#cqc chats

[chronicallyqueercoining2]

I'm a silly, strange, disabled guy, so they call me Crip-tid

[chronicallyqueercoining2]

Always<3!

Right, considering the current state of corporate politics on this site, and that it seems that only those affected seem to be actively speaking on the matter, it is up to I, the only fucking cishet on tumblr, to drag this out to a wider audience.

REBLOG IF YOUR ACCOUNT IS A TRANSFEM SAFE SPACE.

We need to show these higher ups how much we truly value them.

[kaitaiga]

Archie “Frost” Campbell HCs ❄️

Some random hcs that’s been sitting in my head for a while :)

Loves to have Tapas and chat with Joseph. Just catching up on life or any new developments.

The type to have 5 photos of his family but about 1000 of his cat, Vader 🐈‍⬛

Speaking of Vader, he is a very chatty cat. Struts around Archie’s apartment like he owns the place. Very clingy, always having his nose in whatever Archie is doing.

He drives a BMW F82 M4 in dark grey. Red interior.

I mentioned in his profile that he self-taught himself various mechanical and electrical engineering concepts, however he also taught himself programming too. In his spare time he likes to tinker and do various projects with Raspberry Pi.

I like the idea that once Archie joins Task Force Dagger, the rest of the members occasionally train him up with CQC. Archie isn’t particularly a great fighter. Sure he flies a fighter jet and all but without it, he’s stripped of the majority, if not, all of his power. The boys agree that SERE is just a baseline and that now he’s in TFD, he’s exposed to more risky situations. The real deal.

His clothing style sticks to neutral colours. He likes to wear quarter Polo zips, jeans, knit sweaters, vintage leather bomber jackets and converse sneakers.

He also likes to wear Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses and a Casio G-Shock watch. RAAF x IWC watch for formal occasions.

For Archie’s birthday, Joseph gifted him a Lego Star Wars Republic Gunship set. Unfortunately as he was about to finish, Vader knocked it off the table and it shattered. It now sits unfinished in the corner of his room.

He secretly feels out of place in TFD.

Archie promised his grandfather that he’d be able to watch himself fly for the first time in whatever fighter jet he was given. It happened, his grandfather who was too weak to stand and was bound to his wheelchair still made it to the base, dressed in his old leather flight jacket from WW2 and cap watched Archie soar across the skies. With all the strength he had left and some help, he managed to give Archie one last final salute before he passed a few days later.

Archie prides himself on his cooking ability. He was so fed up with cafeteria food that he spent a great time learning to cook. He likes to have a nice glass of red wine with some jazzy music playing in the background as he does so. Oh, and a few candles to create a warm atmosphere.

His favourite food is a nice steak cooked ‘til medium well with roasted veggies, gravy, herb butter and chips.

On average, he drinks at least three coffees a day. Usually black or with two sugars and a dash of milk. He likes black tea too, his favourite being an Indonesian brand - Sariwangi - that was introduced to him from Daniel.

He wants two more cats: Luke and Leia, both orange cats. Unfortunately he doesn’t have the time or space currently.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Slightly more optimistic/light hearted spin on "Chloe thinks Maribug fucked her over" but Chloe steals the Miracle box and decides her ultimate revenge will be becoming a more iconic hero than ladybug.

"By the time I'm done, Paris will be all, Lady who?"

Of course she didn't know to steal the spellbook so she can't use unification and she only knows the names of (Being generous) Sass, Pollen, Kaalki, Trixx and depending on if its canon or rebuilt Kwami lore, the monkey or tigers names. & that assumes they were all present when she nabbed it.

On the Kwami's end the main reason they don't instantly peace out is Chloe's relatively mundane goals. IE be a better hero, and the fact at least some of them view this crisis as an opportunity.

Sass: As much respect as I have for Ladybug & Chat Noir's work, this war to reclaim Noroo has been treading water too long, maybe its time we added some new weapons to the war chest.

Trixx: I wonder how much effort it'd take to convince these kids to be genuinely heroic?

Monkey/Tiger: HAVOC!

Long story short, Chloe needs to make herself a team, or a gang, she's not sure which.

Sabrina's an obvious choice but who else does she know?

... There's Felix- Nope, no, too unreliable.

Who's the red headed chick that hates Marinette? Rosli something?

Anyway Lila gets the fox but has to re-dub herself Volpin-X, the darker, edgier version of Volpina!

If its monkey then Sabrina gets it cos she has a good throwing arm and the staff means she can avoid CQC. Otherwise she's a worker bee or getting dragged around by the ear by Kaalki.

Chloe likely prioritizes snake for the second chance theming and leadership style power. If Tiger is in play she also keeps that for raw destructive might, but if not, she keeps Kaalki for quick get-aways.

I figure even if Pollen is present Chloe wouldn't use her, because Queen Bee was hers, Chloe's, and redesigning that to obscure her ID feels... Wrong, and she may feel bad about ignoring Pollen regarding HK ad not want to make things weird.

But yeah, broad kind of chaotic spin, but thought you might find it amusing and more in line tonally with your preferences.

GOD I need to swing back and revamp forged

[catstrawberryx]

Por favor, ya no me envíen el enlace al anuncio del foro, ya he terminado de leerlo.

Yo recibí las capturas del chat de ellos con mi amiga en tiempo real, ella estaba en llamada con nosotras (como en cada madrugada), tengo las capturas, sé que más personas las recibieron esa noche.

También sé que quién implantó la idea de qué ella era otra usuaria fue el user de Moon bi, amiga cercana del staff, también le dieron pruebas a mi amiga de eso, de hecho, fue el propio Moon bi, nosotras lo vimos también y otras personas del foro también.

Que fácil es culpar a otros, lavarse las manos usando otro acontecimiento de ese foro que dio asco, todos lo leímos, incluso yo que no soy del foro. Supongo que es la forma más fácil de salir de esto.

Jamás han sido capaces de disculparse y jamás lo serán, ya me lo habían dicho, el ego es más grande incluso que la pérdida de una vida.

Cómo ya vi, quienes vinieron a pedirme pruebas y a acosarme ayer, son usuarios del foro, no sirve que ahora borren los mensajes.

Edito: está persona, con quién intenté comunicarme, pedirle que no expusiera el tema, quién vino primero que cualquiera a hacer ruido, es la primera persona en darle like al mensaje del staff del SoG, supongo que no es difícil imaginar que son el mismo foro.

