#made it all the more awkward when i saw her again. cause overwatch wanted us to play nice n all

[bombz-n-bluntz]

Thinking thinking...

[nctsjiho]

🥐 Guess Who’s Back?

warnings: none

❀ JiHo is joined by some of the members for her first V LIVE back from her “hiatus”

“Which cup did you use before?” JiHo’s voice sounds from somewhere off screen. “I don’t remember, just get me a new one.” Yuta says while a smirk creeps on his face. “Yah! Are you going to do the dishes?” The girl questions, slightly annoyed, yet her hand enters the frame with a clean glass for the older boy.

Yuta takes it and then points towards the camera in front of him. “I started the live already.” It’s silent for a few seconds before Yuta pulls JiHo to sit down next to him and forces her to wave to the camera. “Look who’s here!” He yells excitedly, causing JiHo to break out in a huge grin. “Czennie! I’m back!”

The two spend a few minutes just talking to each other and explaining the change of scenery. The fans notice that they don’t recognise the background to which JiHo explains that she is now living with her manager from Esteem in a separate building from that of the boys.

“Don’t worry, I spent a lot of time at the WayV and Dream dorms,” JiHo takes a sip of her drink, “or the boys just come and visit me.”

As if on cue, a door audibly opens and the sound of a few new guests fill the room. “You already started?” It’s Haechan, and he sounds a bit offended, but Yuta and JiHo can’t help but laugh before motioning him to join.

Not only Haechan, but Chenle, Jungwoo and Sungchan join the duo on the couch. “Taeyong oppa is cooking for us right now, but he’ll join us later as well.” JiHo tells the fans.

“How is it like not living with the boys?” Jungwoo asks looking up from his phone of where he read the fan’s question. “It’s a lot quieter, that’s for sure.” JiHo snickers when Haechan lightly slaps her arm. “But I’m pretty much always with them during the day, and sometimes I sleep over so it’s really not that different.”

Yuta pulls one of her legs over his own and slips his arms around JiHo’s waist, now being close enough to rest his head on her shoulder. “She only likes hanging out with WayV and Dream though, she never visits 127.” The Japanese boy whines which causes JiHo to roll her eyes and Jungwoo and Haechan to agree. “First of all, that’s not true. I literally hung out with Doyoung oppa at the dorms yesterday-” “You were there?” Jungwoo’s eyes widen almost comically. “I sent a message in the group chat through oppa’s phone, but you all ignored it so, your loss.” JiHo then turns to Haechan and points an accusing finger to him. “And you aren’t allowed to complain, since I’ve been with you at Dream’s dorm almost daily.” “Ah~ I guess your right.” Haechan bashfully says and sinks back in his spot on the couch.

The members then go on to talk about random things while looking at the comments of the fans. “What have you been up to in the past 2 months, JiHo.” JiHo reads which causes all the boys to warily look at her but she shrugs it off as excitement starts to bubble inside of her. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you guys for so long now!” Yuta can’t help but smile as the girl continues to bounce around in his arms. “I went-” “Skydiving!” Chenle finishes for her, to which JiHo drops her arms and she pouts in his direction. “I wanted to say it.” She whines and the boys coo at how cute she looks - as do the fans in the live chat.

“You went skydiving?!” Taeyong yells while hurrying from, what fans guess is, the kitchen. JiHo nods, seeming proud of herself. “But that’s so dangerous! Why didn’t you tell me? Did you guys know?” Taeyong points towards the other members who all but Chenle and Haechan shake their heads. “She told us during one of our practises.” Haechan explains. “I’m still disappointed that you didn’t take me with you. You know I wanted to try it.” Chenle groans. “I’m sorry Chenle, we’ll go together next time.” “You’re going again?!” Taeyong yells, obviously not okay with JiHo’s decision.

“Who’s your current favourite member in NCT?” Haechan reads and soon, hopeful and confident gazes are set on JiHo. “Of course it’s me.” He lets out a cocky chuckle to which JiHo scoffs. “Oh please, I’m not choosing you after you Jisung and Mark made a mess off my kitchen last time you were here.” Haechan looks as if the live was sucked out of him as everyone laughs at him. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”

“Well, I think right now, it’s Chenle.” Chenle let’s out a victorious scream when he gets picked and JiHo smiles. “Second would be Taeyong who’s cooking for us right now.” She quickly adds. “Why him?” Yuta asks offended while pointing towards Chenle. “Because he’s the only one who agreed to play Valorant with me, while the rest are still playing Overwatch or Battleground.” JiHo explains as if it’s the most logical thing and the best reason for picking him as first. “JiHo’s actually really good and she makes it really fun.” “It’s that all I have to do? Play Valorant with you?” Haechan questions dumbfounded. “Nah~ I don’t want to play with you anymore.” A big pout forms on Haechan’s lips and Chenle laughs at him. JiHo quickly apologises though, and ruffles the boy’s hair.

About 30 minutes into the live, Taeyong joins the group and sits down next to Yuta. In turn, JiHo excuses herself to go to the bathroom and the boys “take over” the live stream.

