, and impeccably polite at that (having been raised by a family that emphasizes formal manners and propriety). Even more interestingly, nobody actually treats him like he’s that much younger, and he’s given the weight of respect in a sense that has nothing to do with his age (think about how there are indeed quite a few kids who simply just get along better with older kids). Yet the series doesn’t shy away from his youth, and his overly black-and-white view of morality is portrayed as immaturity in its own way, along with the occasional “slips” in his facade or manners indicating that it’s still something he has to consciously focus on.

Ken: Ken’s development goes without saying (it’s one of the most consistently praised aspects of 02), but it’s also interesting to note the unusual way the series plays his redemption arc. Instead of making him a typical “jerkass anti-hero who learns to get a bit better”, the series completely blindsides you by revealing that Ken is, in fact, a naturally soft-hearted and kind boy, and then plays up the mystery of the severe kinds of trauma that would lead him down that path. And ultimately, even though the cause is revealed to have supernatural influence, the series also makes it clear that it doesn’t matter -- that, whether it was his conscious “fault” or not, he still is responsible for what he did. And on top of that, it also scorns the usual “redemption by sacrifice” mentality by pointing out that it’s a cop-out -- it doesn’t actually solve the problems that were caused, and, in fact, a much better way to make up for things is to fix them going forward.

Takeru: Takeru had the “designated young character” role in Adventure, and it turns out that once one of those gets a few years older, they’re naturally not going to be nearly as pure and innocent! The “sweet child” from Adventure has now grown into having slightly pettier emotions, even to the point of grudge, and things he won’t let go of. Oh, and also, trauma from three years prior is still going to have impact on an eleven-year-old kid. Who would have thought.

Hikari: Adventure’s most infamously inscrutable character also seems to have gained some individualized, not-quite-innocent traits of her own (observe how she deals with Daisuke’s advances), and, moreover, it turns out that her deferential humility and refusal to open up about her problems is...not a good thing! when it starts to actually bite her in the rear in front of her friends. Yeah, it turns out that being the “quiet cute girl” actually has its own mental health drawbacks. Oops.

We’re doing pretty well, actually! At the very least, they certainly feel like they already have the Adventure/02 brand of character nuance, where their personalities are inherently varied and nuanced enough that you may not quite find characters like them elsewhere. On top of that, we definitely get to see what makes these characters “tick” -- we get a lot of depth into their thought processes and what their likes and dislikes or strengths and weaknesses are, and that’s something 02 still completely beats out a lot of other kids’ shows or even certain other Digimon entries with.

But here we’re talking about character development. So what do we know about them at the very beginning of the series?

Having watched 02 in Japanese a few times and being very used to the core cast’s latter-half characterizations, rewatching the early episodes always strikes me really hard in the face with genuine shock at how shallow the kids -- especially Daisuke and Miyako -- start the series off as. It’s understandable in terms of the context of the series -- unlike the Adventure kids, who were thrown into a “survival, need to get home” situation off the bat and thus already understood the need to be wary, these kids started off having comparatively easy access to home at any time, and didn’t have a constant sense of danger and survival looming over their heads. It naturally took a lot of time for the gravity of the situation they were in to start really hitting them, and so even the relatively straight-laced Iori didn’t exactly take it all that seriously at the beginning.

Yet while it took them a significantly more delayed time to understand what they were dealing with and take it as seriously as they needed to...they started cultivating something else in the meantime.

02′s first half is especially full of “random banter conversations” that seemingly involve nothing in particular, but, in fact, that’s actually part of the point. One thing I have always been quick to point out in regards to 02 is that it is rather unique among Digimon series in how it goes out of its way to portray its core cast as having become friends even in pure daily-life social friend terms, even if it had absolutely nothing to do with Digimon incidents -- these are kids who genuinely enjoy each other’s company even in the most mundane of situations. This was something that wasn’t the case for the original Adventure kids -- having been a group of kids thrown together by necessity, even though they most certainly kept in touch and trusted each other as fellow Chosen Children deeply, they started floating back into their own different social clusters after the events of 1999. Relationships are multifaceted, after all; you can still have a deep relationship and bond without necessarily being friends on a social level.

But already, off the bat, Miyako brings food for her new best friends, and it’s implied that she’s the main ringleader behind holding the picnic -- a picnic that started off having no intended relation to the Digital World territory war -- in episode 6. And, to be quite honest, can you really blame these kids? Even the Adventure kids wistfully entertained the idea of a long-term fun adventure through the Digital World in Adventure episode 54, wanting to enjoy its beauty and fun in a situation where they weren’t constantly running for their lives. Now that this luxury is actually available, why not take advantage of it -- and bond further with the others in the process? And for the rest of the year, these kids actively end up spending mundane conversations together and bonding to the point that, by the time we get to the end of 02, these kids have just genuinely bonded so much that they really come off as a cohesive, inseparable unit that would actively choose to spend time with each other if given the opportunity. In fact, even going through all of the TV Digimon series that exist as of this writing, I would say Appmon is the only one that really competes with 02 in portraying its core cast in this manner.

Again, remember: this is a series where characterization is dependent on how the kids treat others and interact with them, so you do actually have to pay close attention to these interactions and see how they change over the course of the series.

So once the episodes start coming in play, we actually learn a lot more about what happens when the characters start breaking away from their shallowness. For instance, episode 8, one of the first key episodes to understanding Daisuke’s character:

Daisuke: He'll be a great opponent. We didn't face off in the last tournament. Takeru: If you had made it to the finals, you would have, right? Daisuke: Don't remind me... Hikari: Can you win? Daisuke: It's not about winning or losing. Right now, all of the boys who play soccer in this country want to be like him. Just thinking about playing against him makes me excited!

For all Daisuke initially seems to be arrogant, he’s actually not that incapable of humility. Far from it, actually; he does have a genuine love for soccer and the spirit of the game, and, when completely and obviously unmatched, fully admits he has no chance and is set on enjoying the most he can out of it anyway. I feel like Daisuke’s surface-abrasive attitude really does throw off the fact that he’s a lot more genuinely humble than he’s given credit for. In the end, he’s satisfied enough with the accomplishment of pulling off one sliding tackle against Ken, and is able to enjoy that -- a foreshadowing of how the latter half relies so much on the fact that he’s capable of enjoying simple pleasures and being straightforward about them.

I find that this scene is really underappreciated, too (mainly because it gets lost in all of the other major things in this episode) -- while Daisuke jokes about his accomplishment, it only takes a single comment from his respected senior Taichi to shut him down.

There’s a huge reason I constantly emphasize that Daisuke respects his elders -- this part tends to get lost in translation a lot (especially the American English dub, which just smashed this aspect out of him wholesale, among other things) due to it being a bit reliant on Asian senior deference and cultural propriety, but Daisuke is respectful not only out of societal obligation but also because he genuinely respects his elders! The way he looks up to Taichi and chases after his approval is genuine, and even his interactions with the other Adventure kids have a major hint of him having genuine respect and deference to them. Daisuke is just a deferential person in general -- note that while his crush on Hikari tends to manifest when he’s at his most shallow, he’s actually the one putting Hikari on a pedestal (considering it his own responsibility to impress her), so he’s not actually as assertive as he tries to come off as. The first half of 02 arguably has him deflating more often than he actually stands his ground...and this is a trait of him that starts to actually change quite a bit over the course of the series.

Miyako comes to terms with the fact that maybe she’d been taking this whole Digital World adventure thing too lightly in episode 10, indicating that she actually does have a good sense of priorities when they become increasingly clear! This is actually very important, because it fleshes her out as someone who’s emotionally sensitive -- too emotionally sensitive, to the point that “emotional sensitivity” is just as much of a driving point behind her later breakdown in episode 18, this time from taking her duties too seriously. Miyako is a very id-driven person, and so a lot of the early series is her struggling to find a proper balance on how to adjust her emotions in an increasingly escalating situation. Her heart is in the right place, she’s just not someone with an inherent sense of preparedness to deal with this kind of problem.

We get into the secondary Digimental arc, and there’s a noticeable consistent thread that all of them involve admission of personal faults. This is something that tends to throw people off at times -- wait, having bad traits about yourself is what awards you? -- but the point is that this isn’t like Adventure’s Crests, where things came from proof of exercising the virtue, but rather admitting that there are ways you need to improve, and showing a will to improve in that manner. In the end, people are not perfect human beings, and sometimes even understanding that you’re deficient is half the battle -- after all, the second half is all about a certain character named Ichijouji Ken coming to terms with some very, very serious personal problems.

In episode 11, Daisuke completely admits that he doesn’t feel he understands the concept of friendship the way Taichi and Yamato et al. see it, also latently admitting that he doesn’t see himself as worthy of the Digimental of Friendship. Beyond betraying a lot deeper issues within Daisuke that he seems to have actually had a background lacking in friends and sources of validation, he actually acts very self-effacing when admitting his issues to Taichi and Yamato, ultimately culminating in him calling himself pathetic. Or, in other words, he does want to be a better friend and to understand the concept better, and is harsh on himself for not doing better (which, of course, ultimately leads to how he eventually does gain better relations with the rest of the group and reaches out to Ken).

In episode 14, Miyako admits that she’s shallow and judgmental and tends to jump to conclusions based on first impressions. Recall that she’s comparing herself to Mimi in said relevant scene -- Mimi, whom she admires, and actually spends part of the episode trying to understand and empathize with the mentality of. This is not a statement of Miyako being proud of herself. Rather, this is Miyako being very straightforward about the fact that she needs to try harder to see through the essence of things and to see through to the emotional core of. Again, something she actually does start developing over the course of the series.

In episode 16, Iori gets his first major lesson on the limitations of being too stuck on principles in his attempt to be honest. Recall that Iori’s later character arc is very dependent on him realizing that his own view of the world is too black-and-white. It’s great if you could never tell a lie to anyone, ever, but in the end, that’s going to reach limitations of practicality -- after all, as Jou points out, what Iori did ended up not actually hurting Jou in comparison to the incredible amount of hurt it would have caused everyone by being too stubborn, and thus Iori would have failed to keep his responsibility to help the others because of one narrow-minded principle.

Hikari even gets in a bit during the infamous episode 13, where we learn that her “passive” attitude is biting her in the rear. In Adventure, Hikari’s passiveness and reticence had mostly been used as satellite development for Taichi (his insecurities as an older brother and his obligations to her), so this is actually the first time we get to see a proper perspective from Hikari’s side, and it turns out that his overprotectiveness has actually caused her to get dependent. But even though Taichi is the one the episode actually focuses on, the larger focus is more specifically on the fact that Hikari is too passive -- that she sees being taken by the Dark Ocean as an inevitable thing that’s just going to happen unless someone else steps in on her behalf. Takeru, of course, is having none of it.

Once that’s out of the way, we go back to taking a look at the subtleties of everyone’s interactions. While everyone generally tends to focus on the second half of episode 17, it’s also pretty interesting to see how the 02 kids react to hearing about their seniors’ adventure in the first half -- remember that this is the first time the 02 kids are actually given any real depth about the degree of 1999′s events that’s not just random points of hearsay, and the way the new kids react to it indicates that they’re thoroughly floored. It’s later established that they didn’t even get the full story (it may not even be possible, given that the Adventure kids’ experiences may well have gone even further beyond what we got to see in 54 episodes), and yet the new kids are overwhelmed. 02 itself does not shy away from the fact that the younger kids really have no qualms about deferring to their seniors if need be, and treating them with utmost respect.

Another minor note, which I pointed out in my Daisuke meta earlier, is that the beginning of this episode is pretty much the last time Daisuke ever shows outright hostility towards Takeru for his relationship with Hikari -- it’s something you have to glean by squinting, but the implication is that the insecure and clingy Daisuke actually got to learn this episode that the two of them had a pre-established shared experience that he himself may not understand, and that it wasn’t just Takeru randomly swooping in and snatching away the closest thing he had to a friend for no good reason.

Once the Kaiser infiltration arc begins, episode 18 ends up being one of Miyako’s funniest episodes, but it’s a bit distressing that a lot of people in the fanbase often never let Miyako live this incident down, when in actuality this was explicitly not a good mental health day for her. (This is basically the equivalent of pinning Mimi as a conceited, self-centered jerk based on the fact she was one for a fashion in Adventure episode 25.) The beginning and ending of this episode establish that this is basically a result of Miyako...trying her hardest. She’s scared as hell, but she also learned in episode 10 that this is something she needs to take seriously, and the stress puts her into a mental breakdown. This is why she ends up having a heart-to-heart with Hawkmon at the end; her heart is in the right place, but she needs to find a way to channel her emotional sensitivity in a way that doesn’t make her into a complete mess.

And note that her own voice actress, Natsuki Rio, even pointed out that Hawkmon’s actions had enough of an influence on Miyako’s character that she had to play her differently thereafter.

At first I always played her with Maximum Excitement, and I kept thinking “someone, please, stop her,” but the more straight-laced Hawkmon did his best to pull her in and hold her by the reins (laughs). Thanks to him, Miyako became a lot more of a put-together person…thank goodness Hawkmon is her partner!

Episode 19 has two interesting things of note that I want to point out -- first of all, starting from the very beginning of the episode, everyone ditches Daisuke because they’re independently going in to infiltrate the Kaiser’s base. Note the complete lack of a plan here whatsoever -- everyone’s just going in on their own -- and the fact that everyone expects Daisuke to come up with what he wants to do on his own. For all it’s worth, even though Daisuke may have a designated protagonist aura to him, within the story itself...nobody actually sees him as a leader at this point in the series (and, to be fair, he’s never really tried to claim the position, either).

It’s similar to how Taichi was never recognized as a particular leader of the Adventure group until Adventure episode 28, but in regards to the full team dynamic, it’s actually inverse -- the Adventure kids were capable of making tactical plans together as early as episode 20, but fell apart emotionally in short order as soon as Taichi was gone, whereas here, the kids are fond enough of each other to hang out socially and support each other emotionally, but they take a while to get any real cohesiveness as a fighting group.

The other is that Iori personally witnesses Takeru’s sudden whiplash into his grudge against the darkness and the Kaiser, and it scares the hell out of him.

Takeru eventually laying a punch on the Kaiser is a pretty awesome moment (and, really, Ken kind of deserved it, so it’s hard to not cheer for him), but it’s also important to note that within the context of the series, this is not a good mental place for Takeru to be in. Iori, the person who should by all means sympathize with hatred of evil things at this point of the series, is still extremely unnerved by Takeru’s actions here, because he’d always seen Takeru as a mature person who’d always kept his composure, only to show a drastically different side of him that he hadn’t even shown a hint of before. That kind of “two-facedness” and emotional repression -- and this way of venting trauma in general -- cannot be good for Takeru at this point in time, and it’s also an important moment for Iori when he later admits during the two’s Jogress arc that he’s having a bit of a hard time understanding him.

And so episode 20 comes, and Chimeramon pretty much takes out the entire party, leading to this conversation.

Takeru: Let's escape. Daisuke: Escape? Takeru: We can't fight anymore. Our mission has failed. We'll retreat and wait for another chance. Hikari: You're right. We have no other choice. Iori: Understood. Daisuke: No. Miyako: Daisuke? Daisuke: We can't just say "another chance" like that. If we leave now, they'll keep attacking anything in sight. We don't know if we'll be able to get into the fortress again. So this is our only chance! Hikari: That's crazy... Iori: Exactly! Miyako: They're all back to their Baby forms... Chibimon: Daisuke... Daisuke: But...didn't you all see it? Destroying those towns...and all we could do was watch quietly. I don't want to see that ever again. I won't let them do whatever they want! So I'm going, even alone. I won't give up now. After getting this far, all I can do is go forward!

Why is this moment important? This is the first time Daisuke has actually stood a firm ground against anyone else in the party -- and not only that, with the entire party standing against him.

Recall that I mentioned earlier that, in spite of Daisuke’s abrasive attitude suggesting otherwise, he actually has a tendency to “deflate” pretty quickly when people tease or criticize him. He spends the first half of the series having a lot more bark than he actually has bite. Earlier in the series, if the entire party were to go against him, he’d be more likely to begrudgingly go along (while complaining) -- in fact, he actually did just that at the beginning of episode 7! But now that push has come to shove, Daisuke’s own sense of morals and bleeding heart have won out. (While his decision here is definitely a bit reckless, he does have a point; if they’d retreated, they might genuinely lose any future chances.) Even with the entire party telling him to pull back, he refuses to accept what they want him to do, and pushes forward.

This is where Daisuke first starts to really make strides towards what becomes his eventual major role in the group as “the one who pulls people forward”. It’s a moment after which the rest of the group themselves also start to treat him with more respect now that he’s proven he’s not just a doormat, and that when it comes to there being a real problem with real priorities, he does have the resolve and initiative to keep going.

Also, a very important point is that he immediately says he’ll go alone if he has to. He doesn’t begrudge the others for wanting to fall back, and has no condescension towards them; he just can’t stand the fact that he himself is being asked to sit it out.

So, you know. Episode 21 happens. Ichijouji Ken goes through some real trauma as Wormmon dies in his arms. And all Daisuke has to say is...

Daisuke: You should go home. There are people who are worried and waiting for you! Go home!

Remember when I pointed out that 02 takes a very unique perspective on Ken’s redemption arc, pointing out the futility of being too trapped in the idea of symbolic penance and focusing more on actively taking steps in the future to make up for and fix things? Here’s our first major sign of this, and Daisuke’s eventual approach to Ken -- Daisuke does not choose to scorn or lambast Ken for what he’s done, even though there are a lot of things Ken deserves to be harped on for, but rather instructs him to take the first active step towards fixing his mistakes, in this case fixing things with his family.

Episode 22 is Daisuke’s own “fanbase will never let him live this down” moment, but there’s still some interesting things to note here. Firstly, Daisuke’s “relapse” happening exactly when it seems like his duty to the Digital World is done and there’s nothing to do besides community service doesn’t seem coincidental, especially when this exact episode actually dedicates a full scene to Takeru, Hikari, and their partners going “...now what?” Secondly, as I touched on earlier, note that Daisuke’s never really seemed to have any resentment against Hikari for not responding to his affections -- in fact, he still considers it his own (and V-mon’s, by extension) duty to be the one to impress her. It’s a surprisingly refreshing take on the “shounen hero with a crush on a girl” trope, because in the end...Daisuke isn’t actually all that possessive of her, he just really wants validation from her, and respects her a lot.

More importantly, though -- note the way Daisuke handles this topic. He’s not actually mad at or resentful of Takeru anymore. In fact, he’s mulling on the topic and wondering what he could do to be on that level. Yup, even when Daisuke’s being shallow and jealous, he’s still learned to handle this issue ever so slightly more maturely than he would have at the beginning of the series.

This is also important because only one episode later, once Daisuke becomes disappointed again at Takeru and Hikari walking off on their own, Miyako intervenes -- not only so that Takeru and Hikari can have their space, but also so that Daisuke can have some genuine fun and something to do. This is a very blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in episode 24, but it makes it very clear that Miyako was looking out for Daisuke’s welfare, too, and I think it’s very important in light of the events of the prior episode. Miyako, who had always been fumbling on what to do with her emotions, is starting to properly channel them into managing the dynamic between the team and checking in on how everyone’s doing, and that starts to guide her actions and relationships for the rest of the series.

The next episode (25) is where we kick off not only the Jogress arc, but also the arc where we start going into everyone’s attitude towards Ichijouji Ken. This is important not only because Ken happens to be the effective central figure of 02′s story, but also because -- well, remember, 02 is fundamentally founded on the concept of relationships, so it’s only natural that the other kids’ relationship with the “team newcomer” will be a key aspect of the second half, and in relation to their own characters.

Remember how I said that Daisuke’s first-half character involved him being extremely deferential and often deflating whenever he was criticized or someone stood against him? At the time of episode 25, once again, pretty much the entire team is standing against him -- he’s the only one who’s this level of open-minded about getting Ken into the group, and everyone else is showing differing levels of opposition. But while Daisuke doesn’t begrudge the others for thinking this way, he also doesn’t back down, either, and reaches out to Ken on his own because he still really believes in what he’s doing. Now that he’s settled into what it means to be a Chosen Child, he’s started to gain a proper idea of what he wants to do, and what he feels needs to be done.

So, let’s recap everyone’s stances on Ichijouji Ken at the time of this episode!

Daisuke: Forward-thinking and optimistic; willing to believe that Ken should be given the chance to make up for his mistakes and that they should put everything behind him, even to the extent of believing that there’s probably a good reason for the more suspicious aspects about him (prior to the events of episode 25, it was unclear whether Ken was being a bit too callous about killing Digimon). Also the most actively aggressive in reaching out to Ken and trying to get him to join them.

Miyako: Forward-thinking; she openly states at the beginning of the episode that she thinks Ken’s learned his lesson, she’s just worried about whether he’s going to keep doing questionable things in the future (killing Digimon). Once it’s on the table that he’s not just doing this callously, she immediately is on board with him (to the point of even being the first in the group to use given name basis with him), but her stance on what to do with him is more on the edge of “give him space and wait for him to come on his own terms” (she ends the episode saying she’ll be waiting for him to come).

Takeru: States in the episode that he does believe that Ken’s changed, but doesn’t really know what he’s thinking (i.e. too inscrutable to really be sure about). The later episode 35 implies that Takeru was inclined to be a bit more sympathetic than you’d think otherwise, because he understands the trauma of losing a Digimon partner.

Hikari: Wants to wait a little longer and see how things play out. (Remember that Hikari has a known, consistent thread of taking a very passive approach towards things.)

Iori: Absolutely against it on sheer principle.

It should be noted that none of these stances are wrong. Iori sometimes gets a lot of flak for being the one with the most infamously cold stance towards Ken, but when you really think about it, Daisuke and Miyako are very lucky that their hunch about Ken was right and that he actually did happen to be a very kind boy who had a little too much trauma and some supernatural influence. The fact that Ken is a very emotionally withdrawn person for the rest of the series meant that the two of them ended up breaking through to him the most, but there’s nothing wrong with Takeru, Hikari, and Iori’s skepticism; Ken did some pretty shockingly horrible things in front of their eyes for the first half, and it’s entirely within their rights to determine how forgiving they want to be with him.

In any case, we get to episode 26 (the first Jogress), and most of that episode goes without saying, but I do want to emphasize Daisuke’s lines right before it happens.

Daisuke: If you die now, you won't be able to accomplish anything...I don't want that! Ken: I don't want that...There are still many things I must do.

Daisuke urges Ken not to go for the “suicidal penance” route not only because it sucks, but also because, as symbolic as it may be, it’s also counterproductive to the whole point of doing penance to begin with. If Ken really wants to make up for his mistakes, he’s only going to be able to do that if he’s actually alive to do it! There’s only so much you can do by drowning in self-pity by going “because I did this, because I did that” instead of actually taking responsibility for your actions.

02 itself is deliberately ambiguous on how much Ken’s transformation into the Kaiser was Ken’s own conscious will and how much of it was Dark Seed-induced supernatural influence, but one thing it’s consistent about is that it doesn’t really matter. Regardless of what the cause was, Ken did what he did, and it’s his responsibility to make up for it, and the only way to actually do that is to keep moving forward. The fact that Daisuke is so able to viscerally and directly address what Ken needs the most right now is what fuels their first Jogress, and why Daisuke becomes Ken’s closest friend through the rest of the series.

People have pointed out that 02 has a lot of moments of physical hits, but, notably, other than Takeru punching the Kaiser in episode 19 (which he really deserved, honestly), all of these hits are done with the express intent of bringing the other person out of a very, very deep mental abyss (Yamato punching Taichi in episode 10, Daisuke slapping Ken in 26, Miyako slapping Ken in 30, and Miyako and Hikari’s mutual slaps in 31), because they were in a state where words would no longer reach them otherwise. These are all circumstances of the kind where the person on the receiving end understands that they really needed a drastic wake-up call because of how deeply they’d fallen (and these aren’t some average mental abyss problems these kids are getting put through, either). It’s actually hard to imagine any of the 02 group getting in the kind of genuinely angry and vicious fistfights Taichi and Yamato would in Adventure, because of how close they are (the closest being Daisuke and Takeru grappling in episode 11, but it never got near that level) -- in fact, these kinds of things are done with the implication that they’re doing it because they trust the other person to not hold it against them (and in fact, the fact Yamato does this with Taichi in this way is intended to be read as a sign of how much better they’ve come to understand each other).

So, moving on with the series! The Giga House incident in episodes 28-29 is the first time the group works together in an organized effort, which is notable not only because it’s their first time coordinating with Ken, but also because it’s their first time properly coordinating at all. Remember when I mentioned that, back in episode 19, as much as the kids were pretty fond of each other and were great friends, they still hadn’t figured out how to actually fight as a team? Here we are, with them actually having started to figure that process out.

We then get to episode 30, where there’s actually quite a lot of interesting things to unpack.

Miyako: What's wrong with you? Daisuke: E-Eh? Mi-Miyako-san? Miyako: It feels weird when you add the "-san". Daisuke: Shut up! Man, you're all the same!

Miyako and Daisuke’s relationship is often misconstrued considering that they’re the two most chaotic in the group (their temperaments are very similar at times, which causes them a lot of friction), but I also think this blink-and-you’ll-miss it moment is pretty much their actual relationship in a nutshell. They fight a lot, and they’re ostensibly vitriolic, but they’re actually two of the most like-minded in the group -- they banter because they’re comfortable with each other. Recall that I mentioned that Daisuke is normally respectful with his elders, yet he’s the only person in the group who won’t use the -san honorific on Miyako (even though she’s the oldest)...but the one time he gets flustered and uses it on her, she tells him that it’s weird and he needs to cut that out. Or, in other words, “it’s not like you to be weirdly respectful of me like that, we shouldn’t have that kind of distance between us, stop it.”

(It’s also pretty notable that Miyako has never seriously used -kun or any other honorific on Daisuke, even right after meeting him -- the only other person she dropped honorifics on was Iori, whom she’d known prior to the start of the series, but she seems to have deemed Daisuke enough of a fellow disaster child that he merited dropping it.)

This is especially because, right after that, she recruits Daisuke into her plan to get Ken and Iori to get along -- in the end, when things really get serious, the two are incredibly like-minded (look at how in-sync they are when they scheme together).

30 is actually a surprisingly Miyako-centric episode, despite not ostensibly being one. For one, it says a lot that right now, her biggest priority is to get Ken and Iori to get along -- something that has absolutely nothing to do with herself. In episode 14, Miyako freely admitted that she had a tendency to jump to conclusions about people, and that she was shallow about aesthetics, but this is a very different Miyako from the one who harassed Daisuke for Ken’s autograph in episode 8, or immediately became distrusting of Digitamamon in episode 14. Instead, she’s simply just genuinely invested in seeing people she considers friends get along, and in a selfless manner -- one that has nothing to do with herself. She just really, really cares, a lot.

After all of the first-half hubbub of Miyako really having no idea of what to do with her emotions, the second half has her start channeling that energy into what’s always been one of her biggest strengths: checking on, connecting with, and caring about her friends. Daisuke may be an aggressive forward-thinker who can push everyone in the right direction, but unlike his predecessor Taichi, he doesn’t actually have particular charisma or leadership skills that can necessarily hold everyone together. In the absence of that ability, Miyako fills in for him, checking on the moods and feelings on everyone in the team and making sure everyone’s doing well. And that’s why she loses her temper and slaps Ken late in the episode -- because, really, she’s reached her limit on her “give him space” philosophy when he’s abusing it to be standoffish in a crisis situation, and, on top of that, she really, really did have a huge emotional investment in him.