Cuando esté más calmada, dejaré un mensaje, como lo último, sólo pienso que al menos el asco de sitio de CqC al menos tuvo la decencia de asumir su error y no lavarse las manos como estos admin.

[rolmaniacos]

Raelle es Alma, de SOG, la misma que mandó capturas de sus chat de discord a CQC // ¿como esta loca tiene acceso a moderación de foros con lo peligrosa que es? // Son todos iguales. Alma es sólo una descerebrada a la que todo le da ansiedad, al igual que el 99% de los usuarios de foros de universidad que sólo existen para vivir una vida imaginaría porque las suya son demasiado patética.

Amsieda' B⊕REDOM

[chronicallyqueercoining2]

Hello!

I took a VERY long break to focus on myself and my life course, because I became a legal adult and had a lot of stuff happen in my life

We are in college now!!!! I started our first job!!!! We made new friends!!!! I also have another gf now :3!

Im back, but posts will be scattered. I'll try to catch up on requests!

Sorry if we reply to a request from like. Half a year ago!

I missed yall<3

[chronicallyqueercoining2]

Saw some of our stuff on there..

I want to make an announcement, in case it isn't clear; please do not add any of my terms into boards, groups, etc, with transids and such. It is a hard boundary and discomfort. I do not support such things.

(When I say transids I mean transabled, tratransage, etc,,)

We DO support otherkins, therians, xenogenders, and such terms. These are NOT the same nor are they related or to be associated with transids that are so harmful.

Extremly important post , which means minimum typing quirk .

There are two accs on pinterest that steal flags in order to "archive" them . Both of the accs' owners go by sparkle , && both support transids && radqueers , so i suspect they are run by the same person .

These are the accs .

They have stolen flags from multipule blogs , no credit at all .

Below is an example :

There is no link fo the original post, by @/rwuffles , nor any credit in the desc . ( if you are wondering, the white button reads " show " , it doesnt redirect anywhere . )

I will tag all the creators they stole from that i found . There are way more , but my pinterest decided to stop working halfway .

If all the people i tag will report these accounts , maybe they will get shut down . Just a warning , there are a lot of radqueer / transid terms on both accounts .

@laughdiamond , @bakerysweets , @romancielle , @adorcubus , @bunnys-genderhoard , @phantasverie , @rwuffles , @surgeryie , @crazy-iwascrazyonce1 , @scytheral , @systemtermz , @chronoport , @antiendosystemterms , @k-koa , @macchiane , @webslasherzz , @decayedgender , @necroangelz , @createlink , @lesboytism , @chronicallyqueercoining2 , @enderluna , @lunentity , @lovesse .

And , some tags for reach ( no force to react to this, dm for removal ) :

@rabidbatboy , @smilepilled , @winecovered , @gengernoway .

Feel free to tag more people you find on there if i didnt tag them .

[gertlushgaming]

PAYDAY 3 Review (Steam)

For this PAYDAY 3 Review, we step out of retirement back into the life of crime in the shoes of the Payday Gang, the envy of their peers, and the nightmare of law enforcement wherever they go. Several years after the crew’s reign of terror over Washington DC has ended, they assemble once again to deal with the threat that roused them out of early retirement.

PAYDAY 3 Review Pros:

- Fantastic graphics. - 46.05GB Download size. - Steam Achievements. - Graphics settings - window mode, resolution, framerate limit, v-sync, field of view slider, brightness, contrast, motion blur, depth of field, anti-aliasing, NVIDIA DLSS SR, view distance, shadows, post-processing, textures, effects, and foliage. - User interface settings - subtitles, subtitles text size slider, fps count, reticle, reticle editor (bar width/bar length/dot size/min Crosshair scale/max Crosshair scale), hit indicators, and indicator scale slider. - Full controller support. - Two controller presets. (default/Legacy) - Colorblind support. - Keyboard players can rebind the buttons. - Cross-play support that can be turned on and off. - Optional tutorial setup. - Invert axis and sensitivity sliders for both the controller and the mouse. - In-game chat can be turned on and off. - First-person shooter gameplay. - Challenges give infamy that is used for vendor items, and awards for skill points. - The challenges are split into heist, career, and combat. - Vendors sell - weapons, masks, and suits/clothing. - Loadout slots - primary, secondary, deployable, overkill weapon, armor lining, throwable, tool, and skills. - Appearance slots - character, masks, suits, and gloves. - Six base characters - Wolf, Joy, Dallas, Chains, Pearl, and Hoxton. - You set your preferred characters for multiplayer online. - Full friends list integration with an invite system. - Cutscenes are a mix of still art, FMV, and in-game interactions. - Every level can be played in multiplayer. - Lobby options - public, friends only, and invite only. - Four difficulties - normal, hard, very hard, and overkill. This affects Ai's difficulty, and money earned and may add modifiers. - The shooting feels a lot better with improved feedback and feel. - You can give orders to your Ai teammates and they will revive you. - All new cop types. - Call in heavy-duty overkill weapons. - The main mission and any triggered optional missions will show at all times. - Everything you do earns EXP and you level up to get new gear. - You get exp and cash even if you fail or quit out of a heist. - Every heist randomizes the locations of key items and where you need to go. - Heists can be done in so many different ways. - Environmental hazards can be triggered like fire extinguishers, sprinklers and so much more. - Cool flyover of the heist beforehand. - Earn exp for every weapon you use to upgrade the gun. - You can mark enemies. - Gets very addictive. - For me, it feels more like PayDay 1 rather than PayDay 2. - Every game with random is different and usually a huge learning curve. - A full 3D world with 360-degree camera control. - Infinitely replayable for many reasons from leveling up to upgrading guns to getting more loot. - When someone in your team puts their mask on it's just the, not the whole team so you can stay in stealth. - As you complete heists you get new story cutscenes. - All the heists are unlocked from the get-go and you are just unlocking the story. - Guns can be customized with charms, patterns, colors, and stickers. - Upgrading your gun affects stats and things like grip, attachments, mods, etc. - Full 3D models for each item/weapon. - Play and proceed in the game how you want. - Earn skill points and put them into the massive skill tree for new passives and upgrades. - 17 classes to unlock and use that change your passives and abilities - CQC specialist, Strategist, tactician, hacker, Grifter, Gunslinger, Engineer, Manipulator, Enforcer, Demolitionist, Escapist, Sharpshooter, Tank, Infiltrator, Mower, ammo specialist, and medic. - If players drop out they get replaced with bots. - Each class has its own set of upgrades in the tree. - Three main passives kick in depending on your class, load out, etc. - Edge (10% extra damage), Grit (take 10% less damage), and Rush (faster movement). - Eight total heists. - Streamlined simple to use mission select screen. - No in-app purchases at launch. - Enemies can drop ammo. PAYDAY 3 Review Cons: - Immediately greeted with a signup/sign-in to the Starbreeze system. - The game is having major matchmaking issues. (Has improved somewhat) - You cannot have two players the same in a group. - You are still subject to a long matchmaking time even in friends-only and invite-only lobbies. - No designated offline/solo mode. - Getting disconnected errors when playing solo or when matchmaking. - The mouse cursor stays on the screen even when using the controller. - Went in a few times set to invite only and got matched with random. - The tutorial is fine but still goes on the philosophy that you already know what you are doing. - Always online requirement. - No pause. - The guns don't feel that different. - Have had the AI cops just storming a room and then standing in the corner with their back to me. - It's all aimed at returning players and is not new player-friendly. - There is no way to mute individual players or check the audio settings when in the lobby. - Only eight heists at launch. - A lot of grinding is needed to unlock the better weapons and masks. - It is possible for Rogue random players to troll and ruin games. - Rank doesn't equal skill and instead represents time played. - When you finish a heist it just ends and kicks you back to the menu, no way to stay as a team or give feedback. Related Post: Call Of The Wild The Angler Review (Steam) PAYDAY 3: Official website. Developer: Starbreeze Entertainment Publisher: Deep Silver Store Links - Steam Read the full article

