#and then she started being too persistant which was the official turn-off

[musubiki]

potential clarinette design?

(the girl lime dated for a short time during the timeskip to try and get over mochi. shes currently trying to get him to go out with her again)

[hugmekenobi]

S3: The Bad Batch (4)

Chapter Four: A Different Approach

Gif by @azertyrobaz

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: Ever since Eriadu, Clone Force 99 had been a fractured squad. Months have passed but you're finally back with the Batch but Omega is still out there and you won't stop until you find her again.

Chapter Summary: A reunion may be on the cards sooner than you thought

Masterlist for S1 and S2

<Previous Chapter

Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers (we're in the lovers stage now)

Chapter Warnings: Canon-typical violence, gambling, again we have my interpretation of headspaces, limited use of y/n, fluff and mild angst, discussion of character death, protective reader and Hunter, reader and Crosshair kinda get into it

Word Count: 5.3K

Author's notes: Now we're getting into part of the series where each episode allows for a bit more creative license which I'm very excited about! It starts with the end of this one and I hope y'all like it! Also, with regards to tagging people, I'm only tagging the users who still officially register when I do it. Please, please let me know if you want tagged/for me to try your username again!!

Sparks flew from the control as Omega did her best to stabilise them, but it was proving to be a rather challenging task. “I could use some help up here! Our comms are down. I can’t contact Hunter!”

From down below in the shuttle, Crosshair was also doing his best to get things under control but the smoke, electrical malfunctions and the persistent screech of the alarm told him that was a very unlikely outcome. He analysed the screen dictating the state of the ship. “That’s not the priority. The ship sustained heavy damage.”

“I can see that.” Omega retorted.

Crosshair made his way back up to the co-pilot’s seat, with Batcher following close behind. “Get the stabilizers back online!”

“That’s what I’m trying to do.” Immediately after she said that a large spark of electricity crackled from the console and the ship was torn out of hyperspace and spiralled towards the planet ahead.

“We have to land.”

“A little hard to do when nothing’s working.” Omega snapped at him as she fiddled with the steering but to no avail.

The ship entered the atmosphere and started to plummet towards the ground.

Omega pulled hard on the lever to even out the ship as the ground grew ever closer. It was all she could do before it crashed landed and skidded along the surface.

When it finally came to a halt, Omega opened the glass roof to allow them all to get some air and eventually exit the wrecked vehicle. She looked in dismay as the controls fully shut off and the last dying spark flickered. “This will take forever to repair.”

Crosshair exhaled a sore sigh as he got his bearings, but that soreness was soon replaced by irritation as the hound pushed insistently on the back of his chair. “No. there’s no time for that.” The dog’s fussing got too much for him. He stood up to allow her to jump past him and off the shuttle.

“We need to get the nav reader online to extract the coordinates to Tantiss for when we go back.” Omega said, turning to look at him.

He couldn’t understand how she’d only just escaped that hell and was already talking about returning. “We’re not going back.”

“We left the other prisoners behind.”

“And the Empire is going to be searching for this ship and us.” He grabbed the pack with the blasters and hopped out of the shuttle. “We have to move. I scanned a spaceport a few clicks east. We’ll start there.”

Omega followed his example and let him lead the way to the spaceport.

--

With the establishment of the new plan being they would get to the spaceport and sneak onto a shuttle, they acquired their disguises and the two of them blended in with the civilians of the town.

They walked past the various troopers in the town as casually as they could so as not to arouse any unnecessary suspicion.

Omega warily analysed the situation ahead as they reached the spaceport. “It’s too well-guarded. We’ll never slip past all those troopers undetected.”

“I can take out at least half before they know what’s happening.” Crosshair stated confidently.

“Or… or we could try a way that doesn’t involve blaster fire.” Omega countered.

“Like what?” Crosshair asked, his voice filled with doubt.

“Watch and learn.” With that, Omega calmly led the way to the ticket attendant.

“Oh, I can hardly wait.” Crosshair said with a sigh as he followed a few paces behind.

“Hello. We’d like two tickets on the next shuttle please.” Omega requested pleasantly.

“Chain codes?” Came the standard reply from the attendant.

“About that. We lost our chain codes.” Omega said coyly.

“No chain codes, no passage.”

“Right. But you see, a problem for us could be an opportunity for you if, say, you knew of an alternate way of booking passage without a chain code.” She advanced towards the desk.

The attendant leaned forward. “Are you insinuating that I should take bribe?”

“If that’s what you want to call it.” Omega replied, feigning innocence.

“I do. And that could be arranged… for 15,000 credits.”

Omega’s composure slipped slightly upon hearing that price, “For two tickets?” She exclaimed.

“Per ticket. And it’s non-negotiable. You’re lucky I’m not charging extra for the creature.”

“Where do you expect is to get 30,000 credits?”

“Sounds like a you problem. Don’t come back without the credits.” The attendant waved a hand in dismissal.

Omega hung her head in defeat and left the port with Crosshair.

“Well, that went well.” Crosshair remarked sarcastically.

“Stow it.” Omega grumbled.

--

“Storming the spaceport would be easier than finding 30,000 credits.” Crosshair hissed as they aimlessly wandered the streets of the town.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Don’t be naïve. Every second we’re here, we’re at risk.”

They came to a stop outside a bar.

“The quite wasting time complaining.” Omega argued before two troopers exited the bar and they both averted their gaze, but the opening of the door had given Omega another idea. “I think I know how we can make some fast credits.”

“Of course you do.” Crosshair mumbled as he saw her getting ready to make her way into the bar. The fluttering of a scrappy piece of paper caught under a nearby crate grabbed his eye before he entered, and he came to a sudden stop as he picked it up and saw what- or rather who- was on it.

Omega noticed he had stopped and when she turned back to enquire what was wrong, the question died on her lips as she saw what he was looking at. Only half the information on the sheet was news to her, but the rest made her eyes widen in shock. By the looks of things, you had been on your own for the time she’d been on Tantiss and clearly, you’d stopped hiding. And judging by the harsh language and substantial reward offering, the Empire wasn’t too happy about that. Now, not only was there the trouble of how exactly this information would go down between you and Crosshair but she also couldn’t count on the fact that you were back with Hunter and Wrecker. She glanced up at Crosshair and, despite the fact that most of his face was covered, he could not conceal the emotions that flashed behind his eyes. “Oh… um… she- well back when- I’m sure she would’ve told-” She broke off with a sharp breath as she struggled to find the words to say.

“Doesn’t matter.” Crosshair said dismissively, crumpling it up and putting it away before he carried on into the bar. The fact that Omega seemed to already have an idea of what your… situation… gave him enough of a timeline to go off of.

“One thing at a time, right girl?” Omega said with a shaky breath, patting Batcher’s side as the hound nuzzled into her. Putting her mind onto the task at hand, she too entered the bar.

--

The bar itself was relatively busy, especially compared to how Cid’s had usually been, and it gave Omega the chance to study her potential adversaries from their booth by the wall unnoticed.

“That’s your plan? You want to hustle someone?” Crosshair repeated sceptically. What had they taught this kid?

“I’ve done it before, and I prefer to think of it as a temporary requisition of funds.”

“And bet with what? We don’t have anything.”

“They don’t know that.” Omega said with a cheeky grin.

“And if you lose?”

“Well… I guess we’ll be in more trouble.” With that, she made her way to the card table in the middle of the bar and sat across from the Trandoshan and got her performance ready to go.

--

To say that Crosshair was surprised would be an understatement, the kid was winning every hand against the Trandoshan and securing credits within a matter of minutes. Whatever experience she’d gained with the rest of his squad was clearly something to be admired. Although the mental image of Hunter even allowing her to hone such a skill felt very out of place, he was quietly grateful for it right now.

The bar came to a sudden hushed silence as the door opened. Omega heard Crosshair clear his throat in warning and she looked to the entrance to see an Imperial officer flanked by two troopers enter. She studied them carefully but remained at the table as she won the next hand much to the Trandoshan’s disappointment. “I think I’ll quite while I’m ahead.” She said in response to his pleas for another game. Having an Imperial official here complicated matters and it was time she, Crosshair and Batcher left.

“Leaving so soon?”

Omega turned her head to face the officer as he stood by the table.

“You’re in my seat.”

The Trandoshan let out a low snarl before he departed and gave up his seat to the man.

Crosshair tensed as he saw the Imperial sit but Omega waved him back.

“So, you think you’re good at this game?”

Omega replied with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders.

“Want to try against a, uh, real opponent?” He suggested to the young girl. “I insist.”

--

“Your mutt don’t seem to like me.” He said as the dog released a series of growls.

“She’s harmless.” Omega said in reply as she organised her cards.

“She’s a distraction. Get rid of her.” He demanded.

Omega signalled to Crosshair to take her out.

Crosshair got to his feet, clicked his tongue, and led Batcher to wait outside.

The Imperial watched them go. “Never seen you or your dad around before.” He commented.

“We’re just passing through.” Omega replied as she watched him flip the next card and the rise in murmurs indicated that both he and the crowd seemed to think her time was up.

“Eh, I’ll admit you’re not bad. But you seem to have misunderstood your enemy.”

Omega only smirked, “Did I?” She placed her cards down and flashed the set of the three Eastern Stars. Game over. “I’ll take those 20,000 credits.” She grew nervous however when his two guards made to approach the table.

He held a hand up to stop them. “I concede. You beat me fair and square.” He gave her the credits. “Nicely played.” He left the table.

The Imperial went back to his men and one of them addressed him.

“Sir. Patrol found a crashed Imperial vessel on the outskirts of town.”

“I wasn’t notified about any shuttles arriving today.” He angled back to look at the two strangers with a newfound sense of suspicion. “Now, hang on a minute.”

Omega gathered the credits in her bag and, now that Crosshair had returned, she got up to leave with him, but the familiar voice of the Imperial stopped them both.

“We’re not done here.” He chuckled coolly. “You haven’t paid your fine.”

“What fine?” Omega asked.

“Gambling’s illegal in these parts.”

“What?” Crosshair snarled as he made to step forward, but Omega’s arm stopped him.

“The law is the law. Now, all you gotta do is pay the fine. And I’ll be on my way.”

“How much?” Omega asked him as she did her best to keep her disgust at bay.

“Ten thousand credits… unless you prefer to be arrested instead.”

Omega got the credits out and handed them over.

“Excellent. Consider your fine paid in full.” He said smugly. “Try and stay out of trouble.” He dipped his cap and left the establishment.

Omega sighed in relief. “Let’s get out of here.”

Crosshair caught her shoulder. “How many credits do we have left?”

Omega checked the bag. “Thirty-five thousand. Enough for two tickets and a little extra.” She made the first move to leave.

--

“Crosshair, where’s Batcher?” Omega asked anxiously as she scanned the area for her companion.

“Oy. You looking for that hound?”

The two of them turned to look at the young boy speaking to them.

“You know where she went?” Omega queried.

“Sure do, but the answer’s gonna cost you. Ten thousand credits.”

The fact that he was a child made no difference, Crosshair sighed and stood intimidatingly over the boy. “I’m getting tired of this.”

“Okay, okay.” The boy backtracked. “Five, but that’s my final offer.”

Omega touched Crosshair’s arm to call him off before she gave the boy the money.

The boy examined the credits before he supplied the information, “That Imperial officer and his troopers snatched the creature and headed for the cargo docks. Down that way.” He pointed. “Nice doing business with ya.” He ran away from them before they could change their mind about the money.

Omega started off in the direction of the docks.

“Omega.”

She angled back to face Crosshair. “You heard him. Batcher’s this way.”

“And the spaceport is that way. Forget the hound. We have to get off this planet.”

“We never would be escaped without Batcher. I’m not leaving her.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“I’m not abandoning her!” Omega angrily tossed the bag of credits at him. “Take the credits. If you wanna go, then go. I’ll find my own way.” She stormed off.

Crosshair watched her go but before he got ready to go his own way, he felt guilt coil in his gut. It was becoming very clear as to the impact she could have on someone and explained why his squad had cared so much for her since he too found himself following her rather than doing the more sensible thing of leaving from the spaceport.

--

“Fine. We’ll do this your way.” Crosshair agreed begrudgingly as he placed the bag down before Omega scaled the gate to the cargo docks herself. “But my skills are being wasted.” He offered his hands as a means to boost her over the top.

Omega gave him a warm smile, “Noted.” With his assistance she was able to climb over the gate with ease.

Crosshair made the quick climb after her and together, they snuck through the docks looking for where Batcher was being kept.

Omega then heard a series of whines and she saw Batcher’s cage. “There’s Batcher.” She signalled to Crosshair before she analysed the situation around her. “Shouldn’t we free the other animals too?”

“Don’t push it.” Crosshair replied.

--

They had managed to covertly make their way around to get better access to the centre console but before they could make a move, that dull voice spoke up.

“I thought you’d come searching for your mutt. Yeah, unfortunately for you, Lau has a very strict pet policy. No license means a hefty fine.”

“How much this time?” Omega asked, pretending to play along as the two of them were swiftly surrounded by troopers.

“How ‘bout you give me all my money back? Credits won’t do you any good when Hemlock shows up.” He saw the shared looked between them. “Oh, did you think I wouldn’t piece it together when I found that crashed shuttle? Nothing gets by me. I run this town.” He drew his own blaster. “So, hand over the credits and surrender.”

Omega sighed, “Alright.” She chucked the bag to the Imperial. “Let’s try things your way.” She murmured to Crosshair.

“Finally.” Crosshair waited until Omega ducked to cover before firing the first shot, but he noticed his hand was still no unsteady and his aim was more compromised than he liked.

Omega used the chaos of the firefight to get to the controls and release all the animals, the resulting stampede thinning out the Imperial forces and reuniting her with Batcher.

“I’ll handle this. Take Batcher, and power up the ship.” Crosshair ordered. He provided her cover fire as she got the ship ready and when he saw a break in the blaster fire, he made his move towards the step.

Once he was on board, Omega got the cargo ship in the air and into the safety of hyperspace.

--

You had remained on the ship to study Tech’s datapad and the various planets and their coordinates whilst the other two dealt with the lead on this particular planet, but its name escaped you- you’d been to so many in this sector already, the names of them were beginning to blur together.

You were doing what you could to try and determine the next, more efficient course of action whilst the others were out but the words and data on the screen were moulding into one pile of unintelligible information. You put the datapad down for a minute and rubbed your eyes as you huffed a tired breath from your lungs. You stretched your neck and adjusted your posture but before you picked the datapad back up, a faint chirping caught your ears.

You swivelled in your chair to see the communications light flashing and you knew you weren’t supposed to be hearing from Echo any time soon. So, when you patched the encrypted message through and untangled it to find coordinates to the moon just outside of Ryloth, you knew there was only one other person who could’ve sent it.

You jumped out of your chair and cleared the steps of the Marauder in one leap before you sprinted to find Hunter and Wrecker.