Moving onto more Miyako in episode 31, her Jogress episode with Hikari, we get to see a little bit of the old emotionally compromised Miyako again, but -- much like the second Digimentals arc -- it involves the two of them acknowledging that both of them are not going about things the best way, and that there are things they can learn from the other.

Hikari: Miyako-san, you're a handful sometimes. Miyako: I knew that's what you thought of me... Hikari: But...I've always envied that. Miyako: Huh? Hikari: Because I can't be honest and say I'm scared or scream like you.

Miyako’s tendency to lose control emotionally results in her being insensitive much of the time, which she calls herself out on multiple times during the episode, and she can’t always be as “kind” as Hikari is -- but, on the flip side, her antics are something that can be a “light” (pun not intended) towards those who are falling in a bad mental state or into the darkness, and Hikari even acknowledges this when one of her trains of thought makes her break out into laughter. Miyako ultimately manages to get through to Hikari this way at the end of the episode, which results in a Jogress and mutual growth for both of them -- Miyako puts more thought into how to approach others (it’s pointed out at the end that she’s still thinking about understanding Ken and Hikari better), and Hikari gains more resolve and determination to fight against things instead of passively accepting her fate (she tells Takeru very directly at the end "I’m fine now. I’ll never go there again.”).

Iori and Takeru's Jogress is a little more complicated to the point where it spans multiple episodes, but a lot of it ends up having to do with the fact that the events of the BlackWarGreymon arc start really putting Iori's black-and-white principles into conflict -- it's wrong to kill something that's been proven to be alive, but it's also wrong to be evil. Putting a huge nail in that is that there's a stake in him forming a relationship with Takeru, but he doesn't really understand Takeru either -- the "two-facedness" he witnessed back in episode 19 scares even him, and he's so intimidated by Takeru that, in episode 35, he goes to approach Yamato about Takeru's past instead of asking the person directly. Takeru, hearing about this, complains that he could have just asked directly, but admits he understands why Iori did so.

By the way, I should point out that episode 35 is the last time within the TV series that Daisuke is portrayed as having a particular interest in Hikari, and it’s just in terms of being slightly more excited that Hikari is joining his meeting. At this point, there are actual important things happening in the Digital World, and he needs to take care of Ken, too, and so...in the end, once again, Daisuke proves that he’s actually capable of putting aside those kinds of more shallow things when he really needs to.

On top of that, this is when the kids start actively working with Ken in the real world (and, if post-02 materials are any indication, continue to hang out with him even for social outings). The choice to have Ken live in Tamachi instead of Odaiba facilitated his isolation from the group during the Kaiser arc, and during around the third quarter they were all grouping up in the Digital World anyway, but the fourth quarter actually has the kids make an attempt to include Ken in their real-world outings despite the distance. Tamachi is not temporally far from Odaiba (approximately half an hour by train), but it’s a bit of a nuisance to get to, requiring crossing a bridge to/from the Tokyo mainland and paying extra for the Yurikamome. But at this point, he’s an important enough friend to them -- and them important enough friends to him -- that they’ll make it work.

At the end of episode 35, Iori finally decides -- to the point of recklessness, something that would have been previously very uncharacteristic of him -- to try and appeal directly to BlackWarGreymon to get him to stop destroying the Holy Stones so that they won’t have to fight. It’s emblematic of Iori’s heart being genuinely torn, because he’s having such a difficult time rationalizing all of these conflicting feelings. This comes to a head in episode 36, when Iori loses his temper at the rest of the group for “playing around”, but Armadimon snaps him back to reality to remind him that they’re tired and hungry, and this can’t be neglected. Iori himself ultimately becomes the one to proactively suggest that they take time to sit down and eat, indicating that -- little by little -- he’s starting to shift his thinking a bit, after being so incredibly stubborn for much of the series.

This is what leads to Iori and Takeru’s Jogress at the end of the episode, now that Iori is flexible enough in thinking to understand the emotional id behind Takeru’s mentality. And likewise, Takeru’s started to loosen up by 36, too --

Takeru: Sure, darkness is frightening, and we would feel at ease if we could get rid of it completely, but I'm sure that's impossible. Ken: Impossible? Takeru: Where there's light, there's always darkness. Hikari: The brighter the light, the darker the shadow, right? Takeru: Yes. That's why I think it's important not to lose sight of the light inside you, no matter how dark it is.

The thing about Takeru is that while he deceptively seemed more open and playful than Hikari for most of the series, he was actually bottling up a lot of emotions in a way not entirely different from the way she did. (Note how, despite how tied at the hip the two constantly are, they almost never actually talk about their thoughts on each other; it feels like a relationship where they implicitly trust each other but are practically reliant on that implicit trust to maintain that close of a friendship at all.) And he’s been keeping those emotions bottled up until they exploded in less-than-healthy ways, initially distancing himself from Iori. But being a lot more open about his thoughts on the matter allowed them to connect better, and eventually Takeru came to embrace a somewhat more reasonable stance on the matter after observing Iori.

It also doesn’t seem like coincidence that this is the episode that ends with Takeru’s first major act of goodwill towards Ken.

This leads into episode 38, the Christmas episode. Fun things to note!

The episode opens with Daisuke and the other younger kids giving a “Christmas present” to their seniors in the form of letting them reunite with their partners. Remember how I said that the 02 kids always admired their seniors and looked up to them? Even this late in the series, the series does not shy away from the fact you’re supposed to see the 02 kids as their deferential juniors.

The Christmas party is, of course, notably, the first major moment of reconciliation between Iori and Ken, with Iori having gone through major harsh lessons about morality in the last few episodes, and Ken opening up more to the rest of the group. Said party is also yet another notable example of how much of a priority it is for the 02 kids to be “social life friends” and not just friends working as a Digimon incident team -- after all, having genuinely emotionally present friends is what Ken needs most in his life right now, considering that the party is treated as the first time he’s been truly happy in a long while.

This is followed by episode 39, which is notable as the time when Daisuke finally commits to switching to given-name basis for Ken, and actually opens the episode standing against Taichi -- because he's so worried about Ken that he needs to go join him. This is something that's lost a bit in translation, but although Daisuke stands down against Taichi, he's not rude nor does he overstep his boundaries with his respected senior (he even opens his statement in polite-form Japanese) -- he's just saying, firmly and politely, "I'm sorry, but I can't go, I have to go help my friend." It’s a notable moment because while Daisuke has been becoming increasingly assertive and aware of what he really wants to do, this is the first time we’re actually seeing him refuse to defer to the very senior he’d spent so much of the series idolizing and looking up to.

We get to episodes 43-45 (the Demon mini-arc), which is also the culmination of the 02 kids having to face the limits of pacifism. This tends to throw off people who are coming in from Adventure, since the Adventure kids ended up killing Digimon with a lot more ease in the original series, but it’s also important to make note of the fact that the episode itself deliberately portrays a gap in mentality between the Adventure and the 02 kids -- with Hikari torn between the two. It also creates an interesting subversion of expectations when Hikari, the one you’d expect to be more on the pacifist side, is the one who’s already accepted that it may be inevitable, whereas Miyako, the more aggressive and belligerent one, is the one staunchly against it.

The reason for this “paradox” comes out of a single line from Hikari in episode 44:

Hikari: You’re the one who saved him, Miyako-san.

The Adventure kids never liked killing. They were never enthusiastic about it -- it was just that they were almost immediately put in a situation where the entire fate of the multiverse was at stake thanks to some unambiguously evil Digimon who wanted nothing but wanton destruction. Even then, it was pretty clear that they never enjoyed it -- Takeru professed a desire to avoid fighting in Adventure episode 12, and the pacifist Mimi went through a breakdown in Adventure episodes 45-50 trying to avoid casualties. But one of the most important lessons Mimi learned at the time was that pacifism has its limits -- there’s no point if it ends up in more deaths than it saves, because at that point you’re adhering to moralistic principles more than you’re actually saving lives.

The fact that the Adventure kids and the 02 kids have a “different mentality” isn’t just happenstance, but outright embraced. Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori never had to actually deal with a conscious Digimon that was unambiguously evil for most of the series, and Archnemon revealing that her motives were pretty much nothing but wanton destruction in episode 29 was the first major warning signal to Iori that his pacifism might have limits. And during this Demon mini-arc, it’s not like these Digimon are threatening multiverse destruction or anything -- it really does seem like a constant “glimmer of hope” that maybe, just maybe, they can save people non-lethally. Alas, they can’t.

Daisuke, being someone who’s inherently practical-minded, starts entertaining the idea that push may come to shove as early as episode 25, and finally makes his first statement about practical limits in episode 43. But the more emotionally caught-up Miyako and Iori end up taking another episode to swallow it, and they don’t take it well. Most of the attention in 44 is given to Miyako, and it reconfirms that, despite her aggressive exterior, she’s emotionally sensitive and empathetic -- and while killing LadyDevimon is framed as truly the only thing that could have been done in that situation, Miyako is not faulted for being emotionally compromised, nor is Iori likewise when he faces a similar situation with Takeru and is forced to confront the people whose lives were at stake.

Episode 45, when Ken opens the gate to the Dark Ocean, doesn’t really have much to add on top of what’s already there, but this is basically “the point of no return” when everyone confirms their own emotional investment in Ken and understanding that he’s not just reformed, he’s genuinely struggling under the pain of what’s been happening -- and this is before they find out about the truth behind the Dark Seeds, and that Ken’s transformation into the Kaiser may have been supernaturally influenced, too.

It’s also interesting to see the different ways each kid reacts to Ken as they support him:

Hikari, the most outwardly compassionate, goes to support him the second she notices him in physical pain; Takeru notices that it might work, realizes Ken needs the support, and joins.

Iori and Miyako reflect on how Ken’s putting all of his efforts in, and lambast themselves before joining. Interestingly, given the circumstances behind what’s happened up until now, Iori and Miyako criticizing themselves take a different meaning -- Iori, who’d been scornful of Ken until recently, seems to be regretting that he distrusted him when Ken had been trying so hard, while Miyako, who had been open to him since episode 25, seems to be upset that she’s sitting there and not doing enough when he’s in all of this pain.

And Daisuke, of course, the most “forward-thinking” of them all, gives Ken a speech about what he’s done so far and reminds him that he’s already done more than enough for “atonement” -- which is, of course, what directly reaches Ken the most.

And when we get to episode 46, and the kids, now knowing about the Dark Seeds, hold a roundtable (and emotional support group) to discuss what to do about the Dark Seeds, Daisuke’s the one with the most spirit and energy about it, but...

...the one actually leading the roundtable? Miyako.

Miyako: Sorry, that's all I can think of. Ken: Please don't worry about me. Miyako: (nods)

It’s subtle, but the scene in question does actually make a deliberate move in indicating that Miyako’s continuing to channel her emotional sensitivity and desire to go out of her way to help Ken -- of course, they all know how traumatic this is for him, but she’s the one who’s actively calling attention to how he must feel about it first and foremost.

Episodes 47 and after end up becoming yet another major wake-up call for Iori (seriously, I do not understand why people claim he had no character arc when this wasn’t even remotely subtle) when he learns that Oikawa, whom he’d pinned as “evil”, has a deep relationship with the father he’d grown up idolizing so much, and it completely flips his world around -- even though he had started to get a bit more open-minded, he’s still trying to rationalize what should have been, in his mind, two diametrically opposite things. It fuels his confusion and desperate desire to understand more, not just about Oikawa, but about everything he’d thought about morality and why people turn to evil.

So we get to the final arc of the series, and it involves a confrontation with BelialVamdemon -- but said finale is heavily dependent on talking to the Dark Seed children and inspiring hope back into them. This results in a conversation where everyone talks about their career dreams, and Daisuke admits that he wants to be...a ramen chef, which completely blindsides even his friends.

What’s with this arc?, you might think. And moreover, why is Daisuke ending the series still kind of an idiot? Even Miyako still seems to be a bit of a mess and chaotic. Weren’t they supposed to be growing into dignified heroes, like Taichi and his friends were last series?

Well, here’s the thing -- the fact that the 02 kids end the series comparatively “undignified” is actually very inherent to the core theme of 02 itself. There were more than enough episodes that established that said kids are heroic in their own way -- caring about others, fighting on others’ behalf, and learning important lessons about what’s important to fight about. That doesn’t mean they don’t get the right to continue being disaster children while they’re at it.

Why?

Let’s look at a few official statements behind the creation and intent behind 02 as a series. From producer Seki Hiromi, from the Digimon Animation Chronicle:

That came from an idea I had while reading a newspaper article. I read a story about a nine-year-old boy going to Columbia University, and I thought, “This boy is going to college because he’s considered a genius, and everyone around him will be in their twenties, and he won’t get to have any friends his age. What kind of life would this boy end up having?”

Or some very interesting statements from head writer Yoshimura Genki from the 02 Blu-ray box:

When I was writing Ken Ichijouji, the main idea for him I used as a basis was the conflict between “the self that has to be a well-behaved child when adults are watching” and “being able to be oneself”, and the pain that came from it as a result. So for instance, in the same way as the Pinnocchio fairytale, or the short story A.I. that was adapted into a movie, or many other works, there are probably universal worries that all children feel as they grow, but also, there were ongoing unimaginable, atrocious incidents happening with children at the time, and perhaps it was those social conditions that gave me a hint on what to do. I think I had some thoughts that I wanted to convey to the children who were living through that time. I was given the opportunity to put those kinds of feelings, as much as I liked, into episode 23, and I am truly grateful to all of the staff, including the director. ... Also, this is about Daisuke’s character, but I believe I paid particular attention to making him “a child who could be himself”. He has no special talents, and although he’s clumsy and scatterbrained, I wanted him to be someone whose strength was in his straightforwardness, and wrote him that way.

Lying underneath the entirety of 02 itself is a theme about “children who are not allowed to be children”. Or, in other words, the pressure placed on children to be “talented” and “dignified” and “well-behaved”, often imposed on them by well-meaning parents who are unfortunately taking the opportunity to stroke their own ego, robbing them of the happiness and mental freedoms they should have as kids.

Ichijouji Osamu and Ken, who were placed under the pressure to be “genius children” and cracked under the pressure to please their parents. Oikawa Yukio, who was cut off from the Digital World in childhood by a well-meaning Hida Chikara, worried about his son getting into “foolish” talk. The Dark Seed children, who also fell victim to similar pressures that Ken did, and lost hope for life unless they could force themselves into that mold.

Takeru: If you want the Digimon to exist, if you believe in that, they will. Just like our feelings...Just like every child having the power to make their dreams come true. Keiko: That's just childish. Daisuke: You all have dreams for the future, don't you? Noriko: Dreams for the future? Takashi: I've forgotten that stuff. Daisuke: No way! You must have one! Takeru: It's nothing to be ashamed of. Takashi: Then, what's your dream? Daisuke: Mine? Mine's a ramen shop. I love ramen! I'll become the world's best ramen maker! Ken: I had no idea... Noriko: Well...actually, I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. Hikari: Me too. Daisuke: What about you guys? Takashi: A baseball player! Keiko: I really want to be a pastry chef. Hiroshi: When I said I wanted to be a manga artist, everyone laughed, so I gave up... Takashi: We all had aspirations, and at some point we thought that wasn't allowed...But we were wrong, right? Daisuke: Let people say whatever they want! Noriko: You're right, we should be free to dream. Miyako: Not just dreaming. If you work hard, your dreams will surely come true!

Notice something about all of these careers mentioned? They’re all the kind of “overly childish” “wild dream” “undignified” “too simple” kinds of dreams that an average parent might be uncomfortably quick to shoot down because that’s “not good enough”. These are the kids who willingly accepted the Dark Seeds; they, much like Ken, probably grew up under parents who prioritized school performance and other “societally dignified” things that ended up eating away at their happiness.

02 has a lot of different themes, but the one that lies in its undercurrent from start to finish is “so why does a child have to be this way? As long as they still understand what’s important, do they have to be dignified people? Why can’t they just be free to have dreams and be themselves?” And Daisuke and his friends are there specifically to stand up against this mentality, and to remind Ken and the other victims of it that it doesn’t have to be this way -- that it’s okay to be your true self, and be a child, and not succumb to all of those arbitrary, shallow standards people put on you. Even if that means you’re still a bit of a chaotic disaster at the tender age of eleven.

Digimon, in the Adventure and 02 universe, have always been treated like a part of the self (they were literally conceived as a physical manifestation of the soul), but in 02 they gain an extra meaning of representing “the inner, deepest part of yourself that represents your wildest ‘childish’ dreams”. The symbolism of Ken spending the first half of the series trying to reject Wormmon for being “weak” -- in other words, rejecting his own kind-hearted self for not being the kind of “strong” entity he was pressured and groomed into being -- is not lost, nor that of the Dark Seed children gaining partners when they reconnect with their dreams and wishes, nor Oikawa finally, finally meeting his partner when he comes into contact with the past he’d really lost (and especially not the fact that his attempt to reclaim shallow reminders of said childhood involved trying to make his own Digimon).

And notably, the series’s finale (prior to the epilogue) ends not on Daisuke but on Iori, escorting Oikawa to the Digital World despite how completely impossible it would have been for early-series Iori to even entertain the idea, finally coming to truly understand what happened with him and being most personally impacted by his death.

But in any case, where are we with the characters? We’re here to talk about how they’ve grown and developed over the course of the series. Let’s recap:

Daisuke: Started off the series as an abrasive kid with more bark than actual bite, constantly deferring to others and easily deflating, relying on shallow sources of validation like wanting attention from Hikari; gradually gained an ability to identify what was important and put his foot down for it, embraced his forward-thinkingness to reach out to a heavily troubled child as a friend, and ended up surrounded by a friend group that loves and respects him.

Miyako: Started off the series as a shallow, flighty girl with poor control over her emotions and difficulty in appreciating the gravity of things; came to channel her emotional range into empathy for others and compassion, bringing other people together and taking care of them.

Iori: Started off the series as a straight-laced but too principled child who stuck to “rules of what’s right” not only in morality but also in way of acting; started to appreciate the emotional nuances and heart behind why people do what they do and how it’s possible to be more flexible in “doing good”.

Ken: Well, his character arc is pretty obvious, but -- again, while his arc of learning to forgive himself is well-known, less often pointed out is that it centers very heavily on not only having penance but also not being too hung up on the past, and the futility of drowning in self-pity and regret instead of choosing to take responsibility and act more productively going forward.

Takeru: Started off the series as a seemingly mature but deceptively inscrutable character whose duality made him hard to approach; eventually opened up with the help of others and showed a capacity for being more flexible with his personal grudges.

Hikari: Started off the series emotionally repressive and passive to the point of self-destruction; eventually embraced connections with her other friends and became more active in taking a stand for herself.

Hey, not bad!

And, again, this is not a series you should be reading in terms of “self-awareness” in the same way Adventure was, but in the sense of their “relationships” and how they interact with others. By being less abrasive and more assertive, Daisuke gained the respect of his other friends. By putting her emotional capacity into caring about others, Miyako became someone who holds the group together. By learning to think a little more flexibly and be less stubborn, Iori arrived at a position where he could more easily sympathize with others in the group. Takeru and Hikari both moved from their previously relatively inscrutable positions to ones who could more effectively interact with and open up to others. And Ken, of course, became someone who managed to integrate himself into a group of true “friends” despite everything he had done against them in the first half.

This, in the end, is how you get what’s one of the tightest friend groups in Digimon history. In the end, the relationships themselves are almost like characters of their own that got development -- I say very often that you could take two of the characters and have an excellent scope of how they’d interact and play off each other by the end of the series. And although they end the series as possibly one of the most shameless, undignified disaster groups out there...they’re certainly still heroic, and in any case, given the lessons they learned throughout their own series, they probably wouldn’t have it any other way.

#digimon #digimon adventure 02 #shihameta

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foryourinformationmd · 3 years

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Advice from a Professional Doctor, Asher Nitin.

Ignore all the portrayals of life in medical school by your pre-med lecturers. If they begin a med school narrative with, “My nephew is a doctor and he told me…,” instantly disregard it. His nephew did not tell him that. He told him much more. Those are merely the parts he wants to remember. If it isn’t a recently-graduated doctor telling you what life in med school is like, it isn’t going to be anything like what they will tell you. So what is it like instead? Grey’s anatomy? House, M.D.?

Neither. Med school is more like Scrubs and The Knick than it is like Grey’s Anatomy and House, M.D. Unlike Grey’s Anatomy, you and your fellow medical students will not be that good looking. You will not sleep with each other as much. You will not cry over your patients (you’ll have a hard time remembering their full name). And you will not monkey around with barely-tested experimental procedures. Ever. If you do, it’ll probably be the last thing you do because good-bye medical school. Unlike House, all medicine will be diagnostic. Your professors will only appear to be brilliant (it’s really just decades of specialized knowledge and experience; with their subject and with your type). Diagnosis will be algorithmic, and even that algorithm won’t be your own. But you will still get a kick out of it. Like Scrubs and The Knick, your medical school will be your life. You will eat, sleep and dream medicine. Your entire social circle will consist of your colleagues. Your family will be the one stable point in your life. You’ll date your colleagues.

Speaking of dating, your sexy does not go up when you become a doctor. I mean this practically. Theoretically, I’m told doctors are hot. I can see why. They undeniably have inherent value: social standing, (the promise of) money, proof of intelligence (actually, no) and actual power over life (more than you know). But practically speaking (especially if you’re male) your dating life will not get better as a medical student. That is because the demands of medical school will swamp you. You will come home tired. Your pool of prospective partners will mostly consist of your medical colleagues. So while your newfound status as a doctor might have value in non-medical circles, it will mean nothing because you will almost never frequent those circles. But within the circle you’re in, your status as a medical student means nothing, because so what? Everyone is one too. “But Asher!” you say, frantically gesturing at me to pause, “I’ll be smart and date outside of medical school.” No, dummy. You’ll be a dummy if you do that because…

The more friends you have outside of med school the harder it is to excel. Med school is about an ethos. You’re not just part of a course. You’re part of a community. This is now your primary identity. All your self worth are now belong with us, bi*ch. There is this neurological phenomenon seen in people trying to study. When you’re focused on something, if you break off and engage with something unrelated, your brain takes up to twenty minutes to fully refocus on the original task once you return to it. In life as well, broadly speaking, I’ve observed a similar phenomenon. I’ve known three students in med school whose circle of friends mostly lay outside of med school. One hung out with mostly dancers and choreographers. One was a socialite. One hung out with the sons of politicians. They all were (and still are as of now) the worst doctors I have ever seen. This is because they constantly take breaks from the ethos of medical life. They miss out on the rhythm of life in the world of medicine. So you should know that…

You will leave most of your old friends behind, and you won’t even mind. Of all the various professions, I’m told, physicians tend to default the most on school reunions. That is partly because they don’t have the time, but also because they don’t care. It isn’t that we become arrogant or unsocial. It is that the act of medical education deeply changes you. It makes you more functionally intelligent. It makes you less prone to fake drama. It makes you calmer in crisis. All these after-effects will permanently drive a wedge between you and many of the people you used to know. This is a surprising side-effect no one anticipates; least of all your elders. And that is an amusing paradox. They anticipate your becoming a doctor because they know medical school is elevation. They don’t realize the side effect of this elevation is you will now talk down to them.

Your most important subject in pre-med is physics. Look, pre-med isn’t really about information continuity. The organisms you will dissect in pre-med will be phylogenetically disconnected from med school. You dissect a plant stem, a plant root, an earthworm, a cockroach, a frog, and then… a human being? See? You won’t be seamlessly connecting domains of knowledge. Pre-med isn’t even about building a conceptual base. Many things you learn in pre-med biology will be repeated in so much greater detail in med school that your prior knowledge will only partially help. Pre-med is about picking up mental skills you will need. Let’s talk about those.

You need to learn to form a train of thought fast. The great thing about learning to solve problems in physics is that you learn to solve problems in general. You learn to quickly identify variables and constants. Sometimes there will be constants in the problem that would normally be variables in real life. You learn to work with those too. Physics allows you to become mentally agile with concepts. If you get fluid mechanics, you can handle the physiology of hypovolemic shock. If you get lever mechanisms (in different orders), you can handle applied anatomy in orthopedics. If you get optics, you can handle a lot of neurology and ophthalmology. In my experience, the students who have the hardest time in med school are the ones who didn’t learn to think on their feet within a fixed framework of time.

You hate memorizing? Actually, you don’t. It’s all about the context. Literally none of us salivated at the prospect of memorizing taxonomies. We hated it and struggled over it and were glad when we were done with it. That was because it was something we knew we would never use. In med school, you will do a lot of memorizing. But you will enjoy it (or at least you can, if you choose; I’m a huge nerd). Many doctors will tell you how easily drug classifications embed themselves in their brains. This is despite the fact that the latter are more complex than zoology taxonomy charts or botanical floral formulas. The difference is that your knowledge of drug classification will impact what you will say to your aunt when she confronts you over her persistent back pain over Christmas dinner (poor posture, it’s always poor posture; she sits like a potato). So you will memorize a lot. It won’t be anything like memorizing was before. Rest easy. You will find it easy to like it.

Your persona does not matter. Caring for people and being compassionate and wanting to cure disease are the least important things in medicine. You need to be able to meaningfully link vast amounts of information to come to a correct diagnosis as per established algorithms. You need to perform surgical procedures within a reasonable amount of time with a decent degree of success. All else is secondary. When most of your non-doctor relatives tell you that a doctor’s personality matters, they’re doing something called argument from ignorance. You see, the world of medicine is so big and so complex that most of it is technically incomprehensible to the general public. So they latch on to the few aspects of a doctor’s life they are mentally capable of understanding (and commenting upon; remember their first reaction to meeting someone with an education superior to theirs is to give them tips). So they will talk about a doctor’s personality because it is the only part they can presume to have some expertise on. Even that they do not. Don’t ever do stupid things like falling in love with your patients or building deep and personal relationships with your patients. You will never last in medicine. This is not because the emotional trauma of losing them will wreck you. This is because you will go bankrupt fighting lawsuits accusing you of patient preference. You will feel the pressure in the things non-doctors will say behind a good doctors back. “He’s so boring at parties, he can only talk work stuff.” If that is your destiny, so be it. Own it. They find you boring? So what? You were not put on this earth to entertain the illiterate at parties. You were sent here to be a lifesaver; not to have a personality that appeals to the lowest common denominator.

I’m telling you it does not matter. The practice of medicine is life on the edge of reality. All personalities are welcome because medical school is a personality in itself.

The materialists among us are taught the value of wisdom and the ascetics among us learn to knot a Double-Windsor.

The atheists among us will pray frantically and the religious among us will find no time for church on Sunday.

The loudmouthed learn to whisper in the NICU and the soft-spoken learn to yell, “Stat!” in the ER.

The type-A personalities among us learn to break the news of a patient’s passing to his relatives and the type-B personalities among us learn to argue medico-legal cases.

The clumsy among us learn to suture wounds and the nimble learn to administer CPR.

Materialists. Ascetics. Atheists. Theists. Loudmouthed. Soft-spoken. Type-A. Type-B. Clumsy. Nimble.

In medical school, we all meet in the middle.

PS: Photo not mine. Credits to the rightfully owner.

#advicedoctor #medtech #premed #FYIMed

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writing-the-end · 4 years

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LoL Chapter 37- Queen Bee

Masterpost

A Wizard Hermits tale (AU, designs, ideas belongs to @theguardiansofredland)

Tradition meets change when the hermits arrive in Fielville, and meet with the Elder Council Queen, one of the few people who understands the Hangman’s Playground

________________________________

“Go wash up, Grian. It’s against tradition to enter court looking like you just rolled in a patch of mud.” Mumbo states, rocking on the balls of his feet as they stand before the hexagonal building. He flicks a patch of grass from Grian’s shoulder, which strikes Iskall in the eye. The good one, at least.

