#among us logic rookie

[rosejigglypuff76]

Random artwork relating to the Among Us Crewmate, Rookie 💙 Rookie is featured in THSC Facade AU as a living Among Us Plushie and pal to Saki Yumeno 🎀 Not just that, but Rookie will be one of the main characters in a future Among Us AU that I'll find time to work on ✨ Unlike the THSC Facade AU, this particular Among Us AU features Rookie as a young Sheriff, his full name being Akechi "Rookie" Saihara, who later joins the protagonist in that AU later on 💫 Either way, both THSC Facade AU and the upcoming Among Us AU will feature Rookie as a main character 🌟

[hremails-art]

the gaming channel exclusives 

[perriewinklenerdie]

Roomie dinner (Ethan Ramsey x MC)

Open Heart, Ethan Ramsey x MC

A/N: Hi guys! How are you? I hope you’re all doing fine (this already sounds like a generic English task of ‘write to your friend in England’ so we are already in an *awesome* place, right? :D). I’ve been busy this last couple of days, my internship has just started and I’ve been learning a lot :D it’s in those moments that my brain decides to throw ideas at me, and this fic is not exception to the rule. 

Summary: One week after the incident at the hospital, Claire’s friends discuss what exactly is going on between her and Ethan.

Tag list: @paleweasels, @kittykatchoices, @valiantlychaoticbarbarian, @radlovedreamer , @usuallyamazinglyaverage, @awhmilkywey @palestazure, @cordoniaqueensworld, @universallypizzataco, @princess-geek, @faithhasnowords, @mightyfangirlofthefandoms, @drakewalkerfantasy, @timmagicktoad, @laceandlula, @greywitchyshots, @llamasgrl, @gingerjane15, @marywrites-things , @ethanplaysfavorites , @mfackenthal , @betelgeusebee , @simsvetements, @buzz-bee-buzz, @owleyes374, @cora-nova, @aworldoffandoms, @l822, @cream-ray, @ughhhxjazzy, @silverlitskies, @justendlesssummerfeels, @togetherwearerapture, @desmaranj, @edgiestwinter, @friedherringclodthing, @waytooattuned, @choicesgremlin , @lapisreviewsstuff, @the-soot-sprite, @writerapprentice, @chasingrobbie, @choicesobsessedd, @x-kyne-x, @thisperfectmemory, @drakewalker04, @rookie-ramsey, @jlynn12273, @thepinknymph @dr-brianna-casey-valentine, @a-i-n-a-a-s-h @justanotherrookie @mvalentine @starrystarrytrouble @akshara16 @maurine07

Enjoy! <3

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Jackie fell into her seat by the table, stretching out a bit. She’s spent the whole day running around the hospital, doing her best to avoid nosy interns that decided that it was their right to know everything that happened in there. Throughout the day, she would have to fight with herself to not berate them the way she’d like to, a tiny voice that sounded suspiciously like Claire ringing in her ear.

Don’t be rude

The blonde doctor has spent the last three days slowly getting back to her routine of being a doctor, after her recovery was over. During that time, Jackie hasn’t seen her very often, both with her work and with Claire staying at the hospital for the night. Dr. Hirata insisted on keeping her there for that additional time, just to be sure that all the residual effects would subside, and the threat was gone for good. No one could fault that logic, so no one, not even Claire, the most stubborn one of them all, argued about it.

This night, Sienna insisted on them all having what she’s insisted on calling ‘roomie dinner’, inviting Rafael and Bryce to tag along. They lost so much over the span of last week, and for a moment, it felt like they could lose so much more. At the end of the day, no one was invincible. Thankfully, though, they didn’t have to find out what the world would look like without Claire and Raf, because the latter was already sitting by Jackie’s side, and the former was said to arrive in the next ten minutes.

All her friends were talking among themselves when she asked the question that has been on her mind since the moment she saw the interview on TV.

“So, when was somebody going to tell me that Ramsey and Claire have a thing going on?”

The table fell silent in an instant. Elijah raised an eyebrow, asking her to elaborate silently, Sienna’s eyes widened in what she could describe as alarm, Raf nodded in understanding and Bryce grinned, leaning towards her and putting his hand on her shoulder.

“Believe me, if I knew, I would have told you. Ramsey is my gym bro, but he doesn’t talk much. Well, much about his private affairs, anyway.” He managed to lean away right before she could smack his hand with hers, laughing at her serious expression.

“I’m not sure there’s anything going on.” Sienna worded her answer slowly, thinking through every part of it so she wouldn’t slip up. To tell the truth, she didn’t know the details. All she knew was that both Claire and Ethan had feelings for each other, but she was unaware of any development in the situation.

“You’re lying.” Jackie leaned towards her. “Your lower lip twitches when you lie. But okay, I’ll get it out of you eventually. Raf? Have you noticed anything?”

He took a moment to dig through the heavy fog that surrounded the events of the day they got poisoned, trying to remember anything about Ethan’s behavior towards Claire for that day. Slowly but surely, he managed to fish out a couple of moments. How utterly terrified he was when he saw her in the room. How gentle his touch seemed to be every time he examined her or simply held her hand.

“He was… soft? For the lack of better word?” he answered hesitantly. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen him do, and I’ve known him for some time now. It was the first time I’ve seen him panic.”

“I knew there was something there.” she mused, catching Sienna’s gaze. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. As though you haven’t seen his behavior for the past week. He barely left her side. I’m pretty sure he used up his vacation days just so he could sit by her bed all day and night.”

“Maybe he’s just worried. Or maybe my hunch is right.” Bryce chimed in, rushing to explain when all his friends turned to look at him. “You should have seen his face when we were all working out with Claire back in the day and she mentioned that she wanted to look good naked. He was so taken by surprise that he tripped.

“If I remember correctly, we all stumbled.” Raf noted, not buying the idea.

“That’s true, but you and I didn’t get a look of longing in our eyes and our necks didn’t get red from blushing.” Jackie laughed triumphally, patting him on the back. “I’m telling you, Ramsey has it bad for her.”

“I, for one, believe it.” Aurora shrugged, drumming her fingers against the rim of the glass. “They were kinda close even back when we were interns. Something was off after that, but now they seem to be back at it.”

“He said it himself, he’s not single. Claire almost suffocated while trying not to laugh, and you could almost see the effort he put into not looking at her.” taking a sip of water, she leaned back against her chair as she continued. “Not only that, but the past few days have made it evident that something is brewing. Not only is he worried, like us, being her friends, or like June and Baz, being her coworkers. He’s affectionate. He has that look in his eyes whenever I see them together. He doesn’t even bother hiding their joined hands.”

As they were all discussing, Sienna tried to think of something to say. She didn’t want to reveal what she knew, as she felt that it wasn’t her place to do so. Claire would tell them herself if and when she wanted to. Elijah looked at her, nodding towards the other three people by the table. She shrugged, turning her head towards the entrance of the restaurant.

“Happy couple is here. We might get some answers.” Bryce grinned, pointing everyone’s attention to two people that just walked in. Claire waved at them shyly, her smile bright, and took a step towards them before she was stopped by a hand pulling her back. She gracefully waltzed into Ethan’s waiting arms, her face lighting up even more, mirroring his entirely. They talked quietly about something, his fingers skimming the rim of the lapel of the jacket she had thrown over her shoulder. Only then did Sienna notice that it was in fact Ethan’s coat she was wearing, not her own, hence why it was so big on her.

He leaned down to whisper something, his lips brushing against her cheek before squeezing her hand and letting her go. She walked towards her friends as Ethan turned to leave when Bryce called out. “Hey, Ramsey! Don’t go! We’re about to order booze and eat ridiculous amounts of food.”

Claire bit down a smirk, looking over her shoulder at him, nuzzling her chin against the soft material of his coat teasingly. His eyes darkened, feeling a challenge in the way she looked at him. Nodding so gently that no one could really tell his head even moved, he made his way over to the table, pulling the chair out for Claire before taking a seat next to her. He could feel stares of people sitting around him, to which his only reaction was a roll of his eyes along with a heavy sigh.

“I’m going to need something strong…” he cursed under his breath, causing Claire to giggle, her hand flying towards her face to conceal it. She couldn’t, however, fool Ethan, who’s hand has already slipped into hers, their fingers tangling.

As the evening progressed, the conversation moved fluently from subject to subject. They all studiously avoided mentioning the horrific situation they found themselves in a few days ago. Bryce talked them through the procedure of Kyra’s surgery, ending just before their food arrived. No one asked about Sora, for which Rafael was quite grateful, instead talking about all the things he wanted to do next.

Claire laughed at Bryce when he tried to steal some fries from Jackie’s plate, and she caught him in the act. She mouthed ‘watch and learn’, then waited until Ethan turned away and successfully stole a piece of meat, straight from his fork. Aurora, who for most of the evening remained silent, slowly clapped at her, earning her the attention of the attending. That, in turn, caused him to investigate and come up to the correct conclusion.

“Are you okay, Claire? You’re looking a bit flushed.” He leaned closer when she shook her head, denying that there was anything wrong. “You look guilty. Is it because, perhaps, you stole food right off my fork?”

“Busted!” Bryce exclaimed, mocking her when she smiled, cutting a piece of her steak and passing it to Ethan.

“At least I got caught after the fact, not in the middle of it. Your laughter gave you away.” she pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest. “You never announce your attack. Amateur move, Lahela.”

Ethan looked incredulously at the woman sitting next to him. Guarding himself and his heart from her for most of the time they knew each other made him unaware of just how much he was missing. Now, sitting there, among her friends, seeing how comfortable she was around him, even though no one knew what was going on between them, made him hope for what could be his to have every day. Lightness in his step, easiness of his smile and the woman he wanted for so long, finally in his arms. When she looked back at him and their eyes met, he felt his every rational thought flying out the window.

Sienna pulled their attention towards her when she cleared her throat.

“I’d like to say something.”

When everyone fell silent, she breathed shakily, gathering her thoughts. “I love you all so much. Well…” she hesitated, looking at Ethan, who’s eyebrow shot up in surprise, before laughing. “How about respect for now?” they nodded in agreement, after which he let her continue. “I don’t know how I would survive it all without you all. I’m never going to take you for granted because nothing is forever.”

She made the point to look at Claire and Ethan, very obviously trying to impress upon them the message she was trying to push through. “Life’s too short to question yourself. It’s too short to not say what you feel. It’s too short to not love people.” Her voice cracked at the end, catching Claire’s hand when she offered it to her. “Life’s too short to wait.”

They raised their glasses, reminiscing about all that they’ve lost and all that they’ve gained. After a long moment, Ethan smiled, gripping Claire’s hand tightly as he looked at her. His words were a mere whisper, directed right at her.

“I’m not wasting any more time.”

[fadistans]

BLUE LOCK 153 SPOILERS

Predictions for which big five euro league the Blue Lock/U20 boys are gonna choose except these are all 4am rambles!! (Scan creds to RayugaX101 on twitter)

predictions under the cut because they’re too long

note: ego doesn’t mention specific leagues so I’m mostly gonna go off the descs they get but I’ll try to use my own knowledge on the existing 1st division football leagues

ENGLAND

- speed and physical plays

- Premier League

Chigiri - I mean obviously he’s all about the speed, and honestly I think it’ll be pretty interesting to see his speed against pros/in the international sphere.

Eita - His playstyle is based around speed and stealth

Zantetsu - he’s a speedster… what else do I say…

Barou - his strength in football definitely comes from his physical strength and physique

Kunigami?

Aryuu and Gagamaru - they depend a lot on their long limbs and they normally get goals and trap by having longer limbs than their opponents

Other possible options could be Bachira and Yukimiya, because dribbling includes both speed and technique.

SPAIN

- techniques & creative plays

- La Liga

Bachira - He already has dozens of dribbling techniques practically mastered, so I’d love to see him learn even more and up his aresenal.

Nagi - His whole play style is creative trapping, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he opted for Spain.

Rin - I’ve been saying this for a while but it’s obvious that Rin would go to Spain to try and beat his brother again, especially without Isagi this time.

Yukimiya - Similar to Bachira, he’s an incredibly talented dribbler and he’d definitely benefit from learning with international/professional influence.

Shidou - He’s really creative and innovative with his play style, and he’d probably go to spain to chase sae too.

ITALY

- tactics, slyness and cattenacio (door bolt/super strong defense)

- Serie A

Karasu - He’s the tactic genius of Blue Lock, and his understanding of strategy was shown when he was chosen as defensive midfield in the U20 match and also shown when he tried to psyche Isagi out in the third selection match.

Reo - I’m not super sure for Reo but considering his always above average skills, the best way he could break out from that is by becoming a tactician. He’s already shown promise in the U20 match and he could definitely utilise his chameleon-like style better if he knew when exactly he could use it.

Eita - His play style is definitely very stealthy

U20 Defenders - we could probably assume most of the u20 defenders will go for the Italian option because it’s shown to be the option for defenders. Also, Aiku was said to have been offered a starting position in a Serie A club during his introduction, so logically he’d probably go to Italy.

GERMANY

- rational & logical plays

- Bundesliga

Hiori - He’s well known for being an anchor that can control the field among the chaos of the other players and can remain calm enough to find the best possible next move, or in other words, so being improving rationality fits his well

Niko - His play style largely depends on his ability to analyse the players and apply the info using logic and rational to predict what will happen next, so I definitely think he’d choose the German option.

Isagi - I mean it’s pretty obvious he’s going to join this one, not because of his skills, but because how the german league is described. He’s one of the most analytical and rational players in blue lock, so he’d definitely joking the german league. He’s probably going to try and follow in the footsteps of his idol Noel Noa.

Kunigami - We know practically nothing about kunigami now except for the fact that he’s probably gone through some major shit. Wild card has probably conditioned him to think in the german way of football, in terms of goal scoring being the only thing that matters. I think maybe if kunigami goes to Germany we’ll get to see a more of him again because of the proximity with Isagi?

FRANCE

- new and upcoming rookies who want to make it big in the football world

- constant cashflow

- Ligue 1

I’m actually… not sure who will join the french side ngl… maybe sendou because he wants fame and money but i can’t really think of blue lock characters that do it for the money…

[mando-chicken]

Mental Occupation | Chapter 3.

“When Fives is killed, his essence refuses to become one with the force, instead, searching out the easiest sentient being to attach itself to. After years working beneath Palpatine, Fox has had his mental shields completely eroded and his defences completely shattered, making him the perfect person for Fives’ essence to transfer into. The two of them must figure out how all this strange ‘jedi stuff’ works and how they can both coexist long enough to save their brothers and if they’re lucky, perhaps the rest of the galaxy too.”

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Thire tried not to frown as he watched Fox silently eat his morning meal, listening to his fellow commanders as they playfully teased one another and swapped gossip, while keeping an eye on his older brother for any signs of distress. While it was quite common for Fox to stay relatively quiet first thing in the morning, especially before his first cup of caff for the day, he seemed to be even more withdrawn than usual. In truth, Thire had wanted to let him sleep for a little longer as he was certain that the other commander had barely slept, but the mess hall didn’t wait around for anyone, and he wanted to be sure that Fox got a decent serve of rations before he would no doubt sneak away to hide in his office under a pile of datapads.  

When Fox was stressed, he tended to push his brothers away and throw himself into his work. He could detach himself from the world with the cold, hard logic of forms and reports, refusing to accept comfort or express any of the emotions swirling around in his mind. They would give him space for a while and allow him to work his way through whatever was weighing on his mind, and he would always come back to them in the end. He just needed them nearby to offer their support in the form of silent companionship and reassurances.  

But this situation was unlike anything they had faced before, and Thire wasn’t sure that Fox’s usual method of dealing with trauma would help him to move on from the horrifying situation he had just been through. While the exact details surrounding what happened were rather vague at best, one thing was blaringly obvious. Fox had killed a brother.  

The very thought made Thire’s insides squirm in discontent, and he was unable to stop the slightly ill look from claiming his features as he rolled the concept around in his head. It truly made no sense as to why Fox would allow such a thing to happen – he was practically the king of preaching about how important the stun setting of their weapons were when dealing with their targets – so for him to then turn around and shoot one of their own brothers was unspeakable. There was no doubt that it had to have been an accident, but Fox didn’t make mistakes. Alpha-17 didn’t raise some rookie amateur who went into every situation guns blazing, he raised a calm, confident commander, who always managed to get the job done efficiently and competently.  

He didn’t know what had happened to Fox, and for the sake of preserving what was left of the man’s sanity, Thire would give him some time to process it, but he was going to get to the bottom of it, one way or another. He just hoped that Cody was able to keep his younger brother, Rex, at bay long enough for him to do so. To say that the Captain had been mad would have been a massive understatement – the man was seeing red and looked about a second away from trying to return the favour – it was lucky that Thire had managed to turn up when he did, because even General Skywalker seemed to be having trouble keeping him calm.  

From the corner of his eye he could see that despite the fact Thorn was happily ribbing Stone for something that had happened on one of the missions overnight, the other Commander kept subtly glancing at Fox. He was trying to act as normal as possible, but the curiosity burning in his eyes was more than obvious. It made sense – Thorn had been in a completely different sector when everything had gone down, only hearing about what had happened over comms and during the debrief afterwards while Fox slept in the medbay – he was closer to Fox than any of them, had known him longer, and worried for him like an anxious mother nexu. Thorn was clearly struggling not to just grab his brother by the shoulders and shake the information out of him, but if there was one thing all members of the Guard had to learn, it was patience.  

Stone was perhaps the most collected of them all, but that was only to be expected. He had always been able to practically ooze calm from his very pores, and this situation was no different. He wasn’t uncaring, of course, simply able to remain confident and collected – perhaps that was why he kept getting assigned to working with Senator Binks, much to Stone’s eternal agony – but it was easy to see how he was unnerved from the way his brow was constantly furrowed and he kept getting lost in his thoughts.  

“How are you feeling this morning, Fox?” Of course Hound would be the one to speak to the Commander so bluntly. The kid was only a sergeant, technically not high ranking enough that he should be addressing a commanding officer so casually, yet they’d admittedly taught him a couple of bad habits over the years. Thorn had taken the younger clone under his wing when he was fresh off Kamino, teaching him how to survive in the treacherous landscape that was Coruscant. They’d brought him to their table, allowed him to work closely with them, and inevitably brought him into their inner circle.  

Fox jerked after a moment, seeming to suddenly realise that he was the one being addressed, blinking owlishly at Hound, “fine.” His response drew a disbelieving scoff from Stone, who offered a raised eyebrow. “I’m a little tired if you must know,” he continued slowly, sensing that his answer was not exactly what they’d been looking for, “nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix.”

That got a genuine laugh from the table. A good night’s sleep? Unheard of. But Thire was pleased to see that at least some of Fox’s cynical humour remained.  