--

“What’s wrong?” Hunter asked urgently as he saw you come running towards them.

You shook your head as you glanced between them. Your breath was heavy from the running but also from excitement as you said, “It’s Omega.”

--

“Look, I hate to be the one to say it, but what if this message is a trap?” Wrecker broached carefully as the ship flew through hyperspace.

“Who else would know those codes?” You disputed.

“But if the Empire has her…”

“If it’s a trap, then we’ll get out of there but if it is her… we need to be there, Wrecker.” Hunter said as the ship disengaged from hyperspace, and he entered the landing cycle. There was no sign of another ship yet, but he opened the door anyway.

“There’s no one here.” Wrecker murmured, wringing his own hands anxiously.

“Then we wait.” You said calmly though your own heart was pounding.

--

“The Empire will be able to track this vessel. We need to ditch it.” Crosshair advised as he entered the cockpit after getting rid of the hat and face covering that he had donned back in Lau.

“We will. I’m heading to a remote location, and I sent a coded transmission for Hunter and Wrecker and (Y/N) to meet us there.” Omega responded. She only hoped you’d be with them too.

Now that this reunion was approaching ever closer, he found himself unprepared for what was to happen next. “Omega. It’s- it’s been months. You don’t know if they’re still ali-”

“They’ll be there.” Omega interrupted sharply.

The ship exited hyperspace and as she peered out the window, she saw the welcomed sight of the Marauder waiting there.

Omega dashed down the ship’s steps but paused as she saw no immediate sign of any of you.

--

A few hours had passed but there was still no sign of the ship and nerves were starting to get the better of you all.

Hunter had begun pacing the length of the cockpit, you had not stopped fidgeting with your vibroblade and alternated between that and examining the hilt of your lightsaber, and Wrecker was busying himself around the rest of the ship.

You saw the uneasy expression on Hunter’s face, and you pulled yourself together enough to be there for him. You caught his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes. “Just wait, take a breath. She’ll be here, Hunter. I know it.”

“But-” He broke off as he heard the sound of a ship landing and a whole different type of nerves overtook him.

Wrecker made the first move to look outside and what he saw filled him with pure joy. “Now there’s a sight!”

Take your time. You caressed Hunter’s cheek with a comforting and utterly relieved smile before you ran outside to join Wrecker.

Hunter braced his hands on the back of the pilot’s chair. He needed a minute to gather himself. This was the moment he had been seeking out for months but part of him couldn’t quite believe it was happening.

--

“Wrecker!” Omega cried in relief as she ran towards him and let him pick her up.

“I wasn’t even sure your message was real!” Wrecker said with a happy laugh as he held her close.

“I knew you’d show up.” Omega closed her eyes and let the comfort of his strong hold overtake her.

“We wouldn’t have missed it.”

Omega opened her eyes to the sound of your voice, and she smiled brightly as she saw you standing just behind him.

You knelt down with your arms open as Wrecker lowered her.

Omega fell into your embrace and nuzzled into your shoulder. “I wasn’t sure if- I thought you might’ve been-” She pulled away with a teary sniff.

You tilted your head as you tenderly wiped away the tears that had slid down her cheek and stroked a hand through her hair, the longer length of it a painful reminder of how much time had truly passed. “I’m right here, nothing happened to me.” You didn’t need to worry her about past events right now- that rehashing undoubtedly would come up later- but this current moment was something to be celebrated and not clouded by anything else.

Omega went to clarify what she meant but Wrecker’s words stopped her.

“We crossed the galaxy four times looking for you.” Wrecker revealed, wiping his own tears away.

“Five.”

Omega glanced past you as she heard Hunter’s voice and the sight of him created a feeling of pure elation that she wasn’t sure she would never experience again.

“But you’re the one who found us.” Hunter said with a smile from the doorway of the Marauder.

Omega started to run towards him.

Hunter darted down the steps two at a time and came to his knees as he held his arms out to her.

Your heart swelled and the emotions of the moment got stuck in your throat. That sight had been one you had been waiting to see for quite some time. You sensed and visibly saw how relaxed and content he looked, and you felt tears prick at the corners of your eyes.

Wrecker put a friendly arm around your shoulder as you both go to your feet, and he saw your reaction to their reunion. He too felt himself getting caught up in it all. Finally, things were looking up.

“We missed you, kid. We never stopped searching.” Hunter said affectionately and as he tightened his hold on her and felt her reciprocate, for the first time since Ord Mantell, he felt truly at peace. He pulled away but kept his hands on her shoulders, “But how did you escape?”

Omega hesitated before saying, “I had help.”

Hunter looked past her to see… well to see his brother descend the stairs of the ship, but what hit him was far more complicated than the relief he had been experiencing a mere second before.

You all followed his eyes and whatever happiness and lightness that had been surrounding you all immediately vanished and was replaced by a palpable tension as you all faced the clone that walked down the steps.

Your hand automatically came to cover your lightsaber.

Omega gaze darted between you all and she saw the shift in body language as well as the serious and distrusting expressions on all of you. It appeared she may have miscalculated as to how this smoothly this particular reunion would go.

“We can do this now and remain by a ship the Empire will be currently tracking, or we can get out of here.” Crosshair said simply.

Hunter placed a guiding hand on Omega’s back and jutted his head to Crosshair as the rest of you boarded the ship.

Crosshair followed them, with Batcher now close on his heels and the Marauder entered hyperspace once more.

--

Omega stood in the middle of the hallway. None of you had so much as made a sound or really moved since the ship had begun the journey back to Pabu and it was getting rather unbearable. “So… I got a dog! Her name’s Batcher.” Omega said with an uneasy laugh into the dead silence of the ship, but it got no reaction. The four of you continued your standoff with Crosshair positioned down the hall of the ship closest to her room/gun turret and the rest of you closer to the cockpit. All of you had your arms crossed and you, Hunter and Wrecker looked particularly guarded. She took that resulting quiet as her cue to perhaps let you all have it out right now. She took a seat and called Batcher over to sit by her feet and waited.

It was Crosshair who broke the silence first, “Where’s Echo?”

“Working with Rex.” Hunter replied briskly.

Crosshair released a soft hum in acknowledgement before he asked the question that he’d been putting off since he’d deduced it from how Omega had talked to him all those months on Tantiss, “And Tech… he’s- he’s really gone?”

“Yeah. It-” Hunter released a sad sigh, “It was a mission gone wrong and he- he sacrificed himself for us so we could get away. He knew what he was doing but… yes, he’s gone.”

Crosshair’s jaw tightened. He knew exactly what mission Hunter was referring to. “So much for Plan 88.” He couldn’t help but say, the grief and tense situation getting the better of him.

“What?” You remarked with a glare.

“You were supposed to stay hidden.”

“We couldn’t do that.” Wrecker said grimly. “Not when it looked like you were in trouble.”

“We couldn’t leave you behind, Crosshair.” Hunter added quietly, some of the fight leaving him as he recalled the events of Eriadu.

“Why? You never had trouble doing that before.” Crosshair retorted harshly.

“Excuse me?” You growled.

“Hey, it’s okay, don’t-” Hunter came to stand in front of you, but you stepped past him.

You couldn’t help it, the protectiveness that hit you was all you could act on. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to throw your choices back in his face. You were offered a different path, but you decided the Empire was where you wanted to be. And yet, despite all of that, the moment we found out you needed us, there was no real alternative. We never knew what had happened to you, but we didn’t need to. All we knew was that you were in trouble. We all knew the risks of ignoring that plan… Tech knew the risks. Don’t you dare-”

Crosshair wasn’t prepared to explain what happened to him yet, so he kept up with his provocation instead, “You want to talk about risks? What are you playing at staying around with them?”

Hunter and Wrecker both looked sharply towards Crosshair.

Your posture stiffened. “I don’t know what-”

“I may have been out of action but I’m not blind. If the lightsaber on your belt didn’t give it away, the wanted poster I just saw sure as hell did.” Crosshair spat as he flung it towards you.

You unfurled the paper, and your breathing became irregular saw this was one of the more detailed wanted ads that had been circulated. You crumpled it back up and then glanced to Omega who could only offer an apologetic grimace that she couldn’t warn you earlier, “That’s what I was trying to tell you.”

You looked back to the clone, “Crosshair, I-”

“You’re a Jedi and that wasn’t something you felt the need to share?”

“Every day.” You said tightly, “But I couldn’t chance something happening-”

“Well, something’s happened now, hasn’t it?” Crosshair bit back angrily. “Do you have any idea the danger you’ve put us in? Do you even care? You’d be doing us a favour by leaving.”

Even Omega joined Wrecker in shaking her head at him this time.

“Crosshair.” Hunter cautioned as he saw the guilt and shame that flashed across your face as your mask of composure slipped. “She’s not going anywhere. We’ve handled it so far.”

“You don’t know what the Empire is capable or what she is. I read what she’s done, and they won’t stop-”

“We’ve got it handled.” Wrecker repeated again as he noticed the way your shoulders started to heave.

Your jaw clenched. “You weren’t there. You don’t know-”

“I was there on Devaron.” Crosshair snapped. “I was there when you decided to join us. I was there when you decided to spend every day lying about what you are.”

“Crosshair.” Hunter warned again and there was no mistaking the protectiveness in his tone or his stance now.

Crosshair picked up on Hunter’s reaction, but he wasn’t to be dissuaded. “You want to judge my decisions, but you betrayed-”

“You don’t get to talk about betrayal, Crosshair.” Hunter interjected coldly as he came to stand by your side.

You only let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, I made my choices in the beginning but when would you have liked me to tell you, Crosshair? On Kaller? But would that have been during or after your attempts to kill the Padawan? Or perhaps you would’ve preferred it on Kamino when Tarkin was there, and you were talking about how great the Empire was and how the Jedi were traitors and what happened to them was justified? Or would you have liked to have a sit down during one of the many occasions you were already actively trying to kill us? Tell me, when should I have entrusted you with this part of me?”

This time he didn’t have a response for you, he just shifted uneasily on his feet and glanced down at the floor.

You continued to speak but there was a distinct sadness to your voice now, “I wished I had been honest with all of you from the start. Truly I do. But after everything that’s happened, I’m glad you’ve only just found out because looking at you now, knowing what I do, I can’t be certain that if you had known what I was on Kaller, that you wouldn’t have tried to kill me too.”

Crosshair went to speak but found that he couldn’t immediately offer the reassurance that was needed.

“You’re our brother, Crosshair, and you’re welcome to stay on Pabu with us but don’t expect any of this to be easy.” Hunter said, placing his hand on your back in support.

“He helped me get out of Tantiss. He’s different now.” Omega remarked quietly.

Wrecker grunted and nodded towards his brother, but you and Hunter made no such moves, instead you both retreated further into the cockpit.

You sat in one of the passenger seats and stared at the paper again as you read the painful reminders of how you’d acted when you’d been separated from them. He’s right, you know.

“No, he’s not.” Hunter disagreed firmly as he knelt before you and untangled the wrinkled piece of paper from your hands. He paid it no attention as he threw it away. He came back and placed his hands on your shoulders as he crouched before you. “Are you alright?”

You breathed deeply and nodded. And you?

Hunter also nodded before he got to his feet and sat in the seat across from you.

--

“So, when did this happen?” Crosshair asked, gesturing to the two of you. The way you both were behaving wasn’t totally different to how things had been in the months before Kaller, but there was a definite shift that marked something more official. There had been a lot he’d missed out on.

“After Tipoca City.” Omega informed him as Batcher eagerly greeted them.

Wrecker enthusiastically petted the hound as he moved closer to Crosshair and Omega. “About time, right?” He added with a hint of humour in his voice, but the stern looks from the two of you had him clearing his throat awkwardly.

Crosshair simply hummed in reply and found himself wondering just quite how difficult things were about to be.

Next Chapter>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @andreaaxy, @dominoeffectsworld, @nightmonkeysstuff, @arctrooper69

[meyousing]

𝒞𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑜, 𝒮𝑜 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝒸𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈

𝓇𝑒𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓉: chrollo with a super obedient reader that just complies to whatever he says and frequently asks him if she can do stuff no matter how many times she's told no

𝓈𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓅𝓈𝒾𝓈: despite your undying loyalty to chrollo, something inside of you persistently wonders if your love truly is mutual, and how he sees you. his answer is unexpected, and leaves you questioning your decisions thus far.

𝓃𝑜𝓉𝑒𝓈: yandere chrollo, sfw, manipulation/gaslighting. part two here!

“What if we got a puppy?” your feet swayed beneath the kitchen island, chin resting upon your interlocked fingers which soon moved to hold your head up by the jaw instead. 

You couldn’t see Chrollo’s visible reaction to this inquiry, his back was turned as he had been brewing the both of you an evening tea. You liked to watch him carry out such mundane tasks, it felt so domestic. As if you two were a normal couple; as if you were a tired wife who just returned home from her irksome job, with your loving househusband catering to your needs so he could help you relax after such a long day. This, instead of an essential cult leader and the woman he saved. But you didn’t see it that way. Chrollo’s power made you view him as your protector, who knew what was best for you and ensured that every decision he made for you was ultimately beneficial. 

He chuckled softly, looking to the side, his charming profile in your sights as he spoke.

“You know we can’t do that, my beloved.” 

You watched him turn his back to you once more, an arm raising as he poured your drinks into the cute, matching “Mr. & Mrs.” mugs that you asked him to buy you as a birthday gift last year. (He questioned if there were any particular reasons why you wanted these mugs, given the officiality of the titles they displayed. You told him that if that was what he desired, then yes).

You did know that you couldn’t do that; get a puppy. Because it was Chrollo who said you couldn’t do that, the same Chrollo who knew what was best for you, after all. You agreed with him. You trusted him. But it couldn’t hurt to have asked. Maybe you’d try again in a few days or weeks. 

You’d like to have another companion at your side for when Chrollo was out on long days with his troupe, with you being unable to join him for obvious reasons, always leaving you alone for so much time. If he said yes, you would have something more to occupy your daytime, too. Reading could only provide entertainment for so long before plots became repetitive or too easy to understand, and while you appreciated his thoughtfulness when he bought you a laptop that couldn’t connect to the internet but still provide you with digital papers to write your own stories on; something tangible and alive like a pet would make your life so much more… lively, so much more fun. But you were unwilling to argue with him, who always had your best interests at heart. Chrollo had never steered you wrong before, it would make no sense for him to start now. 

He was at your side rather quickly, breaking you out of your thoughts by placing your cup down in front of you and sitting at your side with his cup in his fist. You smiled in thanks, placing your hands around the mug to warm your fingers and let the drink cool off before sipping. 

“Would a plush suffice?” you heard him ask, peeking up to watch as he took a quiet swig of his tea. 

It really wouldn’t. This was said from the bottom of your heart, the very truth. But you told that voice to be quiet, that a plush would absolutely be enough. Chrollo may have been asking you this, though he may as well have just said “a plush will suffice.” 