“It’s not my fault the wind suddenly picked up when I was trying to land.” Grian laughs as Iskall stumbles back. He turns to xB, spreading mudstained arms and wings wide. “Hey, can you clean me off?”

The kipling’s eyes light up, and he cracks his knuckles. “With pleasure, my dude.”

xB’s circle appears, followed by a rush of water over Grian’s body. Like someone dropped an entire tub of water on his head. His feathers ruffle and splash the nearby hermits, who voice their displeasure, but the stains disappear from his skin, wings, and clothes.

Except now he’s wet. Mumbo and Stress groan and clasp their heads. They’re about to meet the elder of Fielville, one of the last few towns that still have an elder council. And of course Grian had to be.... Well, Grian now of all times. The rural village orphan, playing in dirt as they enter this tradition filled hall.

The scorpion guards stand at attention, waiting for the crew of hermits to stop their bickering. Impulse blasts Grian with a heat explosion, fixing the wet problem but creating a whole new issue. Now Grian’s hair is blown back in a thousand different directions, and his clothes pressed in odd angles.

Honeycomb shaped doors open, guards bowing with tails arched over their backs- stingers dripping with venom as they point towards the hermits. Down the cavernous nest, insectia crawl up the wall from floor to floor, flying and walking. Town square one level up, the marketplace in another wing of the hive. But the ground floor was where the queen ruled. Following the guidance of mantis advisors, they wander down until they reach the rise in combs. Standing atop was the queen bee.

Literally. A bee insectia stands at the podium, antennae swiveling with curiosity. A mantis clambers up and whispers in her ears, while the hermits attempt to bow and curtsy to their best ability, following all protocols and tradition they can muster up. The bee flutters her wings, peering over the podium. “You wish to know about the Hangman’s Playground? What for?”

TFC steps up, as the leader of the guild it’s tradition for him. “Queen Erlea, we… We believe something dangerous is being hidden in those woods. We are the only ones who have any understanding for this mission, we’re the only ones who can go in search.”

The queen’s transparent wings flutter, her hums sounding more like a buzz. Black and yellow locks of hair fall over ebony eyes. “Yes, that dangerous thing is the whole forest. Nothing is more dangerous than the Forest of Memories, and none of you are ready. I can sense it in each and every one of you.”

“But we’re ready!” Grian shouts, and the entire hive fills with gasps, including from Mumbo and Stress. Speaking out of line isn’t tradition. Shouting is not tradition.

“I am reluctant to tell such an ill prepared, unadvised, incapable guild about the Forest of Memories. No one should go wandering in there- perhaps whatever this danger is should be left within the Forest. You will hear nothing from me, and by my order none shall enter.” Queen Erlea juts her chin out, dismissing them as she seats herself beside the podium.

Tango isn’t about to go that easily. “We’re going in, whether we have this information or not!”

His voice is backed up by Impulse and Zedaph. Mumbo feels as if he’s about to have a panic attack, eyes wide and alarmed. None of this is tradition, and the queen bee’s legs uncross beneath her long, honeycomb styled dress. He can’t tell the queen’s emotions through her eyes- dammit, why didn’t he study body language of insectia before?

Silence falls over the hive, the queen staring at the hermits. There’s a soft click of stingers surrounding them, as if the whole hive is ready to defend their queen. Defend their tradition. Until laughter falls over the blanket of quiet.

The queen titters, before collapsing into a full chested guffaw. Pollen escapes from her long hair, dancing along the lace and puffs of her gown. “Finally! Finally, someone with enough gusto to talk back. Do you know how boring it’s been to never be spoken back to for so many years?”

The clacking of stingers stops, and the hermits’ nervous laughter follows. Keralis notices an interesting looking beetle skittering down the hall, but is only halted by Xisuma and a firm grasp to his collar. Now’s not the time for a snack. Zedaph raises an eyebrow. “So… will you help us?”

“Help you? After that show, I simply must! I will tell you all I know of the Forest of Memories. I have entered there many times, and my fellow Fielville peers are quite knowledgeable as well. If I do not know your answer, surely they shall.”

Joe pulls out his pen, licking the tip and ready to jot down notes. “What is it about the Forest that is so dangerous? Is it monsters, traps? Magic? Magical traps with monsters?”

“Nothing that you can fight. The Forest of Memories shall test you mentally and emotionally, it shall dredge up your worst fears and greatest pains, but only if you expose that side of yourself to it. Enter the forest with any negative thoughts, and it will destroy you.”

“But if we enter with only positive thoughts, it’ll be easy?” Mumbo questions, biting his lip. Maybe he shouldn’t go on this mission.

“Precisely. Lady Cielle, for example-” Queen Erlea reveals a book from her frocks, the very book that brought them to the ghost. “Her beloved Nellaime had just proposed to her before she entered the forest. She had nothing on her mind but her soon-to-be wife.”

“So just go in thinking good thoughts, that’s not too bad, it’s like a kids play!” BDubs scoffs. How is it that bad if all it takes is thinking good things and saying ‘i believe’?

“Not so simple, bubble boy.” The queen titters. She sits down on the risen honeycomb, legs swinging from beneath her dress. “The forest is like a parasite, and it feeds on your emotions. Negative emotions are as sweet as honey to it. Even if you hide those feelings, it will draw them out, and use them against you. So you will have to go in prepared to face your darkest demons.”

“I’m not even ready to face my lightest demons.” Keralis’s eyes are wide and terrified, no longer thinking of all the bugs around him.

Queen Erlea nods. “It would be wise for you to supply yourselves.” She taps her finger against her chin, antennae flicking as she thinks. “Potions to ease your fears and hinder the effects of the Forest of Memories, as well as amulets and talisman to ward it off in the first place. They won’t stop attacks from the forest all together, but it will provide armor.”

“No better place to gather magical supplies than Redland.” Etho raises an eyebrow, grinning beneath his mask.

“Will we be able to afford all those supplies?” Scar knows much about the magical capital of Lairyon. And he knows better than anyone how expensive the merchants will sell their goods. At least, his family did. Even then, as many potions and amulets as they’ll need will be a costly necessity.

“We have money from the championship!” Grian remembers the chalice full of gold that they just abandoned in the guild hall. They were so focused on the revelation that Magistrate Dolios was the dark mage that they left the winning gold and trophy just sitting in the alcove of the guild tree.

“As for the actual forest- the Hangman’s Playground is a thicket of brambles, thorns, poisonous plants and carnivorous flowers.” Erlea nods her head to False’s blade.”You will need an arsenal of diverse weapons- the Forest will learn and adapt against you. It is alive- it will fight back. Your magic will be useless compared to physical blades. So better start training.”

TFC bows his head, gloved hand pressing at his heart. “Thank you, your majesty. This information could be lifesaving.”

Erlea hums. “Thank me when your guild returns safe, sane, and alive.”

The hermits all bow, and allow themselves to be guided back to the hexagonal doorway, back out into Fielville, among the druids and insectia beyond the beehive of a castle, townhall, marketplace- just about anything, built by the insectia people to protect against the elements. Especially rain.

Before the scorpion guards can show them out, a voice calls across the hall. “And please… take care of that bastard. For me, a-and King Sor and Tris.” Down the hall, the Queen looks at them. “They are like sons to me.”

#lol #hermitcraft #light of lairyon #hermitcraft fanfic #hermitcraft au #wizard au #wizard hermits #wizard grian #wizard xb #wizard joe #grianmc #xbcrafted #joehills #wizard mumbo #mumbo jumbo

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avversiera-writes · 4 years

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‘till death do us part - chapter 6 [tobirama senju/you]

Chapter 6 - How to Steal a Crown

Summary: Tobirama tries to fix his brother’s shortcomings.

Words: 3.3k

A/N: THE SCENE THAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOREVER TO WRITE IS HEREEEEEEEEEEEEE... I know I am writing like crazy lmaoo but I literally cannot stop because it hurts to stop lmfaoooo so....here ya go. let me know what you think. Two more chapters left until the end!

available on AO3

<< Chapter 1 - Allegiances // Chapter 2 - Union // Chapter 3 - Love Like You // Chapter 4 - Look to the Horizon // Chapter 5 - Return

Tobirama flips through the village’s financial ledgers, seething with a frustrating anger that he cannot calm. He references the Senju clan’s own books, and he is dismayed to find that the numbers match exactly. This is blatant evidence that money has been liquidated to the Senju accounts, and then used by Hashirama. If this comes into the wrong hands, not only will his brother be ruined, but the rest of his family and he cannot allow that to happen. What is more heartbreaking is that this has been going on for over a year now, and Tobirama was busy running around to attend to his personal life and away from his brother when he was needed by him. He pinches the bridge of his nose, and he lets out a shout of vexation and sends the scrolls and the books and other important parchments to the floor.

“I tried to fix it when you were gone,” Hashirama says shamefully, appearing at the door of Tobirama’s new home office.

Barely moved in his new house, Tobirama chose to use the recluse space as his base to figure out things. His wife is in the hospital, and this house is empty and quiet and devoid of any distractions. It is also bare and undecorated, perfect for not being uncomfortable enough to not take a rest.

Tobirama balls his fists, trying to control himself from lashing out any more. “Is that why you were so eager for me to go away?!”

Hashirama’s eyes widened. “No, Tobirama–”

“Be quiet, elder brother, I am trying to think,” Tobirama cuts him off and he turns around towards the window.

Tobirama exhales and he whips around. “You have a problem,” he declares in a way that would dissuade any feelings of argument. “Even if you saved our village from Madara’s attack, you advertently cut off its legs. What were you thinking?!” Tobirama shouts.

Hashirama’s expression darkens and he crosses his arms. There is no simple explanation for this.

Tobirama hits the desk, and it breaks in half, the splinters flying up as the desk goes in on itself. “You told me to be happy. To go and enjoy my time with her, while you did this behind my back? You could have told me! I could have done something to fix this!”

“It is not your job to fix my problems!” Hashirama bellows.

“I am your brother!” Tobirama’s eyes are awash with newfound anger. “You did not trust me enough to confide in me!”

“And what? Keep you away from your wife?” Hashirama snaps.

“She would have understood,” Tobirama replies icily. “She would have understood! She would have let me!”

Hashirama steps closer, and the floor beneath his feet begins to crack and new branches of trees creep out. “You take her for granted too much!”

“Stop changing the subject!” Tobirama screams, and he pushes back with his own chakra, cutting the sprouting forest in half before they reach the roof.

“It would have been fine,” Hashirama grits out.

“Stop making excuses!” Tobirama bellows, the floor he is standing on becomes a crater. "You should have come to me!"

Hashirama looks away, and says nothing. The room is thick with their aura and their intense emotions that it is possible it can kill an ordinary shinobi. It is hard to breathe in the room at the moment, and if one dares to relieve their lungs with a sigh, the consequences may be catastrophic. They are walking on eggshells.

Tobirama kneads his forehead, unable to say anything else lest he makes matters worse. He cannot bring himself to look at his brother. All his life, he has devoted himself to make sure that Hashirama’s dreams come true because he believed them to be good and that they will change the world. There is no one else like Hashirama, there is no greater shinobi than him. He is hailed as the god of shinobi, for heaven’s sake.

So, why did the god of shinobi sink this low?

Because above all rules, they are human first, who feel too much and who make many mistakes.

“Damn it, elder brother,” Tobirama utters solemnly.

Tobirama takes a deep breath, and he meets his brother’s gaze. “You will attend to your duties as Hokage. Do not say a word about this. We will fix this my way .”

It is late at night, and Tobirama stops short outside of his wife’s hospital room. Something about her injury makes him come to a sickening conclusion: that she has no regard for her life, and takes unnecessary risks. He cannot protect her if she keeps doing this to herself, and he will never admit it, but he needs her to be still and to remain steadfast because he cannot divide himself enough to be there for her and his brother and the village. He is not sure, along with some of his doubts, if he can do it all. He needs to know that she will be fine and he needs to make sure of it. He feels terrible, but he has made it this long. Sometimes, the most terrible things have to be done in order to make sure that the world keeps turning.

He will never be the husband that she deserves, but what he can do best is protect her. He knows that she has promised to be there for him, but Tobirama also knows that she is not only his wife, but she is also a shinobi with her own beliefs and commitment to duty. In the end, he cannot separate himself completely from his emotions. He does not want to lose her, and that feeling makes his stomach curl in fear. He can face a thousand enemies, but nothing is as daunting as her leaving him too early in life.

Tobirama’s hand lingers at the knob, but he cannot make himself turn it.

He allowed himself one moment of happiness, and he is blinded by his own needs. What kind of a shinobi is he that he forgets for one second what it is he is supposed to do? What kind of brother is he if he cannot devote himself to the village that his brother loves?

Tobirama stalks off like a storm and he heads back to his new house. It is dark and unwelcoming, but it is what he needs right now. He is the one with solutions, so he will do his part.

He lights the lamps to give him light, and he arranges the living room to be his own personal office for now. The furniture that is yet to be used stand and crowd the room like vigilant statues, and Tobirama cannot stand them so he covers them with blankets. Then, he drags his things into the table there and he gets to work.

His mind works well when he is alone and under pressure, and it takes all night until daybreak without break to formulate and translate his ideas into something tangible. He drafts letters to be sent to the daimyos asking for a loan, treaties with other small villages with negotiations on trade, and new rules to reform the village so that it generates more income to keep it going. Of course, the shinobi in the village need to partake.

He lists his ideas on reforming the Chuunin exams: that in the future, the other villages they are allied with should come to their village to take them in goodwill. This will, hopefully, foster peace and encourage trading of services.

He also remedies the system and the ranks of shinobi, where each mission has to be strictly assigned to ranks that can handle them, not just because the Hokage deems it appropriate for them.

He even creates new jobs to be filled in so that it can create another system of checks and balances. Like a group of people to do work in the shadows, and another to keep order in their growing village.

These will take time, but he has made elaborate steps that need to be taken so that they will work. Especially, in the long run. He cannot base everything on something as unstable as hope.

Without a blink, he works, pushing everything aside, especially his feelings.

Tobirama has not slept for two days, but he feels fine .

He is on his brother’s back most of the time, supervising his decisions. He knows that his brother can handle himself as the Hokage, but at the moment, he does not trust anybody but himself. He especially does not trust his brother’s emotional capabilities. More than ever, he needs to be the one to guard his brother’s thoughts, now that Madara is really gone and his brother is the one who killed his friend.

Tobirama is not a fool. He cannot turn a blind eye to Hashirama’s fondness towards Madara anymore, and this makes him pull the leash on his brother a little closer.

He knows that he is the only one who can do this for his brother.

Another incident like that cannot happen in the future. The village cannot afford it.

He rarely talks to his brother about personal matters these days unless it is about policies or some small issue from the clans. He just wants to avoid a fight, but sometimes, it is unavoidable and the Hokage office is thrown into chaos from their tempers. Tobirama can definitely do better to control the situation, but he also cannot help getting the last word in. Probably because he lacks sleep and everything around him makes him more cranky than normal.

Hashirama turns his chair towards the Hokage mountain, where his carved face stands, alone and cold. Behind him, Tobirama is shuffling papers.

The silence is deafening, but there is nothing they could do about it.

“This office needs more windows,” Tobirama comments off-handedly. “To get some air and light in.”

Hashirama nods, and he catches his brother’s reflection on the window.

"Is that all?” Hashirama coldly asks.

“I’m assigning some people to follow you as your personal guards. You can go anywhere you want, but they report to me.” Tobirama leaves it at that and he hurries out, not giving his brother a chance to reply.

Stepping into his estranged new home, Tobirama did not expect you to be there, and already getting the household ready to be inhabited. You are moving things around by yourself, and pausing to catch your breath. While the physicians have said that your recovery went well, they recommended that you do not partake in strenuous physical activities.

“You do know that we will have servants, right?” Tobirama says, and you start, almost dropping the vase you are holding. “They will come next week after I evaluate them.”

You whirl around and you glare at your husband incredulously. “There’s my husband, who by the way, had to be there to check me out from the hospital. Oh wait, I haven’t even seen him in two days!”

Tobirama blinks, too tired to retort. There are many instances where you do not make it clear whether you’re picking fun or just plain upset at him.

“I had hoped my students convinced you to stay longer,” Tobirama begins in a monotone voice.

“Why? So you can avoid me some more?” You raise an eyebrow and set down the vase.

Tobirama carefully watches you as you walk towards him. Your eyes search his face, noting the bags under his eyes and your expression softens.

“You have not slept,” you comment and Tobirama is mildly surprised. He had hoped to hide it from you.

“I had much to do,” Tobirama concludes.

“Since when did you not have much to do?” You try to joke, but the air feels to heavy to lift. You, of all people, understand what is at stake.

Slowly, you slip your arms around his waist, and lean your head on his chest. Tobirama stiffens slightly–ever his daub self–but little by little, he melts into you with a sigh.

“How can I help?” You murmur.

“I don’t think you can,” Tobirama answers, his voice a soothing hum from your ear pressed against his chest.

“Sure, I can,” you push a little. You are determined to insert yourself in his ambitions, because it will be easier to share his life with yours. “At least let me be the one to meet the servants.”

Tobirama is overwhelmed at your willingness to help. A part of him wants to say yes, but he also has his own resolve.

“No, it is alright,” Tobirama rejects your offer, and he gently pushes you off.

“Will you at least tell me what you’re doing?” You hate to bother him, especially when he is tired, but you also hate to watch him immerse himself into his familiar madness without doing anything to help him.

Tobirama gives you a strict look of not now , and he heads upstairs to his ruined study.

You press a hand to your forehead to cool off, and you remind yourself that you hallucinated that version of Madara in your dreams. It was not a genjutsu, but it sticks to you like one, in a way that it grips every space of your mind when you are not occupied.

You bite your lower lip, and you will away your fears.

He said that even if Tobirama does the right thing, and he will do what is expected of him, he will still fall.

You cannot stop Tobirama from being the person that everybody needs, and he will be, more than ever. Probably more than you feel to need him because he cannot just be nothing . Everybody dies, and you have made your peace with that, but you know that Tobirama’s death cannot be in vain. You have to be there to make sure that he will stay strong.

So you just have to stop loving him more than you have to so that you can let him be who he has to be. For your shared vision for Konohagakure. For the future.

You don’t even know where to start.

Thunder bellows from outside the window, and the rain splashing against your window wakes you. Lighting darts across the dark sky, and you roll to your back, and reach for Tobirama. The side of his bed is cold, and you stare at the dark ceiling, listening to any signs of life in the house.

You are completely alone.

You close your eyes, but a feeling nags at you.

You jump out of bed and wrap your yukata tightly around your body, and throw on a haori hanging by the changing corner. It is bigger on you, and you realize that it has Tobirama’s distinct sandalwood smell on it. You pause and you run your hands down on it, and then you hurry downstairs.

You slide the doors open, but only the rain greets you. Tobirama is nowhere to be found.

Searching frantically for an umbrella, you ransack your own home until finally, you feel it in the dark. Like a fool, you run out into the rain, not wasting another second.

The streets of Konoha at this hour are empty, and the rain makes everything cold and blue. The shadows play at you, taunting and beckoning, and the most of the street lights are doused from the heavy rain. Tobirama could be anywhere, and you are out here, running around with an unused umbrella, completely soaked. Your hair splats on your face, your neck, and water seeps in your mouth everytime you call for Tobirama.

The rain runs down your eyes, occasionally blurring your eyesight, and the wind blows, haunting and inimical, making you shiver. Maybe it is tears hindering you from seeing properly.

Damn, damn, damn , you curse in your mind. “Damn it, all!” You shout, but you quickly quell your voice, lest you wake the whole damn neighborhood.

Damn you, Madara , you continue to curse.

You circle the compound, and finally you find Tobirama’s lone figure walking ahead of you. His shoulders are slumped, a contrast to his usual upright demeanor. He looks defeated, and the darkness of the night covers him like a cape. The sight breaks your heart, and all thoughts of barring your love go down the drain. Maybe you are being selfish, but he is your husband. You promised more than to be his wife. You are his companion in life. He is not just his brother’s keeper, or his students’ teacher. He is not just a future leader.

You catch up to him, and you curse again, only now noticing that you are bare-feet as your feet slaps against the ground and splashes against the water, and really, it is so idiotic and worthy of getting teased by your husband, but you really did not care at this moment. Your instincts tell you to go to him, and to cover him, even for a few seconds.

You open the umbrella on his head, and the rain stops falling on him. You tremble from the cold, and from the pouring rain, but for a moment, he is safe, and this is something you can do for him. You can shield him like this.

Tobirama halts, and he straightens his head, realizing that no rain is falling on him. He looks up to see an umbrella on his head, and his heart sighs like a strung, mellow chord. He does not cry, but the rain makes up for it. The torrent releases his burdens and rolls off of his shoulders, and when he has carried enough, you are there. All his life, he is always the one looking out for everyone. He gives his service to anyone who will need it, but no one has ever covered him from the rain. No one has taken care of his heart like you have done.

No one has taken the time to search for him and trudge through unfavorable paths to get to him. He expects to be the one to fight like that, but he forgets that you are also strong in your own right, and you have such grace that he cannot comprehend. All his life, no one has been this gentle and loving towards him, no questions asked. He knows that you deserve better.

And yet, here you are.

Tobirama turns, and his eyes widen a fraction at the sight of you. You look like a ghost, and he almost laughs because your hair is splayed down like a wet cat, and you are wearing his dark blue overcoat.

He expects to find you fuming in vexation, but your gaze is tender and it is hard to meet them.

Tobirama marvels at you, but then he remembers that it is raining, so he takes you by the arm and pulls you closer and under the umbrella that you held over his head.

“It is late,” Tobirama states. His eyes flit down to your face, where a few raindrops flow down your cheek.

“Thank you for informing me, I forgot where our clocks were,” you reply, feeling your teeth chatter a little.

Tobirama’s eyes go over your forehead, and then he hears your teeth chatter.

“Let us go home,” Tobirama finally pronounces. His heart feels lighter, now that you are here, but there the current problems do not go away that easily. “I have something to tell you.”

You note the seriousness in his last sentence, but you can tell that Tobirama is radiating warmth, and you press your shoulder a little closer to his vicinity. You glance at his side profile and note the minuscule smile on his lips, and when he notices you staring, he gives you a questioning look.

You let out a little laugh, content to walk beside his footsteps. You cast your worries away, and whatever may come, you two will have each other, despite the difficulties.

‘Till death do us part , you vow, once again.

To be continued...

Chapter 7 - Make Him King >>

#angelica writes #tobirama x you #Tobirama Senju #Senju Tobirama #tobirama x reader #you never said goodbye timeline/au #'til death do us part

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fields-of-ink · 4 years

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FFF87 - I will be strong

[Image Description: a black banner with white lines on the background. In the center, #FFF87 I will be strong is written in white letters. End ID.]

I’m back after a pretty long hiatus!

First of all, thanks to the wonderful people of @flashfictionfridayofficial for this!

This time around, I decided to take advantage of the worldbuilding I done on Atosk, so have a little story set there. Or the beginning of one, at least...

Title: The River’s teachings

Warnings: none.

The river donned white streaks under the morning sunlight.

Troa let his feet touch the water in a gentle tap, watching the ripples form, before returning back to normal.

The Sheen River was a smaller one, but no less important the main ones in the region. Troa had known that river for the entirety of his life, its murmurs and whispers a soothing reminder of his homeland.

A white pebble rolled down the current, before stopping. Far away, a fish whisked away with a tail whip.

Troa sighed.

"Ever so thougthful, Troa."

His ears perked up, turning to meet Lofa, who was wearing a sly smile.

"Good morning, Lofa. I hope the waters find you well."

"I could be doing better. Another batch of fish in our breeding nets has died."

Troa's ears fell: "No way. Was it your family's?"

Lofa nodded, clenching his fists.

"This is no good", Troa watched the river once again, but no murmurs came to him. Instead, his friend's sorrow hit him like a wave, and he stood up, pulling him into a hug. "There has to be a way to fix things."

"The elders are trying all the methods known to the water tribes. I do believe it's only a matter of time."

Troa's lips formed a thin line. Lofa's eyes widened: "Don't tell me your mind is whirring again with those weird ideas of yours."

"They're not weird."

"You literally thought that feeding the fish with flower seeds would make them grow flowers."

"I was five years old!"

"But I still remember."

Troa huffed. "Lofa, think about it. Our region has never seen a shortage of water spirits like this one. How can we think of being able to fix this with our known methods?"

"We won't know until we try. What would you suggest, Troa?"

"Leave the region. Find a solution elsewhere. Maybe the krekna will..."

"The krekna?! Their reasonings are unknown and out of order, you know that. And the Janaznan tribes would just hunt you down."

"The Lanaukians are much more willing to talk, or so I've heard. Their reasoning are out only for our order, Lofa. What if our order won't help us this time?"

Lofa's ears perked up, and he stomped his feet: "Troa! What are you implying?"

"I'm going to leave the region, Lofa. Find a way out of our order to fix this problem. And possibly find the cause, too."

"You know what happens once we are given free reign, Troa! Doesn't the river talk to you?! Don't his teachings tell you anything?!"

Troa looked down. "The river destroys if it is let out of control", the words came out of his mouth on their own, repeated teachings that he had heard ever since he was a child. "But that won't happen. Didn't we create new paths of our river, too?"

"Troa! Please! Think about this. What does the Sheen tell you?"

Troa turned around, looking at the waters of the river. His reflection looked back at him. He slightly tapped the water, seeing the ripples, before it turned back to normal.

"He has talked to me, yes. He told me that water adapts itself to its new courses", he turned around, and looked at his friend's resigned face. "It is time for us to do the same. I will be strong and carve a new path with my energy, for all of us."

#flash fiction friday #flashfictionfriday #fff87 #i will be strong #my works #english #prose #fantasy #world: atosk esner #etherealcove #ethereal cove #oops i forgot the tag for that one...

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johannesviii · 4 years

Text

A Useless Post Rating the Preppers From Death Stranding

Because I can and I will. I got super attached to some of these bunches of pixels while playing, and I want to share my useless and extra subjective opinions

No plot-related spoilers. This is only listing the Preppers and not any Bridges employee from the various cities and facilities. No reasonable individuals to be found here, only strange people living in bunkers, baby

Let’s go

The Ludens Fan

Shelter placement: On a mountain, right between a Timefall zone and MULE territory, and not on any obvious delivery route. Not great. The view is super nice, though. 6/10

Prepper: A cinnamon roll who believes the world will be saved by fandoms and games. Always happy to see you. Gets super excited when you find old figurines for him. Sends lost stuff to people he doesn’t even know. Has toy dinosaurs.

Will I get something nice if I help them: Not really.

Opinion while playing: He is a Friend. 9/10

The Musician

Shelter placement: Hidden behind a little cliff, on a mountain, in a patch of nice fresh moss, next to a cool waterfall, overlooking the whole valley. Not on any delivery route whatsoever but come on. This guy is living the dream. 10/10

Prepper: Talks to you as if he’s known you since highschool. Has an emo haircut. Very passionate about rock albums from the “beginning of the 21st century” so I’m assuming he’s a fellow MCR fan. The walls of his shelter are covered in vinyls. Wants to create and share the music of the future for free. Streams his concerts on the chiral network.