“Seriously though, what did happen last night?” Hound managed to ask after quieting his amused chuckles, “there’s some real strange rumours floating around the barracks, and I thought that maybe you could give us a little info-”

“Quit digging for gossip, Hound, before we chuck you back to the CT table,” Thorn growled, wrapping an arm around Hound’s neck and dragging him into a firm headlock, “never should have let you hang out with us, you’re too nosy for your own good, kid. You’ll find out when the info gets declassified, just like everyone else.”

Hound pulled an admirable attempt at making sad tooka eyes, but Thorn simply tightened his hold until the younger clone was forced to slap at the commander’s arm, needing breath. “Should’ve left me where you found me,” he grinned after finally being freed from Thorn’s hold, “besides, you love me too much to send me back now.”

Thorn simply glowered at him, stealing a tuber from his brother’s plate in retaliation, “perhaps,” he nodded, “or perhaps I just knew you’d never make it on your own, especially not with the way you keep poking your nose into everyone else’s business.”  

Hound made an indignant squawking sound, puffing up like an offended bird. He tried to reach out with his own fork to steal back a tuber from Thorn’s plate, but the older brother was too swift, too used to dealing with vengeful little brothers, and slid the plate out of Hound’s reach. He ensured to shove another tuber in his mouth, just for spite.  

When Thire looked to Fox, he didn’t have that disapproving scowl on his face, or the amusement that twinkled deep within his eyes, giving away his true feelings. Instead, he seemed almost nervous, like he was intruding on something not meant for him to see. While his brothers played and joked and tried to keep the atmosphere as normal as possible, Fox seemed to keep looking away, distracted by something only he could see. His fork moved around and around his plate, but barely any of the food had been disturbed. Most worryingly, the cup of caff that should have already been downed, sat untouched before him, no longer steaming as the commander preferred.  

Before Thire could mention it, however, his wrist comm chimed at him, signalling an end to their morning meal and a need to return to duty. “Alrighty boys, that’s our cue to head out,” he sighed, taking the last sip of his own caff, scowling at the bitter taste of the now cool dregs. His words were met with a chorus of groans as the rest of the table rushed to stuff their faces with the rest of their meal.  

Thorn was the first to stand, his stance already shifting into his usual command stance, “You heard Thire boys, and you all know your designated duties for this morning, so I’d suggest you all get to it.” He was answered by a mix of affirmatives as the other commanders and their sergeant gathered up their now empty plates and mugs, breaking apart to return them to the serving area to be cleaned in time for mid-meal.  

Thire, as agreed with Thorn last night while Fox had slept, stayed behind to wait as Fox too returned his items (a still full caff cup among them) to the servers. He moved to walk in step with his fellow commander, leading their way through the bustling hallways and towards the offices. There were men running in all directions – officers barking orders at squads as they raced towards their destinations, and soft-shells sprinting down the corridors, arms piled high with datapads and flimsi sheets – it made navigating the base a challenge at best, and a nightmare at worst.  

Eventually, they managed to reach Fox’s office and Thire was quick to type in the access code, sliding inside and out of the steady stream of brothers. Fox is swift to lock the door behind them, glancing around the room briefly, before wandering over to his desk and taking a long look at the rather intimidating pile of datapads. He places his helmet down at the foot of the desk, and Thire is glad that Fox is at least feeling well enough to keep the bucket off his head to look his brother in the eyes.  

“I know it’s not much,” Thire begins, clearing his throat, “but like I said, we were able to get you the first few hours off this morning, so you can focus on dealing with that monster,” he gestures at the unsigned pads, “or you could, y’know, actually relax for a few minutes.” He expects Fox to offer him his usual deadpan expression, but the man just nods slowly, seemingly unsure what to say in response.  

He continues, saving his brother from having to come up with something, “I should be heading off though, I’ve got chancellor sitting duty,” he huffs, the irritation in his tone completely genuine. Fox makes an odd expression, caught somewhere between looking like he’d tasted something sour, and horror. A reasonable enough response, given the shadiness of the man’s character, and, of course, the fact that he always seemed to enjoy using the Guard as his personal servants.  

“Yep, I understand that look,” he grinned, hoisting up his bucket and placing it over his head, clicking it into place. He took a step to the door before pausing, “just make sure you comm me, or Thorn if you’d prefer, if you need anything. And I mean it, anything, Fox.” He waits until his brother gives a nod, before heading back out the door and merging with the stream of brothers heading toward the exit. He didn’t like Fox’s behaviour, but there was little he could do about it. He could, however, think of someone who would know exactly what to do with him.  

Thire pulled up his wrist comm, beginning to type out a new message to Commander Cody.

-----

Fives is quiet when Commander Thire leaves the office, taking a moment to ensure he was completely alone, before huffing out a deep breath. He swayed slightly on his feet with the force of it, bringing a hand up to his head to begin massaging his aching temple. He could already tell that a nasty headache was brewing from the stress alone. Yet another problem to add to his steadily growing list.  

It had been particularly painful to sit through morning meal with the other commanders of the Coruscant Guard, trying his best to pretend he did not see the way they were all eyeing him, clearly dying to interrogate him for answers he simply did not possess. He had been especially startled when the lone sergeant, Hound, his mind supplied, had spoken to him, and he regretted not having been paying full attention.  

Rather, Fives had been entirely absorbed by his own thoughts. Something did not sit right with the way his brain seemed to be randomly supplying him with information he was certain he did not have previously. The names of all the commanders came to him as easily as the names of his own batchmates, as if he’d known them all along, despite the fact he had only met half of them before and even then it was only a mere glance in passing.  

Yet somehow he felt as though he already knew their tells. He knew how Thire constantly worked hard to prove that it was the right decision to promote him to the rank of commander. He knew how Thorn had a particular soft spot for the shinies that came to join the Guard, and would defend them to his final breath if it came down to it. He knew how Stone preferred to hang back from the others, but loved them no less fiercely. And he even knew that despite all his bravado, Hound was a soft man at heart and always carried candies in his belt pockets for children he came across on patrol.  

But Fives didn’t know them, not really, they were strangers.  

He had always been good at reading people. It was a skill he had possessed since he was a child – to look at one of his brothers or one of the trainers and near enough feel their emotions echoed back at him as clearly as words printed on piece of flimsi – and he had always assumed that it was a natural ability. But this seemed too much, even for his natural aptitude for noticing subtle cues.  

There were so much unexplained knowledge suddenly bombarding Fives’ thoughts, and his head only pounded louder as he tried to figure out why he seemed to already know how to navigate the base with his eyes closed. The layout of the base seemed to suddenly click in his mind, like he had forgotten it briefly, but had always known it seep down. It was as though his mind was clouded, something blocking him from accessing all of the thoughts he could feel buried somewhere deep within his head, only the occasional thought drifting through the fog and to the forefront of his mind.  

Fives sunk down into the rather uncomfortable seat across from the lone desk, the crimson of his borrowed armour catching his attention. He knew that he was most certainly not in his own body, and so wondered if he had somehow, accidentally, acquired some of the commander’s lingering thoughts. As far as Fives’ knowledge of the situation went, it seemed as reasonable an explanation as he would be able to come up with.  

It made him feel dirty. He had no idea what had happened to himself, or to Commander Fox, but it felt downright voyeuristic to be partial to the random raw thoughts that came from whatever remained of the Commander’s mind. But he had no idea how to find out what had happened to either of them, or how to rectify their rather precarious situation. If Commander Fox’s thoughts were still able to linger, then was he too present somewhere, locked deep within Fives’ consciousness? Or had Fox somehow traded places with him and now inhabited a cold corpse? Fives certainly hoped not.  

For a moment he closed his eyes, thinking hard on the foreign mass of thoughts plaguing his mind, deciding that he might as well try to figure out a few things while he had a few hours to himself. He deeply regretted not paying Commander Tano more attention when she had described Jedi meditation to him, but found that it wasn’t too difficult to try and isolate the foggy area from the rest of his mind. He recalled her talking about being able to create shields around a mind, to keep out the thoughts of others, something that all sentients could achieve (albeit not to the degree of a force sensitive).  

He was no doubt clumsy with his method of ‘shielding’, and it was significantly more work than Fives had been expecting, but in the end he felt satisfied with his attempt. He was pretty certain that he had managed to corral all of the rogue thoughts into the one area, away from his actual thoughts so that he could tell which one of them was thinking what, rather than having a jumble of random sensations and thoughts mixing together.  

His head seemed to burn whenever he disturbed the other mind lingering in his head, but Fives pushed determinedly onward. Poking and prodding at it like an overexcited child, desperate to find even the slightest sign that there could be even a spark of life. It was a tedious process but finally, after what felt like agonising hours of work, Fives felt a sharp feeling of surprise stab back at him.

The mass of fog seemed to shudder and shift, rearranging itself until it formed a slightly more coherent shape that Fives usually associated with the feeling of another person’s mind when he tried to get a grasp on their emotions, only amplified tenfold. He could feel Fox, if only vaguely. He seemed groggy, as though just waking up from a long sleep, and Fives was a little unnerved by the unnatural feeling of someone else’s emotions flickering through his mind. He silently prayed that the Commander wouldn’t be too angry, but it seemed his hope was in vain, for the first clear emotion Fives felt was irritation at a level commanders usually reserved for the poor shiny tasked with waking them from a pleasant nap. His fears were confirmed when a thought came thundering across his mind.

“What the kriff just happened!?”

[seiin-translations]

2.43 S1 Chapter 3.4 - The Dog’s View and the Giraffe’s View

4. CHILD OF VOLLEYBALL

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In the week before the ballgame tournament, practice for the tournament took priority over after school club activities. On Monday after school, it was the first day of team practice for Team F.

“I’m not the manager for the boys’ volleyball team. I’m just here to help out.”

“It’s totally fine! We have twenty-four people and only one manager currently. How many does boys’ volleyball have? Huh, eight? So little. One per twenty-four people and one per eight, don’t you think that’s a weird ratio? We’re going to need three managers, you know? That’s why, please be our manager.”

“Look…you haven’t listened what I said at all, have you. I don’t know how you think that logic is going to convince me.”

When he went to the gym, he immediately came across a scene of a row of four muscular boys were sitting on their heels and making supplications to one girl. The girl they were supplicating to was the second-year Suemori, who came as a helper from the girls’ volleyball team.

For today’s practice, it was arranged that the two teams would each use one half of the court. The teams were Oda’s Team F and Team B, which had the corps from the aforementioned rugby team. The rugby team was the third great power among the boys’ sports clubs in the school after the soccer and baseball teams, but because rugby wasn’t included in the events of the school’s ballgame tournament, they appeared to have discovered their raison d’etre in the ballgame tournament by dispatching members to each event and having them run wild. As if to tout their club, all four of them were wearing those characteristic horizontally-striped shirts, and the pattern made their upper bodies look even squarer and burlier. I’m pretty sure the temperature in the gym went up one or two degrees because of those four… Though it was already the season of high humidity, it really was sweltering in there.

“This isn’t the time for scouting. Scram.”

Oda raised his voice and cut in front of Suemori.

“Suemori is our important charge from girls’ volleyball. If anything happens to her while she’s with us, I’ll get throttled by them. If you wanna poach her, talk it over with the girls’ volleyball captain.”

“Aaah? What’s your problem?”

One person among the four talked back in a boorish voice. His height approached Aoki’s when he stood, and unlike Aoki, he had a width and thickness, so his weight was completely different. He felt a feeling of oppression like he was being crushed just from standing in front of him.

This man was a second-year from the rugby club, Okuma.

“This ain’t the place for a first-year runt to show up. Get outta here.”

The moment he said that, his temple started convulsing, but it would never end if he flared up at every single thing.

“I’m the captain for boys’ volleyball, Oda from 3-F. I’m in charge today.”

“Heh? A third-year? You serious?”

Okuma’s eyes widened, and he confirmed with Suemori over Oda’s head instead of with Oda himself. Standing in a position to protect Suemori, she was taller than him. Oda’s existence was no obstacle for Okuma.

When they were convinced that he was really an upperclassman, Okuma and the other three changed their attitude more or less, and they followed his orders without disturbing the progress. First, the two teams took the time for a joint orientation. There were three to five students from each grade per team. There would be no more than twenty-five people in two teams. Three times the usual number of eyes during regular club practice watched him and listened to him seriously. He was a little nervous and cleared his throat several times.

He didn’t see Haijima there. He wondered if the positions were assigned just for the sake of adjusting the numbers. If that was the case, then excepting Suemori who was a girl, Oda was the only one who had volleyball experience between these two teams.

In the volleyball division of the ballgame tournament, all six teams would be divided into two groups of three teams, and after a round-robin competition within the group, the first-place team in each group would play the deciding round. The group league had a total of six games, and adding the deciding round, that would make a total of seven games. The regular rule was to get twenty-five points first, but they eased that so that it was now a three-set match where the team that got fifteen points first won. Although, if they were to pull off seven games without a hitch, it was going to be a dizzying day for them on the management side.

“I’m sure we’ve all did it before in gym, so you’re alright with the basics, right? The rotations might feel complicated, but well, don’t take fouls down to the smallest detail, just three people in the front row and three in the back, and make sure to serve in the right order. Once you got it, you’ll be divided into teams to practice. I’m in Team F, and Suemori’s in B, so take a look. If there’s anything, call us immediately.”

“Hey, Captain!” Okuma raised his hand when he was about to tell them to split up.

“I’m not your captain, but…what?”

“It’s boring to practice separately. B and F should play a game. I think that’ll help us learn the flow of the game better.”

“A sudden game?”

Is he the type who loves playing games but hates practice? Oda didn’t like people who neglected basic practice. He frowned and said, “You can play games on the day of the tournament. Why do I have to teach your team our plays?”

“You don’t mind showing just a little, do you? Don’t tell me you’re gonna lose to a bunch of rookies like us? You can jump about two meters, right Captain? If you can’t do that much, then we’d be able to knock you down without jumping.”

I thought he’d become obedient, but he was thinking about things like that…I’m not going to be taken in by such a cheap provocation. I should just ignore it and move to practice as planned. He was thinking that, but he couldn’t help but feel a boiling feeling at the pit of his stomach. No, Aoki’s not here today, so I have to be the one to keep calm.

“Senpai, let’s do it. Why don’t we just do one set?”

Right when he was working hard to restrain himself, he was unexpectedly spurred on. He turned around in surprise and Suemori was standing firm with an expression that was even more indignant than Oda’s.

“Suemori-san, you sure are brave. I want you to be our manager more and more.”

Suemori gave a sharp glare at a grinning Okuma before whispering into Oda’s ear. “Oda-senpai, aren’t you angry? I can’t stand it. Making fun of volleyball…Let’s break his nose.”

“No, even if you say that…”

“If you don’t have confidence in yourself, then I’ll join.”

Suemori started taking off her jersey on the spot, so he immediately stopped her with “Wait. It’s better for me to play than you.”

His voice was a grade lower, becoming insecure. Suemori’s face immediately reddened and she looked down, saying “No…sorry.” I might have said it too harshly. But, more than being made fun of by an amateur like Okuma, my pride was hurt by the fact that I was even looked down on by someone from girls’ volleyball.

He did have confidence. He wasn’t about to be beaten by an amateur who was just huge. He honestly even agreed with the idea of knocking him down a peg. However, it would be a problem if a girl was put in and got injured. Although Okuma was an amateur at volleyball, he was an athlete who did ball sports, and there was an insurmountable wall between men and women in the power of the ball.

But, it was true that there wasn’t even anyone who could set by themselves. If there was just one more person with experience in Team F…

…We do.

The figure entered the corner of his field of vision as though it was timed. They were standing at the entrance to the gym with a suspicious face, perhaps feeling that there was something off—Haijima.

“Suemori…can you go get Kanno?”

“Huh?”

A dispirited Suemori raised her head and blinked.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

The reason he called Kanno was trivial, he just wanted him to be the referee. Suemori was in charge of displaying the points. It would only be one set where the first to get fifteen points won. If he considered this a sideshow, then this would be a good amount of time to devote to it.

He looked at Haijima, who was doing some light stretching in front of the net. Anyways, it was a piece of good luck that he was able to pull him up to the court before he could say anything…he might have to thank Okuma for that.

There were many people present in their gym jerseys, but Haijima’s equipment gave him a different vibe from the amateurs. He wore long underpants that reached his ankles beneath black shorts, short socks, and volleyball shoes that looked worn in. That Mizuno was the same model as Kuroba’s. And the taping that was tightly wrapped around the fingers of both his hands gave off an aura of something different.

When he thought that he had a different impression of his face than when he saw him in the school building, it was due to the presence of his glasses.

I see, so he switches to contacts when he’s playing.

When he was in his school uniform and wearing his glasses, he had the impression of a moody, literary-type of boy, but now suddenly he seemed like an athlete. There were also sports glasses, but sports glasses for volleyball inevitably took the shape of goggles due to the nature of the sport, and perhaps because it narrowed the field of vision and honestly didn’t look good, but Oda had never seen a high schooler use them.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t had much good will towards Haijima after the April incident. It wasn’t that he hated him, but he was completely in the category of people he didn’t like dealing with. It was creepy that he couldn’t read what he was thinking about at all, even now. A simply neutral expression with no enthusiasm or nervousness. I wonder what kind of play would actually be created by standing on the same court as this guy. Oda was the one who was made considerably more nervous.

However, on the other hand, he also felt excitement. ——He was looking forward to it.

“Then, the person doing the serve receive should try to return it to Haijima as much as possible. That’s our setter, Haijima.”

The other four people on the court are have some experience from gym class. He decided to try using them all first while alternating them.

“Haijima, are you fine with being the setter? Are you up for it? You haven’t done it for a while.”

Haijima, who was relaxing his shoulders, gave him a sideways glance and looked offended.

“What’s your highest jump reach height?”

He was suddenly asked a straight-to-the-point question. Without asking about the circumstances that led to this match, without saying a word of greeting like “Sorry I’m late” or “I’ll be in your care,” that was the first thing out of his mouth after he came here.

“For spikes, these days it’s 315.”

“You can jump for someone of your height.”

Haijima said and narrowed his eyes. It was a completely disparaging tone, but wait, was I praised just now? I feel like asking someone to interpret for me.

The height he could reach after doing a run-up and jumping was the highest point for a spike jump. In Oda’s case, his finger height (the height he could reach with his hand while standing) was 215 centimeters, so his spike jump was up to one meter. The two meters Okuma instigated with was of course an impossible figure—the height for a male high school volleyball player would be from around 70 to 90 centimeters. He thought that one meter was a figure to be considerably proud of.

From the start, Team B had three rugby team members in the three front row positions. He wasn’t sure if they were thinking up their own strategy where they were going to knock down the first of their attacks with a block and kill their momentum.