[multifandomthoughts]

Characters that would protect you from unwanted attention

Fem! Reader

Requested by: nobody, this is based off some experiences I’ve been having

Guido Mista

“I’m going to ask you to step away from them before things turn ugly.” You we’re out drinking with Mista and the gang, having a good time until someone approached you.

Thinking nothing of it, you chatted the person up, happy to meet someone new, a potential friend. But then things get…awkward. They’re asking you all sorts of personal questions, ones that you don’t typically ask a stranger.

Luckily for you, Mista was there, and noticed you increasingly getting uncomfortable. At first, he tries to joke around, have fun with them. Maybe they’ll get the hint that you aren’t comfortable.

But when that doesn’t work….sex pistols are here to stay. The promise of meeting six more of Mista’s friends does wonders to make the creep run for the hills.

Axel

“Don’t fuck with me. Got it memorized?” You were at the beach with Axel, having a genuinely good time. Unfortunately for you, Axel runs hot due to his fire powers.

Taking a second to go down to the water and cool himself off, someone nearby took that as a chance to try to chat you up. He asks you what someone like you is doing spending time together with someone like him.

And he of course throws in too many unnecessary comments about how good you look. It made you think that he was only being superficial or could care less about the real you.

You follow Axel, heading to the water to try to escape from this creep’s leering eyes. The air begins getting hotter and your stalker starts to sweat as Axel creates fire from thin air. He’s prepared to burn this asshole alive for bothering his partner, and making them feel insecure about themselves.

Zoro

You decided to go shopping with Zoro for once. Normally you go by yourself, but you saw some clothes that you want Zoro to judge for you. Zoro, generally doesn’t have an opinion, but you’d soon find out someone else does.

A man who was clearly watching, comes up to you. Not a clerk, oh no, just a random shopper. And he starts going on a tangent about how good you look, how the clothes fit you in all the right spots.

When he starts suggesting other clothes for you that would very much be showing off way more skin, that’s when Zoro sets the hangers of clothes he was holding onto aside and steps in.

“Hey. Don’t you dare talk to them like that.” Zoro practically growls. You’re glad that you don’t let him have his swords out while shopping, or else this guy would practically be mincemeat. Luckily for you, all it took was a threat and a sinister look to get him to scram.

Solid Snake

You were having dinner with Snake, a rare night out when he’s not busy. You decided to do a nice fancy restaurant, just the two of you, or at least you thought.

Snake has to step out for a minute. Nothing major, just to give colonel his whereabouts in case something happens. Giving the impression of being stood up, someone comes waltzing over.

This stranger, very rudely eating some of the food Snake had left on the table, offers to show you a better night on the town than the “jerk that just left you with the bill”. You try to protest and he won’t hear a word of it, clearly you’re just too optimistic and delusional to see the sad truth.

Then Snake returns, and sees how uncomfortable you are. Firmly gripping their shoulders, he states “Do you know what CQC is?” Already frightened, they say no. “Well, you’re about to.”

[obsidiansong]

Oh right, I promised Modern Verse thoughts last night

Modern Byleth being a college graduate with an English Bachelor’s and wanted to become an author, but couldn’t find a publisher for her book and, consequently, has more or less failed to accomplish her dreams. So, now she practically lives out of her van, getting by on meager commissions she earns for writing articles about things she has zero understanding of for some magazine she doesn’t even really know.

One day, while at a convenience store, she ends up saving three college freshmen from an armed robber (thanks dad, for the CQC training growing up), but leaves with her purchases before they can properly thank her. A few days later, one of them finds her at a cafe writing her newest shitty article and buys her a coffee and pastry as thanks, and after some chatting, she helps them with some homework they’ve been struggling with, and they realize she’s actually a really good tutor.

So, every few days, they stop by that same cafe and buy her coffee and breakfast as payment for tutoring, and eventually word spreads about the “coffee shop tutor” who’s substantially cheaper to “hire” than professional tutors, and is just as good at it if not better.

[chronicallyqueercoining2]

This is so well written and true.

I love you, transfems<3

[ID: A swirly, pink and blue background on all slides. Text reads; I'm laughing with my queer friends. We talk about queer love and queer sex. "God, I am such a lesbian, I'd literally throw up if I saw a dick irl!" I shrink back. She'll wonder why she doesn't have many transfem friends. "Women & AFABs" is written on a bright, rainbow sign. There's a trans flag on one corner, an intersex one on the other.

I sigh and walk inside.

They all wonder why so few transfems attended the meeting today. "AFAB Healthcare" is the title of the breast cancer awareness post on my for you page this morning.

They'll dare to wonder later why "all our beautiful trans women" are dying so young. There's a reddit post asking trans women what they think of the flag. There's 100 comments.

3 of them are trans women.

All of those have replies, telling them they're wrong.

They'll ask why trans women don't voice their opinions enough. I notice, quietly, I am far more acknowledged in conversation, with my longer hair and visible chest, than the girl across the table with buzz cut and a t-shirt.