Will I get something nice if I help them: A harmonica. You can play it. I’m in love

Opinion while playing: Hell yeah what a cool dude 10/10

The Engineer

Shelter placement: In plain view right next to a huge road and two MULE territories. Dude didn’t even try to hide and his packages are stolen all the time. At least the weather is nice? 3/10

Prepper: Has spent his entire life inside of this bunker since birth. Polite and a bit shy. Has a friendly smile. Judging by the amount of alcohol we deliver to him, feels lonely. Sometimes you’ll find gallons of lube with his name on it and he’ll refuse to give any kind of explanation and to be fair the guy probably uses it for all his mechanical inventions. But deep down, we know.

Will I get something nice if I help them: Upgrades for the Power Skeleton. You know you want them.

Opinion while playing: Another Friend. I will judge him silently every time I have to bring him his lost lube though. 9/10

The Craftsman

Shelter placement: Next to a huge road on a plain ravaged by Timefall, between two MULE territories and a voidout crater choke-full of BTs. Can potentially see the nightmarish ruins of a roadside factory and a traffic jam where everyone clearly got killed. I don’t know if I hate it or respect the shit out of it. 2/10

Prepper: Suspicious of us. Sends us on a suicide mission to fetch old equipment in a terrifying place. Hates Fragile, so we can’t be friends. Likes to fix broken watches, apparently. A lot of his lost packages seem to be special reinforced underwear. I’m curious but also I don’t want to pry.

Will I get something nice if I help them: Custom hematic grenades. Can’t live without them.

Opinion while playing: A suspicious little shit and I don’t trust him but he’s still a good ally. 5/10

The Elder

Shelter placement: On a majestic plateau in the middle of the region, overlooking everything. Not on any obvious route, which is a problem, but also away from danger, Timefall and MULEs. A green little patch of heaven. 9/10

Prepper: Old and kind but takes no shit from anybody. All of his emails are like “anyway, f█ck the government and f█ck this country” and I’m living for it. Will give away old photo albums, books and games predating the Death Stranding, in hope they can be shared with other people and their kids. Wholesome as hell.

Will I get something nice if I help them: Not really.

Opinion while playing: The most valid boomer you will ever see. My adoptive grandfather and I must protect him at all costs. 10/10

Peter Englert

Shelter placement: Not on any obvious delivery route but right next to Lake Knot City on a plain ravaged by Timefall. You can see Middle Knot City’s crater from there. Not a bad spot, but also no good vibes whatsoever. 6/10

Prepper: Never at home, has no hologram and keeps finding terrible excuses not to be there, which is rude. Possibly imaginary friends and relatives. Writes extremely long and well-spoken, obsequious, smarmy emails to you and you’ll receive them at the worst possible moments, like he just knows. Only interested in pizza, and you.

Will I get something nice if I help them: Hope you like high quality guns, and very disturbing journal entries.

Opinion while playing: Was literally calling him my nemesis even BEFORE learning anything about the guy. The best and the worst prepper at the same time. Go f█ck yourself, dude, I love you. Pizza/10

The Timefall Farmer and the Environmental Scientist

Shelter placement: Right next to a huge MULE territory. There’s the Tar Belt in the distance and no city, road or friends for miles. Very awkward. 4/10

Preppers: Planned to study the effects of Timefall on plants and became farmers instead. They are not enjoying it one bit and you’re under the impression they occasionally get on each other’s nerves even though they’ve been colleagues for years. The concept of their farm is a fantastic bit of worldbuilding, though, but they are a bit bland themselves.

Will I get something nice if I help them: A goose hologram. I need it

Opinion while playing: They’re super nice but their general weariness is too contagious for comfort. 4/10

The Film Director

Shelter placement: In the middle of jagged rocks, reasonably far away from local MULEs and Timefall, but also from any kind of road or decent delivery route. The ground is a poisonous reddish brown with occasional smoke. Ominous. 5/10

Prepper: Really worried about ancient media getting lost and forgotten, and will do anything to save old movies from oblivion. Trusts you instantly. Is always surprised you brought something for him, or just thought about him, and it’s heartwarming to see. Geeks about things he likes in your emails when he isn’t low-key flirting with you. Has the most epic beard you will ever see in your life.

Will I get something nice if I help them: A rock hologram. Uh?

Opinion while playing: Came for the geeking, stayed for the flirting 8/10

The Collector

Shelter placement: Inside a cavern two-thirds up a vertical rock face in a canyon slap bang in the middle of MULE territory. Invisible from ground level, and invisible from the bottom of the canyon. The MULEs live literally next door and don’t even know the guy is there. No chill whatsoever. Incredible. What a king. 10/10

Prepper: Shaped like a friend. Loves videogames and loves geeking about them. Fascinated by pre-Stranding press like “people were buying newspapers? On real paper?? :O”. Really wants you to read his emails because he’s got nobody to share his special interests with. Wants to write about your adventures to inspire other people. Occasionally you’ll find a lost package with a vintage playstation and you know it’s for him even without looking at the name on the tag.

Will I get something nice if I help them: A backpack cover to protect your stuff from Timefall?? holy shit?

Opinion while playing: We have no choice but to stan. 9/10

The Junk Dealer

Shelter placement: On a heavily polluted, rust-colored hill in the middle of a scrapyard full of broken down cars, overlooking both MULE and BT territory AND some f█cking terrifying ruins on all sides. It’s metal as shit, but also, the dude’s got a death wish. 3/10

Prepper: Tries to emotionally blackmail us with videos of his supposedly dead girlfriend. Very rude. Sends us on a suicide mission in BT territory to look for junk just for a laugh. Is such a piece of shit he got divorced by a woman who was willing to be carried under heavy Timefall through a horde of BTs to see him. Killed his girlfriend’s parents and didn’t tell her.

Will I get something nice if I help them: Upgrades for the Speed skeleton, and also chiral ladders, which are both life-saving, and I hate the fact that I need those so much.

Opinion while playing: A piece of shit and a terrible human being. Go sit on some rusty metal in BT territory, my dude. 1/10

The Chiral Artist and her Mother

Shelter placement: Overlooking a bottomless lake of tar and depressing ruins plagued by Timefall, far from civilisation but also far from trouble. Depressing, but safe. 6/10

Preppers: A little ray of sunshine. Capable of planning a journey on foot while avoiding Timefall and BTs after having done the trip exactly once (1) and on our back, which makes her one of the bravest Preppers we ever meet. Talented as hell with chiralium. Very awkward speech patterns and elocution which I always find relatable. Makes extremely bad choices regarding her love life. Will send you likes in a cringy but cute way. I don’t really trust her adoptive mother too much but she seems to be friends with the Cosplayer and any friend of the Cosplayer is my friend.

Will I get something nice if I help them: Chiral boots. Literally the most useful thing anyone anywhere gave me in this game. No matter how far I am from her and her mom I will backtrack to get some brand new chiral boots from her every time I need them. They are that good

Opinion while playing: I love her but she’s making extremely bad life choices and it’s giving me mild anxiety 8/10

The Cosplayer and the Wandering MC

Shelter placement: At the very bottom of a long, narrow canyon plagued by Timefall, inside a vertical hole in the ground. How they haven’t both drowned yet is beyond me. This is the worst idea ever. 1/10

Prepper: Both of them are always super excited to see you. Trade a ton of art and crafts supplies back and forth with everyone in the region. Organised a goddamn post-apo cosplay convention through the chiral network. She considers cosplay to be ‘the art of transformation’, and he’s a big fan of you, and also otters. Otter facts. Dad Jokes to the max. Legends only

Will I get something nice if I help them: Backpack custom options. And the otter hood. Come on. Who doesn’t want to look like an otter. According to the MC it was “threaded and triple stitched by [his] cosplay partner using silk”. I don’t deserve this gift

Opinion while playing: Just because it’s the apocalypse doesn’t mean you can’t look and feel your best 10/10

The Doctor and the Medical Device Engineer

Shelter placement: Overlooking a little river in the mountains, right before the snow starts. Extremely close to Mountain Knot City. Practical and beautiful. Lovely spot. 8/10

Preppers: She invented and crafted a medical terminal that allows doctors to examine patients remotely through the network, and distributed it for free. He’s sitting on years of medical knowledge and stockpiles of meds, and also sharing both with everyone. Got married because they admired each other so much and shared a common hatred of the lack of medical assistance post-Stranding. Two absolute angels. We don’t deserve them

Will I get something nice if I help them: Custom blood bags. A must during boss fights.

Opinion while playing: A bit too serious, but mad respect. 7/10

The Photographer

Shelter placement: In the mountains, in the middle of nowhere, overlooking the valley, but away from everything and everyone, next to BT territory and daaaangerously close to the biggest Demens camp in the entire country. Who told you this was a good idea. 4/10

Prepper: The walls of her shelter are decorated with photos of beautiful landscapes. Friendly but takes no shit. Constantly trying to go out to take pictures of cool places and weird paleoart and stuff even though there’s a whole gang of terrorists outside firing live ammo at anyone on sight. Her cameras get stolen all the time, and yet she keeps doing it again and again. Judging by one delivery she sent to Mountain Knot City, she even has footage of Edge Knot City. You know. The unreachable nightmarish place beyond the f█cking Tar Belt. HOW

Will I get something nice if I help them: Guns because she clearly has no chill

Opinion while playing: This woman has more nerves in her left pinky than I have in my entire f█cking body. We stan a queen 9/10

The Novelist’s Son

Shelter placement: In a vast, beautiful green plain full of rivers and lakes, kind of in the middle of nowhere but also at a safe distance of the Demens territory. It’s painted the same green as the rest of the plain, which is a stroke of genius. 8/10

Prepper: Considering his title and the fact that the walls of his shelter are full of bookshelves, I expected a pretentious writer of sorts. But no. He doesn’t write. He’s just a soft boy who wants to save the world with plants. Will make sure you read his emails because he’s very passionate about gardening, gourds and mythology, and wants to talk about it with everyone. Too good for this world, too pure.

Will I get something nice if I help them: Special cryptobiotes! Pretty cool. I want to save some for Fragile

Opinion while playing: I love him I love thinking about him 10/10

The Roboticist

Shelter placement: High in the mountains, but in some sort of hollow, surrounded by snow and rocks on all sides. There’s also a nice hot spring nearby. Feels strangely safe and pleasant for such an isolated spot. 7/10

Prepper: Super approachable and quite friendly. Clearly a genius considering how good the all-terrain skeleton is. The stuff she’s looking for goes from stuff for her projects to a plush for her kid or a vintage coffee machine. Her emails, meanwhile, are shit-your-pants terrifying, like her wondering if machines should replace humans, or pranking you by pretending she was dead the whole time and her hologram is an IA. Thank you for the heart attack.

Will I get something nice if I help them: Upgrades for the all-terrain skeleton, hell yeah baby

Opinion while playing: I’m very conflicted because her emails are scary as shit but if she stepped on my face I’d say “thank you” 8/10

The Mountaineer and the Mountain Guide

Shelter placement: On top of a mountain but in a relatively flat and safe area, very isolated but also far from Beached Things, with good visibility. There’s logic to the madness. 6/10

Preppers: Initially in panic mode due to a medical emergency. Tough outside, but soft inside. He gives you precious advice about whiteouts and how to deal with them and stay alive in the mountains. We don’t know much about her, except she used to explore the mountains using chiral climbing anchors. Just speculation but I’m under the impression they met one day on a super dangerous expedition and ended together because they were both tough as nails, or maybe because they saved each other. Their kid is going to be unstoppable.

Will I get something nice if I help them: Chiral climbing anchors.

Opinion while playing: Wholesome couple of adventurers. A bit bland, but in a good way 7/10

The Spiritualist

Shelter placement: On a mountain peak in the middle of a whiteout area, but sometimes the weather can be decent and the view pretty nice, if you squint. Getting there feels like a test to join a secret cult and I don’t like that one bit. 3/10

Prepper: Twin sister of the Cosplayer, but gives off a very different vibe, like some sort of white suburban mom who’s discovering new age stuff. Has a very mystical approach to this whole apocalypse thing but seems to be wayyy too much into it for comfort. Really wants to see the Beach and tries to do so through meditation. We can receive chemicals from her. I do NOT want to know what’s in there.

Will I get something nice if I help them: A RACCOON HOLOGRAM?? I LOVE IT

Opinion while playing: Harmless but she scares me. 3/10

The First Prepper

Shelter placement: On a nearly inaccessible mountain peak battered by snow storms. The slope is so dangerous I straight up died once while walking on it. Absolutely nothing for miles and no visibility. That’s not a shelter, that’s a coffin. 1/10

Prepper: Apparently his family has lived in shelters ever since the beginning of the Cold War, then decided to stay there in case the world would end in the year 2000, then because of the Bush era, and long story short the guy is like “I did it before it was cool” and he’s literally gatekeeping other Preppers and calling them amateurs. Tries really hard to convince us to stop helping people and get our own shelter. At least he admits self-sufficiency is a mirage in the end, which is more than I expected from this clown.

Will I get something nice if I help them: A hat, and a wolf hologram

Opinion while playing: When the nicest thing I have to say about a Prepper is “well they’re not hurting anybody”, you know it’s bad. What a jerk 2/10

The Evo-Devo Biologist

Shelter placement: On an isolated snow slope away from civilisation, overlooking ruins and geysers in the distance. Not far from BT territory and terrorists, but still at a reasonable distance. Next to a hot spring. The view is majestic as f█ck. 9/10

Prepper: Looks strict and gives off severe teacher vibes, but you’re under the impression that’s purely because she hasn’t seen or talked to another human being in years. Polite but distant. Thinks the sixth mass extinction is a golden opportunity for science, and inevitable, and that we should study the shit out of it even if we end up dying. She’s not wrong exactly but also, yikes

Will I get something nice if I help them: Not really.

Opinion while playing: I genuinely have no idea. An enigma. 5/10

The Geologist

Shelter placement: High in the mountains on a desolate snowy slope, completely isolated from everything. I think I’ve seen a movie about that kind of place once, except it was a hotel. 2/10

Prepper: The first package we bring to him is a shipment of meds to fight chiral contamination. No more nightmares or suicidal thoughts after that, so he’s ok. Also he’s obsessed with Heartman to the point you wonder if he’s got a crush on him, belittles himself and his work constantly, and also thinks saving the world is a waste of time and effort. No no he’s still ok, he swears. But yeah uh. Dude is clearly one small step away from blowing a fuse and going full Demens, we need to sit down and talk about your problems my friend

Will I get something nice if I help them: Not really.

Opinion while playing: I like him but he worries me a lot and I’m a bit scared for him 7/10

The Paleontologist

Shelter placement: In a little valley in the mountains, where grass and snow meet, miles away from civilisation and roads, but also miles away from problems. If there wasn’t this pit full of toxic gas literally next door, this would be perfect. 8/10

Prepper: Likes to complain about everything and everyone. A bit rude but more in a familiar way than an unpleasant way. Extremely passionate about fossils and prehistoric stuff and gets super excited about ammonites in particular. Mentions exploring a place full of toxic gas without any kind of protection just to fetch some neat rocks once, so we both clearly have the same level of survival instincts when our special interests are involved.

Will I get something nice if I help them: Not really, unless you count level 2 Hematic Grenades

Opinion while playing: Relatable as shit. I feel like I’d be this guy if I existed in this game’s world. 9/10

The Veteran Porter

Shelter placement: Nowhere Man lives on a very abrupt slope full of rocks in the middle of Nowhereburg, Nowhere State, Nowherica. You get the feeling he knows the region like the back of his hand and picked that spot exactly for that reason and frankly, I have to respect that. 7/10

Prepper: Ex-Porter with a damaged spine. A retired adventurer, exhausted after carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Higgs used to be his boss back when he was still working at Fragile Express so the dude has massive trust issues now and I won’t argue with that. Initially suspicious of us and Bridges, for good reasons. Every time I found a super isolated bunker signed under Fragile Express I was like “woah their employees were hardcore to find all these places that Bridges couldn’t find”, and he’s one of these guys, and I get it now. And he’s tired. So tired. A whole mood.

Will I get something nice if I help them: Not really.

Opinion while playing: Unlike the First Prepper I respect the shit out of him and I want him to enjoy his well-earned retirement 8/10

#death stranding #long post #eye contact tw

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cottage-babe · 4 years

Text

Burning Scars part X

Previous | Chapter 10 | Next

Masterlist

whoops i missed two weeks of updating, sorry, concussion stuff :) im all good now tho so more! updating!

I changed the original story up a bit :)

Summary: Y/n, a werewolf from a hidden village, comes across Zuko and Iroh after being exiled. How has fate intertwined the wolf into the avatar’s destiny?

___

Zuko’s been acting a little... weird lately.

Well, let’s clarify something; Zuko always acts weird. But ever since the trio went into work that day, the boy had been on edge.

Y/n was standing at the tea station, just leaning against the wall and spacing out. Iroh was beside her, humming a small tune as he prepared the next batch of tea. Then, the boy quickly walked up to them in panic.

“Guys, we have a problem.” He said as he set the teacups he was holding onto the table. “One of the customers is on to us. Don't look now but there is a girl over there at the corner table.”

Y/n snapped out of her daydream and looked over to the person Zuko was talking about. It was a pretty girl; she had long dark hair pulled into two braids and a sappy smile on her face. Instantly Y/n knew that she wasn’t suspicious of anything.

“Didn’t I say don’t look?!” Zuko whispered and dragged both of his companions arms to turn away.

A laugh almost escaped Y/n’s mouth as she shared a look with Iroh. “You know Zuko, I think you’re right, I’ve seen her here a lot.”

The clueless teen nodded his head and furrowed his brows.

“Seems to me she has quite a little crush on you.” Iroh laughed and went back to whatever it was that he was doing.

Zuko let out a ‘what?’ and Y/n sighed in response. She had to keep reminding herself that she and the other boy were nothing remotely close to romantic. If anything was learned from last night, they were just friends; family, at most. And she was okay with that, honestly. She had so many issues with him that it probably wouldn’t even work out. But still, she couldn’t deny the fact the Zuko might’ve been the topic of her daydream just moments ago.

Y/n resumed her position of leaning on the wall. She watched as the ‘mysterious’ girl walked up to the counter and began to talk to Zuko flirtatiously. The girl introduced herself as Jin and payed for her drink.

“Thank you and ... well, I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime?” Jin asked with a hopeful gaze.

Zuko paused in bewilderment and it almost made the poor girl regret her request. Y/n wasn’t going to butt in, she really wasn’t, but soon she decided that it was for the best. Maybe if she helped him get in a relationship, it would help her get over her slight (once again, very very slight) feelings over him.

“He’d love to.” Y/n responded for Zuko.

The boy looked around his shoulder and sent the wolf a questioning glare, but she just sent him a smile and turned to help Iroh make some tea.

My job here is done.

Jin and Zuko talked a bit more and ended with her saying that she’d meet with him at sundown. That meant that for the rest of the day Zuko chatted nervously with Y/n and Iroh, giving off mixed feelings between ‘I don’t want to go’ and ‘should I dress nice?’. Y/n let Iroh do all the talking, she wasn’t too much of an expert in that area.

When she was in her pack, Y/n wasn’t exactly popular among the boys. They mainly drifted her to strong, beautiful sister and the girl wasn’t bothered by it too much. She had a few crushes here and there, but that was about it. Nothing was ever acted on.

So hearing that this was Zuko’s first date relieved her to an extent; at least she wasn’t the only one who’d gone this long without being in a relationship. But there was the other part that nagged her a bit, the fact that Zuko was having his first date; with a stranger none the less.

Quit all this feeling stuff, it’s getting annoying.

Y/n may or may not have been giving Zuko a form of silent treatment for the day. If he ever asked her anything, she answered, but other than that, she never intimated any conversation. There wasn't any particular reason (lies), but it certainly didn't go unnoticed by her roommate.

"Hey, uhh.. if you don't think that I should go, I won't." Zuko said randomly on their break.

Y/n's eyes furrowed in confusion. "I literally answered her for you, Lee. If anyone is being hesitant, it should be you."

"So," he began. "Your not bothered? At all?"

There was this weird look in the boy's eyes, something of... Hope?

That's weird.

"Listen, if you need advise or something, Iroh will probably be your best bet." The werewolf laughed awkwardly.

He just sighed and went back to work.

When closing time was coming and there were hardly any customers left, Zuko and Iroh went to the backroom to prepare. Y/n didn’t really pay attention to what they were doing; she just assumed that they were cleaning up any dirty bits he picked up or making him smell better.

That was why when Zuko walked out into the dining room with his hair slicked back ridiculously, Y/n couldn't hold back the snort that escaped her. Why would Iroh do this to him? Some revenge she didn’t know about or something?

Zuko glared at her and she just masked up her laughter as a cough. “You look great!” She even put a thumbs up to try an convince him of her lie. He just rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, slowly opening the door of the restaurant. By that time, the few remaining people had filtered out and it was just the three of them.

When the view of Jin came, even Y/n couldn’t hold back her gasp.

The young girl was really quite beautiful. Her braid was fixed and she had a youthful enthusiasm to her features. It was a beautiful contrast to the adult life that Y/n and Zuko were thrown into.

Jin’s eyes widened at the boys new look and laughed, saying something clever to him. Zuko just shut the door so his two roommates wouldn’t listen in on their conversation.

“He’s growing up so fast,” Iroh jokingly sniffled and wiped a fake tear.

Y/n laughed and nodded her head. I hope he’s nice to her.

The werewolf turned and returned to the backroom so she could put her apron away. She assumed that Iroh was following, so she didn’t bother waiting.

“So,” She began, “what should we do tonight?” Y/n began to wave her arms around dramatically. “Get some food? Watch a play?”

She was really looking forward to tonight. Now they didn’t have Zuko here constantly breathing down their necks (”We don’t have enough money for that!!” “Why buy that when you can buy this!” it got a little redundant at times).

Iroh slid his apron off and chuckled. “Oh no no... I’m far too old to have fun at night.”

Y/n deflated. To be fair, the sun hadn’t fully set yet. “I mean... I guess we could read at home?”

He shook his head once more and turned toward the werewolf. “Just go have fun, meet new people. Don’t let someone like me slow you down!”

She pouted. Why does he think that time spent with him is wasted? She has plenty of fun hanging out with the sweet uncle! Y/n looked at his happy, aged face and observed his truthfulness. She knows that he just wants her to have fun, but still...

“Just go, Y/n, and I’ll see you back home tonight.” Iroh smiled.

Y/n sighed, looking at Iroh one last time, before turning around and heading out the same door that Jin and Zuko left through. When the brisk air hit her, it felt different somehow. Maybe because this was her first time being out alone. She means this quite lightly, of course, but something about it still irked her.

The sun was sorta bright out, but not much.

It had set halfway, so the small beams were jutting out the tops of the building and the sky was painted the scene of fire. Oh, her and her love for sunsets.

Y/n decided to pick a direction and walk. Honestly, in this part of the city, there weren’t many sights to see; everything interesting rested in the higher Rings since they could afford it.

After a few minutes, the girl saw a stand selling sweets. She patted her pockets and brought out her tips from work. It wasn’t much, but definitely enough for the night.

She paid for some iced treats; Popsicles of some kind. She wasn’t entirely sure which flavor to pick, so she went with her childish side and decided to buy two that she was interested in.

As she continued her trip, Y/n stopped at a few places to watch things. Since night was approaching, shows were starting on random parts of the streets. People performed odd talents for money and it excited the girl; maybe she should do something like them, it seems fun.

At some point, Y/n ended up at the entrance of a zoo.

She was almost finished with the first ice cream in her grasp when she decided to enter the park. It seemed deserted and there was only one person at the front desk.

“Umm, excuse me? Are you open?” Y/n asked since the worker was almost half asleep.

The man jumped awake and looked around, startled. Then, his eyes landed on the girl’s curious figure. “Yes. Is it just you? Where’s your friends?”

Y/n pouted in response. “It’s just me, how much is it?”

She began to ruffle through her pockets, hoping that it was enough to see the animals, but the man waved a hand in the air.

“It’s fine, you can just go ahead. Just don’t feed the animals.” He said while looking suspiciously at the girl’s popsicles.

Y/n nodded her head and smiled in thanks. Then, she went inside.

She wasn’t entirely sure why she wanted to be here; it would be hard for her to see captive animals when she herself was one (well, not caged, but you get the point). Her pack elders had informed her of zoos and used it to scare the kid wolves so they wouldn’t go and try to find humans. Of course, that never worked on Y/n and her siblings. She honestly just thought that it was fake up until this point.

The werewolf walked around to each cell to observe the animals. It almost made her cry; they all just looked so lonely. Y/n couldn’t imagine how trapped they must feel in this small cage; a part of her was happy that she wasn’t in that situation, though.

“They all look so sad.”

Y/n turned around and was met with a young boy, possibly about twelve years old. He was bald with a blue arrow tattooed across his forehead and arms and held a long stick in his hands. The orange of his clothing made him standout against the dreary greys of the zoo.

The girl looked at the animal across from them. It was a Rabaroo, an animal with long ears and bouncy legs. Y/n could hear small chirps coming from the pouch in her front, but she decided not to say anything.

“She’s really hungry too, I can tell.” Y/n said as she walked up closer to the cage.

The poor animal was almost pleading for help. She had a thought that the Rabaroo knew what she was, a predator, but still asked for help. These animals must be really desperate.

The boy joined her. “I wish there was something I could do, but I’m not sure how to help.”

Y/n nodded her head in agreement. When she got this feeling in the past (before they entered Ba Sing Se with their Ostrich-Horses), she found a solution; to just let them go and be free. Now, however, she just felt helpless.

Instead, she just looked at the boy and held out the other ice treat in her hand. “Do you want one? I can’t finish both.”

He got a childish excitement in his eyes and grabbed the treat. Y/n smiled back at him, maybe something good can come from today.

“I’m Aang, I’m looking for my lost Sky Bison.” Aang said as he began licking to Popsicle.

“Y/n,” she introduced herself while thinking, what the Spirits is a Sky Bison? “I'm just wandering the city; thinking."

“Really?” He asked. “What are you thinking about?”

What was she thinking about?

There’s so much that should be on her mind right now; her future, how her family’s doing, how she’s doing, but for some reason the only thing that’s been scattered around her brain recently was Zuko. Something about him just seemed so.. spirits, she couldn’t even find the word for it. But it seemed like she was seeing him differently now.

“Oh, you're still here?"

Y/n and Aang turned to the voice that spoke. It belonged to the man at the front desk, the one that let her in for free.

"Do you know what's wrong with the animals?" Aang asked the owner, ignoring the rude phrase that he said.

"Well, the Dai Li won't give me any money because the kids stopped coming. And the kids won't come because my zoo's nasty and broke." The owner sighed. "I wish I could give all these animals the big, open space that they need."

Y/n frowned. He must have really good intentions, it's just the situation that makes him seem bad.

She met eyes with the younger boy to her side and was surprised to see the... Joy?

"Let's do it!" Aang yelled out, surprising both people beside him. "There's a big open space right outside the walls of the city!"

"But how do we transport them?" Y/n asked.

She was totally on board with the idea, it's just that it seemed a little... Impulsive. But she was talking to a child, though, and they always have such big ideas.

"Oh I'm really good with animals." The boy smiled. "Do you want to help me?"

The werewolf paused, thinking that maybe she shouldn't get involved in this event. But one look at the poor Rabaroo peering up at her with it's wide eyes made her cave in.

"You know... I'm pretty good with animals too."

She was not as good as she thought she was.

Aang and Y/n separated because they needed to find a way to calm the wild animals running loose. The boy (spirits bless him) thought it was a fantastic idea to let all of the animals go at once; from the biggest animals to the smallest rats. It was wild.