“JiHo seems more confident. I think so as well. She’s become very good at speaking as well. I saw Dream’s comeback show. JiHo did great, don’t you think?” Taeyong replies to a fan’s comment and then looks at the other boys. “Right. I’ve never seen noona like that. She did a good job.” Sungchan smiles.

Sungchan then finds a comment he wants to read. “Is JiHo close to everyone in NCT?” Jungwoo looks at him confused and Sungchan clears up that he was reading a comment. “Ah~ Yeah! I think everyone is comfortable around JiHo.” Jungwoo explains and everyone agrees. “A while back during ‘It’s Awkward But It’s Okay’ JiHo was only a bit awkward with Hendery.” Haechan recalls to which Chenle responds, “But noona hangs out with Yangyang and Hendery a lot now, they seem to be much closer now.”

Chenle’s eyes suddenly dart up when he sees JiHo approach them. “The fans wonder if you are close to everyone in NCT. You’re comfortable around Hendery now, right?” JiHo chuckles as she sits back down in her spot between Yuta and Haechan. “I’m a lot closer to Hendery oppa now, but it’s still a bit awkward to hang out alone with him.” Most boys nod understandingly while Haechan just chuckles and Taeyong smiles at her with the fondest look on his face.

The live stream continues on for another 20 minutes before JiHo calls it a night, saying that they would go an enjoy the food Taeyong prepared for them.

“It was nice to talk to you again.” The girl smiles sweetly, her voice laced with tiredness. “JiHo has prepared a lot of things for you guys so look forward to it.” Jungwoo smiles mischievously and JiHo’s eyes widen. “You’re not supposed to say that.” She says through gritted teeth, but Jungwoo just smiles. “I like being able to talk to you, Czennie, and hang out with the boys like this.” She throws her arms around Haechan and Yuta’s shoulders. “I’ll see you soon! Bye bye!” She greets and the boys follow before the V LIVE comes to an end.

---

Side Note: The croissant 🥐 is one of the emojis that’s “assigned” to JiHo by her fans, since she’s from France and because she loves croissants. The title of this post is the title of the V LIVE.

FYI I’m nearing the end of my semester and the end of a big project I’m working on so hopefully I’ll have more time soon to write more. <3 

[rwbyvein]

Firen Lhain: Chapter 301: The Colour of Dreams

"So," Jaune stated, "as you all know, today is the first day of the Vytal festival. So, in the name of team spriit, we need to have a group hug."

As soon as the word was out of his mouth, Nora was flying at him with open arms. He caught her with one hand, and she hung from his shoulder. She then reached up with one hand to grab onto his antler. Pyrrha nervously blushed until he pulled her in with his free hand, and Ren joined the group hug a moment later.

"I wouldn't trade you guys for the world." Jaune stated.

"What about RWBY?" Nora asked, and Jaune just stood there. "Well?.."

"Nora..." Ren admonished.

"They are wonderful friends as well." Pyrrha diplomatically said.

* * *

JNPR shimmied along the stands until they found open seating. As competitors they had choice seats near the front, but ledged down so that Jaune didn't have to worry about blocking anyone's sight. The group sat down and Jaune looked about questioningly.

"I'm sorry?," Pyrrha asked, "but is something the matter? Pyrrha asked.

"I think we should have made posters or something." Jaune replied.

"Then we will just have to cheer with more enthusiasm." Pyrrha excitedly replied.

"I've got that part covered!" Nora exclaimed, while Ren pulled out a paper. He unfolded it, and unfolded it, and unfolded it, and unfolded it, and unfolded it... and it was a banner. Jaune looked at him questioningly.

"You did say we need posters..." Ren replied.

"After... you had made it." Jaune replied.

"It was still a good idea." Ren replied, "If a bit belated."

Pyrrha began waving into the arena, and Jaune looked over to see RWBY walking out, along with the other team.

"We love you!" Nora screamed.

"RWBY!" Jaune buggled, "RWBY! RWBY!"

"Do you think I should throw my bra down there?" Nora asked, and Ren lowered the sign for a moment, just staring at her. "Too much?" she asked.

"Indeed." Ren grumbled, and lifted the sign back up.

The arena began to shake and Jaune stopped shouting. "What's... happening?.."

"They're changing the arena, duh." Nora replied.

"Is this your first time?" Pyrrha asked, as fire and ice came out of the ground surrounding the stolid centre.

"Yes..." Jaune voiced. "Is that a skateboard?" he asked.

"A huntsman's weapon is whatever he wants it to be." Pyrrha delightful said, "Isn't it wonderful?"

"Well, but... like?.." Jaune asked, "Does she fight with it... or just she just fly around on it?.."

"I do believe," Ren voiced, "that we will find out shortly."

"Why aren't you cheering?!" Nora shouted, and Jaune and Pyrrha started cheering once again.

* * *

"Did she just punch her skateboard?" Jaune asked.

"Less talk." Nora stated, "More cheering."