They'll wonder why she doesn't keep contact with the rest of the group. My voice is too harsh, too loud. I don't qualify as a girl because or hairy legs or a weird nose.

They ask why so many transfems worry that much about passing. My mutuals repost and talk about punching terfs & kicking transphobes. They have never posted a transfem positivity post. They comment how little their transfem following is.

They scream predator at the trans girl in a collar and cat ears. She is 16. They comment how little they see trans girls in public these days.

I've been called a rapist, a groomer, a creep, for existing in online spaces since 14. It gets worse in short clothes or posts mentioning sex. They keep asking where to find good transfem voices online.

You drown, and you kill. You shout, and you maim. And you have the nerve, the audacity, to look me in the eyes and ask,

"Where are all the trans girls these days?" End ID]

[junejalow]

"I tried to warn you" R6 operators/oc

So a friend of mine from Discord, Cammie08 wanted a bar fight with Lion getting defensive over Rook that included my character Saulo "Chameleon" Benjamin with her police oc Venny Warwick who worked with Saulo's unit a few times. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!

Idel chatter, music thumbing in the background, people dancing in the middle of the large bar room, the smell of alcohol and food lingering in the air around the bar. A good friday night for the Rainbow operators. Harry had given them two weeks off to do as they please, a small handful of them went home to spend the down time with family and friends. The other's had decided this bar was a good start to their relaxing two weeks. They had nearly taken up one corner of the place, moving tables and chairs together to fit their large group. Their own idle chatter, stories, card and drinking games, sharing food, bellowing laughter, singing. All of it was a major stress relief for them.

"Did I ever tell y'all how Saulo got that scar on his face?" Asked the man sitting beside the urban expert. Saulo had introduced him upon arrival as an old work buddy from his Delta Force days, Venny Warrick had near 30 years experience working in police joint units. The very reason they met in the first place and continued to work off and on before Chameleon's departure to Rainbow. The aforementioned man gave a sharp jab to his side.

"What? It was funny!"

"Like hell it was! Never liked birds after that."

"Must be quite the story then, I would love to hear it." Timur piped in across from them, nursing a beer bottle in his hands.

"No, no you don't." Saulo replied quickly before Venny could, earning a snicker from the police man. "I'ma tell you anyways, I take the beating later." His friend said, shifting away when the other tried to snag him only for Maxim to swing an arm around his boyfriend and pull him and his chair closer. Effectively keeping him from moving.

"Really Maxim?!"

"What? I want to hear it as well, I find anything about you amusing and interesting. You know that." Calmly replied the trapper.

"Right right, so we were held up in Norway around Oppdal. We had this hot lead on a arms dealer who was using the storms around the area to cover their tracks and we were sitting outside just eating and enjoying a good warm meal and this bird of some kind literality came out of no where and snatched food from Saulo, gashed his lip in the process. It took months before we let him live it down." Venny told them, eyes gleaming with the memory as the table erupted in laughter and chuckles at the story.

"You fucker, Y'all tormented me every single time I ate somethin'!"

"And you was funny as hell too!"

"So you ain't gon' tell them about the time you got tied ta a bed while drunk?"

"Whoa whoa, time out there mate. Was this all in good fun or was a girl involved?" James asked from a few seats down, one hand mindlessly twisting around in Mark's short curly hair as the younger operator was leaning against him. Everyone always though they were a cute couple.

"Well I guess that's fair right? One story for another." Venny replied, downing the rest of his beer.

"And to answer your question good sir, there was a girl involved. So long story short, someone in the joint unit decided some sketchy bar on the edge of town was a good place to just knock back a few drinks before we head home after a successful mission. I got drunk worse than a nine eyed dog ever dared to be an-" He was cut off by Shutrat snorting and nearly spitting out his vodka.

"A nine eyed dog? What the fuck is that?"

"I believe it's an American term for a very drunk person." Jager replied from across the Russian, swatting Bandit's hand away as the other German attempted to steal his french fries. He mumbled under his breath about Elias having some and shoved his hand away again.

"Pretty much so." Venny replied, "Just a southern term I learned from Saulo. He thought us a lot over the course of our missions together."

"Look y'all kept askin' what I called different things so I told y'all."

"That... is a very odd term." Fuze mumbled.

"And calling Aleksandr 'Sasha’ isn't strange?" Marias asked, grinning at his boyfriend. Shutrat shot him a glance across the table, cold stormy grey eyes piercing into warm honey brown eyes.

"You leave that nickname alone Mari." The engineer raised his hands in mock defeat, knowing better that to push the Russian on subjects.

"Back to the story!" Smoke protested, growing impatient to hear the end.

"He was basically lead ta a back room by one of the dancer's and thang's got complicated, she tied him up, stole his wallet and we already knew somethin' happened because no one gets laid that fast." Chameleon chuckled, earning a playful glare from his friend.

"No bloody way! Why do ya like that mate?"

"Unfortunately, but she didn't get away. Perks of working with half a police and military unit."

One story turned into another, many of the operator's recalling times of fun moment. Dominic's best pranks, Maxim's CQC record attempt that disarming 4 people in quick session, Tachanka and Finka's drinking contest on base that ended with Doc forcing both of them to puke their guts out to avoid alcohol poisoning, Kali and Glaz's sniping contest which both were disturbed on when they caught sight of Lion chasing down Smoke over a prank Bandit came up with. The talk soon turned to missing places from their home towns, what they wanted to go see again and where they would visit on the next down time.

"Right well, I'ma go get more drinks." Saulo said as he stood up with Rook who offered to help carry. They got everyone's orders and headed off to the bar, Saulo watched the bartender fill out the orders with trained actions retaining to muscle memory and years of work while he chatted with Julian about different things. "Was that story true? The one Venny said about your scar?" Rook asked with a genuine smile. "Sadly. I'm honestly terrified of birds now. Fucker's just unsettle me." Chameleon replied, shaking his head a bit with a chuckle. "So that's why Monty doesn't bring Doux around, he never told us. I personally think she's a beautiful parrot." "I kindly asked him not ta speak about it but I'll agree she's pretty. Just don't want her near me is all." "Seems fair mon ami (my friend)." He agreed, taking a few drinks to add them in with the growing collection. A sudden presence behind them had both operator's tensing, thankfully Rook was the first to speak to the large man behind them. He greeted him with a smile, "We'll be out of the way soon." "I didn't come for a drink, I came for you short stuff. Been watching you since you came in." Julien shifted a bit closer to Saulo, he disliked starting anything or being center of attention. "I'm here with my friends and my boyfriend sir, I would very much love to return too them."