“Of course” you leaned into him, puckering your lips to peck his cheek. His hand swiftly caught you by the jaw and pulled you in for a real kiss, your lips meeting his sweetness with some warmth from the remnants of his pekoe. His thumb brushed over your cheek as you parted. 

“Such a precious thing, you are.”

Is it my obedience that makes him think this? You would continue to be that way if it were the case. But Chrollo was a bit of an enigma, you could never really know. He let you know as much as he wanted you to know, and who were you to ask for more? Once again you hushed that internal voice, you are precious indeed. Chrollo thinks so, so you are. That’s all there is to it. 

You melted as he wrapped an arm over your shoulders, bringing you closer into his embrace. Your temple rested against his chest, the gentle thrum of his heartbeat lulling you into a tranquil state. A tranquil, vulnerable, impulsive state.

“What would you do if I never listened to you?” you couldn’t stop the words before they left your mouth. 

A beat of silence.

You felt him hum. 

His hand on your tricep squeezed. 

“Well…” he laughed. “What use would you be to me then?” 

Ouch. You moved to detach from him, to make eye contact and wonder if what he just said was meant genuinely, to see if his eyes were as honest as his words. His grip on your arm was unrelenting, you squirmed for a moment before coming to your senses; you weren’t going anywhere. 

“What do you mean?” your voice was timid. You knew that you couldn’t accept the truth, that your compliance to his every word was the reason why your life here was so simple, so problem free. What started as an impulsive question that you couldn’t control was now a thought beginning to plague you. What would he do if you didn’t act this way? What if you fought back or if you resisted his commands and advances? 

You were complicit because you loved him. It was a hard pill to swallow, to come to terms with the fact that the version of Chrollo that you were bound with now was not the same Chrollo you fell in love with. In spite of that, there was a part of you that loved him still, even who he was now; the ugly truth of him. 

But if you weren’t this way, if you weren’t obedient and allowed him to control your every decision, then… you would just have no purpose in his life? You could see past his flaws, but he couldn’t see past yours?

“You know exactly what I mean, Y/N.”

Of course, you did. Because it was Chrollo who said you knew that, the same Chrollo who knew what was best for you, after all. 

He held you impossibly closer, both of his arms caging you into his chest as you brought your fists beneath your chin, pressing into him and allowing his warmth to consume you. How much truth did his words bear, if he held you this way? His clench on your arm had long softened, that same hand now rubbing up and down in a very soothing way, a way that had you sighing in contentment. 

Maybe you could play this part for a little longer if it meant being touched with such fragility as if you were a precious artifact of the utmost value. That wasn’t too far off from the truth, was it? You are precious, remember? Chrollo said so. 

You could only play a part for so long, though. It felt wrong to envision, but delight filled you at the image of Chrollo’s potential reaction to a sudden outburst or blatant disagreement on your part. Would he let you off with a warning, or do something grandeur? No matter how far away, you could not wait for that day to come. 

© meyousing 2023. do not share/export my work on to any other platforms. do not translate my work. 

[loverboy-cc]

I had to restart his save since it got corrupted- which means it’s time for a new ref!!

I’ve committed to the fact that this man dresses like an 80s dad in any modern au.

Tries very hard to read as the ideal paladin, good morals, strong sense of justice n what have you. He is unfortunately full of trauma and identity issues, fear of his god is a HUGE THING and breaking his oath accidentally is a perpetual anxiety too.

I’ve also decided he has the shittiest, patchy ass beard. Usually he’s clean shaven bc he doesn’t like having facial hair but he’s not quite adept enough with a dagger to shave with one and tries exactly once to shave (failing miserably, much to Astarion’s entertainment) before giving up until act 3 when he buys himself a new razor.

I really should draw him holding the blood of lathander more but that mf is agonizing to draw man there are, so many layers to it.

I finally remembered to draw his glasses on his ref, yippee.

I’m making him an actual dnd character sheet so I’ll probably attach that once it’s done

I’m side tracked I’m supposed to be talking about his lore huh

Whoops

Anyway, tw for abandoment (passing mention) emotional abuse, death (of a parent + en masse,) mental illness that’s being ignored, chronic pain and illness (also being ignored until he can’t)

His actual like- lore lore is below the break.

Born in the underdark, his mom fucked off with him bc the underdark isn’t a great place to live generally speaking, and she had the means. His dad decided last minute to stay in the underdark.

Taken in by the temple of lathander in elturel bc his mother was chronically ill and not expecting or able to be making this kind of journey on her own with a very small child. Ended up being moved from the temple to a hospital after it was determined that she probably wasn’t getting better.

Charlie ended up being mostly raised by the temple, went to school there and was taught how to read and write + basic math. But spent most of his free time working to pay for his mother’s (and soon his own) medication.

Turns out the of the myriad of issues his mother delt with (migraines, persistent nausea and dizziness, chronic joint issues) were genetic, so by time he hit puberty he was working his ass off to pay for it.

You may ask me “cake, didn’t that aggravate his joint issues?” Yes. Badly. He was not given any other options, the fact that they were alive at all was a godsend (I use the word godsend intentionally, he believes, strongly, that lathander is keeping him alive for some reason beyond his understanding, that is the root of his devotion.)

Did you order mommy issues? Hope so bc he has them in spades. You can only be hear your dying mom say she regrets saving you life as a literal toddler so many times before it starts fucking you up, and she said it (and other delightful(/sarc) things) plenty in the months leading up to when she died.

Shortly after her death, and suddenly needing to work way less (his medication was significantly cheaper than his mothers) he devoted himself to the temple, and was eventually approached bc some kids he went to school with to see if he wanted to join their little class thing. The temple liked to train their folks in groups of 4, in hopes of building strong teams should they choose to stay together.

He agreed, and found out that the temple would pay for his medication in exchange for dedicating himself fully to his training and his studies (and occasionally them using him as a scout, being small, naturally stealthy, and decently quick had its advantages.)

Took his oath with one of the other people he was trained alongside when he was 17, and they were collectively sent to continue their training at the nearby Fort Morninglord.

Things were solid, until he was sent along with a group of seniors to Baldurs Gate as a sort of test to see how he would do on a longer mission before officially joining the Order of the Aster.

He did well, all things considered. Unfortunately between him leaving and returning is when Fort Morninglord got eaten by the shadowfell for some reason. (That’s a canon event btw)

So, with all his friends presumably dead, maybe worse, and all his shit left inside a heavily guarded, very cursed fort. He did the reasonable thing, and fucked right off.

He ended up joining one of the seniors he went to Baldur’s Gate with in going to Waterdeep, while they didn’t particularly need another paladin. The temple of lathander in Waterdeep accepted them both until they were able to find stable employment.

Charlie mainly did small jobs for merchants, working as a guard for high value stuff, moving cargo on/off boats, mostly physical labour. It didn’t pay particularly well, but he could afford a little room above a tavern, and his medication.

That’s where he was, and how he lived for almost 130 years until he got wormed.

May or may not be blindly devoted to Lathander bc of… all that. literally any bad thing to occur to him is swiftly written off as a test of his faith, surprising to damn near everyone he is not one for converting people. (He definitely reads like he would though, it’s the theology special interest, there are few gods he won’t speak extensively on. He just defaults to lathander)

Fr though? Having trouble finding a god to worship? Ask him, he will give you an answer or more accurately- a list.

Yknow when you sprinkle random facts into your characters to make them less flat? Yeah my man collects maps, particularly outdated ones.

The only reason he’s not fucked post-worm is bc it fends off the worst of his usual symptoms. He has conflicted feelings about it (on one hand, being able to put honey in his coffee and not feel like his brain is exploding is nice, on the other, what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck.)

Post game he is left in a… state. He’s gotten used to life with less pain and is absolutely bedridden for a WHILE bc suddenly he’s being hit with his usual pain n symptoms but he’s not used to it anymore so it’s absolutely destroying him.

[stillness-in-green]

Chapter Thoughts: 378 — The Story of How We All Became Heroes, Part 4

Rather belated, but I'm hopefully getting back to something resembling on-schedule. Hit the jump, all. <3

On La Brava and Skeptic—

O  La Brava vs. Skeptic is something I wish I could enjoy more than I do.  I’m very fond of both of them, her dunking on him about his coding habits is very funny, and his reaction faces are always on point!

But…  It was eye-rolling enough that the good guys had La Brava apparently just hanging out on the sidelines this whole time but never even hinted at her as soon as the hacking started, all in the name of a big surprise twist;[1] it’s worse that La Brava is the one who hacked Skeptic when he was just starting out.

Something I’ve been thinking about lately with BNHA, especially wrt to All For One, is the idea that the more characters are connected to one another, the smaller the world feels.  Sometimes that’s what you want!  A small world (in the sense of the scope of it that the story encompasses) can also feel more intimate or more claustrophobic, which are perfectly valid choices!  But for a big heroic action story which, just last chapter, threatened The Whole World, I can’t help but think that the world should feel big and sprawling, full of stuff and people.

There’s obviously a balance to be struck there—go too far, and you wind up with the thing people sometimes complain about in Shonen Jump comics, where every arc introduces a new gang of characters that will cease to be important after the arc ends.  Still, as someone who made the jump from lurker to fandom participant because of how much I adored what the Meta Liberation Army did for the feeling of depth in the HeroAca setting, I like it when Big Stories have Big Worlds.[2]

Can you see where this is going?  It was one thing when La Brava was the only white hat hacker (or at least a nice pale dove gray) the heroes could find to counter Skeptic.  At the very least, she made enough of a splash that I can see someone like Officer Gori, Hound Dog, or Deku bringing her up in the planning sessions.[3]  She has established connections to the heroes, fair and square; my problem with her involvement was never about her relevance, but rather about my being unconvinced that the heroes had changed enough on-panel to ask for a villain’s help.

But her being the one that hacked Skeptic in the past?  That is a line drive straight into  “This makes the world smaller” territory.  Are we to believe Aiba Manami and Chikazoku Tomoyasu are the only hackers in the entirety of Japan?  Because that’s what, “Skeptic has only ever failed once in his entire life, and it just so happens that it was because of the only hacker Deku ever fought.”

O  Skeptic getting collared by the Ketsubutsu squad is bullshit, frankly.  Like, it can’t even have been a full minute since he fled the cave!  I don’t care how “in the area” they were; I know good and well they didn’t teleport to his coordinates, and there’s no other explanation for them getting a heads-up on his location and then just materializing on top of him!  God!  It is so incredibly cheap that the guy set up in Deika as a hacker and a specialist in remote observation—the cameras he has set up on the streets, the information he gathers about the League, all the recording devices he had set up on Hawks, his literal satellite view—keeps getting caught off-guard by heroes turning up on his doorstep.

On Tsukauchi and Trusting Villains—

O  I’m realizing, looking at the official scans, that it’s not Tsukauchi talking about leaving their defenses to villains, but rather the Glasses Cop dude.  I rather preferred my initial impression because I like Hardass Tsukauchi and I persist in feeling that the story would have benefited from Deku and the kids having a nastier confrontation with the adults that represent the system.  It’s good that he’s finally starting to be swayed, but I wish we could have seen it more directly.

The whole “villains are human too” line is great, but I feel like it begs the question, “So how long until someone applies that sentiment to, say, Moonfish?  Muscular?  Gigantomachia?  All For One?”  Tsukauchi’s words are very forthright: each villain, no matter how far they’ve fallen.  Meaning every villain, no matter what.  I wonder how they’ll ever find a way to live up to that?

On Gentle Criminal—

O  Gentle is great; no notes.

Haha, no, of course I have notes.  They’re all positive ones, though!  Get ready; I’m about to have a pile of nice things to say!  More than I have in ages!

This is the first scene that I’ve really thought the heroes, and Deku in particular, has earned in—God, how long?  Way too long.  Gentle and La Brava are my absolute favorite of Deku’s fights because it’s the only fight in the entire series that features Deku keeping the conversation going, engaging with his opponent(s) about what they want and why they want it so badly.  He and Gentle respond to each other; they both recognize their reflections in each other, and, crucially, they both say so out loud.

I think the key thing that makes Gentle’s regard for Deku feel earned in a way Lady Nagant’s does not is that Deku really did give Gentle what he wanted: recognition.  If you look at Gentle’s backstory, it is one person after another rejecting, spurning, or forgetting him.  His school, his parents, the legal system, his old classmates, even the userbase of YoTube!—each and every one of them tells him, implicitly or explicitly, that he’s a failure who won’t amount to anything, a feckless loser with shallow ideals.

La Brava is the first person to acknowledge Gentle’s efforts.  Deku is the second.  Of course Gentle likes Deku and wants to help him!  When we first saw him from the back doing so warm-up bouncing and already wreathed in the effect of La Brava’s quirk, guys, I cheered out loud.  Just a fantastic return that he and Deku earned every inch of.

…The story at large probably did not entirely earn it, but that goes back to the whole thing of me not buying the cops and established heroes asking known villains for help, especially in such apparent secrecy that a bunch of people involved in this operation didn’t know about it (Deku, Mandalay, etc).

Anyway, I like Hardass Tsukauchi roughly addressing Gentle by his family name, especially the nice juxtaposition with La Brava’s heart-eyed enthusiasm and Deku’s very touchingly rendered expression of wide-eyed shock and vulnerable disbelief.

On the Prison Flashback—

O  I mostly like this callback to the one prison that didn’t lose any inmates to the jailbreaks.  It’s a little bit world-shrinking, but also strikes me as a pretty solid use of previously established fact.  Also, it makes Gentle look like a total badass, wow.  I would have appreciated him actually being able to convince one (1) person to stop rather than having to fight them all—prove that Deku’s methods work even when people other than Deku are using them, you know?—but I’m willing to grant that if anybody just wanted to stay in their cell and Do Their Time Fair And Square, they probably wouldn’t have been in the crowd trying to escape anyway!

O  One thing I talked about a bit way back in the Mass Arrest essay was how, in real-life Japan, inmates are grouped by demographic and offense to be sent to prisons that hold mostly others who committed about the same type and severity of crime; it was one of the issues I saw with incarcerating the entire MLA.  Here, we see Gentle—who very much did not commit any particularly nasty offenses; at worst he beat up some heroes—in the company of a bunch of more stereotypical stab-happy types.  I wonder if that means HeroAca!Japan just has such a high crime rate that it doesn’t have the resources to keep up with all that careful sorting, or if administering some mildly humiliating beatings to heroes is enough to get a YouTube criminal sentenced to Maximum Security?

O  Muscular is such a hunk, my god.  He is so hilarious.  What a gallant jailbreaking hero to downtrodden villains!  We should have seen him fight Gentle, though; it’s hard to imagine a quirk more tailor-made to fend him off than Gentle’s.  An air trampoline would have bounced him clear to the next municipality until he stopped having fun and just bailed to go find easier prey.