And so here the werewolf was, chasing down a pair of Raccoon-Crows. Since the sun had set long ago, there weren’t a lot of people out. Most who enjoyed the liveliness of the night has had their fun and returned to the welcoming embrace of their beds. Oh, if only I stayed home to sleep.

“Get back here!” Y/n yelled as the birds flew off once again.

They seemed to look at her with a mischievous gleam in their eyes; waiting for her to get close before bolting off once again. It was getting very annoying.

She didn’t regret helping the young boy, especially since she might’ve gained a friend out of this. She only regretted not coming up with a better plan; or at least to wait until morning.

“AHHH!” A voice screamed off in the distance.

Y/n groaned and turned toward the yell, knowing that some animal was probably attacking some random citizen. What she didn’t expect though, was to run face first into Zuko and Jin’s date.

Jin had a hog-monkey climbing on her dress and Zuko was in full panic mode. He tried to help her push the animal off, but it seemed to have a steel grip on her. Luckily, they were alone in some fire lit plaza.

Y/n felt really awkward, especially with how private the area was. What would they need privacy for? She quickly pushed that out of her head though and whistled loudly to catch the Monkey’s attention.

The animal and the two teens looked at her in surprise. Y/n took out a treat that the Zoo Keeper had given her and waved it to catch the eyes of the Hog-Monkey. When it loosened it’s grip, she threw it as far as she could away from the group. Luckily, it jumped away in excitement.

“Y/n?!” Zuko exclaimed. Sighing in defeat, the werewolf slowly joined the duo.

Jin was still slightly frightened and was grasped onto the boy’s arm. Y/n pretended not to see it.

“Hey Lee. Fancy seeing you here?” She tried miserably as she scrunched her face up in discomfort. Maybe they’ll be able to cut this conversation short.

“Why aren’t you back home with Uncle?” Zuko said as his eyebrows squished together in anger. “What are you even doing out here?”

“I decided to go out too,” she explained quickly, “but listen, I met this boy and we’r-”

“A boy?!” He seemed to be fuming now. “You can’t just go around talking to random people.”

This made the werewolf (and Jin, but we’re kinda ignoring the sweet girl for a moment) raise her eyebrow in disbelief. He’s really out here, scolding her for making friends when he’s on a date with some girl he’s never met before. Does he ever think before he speaks?

“I-” Y/n paused and took a deep breath to calm herself. “You know what? We’ll talk about this later. I think we’re both busy at the moment.”

Zuko glanced at his date and the werewolf used that distraction as an excuse to leave. She ran off in the direction of the Hog-Monkey, hoping that it hadn’t run too far and purposefully ignored the boy who yelled in protest behind her. Stupid Zuko and his stupid anger issues.

When she got far enough, she slowed to a walk and looked around. The monkey must’ve gotten away because it was nowhere in sight.

“Hog-Monkey.... c’mere monkey, I have treats.” Y/n spoke loudly out into the dark streets of Ba Sing Se.

She hoped that the animal would hear her words and come barreling toward her, but she was only greeted with silence except for the soft footsteps coming from a lady walking down the street. Besides for the lady, the entire street was empty and no other animal was in sight.

That was when she heard it.

A high pitched ringing noise that rattled her bones and made her brain shrink in protest. It was louder than anything she’d ever heard before. It wasn’t the noise that was painful, no no, it was the feeling of being ripped apart that did.

The noise, for some reason, caused the werewolf in Y/n to go absolutely crazy. It was fighting the girl; desperately trying to shift into its natural skin so it could run toward the ringing.

Y/n hunched herself over and groaned out in pain. She looked at her hands and saw it shifting between claws and human hands; she could only imagine what the rest of her body was doing.

“Are you alright, sweetie?”

The transforming-girl looked up to meet the eyes of the lady who was on the street. Her eyes were filled with worry, but slowly changed into something of fear.

Before the werewolf could do something to hurt the kind woman, Y/n bolted down an empty alley. Spirits, what is happening to me?

She leaned against the dirty wall and tried to catch her breath, but her wolf just kept clawing at her, desperately trying to escape. She punched the wall, leaving a fist-sized dent (her mind just brushed it off as her wolf power, but that was weird, right?). Then, while the ringing noise still blasted through her ears, she felt her snout slowly grow out of her face; a growl of effort roaring through the alleyway.

The young girl wanted to cry. Why couldn’t she control herself right now? She was used to the pain of transforming, she had done it all of her life, but she’d never experienced the pain of her two natures battling. It was something entirely different.

The seconds that were passing seemed like hours.

All she could think was, when will the ringing stop?

Soon, she didn’t have the power to hold it back anymore. Her human body was weak and she hated herself for it. She let her werewolf grow into its natural size, towering above her normal height. She felt her clothing rip until it was just strips of fabric on on the floor.

The ringing stopped, but her wild mind remembered where the sound came from and began its run there.

Fortunately (although, its also very unfortunate), her journey was ended when something sharp pierced through the skin on her neck. Her dark eyes jumped around until it landed on the fearful lady from the street shaking beside a group of men.

Y/n felt a sudden drowsiness come over her and her large body fell limp to the floor despite it’s fighting. Just before the unconsciousness came over her, though, the green circle on the men’s chest became prominent in the moonlight.

Then, her world went dark.

Dai Lee >:(

also Aang’s whistle thing >:(

i know that this is a VERY slow burn, but maybe some... couple-y stuff in the next few chapters? we’ll see ;)

Previous | Chapter 10 | Next

Masterlist

Taglist: @bucky-blogs @hopefuloperaangelnerd @simplyfandomish @oddlypointlessescapes @lozzybowe @woohoney @whalerus @cece-lives-here @bwndito @kiaoizz @lrmilikepie @ohmigooosh

#zuko #zuko x reader #atla #avatar

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pineapplekween · 4 years

Text

MOLE! SOULMATE

Soulmate AU

Sugawara Koushi x reader

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

It was commonly believed that moles were marking the places where your soulmate loved to kiss you the most in your past life.

After decades of believing those beautiful mark will show the affection you two shared it became quite common to share one secret spot which will help you find your past lover.

Well, at least that's what you've been told.

For whole 18 years of your life you tried to find your 'secret mole' but every time you thought you found it, it became clear that it was common place for a mole.

But love always strikes in the most unexpected moments. In your case quite literally.

"Watch out!"

You heard the warning as something hit you in the back of your head hard enough to make you fall face down.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

You saw someone kneeling beside you when you tried to sit up.

"Not really." You massaged back of your head. "But I'll manage."

"Let me take you to nurse's office."

You looked at man sitting beside you. He was quite tall. Halo around his silver hair as his figure towered over you. He had really pretty smile and mole under his eye. 'Ah, must be his soulmate mark.' You assumed.

"Okay." You grabbed his extended hand and let him help you stand up. His arms supported you when you lost balance and you couldn't help but notice how gentle his touch was.

He walked you to nurse's office and left you with elder woman after she suggested for you to rest.

Before you knew you were fast asleep and silver haired boy was gone.

You dreamed about strange men kissing you by your ear.

When you met silver haired boy for the second time the rain was pouring hard. You stayed in your club a bit longer and now you were stuck in school with no umbrella and no way of getting home without catching cold.

"Need a hand?" You heard as you saw someone handing you umbrella.

"Huh, but what about-"

"It's okay." Said silver haired boy. "I don't live that far so I'll be fine." He smiled. "Besides, let this be my way of apologising for hitting you in PE class."

"Oh." You felt blush creep onto your cheeks. "That's alright I wouldn't want to bother you or be the reason you catch cold though." You tried give him his umbrella back but he pushed it away.

"It's okay. If anything you can always take care of me if I'm sick." He smiled once more and walked into the rain.

He's weird. You thought. But cute.

You couldn't help but smile on your way home.

The third time you met the boy was when you sprained your strained your wrist while helping in gardening club. It happened two days after umbrella incident and you just got to nurse's office when you heard familiar voice.

"It's just a cold. I'll just rest for a bit and be as good as new."

He didn't seem to notice your presence as you approached closer to them.

His cheeks and forehead were rosy, probably because of fever. Eyes watery and his voice sounded a bit different. Must be cold's fault.

"I can get him hot tea and keep an eye on him if that's okay." The words left your mouth before you knew. Your aquintance looked at you surprised and smiled after he recognized you. The nurse only nodded and left the two of you alone.

"Stay with him then. I'll bring tea for you two."

"So you did catch a cold." You raised an eyebrow as you watched him closely.

"So you will take care of me." He mimicked your actions

"Y/L Y/N. But call me Y/N."

"Sugawara Koushi. Pleasure to meet you." He smiled brightly. "Whats bring you here Y/N?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just sprained my wrist and wanted to have it checked." You dismissed his concern.

"I can help." He said as he tried to leave the bed. "I have experience in taking care of injured hands."

"No!" You rushed to stop him from standing up but felt embarrassed for reacting so abruptly. "I mean, I don't want to bother you. Especially when you're not feeling well."

He looked at you before pointing towards something.

"Could you pass me my bag?" You nodded and grabbed his belongings. "Thank you." He said as you handed it to him and he instantly starter rummaging through it. "There it is." He pulled out his first aid kit and ordered you to show him your wrist. "Please sit down." You obliged and extended your hand towards him.

He took your hand in his with delicacy and you could feel your heart skip a bit. Even though his rough digits his touch was pleasurably gentle.

He spread cold gel all over your wrist and wrapped it in bandage. It looked neatly and it was clear he had some experience.

"Thank you." You smiled at him and couldn't help but blush at how close he was to you now.

"No problem."

After that you became close friends. You were both seniors, you both carried bandaids with you and you both hadn't found your soulmates.

It was warm day in the middle of April. You just finished cleaning up in your club room and decided to surprise Sugawara at his practice. You also decided to give him potted plant since it's white petals reminded you of his hair.

"Watch out!" You heard and managed to dodge flying ball in time. You looked for whoever threw ball like that and saw ginger haired boy run out of gym.

"I'm sorry! I hope you're okay!" He bowed deeply.

"It's okay. It just passed me." You tried to calm him down.

"Hinata! Get the ball." You heard familiar voice as so known head peaked out of the gum door. "Y/N! Please tell me you're alright." He run towards you and put his hands on your arm as he searched for injury.

"I-it's okay, I'm fine." You could see his expression to soften.

From behind him you could hear some giggles and whispers along with some hushes. You wondered what was all the fuss about.

"Are you already heading home?" He asked, bringing you back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, yes! I came by to check if maybe you were done too." You looked down at your feet so he wouldn't see your blush. "And I have a flower for you!" You almost shoved it into his face. Lately his presence made you feel nervous and you couldn't help but wonder why.

He was just friend, wasn't he? Where did all that uneasiness came from?

"Thank you!" He took the plant from you and planted quick kiss by your ear. "I'll be done in a minute if you don't mind waiting of course."

"N-no, it's fine. I'll wait."

Your heart skipped a beat and you felt flutter of butterflies explode in your stomach.

Ah, was it love?

The walk was unusually quiet. You kept on thinking about this newly discovered feeling while Sugawara seemed to be lost in thoughts as well. It was almost time to part your ways when he finally spoke.

"Can we talk?" He suddenly said.

You nodded in agreement and turned to face him.

"Not here, let's go to park nearby."

"So what did you wanted to talk about?"

You asked as you sat on a swing. You pushed yourself from the ground so now you were swinging in the air with Sugawara beside you. He was quiet.

"Do you believe in soulmates?"

You hummed softly before you answered.

"I do." you stopped swinging and loomed at him. His eyes were focused on you. "I believe that everyone has someone special in their life. And that person can become their soulmate."

"Become?"

"Yeah, it's not like I'd choose total stranger over my friend just because he presented themselves as my soulmate. Why?"

"Well-" He scratched back of his neck nervously. Seeing him like that made you unease but pressuring him into telling you his worries wouldn't help. " I like you. Like like you. But it's okay if you-"

"I like you too." You looked up the sky so he wouldn't see how flustered you are. "I think I did for a while now."

"I also think we're soulmates." You felt your heart stop for a moment before it combusted in your chest.

"Is the mole by my ear?"

You remembered your dream in which unknown man kissed that spot. And the moment that happened just hour ago when Sugawara kissed the same spot.

He was surprised. Did you knew you were soulmates? If yes, why didn't you told him anything?

"Yes." He answered and you smiled. Your heart was beating so hard you wondered if he could hear it.

You reached for one if is hands and linked your pinkies toghether.

"I want to become your soulmate."

He smiled widely as he heard your answer. His eyes fixed on you as you just stared at each other, pinkies linked and soft light of setting sun creating faint halo about his head.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Tag list:

@akaashichigo @drainedjaz @haikkeiji @annalyn-annalyn @mlkytobio @sosugasweet @cali-writes-sometimes @simping4ratsumu @shishinoya @ushiwakaa @from-left-to-write @akaashit-baeji @kxgeyamasmilk @agaassi @hanibuni @cupofkenma @kawanisshi @milkandc00kiez @thiccbokuto @shinsukestan @sufiawrites-main @wakaitoshi @skyguy-peach @fern-writes-ig @briswriting @kawaiikraykray @bubbleteaa @miyuswriting @raevaioli @ouikarwa @hakueishirei @pineapplekween @estherwritess @keiji-tanaka @achoomnida @badlywritten-hq @mochibeaa @oinkanna @chxrry-wxne @spudicide @airybby @asranomical @karmasuna @nekomas-kuroo

#haikyuu x reader #cheese haikyuu #haikyuu!!#cheese cult

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scullysexual · 4 years

Text

hunger games au (with mulder and scully)

Just a little self-indulgence fic and an idea that wouldn’t leave me alone. I’m sorta proud of it rn and decided to post it. This is pretty much for myself and I’m not gonna much in terms of making sure everyone reads it. If you like it, feel free to let me know if not bye. Not much is gonna be changed in terms of plot, this is literally going to be fanfiction in it’s finest form. It might have elements of a crossover if I can’t find the appropriate xf character to play the hunger games character but we’ll see. Words: 2809.

- - -

There’s nothing there except a swirling black void, harsh waves crashing, screams of men, and a father drowning in the sea.

Dana wakes just before her father goes under. Her stomach tightly coiled with a realisation that her consciousness has yet to remember.

It’s chilly, the tips of Dana’s fingers red raw from the cold night. She tucks them beneath the blankets and rolls over to the other side. Adjacent to her lies her sister, buried beneath three blankets. Only the tip of her noise is really visible, the rest of her obscured by blankets or vibrant red hair.

Not too far away is her younger brother spread out in the space left by their elder. And finally, on the double bed near the corner, her mother sleeps.

Dana rises, pulling off the covers and bracing the chill. She dresses quickly and quietly, careful not to wake her remaining family members. She pulls on yesterday’s clothes, her boots, clips her hair back in its familiar style and heads towards the kitchen.

“Morning.”

Bill Jr. sits at the table, lacing up his shoes, his miner’s hat beside him.

His presence startles Dana.

“I thought you’d be gone by now,” Dana says. She makes her way towards the jug of water.

“I’m going now,” he tells her.

Bill stands almost immediately after and picks up his hat.

“There’s not a lot of bread left. Make sure you leave enough for Mom, Missy, and Charlie.”

Dana’s eyes move to the basket holding the bread. Bill was right, there’s barely any left. She adds trading with the baker onto her mental list of things to do today.

Bill hasn’t gotten far down the street before Dana’s following him but he doesn’t slow down to walk with her or even take note that she’s behind him. It’s no bother to Dana anyway, as he turns left, she turns right, headed towards the woods.

Technically, entering this area of the District is illegal. Hunting and trading is high on the list of crimes and the punishment for it is death. At least it should be. Most turn a blind-eye to it. The Peacekeepers that guard the city are just as poor and hungry as many of the other residents and while only a few will venture into the woods themselves to procure food and plants, they won’t say anything if they catch you trading.

It’s the Capitol you really need to look out for and their cameras. While it’s not been confirmed, it’s rumoured that they hide cameras so as to spy on the Districts. Dana has yet to find any cameras walking around town and with the fence meant to keep wild animals out, she doubts there would be any cameras in the woods.

But still, she bares it in mind when she enters.

There was a time when she didn’t need to hunt. There was a time she didn’t live in the Seam. Most residents of District 12 are miners however her father was one of the fortunate ones not to have that profession. He was a sailor, in charge of carting coal in a ship back and forth to the Capitol. He was also one of the rare ones to be allowed to leave.

He used to say the Scullys were for fit for District 4- the fishing district. There was even some speculation that the family was from there originally and somehow ended up in this district.

She can still the remember the house they lived in, caught between the Merchant Town and the Seam. Her only problem back then was having a sense that she didn’t belong anywhere. Too poor for the Merchant Town residents, too rich for the Seam residents. Even when they had to move, the Seam residents still viewed her as one of the more fortunate ones.

The move had been caused by the death of her father. Caught in a storm just off District 4, his ship had capsized, killing all members onboard. The family had been notified of his death via an eviction notice. Her mother had crumbled, becoming just a shell of her former self. Billy had tried to become the man of the house and, in theory, he was but he was too much of a rule abider and even when things began to take a sharper turn for the worse, he still wouldn’t venture into the woods to hunt. Melissa was just too soft to hunt. Dana had tried to teach her but Missy had started crying at the sight of the wounded creature. Charlie, the youngest, was just too young at the time. He was seven- too scared and confused to really do it anything. So it had all fallen down to Dana, at eleven years old, her stomach grumbling, it came down to her to get the food on the table and it had been that way ever since.

Dana follows the path of stamped grass and weeds all the way to the entrance to the woods. Not a real entrance, just heavy-duty netting that’s been ripped and nobody’s bothered to fix. The fence is supposed to be electrified all day, every day but there’s barely enough electricity to power the important buildings, nobody wants to waste it on this. Still though, Dana listens for the faint buzzing and if there isn’t one, it’s safe and she sneaks through.

The woods don’t scare her anymore. There are still the wild animals lurking about but as soon as she’s armed with her dagger and spear she feels practically invincible against them.

She reaches for her weapons now, hidden behind a fallen tree, deep down in a hole. It’s nothing fancy, metal is hard to come by so the spear is just pieces of wood stuck together but it’s effective and sharp and does the job.

Her dagger, however, is the real treasure. On one of her father’s trips a man had given it to him and when her father returned he kept it hidden from the rest of his family, presenting it to her the first time they came out here.

While they had no reason to hunt when her father was alive, her dad had still taught her to. That had surprised her, he always appeared much like Bill Jr., always following the laws. Until Bill, however, William Scully was smart. He knew his profession made him stand out against the miners, knew the Capitol would see him as a looming problem, knew that one of these days his time would be up, his family would finally suffer the consequences and they would need every help they could get.

The dagger was expensive. A green and gold handle with real sharp steel at the end of it. They would have a lot of anything they wished for if Dana sold it but none of her family members knew about it and it was the last gift her father ever gave her.

“What took you so long?”

Dana turns to see Ethan standing behind her, already prepared with his bow on his back and his own wooden spear at his side. He was the closest thing she had to a friend, having found each other the first time Dana fully ventured into the woods without her father. She had been scared when she saw him, tried to run for it but fell over instead. Ethan had been furious, screaming at her that she had scared his dinner away. Dana felt tears prick her eyes but she would not cry even as he called her stupid and useless. Finally he asked what she was here for.

“To hunt,” Dana said meekly.

Ethan had laughed, shaking his head and walked away.

A few days past since at incident and she hadn’t seen him again, not until she was trying to kill a rabbit. Leaning against a tree, watching her struggle. He hadn’t announced himself, for the longest time Dana didn’t even know he was behind her but an arrow had pierced the rabbits head and that’s when she spun around and saw him.

After that they became hunting partners. He would shoot the smaller animals with his arrows, her the bigger animals with her spear. Eventually, Dana had mastered stealth. She knew how to sneak up on the animals without startling it and kill it with her dagger.

She also looked for plants, too. Some for eating, some for healing. There were no hospitals here, most replied solely on homecare or you could pay a visit to the Scullys where they would stitch you up and allow you to live a little longer.

And that was her day. Hunting animals and trading in the early mornings, school till three o’clock, and a healer in the evenings.

All except today.

“How are you feeling?” Ethan asks as they begin their usual route through the woods.

Dana thinks back to the way her stomach coiled when she woke. The worry for herself, for her family. For Ethan and his family.

“How everyone feels on this day,” she answers.

This day. By law, written as a holiday but in reality it is as far away from one as possible. School is shut, businesses close early, everyone meets at the Square by 2pm, dressed in their best preparing themselves to cry themselves to sleep or sigh in relief that they have survived another year.

“We’ve been lucky this far,” says Ethan with a shrug.

It’s all bravado, she knows. He’s just as worried as she is. But she has gotten lucky. Three siblings and herself and not once since becoming of age has any of them got chosen. Still, each year becomes more nerve-wrecking. Melissa’s eighteen, her name is in that box eight times. Bill’s aged out, thank god. Dana lost count how many times her name has been entered (taking tesserae means your name is added each time as a trade but there’s only enough for one person so Dana’s had to take out one for each member of her family already making her name being entered four times more. The tesserae given out isn’t enough to last which means taking out more and in return her name being entered multiple times more). It’s only Charlie, who only turned twelve last month, who’s name has been entered once. He’s the least of her worries.

Ethan isn’t much better. While he only has an older brother, who has also now aged out, he’s just as poor as her, his name is also in that box more than it should be.

“Come on,” says Ethan pulling her thoughts away from boxes and names. “Let’s focus on hunting. Maybe find something nice to celebrate later.”

Dana watches him walk off for a moment, temporarily stunned.

“You’re really not worried?” she asks.

He stops and looks over to her, his eyes scarily vacant.

“We don’t need to worry till 2.”

He’s right, Dana realises. Worry makes her clumsy, loud, and if she wants her family and herself to eat tonight, she needs to push that worry away.

.:.:.:.:.:.:.

Dana pushes the front door open carrying her winnings in a bag at her side. She’d done good today, most people at the Hob were anxious to sell before they had to shut down for the day. In the woods, she had managed to kill three squirrels, earning her one and a half loafs of bread from the baker, a few coins for selling the strawberries, and even a turkey to eat tonight. The greens she found, she kept herself, rabbit pelts she traded for a blanket, and a few herbs to add to the medicine cabinet.

Melissa greets her when she enters, already dressed in what looks to be one of their mother’s old dresses from when she was younger. Her hair is pulled back and braided in parts. She looks beautiful but then Melissa always looks beautiful no matter what.

“Dana’s back!” she calls.

“Send her in!” Mom shouts back.

Melissa takes the bag, putting the stuff away and Dana enters the bedroom here her mother is currently having a fight with Charlie’s hair.

“Put that on.” She nods to the floral dress laying on the bed.

Dana hates dresses but it’s almost customary to wear one. That or a skirt. Something feminine.

“That’s gonna have to do.” Maggie pats Charlie on the shoulder telling him he can go. “Is Bill back yet?” Maggie asks.

“He wasn’t in the kitchen,” Dana answers as she climbs into the dress.

“I don’t want us being late,” Maggie mutters.

Her mother almost becomes unbearable on this day. Stressing and running around like times is going to go quicker just because it’s today. They could have a whole 24 hours and she’ll still be worrying that if someone isn’t back at this time it’s just going to make them late.

Once dressed, Dana sits as Maggie pulls the clips out of her hair along with leaves and dirt.

“If you’d come back sooner you’d have had time to bathe.”

“Sorry, I was out getting our dinner for tonight.” There’s a harshness to Dana’s tone as she says the words. She still felt a slight resentment towards her mother. She went away in many of her children’s eyes, leaving them to fend for themselves. Had it not been for Dana, Maggie would have watched all her children die of starvation and not done anything about it while she withered away herself.

Her mother’s proclaims of she was grieving weren’t a good enough excuse for Dana. They were all grieving after all, all coming to terms with his new life, yet they didn’t stay in bed all day.

Her mother was better now but Dana was waiting for the day she would disappear again. It happened once, it can happen again.

There’s a slight tug on her hair in response to her words and Dana tells herself to keep quiet.

Melissa enters and seats herself on the other stool. Her presence is sure to stop any more awkward conversations and stray comment between Dana and their mother.

“You okay?” Missy asks.

Dana nods. She tries to draw on Ethan’s strength, his optimism.

“Lasted this long, haven’t I?”

Melissa smiles. “One more year and it’s over.” She’s talking about herself. One more year and it is over for her. She no longer has to worry. She just has to suit up for the mines or follow her mother and become an official healer.

A silence passes over all three women for a moment. Dana watches her mother braid her hair in the mirror, Melissa messes with one of the clips her sister was wearing earlier. It’s quiet except for the sound of the door opening and Charlie saying hi to their brother. There’s a bit of chatter between the two by the door but nothing the girls really pay attention to.

“It’s barbaric.”

Dana’s eyes widen and Melissa stops playing with the clip. They eye each other in shock as if their mother has just broken the law or something.

In some cases, she just did.

Negative words aren’t supposed to be said about the Games, even in the safety of their houses. They’re a holiday, a festivity meant to be enjoyed and looked forward to.

At least that is the case in the Capitol and the Career Districts.

In all the others, the Games are seen, as their mother just said, as barbaric. Brutal, cruel, and vicious. To put 24 kids in an arena and watch them fight to the death is viewed with the heaviest of contempt. But it’s a punishment and a reminder of a history that can’t be forgotten.

“You should watch what you say,” says Dana calmly. “People could be listening.”

Melissa’s eyes look wearily around the room as if trying to find who could be listening. Dana doesn’t believe they are but on a day like today, she couldn’t be completely sure about that.

“You’re done,” says Maggie moving away. “I’ll make sure Bill looks presentable and then we’ll leave.”

Dana runs her hand through the braid, silently admiring her mother’s work.

“Do you really think they’re listening to us?” Melissa whispers. “Patty Bullock said that at school once. Nobody believed her but…”

“They film everything today, don’t they?” Dana says, her attention still on her hair. “Do you really think they start at 2?”

It was almost unheard of for Dana to speak like this but she had her doubts about the validity of this theory. Still, it was good to be mindful of it’s possible truth.

“You sound like a boy in my class,” says Melissa. “His nickname is Spooky.”

The door opens with Charlie telling them it’s time to go. They follow each other out, headed for the Square, and Dana doesn’t think much more of this Spooky.

#my little self-indulgence fic #hunger games au #i write

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ggukcangetit · 4 years

Text

Dreamcatchers Chap 3

Pairing: jungkook x oc

Synopsis: DI Jeon didn’t need a new partner. Unfortunately, his superiors felt otherwise; especially considering the extremely high-profile murder that had just taken place in the port city. Recent transfer, DI Choi Yuri finds herself confronted with a new cityscape, unfamiliar people, a hostile partner, and a homicide that is certain to bring back unpleasant memories.

Genre/AU: fluff/action/mystery | detective! au | police!jungkook, police!oc

Word Count: 4.1k

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: mentions of violence, alcohol, blood, drugs, death. Basically stuff you’d associate with a murder mystery/crime drama

Previous: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Acknowledgement: shoutout to @stutterfly for designing this beautiful banner which i am completely in love with and stare at for no particular reason throughout the day

A/N: reminding everyone that this story features a named oc because i’m still very unfamiliar with writing second person reader inserts. i’m not aiming for strict accuracy in this story, and all criminal investigation/forensics knowledge i have has been gathered by watching crime drama/procedural dramas! my knowledge of geography is also not totally accurate so apologies for that. once again, one thing right by @hobios prompted me to write a police inspector! jungkook story. would highly recommend reading that because it’s probably one of my most favorite pieces of writing!

18th December

Ahreum parked her motorbike outside the bakery and checked her phone for messages. There were none. This wasn’t unusual in itself, except for the fact that she had been supposed to meet him 2 hours ago at the other end of town. Which meant that he was hiding from her.