"I don't thank you understood my clearly, you're going to come back with me to my table and enjoy some drinks with us." "Olivier really wouldn't like that...Please move so we can return to our table." "What? That blond you were sitting with? He looks soft." "Sir... please I won't ask again. And don't try to start anything with him, he's a lot stronger than he looks. It's a warning for your own safety." Lion flicked his gaze from the card game in front of over to the bar, he noticed the uneasy expression his boyfriend held and slowly put down his cards much to Gustave's and Emmanuel's confusion until they followed his gaze over to the source of his distraction. Gilles released a knowing sigh. To say Lion was simply protective over Julien was a serious understatement. He was fiercely possessive, protective and loyal to anyone close too him. Rook's brow furrowed as he frowned at something the man had said, before he or Saulo could say anything he heard a chair from the table squeak across the floor followed by a booming voice that belonged to Lion, the name keeping his namesake. "Hey asshole!" The large french man barked as he stormed over, piercing blue eyes glaring pure anger into the civilian. Lion held nearly 7 inches on the man and had a much larger build. "I tried to warn you." Rook mumbled under his breath. "Get lost and leave them alone." Olivier snarled at the man who give a defiant look. "What? Thank you're scary just because you got muscle? I've been boxing for over 10 years and won several belts, you look like someone who just works out for fun." The arrogant man chuckled which was quickly cut off by Lion surging forward, the man's face met the bar with a loud thud. Thankfully Saulo and Julien had ben quick in moving with the drinks, careful not to spill any as a few of their friends cheered from their table. Lion twisted one of the man's arms behind his back, holding it there in a iron drip. "I don't care how long you've been boxing, don't speak to my boyfriend again. Understood?" He said with a deathly calm tone, he wasn't playing and Rook knew it. His worry starting to pool in his stomach as the owner came out from the back, upon seeing the operator's he had come to know he sighed and motioned for the bartender to clear out. He knew better than to get involved with the soldiers when someone pissed them off. Soon enough the man against the bar had called for his friends to help out instead of sitting down which got rainbow's attention. Smoke standing from his spot beside Mute, Montagne joining him along side Kapkan, Doc and Tachanka. They quickly got involved in the fight after a punch was thrown, by who no one could see outside the mass. All that mattered was the fact that the fight was over in minutes, the offending group at the feet of the operators. People around them cheered as they returned to their table, Lion gently wrapping an arm around Rook to guide him back. They passed around the drinks that had been ordered and acted as if nothing happened. Gustave inspected everyone for a moment, stopping at Olivier's hand right hand for any damage but boxing with James had toughened his skin, it only had light marks that would most likely bruise later but lesson learned to the other people. It was soon made better Julien linking his left arm with Lion's right as they sat back down, his smaller hand gently rubbing across his knuckles to sooth the irritated skin.

The rest of the night went by smoothly, eventually the bar closed and they had to leave. Saulo gave Venny a hug and promised to meet up again. Thankfully the bar wasn't that far from the base and most of them walked back while other's went to their apartments two blocks away. Little pieces of heaven away from work on the rare times they got away from work. The base settled down after drunken laughter and helping each other to their dorms, thankfully Doc and Montagne had stayed sober enough to make sure of that. They were like the responsible parents of the operator's that always checked in on everyone and watched like hawks for any issues. Doc made his rounds before bed and helped Montagne go about setting out drinks and meds for hang over's in the morning. Once that was done and everyone were in there respective rooms, the two GIGN operator's went back to their dorm and went to bed together.

[jacensolodjo]

I... honestly don’t know if I got into Shane’s mindset properly here but whatever. And I never feel like I fully grasp Jack but. Look. I wrote a Thing with them ok?? I tried lmao *Tony Stark I think I did okay.gif*

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

Jack had said she wanted at least 10 minutes of solo fight time. So Shane had no choice but to wait on the hill in prone, sniper rifle at the ready. She doubted she would actually fire a shot before Charging down the hill towards Jack. Patience was not at all Shepard’s strong suit and everyone knew it. Especially Jack. Shane was starting to wonder if Jack was teasing her, testing her. 

And showing off. She was showing off. They both did, they both cajoled each other into higher and higher kill counts. If they were going to kill something, let it be Cerberus fuckheads, had been the logic from the get go.

Shane watched, half-disbelieving, as Jack literally ripped the spine out of a Nemesis. As the other biotic was turning to look at the hill, Shane quickly pulled the trigger. Jack flinched, just a little, as the bolt slammed through a heavily armored Centurion that had been barely a foot away, right at the brain stem. Guess I gotta tell Anderson disconnecting the computer still works, Shane thought. 

“So your way was cleaner,” Jack shrugged as she spoke over the comms. 

“I’m hurt y’think that’s why I did it,” Shane remarked back, rolling her eyes even though there was no way Jack could see it. 

Shane really wasn’t the sniper of the crew. She could do it, but she hated it. And her original classification had always meant her CQC was top notch. And had only grown after Project Lazarus and finally getting the go-ahead to be called ‘Vanguard’ rather than ‘Adept’. 

“Yeah well, still got another minute solo,” Jack said dismissively before turning to walk back into the fray. She had lured a good number of them out of the building but Shane was sure there were quite a few waiting for them inside still. 

Shane tapped the side of her helmet, swapping frequencies. On her last mission she had managed to snag the frequency codes that most of the lower-level Cerberus troops used. It was far easier to eavesdrop on them that way than trying to get EDI to hack into their system. And at the moment, she didn’t even have the Normandy nearby. The two biotics had taken a simple shuttle to this simple planet for a simple kill Cerberus mission. 

“We need backup! Repeat: backup! Subject Zero and Commander Shepard are here!” a frantic voice was screaming. A little late, Shane mused, but she didn’t much care if they got backup or not. It would just put her on more even footing with the scoring. 

“No backup, you are ordered to evacuate. If you stay there you will be signing your own death warrant. Do not engage Subject Zero or Commander Shepard,” a calmer, cooler voice replied. Shane wracked her brain. trying to pin down where or if she had heard the voice before. 

“But we need backup to cover the escape! We’ve lost a quarter of our defenses already! Our troops are saying they haven’t even seen Shepard enter the fray yet!”