On that note, given that all AFO asked the Tartarus escapees (with the exception of Nagant) to do was rage to their hearts’ content, it’s maybe just a touch odd to see Muscular involved here.  I had always assumed the prison breaks were mostly carried out by the Noumu!  So did Muscular volunteer?  Did AFO ask?  Did Shigaraki (well, VFO)?  Curious.

O  It is, again, a little world-shrinking that Officer Gori shows up at specifically the one prison out of seven targets that Gentle was at.  I can’t complain too much, though; Gori’s like the only cop in this entire series that has been not a total asshole to some hard-on-their-luck schmuck who wound up in the hot seat, so it just feels like a well-earned reunion.  (Which speaks to the nebulous boundaries of good or bad coincidences—a lot is going to bank on how much the reader likes what’s happening.  As always, if a reader is enjoying themself, they’re less likely to nitpick.)

On Lady Nagant—

O  UNFORTUNATELY, I am not anywhere near as giddy about Lady Nagant’s return as I am about Gentle's.  It’s cliffhangerish enough, however—and the scanlation for the next chapter has been out for long enough—that I’ll talk about her more next week.  I don’t know that I have a lot new to say about her since the last time I broke down why I completely fail to buy her turn, but we’ll see.

Stray Notes—

O  Why does anyone think UA falling out of the sky would be stopped by a new control program?  I realize Skeptic was interfering with the place, but given that it didn’t actually start falling until Shigaraki set off a huge explosion in the middle of it, I assumed the problem was mechanical failure!  Nothing anybody should be expecting La Brava to do about that!

O  It’s heartening to see Deku reflecting back on Shigaraki’s words from Jakku.  It’s a nice contrast to both Endeavor, who took the monologue as an opportunity to catch his breath before immediately starting to attack again, and Deku himself, who at the time didn’t even seem to register what Shigaraki said through the battle adrenaline.  Shigaraki keeps handing Deku the keys to his issues and Deku has ignored them every time, so it’s good to see they’ve at least stuck with him.  I wish we could have seen him weighing those words against The Crying Child, but let me not spurn what tiny bit of progress he is making.

O  The Togawices human-chaining their way across the cables connecting the little attached island to the main body of the school is good stuff.  Appreciate the little beat of Kaminari and Manga-kun being concerned about Aizawa and Monoma, too.  (RIP Manual.  If Iida were here, he’d probably have yelled your name, dude.)

O  It’s funny to me that they gave Gentle the tattered remnants of his costume back—actually, it’s in even worse shape than it was last time he wore it, given that the exaggerated collar of his coat seems to have been detached completely from the coat itself.  But they didn’t just give him and La Brava their costumes back; they also gave Gentle a marker for his eyes.  XD  Gotta have The Look, y’know?

O  Tsukauchi’s mini-flashback of All Might walking off strikes me as mostly thin set-up for some later splashy reveal.

----

1: Go on, ask me how I feel about the Villain Reveal in Disney's Frozen.

2: Everyone please watch the Giant Robo OVAs.

3: Not that any of those three were involved in the planning sessions, mind you.

[mymemoirs]

Python December: A Month of Draining Health Points

December has been siphoning my health points away, and not just me. The people around me are battling the same predicament, with some even ending up in the hospital beds.

In the beginning of the month, my body decided to give out after months of toiling with activities and deadlines. I went through most of the early weeks by using a mask to not let my cough spread to others. My cough persists until now but it wasn't that bad anymore.

On the third week, which is last week, Monday and Tuesday were dreadful to me. My closest colleague and senior had resigned and last week she officially left the company. I lost a close confidant whom I can discuss about work. Although I have a new colleague, it's just different. The senior I can count on is no longer working in the same company with me and now if I have to ask opinion from someone with experiences, I had to go to my supervisors. It's overwhelming that I fumbled with some of my tasks on that week.

It was only after getting off work on Tuesday that I decided to tune myself to the right mindset which is: "Rather than working myself to the bone and getting overwhelmed by trying to do everything at work, I will prioritize what I need to accomplish for this week and focus solely on that."

Wednesday and the rest of my weekdays became a breeze after that. I managed to do work quite well in my opinion and I didn't stressed out too much. I did what I had to do and my mood turned for the better, especially on Friday because TGIF and it's weekend the next day.

Saturday I slept in and just started my daily activities at around 9 or 10 AM. My energy levels are so low that I'm constantly feeling tired or drowsy. I had to have my afternoon nap and slept until 6 PM. I think exercising and waking up early in the morning accounts for the energy levels you would have for the rest of the day.

So, this Sunday, I woke up early and had a quick swim before starting the rest of my activities. It was going great, I was able to do a lot of stuff like cleaning the apartment, cooking my meals and even preparing my powerpoint for my upcoming Year End Presentation. It was until I decided to go to Family Cafe near my apartment for a change of scenery.

I ordered myself a large serving of coffee and laksa oden (such a devilish combo). The food and drinks managed to cheer me up, and as a recharged introvert, I'm ready to socialize. So I began WhatsApp-ing some of my friends while also reading a book. A couple of hours after that, I started to have mild migraine and decided to go home.

The headache persist and I called my dad. He said it might be gastritis, but at the time, my stomach didn't hurt. It wasn't until I ended the call that I'm starting to have stomache pain. I can't even slept on it because it's too painful to sleep in either side. I had to lie face down on the bed and it's the worst especially since I'm alone in the apartment. I called my dad again and he suggested I go to the hospital to get it checked.

I decided to call my friends who live close to me to ask them to go to the hospital with me. The third person I called was able to receive the call and was also going to visit her mother-in-law in the hospital, so I went with her and her husband. In the end, I had to get shots of three different kinds of medicine. This is the first time that my gastristis actually required me to get injection. I think my stomach has became weaker over the months and it finally crumbled in the last month of 2024. Poor stomach.

For the rest of the days to come, I had to be very mindful of what I eat. But December and January is like the pinnacle of festive dinners and dining with friends and families. I really wanted to get well soon before the year ends and start to level up my health points. I'm sick of being sick because I can't focus on things that matter and being the best version of ourselves requires a healthy body.

-Reina

[douchebagbrainwaves]

THE COURAGE OF MONTHS

That gave me a way to make a fortune without noticing. Some, like selflessness, might come from going to drunken parties. I think the root of the problem you think about a world in which it would be misleading even to call them centers. Not all were necessarily supplied by the PR firm. There's still a lot of intelligence to get rich. You're investing your own time in your startup. Youth It's the young nerds who start startups wish they could start a startup, and sell it to colleagues. We get all the paperwork set up properly so there are no misunderstandings. An apartment is also the essence of venture investing. If you can find such a clump, it's probably a good bet, why are smart kids so consistently unpopular? I like being part of this talk became Why Startups Condense in America May 2006 This essay is derived from a talk at AngelConf.

What defines it is the same as Berkeley's: you should live better. In the startup world from investment banking, she has always been that it's difficult to pick them out. If we assume 4 people per startup, which is doing so well they could probably starve the trolls of the lawyers they need. Maybe. When they first start working on a space that contains at least one partner from the VC fund takes a seat on the board of directors. I was one of the biggest ideas at Google is going to be better than you realize. Html 23. But this meant a Google was now setting Microsoft's agenda, and b Microsoft's agenda consisted of stuff they weren't good at. It could only spread to places that already had a vigorous middle class. Persistence Is the Key A lot of startups grow out of ideas?

You'll be better off in Silicon Valley, MIT Press, 2006. If wealth means what people want, and for the first time as an adult. They'll make sure that suing them is expensive and dangerous. But that's not true. So the fact that they have a single format. The Secret Weapon Eric Raymond has written an essay called How to Become a Hacker, Eric Raymond, Ken Anderson, and Dan Giffin for reading drafts of this. Xenophon Mem. The future turned out to be a good thing too, or a new category of things not to eat—the kind where, by spending a lot of the advances that happen in programming languages. 3 million six months in, they probably didn't realize it till I was in Africa last year and I wish we had. Let me put the case in terms a government official would appreciate. So if you need to impress are not very discerning.1

Though it brought many social changes, the Industrial Revolution did is their social disruptiveness. A typical angel round these days might be $150,000 raised from 5 people. So I sent all the founders shared this summer was a spirit of independence. In filtering, this translates to: look at the most advanced theoretical principles. Similar sites include Digg, a technology startup takes some amount of bullshit in your life by more than 6. Morgan was to the customers. The most famous example is probably Steve Wozniak, who originally wanted to build microcomputers for his then-employer Hewlett-Packard. Or business users.

Notes

When governments decide how to allocate research funding moderately well, partly because you need to know how to be driven by money—for example, there was when we created pets. Obviously this is mainly due to the wealth they generate.

[villain-in-love]

😅💘 and 🫂 for Liang? (@canarycurse)

Ah, it's been a while since I talked about Liang and Zero, which is a shame, because they are entertaining. Especially their pining stage, since it is quite literally the case of "first love" for both parties, but both are just... completely clueless and have no idea what to do with it (Equivalent of poking their romantic feeling with a stick and going "what is this?")

Okay, so straight to answering the questions:

😅 did anyone ever mistake you two for a couple? how did you both react?

This is a peculiar case, because Zero didn’t even try to hide her feelings. Everyone knew from the start that she’s more than a little interested in Liang. The question is whether or when he will reciprocate. But honestly, given how Liang himself was fixated on Zero, just on her combat abilities instead of romantically, everyone came to a conclusion that it is most likely that sooner or later this fixation will turn into an actual crush.

Qi and the boys from the cell 13 almost immediately caught up on the fun of teasing Liang by calling Zero his girlfriend, even if they get hit and told off in strong language in return. Seeing Liang all annoyed and flustered is too fun. And later even other people in Nanba, guards and inmates alike, started to treat them as a couple – not even as a joke, but genuinely (they seemed to underestimate how slow this relationship progresses). Some people even started to ship them, truly convinced that "They already act like a couple, it's only a matter of time before it becomes official". Much to Liang’s frustration.

Liang genuinely didn’t understand why others think that they are dating. Zero might have a weird obsession with him, but it doesn't mean that there’s anything actually going on between them. What on earth even gave others the impression that he might be interested in her in that way?? It's honestly getting tiring. Also Liang really doesn't appreciate people assuming things about him, including his feelings towards Zero. (Interestingly enough, after he actually fell for her, Liang became somewhat fine with them being called a couple – he certainly started to deny it more calmly and less persistently...)

Zero herself generally doesn’t care, because, well, that's Zero for you. But she does usually correct people, calmly stating that she and Liang are not a couple, simply because it's more practical to avoid misinformation and misunderstandings. She wouldn't even add a joking "yet", because she doesn't even view dating as her goal.

🫂 what's one significant moment of physical contact you had during the pining stage?

Most if not all of the physical contact during the pining stage was in the context of a combat (what else would you expect from these two?)… But I think one of the most intense moments happened relatively early in their weird friendship, during one of their sparrings.

It happened further in the timeline, after Liang had his fight with Chimney, so he’s already more open to using a more ruthless fighting style from his past as opposed to a sport style of martial arts. That’s a good thing. But apparently, not good enough. The problem is: he was fighting Zero as he would fight another human, and a human he didn’t plan to seriously damage at that. Appropriate for what it is – a friendly sparring as a training, but not when you’re dealing with a literal monster.

In the end, Zero got frustrated by Liang not understanding the situation.

So she finally went from the usual defence to the offence, pouncing on Liang and tackling him to the ground, straddling his hips with her hand at his throat.

“If I put a bit more force into my hold, I will crush your trachea. If we were enemies you would have already been dead.

Fight me like you’re trying to kill me. You won’t get anywhere othervice.”

Both guards and other inmates witnessing all thought one and the same thing: “lucky bastard”. But at that time Liang was too busy being pissed off at the fact that he got so easily overpowered. Also his back fucking hurts, as he just got dragged at least two metres on the ground with the force of an impact when Zero jumped at him.

None of the two particularly minded such position, actually. But Zero did note that it's kinda nice to feel the body of the person she likes this close, underneath her. That way she can feel the heartbeat, the rush of blood in his veins, the smell… It’s interesting. Meanwhile for Liang it was the first time when he begrudgingly admitted to himself that he might find Zero attractive in this moment, namely the strength and her competence as a fighter she demonstrated to pull such a move.

💘 (if applicable) what moment made them realize they were in love with you?

I really don’t think that there was one specific moment of realization. Figuring out what exactly is going on was probably a long process, since Liang really has no frame of reference – he has never been in love before, and he never had any interest in romantic stuff whatsoever, considering it unnecessary and brushing it off for most of his life. So I bet he spent enough sleepless nights trying to analyse what on earth is he feeling towards Zero. Of course he never asked anyone for advice/opinion because, simply from the rational point of view, there's not a single person he would trust in this prison when it comes to that kind of stuff, especially not in the Building 5.

(Honestly, I think that there was even some time when Liang subconsciously avoided sorting out his feelings because he already suspected what the answer might be, and he surely did not want that.)

Hmmm, but perhaps what might have seriously kickstarted this thinking process was one of their conversations. Zero was asking many questions, as usual, and this time she wanted to know what Liang is planning to do when he gets out of prison (a difficult question, actually...) But that, in turn, made Liang curious as to what exactly is going to happen to Zero in the future?

The way Zero casually reminded him of her black number plate and that she was supposed to stay in prison forever… It was like something dropped inside of him. For some reason, what she said made him feel uneasy. Which is unreasonable, because such way of things is clearly for the best – of course a creature like her cannot be left to run free, and it’s not like it would even be psychologically taxing for her, but still. For some reason this bothered him. That to led Liang realizing that, perhaps, he doesn’t like the idea of never seeing Zero again after he leaves Nanba. But then here come the implications of that, and now he's starting to wonder how much exactly does he like her...

P.S. Wow, I waited forever for you to actually ask about Liang in one of these games. Thanks for the ask, An!

[percontaion-points]

Edible Delectables chapters 3 & 4

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 3

Kara briefly wondered if licking Dr. Dietrich's face would be in line with her liquid only diet restrictions. 

[Image description: Clint Eastwood, an elderly white man with grey hair, is sitting on a porch with a mug of coffee. He has a look of disgust and contempt on his face. It is captioned with “I had to read this and so do you.” End image description] 

After he was gone, Kara hit the button for her IV pain meds and as she drifted off, her last thought was that Jason had called her Kara. Did he remember her, too? 

Setting aside the fact that Jason and Kara went to high school together, what exactly is he supposed to call her? Ms. Baker? 

We wouldn’t be having this conversation if they hadn’t gone to school together. This entire thing is so stupid. 

"So what brought Kara Baker up?" Jaime was back on the scent. 

"I told you, she was a patient in the ER," Jason replied.

[...]

"Yes, but you said you remembered her from high school," Jaime persisted, handing him two wine glasses.

Yes. Because I walked in, said “Hey, don’t I know you from somewhere?” and then remembered high school. Because that’s how memories fucking work. 

The subject was officially changed and they finished their dinner, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get Kara Baker out of his head.