“Where is he?” she asked, walking up to the counter and heaving a tired sigh.

Seokjin pressed his lips together, trying to suppress the grin that was threatening to break out. Ahreum was definitely a force to be reckoned with - usually bright and overflowing with energy, there was only one situation that caused the optimist in her to hurtle towards a speedy demise.

“Can I interest you in some raspberry choux au craquelin?” He picked up a tray with freshly baked pastry and waved it enticingly in front of her.

“This doesn’t work on me, Seokjin. Although-” she picked up a few and wrapped them in some paper napkins - “I’m sure Yuri would love to try these. Now, where is he?”

Seokjin sighed and took off his apron. “He’s in the room right at the back where I do the accounts.”

Ahreum sighed and walked around the back of the counter, heading towards the rooms at the back of the bakery. Seokjin had three areas at the back - his kitchen (really no one other than him was allowed in here), the store room (which was way too small to fit even one full grown person in it), and the accounts room (where a certain someone had taken to hiding whenever things got a little too difficult).

And sure enough, a mop of curly black hair was visible from the door to the accounts room. On any other day, Ahreum would’ve found his shenanigans extremely hilarious; but she was really not in the mood for any silly games today.

“You were supposed to meet me two hours ago.” Her voice was soft but it still made him jump up and nearly knock over the PC he had been fidgeting with.

“Fuck!” he gasped. “What the hell? I nearly died!”

Ahreum rolled her eyes as she helped him up. “Don’t be dramatic, Tae. It’s really not as attractive as you think.”

Be that as it may, there was not much that could be considered unattractive on Kim Taehyung. He was somewhat of a social media celebrity thanks to the aesthetically taken pictures of his undoubtedly handsome face - all of which Ahreum had taken. In fact, when Ahreum had shown Yuri some of the pictures from her instagram page, she had gasped rather loudly.

“He’s literally a piece of art!”

“I mean, yes, he’s definitely conventionally attractive,” conceded Ahreum, a little annoyed that her photography was almost completely being ignored. “But what do you think of the pictures?”

“‘Conventionally attractive’? Is that the best you can do with your Literature & Creative Writing degree?”

Ahreum peered over his shoulder to see what he was working on so intently, only to find that he was-

“Playing a game?? You ditched me to play a fucking PC game?” she gasped, whacking his shoulder hard. “What the hell is wrong with you, Kim Taehyung?!”

“No!” He held his hands up to protect himself from further blows. “I just started playing a few minutes ago! I swear!”

“Why’d you ditch, then?”

“Because…” he trailed off, looking away guiltily. That, in essence, was the entire problem regarding Kim Taehyung. He ran at the sight of any kind of responsibility or hard work. Correction - any kind of hard work that wasn’t related to his hobbies.

“You were supposed to finish reviewing company policies today so that you wouldn’t be unprepared when you meet your dad tomorrow.”

“I know.” He looked downcast, switching off the PC monitor. “I just-”

“If this isn’t what you want to do, you should just tell them.” Seokjin walked into the room, untying his apron carefully.

“I don’t know,” sighed Taehyung. “I’m not sure if this is what I want to do, but I don’t know what else I could possibly do. I’m not like you.”

“You don’t have to be like me, Taehyung,” sighed Seokjin.

Taehyung let out a humorless laugh. “Eomma and Appa sure are trying their damned best that I do become like you. At least, like you till you ran away.”

Seokjin snorted. “They’re tenacious, if nothing else.”

“Are you ever gonna come home?” asked Taehyung, looking up for the first time.

“No.”

This had never been an easy topic of discussion. Mr. and Mrs. Kim were owners of the largest financial consulting firm in Busan. They were well-liked in society and highly respected for their unusually ethical business practices. So it was a huge shock when their elder son - who had gotten an MBA and possessed all the qualities of heading a large company - had left home suddenly, leaving only a single note.

This is not the life for me. I have dreams of my own. I don’t think I can stay in touch. Please forgive me.

There were many tears shed, but recovery was quick as a new successor had to be found. Thus, the Kims’ younger son - the one who had lived a charmed and carefree life while his brother learned about business techniques and the history of the company - was suddenly thrust into the front line.

Naturally, when Taehyung had run into his brother a few miles outside of the metropolitan, running a cozy bakery, he had been less than thrilled. Ahreum still remembered the angry tears that had rolled down her friend’s usually cheerful face. Seokjin, on the other hand, looked so conflicted that Ahreum thought he might just combust on the spot. It had taken a few weeks, but the brothers had eventually reconciled. Taehyung had made a deal with his parents - he would attend all meetings and grooming lessons as long as he was allowed to live somewhere else. And that somewhere else happened to be Seokjin’s small, but tastefully done up, apartment.

Taehyung usually had 4 meetings in a week; all ending by 4 pm so that he could drive home before nightfall. The rest of the days, he was free to do whatever he pleased. This arrangement had worked well for almost 3 months, but Taehyung’s free-spirited nature could only hold out for so long. He had been reaching meetings late, forgetting to complete paperwork, and even sneaking out early if he could manage it. Seokjin had requested Ahreum to make sure his younger brother attended all his meetings because he was always managing the bakery at those times. Seokjin himself made sure that Taehyung didn’t forget to do any of the work that had been assigned to the younger boy during his meetings.

Today, however, Ahreum realised that her friend was at his breaking point. He had done everything in his power to avoid her so that he wouldn’t have to prepare for the meeting. Not just that, Seokjin-

“Why’d you let him hide here?” Ahreum turned towards the older Kim brother, her hands on her hips - a sure sign that her patience was running thin. “After the dozens of lectures you gave me about making sure he’s doing what he’s supposed to, you go ahead and help him play hooky? What the hell, Seokjin?”

Seokjin didn’t know how to explain to her that he felt guilty. Guilty that his younger brother was suffering like this, guilty that his parents were so desperate that they had decided to entrust the future of the company to a young boy who had missed his final university exam because he had found a stray puppy during his morning cycle rides (and had promptly decided to adopt it). But Seokjin couldn’t leave behind his dream - his resentment towards his family had been growing with each passing year, and the drastic move and change in communication had been a desperate attempt to stop himself from hating his family forever. Caught between doing right by his own self and by his parents and younger brother, Seokjin often questioned if any of this was worth it.

But rather than explain all this to his brother’s friend - who had pinned him with a rather glowering look - he did what he always did in difficult situations. He avoided answering directly and used humor to deflect everything.

“I was cleaning up your mess, unfortunately. I’m not the one who lost him during a fixed study session, Ahreum. You should be thanking me,” he grinned, dodging the pencil Ahreum threw at him. “But since I’m such a generous, handsome, charming, and talented individual, I’ll let it slide and pack two large boxes of pastries for you to take home. One for your friend and the other for Namjoon. No charge, it’s on the house.”

Ahreum rolled her eyes while Taehyung giggled at his brother’s speech.

“I’d better get 4 large iced teas along with the pastries,” she said, finally relenting. Seokjin winked at her and went back to the front of the store to get everything prepared.

“I’m sorry for ditching you,” Taehyung said softly, his black curls falling over his eyes. “It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Maybe we should try and figure out a different system. How many more of these meetings and lessons do you need to attend, anyway? Why don’t you ask your parents if you can reduce the number of meetings in a week?”

“I guess I could,” he replied, thoughtfully. “By the way, did you see Jimin on your way here?”

Ahreum shook her head. “Nope. Was I supposed to have?”

“No… it’s just that-” he checked his phone absentmindedly. “He hasn’t been answering any of my calls or texts since last night.”

“Since when does Park Jimin start his day before 3 pm?” scoffed Ahreum. “He’s probably hungover at some girl’s apartment.”

“Aw come on, Ahreum. He’s been so much better recently,” whined Taehyung. “And I’m not saying that just because he’s my best friend. He barely parties anymore - unless it’s a business appointment. He’s been helping his dad with the business as well. Unlike me, he actually goes to work 5 days a week.”

“Wow, let’s give him a medal for doing the bare minimum.”

Seokjin appeared at that moment, holding two bulging pastry boxes and a cup holder with 4 cups of iced tea.

“Tell Namjoon to drop by sometime, or that’s the last eclair he’ll be seeing!” he yelled as Ahreum strapped on her helmet and bade goodbye.

xxx

Jeongguk sat at his desk, his mind straying to that night in November. He could clearly recall the murder - the young woman on the ground, blood leaking from the multiple stab wounds all over her abdomen. She lived on part-time jobs, her demeanour quiet and unassuming as recounted by the handful of employers who had managed to recall her face. It was not surprising that she did not have too many possessions of her own, her life neatly tucked away into a one-room storage on the ground floor of a run-down building. But it wasn’t all of this that kept distracting Jeongguk from almost everything in his life - it was the picture of a three year old girl, the only evidence of life in the entire room, smiling brightly at her mother. The mother who lay in a pool of her own blood, and the little girl who had been missing since that day.

“The ramen’s gone cold? Things must have really changed since I last saw you, Jeongguk.”

Jeongguk turned around at the sound of a familiar voice, his eyes lighting up in surprise.

“Yoongi? What are you doing here?” he asked, getting up and hugging his friend. “Why aren’t you in Seoul, putting bigwigs behind bars?”

“Let’s get some lamb skewers. My treat.” Jeongguk grinned at the suggestion, the grisly murder and the missing girl temporarily forgotten.

20 minutes later, they were sitting at a hole in the wall diner that Jeongguk hadn’t been to since he had been promoted to Detective Inspector.

“Are you telling me that our own Min Yoongi is now a father? The same guy who instilled fear in the hearts of the juniors by narrowing his eyes at them?”

Yoongi laughed, his gummy smile appearing for the first time. “She’s almost 4 weeks old. Sometimes I’m not even sure if she’s real. But then Eunbi puts me on diaper duty and there’s no way that smell can’t be real.”

“Knew she was something special the day she called you out on your bullshit,” grinned Jeongguk. “The famous Min Eye Narrowing technique didn’t work on her.”

“Yeah, she told me to stop pulling all-nighters and get a new prescription from my eye doctor,” recalled Yoongi, adjusting his glasses. “Turns out the famous Min Eye Narrowing technique was just plain old myopia.”

“But enough about me,” he continued, once Jeongguk had stopped laughing. “Why was that ramen sitting out and getting cold?”

Normally, Jeongguk wouldn’t discuss the details of a case with anyone else. But Yoongi wasn’t just anyone - they had trained at the same police academy in Seoul and the older boy had quickly understood that 18 year old Jeongguk wasn’t a standoffish troublemaker; just extremely homesick. Even after Jeongguk had moved back to Busan, he and Yoongi still kept in touch with each other, no matter how sporadic.

Jeongguk sighed and explained the details of the November case. “I just can’t let it go. Where is that little girl? We haven’t found a body either - so there’s a chance she might still be alive. It’s just- I think I’m going crazy.”

“I understand,” said Yoongi, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “That pathetic partner of yours can’t be of much use either, I’m sure. Still don’t know how they promoted Song to Detective Inspector. I’ve always maintained that he’s one shot away from becoming an alcoholic.”

“Well you weren’t wrong,” said Jeongguk, with a resigned chuckle. “They relieved him of his duties a couple of months ago.”

“Oh? Who’s your new partner then?”

“Some annoying Captain America wannabe,” grumbled Jeongguk. It was a well-known fact that he was a huge Iron Man fan and had not appreciated the ending of Civil War. “Choi Yuri - she’s from Seoul.”

“Choi Yuri?!” asked Yoongi, his eyes widening comically. “Your new partner is Yuri??”

“You know her?” asked Jeongguk, frowning.

“Of course I know her! We worked together for almost 3 years!” exclaimed Yoongi. “Wait, why’d you call her a Captain America wannabe? You hate Steve Rogers.”

“I do not hate Steve Rogers. I hate Captain America. There’s a difference.”

“Still doesn’t explain why you don’t like Yuri.”

“She’s too by-the-book.” Jeongguk frowned, his fingers twirling the chopsticks absentmindedly. “Perfect first impression, perfectly friendly to everyone, perfectly punctual; Goh absolutely loves her. I’m sure she’ll get in the way of the investigation because of her need to follow procedure to the t.”

Yoongi frowned. “That... doesn’t sound like her. I mean, she’s definitely punctual but she’s never made a great first impression. She usually comes off as reserved, aloof - haughty even.”

“Maybe she’s changed,” shrugged Jeongguk, not particularly interested in the personality changes of his new partner.

“She has. I didn’t think that incident would have affected her like this. But…” Yoongi trailed off, staring at nothing in particular.

“What incident?”

“The reason she was transferred from Seoul. Hasn’t she told you?”

“No.”

“I don’t know if I should…” muttered Yoongi, his face reflecting his inner conflict. “But if knowing the truth makes it easier for you two to work together, then…”

Jeongguk frowned, wondering what exactly the big mystery was.

“We were investigating a homicide and it led us to a very high profile family in Seoul. It was quite clear that the eldest son was involved in the murder. I was Chief Inspector at that time, and we were getting a lot of pressure from above to wrap up the case without involving the family. But Yuri was determined to pursue the investigation. She had even rented an apartment closer to work so that she could devote more time to the case. One night, when she got back to her apartment, someone attacked her. It was quite brutal and she needed a couple of surgeries and two months of therapy after that. We eventually had to drop the case against the eldest son. Right after that, Yuri got her transfer letter. I didn’t know she had been transferred here, otherwise I would’ve told you about her. She’s a smart detective, Jeongguk. Just try and work with her. Maybe she needs some time to adjust to getting back to work after that entire fiasco.”

Jeongguk was stunned. He would never have thought Yuri had gone through something so traumatic if Yoongi hadn’t told him. Her outward demeanour hinted at nothing of the sort, and he felt a small bubble of guilt forming in his stomach.

xxx

Yuri sat at her desk, going over the autopsy report for the twentieth time. There were no leads (other than a very uncooperative Park Jimin), no physical evidence, no concrete motive - things were looking increasingly hopeless. On top of that, she still had to contend with an asshole of a partner.

“Yuri?” Seulgi ran up to her desk, slightly out of breath. “Where’s Jeon?”

“Dunno,” she shrugged. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“I think we may have something.” Seulgi pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. “After the autopsy concluded that Eunwoo hit his head after being pushed, I wondered if there was a proper fight preceding that. So I examined his clothes and hands once again - to try and find any evidence of a scuffle. And I did. There was dried blood, not a lot, put enough for me to run a test on it. And you know what I found?”

“It wasn’t Eunwoo’s blood.”

“Exactly. Which means...?”

“It might be from the person who fought with and then shoved him to his death.”

“Unfortunately, the blood on the sleeve doesn’t belong to anyone in the system so I would need a sample to test it against.” Seulgi waved a hand in front of Yuri, trying to get her attention.

“Oh yeah… Sorry. Yeah, a blood sample. Our only suspect right now is Park Jimin. But we let him go yesterday because we didn’t have anything concrete to hold him.”

Seulgi frowned. “So what are you waiting for? Ask him to come in and provide a blood sample.”

“It’d be completely voluntary, though. He has every right to refuse,” said Yuri, closing her eyes in frustration. She had a feeling there was no way Park Jimin would cooperate with her now when he had blatantly refused to provide an alibi earlier.

“I know you’re new here, Yuri,” said Seulgi. “But Jimin’s an asshole. Everyone knows that. He’s evaded the law so many times because his father has the best lawyers on his payroll. That’s why he’s not in the system even though he deserves to be - he’s bought his way out multiple times.”

“You really don’t like him, do you?” asked Yuri, genuinely curious.

Seulgi’s body stiffened at the question and she stood up suddenly. “I’m just stating facts. I don’t know him personally.”

Yuri could see that she had touched a nerve. “I’ll try and get him to give a blood sample. How long would you need to run the test?”

“I can have it done the same day if I get the sample early enough.”

Yuri pocketed her phone and keys, swiping the half-empty bottle of water from her desk, and walked towards the exit. Her mind was thinking of how exactly she could convince Park Jimin to willingly provide a blood sample. Try as she might, she couldn’t shake off the wariness she felt around young sons of influential businessmen and politicians. She no longer knew what the right step forward should be in an investigation. Something that was instinctive and almost second-nature to her, had been robbed from her and she had no idea how to get it back. Her continuous second-guessing would eventually show in the investigation, and she had no doubt that Jeon would jump at the chance to expose her inadequacies. Once again, she felt alone and vulnerable; somehow trying to survive while her weaknesses were laid bare for anyone to pick at. She had never felt this powerless since graduating from the academy.

In her distracted state, Yuri almost ran into heavy incoming traffic. Almost. Fortunately, someone grabbed a hold of her and yanked her back by her elbow before she could become roadkill.

“Oh my god! Thank you so much! I-I wasn’t looking where I was-” she stopped short as she realized who had pulled her back to safety.

“Yoongi?!”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I’m not the one who was heading directly into peak traffic,” said Yoongi, rolling his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah I’m fine,” she said, still trying to process everything. “What are you doing here?”

Before Yoongi could reply, another voice spoke up.

“Why don’t you guys go ahead and catch up? The coffee shop across the street isn’t too bad. I need to attend to some paperwork anyway, so don’t worry about me. I’ll see you later, Yoongi.”

Yuri stared open-mouthed as Yoongi grinned and thanked Jeon for lunch.

“So, coffee?”

It had been a few months since Yuri had seen her friend and senior. He didn’t look too different, except for the bags under his eyes. Maybe he had become a little thinner as well.

“You didn’t tell me why you’re here,” said Yuri, once they had both gotten their orders.

“I came to pick up something for the little one,” said Yoongi, opening a packet of sugar and offering it to her.

“Shit. I totally forgot! The last time I saw you, Eunbi was approaching her due date! How is she? And how’s baby Min doing?”

Yoongi scrunched his nose at the last question. “Baby Min is a horrible way to address anyone. Let’s not do that. Eunbi’s fine, and so is the little one. We still haven’t decided on a name yet.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of a really beautiful name,” Yuri said, smiling softly. “There’s no need to rush.”

“How are you?”

Yoongi’s question was simple. But they both knew that the answer to it was anything but.

“I don’t know.” The frown on her face told Yoongi that a direct approach was not going to work.

“I heard that you haven’t been getting along well with your new partner,” he asked instead, suppressing a grin when her eyes lit up furiously.

“About that,” said Yuri, crossing her arms over her chest. “How do you know Jeon?”

“Jeongguk and I trained at the same academy. I was a couple of years ahead of him. But we have a mutual love of lamb skewers that helped us bond. He’s a good kid.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” muttered Yuri. “Didn’t think I’d ever doubt your character judgement abilities, Yoongi, but I’m gonna have to disagree with you on this one. Jeon’s an asshole. And he’s made things really difficult for me, even though it’s barely been three days since I started here.”

“I won’t lie,” chuckled Yoongi. “He didn’t have the best things to say about you either. But I think I know you both quite well. And I think you’ve both got bigger things weighing on you right now which have clouded your personalities. I’m not saying you should go ahead and become best buds right away. Just… keep an open mind.”

Yuri remained quiet, not sure how she felt about what Yoongi had just said. It annoyed her that her friend didn’t appear to be on her side completely.

“I can see that you aren’t liking what I’m saying and the annoyance has already started to show on your face,” said Yoongi with a twinkle in his eye. “So I’m just going to say one last thing on the issue. The 2nd November case that Jeongguk’s been overseeing - I want you to go over it. You might be able to help.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…”

“I know that you’re scared. Your fear is completely understandable. But that’s just a part of you - maybe a bigger part than you would like, but a part nonetheless. You didn’t choose this and you definitely didn’t want this. But it’s something that you are going to have to accept eventually. The scars that are formed unknowingly, unwantedly, mistakenly - they are all part of your constellation.”

It was strange. Yoongi hadn’t told her to overcome her fears - he hadn’t even asked her exactly what it was that she was afraid of. But his words had struck a chord somewhere.

When they parted outside the station a little later, Yuri stared at her friend while trying to decide what to tell him. In the end, she settled for something professional whose meaning was deeply personal to the two of them.

“I’m sorry they demoted you.”

xxx

hey everyone! hope you’re enjoying the story so far. feel free to drop a message/ask if you have any questions/thoughts on the story.

#jungkook #jungkook x oc #jungkook fic #bts fic #namjoon #taehyung #jimin #yoongi #seokjin #hoseok #c me write bangtan #btsbookclub

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voidselfshipp · 4 years

Text

Troubled troubles

Ok to rb

Summary:Basically s/I and adler fluff, a bit of angst and a buttload of oc stuff

Gif by travellar on Tumblr

@romancologist @mycinnamonapples uwu

Another Slam of hands on the table announces jerico that adler is yet having problems with something, she sighs Rolling her shoulders back, and her two cats sit ontop of them.

--Oh boy I do love hearing my boyfriend mad--she said playfully leaning on the doorsill of adler's Office.

Russel turns to look at her, he smiles a bit --Hey princess, sorry for makin too much noise,I know you dont like that

Jeri shrugged and Walked over, sitting on her boyfriends lap--Okay let me see whats up

--Ive been trying to fix this radio for Woods, nothings workin

She takes the radio and looks at it--Did you notice some of the cables are broken? Like when your headphones cable is broken and you twist the cord around for it to work?

--...wait what?

--Yeah its broken see?

Adler internally facepalms as his cheeks turn red--How could I not notice that?

Jer kisses his scarred cheek and leaves the radio on the desk standing up--Anyway ill go chance, todays prayer Day at cycle coasts main temple,you sure you dont want to go?

--No babe,im alright you go enjoy your terran stuff

She chuckled and shook her head walking over to her room to change.

The Roaring of the motorcycle engine drowned out any other sound in the garage, jerico put her helmet on,both of her cats tucked in her backpack,peeking through the semi Open compartment.

Her black cat mewls and presses their snout against the back of her head--Im alright vica,I just wish Russ came with me whenever we have celebrations, its something I dont want him to miss...but alas...--Her cat hissed and she snorted a chuckle-- dont be mad at him,our culture can be hard to digest

The cat rolled their eyes and sunk back into her backpack.

The wind hit her visor as she drove to cycle coast, she looked at the cloudy Sky, and sped up.

The drums could already be heard, jer chained her motorcycle to a post and Walked to the beach,there people in traditional terran wear danced with fans,banners and sticks, she sat amongst the crowd listening to the old woman talk.

Her hair was long,braids sprinkled about her hair, white as the moon,the traditional pristess robe, blue and black touched the sand and her long sleeves draped as she talked.

--Jerico...nice to see you could join Us.

Jerico smiled--Id never miss it

--did you bring your handsome boyfriend with you?

Jeri looked away--no,hes not really into our culture

The old womans brow furrow--such a shame...I wanted to meet him--she then perked up at the audience --You see, jerico has come here since she was a little trouble making bean about this tall--she puts her hand against her shoulder--so she heard this tale Many many times

When humans and gods lived along eachother--the elder pristess said-- and demons Ran amok at night,our goddess of death fell in love with one of those creatures.

She had Fallen for the King of the black demon hell, and had a child.

This is the child we'll talk about,in our books hes named xazo kazlaz or bell, it says that then elementus got wind of their relationshipp and they had to split.

About deaths son however.. she raised him to be the one that would guide the people to the afterlife...or hell navigating through the vast ocean of the dead with bells to guide him and Open the Doors to each realm...

Does anybody know why hes represented as an axolotl?--

Jerico raised her hand, and the pristess let her talk--because hes both a god and a demon, hes half and half like the axolotl that is an amphibian creature

The woman nodded-- very good,now lets commune back at the temple shall we?

As the people left, both the priestess and jeri were left alone,both Walked a bit distanced from the crowd.

--Thats one of my favourite stories you know zaivelaz

The woman smiled--I know thats why when I got your letter of you coming I changed it, its more interesting that the story of our patron goddess fighting over a piece of cheese

Jer started to laugh--Yeah that day was one hell of a day

Zaivelaz shook her head--Being a goddess amongst humans is hard?

--Like you have no idea,specially with my boyfriend,two of the people gods in my family had human partners and they...they died,im scared something similar Will happend to him

Her companion put a hand on jericos shoulder--It wont...I promise

--Thanks...zai

The steps along the floating bridge were Many,jeri couldnt help but wonder how it would be if adler was here.

She struggled so much with showing him her culture that it made her feel sad,then again one of the moral rules in Terras was not to force anyone,and she wouldnt break it.

She sat on the floor with the priestesses and closed her eyes interlocking her fingers as she softly whispered.

--Hey ozi...Been a while...--she sighed-- I left you some offerings by your statues feet, I know you dont like this sorta stuff...but ive missed you, a lot, just...just..tell eryz and abbadon that I love em..and that same goes to you..i love you aunt ozi

After the prayers it was time for the festival, jeri Spotted a young Man wearing all black, white eyes,and black hair in a bun.

The Man seemed to notice her as he ran to her,hugging her tightly.

--Abbadon!--She said kissing her cousins cheek--Ive missed you

Abbadon put his hand in his pockets--Ive missed you too...what I could not miss is this festival! All because of our family?, wow!

Jer giggled and offered her hand--Wanna dance?

--You bet!

Their feet moved in synch,the flags spun in circles as they danced.

Abbadon threw his banners and jeri catched him, and he hers.

They were enjoying themselves when the music stopped abruptly.

They Turned to see the people around them that were equally confused.

The musicians pointed at the huge tide approaching them.

Both demigod cousins stepped infront of the tide and stopped it as its about to break, they both looked at eachother and nodded.

Jeri pushed it to one side, and abbadon followed, the water splashed them and them only and nobody got hurt.

--Your mom needs to stop sending tides that could literally drown someone when she wants to send a sign...

Abbadon crouched putting his hands on his knees,batting his hand at his cousin--i tried... no way talking her out of It

The celebration ended with no further altercations, jerico went back home and took a quick warm shower to then collapse on the bed.

--Hes still with that fucking radio isnt he?...--She sighed giving up--why do I even try anymore?

The sun filtered through the blinds jerico groaned and opened her eyes,only to find her boyfriends spot on the bed empty.

She grunts and sits up, her cats sitting on her lap-- I know I know..--she picks them up and walks to the kitchen where she gives both of them their food.

Jeri felt a pair of arms hug her from behind, she sighs nuzzling into adlers chest.

--Good morning sweetheart

--Hey...

--Watcha cooking there?

--Bacon and eggs for you and a healthy terran breakfast for me

--Oh...good

Both ended up eating their breakfast in silence, Russell could tell there was something wrong with his girlfriend, he took her hand and she looked at him,those beautiful eyes he loved looking at were filled to the brim with sadness.

--babe...whats up?--He asked concerned.

--I just...wish you could come with me whenever we have festivals here--she said taking a bite from her waffle that had cream and pieces of caramelized fruit--its something I really really want you to participate in...but I know you dont like this sorta stuff and I wont force you

Adler sits back realizing what he had done, hes been neglecting a part of her that is important to her,those were her roots and he was stepping all over them.

He finished his breakfast and Walked over to her, lifting her up and hugging her--Im so sorry babe--he kissed her cheek-- I know this is important to you and i--

Jeri smiled kissing him again and cupping his cheeks--How about you come to todays festival in time temple with me huh?you dont have to wear our traditional attire,but I tell you it gets cold there

--Id love to, do I have to bring something?

--Not really, im going to make an offering though,it depends on the person

--perfect then...cant wait

Both smiled and kissed again.

The end of the day arrived quickly between work and chores to do.

Adler was waiting by the door fixing his leather jacket.

--How do I look?