Kanno, who found himself in the role of chief referee, blew the whistle, and the game started with Team B’s serve. Since the server was an amateur, it was a simple underhand serve. However, because their receivers were also amateurs, it was difficult for them to cleanly return it to the setter, and the ball was greatly repelled.

Oda was about to jump out to cover for them, but…

…What!?

Haijima was already underneath the ball. So fast!? He didn’t just move fast. His reading of the ball’s course was fast as well. While in an overhand stance, his eyes swiftly scanned the entire court and he signalled Oda with his eyes for a moment. Oda, who had unintentionally stopped in his tracks, quickly rushed to the front of the net. A set was released from Haijima’s fingers with much faster timing that he expected. He was sure he didn’t make such a fast set when he saw him at the prefecturals. It was a confident set from a distance where normally a safe four set would be the only way to go.

So fast—no, rather than fast, what’s with that trajectory!?

He managed to reach up in the midair and hit it with his hand. He didn’t exactly hit the ball squarely, but the three blockers that marked Oda didn’t keep up with him at all.

The ball fell to Team B’s court over the head of the blocker who only jumped halfway. Oda himself felt like he was bewitched, and he landed with the pit of his stomach feeling somewhat weightless.

The view was wonderful. He could see the opposing court, which was usually always blocked by a wall, well. It wasn’t every day he got the chance to spike over the head of a tall blocker, so he had completely forgotten—was going over a block this exhilarating? He felt ticklish on the inside. He felt good…

With a backwards glance at the astonished opposing team, Oda ran up to Haijima.

“Oi, what’s with that set?”

Even so, it was a complaint that came out of his mouth first. He had just barely kept up, but it wouldn’t be strange if he had struck and missed.

“I can’t hit anything if you just set it without warning.”

“That one just now was lower than 315. As expected, I’m rusty from not playing for a while. My perception is dull.”

Haijima said, tilting his head to the side as though he wasn’t satisfied. He was going to make me hit it at three-one-five because I said that was the highest point I could jump? Is he a demon?

“It’s the same with the height, but it’s more a problem of timing. There’s no way I can hit the ball at that tempo if I don’t have anything to match.”

The basic set was called an open set, and the attacker must time the ball as it rose high and fell in a parabolic path and hit it. A spike that is hit at the slowest timing was called a third tempo.

Even so, Haijima’s set was a set that made the attacker hit the ball at the peak of the parabola. As a result, the trajectory towards the hitting point was short, in other words, “fast.” From the point of view of an attacker, it looked like it was flying “directly” at them. The attacker was pulling off the transcendental thing of smashing in the top of the set at the moment they swung at the highest point, but there were many demands on the attacker’s part as well. What kind of nerve did this guy have to set something like that to someone he’s matching with for the first time?

Haijima looked away from Oda, who was snapping at him, and looked as though he had lost interest in something.

“Kuroba can hit it.”

I see, I couldn’t see that high-speed setting at the middle school prefecturals because Kuroba wasn’t there?—His competitiveness was slowly rearing its head. Do you expect me to keep quiet when I’m told that me, a third-year, can’t hit what a first-year can? I know he can evade high blocks at that speed. If he could make that hitting position and speed into a thing…

“…It’s fine. Don’t change what you’re doing. I’ll match you with all I got next time.”

Haijima blinked, and then let out a short breath and squinted his eyes. …He laughed? Maybe?

“Senpai, it’s your team’s serve. You’ll be taking a delay penalty.”

Kanno called out to him in a mild voice. The rotation turned once, and then it was Haijima’s serve.

“You don’t need to match me. I’ll be the one matching you. You seem like you still have a lot more in you, so could you please give a little more? You can go up to about 320, right?”

Calmly leaving that extremely brazen and shameless statement, Haijima turned on his heel and walked to the service zone.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

His initial goal of breaking Okuma’s competitive spirit was blown out of his mind. He wanted to get Haijima to acknowledge him. That was all he could think about starting from midway through the match. He was so absorbed in it that he even forgot that this was practice for the ballgame tournament and was very ashamed to find out later that Kanno and Suemori were supporting the first-timers from off the court. It was a bad habit of his to lose sight of his surroundings when he got passionate. He had his hands full with what was before his eyes.

“Haijima, next time you get a chance, send it to the center.”

In the final stage of the set, the back row demanded a back row attack from Haijima. He was thinking of that high-speed center back Kuroba tried to show on his first day joining the club. If Kuroba could do it, then he wanted to do it himself as well.

“Oi, ref! Ain’t that what they call a delay? They’re just whispering to each other over there. That’s a foul, a foul!”

Okuma raised his voice from the other side of the net. He seemed to be pretty irritated with getting fouls many times when blocking. It was Haijima who incorporated the ingenious technique of playing right at the edge of the net to tempt his opponent into reaching over the net or touching it. He truly was a frightening first-year.

The B-team’s court got the serve, and Okuma jumped to spike it with a beast-like roar. However, Haijima moved in front of it with nimble steps and blocked it. Oi oi…Oda grumbled in his mind. Is he fully ready to end the game with block points? I just said that I wanted to do a back-row attack. Read the room.

Okuma was taller, but Haijima stopped the course with the precise way he moved his arms. It was a form he wanted to use as a model for first-years who were bad at blocking.

Oh…I’m looking at someone who has received the favor of volleyball up close right now… He was given every sense from the god of volleyball…

Thump. A different sound from the sound of a ball being hit was heard. From Oda’s position, it was a blind spot, so he couldn’t immediately grasp what had happened.

Rather than landing on the floor, Haijima dropped. Kanno immediately blew the foul whistle.

“Haijima!”

He rushed over to him in fright. Haijima was pressing his hand near his right eye, squatting and gritting his teeth. Was it his eye? His forehead? Kanno and Suemori also ran over, and the court was in disorder for a short while.

“Hey, what the hell were you doing? This isn’t rugby!”

He barked across the net, blood rushing to his head. Okuma made excuses with a slightly frightened look on his face.

“It, it wasn’t on purpose, captain. I only hit him by accident.”

“Don’t lie to me. If anything happens to our members, I’ll make you…”

“Senpai. I think he’s probably telling the truth. It wasn’t intentional. Please calm down. I was watching.”

He was clenching his fists and half-rising to his feet, but Kanno held down his shoulders. Admonished calmly by his kouhai, he reluctantly got back down while clenching his teeth.

“I’m fine…My contact just slipped.”

Haijima slowly got up. His voice was somewhat hoarse, but his articulation was clear. Oda was relieved that it didn’t seem serious.

“I’m removing myself from the game. Ow…”

After Haijima staggered out of the gym while pressing his hand against his right eye, the atmosphere immediately became like the closing of a performance. The decision was that Team B committed a foul, and Team F won 15-10, but they didn’t really care about winning or losing anymore.

The turmoil from the trouble caused everyone to lose concentration, so they decided to call off the rest of practice today. Oda’s concentration was more scattered than anyone else’s. He was in a position where he had to have more composure, but the role of captain was something that he was unequal to from the start. I don’t have the qualities to lead a team, I’m just selfish, I just…wanted to be a hitter. I just like getting to a place as high as possible above people and making them surrender.

The pleasure of being in a duo with Haijima still lingered. It was a feeling like a slight numbness that spread from the core of his body to his right fingertips.

I want him—A small but concentrated amount of fuel was thrown down onto his feelings of tiredness after losing in the prefectural tournament.

Practice was cut early and they dispersed, with Okuma and the rest of the rugby corps also leaving. When he was looking at the court thinking that it suddenly cooled down when those guys were gone, he saw Haijima standing before the net, staring fixedly up at it for some reason.

“Are you feeling okay? If you still feel like something’s off, go get it checked out. If you don’t know the hospitals around here, I’ll go with you.”

“I’m pretty familiar with it.”

“You don’t see rough play like that in volleyball a lot, do you?”

“No, I mean outside.”

“…?” Oh, he means outside the court? Hey, you need complete your sentences over here to have the conversation connect well.

In his case, no matter how you think about, the way he speaks is causing trouble. It’s no wonder Aoki went off at me about inviting him—he got him to lay a hand, I mean, foot on him.

“This is 2.43, eh.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah it is, how did you notice? I told them to put it up at 2.4 since we’re not doing club practice today… I guess we’d been playing at 2.43 all day.”

At the ballgame tournament, the boys would be playing with the net at 2.40 meters. The same height as the official matches within the prefecture. When it came to tournaments that were above prefecture-level like regional and national tournaments, they were treated the same as general boy’s volleyball at 2.43 meters.

“Do you usually practice at 2.43?”

“Yeah, it’ll be at this height for Spring Inter-High, anyways.”

Haijima gave him a sideways glance, looking slightly shocked.

Following Inter-High in the summer and Nationals in the fall, the tournament that filled in the last piece of the three major national volleyball competitions was “Spring Inter-High Volleyball”. This tournament, which was held in a particularly spectacular manner among the three major competitions, was a grand stage that could be compared to Koshien for high schoolers who played volleyball (as for Oda, he didn’t want to use this metaphor. Even if you didn’t use baseball as a reference, Spring Inter-High was still Spring Inter-High). It used to be held in March but has now been moved to January, so third-years could participate as well, making it the last tournament that all three school years to face together.

Even at Spring Inter-High, the net was 2.40 meters at the prefectural qualifiers, but 2.43 meters at the main national competition in Tokyo.

“Is it funny? A tiny team like us talking about Spring Inter-High. That might be so, but I don’t think I said anything embarrassing.”

Even if people would think he was conceited, Oda was serious. If Haijima joined their current members, it wouldn’t be a pipe dream in the least. It was a realistic goal.

Haijima’s eyes returned to the net again.

“…I think that kind of thing is okay.”

He muttered. He stretched one hand and touched the top tape of the net. 2.43 meters was, if one were to give an easy-to-understand example, about the height of the ceiling in a house. For the 163 centimeters Oda, it wasn’t a place he could reach just by stretching himself. He envied his ease with which he could put his fingers on it and, it might sound strange, to fix his eyes upon it.

“Is this…the height for Spring Inter-High?”

Oh, he smiled… His face was purely radiant, a complete change from the previous arrogance and impudence, and he was shocked to see that he could make an expression like that. It was by no means a frank and open smile. Like a strong light covered by a thin curtain and gently diffusing through it…it overlapped with Kuroba’s face when he looked up at the same thing with sparkling eyes on the first day of practice in April, even though the vectors were completely different.

His feeling that Haijima would be hard to deal with had, before he knew it, faded through the match.

“Hey, you know, I had a great time playing with you today. You had a little fun too, didn’t you?”

“Oda-san has good reflexes.”

Unused to hearing himself be called “Oda-san,” he felt itchy. What’s more, he was using standard Japanese, so it was like he was being addressed from the TV. But, it’s nice, being called that by him.

“What you don’t have in height, you make up for with being athletic. You have power too. Stretching your body in midair, I like that.”

Even though he lambasted him two months ago, he easily reversed that and acknowledged him. Is he arrogant or honest…what a weird guy.

Just as I thought, rather than trying to do something with words, it might be better to invite him to the court first. What the hell, I feel kinda happy when I’m acknowledged by him… Pride filled his chest. He was able to believe that he hadn’t been continuing to do something meaningless.

“Will you join us, Haijima? It’ll be boring if you wanna do it by yourself. You chose volleyball for the ballgame tournament too, right?” There was no doubt that he continued to practice even though he wasn’t a part of the club. There was no way a guy who had a gap period since last summer could move like that.

He expected him to nod, but Haijima dropped his gaze to the court at his feet with a sullen look on his face. His childish action of poking at the ground with the toe of his shoe made Oda feel impatient and irritated. There was also envy. Why the hell is a guy who, unlike me, can just go on with volleyball without thinking about anything, hesitating here?

“I’m sure you’ll change your mind, Oda-san. I’m not very well liked. As long as I’m a setter…”

——“Why are you clinging to that position?”

It suddenly occurred to Oda that those words that were spat at him before might not have been contempt towards him.

Is it possible that it’s something Haijima himself has been thinking about…? Even the personification of volleyball sense who seems like he was chosen by the god of volleyball thinks that way?

“Hmm? Why are you guys hiding?”

Suemori’s voice echoed in the quiet gym.

Suemori and Kanno, who had spread out a piece of construction paper in a corner of the gym and working hard on creating a records chart, looked up and turned their heads to the doorway. The two heads that were peeking in from the shadow of the iron door shook with a start.

“Did you guys come to help clean up? If that’s the case, hurry up.”

Suemori briskly stood up, and Kanno followed quietly. Though the two timidly showed themselves, they stopped at the door like they had trouble getting in. It was Kuroba and Nagato. The air Haijima wore around him instantly stiffened. Were they all from the same middle school volleyball team?

“Senpai, is it true that Haijima is joining the club?”

It was Nagato who asked that. His face was unwelcoming without even having to say it aloud. He pulled on Kuroba’s elbow as if to tell him to say something as well, but he looked away with an ambiguous look on his face.

“I’d like to have him join. I’m in the middle of persuading him, though. If there’s something bothering you, speak up.”

Oda didn’t really hide his ill humor, and he raised his voice to highlight his captain’s dignity. One of Oda’s biggest aggravations was the behaviour of trying to get rid of people in a roundabout way.

“I’m not joining, so don’t worry.”

However, Haijima himself interjected from the side. His tone, which had begun to soften, had returned to being curt again. “I don’t think I’m obligated to join in the cleanup,” he rudely excused himself and turned towards the metal door without bowing. It was towards the other metal door, clearly avoiding Kuroba and Nagato. Oda wanted to tear off his head, as just when he thought he closed the distance a little, he was back to square one.

“I understand Nagato’s point of view. What about you, Kuroba?”

“Huh?”

Kuroba jumped and took on a posture of caution.

“I…I…”

He awkwardly peeking sideways at Haijima, and then cast his eyes down, looking a little bit like he was about to cry. Even though he was so big, he sometimes made expressions like those of an elementary school student, much less a middle school student. Haijima, who had stopped for a moment, started walking again. It was at a quicker pace than before.

After that gangly body disappeared behind the metal doors, Nagato opened his mouth as though he couldn’t bear to wait for that.

“Oda-senpai doesn’t know anything. If Haijima joins, then Yuni really won’t participate in any official games. In a way, we lost that other time because of Haijima…”

“Ryo, stop it. I told you that has nothing to do with it.”

With his face bright red, Kuroba stopped Nagato. However, his voice was weak and it didn’t sound like he was seriously denying it.

Making his voice stern, Oda asked them a question.

“What do you mean?”

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[tsubakicamellia]

Drew this in my phone with my pure fingers. This is the first drawing i will post in here. Here’s humanized Rookie from the among us logic/gametoons gaming

I do not expect among us logic to be in tumblr

[monomas-a-smug-bih]

villain!deku corrupts hero!reader ask

Okay it’s like villain deku x hero reader and their dating but he’s trying to corrupt her and there on the field fighting and to finally get her to switch he hurts himself bad but made it look like it was a hero idk all might or something and she goes to him to see if he’s okay and they snap and turn on them (and like reader had a really powerful quirk idk like scarlet which) and takes them all out and leaves with the league

Oooooh juicy

...

Just a few hours ago, you were inside your calm and comfortable home, giving IZUKU a peck on the cheek with his arms wound around your waist from behind you, a curly head of hair digging into your shoulder.

You really did wonder if someone so sweet and caring on the inside could really truly be a criminal.

Sure, looking at it from a career standpoint, any kind of involvement with the wrong things, and one is automatically deemed evil. They don’t get to choose to pay attention to the motivations behind wrong actions or false front a villain may put on. It was a part of the many parts you hated about your job. Like every other system, the hero world had its holes, it’s flaws. And because of that, someone like Izuku would be waved off as easily as any other victim to criminality.

Then again, isn’t that what he deserved?

As you heard Izuku let out a troubled sigh, as he placed a light kiss on your shoulder, you weren’t sure, not sure at all.

Izuku wasn’t evil at heart, you knew that. Though, as ridiculous as that may sound with the amount the boy has done... he was just that, a boy. A boy who couldn’t be saved. There was plenty of them, abandoned by their heroes, you knew that; maybe that’s why you were so damn uncertain all the time.

Just a few hours ago, you were inside your calm and comfortable home, giving Izuku a peck on the cheek with his arms wound around your waist from behind you, a curly head of hair digging into your shoulder.

And now he was on the ground, bloodied and hurt. Your heart couldn’t help but stop.

By the strong punch of his own idol, All Might, who had given up on him all those years ago, Izuku was flung towards a wall, and within seconds the boy crumpled to the ground.

By the look on even All Might’s face you were sure Izuku should’ve been able to dodge that, with all his swiftness from earlier, you wondered where it all went. After a few minutes, Izuku worryingly immobile, you felt the atmosphere drop among the heroes. All Might, sensing this battle was over, turned to leave, also leaving us with Izuku to promptly shackle up. Which, you had no intention of doing.

Actually, you weren’t sure what to do. Izuku was always better than this, if on the odd chance you did end up running into him on a mission, he was always sneaky enough to wriggle his way out of the situation before things got deadly. And now he was a ball on the floor, what the hell were you supposed to do now?

Rationality was hard to hold onto in a situation like this. You thought you’d finally gotten a grip as your love got up off the ground, but you were wrong...oh so wrong. Before he made it passed his knees a hero loomed over him, kicking him to the ground and planting him there with an condescending foot on his back, mossy hair sweeping the dirt once again. Once he hit the ground a second time, you snapped.

You were sick of this. All you saw was red, and it was getting difficult to keep from losing control.

You marched over to the two boys, a frustrating foot still pressing into the center of your lovers back. You tried your best to ignore the triumphant look on your younger colleague’s face while you snapped, hoping to startle him.

“Get off of him! That’s enough!”

He wasn’t shaken, but foolish instead.

“Enough? You sure?” He taunted. The grin growing across his face sickened you, another stomp landing on the Izuku’s helpless spine.

You felt yourself fuming, eyes burning with rage as he went on with a chuckle, so obliviously, so carelessly. “Do you have any idea who we’re dealing with? How hard this guy was to-” The look on the hero’s face seemed to get more irritating by the second, and the grinding of his heel made your heart quicken. You felt your hair begin to lift from your shoulders, your whole being surging with suppressed power and anger.

You’d had enough.

With a swift raise of your fist, the boy stumbled back in surprise. He whined and his hands flew to the blood forming under his nose. The action got your blood pumping, and you let out a grateful breath that you could finally wipe that grin off his face. You hated how good it had felt, and loomed over him like he had Izuku, the boy beneath you now a frightened and confused soul. Your other colleagues gasped behind you, questioning your actions.

