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depressed-sock · 8 months

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Strays and the Hands that Feed Them by depressed-sock

Part Three ( 9,389 words )

Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types

Relationships: CC-1010 | Fox & Darth Maul, Coruscant Guard Clone Troopers & Darth Maul

Bad Things Happen Bingo: Wiping the other's tears away

Mainly Feral, Savage, and Maul pov's this time around! Tried to give everyone a different reason to be crying: anger, pain, mourning the loss of a relationship, relief.

...

Feral breathes in deeply, taking in the tainted air of Coruscant as he makes his way through some back alley on one of the lower levels. He didn’t catch the number that Thorn had typed into the elevator but Feral knows it’s farther than he’s been allowed to go before.

It’s such a different world compared to his small village on Dathormir that’s only ever been filled with other Nightbrothers. There are so many other kinds of people here, so many buildings that tower far above where the ground of the planet should be. It comes with dangers far different than what Feral could have ever imagined possible. Some of which are far easier to deal with than the beasts that roam his home’s swamps.

Some of which, that are more difficult because you don’t realize they’re a danger until it’s nearly too late.

Despite the sickly air and the varied people and the towering cities, when Feral breathes all he can feel is a heartbeat similar to Dathomir. That darkness that clings to his skin and melts into his bones. Feral hadn’t even noticed there was a darkness on Dathomir but Coruscant brings that fully to the front of his mind.

Because it is here but it’s weaker. Sometimes he can’t tell if he’s breathing easier because of that or suffocating from the lack of it.

Thorn bumps him, a soft shoulder-to-shoulder touch to ground Feral back into the moment. “Come on we’re almost there.”

“Are you sure this is the right way?” Feral huffs out an amused laugh. One thing he has learned in his time here is that Thorn likes… detours. Which Feral thinks actually means getting lost, even though Thorn claims he isn’t lost only ‘finding new possible routes’. Feral refuses to call him out on it because Thorn’s detours are a break Feral always sorely needs.

It helps keep his mind off of Savage who still refuses to meet Feral’s eyes or stay in a room longer than a few moments since Thorn started introducing them to the intricacies of Coruscant and its people.

Savage whose hand has left a ghost of an imprint on Feral’s throat.

The near-constant dull pain reminding Feral just how nearly his brother had come to crushing it while he’d been temporarily under the Nightsisters’ control. Feral has never blamed Savage for it but he thinks Savage must carry some blame considering the most he’s seen of his brother is when they’re both working together for Slick and Maul.

Maul who is a whole other problem Feral doesn’t know how to deal with.

The situation sparks something deep inside Feral. A dark pit of smoke fueled by the fire that burns in his thoughts. None of this is fair. None of this is right.

Thorn groans, stepping over something broken that had been tosed into the alleyway and just left there to rot. “I’m not lost!”

Feral blinks as he steps over it next, rushing his steps to keep even with Thorn. Trying to remember what he just said. Something about the right direction? He chuckles when the words finally register in his head, “You said that last time and we ended up two hours away from where we were supposed to meet your supposed contact.”

Thorn specifically pulls off his helmet, clipping it to his side, so he can make a face Feral, “That was the contact’s fault! Gave me bad directions and then didn’t even show up anyway.”

Feral just shakes his head with a grin, remembering Thorn getting sidetracked by baby tookas that had eventually led in a chase to get them all before they walked off a platform and into the air traffic. “I’m sure the tookas appreciated the bad directions at least. Even if they didn’t like being grabbed by their tails.”

Thorn had gotten scratched for that. There’s still a tiny hint of red marks along his jaw. Clearly healed but on the verge of becoming light scars.

“Says the tooka that got dropped in the Guard’s office,” Thorn mutters with an eye roll. Eventually giving in to the smile he’s trying so hard to fight when Feral laughs.

“Yes, as one of the newest members of team Stray Tooka, I can speak for my brothers and say we appreciate your efforts. Even when you fell into that puddle that made you smell terrible for a week after that.”

“I swear you’re supposed to be the nice one.”

“Am I not being nice?” Feral asks with a tilt of his head and a frown. Trying his best to hide his joy at the teasing.

“Making fun of me after everything I’ve taught you.” Thorn tsks with a shake of his head. He stops a moment, looking quickly around, before motioning Feral to follow him down a different alleyway.

“I’m sure learning how not to catch tooka’s will be very helpful to me one day,” Feral nods his head sagely, easily dodging the smack aimed at the back of his head.

“Alright, smartass. Let me teach you a new lesson it’s called: Thorn is always right and has never gotten lost.” Thorn holds out a hand and Feral grasps it as Thorn drags him into what Feral had thought was just an odd-looking building.

Instead, he’s greeted by a lush jungle of plants that have grown and overtaken the interior.

“What?” Feral blinks, taking in the area with surprise.

“Used to be a greenhouse the Jedi looked after. Mainly focused on growing food for the poorer levels.” Thorn shrugs, “Someone in the Senate threw a fit about it though, so the Jedi supposedly stopped caring for it, a little bit just before the war started.” Thorn walks in, fingers brushing over leaves, “No one bothered to get rid of it and I’m pretty sure a Jedi stops by every once in a while making sure the automatic system is still keeping everything alive. Or they do their Jedi magic on the plants, I’ve never seen them stick around long enough to ask.” Thorn shrugs again, reaching up into a tree and plucking a fruit.

He tosses it to Feral, “I know Zabrak’s diets are more meat based but you can enjoy fruits right?”

“Of course,” Feral studies the fruit in his hands, softly rolling it back and forth. His eyebrows pinch together, “There’s no contact here, is there?”

“Just us.” Thorn turns and moves deeper into the plants, Feral follows behind close enough that Thorn can easily drag him down onto a bench beside him. “Figured you could use some time away from everyone. Looked like they were starting to get on your nerves.”

Feral winces, “I didn’t think anyone noticed.” He’s usually better at hiding when he’s upset. Better at controlling the temper that wants to flare up just beneath his skin. He’s weak, he knows that now.

Too weak to protect his brother. Too weak to keep his emotions in check.

Too weak to fight the darkness growing in his veins with each second he breathes in the Coruscant air. He doesn’t understand why it’s worse than Dathomir when it’s so much weaker. On Dathomir it existed not just inside of him but beside him, around him. A part of him like it was apart of everything else. Here it sticks like something foreign. It clogs his lungs, burns his mind.

“It’s kind of hard to hide that from us,” Thorn leans back into the bench, “We have to be aware at all times of other people’s emotions because you never know when something that turns from quiet contemplation will turn into nearly beating you to death.”

Feral winces. He’s seen what others have done to the clones. He didn’t think there could be anyone worse than the Nightsisters but… well he’s not happy to be proven wrong. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s just our lot in life.” He reaches out gripping Feral’s shoulder. “We don’t think you’ll hurt us Feral we think you’ve been through some fucked up shit and haven’t had a chance to recover. Sometimes you’ve got to let those emotions run free and here the only thing you can break is a bunch of plants that’ll all grow back anyway.”

Feral lets out a shuddering breath. “It’s my fault.” He chokes on his words, “It’s my fault that Savage... I was too weak against the Nightsister, I joked about being able to keep up but I couldn’t.”

His hands clench the fruit, claws digging in, juice dripping down his fingers, thick like blood. “I hate them. Hate that they’ve done this to us. Changed us so that we can’t be the same anymore.” His fingers dig deeper crushing the fruit, he bares his teeth at it. “My brother can’t even look me in the eyes anymore. Because all he sees is when he held me by my throat and almost broke my neck.“ He tosses the fruit down. There’s an itch under his skin that forces him to stand and pace.

He mourns what has been lost. Of course, he does. But he’s angry too. Angry at himself for needing to be protected, angry at the Nightsisters for causing all of this, angry at Savage for avoiding him, he’s even angry at Maul who didn’t show up soon enough to save either of them from this.

Maul would say to use the anger, fester in it. Let it power him. But there’s no power here, just this feeling of overwhelming emotion that wants him to tear himself and everything around him apart.

It feels nothing like the darkness of Dathomir. Dathomir was always harsh, never kind but in a way that was just how life always is. The cycle of life, death, decay, then life again. It wasn’t despair, it wasn’t anger. It was just what it has always been, never pretending to be anything different.

It feels like the darkness that’s infected Coruscant. Sickly, infesting, overpowering everything that is him. Feral wonders if this is how Savage felt when the Nightsisters first changed him. Power forced into his veins, spreading like infection until what’s left behind is someone unrecognizable.

He misses his brother. Misses his village, misses everyone he cares about. Misses the children he would help care for. And all of that just makes him angrier.

He growls deep in his throat, lashing out against a plant that tangles onto him when he brushes too close. Rips it to shreds then does so again and again and again. He’s panting, tears running down his face as his knees hit the ground and he curls in on himself, letting out a keening sound.

He’s so angry at everything and everyone. It doesn’t make anything better, it just makes it all hurt worse. Seeping into the open wounds in his heart and in his head.

A hand rests on his back and Feral’s breath shudders at the touch. He looks up to find Thorn sitting next to him on the ground, hand rubbing circles on his back. “Feel any better?”

“No,” his words come out as broken sobs, “I feel like something’s putting poison into me.”

Thorn frowns at that, studies Feral for a moment with narrowed eyes. Then he pulls at Feral’s shoulder forcing him to sit up. “Well let’s try something else then.” He brushes Feral’s tears away and settles into an awkward pose trying to cross his legs, wincing as his armor doesn’t allow the movement. He sighs, unclips his thigh armor and tries again. “I don’t know shit about Jedi meditation but sitting around like this surrounded by plants is something they do so we can start there.”

Feral’s smile isn’t all there, he wants to hurt Thorn even though he really doesn’t. Wants to lash out and kill or just leave and not come back. Instead, he mirrors Thorn and closes his eyes.

“Breathe in deep and hold it for a few seconds before letting it go.”

Feral does, following Thorn’s example even though it seems he’s mostly guessing at what to do. It’s enough though. Feral feels himself calm, feels the drain his emotions have left on him. Feels the emptiness left behind.

He’s tired now. Exhausted. But he feels better. Less heavier, less like something is digging itself into him.

He breathes and for the first time in months, he feels more like himself. He breathes and for the first time in months the air feels a little less tainted.

…

He’s not sure how it happens. He’s in a bit of a daze after that but he ends up leaving the makeshift greenhouse with Thorn and by the time he realizes it they’re now in Fox’s office.

Feral lays down curled up on the couch. Staring blankly at the wall as Thorn takes over Fox’s desk. Going over some of the datapads on Fox’s desk with a frown. At one point Fox walks in, brushes a hand softly against his horns, then he moves with purpose as he immediately goes to shove Thorn out of his seat. Stealing it back as he sits down and starts to work.

Never once questioning why Feral is here as Feral drifts off into sleep.

…

“Hey Fox, what are the odds the Evil fucker did some dark side shit to infect people on Coruscant?”

“What do you mean?”

“Took Feral to let off some steam and he said he felt worse. Like something was trying to poison him.”

“…I’ll ask Maul. Maybe that’s how the old bastard is hiding himself from the Jedi.”

…

Maul is several hours deep into strategy planning when one of his hirelings knocks on the holo table, he’s stationed himself at, to get his attention. “Hey boss, there’s a clone wanting into the base. If you don’t hurry I think the Mando might do something drastic.”

Maul pinches the brow of his nose and curses quietly under his breath. He should have expected something like this to come up eventually. He hadn’t exactly hired any of these people for their pleasant sensibilities but he’d hoped they were more intelligent than they looked.

They know Maul has a deal with the Coruscant Guard. Or at least they should know, Maul hasn’t exactly been subtle that one of his main contacts and suppliers is a branch of the Guard. Slick and those under his command had been reluctant at first but they’ve developed enough of a working relationship that they’re not afraid to come to Maul when they need someone dead or need to make an illegal deal. So Maul’s crew should be fully aware that Maul will shred them into pieces if they even think of touching any of them.

Maul doesn’t run, that would be too much weakness shown to people he doesn’t fully trust. Instead, he strides promising death with each step he takes as he exits his office and out into the warehouse proper. He expects to see the Mandolarian being the one causing trouble. Instead, she stands between the clone and several of Maul’s other hirelings, gun drawn on them.

Maul looks the clone over and at first glance Maul doesn’t recognize who they are. They’re in plain clothes not a speck of armor in sight, though that would not have been much help in most cases anyways. As he nears though he can see the familiar scowl that belongs wholly to the Guard’s CMO.

“Touch him and I’ll flay you fucking alive Cross.” The Mando growls, her grip tightening on her gun as the Cathar bares his teeth.

“It shouldn’t be here Arla, it’ll blow our whole operation-”

Neither of them notices the way Shivers rolls their eyes in exasperation. “Considering I patch up your boss in my free time, and the fact that we work with him, I’d think your operation is safe from me. Also Cross was it? Next time you touch me without my permission I’ll let you bleed out when you eventually show up at my clinic.”

The Cathar blanches at that. He must be familiar then with the fact that there’s a clone who runs a free clinic in the lower levels. Maul watches the flash of regret that crosses the Cathar’s face and he feels zero sympathy for the man.

“They,” Maul growls as he takes the steps down to the main floor, “Are free to come and go from here as much as they want.” The way Shivers relaxes noticeably at the sound of his voice makes something purr in satisfaction deep in Maul’s chest.

He can’t say he’s surprised at Shivers showing up here. He’d been expecting it to happen sooner or later considering how often the medic likes to corner Maul as soon as he steps foot on the planet. If he didn’t know better he’d think the medic had gone through with their threat and placed, instead of a bomb in his spine, a tracker.

Maul’s paranoia had him check for that the first time he left Coruscant after recovering. There’d been nothing anyone could find but Shivers is smart. Probably let Maul’s paranoia settle then got him when he wasn’t paying attention. All of his Guard are like this, hitting their targets when no one else would ever be aware. It makes Maul want to let them loose from their shackles of the Republic just to see the real damage they could all accomplish.

Shivers waves a hand in Maul’s direction glaring down Maul’s group of criminals with no fear. “Are we done here? I’ve got things I need to talk to your boss about.”

The Cathar grits his teeth stalking off and pulling his cronies after him. The Mandalorian hesitates before she shoves her gun in its holster, not turning to look at the Clone as she walks off in the opposite direction.

“Are they all like that?” Shivers asks with clear displeasure on his face.

Maul glares at the few lurkers who’ve stuck around, watching as they scramble to leave in the face of his ire, “If they are I might have to kill them all and start fresh.”

“Fox would say that’s a waste of resources,” Shivers delivers with a bland tone.

“Fox would send them all on a ‘trip’ and they’d most likely end up crashing into a sun.” Which has apparently happened to at least one particular delegation early on in the war. Maul doesn’t know why Fox had them killed but he’s certain they all deserved it. “Not that I don’t mind your presence here but I believe that we’ve already had our appointment Shivers.” Which had involved several needles much to Maul’s displeasure.

“We have a new one,'“ Shivers scowls. Shifting with a faint hint of nervousness. “I need to speak with you privately.”

“Of course, this way,” Maul turns on his heel, making his way back up to his office, Shivers trailing close behind. When he enters he lets Shivers shove past him before he shuts the door. He doesn’t lock it as he makes his way to his table, dropping into one of the chairs and making sure that the medic has a clear way to get out of the room if they want to. “I’m assuming that this isn’t about anything I’ve done.”

Shivers snorts as they kick out a chair and sit across from from him. “No, though I should be considering you’ve got Jedi that have been trying to hunt you down. They won’t stay distracted forever by the evidence of abuse and corruption from members of their order and the other natborn officers in the GAR.”

Maul hmms, “I was wondering why they’ve been so quiet lately. And I have no one in the Guard to thank for that?” He glances down at his claws as he idly picks them clean. How easy was it for them to get that information? How much of it have they been saving to take down the Order or at the very least cull the bad seeds in it?

It kind of pisses him off. The greatest enemy he’d been raised to help destroy is already failing from within. Maybe it was his old Master’s plan this whole time. Maybe it’s the failings of incompetence and complacency, of choosing not to act and rather let things fester.

“I’m not here to discuss that anyway,” their fingers tap nervously against the table, leg shaking like an unstoppable force. “I need you to test my shields.”

Maul’s eyes widen in surprise. “Why?” The question comes out harsh, fueled by the sudden wave of anger that rushes through him. Has someone tried to break into the clone’s mind? Does someone need to die? Slowly and painfully. Specifically by Maul’s hands.

“Listen,” Shivers holds up their hands letting a wave of calm certanity brush Maul’s senses, “I just need to make sure my shields can hold up to someone digging for information.”

“Has someone tried that already?” Maul lets his anger burn a second more under his skin before he lets it go. Calm overtaking so he can listen clearly to what Shivers has to say. He has to be careful, with Fox’s theory of Sidious poisoning the force on Coruscant. Maul can’t afford to be incapacitated by vengeance.

“No, not yet. Or at least as far as I’m aware no one hasn’t yet.”

“You would know.” Maul is certain of that. There hits a point in force nulls where it’s impossible not to tell that something else is in their head with them. The clones would know sooner than that because they are actively trying to prevent that intrusion. There’s a few other reasons but Maul doesn’t think any of the clones would be overjoyed by them.

Shivers nods his head. “Good to know.” They bite their lip before continuing. “Early on in the war I got myself purposefully reconditioned.”

“You what?” Maul hisses, the anger flaring back up is quieter but no less deadly.

Shivers winces, “Yes I’m aware how fucked that sounds. I don’t know why I did it for sure, just that I found something I shouldn’t have found. That knowing whatever it was put me and everyone else in the Guard at risk so I did the only thing I could that would guarantee I’d either forget it entirely or would have a hard time recalling anything about it for a hopefully long period of time.“

They take a long breath in through their nose and out through their mouth. “But it’s more than that. I did something on Kamino before my reconditioning and I left behind a datachip with information I should only access as a last resort. I need to know that my shields will hold long enough to protect the information.”

“Have you looked at it yet?”

“Not yet but I need to. I found something on accident…” they wince at whatever thought has popped up in their head, “…and I need to know if it’s the same thing I found before.”