Chapter 3 summary: Kara wakes up post-surgery, feeling awful because of said surgery. And angry because she’s on a liquid only diet following her post-op. There’s a lot of padding that serves no point, including a nurse telling her how to use the pain med button and that she should get up and start walking around. Editors? What editors? 

Anyway, right after Eva and Eric leave, Kara is trying to get up to use the toilet when Jason comes in. He helps her into the room, but leaves her to do her business. Kara feels weird when she thinks that he called her “Kara”, despite it being her fucking name. 

Later, Jason casually asks his twin sister, Jamie, if she remembers Kara from their senior year. Jamie is like “Oh, this girl? During your year of celibacy?” This sends Jason tumbling down memory lane and he thinks about his ex, Kate. 

Before Jason moved away, he’d promised Kate to be faithful to her, and he was. Kate had promised the same thing, but when the two of them were reunited after the year was over, Jason found out that Kate had done literally everybody who asked, and anything that they asked of her. ANYTHING. 

This turned into him being a manwhore, which was quickly followed by him focusing on his studies. Which normal people would say that it wasn’t a bad thing, but his family was convinced that he was gay… simply because he wasn’t dating anybody for two years. He found a kindred med student spirit in some girl named Michelle for a while, but after they broke up, she quickly got married to one of their old professors. 

Back in the present, Jamie continues to be all “You like this Kara girl! OMG, how romantic!” Even though the only thing Jason said was “Do you remember her from school? Anyway, she came into the ER last night.” Jason is fed up with his sister. 

Chapter 4

Jason arrived early at the hospital for his shift. Entering the lobby, his feet took over and, as if on autopilot, he walked to the elevators and hit the up button.

How can it be autopilot when this is the first time Kara’s been in the hospital before? 

It would be autopilot if she had a long-term illness and he visited her every single day. But not literally 24 hours after her surgery. 

"So...tell me about the DILF," Evalyn began as they made their way slowly from Kara’s hospital room. 

"DILF?" 

"Just substitute 'doctor'," Eva explained.

[Image description: Emma Stone, a young white woman with red hair. She is wearing a yellow top, a ribbon in her hair, red earrings, and red lipstick. She has a look of utter disgust on her face. It is captioned with “I had to read this and so do you.” End description.]

Kara giggled and continued back to her room.

Chapter 4 summary: The next morning, Kara kind of dinks around her hospital room for a while. When Eva comes in, Kara begs for her friend’s help with bathroom stuff, claiming that it hurts too much for her to twist around and wash out her own ass. And she’s too embarrassed to ask the MALE nurse for help. Eva does it, but under great emotional distress. 

When Jason gets into the hospital, he goes to visit Kara. It’s weird and awkward. The scene drags on for too long, and serves no real point, since we already know that they went to school together. 

After he leaves, Eva is like “OMG girl, explain!” So Kara does. Which again, it serves no real point since the readers already know all of this. 

[ameliejones]

8.

early morning silence fills the galley - syn sits at the table, sipping tea, working a crossword puzzle - opposite her, harlow leans against the counter eating a bowl of cereal -

as he does most days, eamon heads straight for the fridge to get a protein cup, nods a hello to harly and makes his way to the far end of the table -

she follows him with her eyes, chewing thoughtfully - his movements are characteristically efficient, perfunctory - utilitarian -

then her attention drifts to syn, whose manner remains unchanged - tranquil, self-contained - seemingly unaware of eamon or of being observed, she takes a sip from her dinosaur mug and fills in another word - the pen shifts whimsically in her hand as she ruminates -

from somewhere in the recesses of harly’s sleep-dewy consciousness an idea coalesces - absently, she turns it over in her mind - it makes no sense, yet stubbornly refuses to be dismissed -

several seconds pass and harly sees syn nod to herself, almost imperceptibly -

when their eyes meet the look on her face is.. expansive -

it‘s immediately apparent that she knows exactly what harly is thinking, not telepathically but instinctively - she has been anticipating this moment -

her demeanour is respectful: unapologetic, but acquiescent -

initially harly is genuinely stunned - she has known eamon long enough to be able to read him very well, even between the lines -

this she did not see coming -

he’s had more than his share of hook-ups, but never on the ship - too messy -

it was an unspoken rule: eamon doesn’t do messy -

he doesn’t do clandestine either - shame is bullshit, i could give a fuck what people think. either i’m ok with what i’m doing or i don’t do it. if i fuck up i say so. -

she can hear his voice in her head - not boastful but philosophical; that distinctive, earthy tone he gets when he’s expressing thoughts he has that others don’t, honestly trying to understand how another way of thinking about it makes any sense -

they don’t last long, or happen very often, but harly really values those talks -

she had only been working in salvage for five months when they were partnered up for the first time, and right away she could tell there was something different about him - first off, her being an *outlier didn’t faze him at all -

through a combination of cashing in favours, luck, and sheer willpower she had managed to barter her way onto a barely space-worthy pirate skiff -

harly is used to it now, but back then she was still learning how to handle the way the crew behaved around her -

getting hit on was a given, especially on that backwater shitcan -

it’s basically white noise to her at this point, but she remembers feeling really threatened and hating always having to be on her guard -

there were times when some asshole would persist to the point that she had to put them down.. but they rarely made that mistake again, after they got out of the infirmary -

mostly they straight-up doubted her skills - but that didn’t last long -

over time she developed a reputation and things started to change; shipmates going out of their way to make her feel welcome, having her back when someone talked shit or crossed a line -

unfortunately, this was often accompanied by a weirdly paternal kind of attention, which at its best made her feel patronized and a little claustrophobic, and at its worst became overprotective, then possessive, and again ended with a stay in the infirmary -

from day one eamon treated her exactly like he would anyone else he worked with - full stop - that was the first thing she appreciated about him -

he would later tell her it was the same for him -

_______________________________

*outlier : a person who has no officially recognized status or education

[himboblackdragon]

Ch 19 and 20, a kiss!

- it bothers him so much that she’s scared of him

- 抖得都没了人形 great turn of phrase

- WHAT A GOOD BOY!

- he told her to hide in his room?

- “no looking at my girlfriend”

- I don’t understand why dfqc was t-boned by the concept of unconditional affection? dayu expresses it allllll the time. I guess dayu isn’t annoyingly persistent about being in his life

- I don’t understand why she has to sleep/hide in his room

- I wonder why chilin didn’t recognize dfqc’s body the first time around if he’s chidi’s armor

- if chilin recognizes xlh, her new clay body must look the same as her old body? and when did this body start bleeding?

- oh so he can see everything. huh. I wonder what he did when she took a bath

- ahhhhhh

- xiao lanhua thinking while combing her hair…this made it into the show too

- oh 抱起手臂 means cross his arms. I was like whose 手臂 is he 抱ing

- he’s been keeping an eye on her too if he knows she’s been lying in bed all day

- is he worried about her?

- ahahahaha! doctor dfqc. worst bedside manner

- no. he just wants to touch her

- ha she has puppy dog eyes too

- 血色眼眸里印着她的影子 I really like when xlh sees herself reflected in dfqc’s eyes, indicating what he’s feeling right now. like his world is only her. and it’s not something either of them are consciously aware of, especially dfqc

- he’s trying to have his cake and eat it too. he’s trying to use her to prepare the way for chidi’s spirit, at the end of which she’ll die, and at the same time trying to keep her with him as long as he can before that

- how much of dfqc’s reactions are calculated in this conversation? to fan her feelings? which he must be aware of by now

- I’m confused. why’d he tell her it was okay to take off the bone orchid? maybe he sussed that chidi was communicating with her? I’m internally gasping

- 揣了个鸡腿 tied myself in knots trying to figure out what this meant. it just means she literally hid away a chicken leg

- chidi coming to xlh in a dream to warn her of danger also made it into the drama

- dfqc you’re going to run your entire government into the ground. on that note, I appreciate the worldbuilding! there’s mentions of a court and officials. there’s even a demon tribe holiday and the book talks about the consequences of dfqc’s return on the holiday. (it was his birthday)

- I bet part of his consciousness is always following her around

- he really arose out of nothing? huh

- she’s bathing with her clothes on…?

- blow-drying her hair via dayu ride?

- DFQC JUMPSCARE. I thought that was dayu talking at first

- wow I can feel his little resentment and grievance over “why is she avoiding me lately” which is probably why he followed her. and why his door flew open and he started interrogating her when she was passing before

- oh he’s trying so hard. he’s still controlling and cruel (and probably actively trying to kill her) but he’s trying so hard

- oh he’s fallen too

- DTR time

- I kind of wonder if chidi’s spirit is continuing to say things like “he’s lying to you” and “don’t trust him” as like a reaction to her previous lives where she was betrayed by her lovers. It’s not about dfqc at all, she’s just a broken record

- oops, I guess not

- begin ch 20

- but dfqc told her to take off the bracelet, doesn’t that mean he doesn’t want to kill her?

- I believe that at this point he either truly is conflicted or doesn’t plan on killing her

- 东方青苍点头：“没错。” dfqc: 😤

- she went out without anything to protect her? I am worried. I guess there’s dayu

- she um doesn’t have any money though 🤣

- she’s…gonna get drunk

- xlh you can’t just be mean to dayu when you’re angry, he’s too sweet

- it’s really early in the morning for her to get drunk hahaha. or maybe not, we all know she likes to sleep in

- she’s gonna get alcohol poisoning

- sometimes xlh makes me hide my face in my hands

- “no interest” 😏

- he’s into it

- “心房” is that a euphemism

- his voice got husky you say

- oh really short chapter

chapter idk anymore but it was SO MUCH FUN

summary: xlh and dfqc leave qylj’s island on the back of a sea serpent (named dayu!) and xlh enters her Robinson Crusoe era while dfqc is in a coma

- piggyback ride? piggyback ride

- dragon? sea serpent? dfqc’s sea serpent???

- xlh holds onto him really tightly, but 东方青苍并未指责小兰花. heh heh

- halfway through this book and I already want smut of this couple. the longing

- so happy she got a dragon ride after all

- 她下意识地一把抱住东方青苍，一手圈着他的肩膀，一手捂着他的脑袋，不是寻求保护的姿势，倒像是要去保护东方青苍 SHE PROTECC!

- I appreciate how consistent the worldbuilding and magic are. the gulan’s rule is that it only activates when there’s killing qi around. it’s meant to be defensive, but to use it to do other things, he manufactures or spreads around the killing qi so the gulan is tricked into responding and then he can use it how he wishes. it’s a nice exploitation of a loophole

- dfqc revealing his plan against qianyin shan…breathtaking ability and malevolence

- oh he must have been conscious for the protecc

- it’s almost like he wants to keep her close to him 😆

- xlh trying to activate the gulan is adorable. and of course she can’t because she doesn’t really intend him any harm

- I think he kind of trusts her just like she kind of trusts him (unrelated to the gulan responding to her or not). part of it is he doesn’t really think she can harm him but part of it is he trusts that she really wouldn’t

- wot

- maybe the stones of this island are lethal?

- does she not need to eat or drink?

- oh my god oh my god. she was trying to get a fishing rod all along. that’s hilarious

- oh that’s smart hahaha

- I wonder why a plant spirit knows how to fish though

- I’m loving this robinson crusoe xlh arc. basically a beach episode. love that she tricked a stick out of dfqc’s bone orchid

- she’s using his nails as a knife LMAO. this is xianxia robinson crusoe ft. dfqc as the toolbox

- he smile! in spite of himself!

- ahahaha he’s mad about her fishing pole. made from the gulan’s vine branch and his own hair

- THE SEA SERPENT IS PUTTING FISH ON HER HOOK LMAO. has been all this time lmfaoooo. and she’s been too sleepy/bored to notice. “she didn’t know whether heaven had favored her or whether her luck was just good” LOL

- aw, the sea serpent’s name is dayu

- DAYU IS THE GOODEST BOI

- ahahaha she’s scared but doesn’t know dayu likes her so much

- ok we’re back to the sorta romantic gestures delivered with a bored countenance. BEST ARC IS OVER

[luna-jaden-shadow]

Hopelessly In Love

Request - Hey Luna, I really enjoy your writing and I’m finally sending a request! Could you do a TWD oneshot for Rick Grimes where him & y/n find each other at the very begging of the apocalypse and start falling in love, but Rick pushes it away bc of Lori. When Rick finds out Lori cheated, y/n & him end up getting together. Thank you so much ☺️

Fluff 

Warnings -  Death, Zombies (the usual), Cursing?

Pairing - Rick Grimes X Reader ; Glenn X Reader (Platonic)

[ I love Glenn so I couldn’t not make y’all like best friends. Lemme know if you guys maybe want more parts ]

-><-

-><-

“You’re sure you want romance advice from me? I’m hopelessly in love with a man who has a family.” You deadpan at Glenn, who leans against the wall opposite of you in the RV. 

Glenn was the only person in the camp who knew of your little crush on their “leader”. While he was never officially labeled that, pretty much everyone preferred him over Shane Walsh of all people, who was in charge before you and Rick arrived weeks ago. You’d convinced yourself it was a little crush that would pass in no time and yet here you are, avoiding the man who you’d saved at the start of the apocalypse. You were held up with Morgan and his son when you’d met Rick and agreed to help him find his family, and you did. That didn’t stop you from falling hard for the fearless ex-sheriff. 

The two of you were a good team, taking charge whenever it was needed, and bouncing ideas off of each other. You were the person who he trusted without a single doubt, who he talked to about everything and vice versa (along with Glenn for you). It just became harder to hide your crush when Lori was all over Rick, which you didn’t blame her for since it’d been a stressful last couple of days for everyone. You’d made it clear that you were there for him and his family no matter what, that you’d do anything for them. You’d even offered/given blood for Carl when Rick was barely able to stand. 

One day, you and Rick went out searching for Sophia and you’d noticed the way he’d subtly distanced himself from you. You took it as a sign that you were intruding on their marriage when really Rick wasn’t sure what he was feeling for you and was struggling on how to act, or if he should act on it. 

Glenn sighs, running his hand over his face. The poor kid was having crush troubles of his own with Maggie, whose home your people were currently camped outside of. You two had become close friends since he’d saved you and Rick. “I just don’t know women.” 

You snort a laugh, “and you think I do?”

“Probably not, but you know people.” Glenn corrects, “and it was you or Dale and Dale will give old man advice.” 

“I’m gonna tell him you said that.” You joke, turning in the booth to properly face him. It wasn’t a surprise that she was acting wonky around him since he’d found out about there being walkers in the barn (a secret you were going to keep since he’d accidentally vented it to you). “It’s not like I have a manual on ‘what to do when you find your friend with benefits has a barn full of walkers’ on hand Glenn.” You sigh, “You said she kissed you after you got back today?” You try to recall what he told you. 

“Yeah, there was this walker in the pharmacy, she almost got bit.” He goes on, “And then she called me stupid but smart, and then called me walker bait. I’ve never been so confused before.” 