“L-look out!” Turning to your right, you see Izuku had finally gotten up, rolling and cracking his shoulders with that dazzling smile. Cheeky bastard, he had me worried. Your relief was evident on your face, to the confusion of your colleagues. Though his snarky attitude was defused quickly, the air being stolen from his lungs.

“Ugh-” His emerald eyes and freckled cheeks disappeared under curly hair, ribs aching from an earlier punch. With a wheezing cough, the boy fell forward. You caught him of course, rubbing his back as he coughed some more.

You were glad he was alright, though it’d clicked a little earlier this wasn’t totally an accident on his part. What was the point of this mess? What the hell were you supposed to do now?

When the other boy before you rose again, blood wiped from his nose across his face, it became pretty clear. Your stomach burned with the urge to hit him again, as much as you hated it, craving violence, you hated this fool a lot more.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing y/n?” His words were slurred from your punch, for some reason you were glad. A scarlet aura returned to your form, a hard boot stomping the earth beneath it to pieces easily. Instead of getting him to back off, he only persisted. “How stupid are you?” For what you were thinking of doing right now, you’d have to agree with him.

The only option you could see was fighting, making a run for it, or both. There was no win-win scenario, either you stayed with the boy you loved, the boy leaning into you, or you handed him over, and stayed with your colleagues instead.

You refused the latter, and thought on your first option. Voices around you sunk into you head like the unpleasant squawks of crows.

“Y/n...”

“Who’s side are you on?”

“Yeah! Let’s take him back already.”

“Hurry it up y/n!”

“I’m not sure she’s even listening.”

“Y/n-”

You couldn’t take it anymore. the questions bombarding you. You just wanted to leave, run away. But logic told you otherwise, or at least, what you had to do first.

You placed your beloved to lean against a wall, sharp green eyes tracing you in anticipation. You left a peck on his forehead and muttered, “You suck.”

Disbelief hit your colleagues’ faces, though some among them were friends, you’d never been as close to someone as you had Izuku, ruling them out was never a decision you wanted to make. With a quiet apology only meant for some of the group, you blocked out the swearing of the boy from earlier, the panic of your teammates, and rose your magenta glowing palms.

It had been an easy fight, only a couple of pros and mostly rookies were in your group for the patrol today. Those who charged at you were shoved away by your power, those who didn’t simply stayed back. Your energy was gone, the adrenaline flooding from your system. As a result your hands landed on your knees, your breaths longer as you panted.

A wolf-whistle reaches your ears.

You looked to Izuku, standing idly in the alleyway, he seemed impressed. Though the thought of this situation stressed you to no end, the smile on his face seemed to calm you in a way.

“I knew how bad you wanted to punch that guy,” Izuku stated, like he’d been hoping all along he was right. It’s true you’d been ranting to him about work, mostly workers, so you weren’t that surprised he picked him out among your group as the culprit of your stress over this week. “It feels good doesn’t it?” You couldn’t disagree, it had honestly felt plenty nice. The green-eyed boy came closer, placing his hands your your cheeks, and that felt plenty nice too. You’d never realized how easy it was to break rules, being constructed to them your entire life, those around you afraid of your quirk were strict with you.

A change like this might be what you needed, yet as you should’ve been, you still had your worries. You stared deeply into emerald eyes.

“Where will I go?” The smile on his face made his freckles bounce, you couldn’t help but soften at his touch.

“With me.” His voice was soft too, and you leaned into him; partially due to exhaustion, partially to the need for comfort. Clinging to him, you sighed heavily, and enjoyed his curls tickling the back of your neck. Izuku planted a kiss onto your head. He was warm, and it made you forget that the people you’d been working with minutes ago were on the ground unconscious and battered. He continued,

“You can stay with us.”

...

anotha one~

[rosejigglypuff76]

Earlier today, I was walking around the mall and went to its Toys R Us 🌟

I was expecting the generic modern day toys to be around, but apparently I was slightly wrong 😉

There weren't just the generic toys in store, but there was an entire toy secrion dedicated to Among Us figures and plushies! 🎉

I proceeded to buy some of the figures there, plus an Among Us plushie keychain 💖

After buying some Among Us Merch, I also took some photos of the section, with an idea in mind for a photomanip 😊

Relating to my THSC Facade AU, there's an Among Us Bean character that will make his eventaul appearance in the AU 💝