“I’ll help.” Maul holds up a hand to stall whatever Shivers is about to say next. “But you should be aware that this will hurt. If you truly wish to test your shields against the might of a Sith, I will have to try and take your mind apart and into pieces.” For the first time in his life, Maul doesn’t really want to do that. It’s a necessity, he understands that and will do it because it is. But he doesn’t want to.

It’s… an odd feeling.

“Do it.” Shivers nods as they brace themself in their chair.

Maul gives no warning as he digs into the shields, trying not to flinch at the way Shivers chokes back a scream.

…

Shivers stumbles into Fox’s darkened office covered in sweat and with a raging headache that’s pounding hard enough that tears are slipping free from Shivers’ eyes. They’d never been particularly interested in getting the same treatment Fox gets on a near-daily basis but it’s an eye-opening experience. Maybe they should knock Fox out more often if this is the bullshit he’s been hiding from Shivers.

They hit the light switch, wincing as the light pierces into their skull. Shivers groans shutting their eyes tight but all that seems to do is make it worse.

They can hear Fox groggily stirring from where he passed out on his couch. His voice slurring with sleep, as he roughly asks, “What’s the emergency?”

Shivers breathes slowly battling the nausea from the pain back. “Remember when I made you send me back to Kamino to get reconditioned?” There’s a moment of silence that spreads out between them.

Shivers almost regrets sending Maul away. The Zabrak had been insistent that he take Shivers wherever they wanted to go, so Shivers ended up back in their medbay. Then they sent Maul away because they didn’t want him to know what was on the datachips.

Not yet. Not until Shivers did and could tell Fox. Then Fox could figure out the rest of this bullshit.

“Shivers?” Fox is in front of them gripping their shoulders, holding them steady.

The tears are running down their cheeks from the pain in their head. They can barely register as Fox reaches up and gently brushes them away. "Shivers I need you to focus on me."

They focus long enough to get out, “I did that so I could investigate what the longnecks put into our heads.” Then they promptly pass out into Fox’s arms.

…

Savage sits across from Slick who sips at his beer and looks down at his cards. Savage isn’t entirely sure what card game it is that they’re playing but for some reason, he feels mocked by it.

“Go fish,” Slick takes another sip, ignoring the glare Savage is giving him.

“This would be easier if you actually explained how to play the game.” Savage growls out through his teeth. Annoyance at this clone growing by the second.

A part of him is aware of what Slick is doing. Pushing buttons until Savage snaps and proves him right about whatever theory he’s concocted in his head. It’s a familiar thing. He’s watched brothers come back from the Nightsisters like that. Testing boundaries to see what would warrant punishment.

“Which is exactly why I haven’t explained it.” Slick puts two cards down into the pile, a matching pair.

“Slick be nice!” Mouse complains from across the room, her blind eyes milky white as she turns her head in their direction. Even so, her hands still move with precision, putting back together one of the little droids that roam the halls. “Savage is kind enough to actually play with you. If you piss him off you’ll just have Jackal and Jackal cheats.”

“It’s a valid strategy!” Comes a voice from the hall as a clone passes by the room. Savage only catches the tell end of a purple mohawk to confirm that it is indeed Jackal, getting back from wherever Slick had sent him.

Slick shrugs his shoulders, “I mean if he didn’t cheat it wouldn’t be fun.”

Mouse makes a face, nose scrunched up in displeasure. “You both are so weird. Savage if you don’t want to play with him, you can help me set this little guy loose on the Senate.” She holds up the fixed little droid who lets out a series of high-pitched beeps that make Mouse startle out a laugh. “You’re absolutely right. Savage is very smart and should give up before Slick switches the game without telling him again.”

Savage sighs, tossing his cards onto the table and standing up. Not bothering to waste any more time on this. “What do I need to do.”

“Just help me get the little guy anywhere in the Senate without being seen.”

He grabs the little droid from her, frowning at it, “Why?”

She laughs and shrugs, “You never know when you’ve got to have a mess cleaned up.” Her grin is sharp, “The little guy can even take care of bloodstains.”

Ah, right. Savage had forgotten for a moment that all these people inhabit Maul’s tendencies in one way or another. It’s not like he can’t deny he feels the same. Death has never bothered him but he’s never craved it to the extent he does now. He wonders if it’s the witches’ doing or if something finally broke in his head when he held Feral by his throat and almost crushed it.

“I’ll get it done.”

“Thanks Savage! I’ll have the twins get you a treat for all your hard work later.” Mouse reaches up carefully finding one of his arms and grabs it gently to help pull herself up. Unafraid of the fact that Savage could easily reach out, grab her by her throat, and kill her easily with a single flex of his fingers. All of the clones are like that here. Unafraid.

Yet still ready to kill him if he proves himself unworthy of their trust.

The only exception is Jackal and Nexus who both avoid being alone in the same room with anyone who’s not a clone. So it’s not necessarily Savage they are afraid of. Though there is no doubt that both of them would fight him tooth and nail just as viciously as the others would.

He huffs out a soft laugh, before turning to leave. Guiding Mouse to follow him as she uses her free hand to unhook her helmet from her belt and slide it onto her head. Savage steadily ignores the way Slick is smirking down at his cards, now playing a wholly different game since Savage abandoned him. “Ask Nexus for the shift roster, that’ll give you the best times to sneak around the Senate.”

Savage hums an affirmative in response. Mouse lets go of his arm once they’ve passed the doorway and walks by his side with no difficulties.

“Thanks again, “ Mouse says, taking even perfect steps, “I’d ask Fox but he absolutely hates droids. Though he’s gotten a little bit better. Apparently, he made some deal with the mouse and other cleaning droids to just ignore each other’s existence. It’s kind of funny cause most of the droids actually like Fox.”

“They like someone who hates them?” Savage asks dryly.

Mouse shrugs, “They get treated as either invisible or something to be kicked around by the natborns. We all know what that’s like, especially Fox. So when Fox says he ignores them, it just means he won’t verbally acknowledge their existence. He still makes sure not to step on them and gets out of their way when they’re just trying to do their job.”

Savage doesn’t really get it. But he supposes he doesn’t have to.

“Come on, Nexus should be in one of the backrooms hacking into something they shouldn’t be,” Mouse says as she leads the way.

…

Savage stares at the building before them as he sits crosslegged near the ledge of the alcove they're hidden on. He’s already gotten the droid up to one of the upper floors and now he’s here with Mouse. Safely out of sight and hidden from any prying eyes.

Mouse hesitates and Savage can feel the spike of fear before she removes her helmet. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen any of the Guard other than Slick take off their helmet outside of their safe places. He understands why. Sees the reason before him as Mouse’s white eyes stare blankly forward.

He’d asked once why she didn’t get prosthetics. She’d said that at first it was fear and now it’s just because she doesn’t want to. She’s changed permanently in a way none of her brothers can understand. She’s fine with the change, not happy but settled with it. And none of them question her decision.

“So…”

“Thorn put you up to this.” Savage narrows his eyes, looking at her as she darkens in color and scratches the back of her neck.

“Kind of? I have the most experience with… being forcibly changed and accepting the fact that I’ll never be who I was before.”

Savage tightens his hands into fists. Claws digging into his palms. “I agreed to be changed. You did not.” he spits out, “I enjoy the power I’ve been given.”

She sighs at his outburst. “That’s all mostly true but there’s still something about it that’s upsetting you.”

“It has changed me in ways I didn’t think it would…” He breaths in closing his eyes for a moment before blinking them back open, “I thought my brother was weak and that he deserved to die by my hand because of it. I wanted to kill him.” His palms begin to bleed. “I nearly did.”

“And now you’re avoiding him.” She nods her head like she understands. A part of him wants to be outraged at the assumption to be angry and lash out. Mostly though, he’s too tired to care. “You know when I lost my eyes, the Senator made my patrol partner hold me down.” Mouse reaches out looking for a place to sit, and Savage reaches out an arm to meet her open hand. Letting her use him as a guide to help her to the edge next to him. Knocking a knee against his.

“Locks can’t even be in the same room as me anymore.” Mouse pauses, taking in a breath before she continues. “She tells us that it’s because she thinks what happened is her fault. That she should have disobeyed orders, should have felt something other than emptiness as she held me down and let the fucker poor acid in my eyes.” Mouse taps her fingers against the side of her thigh armor, “She followed orders. Just like any of us would. I think what she’s really afraid of is that she’ll have to follow orders again and hurt me worse.”

Savage is quiet as Mouse continues to tap out some unheard tune in her head.

“You know what’s really sad about all this? I’ve already forgiven her. I know that it wasn’t her fault, it was someone else’s orders, and if she hadn’t done it something much worse could have happened. I just wish she’d stop avoiding me so I could tell her.”

Savage narrows his eyes and gives her an unimpressed look he knows she can’t see. “You’re not subtle.”

“Thank you!” She grins. “I’ve been told a hard smack with a blunt hammer makes people listen better.”

Savage sighs, forcing his hands open, ignoring the blood that covers his palms. “I can’t be who I was before.”

She shrugs, “You don’t have to be. You can accept the changes that have happened to you and you can grow. It’s easier though when you have someone to grow with you. Helps the person who you hurt too. Especially if they’ve already forgiven you. Both of you were victims and both of you are different because of it. It’s good to remind each other that you still love each other despite it all.”

She shoves her shoulder against his. “It doesn’t even have to be today or tomorrow. Eventually, though Feral’s gonna corner you if you don’t seek him out first.”

“Is that what you plan to do with Locks?” Savage asks dryly as he looks away from her and back to the Senate. From here he notices he can see the Chancellor’s office.

Mouse giggles, “I have a whole plan set up. She’s never going to know what hit her.”

“Probably a blunt hammer.”

“Hey!”

…

They sit there several moments longer. The sky growing lighter with each second as the silence lingers. Before Mouse breaks it once more.

“I really do miss her.”

Savage looks over and sees the tears falling down Mouse’s cheeks, he unconsciously reaches out, brushing the tears away.

“…Did you just smear dried blood on my face?”

“…That… was not my intention but…”

Mouse’s laugh is bright as she punches his shoulder, “Alright Brother, heart-to-heart is officially over. Help me back to base and I’ll help you beat Slick at his stupid card games.”

…

Maul is sitting in a chair he’s stolen from Thorn’s side of the office, his feet up on Fox’s desk while he eats whatever greasy food has been dropped into his lap. He honestly doesn’t understand the appeal but he’s not picky enough to actually deny the food. He knows every bite counts no matter how disgusting it is.

Fox is sitting across from him, food forgotten as he goes through another stack of flimsi work with a scowl.

“Out of curiosity does he just give you all his work to do for him?” It wouldn’t surprise him if Sidious pushed all his work on the poor clone. It’s not like Fox could tell him no after all.

“A good chunk of it,” Fox bites the end of his pen as he reads through whatever is in front of him, “Nothing life-changing important and nothing that I could alter to help my brothers. Everything else seems to be free game though.” He signs the bottom and moves on to the next, “Sometimes I get lucky and he forgets to vet what comes through. Like this one.” Fox taps the flimsi with a grin. “Proposal bill to cut funds to the GAR, which means the Guard would be down to half rations and even less medical supplies.”

Fox opens a drawer, pulls out a stamp, and puts a large ‘denied’ on the paper followed by the Chancellor’s signature. “Turns out because of his emergency powers Palpatine can just shut down a bill before it ever makes it to the floor of the Senate.”

Maul hums, taking another bite of his food with a wince. “I didn’t realize you were low on medical supplies.” In fact, Maul remembers it being fully stocked last time he was there.

Fox waves him off with an eye roll. “Senate doesn’t give us shit. We buy all of that with our own credits.”

“I’m also absolutely certain you don’t get paid,” Maul says with a slow sarcastic drawl. Considering how eager Slick is to get Maul involved with the Guard’s own criminal enterprise he knows exactly where all that money comes from.

Fox hums, signs another paper and, finally Maul has had enough. He sits up, feet clanging to the floor as he puts a hand over the next paper Fox is trying to look at. “Eat. You’ll upset the others if you don’t eat this horrid meal.”

“It’s really not that bad Maul.”

“Considering the way you’re avoiding it I can’t help but think you agree with me.”

Fox rolls his eyes, picks up his fork, and takes a large bite of food humming in satisfaction. “I was wrong. This is much better than not that bad.”

“You all disgust me.”

…

“Oh, It almost slipped my mind, but Feral mentioned you picked up a new oddly shaped clone trooper.”

“Maul.” Fox’s tone is a warning.

“Very Togruta shaped in fact.” Maul takes a sip of his drink, savoring the taste of the wine.

“Leave it.”

“In fact, just the other day Thorn was laughing hysterically about it.”

“I have a knife and I’m not afraid to stab you with it.”

“Is that what you said to the Jedi when they found out you stole-” He doesn’t get to finish as Fox vaults over his desk and full body tackles him to the ground.

…

Maul has several moving pieces and yet none of them could account for the fact that one of his old master’s tools is currently sitting in his base. Sly Moore sips her tea, head tilted at just the right angle of arrogant. Next to her is Fox who thankfully looks just as annoyed as Maul feels.

“I want a place among this” she sneers, “criminal empire you are building.”

“You really came here thinking I won’t just kill you here and now?” Maul leans forward with a true air of curiosity about how someone can be so presumptuous, even as he places his hand on the hilt of his lightsaber. Honestly, it would be a good opportunity. He knows Moore has had a hand in changing many a Senator’s mind to side with Sidious with her abilities. With her gone he wonders if the strings would be cut.

She sets her cup down and blinks slowly. “I think that the Marshal Commander is smart enough not to let you waste resources you will need for your future endeavors.”

Fox sighs, head in his hands as he winces like he’s suddenly in pain.

Maul snarls, eyes narrowed on Moore as he lets his power suffocate the room. “I suggest if you want to keep your head, you keep your mind from his.”

She blinks, Fox looks up to glare at her but shakes his head at Maul, “She’s fine. I’ve had a headache since this morning, it’s not her trying to probe around in my head. Besides, she’s already learned her lesson about why that’s a bad idea.”

That gets an actual reaction from Moore as her eye twitches. Maul will have to ask about that later. For now though.

“Well then. Let’s see what you can provide to my empire and maybe I can find a place for you in it.” Maul grins, even as Fox rolls his eyes in exasperation.

Moore gives him a sharp smile of her own. “How about we start with the video proof of Palpatine’s dealings with Dooku.”

…

Thire is staring down the criminal seated across from him. The poor fucker who got caught hacking into the local electronic billboards, putting up a profane amount of anti-war propaganda. Nothing directed at the clones which had been a surprise. In fact, Thire feels like this is the first criminal who hasn’t been spitting any kind of vitriol at any of the clones during and since her arrest.

But it had caused enough chaos that the Guard’s forces are currently split between redirecting traffic and protecting the Senate building from a growing number of protestors. There have been several speeder crashes, injuries but no casualties so far, and while the protestors are currently peaceful it’s only a matter of time before they turn violent.

Hopefully, by then Fox will have convinced the Senate Guard and Corsec to do their jobs. If not the Guard will take the brunt of the violence and it won’t be pretty.

The Nautolan seems calm all things considered. She has her hands clasped in front of her, head raised proudly and unafraid. She spoke calmly when they first brought her in, even though it was only to ask for her lawyer.

A lawyer that Thire has yet to contact. He thinks he can get away with not contacting them at all. After all that would leave too much of a trail behind for what he has planned for the Nautolan.

Stone had said that Maul needed a reliable hacker, completely unrelated to the Guard, and here one is. She’s even got a perfect amount of self-righteousness. If Maul spins it right he can have her eating out of the palm of his hand. Make her think that what she’ll be doing is revealing some horrible truths about the war in order to stop it.

It’s mostly the truth anyway. It’s just there are a few other reasons that no one but the Guard and Maul need to know about.

Thire can already tell that she wouldn’t need the full explanation. She’d see the truth Maul would lay out for her and take it. Run with it. Sow the chaos they need. Thire’s still pissed at the harm she’s unintentionally caused the Guard but he’ll be nice just this once and tell Maul to give her a good enough paycheck as a bonus.

She’ll be a good fit for Maul’s crew. And if she’s not? Well, it’s no skin off his nose if she needs to disappear one day.

Thire grins with enough teeth that she shifts uncomfortably. “Someone’s paid your bail. So we’ll be releasing you with restrictions. Don’t try to leave the planet.” He shuffles some of his paperwork before leaning forward toward her with a menacing promise, “We’ll know if you try.”

Her black eyes open a bit wider in shock.

Thire leans back in his seat, humming to himself as he finishes signing off the paperwork. Quickly shooting a message to Stone then Maul. Stone will make her paperwork completely disappear, erasing any connection to the Guard. And Maul will be waiting just outside to snap up his shiny new hacker.

…

Maul’s plans are nearly all in place when one of his pieces is taken off the board, and a much larger problem takes its place. Fox has missed several check-ins with the other Commanders and any trackers they might have had on him have gone silent. Maul would usually be more annoyed about that than worried at this point.

It’s not the first time Fox has disappeared. He’s always returned mostly intact. Fox is a capable man, he’d fight tooth and nail to get back to his Guard no matter what state he’s in.

The problem lies in the fact that Maul was days away from enacting his plan, Fox is now missing, and Sidious has sent Maul an invitation. Wanting an audience with him. If Maul were any less paranoid he’d blow off the invitation with how close he is to ending Sidious. Not take it as the threat it is; a blaster pressed to a certain clone commander’s head.

Fox is missing and Sidious is nothing if not vicious when it comes to things he thinks belong to him. It wouldn’t have taken much for his old master to realize that Maul has been working with the Guard. Probably realized it the first time he couldn’t easily break into any of the clone’s minds. His arrogance would have made him let Maul continue on, not believing anything Maul would do could ever touch him.

Something has changed.

Maul would like to say it’s his plans working so effectively but there’s something else. A shift in the air that makes it easier to breathe, to see what the force has laid out in front of him. The madness that is always clawing at the edges of his mind is blissfully silent.

Sidious’s power is beginning to fail him.