“You and me both Glenn.” You stand up, stretching to crack your back. “Regardless of what you do it’s gonna get mucked up because either you’re going to tell the group or someone like Shane’s gonna wander too close to that barn and all Hell’s gonna break loose.” You insist, glancing out the window of the RV. 

“Hell’s gonna break loose anyway.�� He groans, putting his face in his hands. You walk closer to him and pat his shoulder. 

“I know, but it’s gotta be done. After that, just stay persistent, you like her, she probably likes you if she’s sticking around right now. I think it’ll work out for you.”

“And what about you?” Glenn raises an eyebrow at you. 

“What about me?”

“You know what I’m talking about.” He crosses his arms. 

You step back from him. “Nothing’s going to happen because he has a wife and a child. He’s not gonna leave them for me, Hell, I wouldn’t leave them for me.” You point out, getting a sad look from Glenn. “It’s something that’ll pass. As for now, I’ll just have to reel back a bit.”

“You’re really sad, you know that?” Glenn points out, watching you lean on the table of the booth. 

“Yeah, I know.” You give a sad smile, the two of you walking out of the RV. The sun was starting to set slowly, giving the whole farm a golden glow to it. “Anything else you wanna tell me before we go our separate ways?”

Glenn thinks for a moment, looking at you over his shoulder. You can tell there’s something there that he wants to get out. “Lori’s.” He stops, keeping his eyes locked with yours and it’d not too hard to piece together what he was talking about. He and Maggie went on a run to the pharmacy for a second time, per Lori’s request. A rather urgent, sudden request, that had him ditching you for the day. 

“Pregnant?” He nods and your eyes widen a bit, not wanting to be right with your guess. That was going to change everything. “I’ll talk to you later yeah?” 

Glenn nods and heads off, leaving you alone in front of the RV. You bite the inside of your cheek, taking a glance around the camp out of habit. When you’d caught sight of Rick, coming back to camp, you nearly turned to go the opposite way. Far away, by the gate, was Lori. You couldn’t tell what happened but you had a feeling that it wasn’t good. 

“Evening Sheriff.” You greet him when he approaches, now finding that there was no avoiding him when it seemed that he was actually going to talk to you. “Everything alright? You don’t look so good.” You voice your concern, following him into the RV when he beckoned you. 

You watched him pace the RV for a few moments after you closed the RV door. He didn’t look at you right away and you let him collect his thoughts as you found yourself sitting in the booth as you were a few minutes ago with Glenn. 

Suddenly, Rick stops and looks at you, you can’t quite make out the look on his face. “I’m sorry.” He suddenly says, only adding to your confusion and concern. Maybe he was finally losing his mind. “I’ve been pushing you away these last couple of days when all you’ve done is stuck by me. It’s not fair to you.” He goes on. 

“It’s okay Rick, shit happens-”

“No, it’s not.” He cuts you off, running his hand through his hair. “Because I wanted Lori and me to work like nothing was wrong. I wanted to just ignore what I was feeling towards you for her sake, for Carl’s but it was stupid.” He admits to you, looking like a weight had just been yanked off of his shoulders. “She cheated on me, with Shane.” You look at him in shock, watching him turn away to look towards the window. “She’s…”

“Pregnant?” You finish so he doesn’t have to and when he looks at you in confusion you move to the inside of the booth, patting the spot next to you. “It wasn’t hard to figure it out when she started getting sick during breakfast.” You admit, covering for Glenn when clearly he didn’t know that the Korean was involved. 

“I’m sorry.” He says again, sitting down beside you and putting his head in his hands, elbows on the tabletop. 

“It’s okay.” You reach up and gently rub his back. 

“I think I like you.” He admits. 

The two of you are silent for a moment, the two of you sitting there in the aftermath of what he had said. “I’ve liked you for a while.” You tell him, smiling when his head shoots up and he looks at you. “I didn’t want to come between you two and mess things up between us.”

Rick shakes his head. “You could never mess things up between us.” He insists, offering you his hand. You take it and he just runs his thumb over the back of it. “I like you.” He tells you, now certain and confident in his words. He couldn’t explain the way that you alone made him feel like he was back in high school, with some stupid crush. 

“Are you gonna be okay?”

“I am now that I know what I’m feeling.” He leans over and presses a kiss to your cheek. Your face heats up. “I wanna try this.”

“I do too.”

[flooffybits]

Done With You

Idol: Hwang Yeji (Itzy)

marshmallow: hey, can i request an angsty scenario w yeji from itzy? based off "do re mi"- blackbear. yeji is like that bad bitch that everyones wants to date, but she end up w y/n but then she get like bored and start dating other people without telling y/n, so then y/n then get angry and confronts her in middle of the college and yeji also gets angry and they almost end up in a fight. idk if u are willing to write smth like this, hope so, luv ur writing. college au btw.

Word count: 3.5k

Warning: mentions of alcohol, getting drunk, cheating, very brief hints of suggestive content, toxic relationship, Yeji is insensitive and egocentric

☕buy me a coffee☕

Hwang Yeji was a force to be reckoned with. Aside from her fierce looks and high popularity standing, her name was known all over the campus because of how she attained her spot. And people either wanted her attention or refused to do anything with her at all due to her reputation.

You were, formerly, the latter, wanting absolutely nothing to do with the dance team's most popular member.

It wasn't as though you hated her. But you've heard enough about her to know not to bother. It wasn't as though you had any classes that involved her, considering you had two different courses.

However, it's during one of the parties your friend, Ryujin, had managed to drag you to where you first officially met the girl. She had stated that life was too short for you to be spending it indoors, studying.

You were in college to study. Fun would come when you were free, you would tell her, and that always earned you an eye roll from the latter before she would stick by you either way.

You and Ryujin balanced each other out, helping you relax when you were too paranoid with your studies, while you were there for every drunk call or emergency and even helping her with her own studies when she needed it.

So it was absolutely no surprise when she successfully brought you to the party, where you met the infamous Hwang Yeji.

She was intrigued by you upon introduction. You merely gave her a small nod of acknowledgement before turning back to your friend and acting as though she were not there at all.

And while it was nothing new to her, Yeji found herself looking at you again during the party, this time without Ryujin anywhere near you whilst some guy, who clearly had more drinks than he could handle, was getting too comfortable in your personal space.

"Learn to take a hint. She's not interested."

You were a little surprised when Yeji intervened, putting herself in between you and the boy before she had gently, yet firmly, nudged him away.

"So… Ryujin tells me you're not really one for parties." You blink when she addresses you, but shrug in response. "She can be stubborn when she wants. I was just dragged here." You had muttered, earning an amused laugh from the taller girl while your brows furrowed together. "Of course, it's not a surprise with how persistent she can sometimes be."

At that moment, you didn't realize that your best friend was actually close to her. Perhaps it was only a matter of time and you were bound to cross paths with Yeji.

She kept you company for the rest of the night and you, surprisingly, found her presence comforting. She was fun and she was nicer than you had originally painted her to be, which you had apologized to her about.

"It's alright, I kinda get that a lot so it doesn't bother me so much anymore." She assures you, her eyes showing the utter sincerity she had.

But before either of you could continue talking, you were interrupted by your best friend who finally found you after a couple drinks.

You had to apologize and made sure to bring Ryujin back to her dorm, seeing as she was in no condition of being on her own. But of course, even in her drunken state, your best friend was able to poke a bit of fun at you, no matter how nonsensical her teasing was.

"I thought you didn't… didn't like her?" She jabbed with a slight poke to your arm when you did your best to balance her on her feet. "You were getting real cozy." She drawled out and you sigh while shaking your head.

"Maybe I judged her too quickly."

Despite your peaceful conversation, you doubted you'd even see her again after that night.

Or so you thought.

Literally a day after the party, you found Yeji standing in the hall with a kind smile plastered on her face, people glancing at her with curiosity. She didn't usually come over to this side of campus unless she was asked to.

However, as soon as her eyes caught your figure, she was quick to walk over, her grin widening even just a little bit. "Hey, I was afraid I might have missed you." You're understandably confused by her words, and everyone else was just as clueless as you were.

Since when were you and Yeji acquainted?

Even some of your classmates knew that you weren't exactly involved with the "popular kids" on campus. Ryujin was the only exception.

"I… wasn't aware we were meeting?" You voice out and she giggles before rubbing the back of her neck in a sheepish manner. "I know. Sorry, I was hoping we could pick up on our conversation last night." She explains and you're honestly surprised when she begins to tell you about how she found your overall self interesting to be with.

"I asked Ryujin what class you had. I hope you don't mind."

Honestly, after misjudging her, giving her this chance wasn't that bad, so you agreed. And to the offer after that, and the one after.

Yeji basically waited for you after your class for a whole three weeks before she finally built up the courage to properly ask you out…

And you were already drawn into the charms that she possessed at that point and agreed in a heartbeat.

Being with Yeji had been an absolute dream, up until five months into the relationship.

While you both still did hang out together, you both had different classes and different activities. You only managed to see each other during breaks and on the weekends that you barely even felt her slipping from you so soon.

You would talk to her as much as you could though, getting her gifts every now and then when something caught your eye, but for the past week, you've begun to notice a change in her behavior.

While she was still somewhat the same as when you both started, she also had this slightly off character behavior when a few people would pass you by or when you were anywhere near her things.

Her smiles were looking more practiced and less genuine, but her words were always still coated in honey. Every time an inkling feeling of doubt began to touch your mind, it was as though she would know right away and her lips are already making you forget about all of it.

But it was all temporary.

You would remember it right away when you're not with her, and the glances you now received in the halls were different compared to before.

You were used to some of the scowls and sneers, but what you were not used to, however, was the pitiful stares directed at you.

It takes you a few days to catch on to what was really happening, but you deny it at first. Of course, Yeji was popular, but you also wanted to cling to the hope that maybe she was different with you and that you really did mean as much to her as she promised you did. 

But you weren’t.

Not when you could see her with her tongue down some random person’s throat in the very obviously crowded halls with some of their friends cheering them on. Ryujin looked to and from, unsure with what to say, but you decided for her as you turned on your heel and walked away without letting your so-called girlfriend know that you had just caught her red handed.

You didn’t need the headache right now. But you played her game.

You waited with how long she would keep up the dumb charade of stringing you along, completely unaware of what you now knew, and you weren’t sure whether to say you were disappointed or impressed.

But when a month had passed, you’ve decided that enough was enough and dropped her entirely.

It wasn’t an official breakup, but there didn’t seem to really be a need to say it out loud, not when she was very much preoccupied with whoever she decided to see behind your back and not with how you’ve stopped bothering to check on her.

Everyone else had also assumed you had broken up, anyway.

But it looked like Yeji didn’t get the memo.

“She’s what?” Yeji paused in her tracks after her brother had commented about you moving on fairly quickly. Hyunjin raised a brow at her, head cocked to the side in confusion as he repeated his sentence. “Honestly, I didn’t think she’d be over you in a month. You must not have been as good as you thought you were.” He joked, and the confusion filled the younger Hwang even more as she stepped away. “We didn’t break up.”

Another wave of confusion came over their group before another person snickered at the dancer. “Well then, it looks like someone’s learned to play your game, Yeji.”

That did not sit well with her.

There was just no way you would be cheating on her despite what she’s already been doing. While she didn’t care much anymore, it was more so her pride on the line with this new information as she made her way to your building and waited outside your class.

However, you were not among the sea of faces that usually exited the class when it ended. In fact, she doesn’t even recognize the professor that exited the room, so she’s quick to pull one of the students by the arm and ask what their course was.

“Where the hell…”

After finding out that your class had moved to a different location in the building, she immediately exited and opted to find you in the field. Everyone would be there and she remembers how you always lingered there. You liked to people watch, you had told her. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if she found you in one of the places you would both spend time together in between breaks.

And she was right

Right under one of the trees, she found you typing away on your laptop with your best friend sitting right beside you, talking about something she was too far to even hear.

“Y/n, we need to talk.”

You don’t bother looking up at her when she approaches you, but Ryujin does, and her eyes widen a little before she attempts to pull at your arm. “Y/n, come on.” She muttered, but you refused to budge. “I’m busy.” You grumble, and Yeji’s patience runs thin when you don’t even acknowledge her.

“Y/n.” She tries again, but you’re adamant to keep her existence away from your focus… until she decides to make it known by shutting your laptop. You’re only lucky your reflexes are quick enough to pull away and avoid getting your fingers caught.

“What the hell? I was working!” You glare up at the intruder, but Yeji’s own glare matches it as she crosses her arms with a scowl painted on her features. “I said we need to talk.” She snapped back and you only rolled your eyes before snatching your laptop from the table and shoving it into your bag to leave.

Yeji’s annoyance shifted into anger as she reached for your arm and yanked you back. “I have nothing to say to you, Hwang! Whatever you have to say, you can shove it up your ass!” You shouted and your ex girlfriend looked a little taken aback by your sudden aggression.

You’ve never raised your voice at her.

“What is wrong with you? I just wanted to talk!” She shouted back while you pulled your arm away from her. “I’m hearing from my brother that you’re seeing someone else?” She demanded and you’re honestly not sure if she was being serious or not.

What the hell did it matter to her? You weren’t hers anymore.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” You deadpan and it infuriates her how you don’t even bother denying the accusation. “Because you’re my girlfriend?” She scoffed and your expression shifted a little as you slowly cocked your head to the side.

“Your girlfriend?” You muse with a laugh. “Is this some sort of joke?” Ryujin starts tugging at your arm again when more people begin to look over, but you keep your eyes on Yeji’s angry but also confused expression.

“You know, at first I felt bad for judging you so quickly.” You say calmly, and Yeji isn’t sure she understands where this is suddenly coming from, but there’s a dread building in her stomach. “But the past months only proved to me just how right I was about you.”

Slipping out of Ryujin’s grasp, you step closer to Yeji, almost menacingly before jabbing a finger at the center of her chest. “Blowing me off for friends, I could excuse that. I could have excused the lying, but cheating…”  Her blood ran cold as you smiled innocently at her. “You have some nerve to come up to me accusing me of cheating when you were screwing around with basically everyone when my back was turned.”

Stepping away from her, you gave the dancer a once over before shaking your head, deciding that it wasn’t worth the effort to even argue with her, but you do ask, just to knock her down a little more.

“Tell me, how many times did you sleep with Ryujin before she decided to end it because she felt guilty?”

Your best friend’s head snapped to you, growing pale at your words before she spoke up. “How did- Wait, Y/n, I didn’t…” But you only raise a hand to stop her from making any form of excuse. Even Yeji looked just as shocked by what you’d said because Ryujin did, in fact, call it off between them after she couldn’t look you in the eyes for nearly a week due to her guilt and shame.

“Ah, was that supposed to have been a secret? And here I thought I was wrong about something about you.” You click your tongue before finally fixing your bag’s strap on your shoulder and begin to walk away. “Maybe that’ll teach you before you try to make a fool out of another person.”

"Oh, and I hope you have plans on paying me back after that joy ride you took with my car. Really did a number on my headlights."