That being a Blue Crewmate named Rookie 💙

~~~

Rookie was originally a plushie that Sven gave to Saki as a gift, and while practicing some magic of her magic, Saki ended up bringing the plushie to life 🎂

Both Saki and Sven, while confused at first, happilywelcome the living Crewmate Plushie into the world with open arms, and is often seen with Saki 💗

So this photomanip showcases Saki taking Rookie to his favorite place, being the Among Us Section of the nearest Toys Store, where Sven gave the Crewmate as a gift 💙

[jaybug-jabbers]

There are a few more notes I wanted to make about the Legendary pokemon Phancero.

Apparently, a number of people have been reporting some problems when they enter Pokemon Prism’s Glitch City in search of the legend. I never had any problems during my trek into the city, and in fact went there multiple times via save states just to explore and try different things out.

I decided to experiment a bit more yesterday. People in the Prism community were aghast when they heard I was using VBA to play my game. Apparently VBA was one of the emulaters (among others) that tended to have issues with the Phancero encounter. Even when I explained I had run into zero problems in my entire playthrough with VBA, folks were awfully wary about it. Curious, I went back and ran more encounters with Phancero to see if I could replicate the bug.

EDIT: The below info about replicating the glitch is now out of date. I have since discovered I did not, in fact, replicate the glitch others have reported. I will soon post an update with more info. But do continue scrolling to see some other info unrelated to the glitch.

I finally did! The above image is what happens to people. The trick was I had to knock out Phancero instead of capture it. After the encounter, you’re supposed to be immediately warped back home (into the basement of the haunted mansion). This works perfectly fine for me if I capture Phancero, but if you just KO, you’ll be warped to the Glitch City pokemon center instead. There is no way to Fly or Teleport out of here, nor Escape Rope or escape by any other means. You’ll be trapped pernamently in Glitch City.

It finally ocurred to me how fucking fantastic it was that an intentionally created Glitch City for a ROM hack was … glitched. It’s so perfect. In a way, I kind of adore that you’ll be stuck in a glitchy purgatory for all time if you fail to capture Phancero. It seems like a fitting punishment. In all seriousness, for anyone playing the game, if they fail to capture Phancero, I’m sure the majority simply reset the game and try again, like you would with ANY legendary pokemon, so I don’t see much problem with this. Why would you ever knock it out and decide fuck it, let’s just leave? However, some folks used the in-game save while in Glitch City before facing Phancero, and I’m told that caused problems being trapped there too. Which, again … I really appreciate the irony there. If you save in the real Glitch City, you can be trapped forever, too. (if you don’t have Fly) Perhaps it’s just my well-trained instincts that kept me from making that rookie mistake– everyone knows you don’t save in Glitch City. XD

Anyway, it’s recommended you play this game with an emulator specifically for Gameboy games, like BGB or Gambatte. Reportedly, those don’t have those issues with Prism. Somebody talking to me believed it was because those emulators simply emulated Gameboy hardware better. I don’t agree– Glitch City Labs has investigated different emulators’ accuracy and the current VBA did pretty darn good in terms of replicating actual Gameboy behavior (older versions fared a lot less well)– but who knows the reason. It’s certainly possible they’re right about those emulators doing better in some regards, and it does sound logical that an emulator just for Gameboy would do Gameboy games better than an emulator for Gameboy Advance. But I adore my VBA. It’s clean and set up so well and has nice features. So I’m sticking with it, but that’s my choice. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter much. As I said, it works fine for me unless I don’t capture Phancero and why the heck would I ever do that? Furthermore, I believe they’re working to patch the game so the glitch doesn’t appear on all these emulators anyway. So it’ll be moot point soon.

I wanted to report on the bugs anyway, though, for posterity. It’s a pretty neat little glitch in my opinion.

Now, I wanted to also report a few more fun things.

This was one of the things I did while screwing around– had to get a look at Shiny Phancero. Just used a cheat code to see what it looked like. Very handome and kind of reminds me of Ho-Oh a little. I do prefer the original colors, which suit a Ghost-type better. But still a nice shiny!

I also never recorded Phancero’s abilities. It has two; Download or Contrary. The one I grabbed for my playthrough has Download, and that’s probably the best choice of the two. It doesn’t look like it learns many, if any moves, to take advantage of Contrary, but Download is always a welcome choice.

I haven’t delved deep into Phancero’s moveset yet, but I will give a full report on that, as well as my suggested moveset for it, when I’ve looked into it!

This is a repost on a new blog. The original post was on Jan 18, 2017.

[perriewinklenerdie]

Stuck with you (Ethan Ramsey x MC)

Open Heart, Ethan Ramsey x MC

A/N: Hello, hello, hello! How are we, guys? Alive and kicking? Getting enough sleep? Drinking water? (also tea, tea is awesome, 11/10). It’s been (again) a while since I’ve posted anything on here, huh. I’m working on another fic as we speak (summer theme cause summer is ending and I’m not ready for it), so we’ll see how it goes :D

AO3 link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26013712

Tag list: @paleweasels, @kittykatchoices, @valiantlychaoticbarbarian, @radlovedreamer , @usuallyamazinglyaverage, @strawberrwess @palestazure, @cordoniaqueensworld, @universallypizzataco, @princess-geek, @faithhasnowords, @mightyfangirlofthefandoms, @drakewalkerfantasy, @timmagicktoad, @laceandlula, @greywitchyshots, @llamasgrl, @gingerjane15, @bucket-harrington , @marywrites-things , @ethanplaysfavorites , @mfackenthal , @betelgeusebee , @simsvetements,  @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction, @buzz-bee-buzz, @owleyes374, @cora-nova, @aworldoffandoms, @l822, @cream-ray, @ughhhxjazzy, @silverlitskies, @justendlesssummerfeels, @togetherwearerapture, @desmaranj, @edgiestwinter, @friedherringclodthing, @daisy-ashton, @waytooattuned, @choicesgremlin , @lapisreviewsstuff, @the-soot-sprite, @writerapprentice, @chasingrobbie, @choicesobsessedd, @x-kyne-x, @thisperfectmemory, @drakewalker04, @rookie-ramsey, @jlynn12273, @thepinknymph @dr-brianna-casey-valentine, @a-i-n-a-a-s-h @justanotherrookie

Enjoy! <3

------------------

Claire noted with an overwhelming sense of relief that as the end of her shift approached, the intensity of the day decreased significantly. What used to be a fast-paced march in the early hours of the morning, was now a slower stroll. It was mostly due to the fact that all her patients were stable, and her pager miraculously wasn’t going off every five seconds like it tended to do almost every day of her life at Edenbrook.

Her contemplation was cut short when she felt insistent tugging on her white coat. She moved her eyes towards the source of the movement, being only half surprised when she saw a seven-year-old girl, smiling widely at her.

“Dr. Claire! The nurse came to take my blood, to see if it was good and she gave me a high-five.”

“I’m sure you were so brave.” a smile blossomed on her face as she kneeled down to be on the same eye level as her little patient.

“I was! Can I have a lollipop now? I didn’t even cry or anything, it was just like you said, barely a pinch and it was over.” The girl asked, thinking back to the conversation they had that morning. It wasn’t even something that Claire did only for this patient, not a one-time event.

It has become a sort of a legend among younger patients and nurses, that she always had a bunch of sweets in her pockets, giving them out to the kids on occasions. Mostly because of it, along with how good she was with young people, she was a liked doctor that was invited into all the tea parties and book readings organized by kids, with a bit of help from the nurses.

“As promised, here it is.” Her hand disappeared into the pocket and emerged with a pink and white lollipop in a colorful wrapper.

“Thanks, Dr. Claire! You’re the best.”

“Don’t run while eating it, we don’t want you to get hurt, okay?” she warned her before standing up. The girl was already running away, though, waving the candy in the air in excitement.

“Sure thing, doc, have a nice day!”

Claire shook her head in amusement, straightening the creases on her coat as she turned away to walk towards the ER. She was stopped short in her tracks, however, by the sight of an eyebrow raised so high up that it might as well have flown off his face altogether, accompanied by a curious gaze of Ethan Ramsey. His arms were folded across his chest, his posture meant to intimidate.

“You’re a doctor, Herondale. Giving away sweets in a hospital? That’s promoting diabetes.” He pointed out, waiting for her to explain her behavior. She imagined that a comment like that had the potential to make some interns cry; hell, even less resistant to pressure residents tended to avoid confrontation with him if they could help it. But Claire? Hell no.

“It’s a little reward for being brave. I can attest that it works, they are much more likely to go through their procedures- “

“- and not be scared. Good call, Rookie, even though I still think you’re spreading diabetes in the hospital.” Ethan smiled, breaking the act of trying to reprimand her. Instead, he took a small step towards her, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. Her eyes sparkled teasingly, holding his gaze in a tight lock with her own as she decreased the distance between them even more.

“The only diabetes you’re going to get is from me being so sweet.” Claire’s voice dropped to a gentle whisper the more she talked, then she slowly stood on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek. The corners of his lips went up, forming a smile, partly concealed by her hair. Before anything else could be said or done, the sound of a phone ringing caused them to, albeit reluctantly, step away from each other slightly.

“As much as I would love to continue this conversation, I should get going. Us Herondales really do hate waiting, you know.” She grinned, beginning to walk away from him.

“Yeah, I think I do. I wish I could go with you.”

“I know you do, Ethan. Maybe next time? Actually, definitely next time; I don’t think my Mom will let you skip the next family lunch, no matter how much important work you have.” He laughed, shaking his head as he watched her retreating form.

“See you this evening?”

“You can count on it, Ramsey.”

------------

It was slowly getting dark when he got home, and by the time he got round to cooking dinner, the sun has already set. He didn’t think much about the lack of contact with her; he knew how those family meetings went, so if he had to guess, Will most likely kidnapped her phone.

The ringing startled him a little, but still, nothing seemed wrong, hence why he walked towards the sound calmly. Claire’s name flashed on the screen, pulling a smile onto his face.

“Right on cue, Dr. Herondale. Dinner is almost ready, will you be home soon?” he asked, leaning against the back of the couch. There was a short moment of silence before she spoke, her voice just a little on edge.

“I don’t want you to freak out, but I got shot.”

“What?”

It was good that he had something to fall onto, because the initial reaction of his body caused his knees to go weak. He should have known that something wasn’t right, but never would he have thought that while she was supposed to be with her family, she would get hurt.

“It’s nothing, really, a clean in and out wound, I’m already having it treated.” Claire’s voice was steady, nothing indicating any unbearable pain, but then again, he didn’t know what exactly happened, so she might as well have been trying to calm him down.

“Where are you?” he asked, already running to the kitchen to turn the burners off, grabbing his car keys along the way.

“Edenbrook, but as I said-“

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” He cut her off, walking out of the apartment in rush.

It’s funny how fluid the time is. The more one is anticipating something, the slower it goes by. Consequently, the more one is dreading something, the more it rushes forward. Ethan was experiencing something entirely different. The whole ride to the hospital felt like it lasted two eternities, and yet he couldn’t remember a thing from that time, like it happened in a split second.

His feet carried him forward, recklessly running through the maze of corridors, ignoring stares he was getting from his coworkers. Any logical thought has evaporated, leaving only blinding panic, unprompted by her way of speaking, but pushed forward by what she said.

Danny didn’t even question his disheveled state when he asked for the room number, knowing better than to stand in his way. His muscles screamed, more tired than after any other exercise, but the fear of the unknown was pushing him towards her. He opened the door, only to see Claire sitting on the bed, discomfort clear on her face. Not pain, not distress. Discomfort.

Because in front of her bed were two people, sitting in a pair of chairs. The room was filled with crying of a little boy, shaking in his mother’s arms. He was muttering something incoherently; Ethan wasn’t able to figure out what exactly the kid was saying. Meanwhile, Claire was trying her best to calm the boy down, her hands trembling in frustration that she was stuck in bed.

Ethan expected everything. Literally anything but this. Because how the hell could he have predicted that he would find Claire, shot and panicking because her nephew was crying. The woman sitting on the chair, Claire’s sister in law, Louise, made eye contact with him, her face twisted in a mixture of helplessness and horror, not communicating a lot to him about what had happened.

Then he turned towards Claire, his eyes running over her, searching for the wound or any additional injuries. Her calf was bandaged and resting on top of the covers, but other than that, she seemed fine. Her head moved slightly, signalizing that she was indeed okay, after which she nodded towards her nephew giving him a clue.

How the hell did an eight-year-old boy shoot his aunt?

Ethan ran a hand over his face, breathing in deeply. With no idea how to even begin the conversation, he looked at Louise. She sighed, then started explaining.

“Our genius uncle decided that Toby was old enough to try shooting an air gun. He tried to aim towards the target, but it fired early by accident.” She took a break to look at her son, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. “It just so happened that Claire was in the bullet’s way.”

“But I’m okay.” Claire rushed to reassure them, smiling softly at Toby. He started crying again, hiding his face in his mother’s sweater. Ethan sensed what she meant, walking over to the little boy and kneeling by his side.

“How are you doing, little man?” he asked, trying to test the waters before saying anything else. Toby didn’t respond, but he did turn his head to look at Ethan, his eyes red from crying.

“I- I hurt aunt Claire.” He muttered before another batch of tears gathered in his eyes. The older doctor extended his hand towards him, patting him on the shoulder comfortingly.

“I can assure you that your aunt is going to be okay. I saw her leg, it’s going to heal before you know it, yeah?” he caught Toby’s gaze, seeing him already feeling a bit better. “Let me tell you a secret. When she feels better, give her a big hug. It always works.”

“Hugs won’t always get you out of trouble, Ramsey.” The blonde doctor warned, grinning from ear to ear in a teasing manner. He schooled his features when he looked at her, then dropped the act and smirked, mischief spelled across his face as he took a step towards her.

“Ethan, no.” she warned him, her eyes growing wide. He took another step. “No.” She moved back into her bed, scooting away from him. Before she could give him another warning, he reached her and dug his fingers into her sides, tickling her mercilessly until she laughed. Claire tried to slap his hands away, to no avail, but the torture didn’t last long. Soon enough, he wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her in his warm embrace.

“Am I forgiven?” his lips brushed against her ear as he muttered the question. She took a moment, keeping him on his toes, giggling when he leaned away to look at her in consternation.

“For now, you are. We’ll see later, Mister.”

Their little game seemed to do the trick; Toby calmed down, and by the time Louise took him home, he was smiling. The door closed behind them, leaving Ethan with Claire. Visiting hours were long over, but there was not a one person that came to kick him out, courtesy of them both being doctors. He remained seated in the chair next to her bed, holding onto her hand as they talked.

“Shouldn’t you go home and rest? You have a shift in the morning.” She muttered, tracing his knuckles with her thumb.

“No, I don’t. Naveen let me stay with you, make sure you don’t injure your leg further. No walking, no running, only being carried.” He grinned, leaning towards her a bit, dropping his voice to a low whisper. “I’m your very own, private taxi.”

She laughed, pulling him onto the bed by his hand. “Okay then, since you’re not going home, you’re sleeping with me.” his eyebrow shot up in a teasing manner, opening his mouth to protest, but she was faster than him. “Yes, you are forgiven, and no, I won’t take no for an answer, Ramsey. Get in here.”

Sighing heavily, he removed his shoes and sat next to her, mindful of her injured leg. He looked at the wound for a long moment, being stopped by Claire pulling him to lie down. “I’m never leaving you again when guns are involved.” He pressed his lips against her forehead, muttering the words quietly.

“Only when guns are involved?” she joked, embracing him a bit tighter. Rather than seeing, she felt him laugh.

“Okay, you just scored yourself a lifetime of being stuck with me. Is that what you wanted, Herondale?” their eyes met, sparkling with humor and love. Stretching herself to her best ability, she pressed a short, sweet kiss to his chin before falling back into his arms.

“Give me the ‘brave patient’ candy and it’s a deal”

They remained in that position for quite some time, conversing silently, his hand running up and down her leg in a soothing motion. A short while after he turned the lights off so they could get some rest, she gave him a more serious answer, her words muffled by the fabric of his shirt. “I’m perfectly fine with being stuck with you.”

[ozis-paradise]

ØZI for Tatler

published july 3rd, 2020

[translated by me, proofread by @baobeejun]

Free like water, a born star! From Irene Yeh's son to the new king of popular music, the dazzling star you need to know: ØZI!

Bright red highlighted hair, equally red earpieces hanging around his neck. The boy with eye-catching tattoos is sitting on the make-up chair, skipping his feet while eating breakfast and he exudes a rebellious and free, yet delicate and pure atmosphere. Soon after his debut, he was shortlisted for six Golden Melody Awards last year and won Best New Artist. At the mention of his name, everyone will exclaime admiration and excitement, ØZI seems to have become a synonym of "cool" and "red" among the younger generation.

"I think I'm too rational, 100% rational, I should also be a little sentimental." This cool-looking artist was told by his agent that "his temper is very good, he most likely won't look angry." Isn't it a little unexpected for a rational rapper to be so talkative? Doesn't he also like to drink beverages with either honey or strawberry? Everytime ØZI gives a new answer, people have to reconstruct the imagine they already had in mind of him, contrasting to his appearance there is a vibrant and rich soul ready to stir trouble (in a "catching peoples attention" kinda way). Speaking of his definition of freedom, ØZI jokes "Freedom means that my agent won't call me, no work, blocking my agent's calls!" But in fact, the interpretation of freedom in his heart is somewhat aloof and mature: "Because society has a lot of rules, as far as I can tell, no-one is free; from family, love to friendship, they all have their own rules. But freedom comes from inner stability, it should be "like water", just then you're free. When it is placed in different containers, it becomes it's shape, it can adapt to every environment; to me, this state is freedom, because you can be free from restrictions and confined space."

When asked if he's free now, he mutters "Not necessarily, sometimes I get stuck when my inspiration runs out. It's been a little better lately, it wasn't like water in the second half of last year, instead it was more like ice cubes!" Last year was too busy to think, it was described by ØZI "like the mind is drying out". And because of his plans to go to the United States to relax at the beginning of this year - he didn't expect the immediate outbreak to happen - he got more time to produce, "I'm free now, I'm simply water now!", he smiles.

Living in a prominent family of performing artists - his mother Ye Ailing is an all-round entertainer, his father Chen Wenbin is a well-known photographer - ØZI's creative path can be said to be expected. Because his parents are both in the industry, he grew up in a musical environment ever since he was a child. But when it comes to his own creations, in fact, ØZI liked to draw as a kid. In Junior High, he liked to make and arrange music, in High School he began to write melodies, lyrics, from drawings to producing movies, "creations" of change because as a child, he liked to be "original" about this. He had six Music Videos, all on his iPhone. "At first, my dad said that there were a lot of problems with my Music Videos, so I was trying hard to improve, I learned about lighting and so on, just to prove that my Music Videos can look good, I wanted to get his approval!"

The requirement of children of celebrities is a blessing but it's hard to hold a grasp of it, it's difficult to excuse mistakes. The music world describes it as "to be born a Super Saiyan (means something like "Second-Generation-Star" because he's the son of famous parents). ØZI explains: "I was just lucky to be born into a musical family, I have enough space to be understood and supported. My dad knows what it's like to be a creator, my mom knows what it's like to be a performer. So I had the chance to train to become a Super Saiyan." It's a double edged sword, everyone was paying close attention when ØZI was nominated at the Golden Melody Awards. "After the rookie award, in addition to putting myself under a lot of pressure, I didn't change any of my creative motives and I'm very expressive. So if you don't get rewarded, you get mad at yourself." Maybe stress occasionally hinders his creative work, but at the same time, it's also a sign of determination to succeed and break through the golden sunken ship.

ØZI's first well-known Chinese song "Title" is about not being bind by anything, about wanting to have more freedom, more creative freedom for everyone. He's been making music for his "mission to internationalize Chinese Music" from the very beginning. "The internationalisation is something that not everyone can do, we listen to music from Latin America, Hip-Hop, K-Pop, it's all because of their atmosphere. For me, every artist has their own way of interpretating their culture. It's very important to let everyone know "Oh, that's C-Pop!"" And the new plans of ØZI will be followed by the release of some singles, a new album will also be released this year. He also revealed that he's working on three different projects at the same time now, experimental and core concept types. There's even a project that's "looking for the next stage of ØZI" trying to give his music a new image. "There will be a lot of music you have never heard from ØZI before, some experimental music, I can't reveal much!"

He's 100% rational when it comes to his family, but his sentimental tone betrayed him; when he talks about music, he becomes serious. Introducing his new tattoo is as exciting as being a little boy. His soul is free, but "ØZI" still has a lot of unavoidable restrictions.

"ØZI is the character I created, he's the embodiment of self-confidence, he has to be perfect. The self-confidence this character needs will be infused into my spirit, but this is only one part of it", he says slowly. With his high and straight nose bridge and the fine and smooth line of his chin, ØZI looks somewhat like his mother Ye Ailing; but he has taken off the label of being a celebrity's child, that used to stick on him tightly, a long time ago already. He's ØZI, free like water, a born star.

TATLER discusses with ØZI

What do you do to pass the time that make a perfect holiday?

Go to the beach of an uninhabited island alone or with a group of friends, lie on the beach and drink cocktails, read a book, maybe listen to music, sleep.

What do you like to do the most when you don't have to work?

Playing video games, eating, getting a massage, sleeping, watching Netflix.

If you could have one drink with an idol, who would it be?

Canadian Rapper/Singer Drake! So I can understand his logic of running his OVO Empire and see if I can absorb it and apply it on my own label.

Your motto?

The tattoo on my leg, it's a famous quote from "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises": "Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up."

Who is your life idol? Why?

Christopher Nolan, the director of "Inception"! Actually, everyone who gives me inspiration for a period of time is my idol.

What would you recommend to watch on Netflix?

I actually watch anything, from serious "13th" to pure entertaining "Too Hot To Handle", I want to absorb different elements.

Please define freedom in one sentence?

Be like Water!

Which abroad city do you want to visit first after the ban gets lifted?

Greece! I went there for the first time when I was shooting the MV to "Paradise Island", and I thought I have to come back when I get the chance to! It has a peaceful charm between the island and the city, it has their own ancient culture and beach parties, everyone is very relaxed and the atmosphere is very cool.

Favourite drink?

Apple Milk or Honey Water, I like the Honey or Strawberry kind.

When your mood is low, what do you do to cheer up?

Playing video games, hanging out with friends, working out.