Maul plays idly with the force suppression cuff he’d removed long ago. Spinning it on a finger as he heads up the darkened hallways of the Senate. He wonders if it was the clones who found his old Master’s well of power or if it was his brothers. A combination of both perhaps. Feral would have been sensitive enough to it that he could have led the way but he wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it.

He takes the stairs, walking past the elevator despite the calling in his blood to hurry. Fox will live. He will suffer and Maul will use that suffering to strengthen his anger when he faces Sidious. But Fox will live.

Because if he doesn’t Maul will burn this entire planet down and kill every single person not affiliated with the Guard. He’ll do it slowly, by hand.

He tucks the cuff away as he nears Sidious’s unguarded office. Kicking the door open and stopping just as he enters. His focus fully on the figure who lies still on the floor. Maul almost can’t breathe at the sight. His first instinct tells him that the figure is dead but Maul can feel the last remnants of consciousness holding firm. The familiar stubbornness of it echoing in his mind.

Fox. Fox whose chest barely rises. Fox whose armor is discarded, whose face is shredded beyond recognition, and whose back is so bloodied Maul fears he’s lost too much blood.

“Do you understand yet Maul, what happens when you disappoint me?” His old master stands over Fox’s prone form, his eyes glowing that familiar putrid yellow. “I’d thought you’d learned the lesson long ago but you do always exceed my expectations in idiocy.”

Maul huffs out a broken laugh, “I always did learn the best from my mistakes didn’t I?” He prowls to the side of the ornately decorated office. Not daring to go closer in case his old master took Maul’s movements as a threat. “Last time I came here and fought you by myself, you left me discarded with the trash of this planet.”

“A mistake on my part,” Sidious gives a faint smile and acknowledging nod, “I should have torn you fully apart but what can I say? This old man had such high hopes that you’d learn your place.”

“I have learned.” Maul forces his gaze away from Sidious, away from where Fox lies so still on the carpet. His blood is sinking into it, darkening the bright red to a nearly black color. Instead, Maul focuses on the streets of Coruscant outside the window. “Of course, none of what I’ve learned is anything you would have wanted me to.”

“And what is it that you’ve learned my old apprentice?” Sidious’s words are all teeth behind his pleasant smile. He thinks that Maul is here for a fight and Maul won’t deny that he wants to rip the bastard’s throat out. Sink his teeth in and let the blood fill his mouth.

It would be so easy to give into the hatred, the anger, the fear. It wouldn’t be the overwhelming calling it has been for the entire time he’s been on Coruscant. It would be his own pure power. But that’s not why he’s here. That’s not his plan. It would only give Sidious the satisfaction of getting under Maul’s skin.

“Sometimes revenge is better served by someone else’s hands.”

Sidious’s comn unit on his desk starts to frantically beep. Outside on the streets of Coruscant billboards and screens shift to a singular scene. A series of videos and information flashing across each and every screen. All the proof that Stone had given him and the video evidence Moore had provided is now on full view for every single person in the galaxy to see.

Sidious hasn’t noticed yet. Still too far back into the office, still too close to Fox. His old Master glowers at his back, and from the reflection of the glass he sees the man stretch out a hand towards the comn unit while another grips his lightsaber.

“What have you done Maul?”

Maul’s smile is filled with his teeth as he bares it at his own reflection, watching as traffic comes to a stop on the streets. As people land, get out of their speeders, and stare at what is being displayed. “I’ve done nothing.” He won’t claim this one. This was all built on Fox’s and Stone’s hard work, Maul just made sure everyone could see all the pieces put together.

After all, what’s better than watching someone’s whole world crumble down around them?

“How does it feel Sidious? To have everything you built, everything you worked for, crumple into dust?”

Sidious curses as he opens his comn. “You think this means anything?” Sidious cackles. “I still have an army at my disposal.”

“Do you?” Maul asks with an amused tone. He doesn’t know what Shivers found, only that it was important enough that the Guard broke their own rule. No GAR contact, no dragging them into this mess. Whatever it was, it was important enough that Shivers contacted every single medic they could get a hold of.

Maul hears the comn click on. “Commander CC-2224 Execute Order 66.”

There’s only the sound of static that greets them. Nexus must have cut off GAR communications.

“Tsk, tsk. It looks like the Commander isn’t taking any calls today Chancelor,” Maul mocks with glee turning to face the full fury of Sidious.

He tilts his head to the side as the comn unit is thrown at his head. It hits the glass just behind him, shattering it fully. Sidious lights his lightsaber, casting the room into shades of red in the darkness. He steps closer to Maul, face twisted in anger.

Maul leaves his own lightsaber on his hip, giving Palpatine a bored look, “What’s wrong Master? Have I not exceeded your expectations? After all, I’ve destroyed you without laying a single finger on you.”

“You don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been up to Maul? That you’ve been meddling in the Senate for the sake of the clones? You’ve lost your purpose and chose to help the things that I’ve made to die and serve.” Sidious sneers, “It seems now that all of them are a waste of credits and need to be culled.”

“I’ll wish you luck in that,” Maul laughs delightedly, “They’re all quite vicious when they want to be. You might end up dead before you even realize it.”

Sidious snarls and jumps towards Maul just as he lights his own lightsaber, blocking the attack. “I’ll start with the Guard. Make them execute each other for my own pleasure. Or maybe I should make them torture each other first?”

Maul rolls his eyes, and uses his free hand to grab Sidous’s wrist as he shoves off Palaptine’s attack with his lightsaber. Forcing his old master away from him and closer towards the window, as Maul takes a position between him and Fox. “You are so confident Master that they will listen. When I know for certain that they’ll do whatever they please if it means protecting their own.”

Sidious sneers reaching a hand out towards Maul.

His expression of confusion is almost as sweet as the sudden anger as he realizes exactly what Maul has clipped around his wrist.

Maul smiles sweetly, “So creative aren’t they? I still don’t know where they found a force suppression cuff but it is quite useful. To useful to just toss away.”

“You think that I can’t kill you, even with a small handicap like this?” Sidious laugh has an edge to it as he shakes his wrist. “Maul I didn’t think I could be more disappointed in you.”

Maul can see the glint of a rifle on the building just across from the Senate. Can feel the edge of danger in the force.

Sidious can’t. Too focused on Maul and cut off from the force. His senses dulled.

“I’m sure I can figure out a few more ways to disappoint you.”

He grins as a shot goes straight through Sidous’s head. Then Maul reaches out in the force and pushes the body through the window just before Sidious’s body begins to fall to the carpeted floors. If the shot isn’t enough the drop without force powers will be.

The Dark Lord of the Sith is dead. Maul breathes out, unsure if he really feels anything from that sudden revelation. Sidious is dead and gone.

He turns off his lightsaber, clipping it to his belt as he makes his way over to Fox’s prone body. He kneels, gathering the clone into his arms. Fox shudders at his touch, swollen eyes blinking open to hazily stare up at Maul.

“I’m thinking Isolation one should be safe enough for you to recover in,” Maul jokes at this odd paradox of how they first met.

Fox’s laugh is rough, cut off by small hiccups as tears slide through his bloodied cheeks. Maul rests his forehead against Fox’s, readjusting Fox so he can wipe away the tears. “He’s dead, Fox. You’re safe now.”

“He better fucking be.” Fox rasps out. Hand weakly gripping Maul’s tunic like it’s a lifeline.

Maul gets an arm under Fox’s legs, stands, and carries him off, stepping over the mouse droids that rush into the room. He doesn’t see Savage as he slips free from the shadows, but he knows his brother gathers Fox’s discarded armor.

Maul’s still not sure what to feel. If he should feel satisfaction that his revenge has succeded or anger that his plan relied on him not striking the final blow.

He almost feels hollow. Not in an empty way but in a way that there’s nothing further to do. He can finally rest once he’s made sure Fox survives.

They are all safe.

He is safe.

It’s all he needs right now.

#star wars the clone wars #star wars #bthb #bad things happen bingo #Wiping the other's tears away #commander fox #darth maul #fanfiction #my writing #sock-writes #writer on tumblr

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fluffyydumplings · 3 years

Text

Your Fluffy Little Dumpling

Gone - Part 2

Summary: Who knew you’d end up meeting your childhood best friend once again. Who knew you’d end up meeting him while racking your brains up in another chaotic year of high school. Yet after all this time, he remains the same boy you’ve remembered. Cheeks fluffy as clouds, affection for dumplings still strong as ever, and sleepy as the days go on. Sure.. He’s a little grumpier now, but that does not change the fact that he's the cutest little thing to ever waddle into your life.

Word Count: 7.9k

Genre: poly!au / sculptor!yoongi x traveller!reader / angst / fluff/ poetry / romance / unrequited love / childhood bestfriends to lovers / reunion / idiots in love

Warning: Heartbreak/ mutual pinning / toxic ex-friend (mentioned twice) / being invisible / profanity / doubt

A/N: One month and Four days. Why did it take so long? First of all: Assignments. Second of all: Online classes. Third of all: Lack of Motivation. Last of all: Life.. :].. I reread this and it was beautiful. I genuinely like it, even though I read it over a good five times already.

Thank you to @dazedbypark who called my story adorable. I know you haven’t read the whole thing yet, but you’re working on your own amazing fic. The fact that you volunteered to read my work and did so to a minimal state brings joy to me. :)… - a smiley face for you.

Thank you @heejojo who gave amazing feedback. Your comment brought a smile to my face. I’m glad you like the dynamic I have created for my characters. :)… - a smiley face for you.

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‘Du yu like tis,’ your tiny hands offer a piece of milk chocolate to the equally small boy sitting on the swing.

‘Choco-lit?’ he examines the package.

‘Oh.. Is tat wat it’s called?’

‘Yeah..’ he nods.

‘Do yu like choco-lit?’ your face contorts at the unfamiliar word grazing the tip of your tongue.

‘I like dump-ings better,’ he confidently declares, ‘No.. I love dump-ings..’

‘What are tose?’

‘You don’t know wat tey are?’ he opens his mouth in shock, as though he was horrified of you.

‘No,’ you shake your head.

‘My mummy makes them evy-month.. You should come over and t-uvay them sometyme...’ he pauses, realising that your name is still a mystery.

‘Y/N.. Y/Niee,’ you grin wildly, his mouth following in return.

‘Yu?’

‘Yoongi,’ the boy tells you his name.

‘Yoonie.’

‘No.. Yoongi,’ he corrects.

‘Yoonie,’ the dictionary in your head only knows one word, ‘Yoonie.’

‘Pine.. Yu can call me tat,’ he pouts.

‘Kitty.. Yoonie luks like a kitty,’ pink creeps up his fluffy cheeks.

‘Yu are funny.. Y/Niee,’ your name coming from him feels different. It isn’t compressed with resentment like when your mother calls you. It sounds sweet coming from him. Like choco-lit.

So sweet it makes you sniffle. Tears running down your cheeks like water running down a cliff.

‘Oh?.. Why are yu cwaying?’ concern reaches his eyes, ‘Was it because I culled yu funny?’

‘Nu one ever calls mi Y/Niee.. I like that.’

‘Y/Niee wunt to come over my house for dump-ings?’ he offers, ‘We cun hulp mi mummy make them.’

‘Where is your house?’ you wipe your sobs away.

‘Over tyher,’ he points, ‘I just moo-ved here.’

‘Did yu ask your mummy if I could come?’

‘I’ll just tvell her that yu are mi best friend.’

‘Best fviend?’ your eyebrows furrowed at that.

‘Yeah.. I like you a lot, Y/Niee,’ he nods, his eyes sparkling like crystals.

‘I never had a best fviend before,’ you mutter to yourself.

‘Then.. I’ll be your first, and last,’ he shows his pinky, ‘Best fviends forever.’

Your fingers meet as a promise to always be by each other’s side. You turn from six years old to eleven. That's when he moved out of the neighbourhood. The same night you balled your eyes out like crazy because your fluffy little dumpling boy was now as good as gone.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Seven years after ↴ (High School)

‘Y/N..Y/N..’ the teacher tries to catch your attention as you continue to doze off.

‘Yes?’ your eyes barely manage to open.

‘There‘s saliva dripping down your chin,’ she informs you, the laughter of the other students that follow a nuisance to your ears.

‘Quiet down everyone! As I have said earlier, we have a new student joining us.’

‘Ooh,’ the boys fill with excitement.

‘Do you think it will be a boy?’ the girls in the back chatter among themselves.

‘Do you think he’ll be cute?’ one of them questions.

All of that is interrupted by, ‘Quiet down everyone!’

‘Please come in,’ that is when the door opens, revealing a tall, fit, yet adorable-faced figure dressed in the school uniform.

You want this moment to last forever - even if it is a dream. Because if it was, you don’t want to wake up. You'd rather stay stuck in this made-up universe for as long as he exists. For in all of those years of staying up until two just to study for another stupid test, today may be the best day to ever come.

‘Do introduce yourself,’ she gives away one of her: ‘you better behave or I will be a bitch’ smile.

Was this him? Because damn... Even the finest of aged wines and liquor couldn't compare. His smile brings shame to all of mankind.

‘Nice to meet you all. I’m Min Yoongi,’ his voice was thick as paste, and his words were as clear as the sky outside.

‘Woohoo!’ those who gawk their eyes at him go unnoticed by you, for if what they were doing was considered gawking. What you were doing was absorbing. Absorbing all you could take before it would be taken away from you.

Yoongi was as stunning as a butterfly in daylight and as alluring as a firefly against the prussian blue sky. Eyes lightly shaded, lips carefully moulded, and cheeks carved exquisitely to utter perfection.

‘You can sit there. Next to Y/N,’ your heartbeat can be heard loud and clear - for the excitement, fear and anticipation was intense like those last moments where paint is drying on a canvas. Where no one knows what could go wrong. So intense you could have sworn the person sitting in front of you knew of how your heart drops and rises every few seconds.

You walk around with an impassive expression scribbled all over your face. Like an abstract painting that would appear indecipherable and confusing at first glance, and familiar to those who spend hours staring and trying to figure the meaning behind it all. The two creases above your brows when you're focused on work, the way your cheeks puff out when you smile, the adorable noises you make whenever you sneeze, and that frown that visits you when the teacher sets another ridiculous assignment. You were such an interesting character, yet no one wanted to know you or tried to know you. Except one, Min Yoongi.

The creaking of the chair and the sound of him sitting down startles you. But you refuse to show that. You refuse to wear your heart on your sleeve like half of the population does. You remain calm and untouched on the outside and an explosion of feelings on the inside. You were a tree with remarkable chiffon-white bark overflowing with despicable critters. And half of you very well knows that somehow he’d still be able to see right through you. As though you were made of transparent glass, and your thoughts floated above your head like a rubber duck placed in a bathtub. Yet you still tried.

‘Hi,’ that’s when the wooden walls build across you cracks into pieces, for as of right now you couldn't help but grin foolishly. A child in a candy store, the man before you a colourful lollipop made entirely of sugar. The only thing preventing you from him was your mother who doesn't let you indulge in the sweet crystalline substance. But.. a lick wouldn’t hurt. Would it?

‘Remember me?’ his fingers linger over his head, a habit he developed when he was nine.

‘Yoongi..’ just like the day he said your name for the first time, your pretty voice almost brings him to tears. But, crying in a classroom full of strangers and on your first minute in a new school wasn’t what he wanted.

‘Let’s catch up later,’ you direct your pencil at the board, encouraging him to focus.

‘I have to graduate.’

Lies.. Lies.. You never listen. You simply needed time to take in the fact that your childhood best friend was sitting next to you. That he was real, and that if you touched him he wouldn’t disappear.

So, as he focuses his eyes on the teacher, you decide to poke his shoulder to test out the theory. People can call you dumb all they want, but meeting someone you’ve lost seven years ago is not an everyday occurrence.

‘I won’t disappear even if you keep doing that.’

Damn it!! That fucking gummy smile!! Cuteness metre overload!!

‘Oh,’ you slap your hand across your forehead upon realising how foolish you sound and seem.

‘So.. You like sleeping in class?’ he smirks, ruffling your hair as though so much time hasn’t passed by already.

‘What do you mean?’ you protest, refusing to fall victim to his accusation. Which was very much a fact if you’d say so yourself.

‘Y/niee.. The door allows you to see everything in here. It's made of glass,’ your cheeks redden at this. Not because you’ve been caught, but because, ‘Y/niee..’!!!

‘Haven’t heard that name in a while,’ you confide the truth to him.

‘Why? Don’t your friends call you that?‘

Ouch!

‘I don’t have friends,’

The pitiful girl who no one knows. You sure play that role well.

‘Oh.. Sorry,’ he scolds himself in his head, knowing that he has entered bulldog territory. It's only been ten minutes, yet he’s already fucked up. (Not that he was counting the time spent with you or anything.)

He just assumed you would have many friends. I mean.. From what he remembers - you were one lovely little girl. Unless you have turned into a mean witch of some sort that is. He doubts that though, not by how your teeth show as you chuckle in silence and how you are a nervous mess in front of him. And even if you were a mean which, he couldn't care less. All he knew was that you were the six-year-old girl he brought home to make dumplings with.

You might have changed over these years. But regardless of what, you’re his best friend. His Y/niee...

‘It’s okay. It's perfectly fine of you to assume I have friends. Everyone else has one or two.’

‘Speaking of friends... I’m sure you’ve got many. You’re cool,’ the compliment plops two pink dots on his cheeks, the pigment spreading across his face.

‘I had two in my life,’ he shows you his fingers.

‘That’s a lot,’ you tell him.

‘And then there's you.’

And then there's you.

Why did that sentence make you gulp slightly? Maybe it was because of the countless questions wandering around in your mind. What were you to him? Just a decent childhood memory to forget? A cherished childhood memory engraved in his heart? Something he had only come to remember today?

‘My best friend,’ that made you smile, contrasting to that of your usual poker-faced and empty canvas-like expression. The artist hovering from above you with his brush stretching your lips as wide as he could, as though he was a puppeteer and you were a marionette doll with no mind or heart of your own. But the act wasn’t as horrendous as it seems to be. For you don’t regret smiling.

‘Looks like the promise..’

‘Y/N, and Yoongi!’ your teacher has never irked you this badly. But.. as they say, you never know what happens.

‘Yoongi,’ you poke him lightly.