“Then enjoy dying.”

“Banes, you can’t--”

Banes?!?! That was it.

“Armistan, I’m a little offended. Why shouldn’t I have some fun on y’company’s dime?” Shane broke in, unable to stop herself even knowing it meant they’d realize she had their frequency and everything else. 

“Commander Shepard, this is not the first time you’ve interrupted my work,” Banes said coolly. 

“An’ the first time I did wasn’t the first time y’Cerberus fucks sicced a Thresher Maw on me.”

“Ah, so you did learn about Akuze. A shame that memorial didn’t turn out like it should have...” 

“Fuck you!” Shane instantly felt her biotics activate around her. “I’m going t’ fucking rip your head off your fucking body y’piece of scheiße!”

“Now, now no need to get nasty,” Banes chided, still cool as a damn cucumber. Why the hell were Cerberus men always like this? Always knowing exactly how to just make her even more mad!?

“Once I’m done here, you’ll see how fuckin’ nasty I can really be,” Shane growled, standing up. She surveyed the area in front of her. Jack had gone inside. Damn. She had gotten distracted yelling at Banes. Holding back a sigh, Shane instead Charged down the hill and past the carnage Jack was responsible for.

“I look forward to it. Troopers, change to frequency gamma. This has been a wonderful chat, Commander Shepard, but I’m afraid it ends now.” 

“I’m not done with you!” she didn’t care if the frequencies had already changed. She’d get him eventually. He had to know that. 

“You are for now,” Banes said before a very soft click. Shane growled again but then turned the frequency back to the one she shared with Jack.

“Where the fuck are you?” Shane demanded, a lot harsher than she meant. She was still riled by her conversation with Banes. Dammit. She thought of apologizing but knew Jack would likely just wave it off. 

“I could say the same damn thing, bitch! What, were you daydreaming out there?” at least Shane could count on Jack not much caring if Shane was a little curt. 

“I eavesdropped on them. They’re trying to evacuate instead of holding the area,” Shane explained, running at her max speed while following the trail that she knew would lead to Jack.

“Uh huh. You did way more than eavesdrop,” Jack said. Shane honestly didn’t know why she thought she could ever fool Jack. Jack knew what Shane was going to do before Shane even thought it. 

“You would too if you heard fucking Banes on the line using your number,” Shane returned before finally sprinting around a corner to find the meat of the action once more. 

“My nu-- oh, fuck that! That’s hardly--” but Jack stopped speaking to instead fling two Guardians at a wall, smashing them into pulp within their armor. 

“Hardly worth gettin’ pissy over?” Shane asked mildly, Charging right past Jack to fire off a short burst from her stolen Mattock into a line of troopers. 

“Well, kinda, yeah. But... thanks,” Jack admitted, before flinging a Phantom into the air. Shane smiled to herself before peppering the Phantom full of holes as it rotated in mid-air. 

In all honesty, Shane was glad to hear Jack wasn’t reacting as badly to ‘Subject Zero’. She was healing. But that wasn’t going to make Shane suddenly shrug about the use of the moniker. Especially from Cerberus. 

“Also, it was kinda half-selfish anyway. Banes was responsible for what happened to Kahoku’s men. He sicced a fuckin’ thresher on me when I went to look for the missing troops,” Shane continued, seeing no point in pretending it was all selfless caring of Jack’s ‘feelings’ 

“Ah, damn. S’e’here?” Jack asked as the pair finally reconnected to storm down a hallway. Jack had heard the tale of woe many times when it came to Akuze, but the Kahoku mission was new. Though Jack never really cared about learning new things about Shane, in that she didn’t actually go asking, it was only natural to learn more at ‘surprising’ times. They couldn’t possibly talk about each other’s 20+ years of life in the galaxy and still have time to kill some Cerberus fucks. It wasn’t hidden history, just history they hadn’t brought up yet. The reason they worked out so well is they had no expectations of such. Their histories had to come up organically, not after playing 20 questions. They bonded because their trauma was shared, the same people had caused them both a lot of pain and torment. In different ways, sure, but still the same people.

“Nah, I dunno where he is but he definitely isn’t here. The way he said things it seemed like he was already on a ship away from here,” Shane admitted. It was a disappointment but it would be rectified. 

“Well, you and I both know there’s no Cerberus fuck in the galaxy who can hide from us for very long. You wanna go after him, you know I’m fucking there,” Jack said, not even sounding out of breath yet. Shane had to admire her resilience. 

“Yeah, I know. Let’s finish up here then we’ll worry about Banes,” Shane said, offering a slight smile at the other biotic. Jack smirked back then as one they literally leaped into the next battle. 

[chronicallyqueercoining2]

Oh I'm totally doing this whattttt!!!! /pos!!!!

SPOOKY COINING EVENT 🦇‼️

Hi!!! So I hit 200 followers which is pretty sweet. Since this blog revolves around mogai, I’ve got a week long coining event for you guys, taking place in the week of January 1st to January 7th. There will be prompts related to themes that I personally enjoy, and themes that relate to this blog overall.

If you enjoy horror movies, games or spooky and gorey mogai, feel free to join!

🦇 ONE ; either bats, raccoons, skunks or rats

🩸 TWO ; based on your favourite horror movie

🔪 THREE ; blood, guts, and anything gore

🪰 FOUR ; in genderlabrat or genderhaunted

🫀 FiVE ; based on your favourite horror game

🦷 SiX ; werewolves, werebats, any lycanthropy

🐾 SEVEN ; free - anything that fits the vibes!

RULES ; @ me in any flags you make for this event, I’d love to see them! you can tag your posts with #rabidbatboy200 so I can see them all in one place. feel free to skip days and post late, or make them in advance and queue em, just don’t post before the correct days please and fanks. you can coin any kind of mogai from these prompts - genders, sexualities, x4x etc. no radqueer shit please

🦇 TAGGING (for a cheeky promo or whateva) ; @yourdarlingness @sacrifesse @autibf @kiruliom @local-yurei @genderstarbucks @revenant-coining @st4ratlz @deertism @romeo-004 @kirugorture

you don’t have to participate! ; anyone is free to promo or join in . . .

[ PT: spooky coining event

Hi!!! So I hit 200 followers which is pretty sweet. Since this blog revolves around mogai, I’ve got a week long coining event for you guys, taking place in the week of January 1st to January 7th. There will be prompts related to themes that I personally enjoy, and themes that relate to this blog overall.