What games have you been playing lately?

The remake of Final Fantasy 7, the graphics have changed very beautifully.

[txladyj-blog]

Chapter 2 - This Time Around

a Daryl Dixon x OFC collaboration written by @xmistressmistrustx​

Rating: Explicit

Relationship: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character

Tags: Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Awkwardness, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Crush, Fluff and Humor, Angst and Humor, Mild Smut, Strong Language, Eventual Sex, Eventual Romance, Slow Burn, Canon Divergence, Some Canon Scenes and Dialogue

Chapters 15/?

Shane tossed Daryl a pair of gloves and pointed to the back of the pickup, laden with logs and pieces of wood he’d gathered to make a shelter over the food preparation area. Daryl, more than Merle, tended to be a little more inclined to help around camp as opposed to only lending a hand if it benefited him directly. However, Daryl’s relationship with both Shane and Rick was strained at best. They were cops and both Dixons’ had always hated cops. But Daryl was smart and had already realized that if he was going to get by in this camp, or if he and Merle were going to get any closer to their end goal, he would have to play ball and make nice with the law enforcement.

Shane hopped up onto the truck and bent his legs, hooking his hands under a heavy log on the top of the pile. Sweat glittered on his forehead as he centered himself and lifted. The end of the log tilted towards Daryl and he took hold of it, bearing the weight and slowly easing it down towards him.

“Saw you sat with Jess up on the RV last night. You guys buddies now?” Shane asked through gritted teeth, the veins in his neck bulging as he continued to lift the wood.

“Just invited her damn self up there.” Daryl rasped. The log hit the ground with a thunk and Daryl rolled it to one side, coming back to the truck and sliding the smaller pieces of wood from the top. Shane climbed back down and began doing the same.

“Somethin’ about her. Always the quiet ones you gotta watch.” He pointed out.

Daryl's back pricked with irritation. Typical cops, always finding something where there was nothing. His impression of Jess had been that she was a bookish nerd who was as socially awkward and outcast as him. His judgement of character hadn’t let him down in the past and when he looked at the groups newest addition, he saw nothing untoward or untrustworthy in the least.

“They teach ya that in the academy?” He quipped.

Shane huffed at him and paused his task, resting one gloved hand on the remaining pile of wood.

“Maybe I should be watching you too.” He suggested.

“Ya ain’t already? You a rookie or somethin’?” Daryl challenged.

Shane steppes closer to him, lowering his head and voice as he spoke to avoid anyone nearby overhearing.

“Why are you and your brother here? I know your kind. You two can survive just fine on your own. It doesn’t make sense.”

Daryl's jaw tightened and his chest puffed as he fought to control the urge to punch Shane in the face. Who did he think he was? The world was over, there’s no more laws and cops had no authority, yet there this guy was, still trying to make his life difficult.

“Safety in numbers.” He managed to shrug noncommittally.

Shane’s gaze was locked on Daryl's casual and nonchalant face as if trying to catch him in a lie. But Daryl stood strong and gave nothing away.

“You better not be lying to me” warned Shane.

“What ya gonna do about it? You can’t prove nothin’.” Daryl sneered, his face twisting into a mocking smile.

“You do anything to put these people in danger and I’ll make you disappear.” Shame continued to scold, stepping closer and prodding Daryl in the chest with his gloved index finger.

“Looks like we all above the law now, huh?” Daryl smirked. “Ain’t so bright, are ya? Pissin’ off the person that provides the camp with food. You don’t back off, I’ll make sure ya starve.”

Shane looked down his nose at the angry Redneck in front of him before curling his lip and turning his attention back to the task in hand.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

From the top of the RV. Dale laughed to himself and sighed, placing a hand on his head and securing his hat. Jess pressed her lips into a line and gave him an awkward look as he shook his head. From what she could tell Dale was in his 60’s with a weathered face and a white beard. He was logical and wise, full of opinions at the wrong moment, unafraid to offer ideas and seeing all of the commotion that presented itself among a group of individuals that didn’t really know one another, all living together in close proximity. Dale took up the majority of watch shifts, being the owner of the Winnebago meant he wanted to be the one sat on top most of the time.

Jess found that on the odd occasion she had climbed the ladder and settled next to him, he had shared his musings with her at best, but required little in the way of a response from her, which suited her just fine. Able to exist next to each other in peace, she realized she’d found the place where she felt most at ease. A high vantage point where she could see everything and everyone approach. No surprises and a sense of control were what she found most helpful from being so high above the rest of the group. Maybe Dale felt the same in some way, or even Daryl when he sat there of a night. She couldn’t be sure, but there was a possibility she’d find out, if she made the effort to do so.

“There’s a little too much testosterone going on around here. We need to be careful we don’t lose sight of why we’re all here and why we need each other.” Dale expressed to an intrigued Jess. Her face was still displaying a look of uneasy amusement at the exchange between Daryl and Shane.

“It doesn’t look like those two would get along anyway.” She pointed out.

“No, aside from the fact that Daryl and Merle have probably had a few brushes with the law in their time. He and Shane are both hot headed. No doubt they’ll clash again at some point and we’ll just stay up here, out of the way.” He nodded as if confirming his plan to himself and rubbing at his beard.

You got that right. Jess thought.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Merle shoved Daryl forwards over the dry, cracked ground. The younger brother whirled around; his face stony with vexation as he pulled the shoulder of his vest back into place. It was a common occurrence when the two of them were hunting. Merle would become impatient and annoyed with Daryl's methodical and careful approach to tracking. He walked at a slower pace, took longer to think and was generally a better hunter because of it.

Daryl carried on through the woods, picking his way over fallen trees and branches across his path while remembering his confrontation with Shane earlier in the day.

“Shane’s onto us.” He told Merle who grumbled something inaudible from behind him and lit a cigarette. The click of his lighter rang through the trees and Daryl realized there and then that he wasn’t going to catch anything with Merles careless attitude that afternoon.

“I said, we gonna have to do this thing. We’re off like a herd of turtles right now.” Merle repeated after getting no response.  

Daryl stopped in his tracks and turned, dropping his crossbow to his side. Merle, exhaling a plume of smoke, raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“We really gotta do this?” Daryl asked.

“Whatcha talkin’ ‘bout?”

“Maybe we should just stay here. It’s safe enough.”

“You pussyin’ out, little brother?” Merle challenged.

Daryl sighed loudly and glanced at his surroundings in the woods. He’d always felt at home there, even as a child when he’d amble in and out of the trees, a place that was much preferred to his own home at the time. He couldn’t say the idea of staying and hunting every day sounded like a bad one. Going off with Merle again would mean more confrontations, more fights and trying to make Merle see past his own nose. Life had undoubtedly been easier since their arrival at the camp and he couldn’t find a reason why they should throw that away.

“Naw, just think it makes more sense to stay instead of makin’ a ton of enemies.” He offered.

Merle’s body language changed instantly, becoming defensive and confrontational. He squared his shoulders and stepped closer to Daryl, looking down at him.

“Right. ‘Cause you ain’t been doin’ that, have ya? I saw ya, flarin’ up Shane’s temper.”

Daryl instinctively switched to argumentative mode and opted not to let his big brother win this one. Nearly all of his decisions had been a detriment to both of them and he wasn’t about to let him get away with thinking he had it all under control, when the truth was far from that.

“At least I ain’t been brawlin’ with black guys in the middle of camp.” Daryl snapped.

“Ahh he’s slicker’n owl shit.” Merle chuckled to himself. “Was just a little right hook”

“You wanted to do this! This was your dumb idea!” Daryl began to yell with now little to no regard about the potential food he was scaring away or the Walkers he could attract. His hand flew up in exasperation and he pointed with intent to Merle’s head. “You said we had to keep a low profile, but you don’t even know what that means!” He stalked off, quietly seething before turning back to Merle who was taking a long, slow drag of his smoke. “We got what we need here. I’m stayin’ a while and I ain’t robbin’ these people.”

With that, he stomped away with a half hope of resuming tracking at some point.

“What about me?” Merle called out.

“Do what ya want!” Daryl raged without even looking back.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Finding herself more comfortable sitting on watch over the sleeping camp, darkness wrapped around her like a comfort blanket and a soundless watchman by her side, Jess figured she was likely to be spending many more nights on her perch next to Daryl. She quickly gathered that he really didn’t sleep and if he did it wasn’t for long and rarely when everyone else was in their blissful slumbers. How a person functioned on so little rest was a mystery to Jess, but then again so were a lot of other things about the archer of the group.

Most of her time in his presence was spent desperately trying not to ask half a million questions, her curiosity only becoming stronger with each moment spent around him. Maybe it was the now clear difference between him and his brother, maybe it was their matching reluctance to get too involved with anyone or maybe it was something else, but Jess felt more relaxed and social with Daryl than anyone else in the group.

Her fingertips flitted over the cover of her journal, the subtly mottled surface bumping under her skin as she counted the stars above them. Leaned back in her chair, her hands finally rested over the leather object on her lap.

“How old are you?” she asked, internally scolding herself for not being able to hold back the question. From the corner of her eye, she saw him slowly turn his head to her.

“Why ya wanna know that?” He responded bluntly.

“Curious.” She shrugged. “I’m 26.”

“Good for you. 26 trips around the sun.” He snapped back.

Feeling a little put out by the baffled look on his face and his dismissal of her interest with a shake of his head, she began to nervously drum her fingers on her journal.

Daryl tried his best to ignore the noise but soon found himself unable to concentrate on anything else. Feeling a slight sting of embarrassment for coldly throwing her attempt at conversation back in her face, he tried to think up a less offensive thing to say.

Jess shifted in her spot and took a sip of water from a crumpled bottle she kept by her chair leg. She knew he was watching her when he thought she wouldn’t catch him.

“Older than you” she heard him mutter when he looked back out at the crowded camp.

She studied the side of his face as numbers raced through her mind and she tried to guess how much older Merle was than him. She also wondered what he was doing with his life before everything went bad. Sensing her looking at him, he side glanced over at her.

“You wanna see some I.D officer?” He questioned.

The tuneful melody of her giggle was surprising to him. He fought against it, hiding a smile until it occurred to him that she was laughing because she found him funny. It was a new and interesting experience, having anyone think him humorous, let alone a female.

Reaching down to pick up her bottle of water, she offered it out to him.

“You want some water?”

He waved it off, rarely accepting anything from anyone else. Sometimes it was guilt, sometimes it was selflessness and sometimes it was him being plan pig-headed.

Jess withdrew the bottle, putting it back in its place and started to tap her sneaker against the edge of the RV in a nervous drumming until Daryl looked over at her in irritation. She immediately stopped.

“Sorry.” She mumbled.

What followed next was one of the longest half an hours in Daryl’s life, Jess read her graphic novel while intermittently lifting her gaze to him. In an attempt to ignore her, he found the motivation to unsheathe his knife and carve some bolts from the small pile of wood he’d brought up with him.  

Whispering and chuckling  in the distance meant that both Daryl and Jess squinted into the distant dark in time to see Sarah and Jodie emerge on a late night walk around the camp. Jess was sure they only did it to taunt her and make her feel uneasy, or was she being arrogant enough to assume it was for her benefit when it wasn’t? They made everything questionable, drew in paranoia and riddled Jess with an anxiety she really could have done without.

The two girls were talking amongst themselves when they saw Daryl and Jess sat together on the Winnebago. When he sat back in his seat, Daryl noticed Jess’s body language change straight away, becoming still and wary. His eyes moved between her troubled expression and their disdainful glimpses back at her.

“The blonde one is fuckin’ my brother.” He mentioned.

As if he’d flicked a switch, she completely changed. Her eyes widened and a satisfied smile swept across her face.

“What was that?!” she exclaimed.

“Shh. Keep ya damn voice down” He scolded, unable to stifle a smirk

She cleared her throat and leaned towards him, encouraging him to elaborate.

“That is some serious gossip, Daryl.” She whispered.

“Yeah. Caught ‘em at it in the woods. Merle said it’s been goin’ on since we got here.” He explained.

She couldn’t help it, a laugh escaped her and she clamped a hand over her mouth. Being completely unaware just how humorous she would find the situation and in turn how funny he would find it once it had been said out loud; he hung his head and released a chuckle of his own.

“You got more than you bargained for when you were hunting that day.” She snorted as her body juddered with giggles.

“That shit can’t be unseen.” He confirmed with a nod.

“Well, thank you for that golden piece of information.” She offered.

“I know ya ain’t gonna sing.”

“What?”

“Ya ain’t gonna tell nobody.”

“Oh, right. No. Of course not.”

The atmosphere between them had vastly improved and Jess clicked on her torch and opened her journal. Sometimes, she thought of her mind like a sponge, absorbent of information but it was like it sometimes got overloaded and would become weighed down. Memories were important to her and her journal had become a roadmap of all the important events in her life, people she’d met along the way and of the small things that she knew not to take for granted. Small things like sitting on a roof and laughing together with Daryl.  

‘I’m sitting with Daryl right now, he’s just given me the best piece of gossip and I even got a smile and a laugh out of…’

The ink from the pen faded before running out completely and she frantically scribbled on the page, furrowing her brow before throwing the pen in her bag and growling under her breath.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

With the ability to write now taken away from her, the morning light saw Jess meandering along the outskirts of the camp alone. Her hands were shoved in her jeans and her shoulder length, black hair was braided at the back. A lot of the group had left early for a supply run, resulting in there being a tense feeling around the camp.

Taking herself away from it with her own thoughts had seemed like the best idea at the time and before long, she was so consumed by the sound of the leaves fluttering in the trees that she had reached the makeshift border in the woods. Rope with tin cans hung from it to create as much noise as possible should anything collide with it or try to pass through. The path seemed clear and she couldn’t hear any evidence of threats.

Not too far. She told herself.

It was a hot day and she wished she’d brought water with her before she embarked on her little trip. She shrugged to herself and swung a leg over the rope, taking extra care to hold onto the cans so as not to alert any of the others. When she was clear of the border, she continued to amble through the trees, dragging her sneakers on the ground and humming a tune to herself.

In a split second she plummeted to the floor, her hands hitting the mud and her shoulder stinging with pain. Her toes throbbed and she quickly scrambled to her feet to discover that she’d tripped over a Walker. It was immobile and sported a small, bloody hole on its forehead. She swallowed hard. It was the first time she’d seen one so close without being chased. The dead man on the ground looked to have been turned quite some time ago due to it’s sallow and gaunt face, the normal color of it’s skin now gone forever and replaced by a grey hue.

She listened to the others in the group more than she spoke to them, which meant she was a gatherer of information. She had once heard Rick telling Glenn to make sure he checked the pockets of as many Walkers as he could after putting them down. The likelihood of them carrying useful items too good to pass up in such desperate times. Standing over the monstrous sight of what once was someone’s brother or husband, she concluded it wasn’t such a bad idea.

She crouched beside the body, having to shield her nose from the unbelievable smell with the back of her wrist. Her free hand hovered over the clothing and she moved with trepidation, having to tell herself it wasn’t going to come alive and bite her.

Something barreling out of the bushes in front of her sent panic spiking through her veins and she jumped back, her ass colliding with the dirt.

Daryl, coated in sweat and with brown smears all over his exposed arms, swung his crossbow at his side and rolled his eyes at Jess sat on the floor of the woods and trying to catch her breath.

“Jesus.” She panted “you scared the shit out of me.”

“The hell you doin this far out? You got a death wish or somethin’?! Here” he offered her his hand and for a brief moment she toyed with the idea of completely refusing, afraid to embarrass herself when he felt the weight of her. Instead, she trusted him and took hold of his hand. The first thing she noticed when he effortlessly helped her get back on her feet, was his strength and how tight his grip was. With minimal effort from herself, she was soon brushing her clothes down and giving him an awkward look.

“I was just walking; thought it’d be okay if I didn’t go that far. Was going to search his pockets but…” She stopped talking, not wanting to disclose the fact that she was actually quite petrified of the dead man at their feet.

“But what?” he asked.

She blinked at him.

He knows I’m terrified anyway. Who am I trying to kid, here?

“…I kept thinking it was just going to shoot up and bite me.” She admitted.

He huffed and kicked at the Walker with his boot, stirring up the smell and making it even more putrid. Jess hoped that one day she would get used to it, if she survived that long.

“Naw. S’dead. I shot it earlier.” He told her.

She nodded and backed up away from the odor, unable to take anymore of it’s sting in his nostrils. doesn’t know what else to say.

“You all the way out here with no weapon?” He wanted to know.

She passed the weapons table on her way out of the camp but arming herself hadn’t crossed her mind. She was simply embarking on an early morning walk and at the time had no plans to leave the compound. That was until curiosity got the better of her.

“Yes. I am.” She sighed.

Daryl gave her a lingering look of disapproval before bending down and rummaging in the dead man’s pockets, pulling out a silver hip flask that still had some weight in it.

“Bingo.” He unscrewed the cap and sniffed it, screwing his face up in disgust “God damn. That’s strong shit.” He threw it to her, catching her off guard but she still caught it, albeit at a strange angle in the crook of her elbow and with a twisted expression on her face. She held it out to him.

“Finders keepers.” She smiled.

“Naw.” He declined, waving her off.  “Can’t let Merle see that shit.”

“Why?”

“He’s a mean drunk. You keep it.”

She turned the hip flask over in her hand, examining the initials engraved on the front before shoving it in the back pocket of her jeans.

Daryl swung his crossbow over his shoulder and started towards her, twigs crackled under his boots and she followed him with her eyes as she walked past.

“C’mon, I’ll walk ya back to camp.” He muttered.

“I’m fine” She quickly stated, noting him stop and huff. “I can go by myself. Really. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“Ya think ya got a choice? I’m walkin’ ya back. Can’t have ya out here without a weapon. Now, c’mon.”

It was a point she couldn’t argue with; she was out in the open, past the safety of camp with nothing but a hip flask to defend herself with. Admittedly, her morning plan was probably one of the dumbest she’d had in a while. She raced off after Daryl, noticing he’d slowed down to let her catch up.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

After a day of unexpectedly being dragged into digging over a patch of ground with the intention to plant crops, Jess wished they had the use of a mechanical digger instead of shovels and bucket loads of sweat. Nevertheless, she had mucked in and done her part, which is more than she could say for the likes of Sarah and Jodie, who sat filing their nails and screeching with laughter for the majority of the day.

When evening rolled in the supply run team hadn’t returned, the mood around the campfire was somber and Jess wanted to be there even less than usual. She sat in the entrance of her tent, with her legs sprawled out in front of her and her book on her lap. Reading by the light of her torch, she looked up when she heard footsteps passing by some distance away. Daryl was heading to the RV after a full day of hunting and playing chaperone to an inquisitive yet thoughtless Jess. She flashed him a wide smile and he nudged his head up in acknowledgement to her before climbing the ladder to the RV and switching watch shifts with Dale.

She got to her feet and followed him, ignoring his mildly irritated look when she reached the top of the ladder. Taking up her usual seat, she fished around in her pocket and pulled out a candy bar. Snapping it in half in the packet, she opened the foil and offered it to him.  

“Naw.” He refused after taking a small peek at it and resuming his watch over the two people that sat beside the fire.

“Take it. I bet it’s been a while since you’ve had candy. Think of it as a thank you for walking me back to camp.”

He dropped his gaze, leaning forwards and bracing his elbows on his knees. Jess was convinced she wasn’t going to get an answer until he turned his head and stared at her.

“What are you doin?” He rasped.

“Sharing my candy with you. I have it on good authority that this is the last one around here.” She chirped, shoving away the suspicious nature of his question.

His eyes moved from her rounded and bright face to the candy bar in her grasp. He wanted to take it. She was right, the taste of confectionary was something he’d not indulged in for as far back as he could now remember. He took his half of the candy and messily chomps down on it while Jess happily chewed her own half.

“How did you end up here? At this camp?” She enquired with a new sense of confidence that seemed to come from nowhere.

I will never know unless I ask.

Daryl's back prickled and he blinked down at his boots. Jess waited in ignorant bliss while he tried to figure out a way to avoid the question. Coming up with nothing, he resigned himself to the fact that he would have to provide her with an answer..

“Was just makin’ our way through the woods” He grumbled, tossing the candy wrapper over his shoulder.

“And you just decided to stay?” She continued.

It was so far removed from the real reason they’d ended up at the camp, but Daryl wasn’t about to confess that they had designs on robbing as much as they could and setting off into the night. It was all about waiting for the right moment, biding their time and making sure there were minimal people around at the time to stop them. It meant Rick and Shane were both absent, which wasn’t a regular occurrence. When one was out, the other usually stayed behind to keep an eye on the camp. But it wasn’t impossible and patience was a virtue in such a situation. Daryl and Merle has always been together, two outcasts that had managed to survive on their own before the world went awry and as a result, they still believed that any more than two was a crowd. But Daryl had his reservations and was beginning to wonder why they would ever make the decision to move away from what was a rare situation of stability that had given them the chance to take a breather and utilize the fact that the sheer number of people around them would help to keep them safer

“Safety in numbers.” Daryl eventually replied.

“You seem like you can handle yourself, even if you were on your own.” She expressed.

It was a compliment he hadn’t been expecting and one that made his pride swell, as much as he tried to ignore it.

“Maybe.” He grunted.

“At least you wouldn’t starve.” She pointed out with a smile as she hinted at his much-admired hunting skills. “Take it you’re from Georgia?”

He studied her face and she knew he was trying to figure her out. She was apparently as much of a mystery to him as he was to her. She couldn’t tell if he was about to snap at her, answer her question or ignore her entirely. So, she waited patiently for the few seconds it took for him to reply.

“You ask a lot of questions for a shy girl.” He commented.

OK, I wasn’t expecting that.

“I’m not shy per se. I’m introverted. There’s a difference.” She explained.

“Whatever.” He grumbled, picking at a hole in his jeans. She quietened and tried to force away the urge to ask what she wanted to know again. Obviously irritated by her curious nature, she didn’t want to push him so much that he asked her to leave or lost his temper. She waited in silence, spotting him take a peek at her for a moment.  “Didn’t live far from here. In the mountains.” He eventually admitted.