‘Smile,’ you whisper, his ears catching on and obeying your orders.

‘No talking in my class. If I catch you one more time detention it is for you, Y/N.’

‘Yoongi.. I expected you to behave. But.. I guess Y/N got to you,’ you don’t miss the scowl she sends your way.

‘Y/N’s at it again,’ those were the last words she uttered before returning to her lesson.

*Ring*

Looks like the bell was on your side this time.

‘Class is dismissed,’ her pointing stick is shoved into her tote bag, her heels disappearing at the door.

‘Huhh.. Finally,’ students sigh in relief.

‘Y/Niee.. Wait for me,’ he holds your hand in his, your body relaxing immediately at the contact.

‘I’m sorry for getting you in trouble. I’d understand if you’d want to avoid me,’ that breaks his heart.

Why on earth are you saying that?

‘No.. Why would I do that?’

‘That’s what happened years ago. After I was deemed as the “trouble maker”, my friends all avoided me.’

These “friends” of yours. If he were to ever come across them, he’d have to have a little chat with them. Or in his language. Tie them up in rope, and make them confess to their sins.

‘I’d never let our friendship fall for such silly things like that. You’re worth much more than that,’ he pats you on the head.

‘Whoever these “friends” of yours are.. They don't deserve you. A friend will stick with you through thick and thin. The fact that they let go of your hand for a mere rumour speaks for everything!’

‘Why do you sound so angry, Yoonie?’ you tease.

‘Because you don’t deserve this,’ he replies honestly.

‘Now.. Let's get onto something more light. Our first day together shouldn’t be spent on such gloomy and meaningless topics.’

You nod in return, pleased in knowing that after all of this time there is someone willing not only to stay by your side but to stand up for you.

‘What’s your favourite colour?‘ he feigns unfamiliarity, even though the colour he believed to be your favourite is frolicking across the tip of his tongue. His eyes crinkling in utter joy at the recollection of you and your many purple bracelets.

‘Black,’ time changes people, he forgot that.

But change is what we all need in order to grow. He’ll frown for a few days, realising how he doesn't know you well like he once did. Nevertheless, he’ll get to know you. The present version of yourself.

‘What’s your favourite movie?’ the questions don't stop rolling in.

‘Oh.. Come on! You know how easily distracted I get,’ you grimace at his faked oblivion. It might have been years since you have met, but regardless of what, you still know him to a certain degree. No matter how many times he’d dip himself in pretend curiosity, you’d still be able to distinguish whether he was playing with you or genuine in his actions. Right now he was digging through a mine filled with gems, and putting on an act of not being aware of what lies underneath. A part of him very much knows the answers to these questions and is just testing whether he is right or not.

‘Do you have a crush on someone?’ his babbling that doesn't come to an end is a disguise used to hide the real motive behind it all. The crush he had ever since you both turned eight, and the one that never managed to fade away.

He has to know this. To know whether he’s a possible candidate to snatch a place in your heart, or if that spot has already been taken.

‘Yes,’ those words splatter at his once sparkling hope, replacing it with despair.

‘Who?’ he struggles to hide the frown knocking at him, yet a teasing smirk manages to caress his face.

‘... Kim.. Kim Taehyung,’ lies spill from your lips. The last time you spoke to Taehyung was three years ago - when he forgot to bring his pencil. The last time you got a glimpse of him was two weeks ago - when you accidentally bumped into him.

Either than that, Kim Taehyung is invisible to you as you are invisible to him.

‘The school’s heartthrob?’ looks like he’s got another reason (aside from the boxy-smiled boy’s continuous persistence of wanting to be friends) to hate the fellow.

‘Mmhmm,’ you nod, wishing ever so desperately that he doesn't catch on to your lie. He probably already found you pitiful enough. Why add more to the hundred reasons to feel bad for you? Making up a little crush wouldn’t hurt anyone. Or will it?

‘He’s my neighbour. I can talk to him for you. If you’d like me to that is,’ as much as he wanted you for himself, and as much as he wanted to fight for you. How was he supposed to do so? Especially when your heart already has been set somewhere.

For you to be happy and well. That's what he wanted most. And even if that happiness had to come in the form of a tall, and brown-eyed teenager dressed in denim. So.. It was.

Min Yoongi is a good judge of character, and he knew that Kim Taehyung was nothing but a good-looking lad dragged into the spotlight simply because his nose was prominent, his eyes were alluring, and his deep voice was regarded as attractive.

In the name of love, Min Yoongi was one big idiot who doesn't know how gifts work or how particular signs meant. He’s only been in love once in this nearly two decades of his. And that's to you. Therefore, How does a man who is clueless as a chipmunk get the girl? He screws up and learns from it.

‘You don’t have to,’ it’s either he fell for it, or he’s pretending not to know. You don't want neither. You just want him to push you against the wall and claim your lips as his.

‘We only have barely a year left before the bear gets away.’

‘I’m not that desperate. You sound more desperate than I am.’

‘No, I’m not. Why would I be?’

Only for Yoongi, you were.

Only for you, he was.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

‘Kim Taehyung!’ his words pump up with resentment like a balloon filled up with the wrong type of gas.

‘It’s for Y/N.. It’s for Y/N.. It’s for Y/N,’ he chanted it in his head.

‘Taehyung-ah!’ more friendly, he thought.

‘Hyung!! You have finally decided to glance my way,’ he doesn't bother to hide his smile, his eyes beaming in utter glee.

‘We can be friends.’

Overjoyed and a level up of what over the moon felt like. Kim Taehyung was happy. Very happy.

‘Reallly?’

‘Yes,’ he’s already feeling guilty.

‘Taehyung, let me be honest with you. I came here because of Y/N,’ that’s when his face drops, shades of grey and white splattered across his expression.

‘Oh..’ he’s an open book.

‘She likes you. Will you do me a favour, and go out with her?’ half of Yoongi wanted him to say yes, and the other half didn't.

‘So, you’re not here because you want to be friends?’

‘No,’ he was already asking for too much, the least he can do was tell the truth. ‘You can think ab-’

‘I’ll do it,’ this was a great opportunity - too great for him to pass by, ‘When’s the date?’

‘Tomorrow, 4 pm. Cafe Bonsai.’

‘I’ll be there,’ that’s it, Taehyung’s big plan. To get to know Y/N, make her tell him about Yoongi, and use that information to get his crush to fall head over heels for him.

That's how you ended up seated here, a bowl laying there with the remanence of spaghetti that was once dressed in bold red sauce as you face no other than Kim Taehyung.

‘I got you a date with you-know-who,’ Yoongi informed you, holding hands with the woman he introduced you to mere seconds ago. That ignited a fire in you. ‘Make Yoongi Jealous.. Steal Yoongi’s heart,’ your head went on, a faux grin sent his way.

‘So.. Will you tell me about yourself?’ he wakes you up from your daydream with a genuine question sculpted from his child-like curiosity and fondness towards people.

‘My dream job is to travel around the world. I’ve been saving up ever since I could get a part-time job,’ a perplexing smile pinches your lips. Was this too much to tell a person you've barely talked to twice?

‘That’s cool. Mine is to be a saxophonist,’ he pauses, ‘Just kidding. That was a silly childhood dream of mine. My dream job is to paint. I especially have an admiration towards impressionism.’

‘That’s cool,’ you were beginning to see him in a whole new light. The filter he puts on to play the role of the school’s heartthrob forgotten and put aside.

Both you and he are more alike than you’d like to admit. Those who hide behind a facade tend to forget who they are beyond it. But both you and him weren’t like that. You can fool the whole world, but you can’t fool yourself. For, when they all turn their heads away you’re simply dear old Y/N who eats cookies from a tin and he’s Taehyung who mixes paint in a can.

‘It is?’

‘Of course, it is,’ you nod in agreement.

‘Everyone else doesn't seem to agree. To them, art is the ticket to starvation and poverty,’ his fist tightens at the image of his parents throwing away his art. The blood, sweat, tears, and emotions that come along with them all tossed aside and replaced with resentment, anxiety, and pain. The textbooks clustered in numbers and signs a replacement that will supposedly lead to: ‘the key to his success.’

‘Ignore what they say. You know what is best for you and what you want and need better than anyone else does. If you want to paint, paint,’ your heart may beat for Yoongi, but your words aren’t limited to him.

‘Thank you, Y/N.. I’d love to talk more. But, it’s late now, I think we should part ways,’ he stands up from his chair.

‘Goodbye, Taehyung.’

‘Call me Tae.’

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Five months later ↴

‘Y/Niee... Come over here,’ Seori, Yoongi’s sixth girlfriend of the year, makes you scoot over to join the others.

But, wait a minute! Y/niee!!?? Only Yoongi gets to call you that. How dare-

‘1... 2... 3.. Cheese!’ you settle your arms around Yoongi and Taehyung’s hip, trying your best to not strangle her.

How long was this one going to last? Four days? Two weeks? One month?

Well.. little did you know, this would be the last of her. Turns out, Yoongi didn't like the whole ‘Y/niee’ situation just as much as you did. In his words: ‘How dare you call my best friend that! Just because I call her that, doesn't mean you can. We should end this. I don't like people like you. People who think with their feet.’

You might think. Isn’t that a silly reason to break up with someone? In Yoongi‘s world, it wasn’t like that. He was dating simply because you couldn't be his.

The amount of women he has left broken-hearted has earned him a name - pretty boy. Legend has it, that the pretty boy is easy to fall in love with but hard to make fall in love back. He has innocent features and round cheeks, yet no heart to be found. Once you mess up once, out the drain you go. And when we say mess up, we mean: accidentally bumping into pretty boy’s best friend because your shoelaces were untied. You get the picture.

‘Where are we Yoongi?’ you observe your surroundings, taking in the sculptures that are displayed everywhere.

‘Welcome to my workshop,’ a wave of satisfaction and pride hit him in the form of the curving of his lips.

‘Woah. Did you make these?’ you stare in awe at the array of flower sculptures that lay neatly next to one another.

‘I did,’ he bobs his head slightly, his excitement at its peak upon seeing how amazed you appear to be.

‘Yeon-ki.. Why haven't you shown me this before?’ your voice comes out weirder than it normally would.

‘I thought you wouldn’t be interested,’ he scratches his head, burrowing his face into the charcoal black t-shirt he wore.

‘Min Yoongi.. Oh, Yoongi.. My dream job when I was thirteen was to be a sculptor.’

‘Oh, really? Mine started ever since I was eight. Growing up with a mother who ran a dumpling shop does a thing or so to you,’ he chuckles, memories of two tiny hands sealing the edges of a kimchi and pork dumpling coming back to him.

‘How come you never told me that?’ you pout, thinking of how you used to tell each other everything.

‘I was embarrassed,’ he remembered the day his teacher asked him: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’

‘A sculptor,’ that’s when the class broke down into laughter, his cheeks pink from humiliation.

Now how was he going to tell you? That he didn't want to tell his crush (who also happens to be his best friend) about his dream job, because he didn't want her to find him weird like the other children did and leave him...

From his perspective as a grown-ass man, children find anything funny.

‘Yoongi.. When I was eight years old I wanted to be a kitty cat,’ you giggle, your third-grade classroom visible from the corner of your eyes.

‘Y/N.. What do you want to be when you grow up?’

‘Uhh.. Uhh.. A kitty cat, Ms Seo,’ even the teacher starts cracking up.

‘Ahh. I remember you telling me that.’

How can you be this adorable? He swears he’s melting right now, his heart all mushy and soft. Oh- But you’re not his...

‘Wanting to be a sculptor isn’t even one bit embarrassing,’ you scowl.

To him it was.

‘He He,’ he’s feeling shy, light giggles coming from his lips.

The ‘Min Yoongi’ shy? Only for you, it seems. No one makes him feel like you do.

‘So.. Why are we here?’

‘We haven’t been hanging out with one another lately. So.. I thought. Why not do something fun for once?’ he points at the clay sealed in transparent airtight bags over on the table.

‘Pottery?’ you conclude.

‘Pottery,’ he verifies your speculation.

‘I will teach you how to make your own piece!’ never has he ever been this enthusiastic over something. This was his craft after all, his escape from boring essays and equations. The love of his life - after you of course. Even dumplings found themselves in third place over time.

‘I want to make matching mugs,’ ideas spring up in your head like brushes swirling in water.

‘You’re that excited?’ his face is going to start hurting from all of this smiling.

‘Mmm.. I am,’ fuck that, you’re worth all of his smiles.

‘Do you want me to show you how first, or do you want me to guide you along?’

‘Guide along,’ you let him tie your apron on, his hands hovering above your curves.

‘Just like that,’ he finishes the last knot, your body paralysed out of nervousness and your heart pounding palpably away. The sound of your heartbeat was like music being played at the lowest volume possible. The vibrations barely clear, but still existing. The melody quiet and only picked up if listened to meticulously.

‘What are you waiting for? Sit down, Y/niee.’

Min fucking Yoongi! I’m about to pounce at you, you clueless yet ridiculously lovable freak that I wish were mine - you cursed in your head, sitting down obediently.

‘Apply pressure onto the clay,’ he instructs, the confusion reflecting on your eyes reminding him of his earlier days.

The days in which he just started learning. First was the paper flowers, then the pottery, and now the sculptures. He was making his way through it one by one, hoping he’d master it all in the near future. Materials like breezeblocks, plaster of paris, soapstone, alabaster, serpentine and wonderstone he had carved away. The amount of materials he has lost possibly forming a mountain. Yet the many pieces he has created out of all of it was worth every lost and aching muscle.

He’d move on to marble soon, and to be honest, he’s eager as fuck. And a reasonable amount of: ‘I’m scared for my life.’ That’s what he likes to think.

Marble is expensive, and tricky to work with. However, as a sculptor, he was willing to try everything out. Who knows, maybe marble might end up being his end game.

‘You have to centre it,’ his hands overlap yours, guiding you through the divine art of pottery.

‘Like this.. There we go,’ your back pressed against him, results in the zapping of a lightning-like sensation in your chest.

‘Now, we have to form a hole,’ the clay smooth against your bare hands, both satisfying to touch and watch as it goes through a magical transformation on the wheel.

‘We are almost done,’ his hands now around your waist.

How can you move at this rate?

‘Relax.. Pottery is supposed to calm you down, not stress you out,’ so you do calm down, your hands moving the way he wants you to. Your heart the polar opposite.

‘Now we remove it, and let it air dry,’ he’s careful to not harm the shape of the mug as he cuts it off, placing it on another table.

‘Time to make the other one,’ he does as you did minutes ago, his hands like waves colliding in the ocean. Every moment his body moves, a marble being quarried somewhere.

‘Woah,’ that makes him smile. You make him smile, his motions not ceasing to exist. His fingers dancing along with clay that continues to spin around, the twirling coming to a halt at last.

‘We’ll come back tomorrow. They need to dry overnight.’

‘So, this is it?’ you frown, realising that your time with Yoongi is no more.

‘No.. I’ve got something else planned,’ and now you were content yet again.

‘What do you have planned?’ curiosity was yet to be reduced like the many slabs of rock Yoongi has in store. He’ll have to carve this one first though. Taking away your curiosity, and leaving you with blocks of utter satisfaction.

‘A-’ that’s when his phone starts ringing violently.

‘Oh.. Shit. I have to go, Y/N.’

‘Why?’ I guess those pieces of excess rock barricading your heart will have to stay for today.

‘My girlfriend is in trouble,’ he genuinely likes this one.

Maybe this would be the key to getting over you?

‘You should call Tae to pick you up,’ his name no longer holding bitterness. Yoongi has grown attached to the man now equipped with cerulean blue hair. He was a bit quirky, yet sweet. A lot quirky actually. But... Nonetheless, sweet.

‘I will! Please call me once you get home.’

And soon he realised how wrong that statement would be. There is no key to getting over you. Even if there is, It sure isn’t humanely possible.

You have his heart in your hands. You have the power to crush it into pieces or to protect it with all of your might. At the moment, you have it dangling from your hands. So close, yet so far... That was Yoongi and Y/N - you and him.

With your departure, bits of his happiness trail after you. His heart plunged out of his chest.

He’ll help her today, but break up the next. It's the least he could do out of decent courtesy.

However.. when he arrived he was pulled away. A pair of lips pressed to his.

‘You came,’ her hands placed blatantly on his neck.

‘Hwa-Young!’ he pulls away.

‘Hwa-Young,’ those same words graze your lips as it did his.

The one that left you behind for a rumour. The friend who promised she would stick with you until the very end, but left before the waters even thickened.

Hwa-Young.. A beautiful flower. She was beautiful alright. But some flowers are just so rotten inside, even their petals start falling apart.

Did Yoongi leave you just to kiss her? Did Yoongi bail on your date for this? Were you to a point so not worthy of his attention, that he’d rather spend it with someone else? Stop! Stop! You can’t just assume what is going on, without knowing what happened!

That's right! You can ask Yoongi tomorrow. He’ll explain to you everything. And all will be fine. He did not leave you to kiss your former friend. He probably doesn't even know who she is. If he does, he’ll probably break up with her. But.. What if Yoongi loves her. You don't want to be in his way. But... Your friendship!!

It’s all too much for your brain to comprehend.. Your head feels like it's about to explode, and you can’t stop the tears from coming. You had no one but yourself if Yoongi we're to leave.

You can’t fend for yourself again!

Lone wolves are always the first to go. Lone wolves are always the most vulnerable to pain, trouble and death. That's how it is. And how it always will be.

Wait! Wait! You have Taehyung.. You aren’t alone after all.

‘Fuck..’ you cuss, the gateway to agony’s twin sister staring right at you. Your existence, a speck of sculpting debris to be thrown out with the rest.

‘I’m finally home,’ not a glance to be given. Not a bother to be seen. And not another word to be spoken.

Yoonie (Best Friend) - Direct Message

You: I saw you

Yoongi:??

You: With her

Yoongi: It’s not what it looks like

You: That's what they all say

You: Good night, Min

Yoongi: Y/N??

Yoongi: Honey?

Yoongi: Y/niee??

‘Y/N! Honey!’ you know very well of what you had to do.

You have to talk. You have to let him explain himself.