Russ looks up at jerico and gasps--Very pretty

She smiled playing with the hem of her green turtle neck that had her shoulders peeking, her roman sandals clicked and clacked with every step she made.

The drive to time temple wasnt long, and luckily they arrived just in time for the story.

The elder priestess smiled when she saw jerico and nodded, proceeding to talk-- a long time ago, the second generation of dieties were born, they were meant to regulate life, amongst the three of them we find our patron goddess...chronos the incessant pass of time...

Elementus tasked a human to build a machine that could measure time, that is when the first sun clock was born,the human handed it to the Creator and with a sprinkle of magic the clock changed into a small girl, with short black hair, she had pale skin and two pale blue eyes, and from there,she was born.

Trained by elementus sister, Ray,the god of war...she then moved to her Realm where she measures time and the life of every being in existence..., from humans to animals and even objects, some say that she collects clocks of all kind and if.you want to meet her youll need to bring the rarest of clocks,of course, its all myths...or...are they?--the priestess finished her tale,and the offerings began.

Adler uncomfortably stayed behind as jeri prayed,she then Turned to him and ushered him to come closer.

--And this is my boyfriend, Russell

--Babe what are you doing?

--Introducing my aunt to you

--Your...aunt?

--Yeah ive told you like a month ago im half goddess..and this is my aunt...chronos

--I...I thought you were joking when you said that --Jeri Turned at her boyfriend with a face of pure disbelief,he hunched his back--Sorry...

--Anyway..chronos...hes my boyfriend Russell, I wish you were here to meet him...hes very sweet sometimes

--Sometimes?

She chuckled and kissed his cheek-- sometimes--she then Turned at the statue--i wish you were here to meet him, I really miss you--Adler gave her some space and sat back on the chair--i miss you and dad so much...--she stood up--Ill..ill see you later auntie chronos--she smiled and Walked over to adler hugging him.

The festival inside the temple was full of music and food of all kinds, and both came back home exhausted.

Adler maybe got a solid six ours of sleep before hes awaken by her girlfriends voice--Babe...babe wake up...

He smiled kissing her--Morning princess

--There you are,change quickly my family came to visit

His eyes Open wide --What?

--Yeah they are here, come on change

She patted his chest and Walked into the kitchen, where abbadon was setting the table.

Adler Walked in a few minutes later only to find two men and three women talking with her girlfriend,who noticed him and hugged him--Okay everyone, say hi to russel,Russell this is abbadon, this is chronos--she said pointing at the woman with short black hair and glasses-- those are my aunts eryz and ozi, aka the goddeses of life and death--

Adler was baffled at the normalcy jeri used when talking about her family,he looked at ozi,her black Long hair fell down to the floor, a scar along her left eye and she was wearing a long blue. sundress,eryz had short brown hair, using the same glasses as chronos was, she had vitiligo and was wearing a white shirtdress with a green fitted blazer--and this is my Dad,Raymond.

To say adler was scared shitless was an understatement,his father in law was wearing a black leather jacket,black jeans and boots,a white t-shirt and aviator sunglasses, he was also way taller than him,with his black hair pushed back and two scars on each side of his face,one under his right eye and one right on the left side of his jaw in the middle between his mouth and the spot where both jaw and neck meet.

Chronos laughed and softly elbowed Ray-- Raymond youre scaring the poor human

--He better treat my daughter alright..

Jeri smiled and kissed russel--Dont worry dad he does

They all sat to eat breakfast, adler seemed intimidated by the dietys around him,but slowly let his guard down, they were a pleaseant bunch in their own way, more human than hed like to think.

Sadly after breakfast they all had to leave.

After saying their goodbyes russel and jerico end up cuddling on the bed.

--Your family is nice--russel said as he ran his fingers through her hair.

--nexts to meet yours

He chuckled--Maybe

They kiss, and he hugs her waist enveloping her in a tight bear hug.

--I love you jer

--I love you too russ

#self insert #self ship #my f/os #self shipping #f/o x s/i #romantic f/o #f/o #f/o community #f/o fic #adler tag pending #longpost #long post #💛🌻annoying madonna fan🌻💛

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naturaldisasterfanfiction · 4 years

Text

26. Part 2

I have just witnessed Robyn being fingered by another woman, like I mean I shouldn’t be shocked, but I am still. Like she was deep in there, the nurse knew what she was doing and was quick with it but still, she fingered Robyn “did that feel good?” I had to ask “it wasn’t in pleasure Chris, get off my hand” Robyn snatched her hand away from me “so the good news, you are dilated by two centimetres, this can be like this for weeks so this doesn’t mean you’re in labour but this is why you are getting more and more different emotions, you’re feeling the heaviness in your lower abdomen. She is in position; you will feel lots of back pains. Try and sleep on your left hand side, you may sleep better” the nurse sat back down, Robyn is very moody “but I like sleeping facing Chris and that is on my right” oh look how she is blaming me “then we can switch sides, to make you comfortable. You know I got you” fixing the blanket over Robyn “you can actually check your dilation yourself, but we are always at hand to do this, for you. So I am happy with how it is going, she is engaging. She is ready, but it will be on the baby’ time until it gets too much so we can then induce you, but I don’t think that will happen at all, she is literally there ready. Which brings me to the fact that you have haemorrhoids which is from the struggle you are having right now. It’s fine, part of pregnancy but you need to start having fibre, more fruits and vegetables, we can provide some supplements to help relieve you, it looks very sore so I can imagine how much pain you are in, so I will also provide creams to help with the pain. Put that after a warm bath with no soap or anything, it will soothe it. Then you can apply the cream” that is a lot “or I can provide pads if that would be best for you” I have to sit down myself after hearing that “I can help her with the cream, it’s ok” I don’t mind it at all “after calling me struggle poop all this time? No, I want the pads” I tried not to laugh but I did “ignore her, I will apply all the creams she wants, I will let you sleep on my side. I think the baby needs to come now, it’s making Robyn grumpy” she is too grumpy “having a baby Chris can make her like this, it’s a lot. But women are amazing, but you will understand the pain when you witness it. It can be a scary process” the nurse said.

The nurse is writing things down so I just looked at Robyn, she is grumpy and in pain “shall I run you a warm bath? I am sorry, I just joke a lot. I will go out and get you a lot of things to make you poop” Robyn sniggered “to make me poop, I feel like you know too much now” shaking my head “I know enough, I love you. This includes the things around it, I said I would wipe your butt. I didn’t know you was in that much of pain, like the nurse said it looks bad. Sorry” maybe I make too many jokes “don’t be, it’s you. You make me laugh” least she admitted that “so water birth, it will be myself here on the day, it can a long process but these will be the reason why it wouldn’t happen and that is infection, breech, induced, high temperature, waters have been broken over twenty four hours and there is no signs of giving birth or bleeding just to name a few. We need to be sure you are safe, safety is key. If that happens then we would escort you to the hospital, to me I see it not being a problem” this is some scary shit “can you die from childbirth?” I just said it, I don’t like it, but I had to say it “it can happen from severe bleeding, sepsis, eclampsia, labour that had some type of obstruction, this is why we need to be careful. Things can change so quick. This is why we celebrate when it goes fine. No need to worry” staring at the nurse “why would you ask that? Like you don’t think” putting my head down “It’s ok but the water can help to support your weight, making it easier to move around and feel more in control during labour so there is a lot of good, but I am happy to go with the water birth” I wish I didn’t ask now “do you have the birthing pool ready? And prepped?” I don’t even know that “yes, it arrived” Robyn knows “and the room you’re going to have it in? Water must be normal body temperature but I will be here on the day but if it happens quicker then I arrived, then it has to be that” licking my top lip “that is your job Chris” the nurse pointed at me but Robyn laughed “he is going to be shouting my mom, I got a feeling” she knows already, this is a lot of responsibility.

Waving off the nurse as I closed the door, well that went well. I am excited but also scared “are they done?” Dennis asked, nodding my head “yeah, tell Monica to come back. Where is she?” she left the room which I didn’t think she would have but she did, probably giving us space “she went to her room, how is baby Fenty? Is she making movements” walking towards the living area “yeah, she is dilated I think two centimetres. So she is ready I guess” Dennis cooed out “I am so excited, like the way I have been here for the whole process, it’s like my child. I told my family that I am spending Christmas with my best friends, so they are sad but it’s ok. Oh my god, you could have a Christmas baby” nodding my head “I could, I am excited too. A little nervous, the things I need to do. The nurse was just sticking her fingers in Robyn, just like it was nothing” Dennis chuckled “I don’t think it’s because of nothing but there is reasons to it, probably touching the baby” it was weird to see “oh yeah, the nurse gave me this. We need to get it for Robyn to make her butt better” Dennis took the paper from me “ah, yes. I know places. They are all local here, we good. No need to go into the city. Local is better” least he knows “let me help you” I said, Robyn is up already “I am ok, don’t fuss” clearly she needs it but Zeus barked at me “settle down” I pointed at him, he is there getting all hype for nothing.

It is very cold out there, so I don’t want to dress dumb “you don’t need to go and get anything Chris. It’s fine” shaking my head “no, I want too. Make it all cute, we will be back before you know it. I will bring your medication back too, just rest” pressing a kiss to Robyn’ lips “thank you so much husband” she had to add that “you’re beautiful pregnant” zipping up my coat “my one and only” she winked at me “and she will be the most wanted, I will be back. Do you need anything else?” she shook her head “just you back, be good though and don’t go into the city. It will be hell for you” I don’t want that either, I just want to get the tree and then come back home “love you” making my way out of the bedroom “love you too!” my phone pinged in my pocket but I ignored it “ayo! You ready? Why don’t you leave the camera here?” he is forever taking that shit with him “no way, I have so much to film. Also Robyn said she may consider it on a bigger scale so, move it” I guess I have no choice, but I don’t mind it.

Looking around the store, this is crazy “it’s like some Harry Potter shit, it’s weird” Dennis laughed at me “but you ain’t getting harassed, look how nobody cares for you. We been sat here with normal people for like five minutes now, it’s a good feeling. This is what Robyn loves about it, she hates being harassed when she is not working” Robyn is right actually, smiling at the white couple and they smiled at me, oh this is nice “how long you been waiting here for?” looking over at Dennis, he got his camera out “about ten minutes now, they don’t do quick service. Everyone here is waiting, just getting Robyn’ medication. She is in pain a little so I thought I would do it for her” I explained “they deliver your medication too if you’re busy, the service I use too” some guy said, looking at him “I just heard you say you had to wait but the deliver service is very good” I chuckled “thank you, I will use it if she needs more medication” I have no idea of this shit “I’m new around here, I was telling my friend here it’s like Harry Potter” rubbing my chin “where did you live before?” he asked “California, I am from Virginia really but my wife wants to live here” this white guy is an elder gentleman, I don’t think he cares for celebrities “it’s peaceful, you will like it. I think I saw you walk a dog; it was beautiful. I have been California, not my style. I am Steve, it’s a small place, I am sure we will meet again” reaching over to shake his hand “Christopher” I thought to change it up “Robyn Fenty” the lady shouted, I got up from the seat “can you confirm the date of birth and postcode?” I breathed out “yes that is February twenty, nineteen eighty eight. And I just moved here so I don’t know, I think it’s eighty seven avenue road?” I dead ass don’t know “in other circumstances I would say no, but that is fine. Here you are” taking the packet “thank you” I need to learn that, turning around “nice seeing you Steve” I waved him “we gonna make Robyn’ booty better now, take that out too” Dennis is about to get my ass beat by Robyn if he adds that.

Dennis be knowing all the stores, I am impressed “is there anything I can do to help?” this white lady came over to me “I mean the obvious thing is a tree” she laughed “yeah, well I need a tree, late I know. What is left?” I mean we are last minute “we have one multi LED seven foot tree if you would like to come. We can come to your home and set it all up, it comes with a little train set under it too. This is the only tree we have left; it’s all dressed up as it was a display model but it’s not been touched. You can see for yourself. I can imagine you would want one that makes a statement” following behind her to see the trees she is speaking about “this is my fault, I should have thought about it” seeing this seven foot tree in front of me “this is nice actually, like it would fit in just fine. It’s not the smallest I’ve seen” the lady chuckled “I am sure you have seen plenty of larger ones, they are out of stock sorry but I can sell this to you but make it a little cheaper for you, with delivery and install?” she is kind “nah, sell it full price. My Christmas gift to you, also it’s cold out here. You should go home now, but if you can get this delivered to my home tomorrow I will appreciate it” she nodded her head “he’s a lovely guy, look at him” turning around to Dennis, he is videoing us “thank you so much, I can tell the husband I can go home now but if you are happy with it” nodding my head “I am, I appreciate it” shaking her hand.

Dennis and I have been walking for while but it’s worth it, to see the sunset going down on the London skyline “that is amazing, how do you know so much about London? Like all these stores and stuff?” it looks amazing “walking and sightseeing, being here with Robyn” holding my phone out “take a picture of me” actually I didn’t get to read the notification, it’s Amikka of course. Unlocking my phone seeing the message ‘If you see pictures of me in US, the boy is being taken care of by my mom. Don’t worry about me’ reading it to myself, she is dumb and I don’t care “here” Dennis took my phone stepping back, holding my arms out smiling hard “you look so happy” the camera flashed, walking over to him as he held out my phone “I have always liked you Chris, I never had any issues with anything” looking down at the picture “is this you professing your love to me?” flipping the camera over “come here” holding the phone up and taking a selfie of us “I look awful here” Dennis laughed, I don’t care if he does I am adding both of these pictures. Typing out the caption ‘I found this white guy in London! Apparently he takes pictures @DennisLeupold’ pressing send on the picture “shit is dope here though, thank you for bringing me out here. You smoke weed? You want a blunt my fellow white man” I am out now so I might as well.

Monica said Robyn is upstairs, so I made my way up the steps, well ran up the steps “Riri!?” I shouted walking into the bedroom “you back, I was waiting. Help me into the bathtub, I just finished filling the tub, oh for me!?” she pointed as she saw me with the flowers “yes, I thought why not. I saw some lady on the side street selling flowers and they look so nice. They cost me a lot. Need to get used to the currency here, and your medication” I held it up “you did good, so you had a nice time there” Robyn took the flowers from me “I did, it was amazing. Pretty cool spots in London” Robyn examined the flowers “I love them, thank you baby. Come down to me” leaning down to her, pressing a kiss to her lips “I saw your Instagram post, you and Dennis are creating a close brotherhood. I like it” nodding my head “we always been cool but then you stole him from me!” I spat “I did no stuch thing, put the medication on the side table. And can I sleep on your side of the bed?” throwing the medication onto the bed “sure, I don’t mind it. Also that should help you, the thing she gave you” I hope it does.

Sitting on the edge of the bath “I feel so exposed, got my coochie out and all that” placing my hand on her bump “well she said the warm water will help you, is it?” I hope so “I suppose, it is soothing my ass. This is so shameful at times, like doesn’t it turn you off?” shaking my head “nope, you are extremely sexy pregnant, like it’s hard to just not get a boner at times but I am trying to not be childish, wow! Why is she violent” moving my hand away “she’s not, probably wanting to mimic your hand movements, she does that a lot when I do that. You didn’t mention, did you get a tree?” nodding my head “I did, they are delivering it tomorrow. The people here aren’t phased, like they know but they don’t attack me on it. The lady selling it me was cool, she just made me smile. Also Amikka text me, she is going to the US and leaving Aeko in Germany, odd, I don’t get it” dipping my hand in the water and held onto her hand “she is testing you but like who got the time for that, I think she wants you to jump and go to Germany to get him” that is odd “I don’t care, this is important right now. I am not having no kid here just this” I think she does, she wants me to want Aeko now “I think she is going to act out to make you react too” digging into my pocket with my free hand as my phone rang out “who is it?” Robyn asked because I laughed “it’s Royalty” answering the call “hi stalker” she is a stalker now “hi dad, I finally got my phone back. Mom punished me because for lying when she said I already know your dad is lying and then I kept-” I cut Royalty off “wait” putting it on speaker “now say it again” Robyn can hear it now “so mom punished me because I lied when she said she knew you are married and you already told her, I said it was all lies, we don’t believe rumours and blogs are the devil mom. But I didn’t listen properly that you told her, dad you never said! Then I got in trouble for it, I was trying to help you here” I snorted laughing “yeah, she told me that you got punished for lying, which I said in your defence wasn’t fair but you continued the lie, you got big ears and you still don’t listen” Royalty gasped “meme said it’s because you got big ears! Where is Riri? Is she there?” Royalty whispered “she is naked in the bath” Robyn let my hand go and hit my leg “dad that is nasty why would you say that, is she really busy? Mommy said I got a special present because you can’t see me, tell me!” she yelped out, Robyn is side eyeing the hell out of me “she is meditating in the bath” moving away from the bath before Robyn hits me again “I am joking, Robyn is busy baby so you can’t speak to her. And the extra special gift is from Robyn and I, hope it makes you extra happy with that” I think I have annoyed Robyn enough.

Placing the cap on the cream “that wasn’t demeaning at all” Robyn didn’t like it “I can be good when I want, I am going to go and wash my hands” placing the cream on the side “and don’t think that, I am ok to eat your pussy but not put cream there? It’s stupid and I just want you to be good, it looks weird though. Anyways be back” wash that cream off, whatever that is, her butt is sore as hell. I just didn’t want to say anything or make it worse; I would do anything for her anyways “you know Royalty is going to forget the whole not coming to see her for Christmas after she sees that!” Robyn said as I washed my hands “she is going to go crazy; I mean the fact you gave her all those lip glosses. She is going to go crazy seeing the amount of Fenty things you gave her, she is spoilt but thank you for that” Robyn didn’t need too “it’s ok, she needs to be awarded for how much she loves you and she kept up with the lie too” drying my hands off “I know, she is my biggest fan. I am blessed. I got some wonderful women in my lives” I am blessed, that is thanks to Robyn because she has opened my heart.

#Chrianna #chrianna ff #chriannaff #fanficton #fanfic

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greyias · 4 years

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FIC: Smoke and Mirrors - Chapter 1

Title: Smoke and Mirrors Fandom: SWTOR Pairing: Theron Shan/f!Jedi Knight Rating: T Genre: Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn Synopsis: Something's rotten on Carrick Station, and Theron won't rest until he finds out what. But picking at the frayed threads of suspicion quickly unravels a conspiracy much larger than even the Republic's top spy can handle on his own. (A mostly canon-compliant retelling of the Forged Alliances storyline, as seen through the eyes of Theron Shan.) Spoilers: Forged Alliances. SWTOR Lost Suns and Annihilation. Some things in the Vanilla storyline, including the Revan flashpoints. Author’s Notes: Out of necessity, parts of this story will contain scenes from the game itself. Whenever possible I’ve tried to rewrite them so that they hopefully remain fresh and interesting, while still retaining the essence of the scene itself (so hopefully it doesn’t feel like you’re reading a transcript). This one is also going to be a bit slow to start, but it’s going to be a long one.

When the Supreme Commander of Republic Forces called — it was generally a good idea to answer. Even if he just so happened to be your father.

However, this was official business, so Theron Shan decided to ignore that fact as he strode into the large office located in one of the corners of the Senate towers. The receptionist had waved him through without any fuss this time around.

Perhaps she had gotten used to him at this point — she hadn’t even glared at him this time. He supposed that was progress. It was nothing he had done, of course, just a bit of guilt-by-association. She and Marcus Trant, the Director of Republic’s Strategic Information Services had gotten quite chummy a little while back, but alas, she was not to become the third women to hold the title of “Mrs. Trant”. Easy come, easy go as the saying went.

Come to think of it, maybe the lack of glares this time around had more to do with the fact that Trant hadn’t accompanied Theron. It was a mystery for another time, though, as his gaze fell on the figure seated behind the desk in the center of the room.

Jace Malcom was an extraordinarily tall man, he towered over Theron by at least a foot or so, and between the height, his deep gravelly voice, and the gruesome scars crisscrossing his face, the man could come off a little imposing. Theron wasn’t easily intimidated though, and he had a… unique situation with Jace. — considering the fact that the man was his father. Biologically at least, or… whatever.

It was complicated.

Theron hadn’t even known who Jace was, outside of his military record that was, until they’d met during the mission to take out the Ascendant Spear. Their first real meeting as father and son hadn’t exactly gone well, it was awkward, Theron had just wanted to leave, and most of their interactions outside of a professional setting had just been a bit like that. On the job, they were good. Despite popular opinion, Theron could take orders (when they made sense), and off the clock they… well, they were trying to settle into something resembling familiarity. The “father-son bonding sessions” were thankfully few and far between. Theron liked Jace well enough, and they certainly got along better than he and his mother, but it wasn’t exactly like they were going to go out and throw the gravball around any time soon.

However, this meeting request had come through official channels, so thankfully that probably meant things would be less awkward and weird. At least he hoped.

Theron cleared his throat, pulling the older man’s attention away from the datapad he was reviewing. Seeing his visitor, some of the deep lines on Jace’s face smoothed into a smile. “Ah, Theron, you’re early.”

“Traffic wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.” He folded his arms in an effort to look casual. “Trant had a Senate briefing, so you get me instead.”

“That’s all right, I was hoping you’d be here for this. We can loop the director in later.”

“Your message was a bit vague,” he said, “just that you had some intel you wanted to discuss?”

Jace nodded. “One of my men came to me with something he picked up in the field — regarding Korriban. And a way we might be able to strike back.”

Theron’s eyebrows shot up. “Hitting Korriban? You can’t be serious.”

“I am.” The elder man looked at him grimly. “This all started on Korriban, it would be fitting for us to start the death knell for the Empire there.”

Korriban had been one of Jace’s first stations, and where he had met the future Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Satele Shan — who just so happened to be Theron’s mother. Theron shifted the weight of his feet, a habit he’d unfortunately picked up in these conversations when the subject of his mother came up, even indirectly as it was now. He hated having a tell, even something so minor and with someone like Jace who while sharp, probably hadn’t picked up on it.

A change of subject from ancient history back to the present was probably in order — and a lot more comfortable. So Theron addressed the deeper issue at hand. “SIS has been trying to get a mole on Korriban for years, and everyone we’ve tried to embed there winds up dead. That place is a death trap.”

“I’m not asking anyone to go undercover,” Jace assured him. “I’m thinking more smash and grab. But before that, I want you to look over this intel and let me know if you think it’s viable.”

“Me?”

“You were the one who cracked how to take out the Ascendant Spear — if anyone can do the same with Korriban, it’s you.”

It was a high compliment, and genuinely based on his skillset, rather than a form of nepotism. After their success against the Ascendent Spear, Theron had been tapped as a resource more and more for Malcom’s office. It had kept him out of the field more than he liked, but the tangible results of his work on the overall war was satisfying in its own way.

“That seems simple enough,” Theron said, trying to focus on the task at hand. “Any reason for all of the cloak and dagger?”

“Considering the target I don’t want to take any chances. I want someone I can trust taking point on this.”

Theron couldn’t quite decipher the look on Jace’s face, but nodded a thanks all the same. It was… odd having someone be so complimentary and open about that kind of thing. Trant’s usual way of expressing gratitude was a cutting sarcastic remark. Which he was fine with — it was familiar. Easy. But the mark of a good spy was adapting to the situation at hand.

Even if that meant a little bit of inadvertent father-son bonding.

Jace handed over a small data chip. The fact that he wasn’t trusting any of this on any network channel spoke volumes about the need for discretion.

“I’ll look this over and get you an answer as soon as possible.”

That seemed to satisfy Jace, but as Theron made his way out of the office and out into the streets, he was unsettled. The reason for that feeling wasn’t readily apparent, but hopefully once he had a chance to dig into the data he’d figure it out. He tended to trust his gut on these things, but a chance to strike as rich of a target as this was too good to pass up on a mere bad feeling alone.

The more he dug into the intel that Jace had given him, the more Theron had to admit that the Supreme Commander was right. A strike on Korriban not only seemed viable, but had the potential to yield invaluable information that could finally lead to an end to the war.

A Jedi named Jensyn had come away from an encounter with an apprentice to a member from the Dark Council, revealing that they had databanks in their main chambers with some of the inner-most secrets to the Empire. A literal goldmine of information that could turn every future battle and operation to the Republic’s favor. It was almost too good of an opportunity to pass up, and so Theron kept digging. Every intelligence report surrounding the encounter checked out, and just because he liked being paranoid, Theron looked into the Jedi too. The man had served aboard the Telos in its campaign in the Albarrio and Relgim sectors, and had an exemplary service record. The closest thing he found to a red flag was the copious amount tea Jensyn liked to consume.

As far as Theron could tell, the intel seemed clean.

That just left the minor problem of storming Siths’ the inner-keep. Just getting on the ground would have been an issue, except that apparently a SpecOps commander named Rian Darok had found a gap in the patrols on Korriban. It wasn’t a large one, and they’d never be able to launch a full-scale assault… but a strike team could make it through and perform an extraction.

Theron filled a large mug to the brim with caf, settled into the most comfortable chair he could find at SIS Headquarters, and got to work mining everything they had on Korriban. He had to cobble the data together from a variety of sources to even get a close picture if it could be done. They had old schematics of the ground layout, but due to the age he had to cross-reference it with a report from an escaped acolyte to confirm the probable obstacles facing a strike team on their route from the landing zone into the Academy. This, coupled with bits and pieces of security information scraped from the almost-defunct Imperial intelligence, yielded an access point for someone on the ground that could allow a talented slicer to insert an exploit. It was technically doable, but the resistance the ground team would face stacked the deck against the op’s favor.

“Viable but a logistical nightmare” was how he summarized it to Jace and Marcus the next morning, gratefully accepting the giant mug of caf the Supreme Commander had ready for him the moment he walked in the door.

“Pay up,” Marcus said, and Jace grudgingly handed over a credit chip.

Theron narrowed his eyes at the both of them suspiciously over the rim of his mug. “And what was that for?”

“Just how quickly you’d go for caffeine,” Marcus said casually.

Theron fixed his boss with a glare before taking a very long drag of the zippy brew. Apparently being Supreme Commander came with some perks, because if the spy wasn’t mistaken, this was the more expensive Alsakan Mountain roast. The director just shook his head and turned to the datapad with all the findings, letting out a low whistle at the potential yield if the operation was successful. As both of the older men perused the data, Theron barely suppressed a yawn. The all-nighter had come at the tail end of an op, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was probably needing at least a few hours of sleep.

“You could have taken two days to look at all this,” Jace said lightly, “but I appreciate the enthusiasm.”

“Intel can go stale quick.” Theron shrugged off the paternal concern easily.

“All the reason to act quickly,” Jace said, “if Trant can spare you for a little bit.”

“Please, take him. Much less of a headache for me.”

“I’m really feeling the love here,” the agent muttered.

“You’d feel more if you turned your expense reports on time.”

“You have to get a thrill somehow since you’re not out in the field anymore,” Theron shot back easily. “I’m just trying to help.”

“You see what I have to deal with?” Marcus pointed the question at Jace, who just shook his head.

“Well, I’m happy for the loan, Marcus,” he said, turning the subject back to the matter at hand. “I can see how logistics can get sticky, but I think I’ve got someone who can help with that. Colonel Darok has a knack for this kind of thing.”

Having spotted the hole in the patrol route, Theron had to admit the man had a keen eye.

“You’d need a small army just to get through that many Sith. No way to get that many troops in,” Theron pointed out. “I don’t even see how even a master tactician is going to navigate that. ”

“What about a small strike team?” Marcus asked.

“Might work, but they’d need to have hides of durasteel.”

Jace looked thoughtful for a moment, before he headed over to his desk and pulled up a few dossiers on a datapad. He paged through a few, before handing it over to Theron. “Have you ever heard of the Coruscant Aegis?”