“So that’s why you’re such a good hunter.” She smiled. His face softened slightly as he looked at her, finding her need for information both baffling and fascinating. He had never seen her probe anyone else like this before and was well aware that it was only him that she seemed to want to chat with. Which was strange, considering Daryl didn’t see himself as a conversationalist at all. 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Despite her tendency to keep herself to herself, bury her head in her journal and books and stay away from any drama, Jess was always polite around everyone and spoke when she was spoken to. However, she was still somewhat withdrawn. What she wasn’t expecting from talking to Daryl, was how they seemed to have struck an unsaid balance. He was curt in his replies and obviously not well versed in the art of politeness whenever she engaged him in conversation, but Jess was strangely comfortable in his presence and after almost ten days, Daryl was sure he was the only one who could see the appealingly funny and smart side to her. Unsettled only by her rambling episodes, during which he worried that she’d somehow run out of oxygen before her brain ran out of words to say, he noticed she had eventually ventured out of her shell with him and shocked him with her propensity for banter and light, playful mockery. Each afternoon became a routine, she would bring the food and he would offer his usual stunted answers to all of her questions as they used the tree line or the top of the RV as a solace away from the energy draining dynamics of the rest of the group. On the odd occasion, Daryl found that sometimes she wouldn’t speak at all, simply being content to eat in silence, read or scribble in her journal, trying to get her pen to work next to him for upwards of an hour before she would retire to her tent.

Her every move was still ridiculed by Sarah and Jodie, neither one of them seemingly less heartless and selfish than the other. It was something Jess could never understand, the need to make another person feel terrible just to feed one’s own ego. She sensed part of their hatred for her came from a fear of the unknown or something they didn’t understand about her.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Daryl busied himself checking his crossbow before heading out into the woods for the day on what had become his day job; keeping everyone fed. Sat by the extinguished campfire, he listened to the others quietly milling around and discussing the tasks that needed completing for the day. Everything from laundry, cooking, building more shelter and reinforcing the borders in the woods. The supply run group had finally returned in the small hours and were catching some rest, which meant that Daryl had some peace and quiet before he left.

He didn’t even look up when Jess sat next to him and passed him a bowl of berries.

“Eat. If you pass out in the woods and turn into a Walker we’ll all have to rely on Merle for food and that’ll be bad. Very bad.” She shoved the bowl closer to him, giving him little choice to refuse.

“Hm. He don’t bring back as much.”

“It’s not that. More that none of us want to rely on Merle for anything.” She remarked. “He would just love that.”

He looked sideways at her and mirrored her smirk, thinking her statement to be both true and understandable. He took the bowl from her hand and threw handfuls of berries into his mouth, chewing noisily and following Shane with his eyes as he passed, glaring down at him sat next to Jess. He slowed his chewing until Shane was out of sight, and Jess opted not to mention the volatility between them . She noted his leather vest with angel wings sewn onto the back that were now greying and boasting more dirt than the woodland ground.  

“If you let me wash that vest, maybe the deer won’t smell you a mile away.” Jess joked in an attempt to keep the mood light hearted.

“No one touches the vest.” He grumbled as he wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist.

“Right. The magic vest. Holds your powers. It’s where you keep all your energy for your angry glaring.” Her nonchalant tone made her mockery of him all the more effective and he finished up the last berries in the bowl and handed it back to her.

“Ain't ya got some superhero shirts to wash?” He asked.

Jess laughed quietly to herself at his ability to seem both entirely disinterested in her, yet still able to dish out ridicule as well as taking it.

“Make fun all you want. My shirts are vintage. Some are collectibles.” She wagged a finger at him which only earned her a confused expression from before he placed a boot in the stirrup of his crossbow, slid a bolt into the flight groove and pulled the drawstring back, readying the weapon for hunting. Jess averted her eyes.

Too many muscles. Too many shiny muscles.

“Ain't much good in the apocalypse.” He pointed out.

Struggling not to become overwhelmed with bashfulness and desperately trying to ignore the butterflies he seemed to provoke in her stomach, she got to her feet.

“They’ll be good enough quality to strangle you with when I can’t stand the smell from that vest any longer.” She shot back with a wide grin.

Daryl squinted up at her stood with her back to the sun. Chewing on his bottom lip, he partially closed one eye and managed to catch her peering down at him.

“Thanks for the food.” He said, possibly in the most sincere way she had ever heard him say anything before.

“Sure thing, Stinky.”

She turned and started back to the food preparation area, keeping his focus until she disappeared from view and he hauled himself up from his seat and set off into the woods. 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

After a morning helping Carol out with the laundry and avoiding Sarah And Jodie like the plague, Jess found herself resting in the sun on a rock and using her backpack full of books and comics as a pillow. She closed her eyes and listened to the pleasant and relaxing lapping of the small waves on the shore of the quarry. She didn’t like to dwell too much on what once was, finding it all too depressing when her heart longed to see her family again. Her pushy, demanding family that drove her crazy but who she still loved without question.

She also avoided re-living too many memories of her friends. Nights spent gaming and eating four different types of pizza with four of her close friends. Meet ups in the local Diner. Months of meticulous designing and creating of cosplays for comic cons. All gone. All of them. She was the only one left.

She was grateful for the saving grace of getting changed out of her renaissance dress before she left the fair. Running through the woods for her life wearing such a huge dress would have no doubt got her caught up in a bush somewhere and snacked on by a fellow renaissance fair fan. Either that, or weighed down by all the fabric and having to strip, mid run. She shivered at the thought. Somehow, turning up at the camp partially dressed was a much more chilling prospect than being eaten by another human being.

Someone sat next to her and stirred her from her almost slumber. She opened one eye to find Carl perched on the rock beside her. She sat up and drew her legs in, crossing them and getting comfortable again.

“Hey Carl.” She yawned.

“Hey” He mumbled sadly.

Jess had gotten to know both Sophia and Carl quite well since being at the camp. All in all, she found them a lot less taxing to talk to than the adults. Things were simpler with the innocence of youth and she enjoyed taking part in conversations about TV shows they liked and playing ball games with them down at the quarry in the late evenings before she would eat, return to her tent to read and then join Daryl on top of the RV.

“Something wrong?” She enquired.

Carl scratched at the side of his face under his father’s huge sheriffs’ hat that had quickly changed ownership and become his.

“I heard mom and dad talking.” As he spoke, he drew patterns on the rock between them with a pebble he’d picked up from the ground. White shapes of spirals and stars. Jess watched his absent-minded artwork come to life on the surface. “They say more of those things are turning up at the fences.”

“Yeah, I think there are. You’re safe though. Your mom and dad won’t let anything bad happen to you.” She assured him.

He slowly looked up at her face, his freckled nose and clear skin glowing in the sun.

“Do you get scared?” he whispered.

Jess’s heart ached. She could only hope that there were other pockets of survivors around the world that housed and protected children from the horrors of what lay outside their groups. But the reality of it was that a lot of very young lives had been lost and those that were left were now even more precious than ever.

“Yeah. I get scared. But I think we’re going to be OK. We’re fighting them. Like Superheroes.” She told him. “There is a superhero in all of us, we just need the courage to put on the cape. Do you know who said that?”

Carl grinned at her, a wide, genuine smile that filled her with a sense of achievement.

“Superman.” He replied.

“That’s right. Superman. He wouldn’t back down from this. So, neither are we. Right?”

“Right” Carl nodded. “What Superhero do you think would be able to make all this go away?”

Jess took a deep breath. It was a good question and a very debatable one. The kind of question she’d spend hours discussing on the floor of a comic con over some corn dogs and a slurpee. The kid was speaking to her soul with this one.

“Hmm…” She hummed, catching sight of Rick at the top of the quarry, his hand at his forehead and shielding his eyes from the sun. Once he saw Carl sat with her, he turned and wandered back to the camp. “How about Vision? His powers practically make him immortal and he can heal himself. He could rid us of a lot of Walkers and Ultron created him, he’s an android instead of human so he can’t be turned.”

Carl thought for a moment, resuming his drawing on the rock between them. The scraping noise was a lot less irritating than jess would have thought. In fact, it was soothing and a nice distraction.

“True. He’s pretty awesome. Maybe a Hulk would be handy.” Carl mused.

“Noooo. Too noisy. Huge bull in a very fragile china shop. Plus, he’s big and green part of the time but he’s still human.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

She lifted her vision again to the sky and clouds above them, she didn’t know how much she had needed this pointless and casual conversation with a kid that just wanted to be told by someone other than his parents that everything would be OK.

“Dr. Strange.” She eventually said. “He could just go back in time and stop whatever caused this.”

Carl nodded and paused his drawing, throwing the pebble between both of his hands as he contemplated her suggestion.

“Yeah, that’s a good one. Dr. Strange could solve this.”

“He sure could. But until he shows up, we’re on our own and I think we’re going to be OK ``she beamed at him. She didn’t believe it herself but felt she was convincing enough to him and that was all that mattered. She took the pebble from Carl's hand, shuffled over to create some space and began to draw her own image on the rock. A circle with four curved lines inside it. The Symbol of Dr. Strange.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

‘I think maybe we all need a little something to hold onto sometimes. When we're scared or uncertain of the future or if we'll even survive long enough to see the world rot or flourish again. I sat with Carl today and did my best to reassure and distract him from his own fear. What I didn't realize is how strong my own is. I'm terrified. I don't want to die. But I'm not sure if I'm right for this world the way it is now. Daryl, he seems to just get on with things, like nothing is all that different to before for him. But for me...I'm sure I should be dead ten times over. I still have this strong sense to just figure all this out on my own. Maybe Jodie and Sarah are right in the things I hear them say about me. Maybe I'm just a drain on the resources here. An extra, bigger mouth to feed. Not that they're any better. I should get some sleep, my head gets too noisy when I'm tired and I can't see Daryl on the RV tonight. Looks like I'll have to drown out my own thoughts this time. I wish I had a damn pen so I could write all of this down instead of just laying here, thinking it.‘

NEXT CHAPTER

[maid-of-mourne-shore]

Anyone Except You

Hello! This is my entry to @becaamm‘s writing contest! I tried to make one those fancy picture things to match the story because I think they’re nice. My beta reader was the wonder @hadespuppy

Summary: When Officer Barnes contemplates his feelings for someone just a little too late.

Prompt: “How do you know you’re in love with someone?”

Word count: 5.2K

Modern AU

Warnings: Angst, active shooter, violence (fluffy ending!)

Masterlist

“Steve?”  

“Yeah, Buck?”  

“How do you know you’re in love with someone?”  

“Hmm,” Steve contemplated for a moment, fingers coming up to scratch the hairs of his beard. There was light chatter over the radio to break the silence, but neither paid it any mind; the situation was all the way on the other side of Brooklyn; even with sirens, it would take them twenty minutes. Another cruiser took the case, and Bucky relaxed his shoulders, his mind drifting back to the earlier conundrum, and his friend sitting in the passenger seat, looking as though he’s been tasked with cracking the DaVinci Code.  

“That’s a tough one, but I think the answer is different for everybody.”  

“Lot of help you are, punk.”  

“Why are you asking?”  

“Humph.” Bucky opted to look out the window, not interested in where he knew Steve’s line of question would go if he let him get away with it.  

“Wouldn’t have anything to do with a (Y/H/C) haired resident over at the Brooklyn Hospital Center, would it?”  

“What’s it to ya?” Bucky quipped, still refusing to look at him.  

“Hey, I'm just saying,” he put his hands up in surrender. “Every time we get a call about the Brooklyn Hospital Center, regardless of where we are, or what we’re doing, you insist on taking it.”  

“Because I take pride in my job!” Bucky whipped his head around to give him an incredulous look, letting him know he was walking on thin ice.  

“If your job was ogling pretty doctors who are too smart to date you,” Steve muttered.  

Bucky had enough of Steve’s mocking and pressed the button on the side of the radio, begging the operator for a call to answer, he would take anything right now. Steve wore a shit-eating grin on his lips, knowing that he had wholly made his point.  

“I was going to send some rookies, but if you’re desperate I'll give it to you,” the voice sounded over the radio, and Bucky was about to get on his knees in thanks.  

“Anything, please,” he groaned.  

“It’s over at the Brooklyn Hospital Center, we need a victim statement from someone who was admitted.”  

Steve let out a happy sigh, pumping his fist in the air, Bucky ready to smash his face off the dash and just let death consume him.  

“Yeah, on it.”  

The hospital was always busy, not that it was surprising, but it kept him on high alert, eyes darting around, searching all over for a certain someone who most assuredly was not waiting up for his company. Alright, so Steve was right, he knew that, but it was a soft spot, and he didn’t take well to being on the firing line, subject to jokes of his complete and utter failure with the woman of his desire. The logical part of him said to take the hint, let her go, move on to someone who was interested. But the emotional side, the hopeless romantic in him, the part he listened to far more often when it came to thoughts of her, noted the twinkle in her eye even when her words told him to get lost. It reminded him on the sweet smile that came to her face every time he told her a bad joke, of the cute gestures like pushing those rebellious pieces of hair back behind her ear, simple things that just made him melt. It told him that she had a hold on him, but perhaps, he had more of a hold on her than she was letting on.  

Bucky groaned, running a hand over his face, shoving his notepad back in his pocket. He had taken the victim statement in haste, hoping he wouldn’t miss his chance to see her, though he knew how bad it was to think like that. This is what happened when his mind went to her, she turned him into a big, dumb, mess of a man, it was infuriating, yet he wouldn’t have it any other way. Well, he would change her ‘no’s’ to ‘yesses’ when he asked her on a date.  

“Officer Barnes, to what do I owe the privilege of your company today?”  

“Just getting a victim statement,” Bucky smiled, his gaze following her as she walked towards him.  

“Ah yes, the unglamorous side of police work.” (Y/N) stood beside him, grabbing a file from the plastic bin on the desk.  

“It’s not so bad,” he drawled out. “So long as I get to see you.”  

(Y/N) watched him for a moment, let herself take in the way his teeth chewed his bottom lip, the stubble littering his jaw, his slate blue eyes trained on her, crinkled at the edges, mischief written all over him. Officer Barnes was a handsome devil, there was no question about it, but that was the exact reason she stayed as far away as she could. Young, fit, in a well-paying job, to look as good as he did, surely, this was just a game. Men like him were used to ‘yes’, they expected ‘yes’, they felt they deserved ‘yes’, so for someone like herself, to put her foot in the sand and muss it all up, someone who was just another lab coat, to actually deny him, well, she was sure that spurred him on more than anything. (Y/N) was a medical student, still in residency, there was no time for whatever chase Officer Barnes was pining for, no matter how much she secretly wanted it. Though, underneath all of her excuses, perhaps, she was just afraid. She shook her head.  

“Well, as always, this has been lovely,” she rolled her eyes to emphasize the sarcasm. “But I have work to attend to.” She gave him a knowing look and turned to leave.  

“Let me take you out sometime, doll!” he called after her, but she kept walking.  

It was always the same, every time, without fail. It was actually nice to have something so reliable in a place where every day was different, new challenges clawing through the door. Bucky would do his very best to butter her up, laying it on thick with his Brooklyn accent, and she would play coy, pretending to get a page, needing to go check on a patient, anything to escape that dashing smile, and he would ask her out. He would always ask her out.  

“So, love huh?”  

“Jesus H Christ, will you let it go?”  

“You said it, not me,” Steve shrugged, taking another bite out of his burger, their hasty lunch in the cruiser.  

“Yeah, and I'm regrettin’ it, punk,” Bucky spat, toying with the fries in his cup.  

“What’s this really about, Buck?” he asked, turning to look at his brooding friend.  

“I don’t know,” he sighed, sinking further into the chair, his seatbelt the only thing holding him up. “I just, I think I really like this girl, but she won’t even give me a chance.”  

“Maybe it’s time to move on then.”  

“That’s the thing, I can’t get her out of my head!”  

“Then maybe you need a different approach,” Steve mused, fully invested in his friend's situation.  

“I’m listening.”  

“What’s been your strategy so far?”  

“I dunno, the usual,” he explained, brow heavy with frustration, “confident, charming, playful.”  

“I think that’s your issue.”  

“How so?”  

“She’s a bit more reserved, serious even, so maybe you need to meet her halfway.”  

“What, you want me to show up in a suit and tie?”  

“No, come on,” he sighed, leaning his head back. “Instead of using humor as a safety net for rejection, show her that you’re all in!”  

“Hmm,” Bucky took this thought seriously for a moment, rolling it over in his mind. “What, like some grand gesture?”  

“Not exactly, I was thinking more along the lin-.”  

“All units in the area, we have a 10-10 at the Brooklyn Hospital Center, all units respond, over.”  

Bucky’s hand immediately tightened on the wheel, his eyes flitting over to Steve, the color draining from his face.  

“This is cruiser 252, 10-4, we are on route to Brooklyn Hospital Center, over.”  

Steve spoke clear and even, but his eyes couldn’t hide the worry he felt as he flicked on the sirens and lights, fingers hovering over the computer keyboard as he read the incoming information. Active shooter, multiple wounded. Bucky floored it, weaving in and out of traffic, expertly maneuvering the vehicle around a sharp corner, cursing at anyone in his way. Bucky had already broken out into a cold sweat, it was bad enough to that someone was terrorizing a hospital, but what what about (Y/N)? She was working today, did she find refuge?  

Within minutes, they were on the scene. A few other cop cars had already arrived. Steve and Bucky bolted towards the officers, surveying the area, looking for the shooter.  

“What’s the status?” Steve asked.  

“The shooter is on the second floor, east wing. Shots have been fired,” the officer explained.  

“Why are we standing outside?” Bucky growled, his heart aching as he looked back over, searching for (Y/N) among the masses running from the building.  

“We need a game plan. Going in guns blazing will only provoke him.” The older officer was calm even while dealing with Bucky’s anger, her voice steady, calculating everything before stepping into action.  

“Alright, what did you have in mind?”  

Bucky crossed the threshold, entering the hospital, eerie silence, goosebumps appearing over his skin despite the mid-June heat, as he unholstered his gun. A few bodies were scattered over the floor, he wanted to run to them, to see if they were okay, but the uncanny stillness held him back. They were already gone. The halls were empty save for the few people still filtering out, running to the emergency support crews just outside, crying tears of relief, calling loved ones, just thankful to be alive. All Bucky wanted to do was turn around and search for her in the masses, to know that she was safe too, but he couldn’t. As an NYPD Officer, he had a job to do, a duty to the citizens, and he had never felt so conflicted by that.  

Bucky ascended the north stairwell, his footsteps reverberating off the cement walls, his breath steadying as he centered his thoughts around the mission, the goal. They would all convene on the shooter’s last known location, going up every exit to ensure that he hadn’t tried to escape, the power cut off, rendering the elevators useless. As he came to the second-floor landing, he dropped his shoulders, hand coming to touch the radio attached to his vest.  

“North stairwell clear, heading to the rendezvous point, over.”  

With gun in hand, he entered the floor, hallways only lit by the natural light filtering through the windows. He was met with a thick silence. The air smelled of bleach. His stomach twisted, his boots making low thuds as he crossed the tile floor, eyes scanning, ears listening for anything to alert him to where the shooter was.  

Bucky met up with another officer tasked to clear the east stairwell, and they moved together with synchronized steps, checking each room as they went along. While each time they declared an area clear it was a relief, there was also the notion that he wasn’t here, meaning he was still on the prowl, somewhere else in the building, causing more damage, taking more lives.  

“Hey, I've got something,” Steve’s voice came over the radios. “You’re gonna want to see this.”  

The two officers exchanged looks of confusion.  

“Well, poetic justice, or just bad luck?” the female officer asked, though her tone dripped with venom.  

“More like escaping justice,” Bucky spat.  

They all stood at the top of the concrete stairwell, the shooter’s body lying on the landing below, the back of his head obliterated by what they could only assume was a hasty retreat turned deadly. Detectives and body removal were called in, photographing, analyzing, and cleaning up the scene, all officers giving their statements of the events. It was routine, though necessary, but once again, Bucky’s mind was wandering, he bounced on the balls of his feet as he stood beside the cruiser, eyes scrutinizing the crowd. God, if only he had her number.  

“Go ahead, I'll take care of things.” Steve came to stand beside him, clapping a hand on his shoulder, bringing him out of his thoughts.  

“Are you sure?”  

“Bucky, go find your girl.”  

It didn’t take any more convincing before Bucky was off, jogging through the bodies, calling her name, his heart thumping in his ears. He was almost terrified to look, the worst possible case always beating him down, thundering through his mind like the endless clang of the toll bell. He had to physically shake his head to rid himself of those thoughts, he didn’t know yet, he had to hang onto hope. In this instance, it was quite useful to be a big man in a uniform as people assumed, he was on official business, and parted for him to pass easily.  

“(Y/N)! (Y/N)! (Y/N)!”  

“Sergeant Barnes?” a voice called out to him. He whipped around to find a familiar face, a nurse that he often saw working with her, who had witnessed their playful bantering.  

“Kimberly, where’s (Y/N)?” His eyes were frantic, still floating around the crowd as he spoke to her.  

“I-I don’t know,” she sputtered. “She was right there, and then-.” Kimberly bit her lip as her gaze travelled back to the hospital, and Bucky’s heart dropped.  

“She’s still inside?” He barked.  

“I don’t know!”  

“Do you have her number?”  

“Y-yes, here.” Her shaking hands pulled the phone out of the pocket of her scrubs, making quick work at finding her contact, pressing the call button, and handing it over to him.  

His foot tapped impatiently, the ringing was agonizingly slow, each one dragging on longer than the last, until it went to voicemail, handing it back to the nurse, his eyes going back to the hospital. It looked dark now, forlorn, yet he knew he had to return, to make sure that she wasn’t one of those bodies, he had to, it wasn’t even a choice. Without another word, he was off, sprinting towards the entrance, but when he arrived at those sliding doors, ‘Emergency’ spelled in large red letters, all of his strength, his composure evaded him, replaced with quaking muscles and a dry mouth.  