‘Yoongi..’ your downhearted expression causes a rift between his sadness and anxiety. A rift that was indecipherable from start to finish.

‘Bench?’ he suggests, not wanting your legs to ache by the time this conversation ends.

‘Mhmm,’ you mumble incoherently.

‘I liked this one more than I did others,’ he admits, covering your legs with his varsity jacket. He’s not letting you shrivel up in the cold. Not now, or ever..

‘You do?’ you lean onto him, taking his warmth in with you.

‘I did,’ he corrects.

‘She tricked me. She called saying that her car was being towed away and that she needed help. When I arrived, there was no car or truck. I was pushed into the corner, and she started kissing me. That's when I knew, she wasn't the one.’

That there was no one like you, he wanted to say.

‘That’s terrible,’ you sigh, your anger soothing away.

Yoongi would never do that to you. You have let your doubt towards this world and its people get to you once again. But... Can anyone blame you? It was them who made you this way.

Inside you smiled, knowing he was sticking by your side no matter what happens. Your bitterness towards Hwa-Young intense.

‘Now.. Your story.’

‘I was walking home and I saw you and her.. Kissing.. Then.. I- left,’ you halt.

‘She’s the friend I told you about in the beginning,’ if he was resentful before, now he was enraged.

‘I’m sorry,’ even if he didn't know before, he felt the need to apologise. And so he did.

‘You didn't know. The fact that you dated her hurts me. But... You didn't know.’

‘Are we still best friends?’ he hopes that title, regardless of this, continues to stand.

‘Yoongi. Our friendship is much more than that.’

He knows that. He was just testing.

‘So.. If I were to kiss you right now, you wouldn’t mind it?’ your heart.. Sjdbhdhdjdhfhf What the blueberry muffins and oranges is this man trying to do!?!!

‘I’m with Taehyung,’ that hits him hard.

‘That was an insensitive question. Wasn't it?’ he timidly covers up his face.

‘Just don’t let Tae hear you,’ you both giggle.

Yet neither one of you mean it.

You’ve never kissed Tae before. You have had a platonic relationship all the way from day one to now.

‘You don’t like me.. do you?’

‘Wu-what do- you mean by that,’ you were always bad at lying.

‘Yoongi? You like him. Don’t you?’

‘How.. did-’

‘I just do.’

He wanted to say: ‘You look at each other as though you are in love.’ But... He didn't.

‘Don’t tell him,’ oh how familiar those words are.

‘Do you like her?’

‘What?!’ he needed a more specific question.

‘Do you like Y/N?’ that freezes him in place. His body is like stone that is unable to move about.

‘Y/N.. What? Yeah, she's my best friend. Of course, I like her,’ he firmly asserts.

‘Not like that. You know what I mean.’

‘Fine.. Fine.. You win. I like Y/N.’

‘Don’t tell her,’ he snorts at the memory of Yoongi pleading ever so desperately.

‘We should go inside.. Shouldn't we?’ his fingers lace with yours, sauntering along as he carefully brings you with him.

‘We graduate in four more months. Isn’t that crazy?’

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Four Months Later ↴

‘Happy Graduation!’ the three of you clatter your glasses filled with fizzing soda together.

‘The day we break up,’ you thought.

‘The day they break up,’ he thought.

Shit! What if Taehyung doesn't want to end this? Shit! Wouldn't Y/N end up hurt by this?

‘Did you-’

‘We broke up,’ if he’s shocked, he sure doesn’t show it.

He always knew this day was going to come sooner or later. What he was going to feel or how he was going to deal with it, on the other hand, is something he didn’t know.

‘Where is Y/N? Is she okay? Oh.. Tae..’ he collapses into his arms.

Shit.. Shit!! His heart! The love of his life crying about you in his arms. About nine months ago, he would have taken this as an opportunity for him to snatch Yoongi up. But… this love story doesn’t include him. He’s a mere side character that blurs away in the background. A character that can either break or make the story. For as much as how trivial he is, his decisions affect the story.

And he was no monster.

‘She’s at home. She dumped me.’

‘She dumped you?’ oh how foolish Yoongi was, Taehyung had thought. He himself was not any different though. A fool in love.. Too blind to see the truth in front of him.

‘She did.’

‘Are you hurt? Do you like her?’ he didn't need to be reminded of his reality.

What was he supposed to say? No.. I don't. I don't like her that way. You.. See. I’m not attracted to women. Y/N is this wonderful woman and I adore her more than anything in this world (maybe a little more than I adore you) but she’s like my little sister. Okay Okay.. She’s older than I am. But, you get what I mean. She’s like a sister to me.

‘No,’ nor does she like me he almost says. In that sense of course.

‘Take care. Get home safely, Tae,’ those words ring in his ear.

Why are you so caring Min Yoongi? Make me hate you! Make me hate you! Because you being kind is worse than you not being mine.

Oh, Y/Niee.. Sweep him off of his feet already. I want to move on.

‘Y/N! Are you in there, honey!’ the knocks that pass through to you is just another reminder of how love will never be yours.

‘Yoongi?’ your voice is tiny as you open the door.

‘Food,’ he lifts the lunch box to show you.

‘I dumped him.’

‘I know,’ he releases the food to the open world.

‘I know about your request,’ shit.. is that why.

‘Are you mad at me?’ you bastard, that's not what you are supposed to say.

‘That’s why I agreed on the date,’ you take the chopsticks out.

Why should you lie?

‘Do you love him?’ Min Yoongi, you stupid fuck!

‘No,’ he wasn't relieved.

‘Why the nine months?’

‘Because I wanted to love him,’ because I love you.

‘It didn't work though. You can’t fool this,’ you put your hand against your beating heart.

‘You had a crush on him?’

‘Admiration and love are two different things,’ he sticks the spoon into the soup.

‘Do you feel like eating?’

Do you feel like anything?

‘No,’ he tugs the food back into its packaging.

‘Those mugs we made. Remember them?’ you nod.

‘Do you want yours?’ you nod.

‘They came out nice,’ a subtle smile moulds onto your face.

‘We’ve been distant these four months. Only talking at school, and barely meeting up outside. Even the conversations held at school were scarce.’

Avoiding him was your way of coping.

‘Was it Hwa-Young?’

‘No..’

Hwa-Young didn't bother you, the way his lips embraced hers did. It snapped something inside you. A brutal mess of phrases in your head that wouldn’t stop returning. ‘He’ll never kiss you like that.’ ‘He’ll never be yours.’ ‘He’ll never love you like that.

‘Then what was it?’ a single presence of happiness never glazes his face.

‘Does there have to be a reason for everything?’

‘Y/N.. I’m trying to fix this relationship.’

Yoongi.. I’m trying to protect myself.

‘Get out,’ you’re not keen on starting a fight.

‘Don’t forget to eat what I brought,’ he closes the door, his lingering warmth on the couch floating away just as your loneliness kicks in once again.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A Week Later ↴

‘Hello... It’s me..’

‘Y/N,’ his eyebrows quirk up at your voice, ‘How are you?’

‘Yoongi. It's been a week since I have seen him, Tae.’

‘What happened?’ concern he had shown.

‘I shut him out.. I didn't - don't want to get hurt. Not like this.’

‘I saw him yesterday. I asked about you, and he said you were doing great.’

‘Bastard,’ you couldn't help but hiss.

‘He didn't look good, Y/N. We were catching up over lunch yesterday, and the whole time he was grumpy and extra pissy. Kept on looking at his phone as though someone were to message him. Nothing ever came, and he pouted throughout the whole hour.’

‘He barely took two bites of the food he ordered.’

Frowns.. Frowns. Oh, silly little thing. He should be taking care of himself.

‘Maybe he didn't like it.’

‘We were at his mother’s dumpling shop. He ordered dumpling soup. His favourite.’

‘Oh..’

You foolish bastard..

‘You should check on hi-’

‘No.. You should,’ he cuts you off.

‘I’m done playing middleman. How long are you going to drag this on? You like him, and he-’

‘Never mind.. It isn’t my place to tell you this. Have a nice day, Y/N.’

The phone call ends, and you go rushing for your coat.

‘Yoongi.’

‘You’re here,’ he was a little kitty waiting for its owner to come home.

‘Y/N!’ he isn’t a man of affection, but hugging you was necessary.

‘It’s cold,’ he hauls you inside.

‘I missed you,’ you break the silence away.

‘I did too.’

‘Why have you been avoiding me recently?’

‘Do I have to answer that?’

‘Goodness gracious, Y/N... I love you.’

The last time he cried in front of someone was when people allowed it. When he was a six-year-old child who was oblivious to what the cruel world could offer. The last time he cried was when he was showering. His whimpers blended in with the quiet of the night and that of the water trickling down his back and legs.

The water could hide his pain, casting him in a shield of protection. ‘Why can’t you be mine?’ he initially wanted to scream then. But, energy was something he no longer possessed. All that came out was a low sob of distress.

‘I-’

Words Y/N! Words...

‘I’m leaving for Paris tomorrow. Let's have one last movie night at my place.’

First the ‘I love you,’ and now this?

‘Paris?’

‘Sculpting.’

‘Oh..’

You lost him once. And now he was about to slip through your fingers yet again.

Min Yoongi is no piece of stone that you can easily keep in place. He’s sand. He’ll get away one way or the other.

‘Titanic.. Why titanic? I thought you weren't one for romance.’

Ever since you came into his life, he had been a sucker for romance novels and movies. Specifically: unrequited love stories with happy endings. That’s his favourite thing to watch over a weekend. Or rather, tear his eyes out wishing you were his as the male lead somehow gets the girl.

‘I love Romance.’

‘Okay.. Okay, mister.’

‘I love you.’

Get out of my head, Min Yoongi!

Did she not hear what I said?

‘Y/N?’ you fell asleep.

Your brain couldn't handle all of that. Your body couldn't handle of that. Your heart couldn't handle all of that.

‘Morning.’

‘I fell asleep last night. Didn’t I?’

‘You did.’

*Ring*

‘I’ve got to take this,’ you direct at the phone.

‘Your morning tea is waiting for you on this table.’

‘Mhmmm.’

‘Tae?’

‘Paris. He’s going-’

‘I know.’

‘Damit.. You fools! Yoongi likes you.’

‘We’re best friends.’

‘He loves you.’

‘Best Friends can love each other.’

‘Goodness me oh my.. He has a fucking crush on you.’

‘How do-’

‘He told me.’

‘Confess already. Don’t let him get away..’

‘I won’t ask him to stay. Sculpting is his life.’

‘Plus, long-distance relationships don’t work.’

‘Just get it off of your chest.’

I’ll never get to do so myself.

‘I’m at his house.’

‘Movie night?’

‘Yeah.’

‘I’m leaving for Spain.’

‘What? You too?’

‘Mmm..’

‘In the end, all I have is myself.. Isn’t it?’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be sorry. I’ll survive somehow.’

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Time of Departure ↴

‘Yoongi.. Before you leave, I want to tell you the real reason to why I broke up with Taehyung.’

You stood there, desperately hoping it will all turn out well.

‘Y/N.. Can’t you tell me some other time,’ his luggage is propped up against the wall, his legs leaning against the door.

‘No.. Yoongi.’

‘There is no other time.’

‘Is it important?’ he pouts.

‘It very much is,’ you confidently state.

‘Now.. Go on.’

‘I- I-’

Dammit!

‘I- I like you.’

‘And I love you,’ he knows what’s coming next, yet he didn't want to give up.

Even if there’s only a pinch of hope left.

‘I do too,’ you look into his eyes, the darkness within it glimmering with a dot of unrelenting wishfulness.

‘Not like that, you fool. I love you.. As in- As in: I want to push you against the wall and kiss you stupid.’

‘Yeah.. That I love you,’ you smile, rubbing your fingers over and over again.

‘I’ve been crushing on you ever since we were six. When we were eleven I’d follow you around like a lost puppy. And then you moved away. But the universe wanted us to meet again. We did.’

‘Eight-year-old me wanted to marry you. We can’t do that just yet. But..’

‘Min Yoongi.. The one with the lovely eyes who talks way too much and can’t focus for fuck’s sake. Will you be my boyfriend?’

He nods, his cheeks pink.

‘Words, Min.’

‘Yes.’

‘Now go on.. Go to Paris and become a megastar of a sculptor, or whatever people these days call it.’

Long-distance relationships. You were so against that idea. After all: ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind.’

However, this was the boy who had haunted your dreams for the seven years he was gone. He’s an exception. Always was and always will be.

‘Y/N..’

You thought he’d leave. You thought he’d walk away. But.. He didn't.

He embraced you into a tight hug.

Oh how badly he had been yearning for this moment to arrive.

‘You know Y/N, I never thought I’d see you again. I’m so glad I did,’ his words vibrate against your neck.

‘There are plenty of colleges in Korea where I can major in sculpting.’

‘But...’

‘Shh.. Let me confess something,’ his fingers touch your lips, hushing you.

‘Paris was just me trying to run away from what I wanted and needed. You.’

‘Y/N-’

‘No,’ you cut him off, ‘I get to say it.’

‘You already did.’

‘Does it look like I care whether I have said it or not?’

‘Nope.’

‘Then.. Will you be my fluffy little dumping?’

‘Yes..’

Smiles.. Smiles.. Oh, how could you stop smiling?

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Tears.. Tears.. Oh, how could you stop crying?

‘Yoongi! Yoongi!’ your lungs could drop out any second now.

‘He can’t hear you. We’re ghosts in this realm,’ Jimin looks over to your puffy eyes.

‘Why me? Why did I have to die? Why me?’

‘Namjoon’s next,’ the angel ticks something off with his quill.

‘All of this is just business to you.. Isn’t it?’

‘My memories are nothing but something you have to tick off of that stupid list of yours. Isn’t it?’

‘It’s my job,’ not a dose of sympathy to be shown.

‘You’re a devil. Not an angel.’

‘I’m just Jimin.’

‘Fuck you Jimin.’

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Min Yoongi has invited to you to his sculpting exhibition!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

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touchstarvedsam · 3 years

Note

What they did to Sam and Dean was fucked up, some people say their relationship was irreparable, but they were there, they were actually so close to be winners, they had all the tools to overcome the trauma, they were set up, but at the end they were tosed aside like useless garbage, all for the sake of a new show, just so people like you would keep watching the "homoerotic brothers"

Poor Jared, stuck in the same bullshit all over again, no wonder Jensen run like hell away from them.

You’re so cute, I just wanna squeeze your face. I love that you’re one of those “Walker ads ruined the finale” people when they barely played any Walker ads during the finale but go off.

Have you been watching Supernatural? Like, more than just the episodes Mushy-pie was in? Did you not understand the show because you didn’t watch from season 1? You started at season 4? I get it, I know. Jared’s ship sinking tiddies scared a lot of people off. You heIIers predicted that his tiddies were going to make your ship obsolete just from watching the show via metas and manips on tumblr, so you ignored the 3 GOLDEN seasons in favor of a crusty rape/necrophilia ship because you didn’t need to see proof that Sam and Dean’s bond is the most important one in the show. It’s okay. Just say out loud that you enjoy rape, I’ll wait.

Supernatural was about, wait for it, two brothers. Shocking, I know. It is the ONLY thing that kept the show going, kept general viewers tuning in, because of, dare I say it? Jared and Jensen’s chemistry. The general viewers liked how campy it was, how exciting, and how it had the significant lack of romance. There isn’t enough media out there that doesn’t have romance, so Supernatural was a rare golden thread in a haystack.

If you paid attention to, I don’t know, at least the past season, you’d see that Sam and Dean’s lives were dictated by Chuck. As per The Hero’s Journey, we learned that they were pretty much invincible because of Chuck, and as of 15.19, Chuck was no longer writing their story, no longer protecting them. After that, Sam and Dean wrote their own story. So Dean died a normal way that he wouldn’t originally have died because he didn’t have have God himself laughing at him, hoping for a crescendo type ending instead of something that was a freak accident.

Sure, Dean dying so soon sucked, and that Sam had to live on without him, but they didn’t do that because of Walker, you nasty glass of curdled milk. They chose the ending that would give them the most peace. Because Dean wasn’t going to hang it up willingly, and Sam has said he’d follow his brother. So they’d hunt until they’re old, never finding peace as long as there’s work to do. And if the writers chose for Sam to die, well, don’t you realize Dean would have gone and done a two-person hunt by himself with the intention of dying as quick as possible? Dean was not going to live with Sam dead, he has literally said that. In canon. So I don’t know what you’re even going on about, young heIIer, but it doesn’t make any sense to me. I don’t know what show you’ve been watching.

Were you aware that Walker didn’t end the show, Jared and Jensen chose to end it? They didn’t end Supernatural that way for Walker, you stale end piece of white bread. Jensen didn’t run away either. He has said he’d love to direct Walker, work with Jared again. The man has nothing against The CW. He has a freaking production company owned by The CW and WB. So how, exactly, would you consider that running? He took the next gig available, and it just so happened it was a superhero gig, when Jensen has been trying for years to be in a superhero show. And Jared has control with Walker, do you know that? He’s an executive producer. He has the power to make sure nobody gets sidelined the way Sam did in Supernatural.

Those writers fucked Jared over far too many times -- so has the makeup team, let’s be real -- which was why he wanted to produce instead of act. But he fell in love with Cordell Walker, and he loved that the show was filming so close to home. So he took the role that was made for him, and now he actually is on a set that’s not toxic, with no asshole guest stars (so far anyway), with so many positive and respectful people around him, and he looks so much better now, happier. So you can fuck right off with your “poor Jared,” because Walker is the best thing that’s happened to him in a long time.

#anti destihellers #anti destiel #when will i know peace #there are so many idiots it isn't even funny #anon #kiri answers asks

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demifiendrsa · 3 years

Text

NEO: The World Ends with You details details Susukichi, Tsugumi, Fuya, Kanon, Motoi, Threads system, shops, more

■ The Reapers’ Game

The Reapers’ Game unfolds in the UG (Underground), a different dimension which bears a striking resemblance to the real world. The Players of the Game form teams and aim to complete missions set out by the Game Master, Shiba. The nature of these missions ranges from solving puzzles to defeating enemies known as Noise, and teams may even find themselves fighting their peers for control of the ‘Buya in citywide turf wars!