“Never met them personally,” Theron paused to take another sip from his mug before continuing, “but one of them provided cover fire on an extraction for me once.”

Marcus snorted, apparently remembering the incident in question. “Is that what you’re calling it now?”

“I needed to make a hasty exit, and the lady was kind enough to clear a path. At least I think it was a lady—there was a lot of blaster fire. Pretty sure she called me insane.”

“That sounds about right.” Marcus heaved the heavy sigh of the wearied soul.

“I suppose I owe whoever it was some thanks,” Theron said. “Probably wouldn’t have made it out without the assist. Some nice flying and shooting.”

“They’re good at what they do,” Jace agreed, “the best actually.”

“Are any of them lightsaber-proof?” Theron asked sarcastically.

“They haven’t let one stop any of them so far.”

Theron juggled the mug and datapad, skimming through the personnel files as he continued to sip from the sweet caffeinated nectar. He tried to school his expression as he skimmed through the major highlights of each name, but the laundry list of heroic deeds associated with each individual was quite impressive. A notorious smuggler who had taken down the Voidwolf. The commander of Havoc Squad. Even a member of the Jedi High Council. It was the last one that made Theron stop and frown.

“Is this last one even real?” he asked.

Jace nodded solemnly. “She is.”

“It says she killed the Sith Emperor.”

That got Marcus’s attention, who leaned over Theron’s shoulder to read the dossier. Not liking the crowding, he handed the datapad over to his boss, and proceeded to prop his hip on Jace’s desk, still nursing the mug of caf.

“You asked for a small army,” Jace pointed out. “Any of them would be able to perform the extraction.”

“I’d say in that case we should get them all,” Theron said, “but they’re probably pretty scattered.”

Their window of opportunity to strike for this was going to close fast, though, so time was of the essence. It was probably also best to keep the number of those aware of the operation on the lower side too. Even if they were going to take on the entire Sith Academy, and maybe even the Dark Council.

Jace nodded. “You probably can get one in all likelihood.”

“Me, huh?”

“Colonel Darok will be in charge of the operation,” Jace clarified, “but I want the SIS involved on this. This is too big of a target to not bring in our best.”

Theron caught the backhanded compliment, but instead of responding verbally, he just nodded. “I can do some recruiting if you want. You have a preference?”

“Surprise me.”

Jace flashed him a brief knowing grin, and Theron checked the urge to roll his eyes. He was fairly certain Marcus wasn’t aware of the familial connection, so showing disrespect to the man who was technically his boss’s boss probably wouldn’t help things in the long run. Knowing the way his luck tended to run, Theron would probably need to appeal to the director’s better nature in the next month for some reason or another. Theron didn’t intentionally cause diplomatic and inter-departmental incidents, they just tended to… happen. Sometimes. And by sometimes he meant like clockwork.

“I’m going to need a little time to dig into the files if that’s the case,” he said instead of rising to the teasing.

“That’s fine.” If Jace was disappointed in Theron’s utter professionalism, it didn’t show, and the moment of levity slipped away. "It will take me some time to get Darok caught up and for us to put a battle plan together.”

Theron nodded and pocketed the datapad from Marcus. “Exactly how much time are we talking about?”

“Enough that you can sleep on it,” Jace tried to keep his tone light, but Theron still caught a hint of paternal concern threading underneath.

“Sleep?” Marcus snorted derisively. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“I sleep when I’m bored,” Theron shot back.

“Good. Then you’ll be out before you even get through the first dossier.”

“Are you kidding? This is better than a holo-drama.” The spy tapped his pocket where he had stowed the datapad.

Jace just shook his head, amused, and the discussion turned to other matters of intelligence. Theron let himself out once he finished his mug of caf, the weight of the datapad in his pocket a reminder of the upcoming mission. Despite the caffeine, he could feel fatigue pulling at him. Either the long hours were getting to him, or the unsettled feeling from the previous day was still eating at him. Maybe after he was able to study the personnel files some more, he could take a moment to review his notes and pinpoint what was bothering him. And then he could get some sleep.

Next Chapter

#swtor fanfiction #theron shan x jedi knight #Theron Shan #Female Jedi Knight/Hero of Tython #oc: greyias highwind #otp: adorkable #smoke and mirrors #SoR Fic O Doom #fanfic #greyfic

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nayutai · 4 years

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5 | Linked

⇢ Pairing Taehyung x OC x Namjoon

⇢ Word Count 5.303

⇢ Warnings foul language and heavy petting

⇢ Summary What is meant to be will be. Not even the strongest of evil can stop destiny.

Two and a half weeks of frantic research later and we are still no closer to finding a way to fix the partially broken bond between Tae and I. Elder Ashlyn believes that whatever Antoinette had managed to do before she’d been interrupted partially degraded the bond between us because the burning in my nerves is still intermittent even though Tae is still comatose. The existence of the second bond with Namjoon only serves to further complicate matters. Elder Ashlyn decides to call upon some of the older members of the Council for their assistance.

The group of witches and warlocks barricade themselves in the downstairs study of the French estate. Apparently, the library collection at this residence is larger than the one back at her other residence so the elder witch had opted to remain in France until she and Jimin could come up with some answers. Namjoon and I definitely aren’t complaining as we spend our days exploring the country side. I always make sure to take as many pictures as I can so I can have something to show Tae when we finally wake him up. In the meantime, I make sure to tell him about all of our adventures, clinging to the hope that somewhere in there he can hear me.

Jimin looks stressed when he emerges from the conference room ahead of everyone else. I’ve been sat on a small couch in the hallway impatiently waiting for nearly three hours and I shoot to my feet when he emerges from the room. His brightly colored hair is jutting out wildly in all directions so he’s probably been incessantly running his hands through it even more than usual.

“Jimin, what’s wrong?” I question. My heart beats wildly in my throat at the way his shoulders sag in defeat. Before he even opens his mouth, I know it won’t be good news.

“We know how to fix your bond with Tae.” His face still looks drawn with stress though. There’s got to be a catch somewhere that he’s not telling me yet.

A door clicks shut somewhere off to my right. The sound is followed closely by Namjoon joining us in the hallway. He takes one look at my face and covers my hand in his larger one. The warmth of his skin seeps into mine, keeping me calm and grounded before I get too far off kilter.

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it? That’s what we wanted.” My voice pitches higher at the end, the fear at what Jimin could say taking over my vocal chords.

He motions towards the couch that I’d been sitting on just minutes ago. His hands find their way back through his hair as he explains everything to us. Apparently, the dark faeries had written a book called the Torquem Contritum, literally meaning Broken Chain.

“Every spell they faeries ever created to either break or repair soulmate bonds is in that book.” Jimin sounds defeated so I know that there’s something he’s not telling me. Some evil little twist that is holding us hostage at square one despite all of this new information that should catapult us to success. “Unfortunately for us, the book is missing and has been for nearly three centuries. It was stolen by a pack of werewolves centuries ago and no one has seen it since.”

This can’t be happening. Every time it seems that we’re on the verge of a breakthrough something knocks us twelve steps back. My stomach feels like it’s going to fall right out of my ass. Somewhere out there are the answers to all of our problems and we have no way of finding it. Hysterical laughter bursts forth from my lips before I can stop it. This is just perfect.

The search for answers shifts as Jimin and Elder Ashlyn focus their efforts on trying to find the ancient faerie text. The walls of the manor seem to be practically humming with power from the sheer amount of different tracking spells being cast. Even as mere mortals, Namjoon and I can feel the magic in the air. It’s when Jimin sneezes and bubbles fly out of his nostrils that he becomes completely fed up with the lack of results.

“Fuck this.” Jimin shouts as he aggressively shoves away from the kitchen table where he’d been sat eating the stack of waffles I’d made for him. As if sensing that something is wrong, Elder Ashlyn materializes directly behind him. Her eyes are glowing an even brighter blue than normal and they’re narrowed at the back of Jimin’s head.

“You better not be about to do what I think you’re about to do, Park.” To his credit, Jimin doesn’t even flinch at the Elder’s voice suddenly sounding off behind him. If anything, hearing her makes him even more determined to follow through with whatever plan he’s conjured up in his head.

“Well I sure don’t see you coming up with anything better. I don’t see you sneezing bubbles out of your damn nose because your body doesn’t know when to stop doing spells either.” He bites out. His scathing words weren’t directed at me but I flinch at the harsh tone of his voice nonetheless. Elder Ashlyn opens her mouth to respond but Jimin disappears right before our eyes. It happens so fast that I can almost see the void he’d left in the air. Elder Ashlyn pinches the bridge of her nose before she vanishes just as quickly as she’d appeared. Namjoon and I are left staring at each other in stunned silence as we try to figure out the significance of what just happened.

Nearly a week goes by without a single word from Jimin at all. I’ve tried calling, texting, and even emailing but there’s been nothing but radio silence from his end. Elder Ashlyn has stayed mum on the situation for the sake of our “plausible deniability” but that just leaves me even more confused. What would we need to deny? What is going on that could be that bad? Namjoon is just as confused as I am so he’s not exactly helpful beyond emotional consolation. Of course, Taehyung is no help either but he’s a great sounding board for my thoughts.

I’m cuddled up next to Tae’s sleeping form when the sound of the front door slamming shut reaches my ears. It has to be Jimin. It just has to be. Namjoon is asleep in the room next door and Elder Ashlyn has been locked in her study for hours. No one else would have the balls to just waltz through the front door like this other than Jimin.

Sure enough, the familiar warlock is standing in the middle of the foyer toeing off his muddy boots when I reach the entrance. A large sack rests on the floor at his feet. Judging from its shape and the ominous aura it radiates, I can only guess that it must be the infamous book that he and Elder Ashlyn have been searching for.

“Don’t you ever disappear like that again, you ass.” I mumble into his neck after I quite literally launch myself at him. His arms wrap around me and I feel like I can finally breathe again knowing that he’s back. After everything that we’ve been through together, I consider Jimin to be just as much a part of my family as my own flesh and blood.

“How did you find it?” I ask, motioning towards the bag at Jimin’s feet. He goes on to tell me about how the missing tome was said to have been written in the blood of the dark faeries that authored it. Knowing that, all he needed to do was obtain some dark faerie blood and perform a tracking spell which was easier said than done. To make matters worse he couldn’t cast just any old tracking spell. In order to find dark magic you have to use dark magic. Now I understand why Elder Ashlyn wanted to maintain our “plausible deniability”. The council definitely won’t like this.

“I can’t believe that you really went through with this foolishness.” I startle at the sound of Elder Ashlyn’s voice slicing through the air like a blade. It’s obvious that she’s not happy in the slightest.

“You can yell at me later but I think we’ve got work to do.” Jimin grabs the bag holding the book and offers it to his superior. She hesitates for a second before grabbing it, holding it at arm’s length as though it might grow teeth and attack her.

“Meet me in the workroom.” For once, the elder witch chooses to walk rather than teleporting herself through time and space to get where she’s going. It’s almost too weird for me to process. Jimin gives my shoulders a squeeze before following directions and heading for the workroom himself. I immediately turn and run to find Taehyung to tell my sleeping beauty that it won’t be much longer now. Our parents are just as excited when I shoot them all a quick text to update them on this latest development.

I don’t see or hear anything from Jimin and Elder Ashlyn for the rest of the day. Late in the evening while Namjoon and I are sat cross-legged next to Tae, telling him stupid jokes, Jimin makes an appearance. My heart clenches at the pinched look on his face.

“I have good news and I have bad news, which one do you want first?” He questions softly after a minute of seemingly trying to gather his thoughts.

“Bad news.” I reply. Better to go ahead and rip the bandaid off and then placate my sadness with good news.

Jimin takes a deep, shuddering breath before he answers me. “There is a ritual for fixing broken soulmate bonds.” An excited squeal flies out of my mouth as I grip one of Tae’s large hands in mine. Then I remember that I asked for the bad news first.

“How is that bad news?” Namjoon questions with an adorably confused look on his face. We’re both looking at Jimin with hopeful expectations and the reluctant warlock before looks like he’s going to be physically ill.

“The ritual exists and has been proven to work but both soulmates have to willingly participate and Jess has two. A technical anomaly that shouldn’t exist and because of that once we wake Tae up and totally sever the bond we won’t be able to fix it because her body will reject attempts to create a bond when one already exists.”

The world seems to stop spinning on its axis, bringing everything to a halt as my brain comprehends the news that Jimin has just delivered. This can’t be real life. Just when I thought that things were finally on the up and up it comes crashing back down around me. I feel absolutely numb. I stretch out next to Tae, burying my face in his chest as I cling to him. Jimin has yet to deliver the good news but at this point I don’t really care to hear anything else.

“So what’s the good news?” I hear Namjoon ask as he reaches over to rub my back soothingly. It helps a little but it doesn’t completely ease the ache in my chest.

“There was a footnote that said soulmate bonds could possibly repair themselves naturally but it didn’t mention whether or not it could happen in the case of a person with two soulmates.” I peeked over Tae’s shoulder at Jimin. There’s hope swirling in the distress I see in his eyes.

“What do you want to do?” Namjoon poses a question that I have no idea how to answer.

The selfless thing to do would be to let Elder Ashlyn wake Taehyung up despite the depressing consequences. He is quite literally sleeping away the best part of his life the longer he remains comatose and it’s not fair to him at all. But I don’t want to be selfless. I want to keep him. I want him to always be mine. Who’s to say that the connection between us would ever naturally rebuild itself? My heart and mind are at war between what I want and what I know is right.

I loving run my hand through Tae’s hair that’s steadily grown out over the past few months. He looks so at peace like this. Blissfully unaware of the turmoil swirling around us. I do my best to commit his every feature to memory just as he is now. My heart aches under the weight of what I know to be right.

A single tear slides down my cheek as I bend to kiss his lips one final time. “Wake him up.”

Jimin looks at me with a questioning look on his face as he and Elder Ashlyn stand at Tae’s bedside. I know what he’s trying to say. This is your last chance. A single tear slides down my cheek but I nod my head. Knowing Taehyung, he is going to be far from happy about the decision I’ve chosen to make but I love him too much to just let him slumber in oblivion like this. He deserves to live his life to the fullest even if that means I have to give him up.

The air above my beloved shimmers and sparkles as the sleep spell is lifted. His face twists up in that cute way it always does when he’s just waking up but his features are twisted up in pain in the next second. He lets out a strangled shout. His back arches at an angle that can’t be anything but painful. I move to step out of Namjoon’s arms to put a stop to Taehyung’s suffering, but Elder Ashlyn lifts her hand and my feet freeze in place. The burning sensation in my arm that had become a constant part of my life fades and fades until it completely fizzles out at the same time that Tae calms down. Elder Ashlyn finally releases her hold on me and I’m by his side before his eyes even open completely. Tae’s jaw is taut as he looks around dazed and confused while I gently wipe at his sweaty forehead.

He coughs a few times to clear his throat, licking his lips as he looks up into my eyes. I feel sick to my stomach. “Baby, what’s going on? Did you stop her?” The worried look on his face increases tenfold when he notices the way my bottom lip starts to tremble. I open my mouth to explain everything that’s happened but the words feel like they’re choking me.

“Elder Ashlyn? Jimin, what’s happening?” Tae cranes his neck to the side to see the witches standing off to my left. Neither one of them will meet his eyes.

“Tae, baby, look at me.” I lovingly cup his face in my hand, taking in all of his features. His one monolid and one double lid. The elegant slope of his nose. His long lashes. “We couldn’t stop her. She…she broke the bond. Our bond.”

“But I thought being under the sleeping spell was supposed to stop that from happening?” His voice rises as he gets more and more hysterical. I’m trying to explain everything about how the sleeping spell only protected him and not both of us like we thought it would when Tae takes notice of Namjoon standing in a far corner of the room trying to go unnoticed. Kinda hard when he’s so tall but the effort was there.

Tae nearly loses it when I tell him exactly who Namjoon is. I’ve never seen him this angry. Ever. If looks could kill, everyone in the room would drop dead in an instant. There was a time when I didn’t think anything could rile him up like this but I see that I’ve found his one trigger point. To his credit, Namjoon takes every harsh word in stride and remains quiet while I do my best to regain control of the situation.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Jessica? You let go of me and everything we had for him? What type of bullshit is that?” I wince at his bellowed words. He’s never yelled at me. Never even raised his voice. I couldn’t have kept myself from flinching even if I’d tried but right now he’s too mad to even care.

“Tae it’s not like that I promise. Plus, Jimin said that there’s a chance that our bond could naturally rebuild itself.” I try to pacify his anger in the only way I know how but it seems that was the exact wrong thing to say. If we were in a cartoon, he’d be blowing steam out of his ears right now with how irate he is.

“A chance?! You did Antoinette’s dirty work for her based on some bullshit chance?” He yanks his hand out of mine as if I disgust him. “I would’ve preferred to sleep until the world ends if it meant that you would still be mine.”

Jimin and Elder Ashlyn have stayed silent throughout this entire fiasco, choosing to leave the explaining up to me since I know Taehyung better than anyone in this room. Although, that may be up for debate now.

“Kim Taehyung, you shut your ass up right now and listen. There was absolutely nothing more we could do.” Elder Ashlyn breaks her silence and halts Tae’s tirade in the process. Every pair of eyes is glued to her face. “Whether you remained under the sleeping spell or not, your bond with Jessica had been severed and because of the second soul connection no magic on Earth can fix it. Now you can either get yourself together and do what you can to provoke a natural reconnection or you can go on about your business but what you’re not going to do is berate Jessica like this. None of this is her fault.”

Tae’s head droops forward as he takes in the elder’s words. I know what this means. His anger has dissipated but that leaves nothing but sadness and despair. When his shoulders start to shake with the force of his sobs, I reach forward to comfort him. The pain I felt when Antoinette snapped our bond like a rubberband is nothing compared to the agony of Tae shrugging my hand off of his shoulder. Never has he rejected me like this. Ever. I choke back a sob. What did I do? If only I had been more selfish with my choices. If only I had let him stay asleep.

“I want to leave.” Tae chokes out after a few minutes. “I want to leave right now.” He looks over my crying figure once more and the pain in my chest only increases with the anguished longing I see reflected in his eyes.

“As you wish.” Elder Ashlyn makes him vanish with a wave of her hand. The tears are flowing freely now as Namjoon gathers me into his arms. I vaguely register the odd sound of air collapsing as Jimin and Elder Ashlyn leave me to my misery.

At some point, I must have cried myself to sleep because I wake up in an unfamiliar apartment to the smell of bacon frying. There’s wood features everywhere I look so I know I’m not at home nor am I at my tiny apartment near the campus. I follow the smell to a kitchen that is equally unfamiliar to see Namjoon standing over the stove.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” He abandons the pan to walk over to me, kissing my forehead softly when he reaches me. “Sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up. Thought I’d have time to finish breakfast first.”

“Is this your place?”

“Yeah…” He scratches at the back of his neck nervously before leading me to a stool at the breakfast bar. “I didn’t think it would be a good idea for you to be alone after what happened so I had Elder Ashlyn teleport you back here with me. I hope that was okay.” My mind drifts back to Taehyung and what he might be doing right now. It’s no surprise that tears well up in my eyes once more. I’ve lost my first love and gained another yet I still feel empty.

“It’s fine.” I absentmindedly run my thumbnail back and forth along a small scratch in the countertop while Namjoon continues to cook.

Everything is definitely not fine.

I excuse myself back to the bedroom after forcing down a few pieces of bacon and a piece of toast. Namjoon looks like he wants to say something but thinks better of it, choosing instead to grab one of my hands and gently kiss each of my knuckles before letting me go. My heart swells with affection for the gentle giant in front of me but the fresh wound of losing Tae still stings. There’s only one person who can help me now.

“Hey, baby girl. We haven’t heard from you in a few days. I was beginning to worry.”

“Mom.” The tears that I’d thought had finally stopped flowing come bursting forth like someone had turned on a faucet behind my eyelids the second her voice comes through the phone speaker. She immediately goes into mother bear mode as she tries to interpret my blubbering to get to the root of what’s wrong.

“Send me your location. I’m coming.” I nod though I’m aware she can’t see me and hang up the phone.

Namjoon knocks lightly on the door, but at this point I don’t have the energy to do anything more than lay in his bed like a starfish and cry. He pokes his head in and immediately crosses the room to wipe your tears away despite the fact that more just keep falling. He whispers something about going to get tissues and water, but I latch on to his arm before he can get too far away.

“No. Please stay.” Namjoon doesn’t say a word as he crawls into bed with me. The solid warmth of his chest. Strong arms holding me close. For once, I feel like maybe everything will work out. For once, I have hope for the future.

I stare intently at the smooth skin of my left wrist. Sometimes, if I stare hard enough, I swear that I can see a faint outline of the the three little letters that used to mark my skin. Today is my twenty second birthday. A day that I thought I’d be spending with the man those three missing letters had brought to me. Namjoon breaks me out of my reverie with a lingering kiss to my shoulder as wakes up.

Guilt used to overwhelm me with every intimate touch or brush of his lips against any part of me but over the month or so since we left Elder Ashlyn’s sprawling estate I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching. It’s still a process, but I’ve largely come to terms with the fact that my feelings for the gentle giant currently wrapped around me like a koala are nothing for me to feel guilty about. He was always destined to be mine. I’ll always wish that we could’ve met under much more favorable circumstances, but we’re here together navigating the fallout of the chaos of the past year together.

“Happy birthday, baby.” His voice is low and raspy in that beautiful way it always is when he first wakes up. I twist around in his arms until I can properly face him, lovingly tracing the outline of his full lips before covering them with my own.

“Thanks, babe.” My eyes drift closed as Namjoon peppers kisses all across my face. His talented fingers slip beneath the t-shirt I’d worn to bed to run his fingers up and down my spine, making me shiver. A breathy moan escapes me when he pulls back to shove my shirt up below my chin and exposes my bare chest to his hungry gaze. The chilly air in the room is a pleasurable contrast to his warm hands cupping my breasts as circles his thumbs around my raised buds.

Namjoon’s head hovers above my chest, tongue seeking my skin when the door bell echoes through my quiet apartment. Were it not for the a strong gut feeling, I would have ignored the uninvited guest in favor of allowing Namjoon to continue to have his way with me. But I have to answer the door. It’s a pressing need at this point.

“I’ll be right back.” Surprisingly, Namjoon offers up no protest when I extricated myself from his web of lust. I blindly redo the bun I’d slept in so it looks less like I’m just rolling out of bed.

Frantic energy accelerates my heart beat the closer I get to the front door of my apartment. When I finally fling open the door, whoever it was is gone. I look left and right down the walkway and just barely catch sight of a tall, lanky man rounding the corner to the stairwell. An oversized gift bag in tow. My heart clenches in my chest at the quick view I’d managed to catch of his side profile. I’d recognize him anywhere.

“Taehyung!” My lack of dress and proper footwear is totally forgotten. Nothing short of an act of God could’ve kept me from bolting down the walkway after him. I hadn’t expected him to hear me yelling since he’d already started down the stairs, but the man in question nearly takes me down in his haste to get to me.

He steadies me on my feet only to stagger back himself when I launch myself into his arms. My emotions are all over to the place to the point that my brain feels like it’s vibrating. Taehyung takes a deep shuddering breath as he succumbs to the tears that soak into my shirt. He’s mumbling something into the crook of my neck but he’s speaking too low to properly make out what he’s saying.

“I missed you, Tae.” I pull back from him to wipe the tears from his cheeks. He leans his forehead against mine, seemingly content to just be in the moment.

“I missed you more than you’ll ever know, Jessica.”

“I’m glad that we all missed each other, but it’s cold as fuck out here and one of you is barely dressed.” We both jump when Namjoon appears out of nowhere with a blanket that he doesn’t hesitate to throw around my shoulders when Taehyung finally lets me down. “Good to see you again, Taehyung.”

Taehyung stares down at the hand that Namjoon holds out to him. My heart jumps for joy when he shakes it firmly, accepting Namjoon’s olive branch. I try to stop it, but ever since the state of the weather was brought to my attention I can practically feel the chill seeping into my bones.

“Okay let’s get you back inside.” The two hulking men on either side of me look more like mother hens as they herd me back into the apartment.

I find myself quickly sat on the couch as Taehyung and Namjoon continue to fuss over me. Taehyung insists on tea which is met with a swift agreement followed up by Taehyung’s fascination at the wide variety of teas that Namjoon has stocked my cabinets with. The last time Taehyung and I had been in this apartment together our world was crumbling beneath our feet. It’s odd to think about just how much time has changed in the months between then and now. The events that litter our timeline almost feel like they happened to someone else. As I look around my apartment, I spot the large gift bag that Taehyung had been carrying earlier resting on the dining table.

“Tae, what’s in the bag?” Taehyung crosses the room to bring the bag to me.

“Happy birthday, babe.”

I tear into the bag, shrieking when I lift out a signed Ella Fitzgerald vinyl. It’s obviously an original and not a remastered vinyl which means Ella herself held this record in her hands and signed it. I hug the framed album to my chest in fear that I let go of it for even a second it might disappear.

“I love it so much, Tae.” I hop up off of the couch, connecting my lips to his before I can stop to think about whether or not I should. Taehyung is stunned for all of two seconds, kissing me back with a ferocity I’ve never felt before.

Fear seizes me as once again a joyous, carefree moment is interrupted by a burning in my left wrist. I can feel the panic rising up to choke off my oxygen supply at the thought of reliving the hell that we’d just escaped. History repeats itself as Taehyung grabs at my arm when he puts two and two together. Namjoon is by our sides in an instant when he senses the sudden shift in our moods. The frame in my hands nearly tumbles to the ground but I manage to keep my grip on it, tucking it under my free arm.

“What’s wrong? Jess, baby, are you okay? Is something wrong with our bond?” Namjoon’s words trigger a lightbulb in my brain. Our bond. His initials are emblazoned in my wrist just as clear as the day that they first appeared. My right wrist that is. The weird sensation that had sent me into a mental spiral isn’t the sharp burn that I’d thought it to be. No, this is an itch. An intense and persistent itch beneath the skin of my left wrist. The same persistent itch I’d felt when the letters KNJ had first made their presence known.

Taehyung is still holding my wrist, staring at it in shocked amazement. Jimin had said that this was a possibility but I’d refused to get myself wrapped up in any expectations to ward off any unnecessary disappointments. And yet, there it is clear as day. KTH. Namjoon lets out a whoop of celebration as he pulls both me and Taehyung into a bear hug.

“Fuck tea! This calls for wine.” He pecks my forehead, clapping Taehyung on the back as he returns to the kitchen for the rest of the bottle of sangria he’d brought with him when he came over last night.

“You know what this means right?”

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder?”

“No, it means you now have two people to yell at you for standing in chairs to reach things, shortie.” Taehyung bolts when I raise my vinyl over my head as if to strike him with it. He screams for Namjoon to come to his rescue as I chase him around the room.

“So she can hit me? I think I’m good on that.” Namjoon takes a sip from the wine he’d poured for himself as he enjoys the show before him. A smart man.

I eventually get tired of running around as I’m sure they both expected, gratefully accepting a wine glass from Namjoon. I pucker my lips up for a kiss which he gladly gives me. He tastes like sangria and pure joy.

“To happiness and rekindled connections.” Taehyung and I clink our raised glasses against Namjoon’s excitedly. The cheap wine tastes like liquid gold when I tip it down my throat. There was a time when I thought that the love of a lifetime was going to be permanently ripped from me and now here I stand with love two fold. I don’t know how we’re going to make this work but I do know that I’ll do everything I can to make sure it does.

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