He approached the first body on the floor, the shape clearly of a man. Bucky let out a sigh as his feet slowly crossed the floor. He could do this, he could do this, he could do this. He chastised himself, it wasn’t as though this was his first time seeing a dead body! The next body he found was of a child, and he had to look away, unable to face the innocent life that he had failed, nor the guilt of relief he felt that this child wasn’t (Y/N). Bucky turned the corner and halted as his eyes fell upon a woman wearing a white lab coat spattered in blood over her left shoulder, face down on the floor. He felt the tears springing free without his consent, too horrified to continue looking, yet completely rooted in place.  

In this moment, his mind shuddered back to earlier that day, contemplating what it meant to be in love, how he would know for sure, and as he observed the still body, (Y/N/C) hair free from the usual elastic, her knees at an ungodly angle, he knew. As he approached the idea of her no longer here, flicking back through the memories of snorty laughter, her quirked eyebrow, playful glances, he tried to think of what that would be like, yet he couldn’t fathom it. A future without (Y/N) wasn’t much of a future at all, it didn’t exist. He wasn’t sure what shocked him, that he had never realized it before, or that it took something like this to make him get it, but now it stared him in the face, it mocked him. Bucky loved her, Bucky was hers, body, mind, and soul.  

And he had never told her, never had the guts to say what he had always been trying to communicate in those dumb pickup lines, those teasing looks, what was always there inside. What he never had the courage to uncover within himself. To love her was to think of life without her, and be unable to picture such a painful fate.  

“(Y/N)?” It came out as more breath than voice, his feet shuffling forward, hands still lingering by his sides.  

“(Y/N)?” He whispered, legs quivering, ready to give out.  

“(Y/N)?”  

And he broke, dropping to his knees beside her, hands hovering over her form as if he touched her, that would be when she truly died, as if the contact would make it real, though he knew it was already so. Perhaps, if he never turned her over, he would never have to know, he could get up and walk out of here, forget all about her. But he couldn’t leave her, not like this, she deserved to be remembered, even in this horrible, grotesque, tragic way. His hands grabbed, pulled desperately at the white fabric, turning her over in his arms, her head falling back, hair shifting to the side, baring her face to him, and it wasn’t her. It wasn’t his (Y/N). Bucky breathed out hard, dropping the cold, lifeless body, jumping to his feet, unconsciously rubbing his hands up and down his tactical pants. It wasn’t her, it wasn’t her, it wasn’t her. That was a good thing, right? It was supposed to be a good thing, but as he looked at the woman’s very dead face, it felt anything but. Where did he go from here? Looking down the dimly lit hallway, he resigned himself; if he had to sweep the whole damn building to find her, so be it.  

“(Y/N),” he began to talk out loud, hoping to let her know it was safe now, hoping that she would hear him, and come to him.  

“It’s me, your favorite nuisance. My name’s Bucky, but you always insist on calling me Sergeant Barnes, no matter how many times I tell you not to.”  

His voice was met with silence, though he kept walking, looking in each room as he passed as he made his way through the first floor.  

“The first time I saw you, I was responding to a disturbance here. Some man was uttering threats at hospital staff, you included. I came in thinking that I was some big hotshot who was going to look like the man with a plan for the pretty resident, calming her fears, and sweeping her off her feet with my professional charm.”  

He paused to listen, praying for something, but again was met with silence.  

“But it didn’t faze you, no, you didn’t care. In fact, when I arrived, you were standing right up to him, nose to nose, telling him exactly what he could do with his words. I wasn’t sure who the call was originally made for when I saw you two. I was dumbfounded, and completely smitten, though I didn’t know it yet.”  

“I-I’m crazy about you. Everything, all of it, even the parts that you don’t like. In a thousand tiny moments, I've seen you in all states, in every way, and it’s only made me want you more. The first time I saw you crying was after a really bad car accident. You lost everyone involved, no one walked away. I came here and I found you slumped against a wall in the hallway with the flickering light. I’d never seen you look so small. You let me hold you, your whole body was just trembling, I swore you were gonna vibrate right out of my arms.”  

“Do you remember the first time I made you smile? I do. It was my day off, but I know how stressed out you had been because when I asked why you had bags under your eyes, you told me your exams were next week. So, like a gentleman, I brought you coffee and a sandwich, because I just knew that you were the kind of person who would work yourself to death and forget to eat. You couldn’t believe I did it, your mouth gaping as I stood in your ER for the first time in regular clothes. You let me stay with you as you ate, I talked your ear off about dumb stuff, cop stories about Steve and I, you even thanked me, said it got your mind off of the stress, even if it was just for little while.”  

Bucky opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut short as he heard muffled whimpers, his body reacting before his mind, vaulting himself into the room on the left, trying to find who was making that sound. He stopped in the middle, but to his dismay, the room went silent, his eyes flitting over every surface, each object, but nothing came up as out of place. Then he heard it again, someone was crying. He rushed towards the cot, an old, fold-up model, and dropped to his knees to look underneath. Bucky found (Y/N) huddled in the fetal position, eyes screwed shut, a hand clamped over her mouth. She was terrified, but very much alive. He reached out, pulling her from under the bed, her body sliding with ease on the shiny, tile flooring.  

(Y/N)’s eyes snapped open, staring up to see the familiar slate blues of one Officer James ‘Bucky’ Barnes. She thought she may pass out from relief. (Y/N) threw herself at the man, arms winding around him, her head burrowing into his neck, strangled sobs leaving her throat, unchained as she no longer had to hide. Bucky responded with fervor, holding her impossibly close, a hand on the back of her head, afraid that if he let her go, she may disappear, that this happy ending wasn’t real.  

“I thought-,” Bucky started, a lump forming in his throat even thinking about all the horrible things that had played in his mind, dancing around once more, teasing him, taunting him, torturing him.  

“I thought I'd lost you.”  

(Y/N) didn’t say anything, not right away, she couldn’t answer him yet. Instead, they stayed in each other's embrace, clinging onto the reminder that they were there, they were alive. Her cries quieted down, her back hiccupping every once in a while, as her body settled down. (Y/N) breathed him in, surprised at how his scent seemed to have a calming effect, but was far too tired and desperate for comfort to question it. Loosening her grip on him, she pulled back just enough to look at him, her gaze meeting his steel blue eyes rimmed in red, fresh trails down his cheeks.  

“James, you’re crying,” (Y/N) breathed, a hand coming to cup his cheek, thumb brushing away the moisture.  

Bucky leaned into her touch, bringing his own hand up to keep hers in place, no matter how long he had held onto her, a part of him still feared that it’s not over. He had to feel her, he was desperate for it, and with her so willing, liberally giving out touches, Bucky soaked them up like a flower in the sun. He was breaking down right in front of her, finally processing everything, so she brought her other hand up to him, and pulled on his head, resting their foreheads against each other. (Y/N) felt a surge of strength within her, as if seeing him so vulnerable brought out something defensive and caring within her, she no longer needed to keep her heavy walls up when he was so small.  

“I’m here, James.”  

Steve and Bucky were standing outside again, tying up loose ends, taking down whatever details they could in their notebooks as they would be writing lengthy reports on this one. (Y/N) was sitting on the curb, head in her hands, exhaustion taking over, coming down hard from the adrenaline. Bucky can’t stop looking at her, torn between his job and his heart. Steve knew, he saw it all over Bucky’s face, pulling the keys from his pocket and handing them over.  

“Take her home.”  

“Steve, you sure?”  

“I’ll finish up here, and hitch a ride back to the precinct.”  

Bucky gave him a nod, not needing anymore encouragement. He jogged up to her, dropped down to crouch beside her crumpled-up form, resting a hand on her shoulder.  

“Hey, I'm gonna drive you home, okay?” His voice was tentative, not wanting to order her around. She looked up at him with those tired eyes and gave him a lazy smile.  

“Okay, Bucky.”  

The drive was quiet, not tense though. It was a pause, the beginning of reflection, combing through the events, the emotions, and the thoughts this chaotic day had forced upon them. Her apartment building was close, which didn’t surprise him. It was an old brick building, she was only on the third floor, though they took the elevator as neither of them had the strength to climb the steep stairwell. (Y/N) unlocked her door, but turned back, leaning on the doorframe, waiting, almost expectantly, her eyes sweeping his figure, slowly blinking at him.  

“Thank you, Bucky,” she smiled, but he could see the terror lingering behind her eyes.  

“Of course.”  

“I’ll see you at the hospital sometime, I'm sure.”  

She was getting ready to leave, backing away from the door, retreating into the small room. Bucky started to panic, knew this was the worst timing, but he almost lost her, so going on one more second without coming clean, he couldn’t bear it.  

“Listen (Y/N), I um, I have to tell you something.”  

“What’s that?” She stopped moving, looked at him again, something glinting in her eyes.  

“About today, maybe this just means that I'm bad at my job,” he chuckled dryly at the thought as he rubbed the back of his neck. “But there were so many people in danger, yet when I got that call, all I could think about was you. I was terrified, thinking of what I would do, if I lost you.”  

Bucky stood there looking at her, bearing his innermost self, holding onto a sliver of hope that it would be enough. (Y/N) looked straight back, scrutinizing him, always analytical, always checking for the danger, but he didn’t back down, in fact, he straightened up, unwavering, saying everything he needed to without words.  

“I guess, I had you all wrong,” she mumbled after a moment, unable to meet his eyes.  

“Whad’ya mean?” he questioned, hanging onto her words, leaning in so his arm rested on the doorframe.  

“Well, I just figured that, this,” she gestured between herself and Bucky. “Was just a game. It was exciting because I said no.”  

“Oh.” Bucky watched her, saw how she picks at her fingers, rubbing the places where she’s done it before. “I don’t blame you for thinking that.”  

“No, it was wrong of me to label you.” Her tone was strong, as if she were completely convinced of her words, though she still doesn’t meet his eyes.  

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it,” Bucky said softly.  

He reached out for her, lightly rubbing her arm, letting her know that it was okay, everything was okay. He could see it all weighing on her, she always did this, carried things, burdens that didn’t belong to her, though he supposed that’s also what drove her to be so damn good at what she did. It’s why he fell, why he admired her. So, if she were going to haul such atrocities, he couldn’t watch her to do it alone; he had two legs and a heartbeat, he’d help.  

When (Y/N) finally met his gaze, her eyes were rimmed with red. Bucky could see that she was barely keeping it together, and he wanted to scoop her up, whisk her away and just hold her until she felt safe again. But he saw that look of defiance, the ‘I can do it myself’ hands clenched into fists, and he knew he had to let her work through it, she had to come to him.  

“Maybe, you could take me out sometime, on that date you were so adamant about?” (Y/N) looked quite proud of herself, voice calm and easy as she spoke, and he was proud of her too, a full grin breaking across his face.  

“Just say when, doll.”  

Bucky beamed, and he didn’t even try to hold it back. For all the shit that he’d dealt with that day, all the hard moments, the anxiety, the adrenaline, the heartbreak, the relief, he believed that he’d earned this pocket of joy, so he took it. Bucky was so caught in his little moment that he didn’t realize she’d moved until he felt her hands pressing something into his, a sweet smile on her lips.  

“I’ll need your number,” she suggested.  

“Of course,” he hid his embarrassment by looking down, concentrated a creating a new contact; double, triple checking the number for accuracy.  

“So, I'll let you know,” she concluded, though they both lingered, grasping for anything to keep the interaction going.  

“I’ll be waiting.”  

Bucky thought he might leave now, it would be logical, the right thing to do, but he wanted to stay, still fighting his emotional turmoil, remembering that she was here, alive, she was okay. God, he wanted to touch her again, show his body that she was warm, blood was pumping through her, she was safe. He’d waited this long, a part of him said fuck it, what’s the worst that could happen, but he wanted to be good for her, to wait, to be what she deserved. It killed him, but he pulled back, stood up straight, gave her a lopsided smile and a silly salute, before turning and walking down the hallway.  

Bucky thought he was imagining it, the sound of footsteps pounding on the carpeted floor, but when a hand encased his, yanking to turn him around, (Y/N) was very real in front of him. Her eyes were wild, roving with so many emotions, it left him breathless, entirely unprepared. She took his face in her hands, lips colliding with his in a fury of passion, which he was more than willing to return. She moved against his mouth, something he’d thought of for months, but to actually feel her, to taste her? He wasn’t prepared.  

All too soon, she was pulling away, though her hands still held his head in place, eyes boring into his, her breath coming in short pants, and she smiled. A little giggle left her lips, and he fell all over again.  

“Thank you, Bucky, for everything.”  

And then she was gone. Disappeared down the hall, the only thing signaling she had even been there the light ‘thud’ of her apartment door closing, and the faint memory of her kiss against his lips.  

[hakimalib]

"PUBG Mobile" 0.17.0 now Live!

This update requires approximately a total of 1.69 GB of storage space on Android, and 1.95 GB of storage space on iOS. Players on different versions are unable to invite one another, so update as soon as possible!

Update 0.17.0 Patch Notes

• 2nd Year Anniversary: Amusement Park Mode in Classic Erangel

• Royale Pass Season 12: 2gether We Play! (Available March 9th)

• Arctic Mode: Brand New Survival Experience (Available Soon)

• New AirDrop Weapon: DBS Shotgun

• New Arcade Mode: Return of Hardcore Mode

• Death Replay

• Colorblind Mode

Update before March 6th to receive:

• 50 Silver

• 2,888 BP

• 3 Day Anniversary Pan Skin

New Content in Classic Mode:

1. Erangel - Amusement Park Mode (available from March 12th)

Players have a chance to enter Amusement Park Mode during Erangel matchmaking in Classic Mode, which includes:

• Amusement Parks: In this mode, old school amusement parks will appear randomly in three locations on the Classic Erangel map.

• Arcade Machines: Interactive Arcade Machines will be placed in the amusement parks and major towns, which can be activated with Tokens.

• Games and Attractions: Hunt Game, Space War, What's in the Box, Shooting Range, Trampoline and Reverse Bungee.

• Reverse Bungee + Wingsuit: High-rise Reverse Bungee machines will appear in the middle of the amusement parks. Players can be launched into the air to use their parachute and glide again.

• DBS, a double-barreled shotgun that can only be obtained through AirDrops.

• The DBS has an internal magazine that holds 14 rounds of 12 Gauge ammo that can fire 2 shots each rack.

• The DBS will need to be racked from the magazine after 2 shots, which is faster compared to previous shotguns' reloading speeds.

• The DBS can be outfitted with the Holographic Sight, Red Dot Sight, and 2x - 6x Scope.

• Independent Teammate Volume Control

Now supports adjusting the voice volume of a single teammate in battle. Players can adjust volume according to their teammates' voices.

• Universal Mark

Added Universal Marks, which allow players to mark locations, supplies, vehicles, death crates and doors. When marking, the corresponding marks are displayed according to the different objects. Players can mark and respond to teammates' marks for quick communication. Preferred settings can be configured in Settings.

• Death Replay

Added Death Replay, which allows players to watch how they were eliminated. Players can watch from the attacker's perspective for a certain time prior to their deaths.

• Colorblind Mode

Added Colorblind Mode in Graphics Settings, which provides more color options for in-game indicators, such as Poison, Smoke, and Auxiliary Lines.

New Arcade Mode Content:

• Return of Hardcore Mode

Hardcore Mode can be selected in the Arcade Mode selection screen. In this mode, there are no sound prompts, manual actions are required like pick-up and opening/closing doors. All to give players a more realistic shooting and survival experience.

New EvoGround Content:

• Added Arctic Mode (coming soon)

Based on Classic Mode gameplay, arctic storms appear periodically in Vikendi. Players need to maintain their body temperature through various means, otherwise their health will continuously decrease when their body temperature is low.

Ways to maintain body temperature:

• Use a lighter to light a fire indoors and gather branches to add to the fire to increase heating time.

• Hunt chickens to acquire raw chicken and roast it on the fire, then consume the roast chicken to restore body temperature.

• Use items such as the heater or heat packs.

Other Contents:

• Snowboards from the Winter Festival will also appear in this mode for players to enjoy snowboarding.

• Added Drones that can scout the surrounding area, leading to new tactics.

• EvoGround Gameplay Adjustments

Survive Till Dawn and RageGear - PickUp will be removed for further tuning after the update. Please keep an eye on the update notes for future release dates.

• Team Deathmatch - Camera Improvements

Improved the camera shaking and position adjustment in some situations in Team Deathmatch FPP mode to increase realism.

• Royale Pass Season 12: 2gether We Play (available from March 9th)

1. Celebrate the 2nd anniversary of PUBG MOBILE with Royale Pass reward upgrades. Choose one ultimate set out of two. Anniversary theme items are returning to the Shop. Don't miss out!

2. Improved the Purchase and Upgrade interface display and added support for Exclusive Vouchers (available from events).

3. Players who did not purchase a Royale Pass during the past 3 seasons (9, 10 and 11) and players who registered from season 10 but have not purchased a Royale Pass before will receive bonus benefits when they purchase this season.

System Features: Brothers in Arms Function

1. Through Brothers in Arms, veterans with rich game experience will guide and play together with rookies in the game. Rookies can learn from the veterans and master the game quickly, while the veterans can receive great rewards.

2. Players can enter the Brothers in Arms system and register as a Rookie or Veteran. Rookies send invitations to recommended Veterans, and Veterans who have enabled the Rookie Matching status will receive the invitation. The two will enter the battle after matching, which supports Classic mode rating calculations.

Anniversary Celebration (available from March 12th):

• Anniversary Celebration Event

• During the Anniversary Celebration, all players on the server work together to achieve the event goals and receive rewards.

• Individual Events allow players to claim rewards after completing the corresponding missions.

• Event rankings that grant players various rewards corresponding to their points ranking.

• Anniversary Celebration Achievements

• The Anniversary Cake collection achievement returns

• 2nd Anniversary new mini-game achievement

• Anniversary login exclusive achievement

Classic Mode Improvements:

• Firearm Balancing

• Slightly increased rifle burst mode rate of fire.

• M16A4 balance adjustment: Slightly increased burst mode rate of fire and increased vertical and horizontal recoil.

• Increased Mk47's single-shot damage from 46 to 48

• Classic Mode - Other Improvements

• Upgraded Dacia and UAZ models

• Modified the UZI model: added an upper guide for equipping the Red Dot and Holographic Sight

• Improved skydiving animation details, added parachute descending and disappearing effects when landing, and improved the character landing animation

• Control Settings - Custom Layout Improvements: Increased maximum button size adjustability to 250%

• Control Settings - New Custom Setting Feature: The left Fire button can be moved off of the edge of the screen as long as the center point of the button is on the screen

• Improved the Molotov Cocktail flame particle effect

• Improved the Frag Grenade blast effect on different surface materials

• Added player standby emotes on all maps in Classic Mode, for example, Shivering emote in Vikendi. The standby emote is only visible to the player and their teammates in battle.

• Added a second confirmation to the Reset button in Custom Settings to prevent players from resetting the layout by mistake.

• Removed the unnecessary virtual sound settings for vehicles. Fixed issues of Dacia idle volume being too low, Motorcycle idle volume being too high and Rony idle volume being too high.

• Feature Improvements

Improved Bluetooth headphone latency on some Android models

• Improved Performance

• Improved vegetation and combat rendering efficiency for smoother gaming and lower power consumption

• Improved low-level logic and UI efficiency on some Android models for lower power consumption at the same frame rate

• Increased the combat frame rate of some low-end devices for a smoother gaming experience

• Further improved the power consumption of some mid to high-end devices

• Improved the frame length issue on some Android devices for smoother operating experience.

• Effect Upgrade

Added support for streamers, plush, neon streamers, and better UI and fabric effects.

• Added Team Reservation

• Players with 50 or higher Synergy can send Team Reservation messages to friends in the game.

• Players in the game can receive friends’ Team Reservation messages and choose to accept or decline.

• When the reserved player returns to the Lobby, the system will send a notification to the two to team up.

• Popularity Improvements

• Added high-value gift “Airplane” with additional playback effect in player Spaces.

• Added Message. Players can attach a message when sending Sports Cars or Airplanes, and the player who receives the message can perform Pin, Reply, Delete and other actions (Also added Block Message to Blacklist).

• Added a Send Popularity Gifts function to the battle results interface of Teammate Spectating, EvoGround, and Team Deathmatch modes.

• Synergy Feature Improvements

• Improve Synergy through teaming up with or gifting coins among friends.

• Some space gifts can also help improve Synergy upon sending to friends, which has no daily Intimacy increase limit.

• Adjusted the proportion of Synergy increasing when sending gifts in Shop.

• Fixed the issue of losing Connection application in some situations.

• Radio Feature

• Added chat item "Radio." Players can use Radio to post Radio messages with an exclusive effect on the World channel

• Players can receive Radio messages in the main menu or in the World 2channel, or choose to block the Radio channel in Settings

• Crew Challenge Upgrade

• Player and crew verifications are required for players participating in Crew Challenge. Players in a crew need to link social platforms or complete in-game missions to increase their and their crew's verification points. Only crews that meet the corresponding verification requirements can advance to each phase of the Crew Challenge.

• A fair and exciting game requires a safe environment. For Group and Finals phases, a security test is required before the game begins.

• Bonus Challenge - Tournaments

• Experience the thrill of advancement: Daily Match -> Weekly Match -> Monthly Match competitions! Monthly match champions will advance to the online finals and compete for the opportunity to enter the offline finals or to watch the global finals at the venue and see well-known players in action!

• Open daily to all: Six major divisions with matches every day

• Esports Center

• Added a landing page for players to find interesting content easily

• Added Influencer & Crew options to the Video Center for players to follow their favorites, watch videos related to them, and send messages to them

• Other Improvements: Increased loading speed for smoother experience.

• Added Grenade kill broadcast

Added legendary Golden Grenade Finish with Death Broadcast

• Inventory Improvements

Added Close-Up View: The game will automatically switch to close-up view when players are trying on helmets, hats, glasses, masks, and backpacks

• Rookie Mission

Improved the 7 Day Rookie Missions tutorials and rewards

• Tutorial Improvements

• Removed the Graphics Quality Selection prompt in the tutorial.

• Changed the Tutorial options from three to two, and game type proficiency options from Shooting Game to Battle Royale Game

• Download Improvements

• Improved download status: When a download task is in the waiting queue, players can tap the task again to cancel the wait and restore the status to downloading.

• Reset Resources Pack and Map Expansion Pack rewards, which can be collected after downloading.

[rosejigglypuff76]

A new photomanip artwork revolving around some of the characters from THSC Facade AU 🌟

This features Saki Yumeno, Rookie, and a few other characters hanging out in the Gaming Club at their school 🎀

There's also two random Among Us beans in the background, but they won't play a role in the THSC Facade AU, unlike Rookie who will play a support role 🌹

Feel free to mention who the two background beans are in the comments below 💖

1st Slide - With Characters 2nd Slide - Without Characters

THSC Facade AU Collab made with portable_ml (on Instagram/YouTube)