The Game lasts for seven days. It is said that the team who racks up the most points over the course of the week will have their wish granted—whatever it may be. The unlucky team who ends up in last, on the other hand, is forced to face erasure.

In the Reapers’ Game, it’s all for one and one for all. Will Rindo and the Wicked Twisters be able to band together and topple the other teams in this struggle for survival?

■ Team Battles

Turf Wars: Scramble Slams

One kind of mission assigned in the Reapers’ Game is the Scramble Slam, a citywide turf war that has teams vying for control of various areas around town. Erase all the orange Turf Noise or take down the rival team members in an area to claim that location as your own.

In Scramble Slams, the fun lies in not only gaining control of an area, but also in defeating swarms of enemies to earn even more Scramble Points and exchange them for even better rewards. Chain together battles with regular Noise to max out your point-earning potential!

■ Characters: Ruinbringers

Known as the “strongest team,” everything else about them is shrouded in mystery: The Ruinbringers!

Susukichi (voiced by Max Udell [ENG], Natsuki Hanae [JPN])

“You kids must be the newbies! Oooh, fresh outta the box, ain’t ya?”

A Player in the Reapers’ Game, and a member of the Ruinbringers. While his impressive physique gives off an intimidating air, Susukichi is actually a bit of a chatterbox, rambling in his surprisingly high voice. Like the discs in beloved Reversi, he views the world in black and white.

Tsugumi (voiced by Ciara Riley Wilson [ENG], Yuka Ozaki in [JPN])

“I can’t lose… I must fight.”

A Player in the Reapers’ Game. Although she is a member of the Ruinbringers, she barely interacts with others and does not talk to anyone. Contrary to her waify appearance, she possesses powerful psychic abilities and a perfect record against other Players. The stuffed animal she carries resembles the mascot of Gatto Nero, a new brand that’s all the rage in Shibuya—but her plush pal apparently predates the establishment of said brand.

■ Characters: Deep Rivers Society

A group of river enthusiasts whose game-plan is to survive by being cautious and steady-going: the Deep Rivers Society!

Fuya (voiced by Adam Gold [ENG], Yoshiki Nakajima [JPN])

“You can row, row, row all you want…but you won’t go gently down this stream!”

A Player in the Reapers’ Game who got sucked into the action while taking a stroll in search of Shibuya’s most exquisite culverts. Despite being the de facto leader of the Deep Rivers Society, he is quite cowardly and not one to normally take charge. However, his aversion to conflict is the reason he’s managed to avoid dropping out of the game so far, so his “flight-over-fight” approach has served him surprisingly well. He holds a store-bought map of the city in which he’s hand-marked his favorite culverts.

■ Characters: Variabeauties

The super-stylish team with a passion for fashion and a skilled negotiator at the helm: the Variabeauties!

Kanon (voiced by Xanthe Huynh [ENG], Sumire Uesaka [JPN])

“That may work on the other girls, but I’m a little sharper.”

A Player in the Reapers’ Game and the leader of the Variabeauties. Both kind and captivating, Kanon gives “Rindy” and his teammates a crash course in the rules of the Game. Her beauty also belies a cunning side that reveals itself when the situation warrants. What she lacks in impressive psychic powers, she more than makes up for in wisdom, which has helped her survive the Game thus far.

■ Characters: Purehearts

The social media-savvy team taking the game by storm and using their positive thinking as a weapon: the Purehearts!

Motoi (voiced by Nick Thurston [ENG], Wataru Komada [JPN])

“I’m prepared to help out, of course! The more people working together, the better the resultat.”

A Player in the Reapers’ Game and the leader of the Purehearts. His winning smile and poetic platitudes give off good vibes only, even though his superficiality and frequent use of “fancy” words can rub some people the wrong way. Nevertheless, his magnetic personality has proven quite attractive, amassing him a large number of followers.

■ System: Threads

Rindo and his teammates can increase their HP (Health Points), ATK (Attack) and DEF (Defence) by wearing threads. There are five categories of fashion items you can equip: headwear, tops, bottoms, footwear, and accessories.

In addition, threads have abilities that are useful in battle. If the character equipping an item has enough Style, its ability will be activated and its effect unleashed. Spruce up your fashion sense and unlock the true power of the threads!

—There are no restrictions when it comes to equipping threads, so you can make whichever character you like wear any fashion item. However, some abilities will only activate when the corresponding item is equipped by a specific character.

■ Shops

The city of Shibuya is dotted with a wide variety of shops. There are over 40 establishments to visit, with some selling threads and pins, some providing delicious food and drink, and some offering collectibles like CDs and books.

Each shop attendant is unique, and they reveal a little more of their personality with each visit. Stop by a shop often enough and you might even earn yourself some VIP perks!

—Look for SHOP icons to find places where you can shop and eat! You can also enjoy shopping at stores which exist in the real world such as Taiseido and Tower Records.

—Pay with the contactless payment system “ShibuPay.” Sell the pins you gain during battle to top up your balance.

■ Shops and Brands

The style of clothes and accessories in fashion shops changes with each brand. The number of products will increase as you progress through the story and meet various conditions, so be sure to pop into your favorite shops every now and then. A few of the game’s boutiques are featured below.

—There are over 270 types of fashion items. Assemble ensembles around your favorite brands!

Top o’ Topo

Cute and girly clothes that are popular with younger crowds. Has its main store in Harajuku and another branch in Shibuya.

Joli becot

A sexy yet stylish brand for women that also features some cool pieces for men. Sometimes called “JB” for short.

Tigre Punks

Long-standing punk fashion brand beloved throughout Shibuya. Their edgy designs are tough in many ways.

■ Restaurants

Another great thing about Shibuya is its wide selection of restaurants! Choose from a variety of dining options like guilty fast food pleasures, succulent meat dishes, healthy veggie soups, and parfaits packed with cream and fruit. Eating improves your basic stats and is essential for Rindo and his teammates’ growth. If you want to survive the Reapers’ Game, watch what you eat!

—There are over 90 types of food. Savor all the fine dishes Shibuya has to offer!

—Rindo and his teammates’ reactions during food scenes in the restaurants are also a treat. Their moods are different when they eat something they like versus when they eat something they don’t.

■ System: Remind

Fret’s unique psych: Remind!

Fret’s unique psych, Remind, jogs people’s memories and helps them to remember things they have forgotten.

A minigame will start when Remind is activated. Tilt the left and right sticks in the correct positions to reassemble the scattered memory. Put all the pieces in the right place to complete the reminder!

—Use Remind on a Reaper who has forgotten the mission he was supposed to give out.

■ Locations

Rindo and his teammates travel to all corners of the Shibuya area over the course of the Reapers’ Game. Revisit familiar spots from the previous game such as Tipsy Tose Hall, and discover new locations like Shibuya Stream and the iconic Takeshita Street.

■ Pins

Classical Cacophany

A pin that enables the use of “dart bombs,” which shoots arrows that explode after a short time. By shooting a certain number of arrows quickly, a large explosion will occur immediately.

ShoGun: Void

The “entanglement,” which generates a chain in a straight line that damages and restrains the enemies it touches, plays nice with other psychs.

The Great Volancic Escape

Set a timed explosive at your feet with the “Time Bomb” psych. Figure out when to detonate the bomb and follow up with an attack.

NEO: The World Ends with You will launch for PlayStation 4 and Switch on July 27, 2021 worldwide, followed by PC via the Epic Games Store in Summer 2021.

#NEO The World Ends With You #NEO TWEWY #NTWEWY #The World Ends With You #TWEWY #Square Enix #video game #PS4 #Nintendo Switch #PC #Epic Games Store #long post #late post

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xanatosrising · 5 years

Text

Details: Althir

Full name: Lord Althir Xanatos

Pronunciation: Al-theer | Zan-uh-tose

Nicknames: -

Height: 6′

Age: 458

Zodiac: -

Languages: Thalassian, Common, Eredun, Shalassian, Orcish, Pandaren

Read/Written only: Mogu, Titan, Draconic, Shath’yar

Physical Appearance:

Hair Color: Ebony

Eye color: Jade

Skin Color: Olive-tanned

Body type: Slim/Athletic

Accent: Distinctly high Thalassian

Dominant hand: Right

Posture: Proper

Scars: None of note

Tattoos: Spell circles on the back of the left hand.

Most noticeable features: Striking gaze, handsomely aloof

Childhood

Place of birth: Quel’thalas

Birth weight: Average

Manner of birth: Magically assisted

First word(s): Mine!

Siblings: Rahir (Male)

Parents: Galahir Xanatos (Deceased), Zevrya Xanatos (Deceased)

Parental involvement: Althir had a distant relationship with his father, who was a frequent drunk and heavy gambler. He had a very close relationship with his mother, until her untimely death during his teenage years.

Adult Life

Occupation: Magister, Emissary to the Kirin-Tor, Collector and Dealer of Antiquities

Current residence: Suramar

Close friends: Xaereth Cloudbreaker, Elde'en Xanatos, Telen’dil Xanatos, Kristian Sinclair

Relationship status: Married

Financial status: Middle upper-class

Driver’s license: Licensed to operate trading vessels across all Horde territories.

Criminal record: Expunged

Vices: Alcohol, drugs, sex

Sex & Romance

Sexual orientation: Heterosexual

Romantic orientation: Traditional

Preferred emotional role: Provider

Preferred sexual role: Top

Libido: High

Turn ons: Class, Wit, Challenge, Submission

Turn offs: Lack of engagement, prudishness, crassness

Love language: Physical Touch/Gift Giving

Relationship Tendencies: Protective, Possessive, Indulgent, Nurturing

Althir is selfishly protective of the women in his life, as he is of all things he values highly. On the flip side, he strives to ensure their every need and want is fulfilled, though he often mistakes his own views of their potential as their desires.

Misc

Hobbies to pass the time: Scrying, reading, practicing arcane arts, attending concerts and opera.

Mental illness: Egotism, over-confidence, impulsiveness, swift tempered

Left or right brained: Left

Fears: Embarrassment, failure, abandonment

Self confidence level: High

Vulnerabilities: Family, ego

Tagged by: @vcloudbreaker

Tagging: @ivenya

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killin-lightspeed · 5 years

Text

Just a little error [Chapter 1/??]

Warning: this silly fanfiction may contain fan-characters. If you don't like them, please, avoid reading it. Thank you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"...So, you made me throw away years of hard work in one day. Pathetic..."

He scraped his teeth, tightening the grip on the glass almost full of alcohol and hid half of his face with one hand, trying to erase from his head the argument he had with his father a few hours ago.

"Useless..."

The older figure was clearer in his mind, noticing his folded arms and crimson eyes that were reflecting scorn and a bunch of negative feelings that were destroying him in one shot. He felt like a stroke of bad luck for his family and his rage was increasing every time he tried to give a glance to the alien.

"A blather without dignity."

He perceived his heart loosing a beat at every insult he heard, unable to bear with that abstruse, emotional pain; but why was he angry? After all his action vexed his father, and he had a good reason to be annoyed by it, but why was it hurting him so much?

His legs were quivering, like if they were withered leafs, and his nails made the blood pour, leave little warm stripes on his cheeks.

"You humiliated your whole family, good job..."

«Shut up.»

"...you deserve a trophy now..."

«Shut up...»

"...scum of society.»

«SHUT UP!»

A swifted and reflexive movement of Oxide's arm throwed the glass on the wall, blinded by the rage araised by those harsh, evil words. It wasn't a long lasting moment and the alien immediately realized the mess he had done when the noise reached his ears, kneeling on the chair and discern a lump in his throat, the shaking, weak body, his shiny eyes gazing the stain and a retching feeling he was trying to hold; it was like he lost every movement capacity, were those words so strong for him?

Minutes after minutes passed and Oxide took a bit of time to wake up and stagger toward the kitchen counter to grab a clammy cloth and staying still in front of the sink, trying to hold his body with the last pieces of strength he had and backing the head on shelf door to recover some energies.

He sighed and gritted his teeth, moving toward the wall with the only goal his mind elaborated, making it the main outburst subject to drive away every stupid consideration about his father's annoyance. He didn't cared at all about the glass shards on the floor and lowering on them he started washing vigorously away the stain while the other hand was pierced by the glass fragments, making him moan for the pain.

He wasn't brave enough to cry, no, he HADN'T to do that and let his weaknesses take over him; his only duty was to repress his rage and remain the grumpy, bilious alien he had always been. He just hoped that nobody heard the noises and watched him in that lousy state.

"Aren't you disgusted by yoursef?"

«Please, stop...» He whispered with his hoarse voice, bending his body like he was trying to hide from the parent presence who was slowly killing his soul.

«I-it was just a s-stupid error, I-I always win a-after all, r-right, d-dad?»

He was loosing his mind, he never received so many insults in his whole life that had hurt him so deeply. Since his youth he had been used to hear compliments over compliments, one more enjoyable than the other, and noone ever tried to denigrate him. Each enticement helped him increasing his ego, making him think to be the best in a land full of idiots; the white sheep between a flock of black sheeps. Yet the alien who had brought him to success destroyed him in less than an hour, treating him as he had a worm in front of his eyes instead of his own child. He rested his head on the wall, trying to smile to comfort himself.

«I'm the be-best, i-is it t-true, da-»

«Oxide...»

Unexpectedly, a feminine voice called his name and a thrill beated his back after a tapered hand touched his shoulder, making him regaining a bit of perspicuity. The cloth fell from his hand and he refused to turn his head to see the alien near him; he knew who she was but he felt embarassed to show himself in that condition, afraid of being scorned for that challenge or his actual aspect. They hated eachother but in that moment Oxide wasn't in the mood to have a discussion with Tarantula, the housekeeper.

«Oxide, show some respect and look at me when I call you.»

Oxide refused to reply to her words and avoided her command to show the lastest slieces of pride he had; it wasn't the perfect moment to fall and show how pitiful he was, physically and emotionally. She pressed her hand, bothered by the lack of attention of the alien.

«OXIDE!»

«WHAT THE HECK DO YOU WANT?!»

As soon as Oxide turned his head to give a little stare to Tarantula, he had a sense of remorse. Those magenta eyes gazing at him made his soul feeling powerless, uncomfortable, a child in front of a giant monster ready to eat him up. She had to be happy, he obeyed to her order.

«Look at yourself, a disaster. Not used to insults, aren't you, little prince?»

Listening to those words made Oxide's nerves boil up, finding her derisive grin in her mout as an act of superiority. How could she dare showing her power in front of HIM, the most famous racer in Gasmoxia?

The green alien tried to naively hide his face by Tarantula's eyes, bothered by her presence. She calmly approched toward him, grabbing nonchalantly his face to oserve how ruined, hot it was, making her sigh. Her grin vanished from her mouth and one of her rough hands moved slightly to touch Oxide's thin neck to caress it and feel his smooth skin. His body was still shaking, his eyes were looking at something ealse in the room and his round, soft cheeks turned into a soft, cherry red, like he was sheepish staying in that position. He changed a lot: he wasn't anymore that tiny little alien, yet watching his face was like she was in front of a sad, hurted baby; he made her sense a bit of tenderness.

Oxide, in the other hand, was surprised by Tarantula's maternal gestures. He rarely had that kind of contact with her but, in the end, it was nice and helped him relaxing a little.

«You really pity me...- she did a little laugh, gently touching one of the glands in the left side of his head and make him bite the lower lip -... You got a bad fever and cut one of your hands with tose little pieces of glass. You made all of this because of someone who doesn't deserve your presence. How adorable...» The housekeeper stopped talking for some seconds, watching at Oxide's slender, bloody legs and at the hand full of glass shards. She moved closer to him, seeking for a little bit of attention, and rudely forced the alien to look at her.

«How much broken are your emotions now? Are you serching desperately for some compliments? Isn't it a bit greedy, sweetheart? They're not like lifeblood, you know.»

Those calm, yet powerful, words punched violently Oxide's mind and the only thing he was able to do in that moment was moving away his head from Tarantula's hands, hiding his head between his shoulders and think about that comment. No, compliments were part of him, they WERE vital, was she despising them?

«P-please, t-tell me I'm th-» He needed a little compliment. All the bad words of his father were slowly devouring each part of his sentiments, the tiniest praise was enough for him.

But it didn't came and, instead, received an harsh rebuke by the alien, stopping his guileless request.

«Grow up, dear, perfection doesn't exist. If you really want to feel like a God, move your ass and stay with my mother. Maybe her sick conception of "Perfection" can help you feel be...- Tarantula stopped her phrase, regretting what she was saying in front of someone who had an abusive father for his entire life. Her mother wasn't the best neither. She sighed, and continued to talk -...Whatever, forget what I said. And no, I won't compliment you out of nowhere. Wait here, I'll grab a tweezer to remove those slivers.»

Both of them remained silent for some long lasting minutes, unable to exchange some words and caught by the embarrassment caused by that situation. Tarantula was removing the glass from Oxide's hand while he was thinking about his father, his youth, his whole life; it was all a lie, still he believed every fragment of it. But there was something that was bugging his psyche, suddenly popping in his mind.

"Maybe you can bury yourself and hide. No one needs you."

That phrase touched the climax of his patience and exasperation. His body stiffed and he gulped unhappily. How was he supposed to live with his presence?

«It hurts...»

That whisper caught Tarantula's attention, rising her head to look at the alien, confused.

«Why did he treated me that way? It was j-just a stupid error.»

The housekeeper's eyes opened whide: what she was watching was unbelievable for her. Those glassy red eyes, the shaking body, the clear tears that were slipping away from his cheeks. Oxide, the fastest racer of Gasmoxia, was crying?

No words she was able to pronounce, what she was staring at made her heart melt; it was surprising, strange, painful. She wasn't prepared for that scene, she didn't know what to do, how to help. But Oxide was still crying, she had to do something. She slowly proceeded toward him, girdling her arms around his bust and let him rest his head on her chest, crying to dissolve the rage, the stress he held for a long time. She hated the character he built during the years but she was well aware that under that armor there was someone too fragile, too attached to his idol to consider his words as truth.

She tightened the hug, sensing Oxide's arms consolidate the grip on her shirt and his head moving on her chest. He was like a baby.