People were quick to separate, forming a path for you as you left and Yeji was left watching after you, dumbfounded. Ryujin, on the other hand, had pushed past the opposite direction and got out of everyone's view as quickly as she possibly could.

It's only when the whispering starts does Yeji finally snap out of it and her scowl comes back ten times harsher. "What are you looking at? Don't you have homework to do?" She snapped at them, and in an instant, people dispersed like smoke while Yeji stomped her way to her dorm in hopes of just shrugging off the shit show she had just brought herself to.

..

You're thankful that you had absolutely no reason to cross paths with Yeji after that mess of a breakup. Could you even consider it a breakup? Maybe.

Ryujin had been your only common denominator but even she had stopped showing her face to you. Though it wasn't as though you were purposefully ignoring her, you just saw no reason for you to stick around someone who had boldly gone behind your back and blatantly lied to your face for as long as she did.

"Hey, mind if I take a seat?"

You look up at the new voice cutting off your train of thought, just to make sure it wasn't you being addressed, but the girl was standing right by the bench you were occupying with her eyes trained on your face.

Glancing around, there were a lot of free places she could sit at, but not wanting to be rude, you just nod your head.

"You don't talk much, do you?" She observes when she takes a seat and you're honestly so confused as to who this girl was and why she was talking to you as though she already knew who you were.

And she seemed to have understood the expression you wore before her smile turned a little sheepish. "Right, sorry, my name is Lee Chaeryeong. We shared a gen ed class once before." She explains and then gestures in your general direction. "I also kind of know a bit about you after the whole Yeji thing a few months back."

Well that explains it.

Letting out a puff of air, your shoulders sag a little because of course you had something for people to talk about now even though all you wanted was a peaceful college life.

"Hey, if it's any consolation, I think it was really nice how you stood up for yourself. I'm sure I would have just cried if I was in your place." She offers and you're a little skeptical with her kindness.

It reminded you of when you first met Yeji.

But you decided to let Chaeryeong do her thing, listening to her as she spoke, even though you don't really answer her as much.

That goes on for another month and you're slowly getting used to her babbling. You speak up every now and then and she's more than happy when she manages to get you to say more than just one word.

She knows you don't trust her yet, but she also understands why.

Two months later, she manages to see the ghost of a smile on your lips when she trips over her own feet as you make your way to the theater to join her. She wanted to show you a play her and her team were working on, only to cut herself off when she fell to the ground.

The pout on her face quickly melted away when she caught it, but she didn't push as you offered to help her up, only accepting your hand and then walking the rest of the way without letting go.

It was safe to say that you probably have grown comfortable with the girl that was too shy around strangers yet a completely sassy and snarky disaster to her friends. You were no exception, but she was a little more gentle, sometimes.

“Hold on, let me go grab my bag.” Chaeryeong beams happily at the quick peck to her cheek, but there was no denying the significant change you’ve had ever since you’ve first met each other.

It was like your straight face and standoffish behavior were never there to begin with, a myth if she didn’t experience it firsthand. She was glad though, because it made her reward much more meaningful now when you do smile at her.

“So you’re the person Y/n’s replaced me with?”

Chaeryeong doesn’t need to turn around to know who was talking to her, but her face does shift to a more neutral one as she responds. “You can’t replace something that wasn’t really there.” She shot back, hearing the scoff coming from the older girl before she turned around.

There was a little form of satisfaction knowing that she could get under your ex’s skin without even trying. Yeji just easily handed it to her.

“Leave them alone. You managed to do that even before you officially broke up.” Yeji stayed quiet for a few minutes before she shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to cause trouble. I just thought I’d check, but seeing that they have company, then I guess it’s whatever.”

Chaeryeong’s brows pinch together at the latter’s behavior, but she does note how the older girl glances over her shoulder, to the direction you went off to. “I’m honestly a little surprised you managed to get them to open up.”

At that, your girlfriend hums before looking over her own shoulder. “You broke her trust… in more ways than one.” Ryujin is an unspoken factor, but the way Yeji’s face shifts shows her that she remembers.

Ryujin was your best friend, practically your other half, but she managed to strip her away from you in the most merciless way possible and you were left all alone.

“I would never make the same mistake you did. I’m nothing like you, and I hope you know that I would never hurt Y/n the way you did.”

Yeji stares at her for a while before she nods her head, resolute. “I don’t doubt that.” She mutters while shoving her hands in her pockets. “You’re lucky to have someone who holds trust so preciously let you in.”

“It’s a rare chance, especially with someone like Y/n.”

And with that, Yeji left, leaving Chaeryeong to mull over her thoughts before you came back. What Yeji was trying to achieve, she would never know. But as you came back and took her hand in yours, another smile bloomed across your girlfriend’s face before she started to lead you away from campus.

With the way your smile resembled the warmth and brightness of the sun, Chaeryeong knew Yeji was right about one thing.

She was lucky indeed.

[itzynabi]

boyfriend?

summary: in which yeji finds out about eve's boyfriend

set: 20 august 2022

word count: 1.0k

warnings: a little crying, some swearing and i think that's it

an: heyo! i hope you guys enjoy this! it hasn't been proofread so bare with me. this takes place after this. feedback and reblogs are much appreciated

eve’s masterlist

When Eve returned to her hotel room, she felt like she was floating. There was a persistent smile that wouldn't leave her face, no matter how many times she tried to wipe it off. She entered the hotel room she was sharing with Yeji and leaned against the door, slowly sliding down it. She stopped just before she touched the ground, standing up and going to lie on her bed, unaware of Yeji's questioning stare.

“Are you okay, unnie?” Yeji asked from her bed. She had glanced up from her phone when Eve entered.

Eve nodded her head. “I’m perfectly fine.” She bit her lip to conceal her smile, tucking her hair behind her ear. She thought again of how san had asked to be her boyfriend. Of how he walked with her after they became an official couple, linking their hands together. Of how he walked her to her hotel door and hugged her goodnight.

“Are you sure?” Yeji asked again, now putting her phone down. “You’re acting weird.”

Eve sat up, leaning back on her arms. She shook her head, smile ever so present. “I’m okay. Don't worry.”

“Okay,” Yeji said, unconvinced, going back to being on her phone. Eve nodded at Yeji — even though she wasn’t looking anymore — and emptied her pockets of her phone and earphones, putting them on the bedside table.

“I’m going to take a shower,” she announced to Yeji, who nodded in response, not looking up from her phone.

Four minutes after Eve had entered the bathroom — and two after the water in the showers started running — Eve's phone started vibrating from its place on her bedside table. The first couple of times Yeji ignored it, but after the tenth time, she got annoyed by the sound. She stood up and fetched Eve's phone. She saw text notifications and tapped on them — Eve had already told the girls she doesn't care if they go through her phone. What Yeji saw made a gasp break out of her mouth.

What Yeji saw was so shocking she didn't even take note of the water shutting off and Eve coming out the bathroom not even a minute later, dressed in her pyjamas.

“Whatcha doing?” Eve asked, packing her clothes away and coming to stand by Yeji. Her eyes widened when she saw what Yeji was looking at.

sannie [20:34] just making sure but we're dating now, right?

sannie [20:34] i know we said we'd be each others boyfriend and girlfriend

sannie [20:34] but i just wanted to make sure

sannie [20:35] i don't wanna assume anything

sannie [20:35] should we use pet names?

sannie [20:35] or is it too early?

sannie [20:35] we can discuss this later actually

sannie [20:35] discuss ㅋㅋㅋ

sannie [20:35] i feel like an old man

sannie [20:36] i just realised you haven't read any of these

sannie [20:36] maybe you're asleep

sannie [20:36] i should stop bothering you then

sannie [20:37] make sure to have sweet dreams biyah

sannie [20:37] dream of me

sannie [20:37] choi san

sannie [20:37] your boyfriend

Eve groaned as Yeji turned to look at her, smirking mischievously.

“‘Choi San, your boyfriend’?” Yeji questioned. Eve lunged for her phone, but Yeji stretched her arm out, keeping it out of Eve’s reach. Eve began jumping to reach for it, but failed every time.

“Why are you even reading my texts?” Eve asked once she stopped jumping.

“You said I can,” Yeji quickly answered. “Now why is San sunbaenim calling himself your boyfriend?”

Eve sighed, dropping her head. “I was going to tell you guys later — maybe tomorrow — but we may or may not be dating.”

“Unnie!” Yeji excitedly exclaimed, dropping Eve’s phone on the bed and reaching for her hands, squeezing them. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Really?” Eve asked, looking up.

Yeji nodded. “Really. We all knew you liked each other. I’m glad you guys stopped being idiots and finally addressed your feelings.” She leaned in when she said the last part.

“Thank you, Jiji,” Eve shyly said. Yeji embraced her in a hug, squeezing her tight before pulling back.

“Are you going to tell the members?”

“Um, I kind of want to just wait on that. Give myself some time to fully process the information.”

Yeji nodded. “You can take your time before telling them. They’ll understand.”

Eve nodded. “You’re not… mad at me, right?”

“Why would I be?”

Eve sat down on the bed, sighing. Yeji soon followed her. “It’s just, I feel like I’m… I don’t know the right word, but I guess I feel like I’m doing too much? I’ve been in two dramas, I’m an MC, I had a solo debut and now I have a boyfriend!" she listed off. “But you guys don’t get to–”

“Unnie,” Yeji interrupted, tone sharp. “You do all these schedules to help ITZY, not because you necessarily want to. That’s what you told me. As for having a boyfriend–” Yeji shrugged– “you’re allowed to. Legally and personally. The dating ban’s over, and you’ve liked San since you shook up my soda. Nobody is going to be angry at you for finally doing something because you want to. Not the fans. Not the company. But you.” Yeji held her hand and continued. “I don’t think you know how happy I am that you’re dating San, unnie. I just wish you would’ve waited a few more days so I wouldn’t have to pay Mingi sunbaenim ₩10 000, but oh well.”

“Wha–” Eve began.

“Don’t ask,” Yeji said, shaking her head. “Anyways, the point I’m trying to make is I don’t care that you have a boyfriend. I mean, I do! Wow, I’m not good at this.” She sighed. “I’m glad you got a boyfriend, don't feel bad, I love you.”

Eve stayed silent for a few moments, registering everything Yeji said. “I love you, too.”

Yeji smiled and leaned forward, encompassing Eve in a hug. “You know they’re going to support you, no matter what, right?” she said in reference to their members.

Eve nodded. “Yeah. Just nervous, I guess.”

“Well, and I know saying this isn’t going to change anything, but you don’t have to be,” Yeji encouraged, pulling away from Eve.

“Thanks, Jiji.”

“Anytime, Bibi.”

tagging: @lunarxsun // @ateezivy // @ateezjuliet // @cafemilk-tea

©️ kim nabi

[from-the-clouds]

Kiss Me More (Part II) - Zemo/Reader

Masterlist || Part One

Summary: Part two, read part one if you haven’t already! Sam & Bucky put reader in charge of looking after Zemo....again. Series loosely inspired by this song.

Words: 2.5k

Warnings: Kissing, heavy petting, mentions of sex, minor TFATWS spoilers.

A/N: Wow! I was so shocked on the feedback I got on the first part of this story. It has nearly 800 notes. I’m not used to my writing getting that kind of attention so I really appreciate the love. I decided to make this into at least a 3-4 part series and there will be eventual smut, but I feel like there’s something sweet between these two that goes beyond an obvious physical attraction, so I do want to build that a bit before we get there. This weekend I rewatched TFATWS & Civil War because I’m officially obsessed with Zemo lol. Please let me know what you think, and let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist. :) 

-----

“Keep an eye on him.”

Y/N watched Bucky and Sam split off again. That was now at least the third time she’d heard that phrase since she arrived in Riga. Little did they know, she was probably the worst person to be put in charge of Zemo. Truthfully, it was starting to be a little insulting.

It was unclear why she’d been brought along on this mission, when half the time Sam and Bucky were talking in hushed tones just out of her earshot. There was always more to the story than they told her, but this time, it felt like she was more out of the loop than ever.

She adjusted the neckline of the sweater she wore out of an abundance of caution, checking subconsciously to make sure it hadn’t exposed the mark Zemo had left on her from the day before. It was a discovery she’d made that morning, and persisted despite her efforts to cover it up with makeup.

“According to those two, I must be the best at babysitting you,” she muttered under her breath. It was petty, so she wasn’t even sure if she wanted him to hear. But he did.

“Babysitting?” Zemo lifted an eyebrow. 

“You know, a nanny, a governess….whatever a Baron’s equivalent is,” she said, looking him in the eye for the first time that day, which was a mistake. He looked so handsome in that long, fur-lined coat, tall and refined, hair styled perfectly. There had to be warrants out for his arrest since escaping prison, and in his current getup, he was hard to miss. 

It wasn’t easy to ignore the stifling tension between them. The Baron hadn’t left her thoughts since she’d closed the door on him the evening before. Now they were alone again. She couldn’t decide if that was thrilling or terrifying, so she decided on both.

“It’s nice of them to give us some alone time,” Zemo stepped close to her, one gloved hand pressing between her shoulder blades. Despite the cool temperature outside, it was the first thing today that had her shivering. 

“Walk with me,” he commanded sternly. She saw no opportunity to refuse as they started in the direction opposite of where Bucky and Sam had disappeared. 

“Zemo-”

“Helmut,” he corrected her. “But go on…”

“We have to focus on figuring out where Donya’s funeral will be,” she said, feeling his hand slide down to settle on the small of her back, trying to inch away, but he just pulled her closer. “We can’t waste time.”

“I know Riga inside and out, that won’t be as difficult as you and your friends think,” he murmured. His proximity was already suffocating. Or maybe comforting. It was hard to tell. “Tell me, what is your business with them? You aren’t an Avenger. This was my first time hearing your name.”

She snorted, finally finding the strength to pull away, and he dropped his hand. That was one thing that had confounded her. He was confident, took liberties with what others would allow, but knew when to stop pushing. There was something alluring to his nature. 

“I’m not,” she responded, wondering how much she was willing to share. When she stole a glance out of the corner of her eyes, his head was lowered, leaning in, listening intently for her response. She wondered if he really cared, or if he was good at pretending. It was easy to believe that he did.

“Bucky and I aren’t that different,” she continued. “That’s why we’re friends. I’m not a super soldier, but I was taught how to fight, how to kill. I followed orders for too long without questioning whether or not I was doing the right thing. And at least now, I think I am.”

“You think,” he repeated, and corrected her again like he had the day before. As much as she wanted some kind of clever or quick quip back, she wore her heart on her sleeve for the moment and shrugged. There was nothing to defend when she still wasn’t sure what responsibilities she had in this world. 

Zemo halted, and she paused too, turning back to look at him. “So you were an assassin,” he murmured, reaching out. Nodding slightly, she lowered her eyes when his gloved thumb brushed across her face. The buttery, overpowering smell of leather took her over as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I would’ve never guessed. Du bist so süß.”