If you enjoy horror movies, games or spooky and gorey mogai, feel free to join!

one: either bats, raccoons, skunks or rats

two: based on your favourite horror movie

three: blood, guts, and anything gore

four: in genderlabrat or genderhaunted

five: based on your favourite horror game

six: werewolves, werebats, any lycanthropy

seven: free - anything that fits the vibes!

rules; @ me in any flags you make for this event, I’d love to see them! you can tag your posts with #rabidbatboy200 so I can see them all in one place. feel free to skip days and post late, or make them in advance and queue em, just don’t post before the correct days please and fanks. you can coin any kind of mogai from these prompts - genders, sexualities, x4x etc. no radqueer shit please

tagging (for a cheeky promo or whateva); (list of accounts)

you don’t have to participate! ; anyone is free to promo or join in . . . / END PT]

[nevernotwriting]

You, Me, and Yancy | Chapter 12: The Ropes

Read me on AO3!

Previous chapter

Two months earlier…

One of the many things that surprised you during your first fortnight at HQ was the sheer size of the place. There was a whole west corridor filled with storage cupboards and empty offices. At the end of this corridor was a staircase, which you assumed led to the roof, and one final double door that you had yet to see the other side of.

Until now.

Mark held the door open, stepping in after you. “Welcome to the gymnasium.”

Your eyes scanned the vast room. It lacked the shiny wooden floor of every other gymnasium you’d been in, but you could see where it got its nickname from nonetheless. One wall was lined almost entirely with a variety of unfamiliar and intimidating equipment. The opposite wall was covered in thick padding, with target dummies standing idly at different distances across one half of the room. The other half had the same padding on the floor and was littered with gymnastics obstacles, including a rock-climbing wall with a platform at the top that towered above everything else.

A gasp left your mouth, your eyebrows shooting up. The door slammed shut, but the sound barely registered in your awestruck mind.

“Pretty impressive, huh?” Mark said, standing next to you with his arms folded. “So, you ready to learn the ropes, rookie?”

You scratched the back of your neck, shuffling on the spot. “That depends. What are the ropes, exactly?”

Mark listed off activities on his fingers one by one. There was CQC training, target practice, wall climbing, and learning to use the grappling gun.

“We don’t have to do them all in one day,” Mark laughed as a look of horror overtook your face. “We can just do target practice and the grappling gun today, they’re most important. Besides, Shrike’s better at teaching CQC to rookies than I am.”

“Will you stop calling me that?” You sighed, taking off your jacket and tossing it onto a nearby bench. Either it was warm in here, or your nerves were building up and making you sweat before you’d even started.

Mark titled his head as he looked at you. “What, rookie?” He shrugged. “Well, you don’t want us to use your real name, and you still haven’t picked a nickname, so…”

You grumbled. He had a point. With a roll of your eyes, you decided to drop the subject. You were eager to get back to the familiarity of your monitor in front of you, a cup of coffee in one hand as you and Jasmine chatted away over work.

“All right, fine. Let’s just get on with it, yeah?”

“That’s more like it!”

Mark leapt into action, ushering you towards a wall where handguns of various shapes and sizes stood ready to be taken down.

“First thing’s first, I’ll show you how to equip a silencer.” He reached into a locker, pulling out the attachments that you vaguely recognised from TV and films. He also pulled out two pairs of safety goggles, tossing one pair towards you.

“Just in case,” he said with a wink. You rolled your eyes as you slipped them on.

He showed you how to equip a silencer, impressed with how easily it came to you. You were locked and loaded in seconds, unable to hide the proud grin now plastered on your face. Either Mark was a great teacher, or you were going to be better at this than you thought. Mark kept his eyes trained on you as he led you towards a duct tape line on the floor directly opposite the target dummies.

“We only use tranquiliser rounds out on the field, but we don’t have enough of them to spare for target practice, so we’ll use real bullets to work on your aim,” he explained as he readied the gun.

“Wait! Isn’t this gonna wear down the silencer?”

Mark lowered the gun and shrugged. “Yeah, but we got plenty more. Besides, it’s either this or blow your ears off.”

“So we have protective goggles but no earplugs?” You laughed. “Health and safety policy’s a little out of perspective here.”

“Or Shark’s just a cheapskate,” Mark added. His face quickly contorted into a worried frown. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

Mark smiled gratefully, and you stepped back as he got back into position. In a split second, his face changed to one of pure concentration as he fired two shots. On the far end of the room, one of the dummies fell to the floor with two bullet holes; one in its shoulder, the other in its torso.

You raised your eyebrows. “Uh… woah.”

Mark grinned at you, his face lighting up with pride. He clicked the safety on, then held the gun out to you.

“Your turn.”

You tore your eyes away from his, swallowing as you took the weapon. The metal was cool to the touch, only emphasising the warmth of your fingertips and the sweat building on your palms. Turning the safety off, you let your finger touch the trigger.

The recoil rippled down your arms, making you lose your aim entirely. The bullet hit the foam wall at the opposite end with a loud thump, several inches above where you were aiming. Despite knowing this would happen, you still wished the ground would swallow you up as you turned to Mark, face full of embarrassment.

“Crap… sorry.”

Mark chuckled and shook his head. “Not a problem. You got the right posture for the most part, but your left arm was a little high. Try again.”

You repositioned yourself ready to fire. Mark moved to your side, hovering a hand above your left arm. He turned his head towards you, and you realised just how close he was stood to you.

“May I?”

You blinked in surprise at his question and nodded, letting him reposition your arm. Self-consciousness overtook you again as you fired a second shot, but your aim was much better this time with Mark keeping your arm in place. The bullet scraped the edge of one of the dummies, leaving a small dint in the side of its chest.

“That’s better!” Mark exclaimed. He smiled at you, eyes shining from more than the fluorescent lights on the ceiling.

“Not bad for a rookie, huh?”

Mark stepped away from you. “Not bad at all. Try it on your own this time.”

You fired a few shots on your own, considerably better than the ones before. After some more rearranging of limbs and some gentle pointers, you landed a shot in the middle of one of the dummies’ chests. You clicked the safety back on and turned back to Mark with a triumphant smile.

“Nice! Can you do it again?”

“Probably not.”

The two of you laughed. Mark beckoned you towards him and took the gun from you.

“Let’s try something else before you get too cocky, yeah?”

“Hey!” You protested. “Let me have my moment of glory.”

He shook his head with a smile, walking towards the rock-climbing wall and grabbing two grappling guns on his way. “I’m just teasing you,” he replied with a wink.