«I'm not the best mom, nor the best moral supporter of Gasmoxia but you, Oxide, are a great, magnificent racer. You're a filthy cheater but your driving skills are incredible. Your father doesn't deserve your tears, your father doesn't deserve you. You're valid, Oxide.»

Her fingers touched delicately his head and in her mouth appeared a little smile. Oxide was able to feel her maternal side, loving all the compliments made by her and keep them as a treasure; he was harsh, cantankerous toward her feelings but, deep in his heart, he loved her as a second mom.

«Thank you, Tula...»

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I.DID.IT! Finally I finished the "translation" of this fanfiction. AH, now I'm feeling better. Hope you enjoyed it. :P

#fanfiction #crash bandicoot #nitros oxide #nitrous oxide #fan character #just a little error

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l-writes-things · 3 years

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How about I seduce you with… *Slides a plate of various dairy products over to you*

🌹my lack of the tose intolerance🌹

#shitpost #Gremlin Alert

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indianaprelawland · 4 years

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Homelessness During Covid-19

By Alex Lindsey, Butler University Class of 2021

May 28, 2020

Homelessness is a serious issue in the United States where over half a million people go homeless every night. Although 65 percent of those people are found in homeless shelters, the other 35 percent are found living on the streets in places not suitable for human habitation (8). Over 200,000 people are living unsheltered and are left with no choice but to seek refuge in parks, cars, abandoned buildings, and on sidewalks. These people face desperate situations and extreme hardship daily, and their vulnerability has grown exponentially due to the widespread impact of COVID-19.

While shelters are viewed as a place of safety and protection from the environment, they now house the ideal conditions for facilitating the spread of coronavirus. While business is suffering and social services are stretched thin, the virus has driven many more people to rely on the safety and hope of shelters, but this is only amplifying the problem. As a result, shelters have become overcrowded, and unsanitary environments filled with people who have come into contact with hundreds of people prior to entry. Since these people often do not have adequate medical care there is an additional risk of pre-existing conditions that can make individuals even more susceptible (6). Because shelters hold such extreme risks of infection, many of these establishments are being forced to reduce services, restrict admittance, or close entirely since they cannot ensure people’s safety, and follow recommended public health guidelines (7).Without these services, people are put at a much greater risk for infection.While outdoor settings may provide more opportunities for social distancing, those types of environments are extremely lacking in access to hygiene, sanitation facilities,and healthcare (1). If these peopleexperiencing homelessness are infected, they are two to four times more likely to require critical care, and are twice as likely to be hospitalized from the virus (4). This can be extremely taxing on communities especially since hospital systems are already so overstretched. While it is important to look at numbers and statistics to gauge the full impact of the virus, this specific population is so transient and mobile that it is extremely difficult to track, test, and prevent transmissions tosee the full picture.

While COVID-19 is so unprecedented, there are many steps that are being put in place to start to help people experiencing homelessness. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was created with natural disasters and terrorist attacks in mind, but policies are now being reevaluated in order to serve those who are most impacted by coronavirus such as the homeless. Traditionally FEMA does not serve to provide public assistance funding for emergency sheltering, but in this situation, FEMA has determined that certain non-congregate sheltering costs will be reimbursable given the heavy usage of and stress on the current homeless shelter system. This Category B Public Assistance is available to certain Private Non-Profit Organizations such as Homeless Shelters, low-income housing, services for victims of domestic violence, and residential services for individuals with disabilities (2). In addition to FEMA, Homeless Assistance Grants and Emergency Solutions Grants are also being used to lessen the impact of coronavirus. Homeless Assistance Grants are used to focus on three main goals. First, ESG funds are now able to be used to provide medical respite care and street medicine for those experiencing homelessness. Second, the limit on the amount of FY2010 grant funds for emergency shelter activities (included in the CARES Act) has been waived. Third, there is a suspension on any agency actions that could result in regulatory changes that could increase homelessness (3). The bill in Emergency Solutions grants allocates $4 billion to be used for temporary emergency shelters, waiving federal habitability and environmental review standards (5). The bill also provides the HUD Secretary authority to waive or change requirements for these funds as long as it is necessary to prevent and respond to coronavirus.

While COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on America as a whole, the homeless community has been especially hard hit. People who experience homelessness are stuck between shelters and outdoor spaces. Shelters which are often seen as a place of safety are now ideal locations for the spread of the virus. Seeking shelter outdoors provides the opportunity for social distancing but forces these people to brave the environmental elements on their own.In addition, the effect of coronavirus has led to more people facing homelessness. In light of these challenges, the use of policies and regulations has adapted to the current climate in order to assist those who need it most.

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Alexandrea Lindsey is a Dance-Arts Administration Major with a Minor in Business Law at Butler University. She enjoys sharing her love for the arts through nonprofit work and she aspires to practice law.

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1. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/homeless-shelters/unsheltered-homelessness.html

2. https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/COVID-19_FEMA-Toolkit.pdf

3. https://nlihc.org/responding-coronavirus-needed-regulatory-actions

4. https://nlihc.org/responding-coronavirus

5. https://nlihc.org/resource/congressional-leaders-agree-coronavirus-response-package-funding-homelessness-and-housing

6. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/coronavirus-impact-on-homessless-population/

7. https://nlihc.org/shelter-closings

8. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/The-State-of-Homelessness-in-America.pdf

Photo Credit: https://nlihc.org/rental-housing-instability-homelessness-and-covid-19

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miloscat · 7 years

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[Review] Avatar: The Legend of Aang (PSP)

Dragging on my “complete” Avatar playthrough series project thing, we pick up with the PSP version of the first game. You’ll recall that the first released game (except for the PC version), despite its generic title and boxart, features a unique story set in between Books 1 and 2, wherein the Gaang picks up Haru and scoots all over the four corners of the world to confront a new mechanical menace.

The PSP game was made by TOSE, as was the DS one. The two share much in common, most notably having identical maps for all areas; the PSP version has the edge though in that the clumsy screen-rotating shoulder buttons are cut, and it’s therefore much easier to navigate. It lacks the charming 2D sprites, but makes up for it with nice dialogue portraits, and the simple 3D models are sweet in their own way as long as the camera doesn’t zoom in too much.

There’s more though, much more. On the PSP the game is souped up mightily compared to the DS outing, with equipment, upgrades, and sidequests fleshing out the experience much more. A seamless game world, and most importantly regular save points that restore your health (or “honor points”) for free are essential features bafflingly missing from DS. In terms of features and presentation it falls in between the main console version and the DS edition, although the GBA’s purity and polish still give it superior appeal and playability.

The DS game can boast one or two things for itself: a fun variety of food items, a full party of four, and brief voiced cutscenes; I felt the absence of these on PSP, especially when certain characters are required, forcing the player to backtrack for swaps. But on balance it’s no contest. On PSP you get gameplay that’s at times challenging but fair, also a useful minimap! It’s a mediocre action RPG but as a fan of the series I loved experiencing this story once again, and the different elemental machines make for great villains with cool designs whose attributes also inform the gameplay.

Speaking of which, as is customary, let’s look at unique elements this game contributes to Avatar lore. Full portraits of all NPCs is a good way to show off the dress of the different cultures you encounter, as well as a good look at Lian’s design. The plot and script are nothing new over the other versions (making the same gaffes as the other versions of this game, such as mistaking Omashu for Ba Sing Se), but as before I appreciated seeing the occupied port town, the earthbender training camp, the village in the shadow of the Southern Air Temple, etc.

As always I also noted animals not seen elsewhere. These include the new mouse/squirrel-cat hybrid, and a blue-ish kind of chicken; as well as the blue armadillo(?) wolves and odd deer seen in other versions. There’s ordinary cats in the village adjacent to the Air Temple, but the show already had one of those. There’s a few spirits too, with the familiar horned bear in chapter 3, but also a new six-legged tortoise in chapter 5 and a blue tiger/wolf in chapter 6. These little tidbits are so exciting to me! Anyway thanks for indulging me.

PS. One final bafflingly stupid piece of trivia: a formatting error on the printing of the game’s UMD disc displays the spaces that should be there in the title as question marks, as you can see in this picture I took.

#avatar #avatar the legend of aang #Avatar The Last Airbender #tose #psp

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busines303-blog · 5 years

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Franchise Festival #45: Final Fantasy Spinoffs – The Avocado

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Franchise Festival #45: Final Fantasy Spinoffs – The Avocado

Welcome back to Franchise Festival, where we explore and discuss the history of noteworthy video game series from the last four decades. Older entries can be found here.

This week will be the second-ever instance of bumping a series’ spinoff section into its own article (after Pokemon), because there are a genuinely staggering number of Final Fantasy spinoffs. Many of these have become their own sub-series over time.

Cover art, unless otherwise noted, is from MobyGames. Please consider supporting that website, as its staff tirelessly catalogs key information and art assets for an often ephemeral medium. Where two release years are presented, the first is Japanese and the second is North American.

Between 1987 and 2016, Square and Square Enix released fifteen numbered entries in the Final Fantasy series. The franchise has only grown in popularity across its first three decades. To ensure a steady stream of new titles and appeal to players who might not otherwise enjoy the characteristic Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) tropes of the core series, Square and Square Enix have also released dozens of spinoffs.

These are characterized by some connection to the broader Final Fantasy series, though the specifics differ greatly. Some are standard JRPGs that, for one reason or another, were not intended to represent the main series’ next major step forward. Many feature departures from JRPG gameplay, whether small (e.g. tactical RPGs or Mystery Dungeon titles) or large (e.g. rhythm or fighting games).

This week we will be exploring this vast library of spinoffs. I have endeavored to include as many games as possible, grouped into category by genre, key character(s), or some other unifying principle. To attempt a comprehensive description of every Final Fantasy spinoff would be a fool’s errand, so some will inevitably be referred to only in passing or will be entirely absent. I apologize if your favorite spinoff goes unrepresented.

Note that cameo appearances by Final Fantasy characters in other games – like Ehrgeiz or Kingdom Hearts – are not included in this article. Similarly, I have opted to exclude games published erroneously under the Final Fantasy name outside of Japan; Final Fantasy Adventure is missing, as it was actually the first chapter in Square’s Mana series, while Final Fantasy Legend is absent for the same reason – this sub-series was distinct enough to become its own distinct franchise called SaGa. Finally, most releases native to mobile platforms will be absent simply because there are so many and I have so little time!

Traditional JRPGs

Though Square had published the aforementioned Final Fantasy Legend sub-series and Final Fantasy Adventure on the Game Boy in North America between 1989 and 1993, Mystic Quest would be the first genuine spinoff developed under the Final Fantasy intellectual property. Unlike all earlier games in the Final Fantasy series, this title was developed exclusively for North American audiences. Its 1992 release on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) was largely in response to concerns that North American players found JRPG mechanics overly complex. Surprisingly, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was the first series entry to appear in Europe.

Though the game bears certain trappings of the earliest core Final Fantasy entries – an overhead perspective in exploration sequences, turn-based combat, a high fantasy setting – it lacks many of the complexities introduced after the series’ debut. Its plot is rudimentary and job skills are absent. Players are not surprised by random encounters, but may instead opt to begin combat sequences by engaging unmoving enemy sprites during exploration. A world map is present, but the player is locked to a path between preset location nodes. The game’s most interesting addition to the series’ gameplay mechanics are action-adventure abilities, like a grappling hook, available for use during dungeon exploration.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was poorly received at the time of its release due to its sheer simplicity. The game’s function as an introduction to JRPGs ensures that long-time fans have little to enjoy while potential new fans experience a watered-down imitation of the classic series with none of the unique details that made Final Fantasy a beloved franchise. Its sole redeeming feature is an excellent soundtrack composed by by Ryuji Sasai and Yasuhiro Kawakami.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest would eventually inspire a successor on the Nintendo DS. Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light was released in Japan on October 29, 2009 and in other territories one year later. The development team at Matrix Software – the studio responsible for DS remakes of Final Fantasy III (2006) and Final Fantasy IV (2007) – looked to the franchise’s mechanically simplest iterations when developing a new game intended for JRPG fans who found modern Final Fantasy titles too complex.

Gameplay is more similar to Final Fantasy III than any other core series entry, as players can change their four playable characters’ skills by altering their headgear; each crown or helmet is associated with a particular job class. Players explore towns and dungeons, taking part in random encounters at irregular intervals. Combat is turn-based and eschews magic points in favor of a simpler “boost” system.

Much of The 4 Heroes of Light‘s appeal is in its distinctive presentation. Characters were designed by Final Fantasy XII‘s Akihiko Yoshida, and the game’s broader visual palette is intended to emulate an interactive storybook. The team responsible for the game would go on to further develop this style in Bravely Default (2013), a spiritual successor originally intended to be a direct sequel to The 4 Heroes of Light.

Final Fantasy Type-0 was in development for mobile devices around the same time as Matrix Software was working on The 4 Heroes of Light. This JRPG/tactical RPG hybrid had originally been previewed as Final Fantasy Agito XIII at E3 2006 before having its name updated and hardware platform changed from mobile devices to the PlayStation Portable (PSP). Internal issues seemed to plague the development of Type-0, as it failed to be localized outside of Japan following its original 2011 PSP release. North American fans would not have the opportunity to play it until an HD remaster was published on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2015.

Unlike Mystic Quest and The 4 Heroes of Light, Type-0 places a heavy emphasis on narrative. The main character, Ace, is a student at Vermillion Peristylium when a neighboring military power invades the surrounding country. Ace and his fellow students mobilize to repel the invaders but eventually become caught up in a broader mission to save the world from apocalypse. The key theme, as established by director Hajime Tabata, is exploring the perspective of inexperienced young people caught in the middle of a conflict.

Gameplay is rather unique for the Final Fantasy series, though certain elements are similar to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (2007); unsurprisingly, Tabata directed this earlier release. Players strike out on missions from a central base at Vermillion Peristylium. Combat is real-time and relies on button combos. Visuals are as flashy as any core series entry, though the HD version suffers from its origins as a PSP game. Final Fantasy Type-0 would be well-received in its original and HD versions.

The next JRPG spinoff would be World of Final Fantasy (2016), which had been developed by Game and Watch Gallery (1997-2002) studio Tose in collaboration with Square Enix as a celebration of the series’ thirty year history. According to director Hiroki Chiba, popular mechanics and characters were and harmonized with a distinct chibi art style created by Yasuhisa Izumisawa. Along with humorous dialogue, the game’s cartoonish visual design was intended to attract younger players who might have been alienated by Final Fantasy’s increasingly realistic appearance in core titles.

Players take on the role of two siblings, Reynn and Lann, as they attempt to recover their lost memories by exploring the fantasy world of Grimoire. Battles are governed by the Active Time Battle (ATB) system for the first time since Final Fantasy IX (2000). The most unique game mechanic is the ability to capture monsters in a manner similar to Game Freak’s Pokemon series, then stack them above or below Reynn and Lann to create two towers in battle. The height of the tower and abilities of the monsters contained therein determine each tower’s attack strength.

Popular characters from the core Final Fantasy series make cameo appearances in combat and throughout the narrative. Localization was particularly challenging, as Tose wished to remain faithful to guest characters’ presentation in their original games; staff members from the localization process of the core titles were invited to offer their guidance, ensuring a reverent spinoff but adding months of development time. The resulting game was published on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in 2016 and Windows PCs in 2017. An enhanced edition called World of Final Fantasy Maxima, which improved performance and allowed players to have Reynn and Lann appear as protagonists from core Final Fantasy games, was then released on Nintendo Switch and Xbox One in 2018.

Tactical RPGs

Hironobu Sakaguchi had been interested in a strategy-oriented spinoff of his Final Fantasy series since the early 1990s, having been particularly inspired by Quest studio’s Ogre Battle (1993/1995). This first led to the development of Bahamut Lagoon (1996), a Square tactical RPG which would lose any explicit connection to Final Fantasy during its development process and would never be officially published outside of Japan. Even as Bahamut Lagoon’s production process was moving forward, however, Square made a significant staff acquisition: Yasumi Matsuno, the primary creative voice behind Quest’s Ogre Battle tactical RPG franchise.

As soon as he arrived at Square, Matsuno requested the opportunity to develop a tactical RPG set in Sakaguchi’s Final Fantasy universe. The studio happily gave him free rein to develop the project under Sakaguchi’s oversight. Many of the mechanics from Ogre Battle were imported directly, though the art assets and more heavily-authored narrative were inspired by the core Final Fantasy series.

Released on the PlayStation in 1997, Final Fantasy Tactics would rapidly become a cult classic. Players take on the role of Ramza as he navigates an extraordinarily complex series of political alliances and conspiracies within the fantasy realm of Ivalice. Play is divided into three basic sections: (1) story sequences, which play out using in-game sprites and are rich with dialogue; (2) menu sequences, in which players recruit new characters, make modifications to their characters’ abilities and equipment, and select destinations from a world map; and (3) battle sequences, in which players control a squad of fighters as they seek to defeat a squad of opponents.

Turn-based battle sequences play out like chess matches, as the player directs his or her characters from an isometric perspective. Characters have unique abilities and movement capabilities impacted by their job class and equipment. Job classes are largely drawn from Final Fantasy V (1992/1999), though some like Arithmetician are unique to Final Fantasy Tactics. The mechanics are unlike those in any core Final Fantasy title, as players are never able to freely navigate their characters around an open environment, but many elements of the classic series are still present: chocobos, moogles, summoned creatures, and even Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud Strife (though this last is a bonus character only available to dedicated players).

A port to the PSP called Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions would be released in 2007. Square Enix included an updated translation, correcting numerous errors and giving the text an intentionally archaic character. The updated translation would make clear what fans had already suspected: Final Fantasy Tactics is set in the distant future of Final Fantasy XII’s world. In addition, animated cutscenes were added to flesh out the already engaging story. Final Fantasy XII’s Balthier even makes a cameo as a new bonus character. This version would later be ported to Apple iOS devices in 2011 and Android devices in 2014/2015.