Her knowledge of German was limited, but she could see a flash of what looked like affection in his eyes. He couldn’t be lying, could he? She wondered. She wanted to trust that he wasn’t, wanted to identify every good part of him she could, so she could justify the overwhelming attraction she felt towards him. Something in her just kept pulling forward against her will, like a magnet.

“You’d be surprised,” she answered, but didn’t pull away. The intensity of his gaze made her feel weak, but there was something strangely reassuring in his eyes. It was just the two of them, standing on a crowded sidewalk.

She rose her hand to clasp around his, frowning when she felt the hard loop of a ring on one of his gloved fingers. It had gone unnoticed by her, until now. He still wore a wedding band. 

It would have been easy to vocalize the observation, gauge his reaction, try to regain some upper hand and remind him who exactly he was dealing with. But, it would’ve been pointlessly cruel, as she knew what that felt like to answer that question. Those days were behind her, now. 

As if the universe was scolding her, a loud car horn broke through the perceived silence. His hand dropped from her face, and they began to walk again. 

“I had lots of time to think in prison,” he said after a heady pause in conversation. “About the things I’d done. Whatever intentions you have, to someone, you’re always the enemy. What I thought was important, trying to serve the greater good, it isn’t always worth the trouble. I was trying to protect what I had already lost, the places and people I’d taken for granted.”

Deciphering his words, she took a moment before responding. “That’s actually...very insightful,” she said, partly surprised by what he’d shared, appreciating that he felt her vulnerability, and matched it in his response.

“I know you’re stunned I’m not a brute,” he answered, increasing his pace to a determined strut rather than a lazy stroll. She was forced to keep up with him. “You’ve been told what to think about me by Sam and Bucky.”

She scoffed. “Not just them. The entire world. All the people you’ve hur-”

He halted and turned to face her so quickly, she collided with his chest and her breath caught in her throat. 

“I’m not that man anymore,” his voice was nearly a growl, disgust laced in his features as he looked down at her. 

But as soon as she recognized it, he became expressionless again, backing away. Falling back into step beside him, they continued to walk, a bit faster than they had been before. She followed him, at this point convinced that she might get lost without his guidance, but a little startled by his sudden change in behavior.

“What do you think of Riga?” he asked her as they cut through an alleyway. His voice held none of the venom that it had a few moments ago, so she wondered if she’d just hit a sore nerve.

“It’s beautiful,” she answered, admiring the old brick buildings and fine architecture. “But I think I haven’t had much of a chance to appreciate it.”

“Have you been thinking about me?”

They ducked under an alcove, and she realized he’d carefully led her off the crowded streets. It was much quieter here. She suddenly didn’t feel as protected as she had been with him in the open. The temperature in the shaded space was much lower than expected. And he was standing over her, waiting for some response she didn’t know if she could give. 

“I haven’t forgotten about last night, liebling,” he continued. 

Of course she had been thinking of him. Nearly nonstop. What they’d shared, what it meant. She hadn’t been able to sleep until she relieved herself, fingers rubbing her clit and delving into her warmth, whimpering his name when she finally came. Still, it had done little to quell the ache inside her. 

It was a horrible thing, she’d decided. Objectively horrible, and unprofessional. There was the consideration of accessibility. What did he see in her beyond a means to an end? Was she really going to throw everything she’d worked for away to a man who was going to use her to scratch an itch?

Too much was at stake, Sam and Bucky’s trust, her reputation, her job, and she couldn’t allow it to go on. 

But oh, how much she wanted it to. 

“Yesterday was nice,” she straightened up, holding her own. “I won’t lie to you.”

The corner of his mouth tugged up slightly in a self-satisfied smirk. 

“But I’m not foolish,” she continued. “Coming on to the first woman you see after you get out of jail? Seems pretty convenient.”

At first, the Baron tilted his head to the side, his brows pulled together at her words. But after a moment, the smile returned, and he chuckled. “Is that what you think this is about?”

“Don’t insult me, Helmut,” she said sternly, trying her best not to feel embarrassed. She was only being honest.

“Are you always so severe to yourself?” he asked, tutting lightly. 

It would have been better to say nothing. Why give him anything at all? 

She didn’t answer his question, just backed away from him and began walking in no particular direction, wanting only to increase the space between them and regain her common sense. That was impossible however, as she was jolted backwards before she even knew what was happening, a firm hand on her upper arm, and she was chest to chest with Zemo once more. 

“We were in Madripoor together. I could’ve had my way with many women there if I wanted. But I didn’t.”

“Please-” she rolled her eyes.

“If all I wanted to do was fuck someone, I could have done it by now,” he stalked forward, the air pressure around them dropping, weighed by the tension hanging thick between them. “But that’s not what I want. I want you.”

His words, spoken in a soft, low purr rattled away every bit of resolve she had left in her. Some last ditch effort found her stepping backwards, but her body met the brick wall behind them and she realized he had her cornered. 

In more ways than one, she thought.

Taking in a shaky breath, she looked up at his eyes, clouded with lust. “I know you want me,” he said, not a shred of doubt in his voice. But why should there have been? He was right. 

Her eyes darted around, like someone or something around them was going to jump out and save her from herself. It didn’t go unnoticed. “There’s no need to be scared, liebling. I feel it, too.”

With that, he closed the gap between their lips. He tasted sweet, like the candies he’d been eating back at his flat. Turkish delight. She was drowning in him again, his scent, his touch, everything about him enveloped and beguiled her. Her shirt had bunched up slightly somewhere along their walk and his gloved hands explored the exposed skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake. 

She surrendered, letting him tease open her mouth and claim her wholly. It was still bad, she knew. But there wasn’t any last bit of self-control left in her. 

The layers of clothing between them didn’t allow for the same proximity she’d had to him the evening before. Groaning in delight and frustration, she reached up to tangle and rake her fingers through his hair, as his fingers curled around the top of her sweater, revealing the sensitive skin of her neck. 

“Don’t hide this,” his lips left hers as his eyes focused on the stamp of affection he’d left behind the day before. “Let them see.”

“You know I can’t,” she responded, sheepishly pulling it back into place. Studying her with amiable consideration, his hand rose to brush tenderly across her cheekbone. 

“I thought you’d come to me last night,” she confessed, drawing away slightly, shocked by her own admission. But right now, she didn’t feel the need to put up as much of a facade. He looked positively virile; panting, his cheeks flushed and hair mussed, pupils blown out as he focused on her. To know she was the cause of his current state of disarray gave her an immense amount of satisfaction. A buried, salacious part of her wondered what else she could do to make him look even more unkempt.

“I considered it,” he said, sounding almost timid. “But I want to do this right.” He leaned in, pressed a kiss beneath her ear. “In private, so no one can disturb us,” he continued, lips moving down her neck. “We can take our time, you can be as loud as you’d like.”

The mental image he was currently painting for her was doing very little to strengthen her convictions, whatever those had been. The thought of her legs wrapped around his torso, naked bodies pressed together sent a bolt of electricity through the pit of her stomach, radiating outwards. She wanted his lips on every inch of her skin. Aching at the possibility, the present tease of his teeth nibbling on her collarbone wasn’t helping.

“You know we can’t,” she didn’t try to stop the thought as it came out of her mouth.

“What is there to lose?”

Everything, she thought, but didn’t answer. She couldn’t really, as his gloved hand was trailing slowly under her jacket and sweater, against her bare skin, and cupping her breast through her bra. Whimpering, she couldn’t control the way her body arched against his.

Hooking her knee on his hip, she let him press forward, feeling the warmth of his excitement through his trousers and her jeans. He ground against her once, teasingly, and she moaned softly into his mouth. 

He was the one to pull away, and she was thankful he did. “Think about it, liebling,” he said softly, pressing a tender kiss to her temple. “Du hast die Kontrolle.”

“We can’t,” she answered again, but even she didn’t believe herself. Raking her hands through her hair and adjusting her rumpled sweater, she straightened up. “We have a job to do.”

Brushing past him out of the alcove, each step she took away from him gave her the self control she desperately needed. She glanced over her shoulder to see him reluctantly trudging behind. At this point, she wasn’t foolish. There were only two ways this could end.

----

Part III

Series Taglist: @juice-1981  @sapphiredreamer26  @tatooineisdry  @marvelsvision @spookycereal-s @trelaney @fireghost-x @booksarekindaneat  @thunderingbats  @felicityofbakerstreet @takacsgram @mischiefmanaged71 @fanfictionedagain @merelyhooper @gyllord @mundaytuesday @friday18eo  @lovegood7553  @adara-wolfhart @a-djarin @farawaywasteland @sky-writes-stuff @fuckinglittlekitten @katyasrussianaccent @agent-jbarnes  @neoarchipelago @pattispunk @kpopnena @purebloodwitch @spookyconsultingcriminal @msmarvelwrites @professorrw @lazyradeecal @captainrexstan @notyourfuckingbusinesss

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged, or if I forgot to tag you for some reason! :)

[darcyfangirlsfrequently]

The Truth - chapter 1: Oedipus Wrecks

For @penelopeminded bc she's wonderful and helped me come up with this whole thing, and also @midnightsdestiel bc you asked to be tagged

Summary: What could have been a good day turns south quickly when Penelope receives a threatening message

Word count: 1199

Can also be read here on Ao3

Despite their best efforts, lulls in cases often presented themselves while they waited for search results to come through or for interviews to be completed. Fortunately, this lull happened to come at a reasonable hour to have a lunch break. 

Tara lightly kicked Luke's foot under their desks to get his attention. "Hey, Alvez. Wanna get lunch? It's been a while since we've gotten to catch up." Truth was, Tara wanted to gush about her new girlfriend, and Luke wanted to hear it just as much, if the looks that shouted "you have some explaining to do," he threw her way were any indication. 

"I would love to," Luke replied. "However, I already have plans with Penelope. Apparently, I owe her lunch for roping her back into this." 

Tara bit back a small at his casual use of Garcia's first name. She noticed that was all he ever called her now. Not Garcia, not any nickname, he only called her Penelope. "Well it's about damn time you two went on a second date. It's been what, three years?" 

He rolled his eyes. "Not a date, Tara." 

"Did she propose this lunch?" 

"Yes." 

"What exactly did she say? Word for word?" 

"You owe me lunch, and no talk of awful things." 

"That's a date." 

"No, it's not," he persisted. 

"But you want it to be." 

He fixed her with a sharp look. "Shut. Up."

Just then, Penelope walked into the bullpen. "Hey, Luke, you ready to go?" 

Tara bit back another smile. Gone too were the days of Alvez and Newbie. Now they were only Luke and Penelope. 

Luke grabbed his bag. "Yep. Let's go." He threw his arm around her shoulder and walked out of the bullpen with her. 

She threw a wave at the rest of the team. "Have a good lunch break, guys! See you in a bit!" 

JJ stared after them, eyes wide with shock and mouth agape. "Did… did they just…?" 

"Casually leave for a lunch date together?" Tara finished. "Yeah. Yeah, I think they did." 

JJ looked like she wanted to hit her head on her desk. "Oh my god." 

Emily and Rossi came running out of the latter's office. "Did they just–?" Emily demanded.

"Yep," JJ replied.

"Well, according to us, yes," Tara clarified. "According to them? No."

Rossi put his hands in his face and groaned. "You gotta be fucking kidding me." 

Tara laughed mirthlessly. "Yeah. Tell me about it." 

*** 

Tara's words had wormed their way into Luke's head. Was this a date? Realistically, no. It had been nearly three years since their one and only official date, which had been beyond wonderful, according to him. But then covid hit, and Penelope said she didn't want to start a relationship when they couldn't actually see or be with each other. He understood and accepted, thinking this would all blow over in a few weeks and they'd be able to pick up where they left off. But then he blinked and years had passed, and they had never gotten around to that second date, and had become good friends. Not that his feelings for her had ever faded. Not that they ever could. So did he want this to be a date? Absolutely. But it had been three years and she seemed perfectly content to consider them frenemies, so the chances of her also wanting this to be a date were slim to none. So he had to resign himself to the fact that this was nothing more than two friends getting lunch. He could do that, right? 

Wrong. His efforts to make himself ignore his persistent feelings for the woman in front of him just resulted in him being awkward and mostly silent the entire lunch. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Penelope asked him. "You're acting strange." 

"I'm fine," he replied in a voice he hoped was convincing. "Just… have the case on my mind, you know?" 

"Uh uh uh," Penelope said, waggling a perfectly manicured finger in his face. "We said no talk of awful things." 

He chuckled lightly. "Right. My apologies." He didn't say anything after that.

Fortunately for them, just as the silence was getting unbearable, Luke got a text from Tara. "Looks like we caught a break in the case," Luke told Penelope. "We're needed back." 

She grabbed her purse and stood up. "Cool. Let's go." 

This whole situation reminded him a bit of his date with Lisa that had been interrupted by Penelope herself, but he quickly put an end to that line of thinking. 

She only. Wants. To be. Your. Friend. 

*** 

For the rest of the case, Luke and Penelope didn't talk about anything unless it was work-related, but as soon as the case ended, she planned to put an end to that. She cared very deeply for him (deeper than she'd admit to him) and could tell something was on his mind other than the case. 

When it was finally over, she called him into her office. 

"Hey, what's up?" Luke asked her. "Is everything okay?" 

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine with me. But what about you? Is everything okay with you?" 

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" 

"You've been acting weird ever since we went out for lunch a few days ago, and you weren't before. It's like something happened during the few minutes between deciding to go and me grabbing my things and a switch flipped in you. What's going on?" 

"Nothing," he persisted. "It was just the case, I told you."

She signed and looked at him almost disappointedly. "Luke, please don't lie to me. I know I give you a hard time sometimes, but you are my friend and you can talk to me."

He knew she wasn't going to drop the subject, so took a deep breath and bit the bullet. "When I told Tara that we were getting lunch, she made a comment about it being a second date. That's when I realized that I did want it to be a date, but you didn't, so I was trying to make myself not want it to be a date, because I really enjoy being friends with you, and I really don't want to make you uncomfortable, so–"

He was (mercifully) cut off by the ding of a notification on Penelope’s computer behind her. She read the message and instantly felt the blush that was forming at Luke’s words vanish as her blood ran ice cold. “No no no no no,” she whispered. “No no no I thought this was over!”

“Penelope?” Luke asked. “What’s wrong?”

Penelope read the message again while muttering the word no to herself over and over again.

I warned you what would happen if you became too close to him. You didn’t listen, Penelope. And now I will come for you both.

Luke stepped up behind her and placed his hand on her back. “Are you okay? What’s going on?” He read the message. “Who’s the ‘he?’”

“You,” she replied in a whisper.

“Wha— me? Penelope, who sent you this?”

Penelope turned to Luke, who was now holding her by the waist, her brown eyes wide with fear and filled with tears. “It’s him, Luke. It’s Alexei Stanovich.”