You rolled your eyes again, but something stirred in your heart. He turned back around just in time to miss the bashful smile that broke out onto your face.

“All right, this is my favourite part, but it’s also the scariest for a lot of rook- first timers,” he corrected himself with an apologetic look tossed your way. You smiled.

“We’ll take it easy for the first try, so you can get used to it. We’re gonna hook the gun onto that bar there,” he gestured to a large metal bar above the platform protruding from the wall, “and then climb up.”

You frowned. “Why do we need to climb, can’t we just zip straight up?”

“Yeah, but trust me, it’s better to take it slow at first so you can get used to it. This thing’s got a lot of power. Plus, gives you a chance to use some muscles.” Mark flexed his arm in an exaggerated manner.

“More like gives you yet another chance to show off,” you laughed.

Mark snorted, tossing a grappling gun your way. “You got me.”

Looking up at where you were headed, you felt your heart skip a beat, a nervous lump rising in your throat. It seemed an awfully long way up, with only gymnastics mats as your cushion if you were to fall. Pushing down your anxieties, you watched as Mark showed you how to hook the gun onto the bar. After a couple of tries you managed it, and you were ready to climb. Mark latched his free hand onto one of the holds, then turned back to you.

“C’mon, you got this!”

The wall loomed over you threateningly. Mark sped ahead of you as you slowly worked your way upwards, shouting back encouragement and advice as you ascended. Your free hand was growing sweaty from the effort, but the comfort of the grappling gun secured safely above you boosted your confidence, pumping adrenaline through your veins.

“You’re doing great, you’re almost there!” Mark shouted down to you. He was already sat on the platform, one hand outreached and ready for you. His encouragement was contagious, and you let out a cheerful laugh, eyes creasing in the corners.

And then you looked down.

“Uh… Mark?”

Your legs froze in place as you stared at the floor below you. When the hell did you get this high up? Every fibre of your body was slowly grinding to a halt, making you unable to move one way or the other.

Just as your breathing began to quicken, Mark grabbed your attention.

“Hey, eyes on me, okay?”

His words broke through your tunnel vision and you snapped your head up. His voice was soothing as he continued, but seriousness clouded his eyes.

“You’re almost there, see?” He gestured to the bar just above him. “Just three more steps, then you can grab my hand.”

Panic took over again, your knuckles bulging as your throat clenched. “I can’t do it!”

“Yes you can, just focus on what to do next. See that green one to your left? Grab it.”

You forced a deep breath into your lungs and pried your iron grip from the orange hold you were currently holding on to for dear life. Pulling yourself up, you realised you had to move your legs to ascend further. You couldn’t stop yourself from glancing down again, moving one shaky leg after the other. A string of curse words left your lips.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before. We might have to start calling you foul mouth.”

You glared back up at Mark. “Not funny.”

He chuckled, gesturing to another hold just above you. You grabbed it as he continued talking.

“All right, well… how about something to do with computers, then? You’re really into tech stuff.”

You groaned, gritting your teeth together. Your muscles were starting to ache as he continued his oddly cheerful spiel.

“Ooh, how about Bing? Like the search engine? Or even Google, cause you’re smart! That’d be cool!”

“Mark,” you snapped, “I really don’t wanna talk about nicknames right now.”

“I was just trying to distract you from panicking. And it seems like it worked.”

You looked up again. Mark’s hand was now a few inches away from yours. He smiled at you, his eyes full of genuine adoration and a hint of “I told you so.”

“Oh.” Words escaped you. Mark’s smile widened, and you slowly returned the gesture as you took his hand and scrambled onto the platform. Your muscles relaxed the second you sat down, your entire body deflating from stress. Mark was still smiling at you as he unhooked your guns from the bar.

“You did it!” He exclaimed, his hand brushing yours for a moment. The smile still hadn’t left his face.

Eyebrows raised, you nodded and placed your gun to one side, looking at your hands. “Yeah… guess I did.”

“Seriously, I’m super impressed.”

You looked up at him again. His smile had softened, and it made your stomach flip unexpectedly.

“Thanks.”

Silence settled between the two of you as you locked eyes for a moment, the last of your anxiety melting away. A question popped into your mind.

“Hey, uh…” You began, scratching the back of your neck. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

You cleared your throat, sitting up a little straighter. You averted your gaze, feeling Mark’s eyes still lingering on you.

“Why… why did you volunteer to show me the ropes? Like, I appreciate it and all, but isn’t your schedule pretty busy at the moment? Why didn’t you let someone else do it?”

Mark blinked as he contemplated your question. A singular chuckle left his throat.

“To be honest, I… I wanted to get to know you a little better. You’re pretty cool.”

His answer surprised you and made your stomach flip yet again. You shuffled in your spot, looking anywhere but back at him.

“Thanks, Mark. You’re not so bad yourself.”

His eyes were sparkling when you finally willed yourself to look at him. They were quickly taken over by a look of mischief.

“Don’t speak too soon, I’ve still got more to show you. And we’ve gotta get down first.”

“… Fuck.”

 Another hour of training passed by, leaving your muscles exhausted but your brain exhilarated. Mark tossed your jacket back towards you as you were getting ready to leave, giving you another smile.

“You did great today. Guess I’ll definitely have to stop calling you rookie, huh?”

“Actually, about that.” You tied your jacket around your waist. “I think I’ve thought of a nickname.”

Mark raised his eyebrows. “Let’s hear it.”

Self-consciousness bled into you again and you folded your arms. “Well… you’re right, I am really into tech. And I remembered as we were getting back down just then, that…”

You stopped and scratched the back of your neck again. Part of you wondered why your brain decided to relay all this information right now, but you felt compelled to share it as Mark waited patiently, his kind eyes and curious expression unwavering.

“… When I was a kid, I used to have this obsession with binary code. I dunno why, but I guess I’m grateful, cause it kinda led me down this path in the first place. So…”

Another pause as you cleared your throat. You knotted your hands together.

“How about you call me Zero?”

The question hung in the air for only a second before Mark nodded.

“Zero…” He contemplated the word. “Yeah. That really suits you.”

You broke into an unstoppable grin, your heart soaring. This place was truly starting to feel like home now.

“Well, Zero,” Mark stepped closer to you, holding out his hand for you to shake. “I look forward to working with you more.”

With newfound energy, you took a hold of his hand. “Likewise, Mark.”

Next chapter