In the time between the release of the original Final Fantasy Tactics and its PSP port, several pseudo-sequels had been published on Nintendo platforms. The first of these, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, was released in 2003 on the Game Boy Advance (GBA). While its basic tripartite design and turn-based isometric battles differ little from its source material, the tone is quite different. Players take on the role of Marche, a young boy from the real world who ends up in Ivalice by reading a mysterious book. He must battle his way through a world apparently inspired by his friend Mewt’s recollections from an unnamed Final Fantasy title.

Along the way, a handful of new fantasy races are introduced. Bangaa are powerful reptilian humanoids, Viera are tall rabbit-like people, and Nu Mou are slouching beings with an aptitude for magic. All would go on to appear in later titles set in the world of Ivalice, including Final Fantasy XII (2006). Moogles are present in the game world for the first time as well, though one had previously appeared as a summon in Final Fantasy Tactics.

The most significant new gameplay wrinkle in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is the role of laws. These rules are announced at the start of combat and impact any number of variables during battle, often limiting the player’s access to abilities and consequently forcing him or her to experiment with new strategies. Laws are enforced by judges, who go on to have a major narrative role in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy XII.

A direct sequel called Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift would be released on the Nintendo DS in 2007/2008. Little is mechanically different between this game and its predecessor, though a new concept based on clan influence features prominently. Clans comprised of Ivalice populations focused on a common goal battle to exert their control over distinct regions of the map. The main character, Luso, joins one of these clans upon his transportation to Ivalice from the same real-world town featured in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Two new Ivalice races are introduced for the first time in this game: the Seeq, an underhanded species of beastmen, and the winged Gria.

Final Final Fantasy Tactics A2 would be the final entry in this sub-series released worldwide as of January 2019, but a mobile iteration of the sub-series would be published on Japanese mobile devices in 2013. Final Fantasy Tactics S was focused on battles between players aligned with clans. Much of the game’s interface and mechanics were reminiscent of earlier Final Fantasy Tactics titles, though no overarching story was present. Service for the cloud-based game was discontinued in 2014.

Though all of the Final Fantasy Tactics games are turn-based, real-time strategy elements were incorporated in a spinoff to Final Fantasy XII. Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, a direct sequel released on the Nintendo DS in 2007, follows the ongoing adventures of Final Fantasy XII protagonists Vaan and Penelo. The two have become sky pirates and set off for the fabled floating continent of Lemures at the game’s outset.

Gameplay is designed around the Nintendo DS’ stylus, as players direct squads around battle maps in real-time by tapping their characters and targets. Directed by Motomu Toriyama, who had also been the primary creative voice on Final Fantasy X-2 (2003) and would go on to lead development on Final Fantasy XIII (2009), the game emphasizes engaging mechanics over narrative complexity. The North American version is actually more difficult than the Japanese original, as the production team wanted to challenge an audience that had more familiarity with traditional strategy game tactics.

The lovable, flightless bird species called the chocobo made its debut in 1988’s Final Fantasy II. It would appear in every subsequent Final Fantasy game, and had grown so popular in the 1990s that Square began a spinoff series based around the creature. The Chocobo series actually encompasses numerous genres linked only by the presence of the series’ mascot as its title character. There are so many of these spinoffs that I will be focusing only on the ones released in North America.

Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon, a 1997 roguelike game for the PlayStation, was released in Japan as a crossover with Chunsoft’s Mystery Dungeon series. Though this was locked to the Japanese region, a sequel called Chocobo’s Dungeon 2 would make its way to North American PlayStation consoles in 1999. Both feature the player taking on the role of a chocobo as it explores a randomly generated dungeon and engages in turn-based battles with wandering enemies. A third title in the sub-series followed almost ten years later on the Wii; Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon (2007/2008) would be developed by h.a.n.d. and would be well-received by critics in spite of doing little to iterate on earlier series entries. An enhanced port of the Wii release would be published in Japan for the Nintendo DS in 2008 and a Nintendo Switch remake was announced in Fall 2018.

Chocobo World was a minigame associated with Final Fantasy VIII that was originally published on the PocketStation, a memory card peripheral which linked up with PlayStation consoles. This version was only available in Japan, but North American players would have the opportunity to play it when it was packed in alongside the Windows edition of Final Fantasy VIII in 2000. Chocobo World is a simplistic 2D RPG in which the player explores a monochromatic world as Boko the chocobo.

Chocobo Racing was released worldwide in 1999 on the PlayStation. An unremarkable kart racer, it was part of a that included Mario Kart 64 (1996), Diddy Kong Racing (1997), and Crash Team Racing (1999). It distinguishes itself from the competition by including a story mode narrated by one of Final Fantasy’s many characters named Cid. The story mode includes pre-rendered cutscenes, as was expected of Final Fantasy games on the PlayStation, and an aesthetic inspired by pop-up books. A planned sequel on the Nintendo 3DS was cancelled in 2013.

A handful of titles focused on more casual gameplay would be released across handheld platforms in North America from 2007 to 2010. The first of these, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (2007), is a combination of card, role-playing, and puzzle mechanics published on the Nintendo DS; these disparate gameplay styles are united by uniformly adorable art design. The second, Chocobo Panic (2010), is a party game developed by Bottle Cube for iPad devices. The final Chocobo game so far is Chocobo’s Crystal Tower (2010), a life simulation game developed for Japanese mobile phones by h.a.n.d. and released as a Facebook browser app in North America. The latter two titles have been discontinued as of writing in January 2019.

Action RPGs

After Final Fantasy IV (1994), dedicated Nintendo fans would need to wait a decade for another release in Square’s series. A Gamecube title which exploited the GBA as a peripheral thanks to the magic of the GBA Link Cable, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (2003/2004) would kick off a new series of relatively simple action role-playing games (ARPGs) that would span several generations of Nintendo hardware. This spinoff franchise was developed by a new Square subsidiary studio called The Game Designers Studio and led by the SaGa series’ creator Akitoshi Kawazu.

Players create a character and guide a caravan through treacherous terrain in an attempt to rid the unnamed fantasy world of a toxic substance known as Miasma. Gameplay occurs in real-time, characters and the world are rendered as fully 3D textured polygons, and action is viewed from a fixed overhead third-person perspective. Player characters cannot stray far from a central caravan vehicle due to the presence of the aforementioned Miasma. As the caravan moves through new areas, the player character is beset by enemies and must defeat them using a combination of physical and magical attacks in the style of a hack-and-slash game.

The most noteworthy feature of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is the multiplayer functionality. Multiplayer in Final Fantasy – aside from Chocobo Racing (1999) and the fully online MMORPG Final Fantasy XI (2003) – had been confined to splitting control of party members during combat in some core series entries. In Crystal Chronicles, on the other hand, couch multiplayer was a major feature built-in from the project’s earliest days.

Up to four players can join the caravan as long as each has a GBA and GBA Link Cable. These additional peripherals allow each player access to their own personal in-game menu and inventory on the small second screen even as they control their avatars on the television to which their host’s Gamecube is connected. The second screen even details personal objectives which sometimes conflict with group objectives, enhancing tension only possible in a group setting. It is hard to say how this multi-device interface will translate to the upcoming remake of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, which is slated for release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Switch in 2019.

The next Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles title would be released on the Nintendo DS in 2007/2008. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is much more focused on single player and plot development than its predecessor had been. Functioning as a prequel to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Ring of Fates features four predetermined protagonists rather than allowing players to create their own avatars. Gameplay is similar to the Gamecube title, though the DS’ dual screens allow players to access both a view of the surrounding landscape and their inventories on a single device. A multiplayer mode is present and offers a distinct story.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (2009) was a peculiar experiment. As the first release in the sub-series to be simultaneously published on a home console and a portable system – the Nintendo Wii and DS, respectively – Echoes of Time would conclusively demonstrate that the franchise was more successful on handheld devices; the DS version outsold the Wii version by a wide margin. Both are identical aside from graphical improvements made possible by home console hardware. Gameplay is similar to earlier games in the series, with the loss of dual-screen functionality in the Wii version resolved by featuring two windows on a single television screen.

The last Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles release so far is the Wii’s Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (2009). This entry also represents the most significant evolution of the sub-series since its debut, as the dual-screen conceit is abandoned entirely. At the same time, many of the remaining traditional RPG trappings – a static overhead perspective, abilities contingent upon a consumable resource like MP, and heavy inventory management – are eliminated. They are replaced with relatively straightforward action and exploration mechanics sharing more in common with The Legend of Zelda’s 3D entries than any other Final Fantasy game. Reception was muted, with critics citing the loss of the sub-series’ unique identity.

Square Enix would publish a new ARPG spinoff in 2014/2016, though it remains to be seen whether this will spawn a series in the way that Crystal Chronicles had done. Final Fantasy Explorers was developed for the Nintendo 3DS by Racjin, a Japanese studio that had successfully . The aim was to build a Final Fantasy title based on multiplayer cooperation.

The results owe more than a little bit to Capcom’s Monster Hunter series. Players create and control an avatar as they explore a polygonal 3D world and defeat oversized monsters drawn from the preceding 25 years of Final Fantasy releases. Nostalgia is heavily emphasized, as player characters also gain access to popular job classes from past titles. Combat is real-time, relying on the intelligent deployment of skills associated with job classes and equipment. Equipment crafting hinges on the accumulation of monster parts achieved by defeating creatures in the field.

Unfortunately, Final Fantasy Explorers was a commercial and critical misstep. It was panned for its repetition, as players were required to repeatedly battle the same monsters to craft new equipment. This central gameplay loop is drawn directly from Monster Hunter, but Final Fantasy Explorers lacks much of that series’ depth and nuanced combat. With this in mind, one wonders whether Square Enix will release a sequel that fulfills the potential of a multiplayer-focused Final Fantasy title or if this intended sub-series will remain confined to a single entry.

Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

Compilation of Final Fantasy VII is an odd, expansive project of which Western players have only encountered a small part; for those interested in the full breadth of the project’s scope, please consult Final Fantasy Union’s . It sprung from deeply inauspicious origins, as Square Enix was in dire financial straits following the failure of its 2001 film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The long-running series had recently begun branching out into direct sequels, as Square had published the commercially successful Final Fantasy X-2 in 2003, and new leadership under the united banner of Square Enix was seeking an easy win. The studio was interested in exploring its newly termed “” enterprise, seeking to produce content across multiple media platforms simultaneously in an effort to drive up the cultural penetration of its products.

This is not to ascribe the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII entirely to naked capitalist impulses. Many fans had been speculating upon and directly requesting a continuation of Cloud Strife’s tale since the end of 1997’s seminal Final Fantasy VII. The team at Square Enix was similarly disposed, identifying core members of that game’s creation process which would need to return if a follow-up was to be faithful to Sakaguchi’s original vision. The project was to be led by two key Final Fantasy VII alumni: director Yoshinori Kitase and character designer Tetsuya Nomura. In collaboration with other old and new staff, they hoped to fulfill the fervent expectations which had arisen in the Final Fantasy VII fan community over the preceding seven years.

The first release in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII was never localized outside of Japan. Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII was an episodic game initially released for mobile phones in 2004. This game was directed by Hajime Tabata, who would later go on to direct Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy XV. Players create an avatar, then play through side-view battles and exploration sequences. Twenty-four episodes were released but mobile phone compatibility issues ensured that it would never leave Japan.

The next of the Compilation‘s four core releases was an animated film. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children had actually been announced at the 2003 Tokyo Games Show, but development challenges slowed production and ensured that the film would not be released in 2005/2006. It was originally intended to be a short film produced by Visual Works – the company which had been creating flashy pre-rendered cutscenes for core Final Fantasy titles since 1997 – but grew in scope rapidly.

The film focuses on Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart, recounting their experience in Midgar two years after conclusion of Final Fantasy VII. The two protagonists of Square’s 1997 masterpiece are asked to help protect children from villains Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo; these sinister figures serve as ongoing manifestations of the remaining spiritual energy of Final Fantasy VII’s deceased villain Sephiroth. Though Cloud initially refuses, he eventually joins his erstwhile companions and battles the nefarious trio. Summoned creatures and even Sephiroth make fan-pleasing reappearances by the film’s conclusion.

Visual Works’ animation is characteristically excellent, though the muddy plot came under criticism by fans and reviewers. The film was published directly to DVD, aside from a single Los Angeles theater screening, and was followed up in 2009 with an expanded edition Blu-Ray titled Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete. Supplementary materials like Kazushige Nojima’s short story collection On the Way to a Smile (2009) fill in the backstory still further.

The third Compilation release was one of the IP’s more experimental titles. The PlayStation 2’s Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (2006) focuses on an optional member of Final Fantasy VII’s cast, Vincent Valentine, and emphasises first-person and third-person shooter gameplay. Most of the plot occurs three years after the events of Final Fantasy VII and one year after the events of Advent Children; Valentine must dismantle a dangerous organization called Deepground, which has been formed from the remains of genetically enhanced super-soldiers created by Final Fantasy VII’s Shinra Corporation.

Luckily, the final major piece of the Compilation would be well-received worldwide. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (2007) is a prequel which sheds light on the story of peripheral Final Fantasy VII character Zack Fair. This character’s adventure is tied closely with the backstory of Cloud Strife, shading in elements which had been deliberately left opaque Square’s 1997 release. Hajime Tabata was again tapped by Square Enix to helm the project.

Crisis Core would be presented as an action-adventure game. Originally planned to strictly feature action mechanics, RPG trappings and a version of Final Fantasy VII’s materia system were eventually added . The broad gameplay is still action-oriented, though, featuring button combos and real-time combat as Zack progresses through open 3D environments. Crisis Core would become quite popular among Final Fantasy fans and would go on to be consistently regarded as one of the PSP’s best titles.

While Tetsuya Nomura was working on Kingdom Hearts, a Square Enix/Disney crossover franchise, he and his team conceived of a spinoff focused on one-on-one combat between popular Kingdom Hearts characters. This idea was shot down due to concerns over how Disney would react to its characters fighting one another, and the rough outline was applied instead to the Final Fantasy series. With Takeshi Arakawa directing, Tetsuya Nomura designing characters, and Yoshinori Kitase producing, the game had its roots firmly planted in Square Enix’s past when it began development in 2005.

Dissidia Final Fantasy would be published on the PSP during 2008 in Japan and the following year in North America. It offers the opportunity for fans to choose a protagonist from the first ten Final Fantasy core entries and engage in duels with enemies drawn from the same titles. Gameplay is real-time and three-dimensional rather than the 2D plane characteristic of one-on-one fighting games.

Characters attempt to reduce their opponent’s health to zero, and repeated attacks contribute to an EX Gauge. Once filled, the EX Gauge allows players to initiate special attacks reminiscent of the limit break mechanic featured in Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX. In its most fundamental nod to the series from which its characters are derived, Dissidia includes an entire narrative arc focused on the struggle between a noble goddess and a sinister god.

A prequel, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, would be released two years later. Again published for the PSP, it lacks support for single-screen couch multiplayer but does reproduce its predecessor’s ability to battle friends through local wireless connectivity. Players now have access to an expanded cast of characters and nemeses drawn from throughout the Final Fantasy universe. Interestingly, a free-roaming world map was added to the single-player mode. This brings exploration more into line with classic Final Fantasy games, though battles themselves still take place in a limited 3D arena.

Following Dissidia 012, development responsibilities for the spinoff series shifted to Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja. This group was hired by Square Enix and co-publisher Taito – the studio famous for Space Invaders (1978) and Bubble Bobble (1986) in 2005 – to recreate Dissidia in an arcade setting. By 2015, Dissidia Final Fantasy would be released on Japanese arcade cabinets using modified PlayStation 4 hardware.

Given what was going on under the hood, fans assumed that a port to Sony’s home console was imminent. The enhanced PlayStation 4 port, renamed Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, would be published worldwide in January 2018. Story is toned down significantly from its handheld forebears while fighting has been expanded to feature three-on-three battles. The player only controls one character at a time, as allies are handled by AI but can be switched between at will. Characters are grouped into four classes – Vanguard, Assassin, Marksman, and Specialist – with all aside from the last adhering to a rock-paper-scissors advantage/disadvantage structure. Dovetailing with Dissidia Final Fantasy NT’s attempt to further replicate the source material through party-based combat, iconic monsters can now be summoned to aid the player’s team for thirty seconds at a time.

There were few video game styles that Final Fantasy hadn’t touched by the early 2010s. One of the final ones – the rhythm genre – would be conquered in 2012. Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy was developed by Japanese studio indieszero in collaboration with Square Enix and released on Nintendo 3DS and Apple iOS devices. Gameplay reflects Final Fantasy’s 2D origins, as a four-character party made up of classic characters from the core series engages in exploration, combat, and even cinematic event sequences by inputting button prompts in time with the soundtrack.

Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy even bears the mark of its source material in its narrative. Hewing to the path laid by Dissidia, Theatrhythm again highlights the struggle between gods called Cosmos and Chaos. At the game’s outset, Chaos disrupts a crystal associated with music and the heroes can only resolve the resulting conflict through the power of song. Longtime Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu was apparently quite moved by encountering his songs in this new context, offering the following reflection: “As I remembered various things from the past 20 years, I was reduced to tears. FF music fans should definitely play it. Won’t you cry with me?”

A sequel was released for the 3DS in 2014. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call expands the total song roster to 221 distinct compositions and the total character roster to 60 individuals pulled from the series’ past. , as tracks are introduced from Final Fantasy Type-0, Crystal Chronicles, and Dissidia. From here, the Theatrhythm sub-series would expand into further spinoffs – with Theatrhythm Dragon Quest in 2015 – and move away from the handheld format entirely with arcade game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: All Star Carnival in 2016, though neither of these releases have been localized outside of Japan as of January 2019.

The Final Fantasy universe is massive. Alongside fifteen numbered core entries, Square and Square Enix have released countless spinoffs. Some were successful; others were not. All have deepened fan appreciation for and involvement in one of the medium’s most consistently engaging Japanese role-playing game franchises.

What is your favorite Final Fantasy spinoff? What have I neglected to include here? What genre would you like to see the series tackle in the future? How many chocobos does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Let’s discuss in the comments below.

Next week we’ll be tackling Darkstalkers. Be sure to join us at 9:00 AM EST on January 18, 2019 to take part in the conversation!

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Franchise Festival #45: Final Fantasy Spinoffs

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