In reply Jaune started cheering once again.

* * *

Yang and Arslan punch's collides, causing a visible and audible shockwave. 'Aura fighting aura.' Jaune thought to himself.

* * *

"Come on Yang!" Jaune shouted, "You've got more fight in you!", and a wobbling Yang steadied herself as Arslan jumped at her.

* * *

The pink-haired guy nearly shot Yang, but was frozen by ice dust from Crescent Rose. 'Overwatch is important.' Jaune thought to himself. 'Something my team is not so good at. Honestly, they... literally... dive in head first. Well, Nora does, and Ren quickly follows...

* * *

Jaune watched Ruby and Weiss fight the stick guy. Stupid stick guy. With his stupid stick. They were purposefully missing with their blades... but... the Aura still hit... He thought Aura would stop the attacks... unless... they were worried about it being too strong... or were just hesitant. RWBY?.. hesitant?..

* * *

Jaune watched Weiss summon... what... a black hole?, that sucked the two guys in together. That was what you could do with dust. His jaw then went slack when Weiss caused a hand of ice to come up and grab the two. "What in the good god was that?!"

"Wicked-awesome is what it was!" Nora shouted.

"Indeed!" Pyrrha cheerily added.

And then Jaune's jaw went slack again when Arslan shattered the ice ball... cube... dudes... with one punch... "Wouldn't that hurt? Her... them?.." Jaune asked. "I mean, the shockwave traveled through the whole rock, didn't it?"

"Perhaps?," Ren quietly asked, "That's why Yang was able to take them out with one punch?"

"One punch I could see." Jaune replied.

"THEY DID IT!" Nora screamed.

"Wooooo!" JNP_ cheered.

"More like a WOOOOSH!" Nora exclaimed.

* * *

Jaune watched that green haired girl he hated walk towards RWBY. "Well, she's Ruby's friend..."

"And found her wallet!" Nora excitedly said.

"That is... improbable..." Ren voiced, and Jaune patted him on the shoulder.

"My thoughts exactly."

* * *

Emerald and Mercury walked away from the stand as JNPR walked up.

"I don't see what's so special about being socially awkward." Jaune quietly voiced. "I'm socially awkward too, and I not special."

"I'm sorry..." Pyrrha voiced, "But I'll have to disagree."

"We're like wicked cool." Nora stated. "Okay... we're not... but... we're like a team... right?"

"More than a team." Jaune stated, "We're friends." The rest of his team quickly looked at him him with curious expressions. "Right?"

"Can I?.." Nora quietly asked, and eagerly leaned towards him, "have another group hug?.."

Jaune stopped, rolled his eyes, and smiled. He then picked Nora up for another hug before Pyrrha and Ren joined them.

* * *

"Oh, I think I'm going to throw up." Emerald stated. "Did they seriously just do that?.." Mercury just stared at JNPR as they broke up the hug. "What?" Emerald asked.

"Just curious," Mercury said to her, "what it would be like to have team mates... you actually..."

"Actually what?" Emerald asked.

"Though," Mercury said, looking her in the eyes, "you might already know..."

"Know what?!" Emerald demanded, and Mercury developed a wide smile.

"If you keep that up, you might break your peppy disguise." Mercury said with a grin, and Emerald just sighed, trying her best to force a smile. "Why am I the one that has to pretend to be their friend?"

"I don't know?.." Mercury bitingly said to her, "Maybe you just have a friendly face?"

"Let's just get back to the dorm room." Emerald replied, and turned to walk way. Mercury quickly walking behind her.

* * *

JNPR watched as the credit card was thrown back at Weiss. "What's going on?.." Jaune worriedly asked.

"Looks like her card got declined..." Nora matter of factly stated, as if it happens all the time. That certainly wasn't the way Jaune was brought up... and for Weiss... a Schnee... this was...

Pyrrha saw the distressed look on Jaune's face and stepped forward. "Maybe I could help?" Pyrrha asked.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Aww..." Yang stated, "You don't have to..."

"But she could!" Blake exclaimed.

"Well..." Pyrrha's soothing voice replied, "I think you all earned it after that battle."

"Mind if we join you?" Jaune asked, and Ruby eagerly wagged her tail.

* * *

JNPR stood in the changeroom. Pyrrha walked towards the arena-side exit, Ren slowly behind her. Jaune put his hand on Nora's shoulder. She turned around to look him in the eyes, the other two pausing to look at them. "Nora," Jaune said to her, "we... have nothing to lose. No one is going to die, if we fail, we're not going to flunk out. The worst that will happen is that we will be the goofballs..."

"A position we already seem to hold..." Ren quietly voiced.

"Look, Nora..." he said, and she looked up into his eyes, "If anyone says anything to us about it, what do we say in reply?"

"Uh?.." Nora thought, "We'll break their legs?"

A pregnant pause followed as Jaune tried not to be judgemental. "Good answer, but no. We tell them THAT WE TRIED. They had just as much of a chance to be here as we did, and they didn't. We fought, they sat on the sidelines." Jaune then looked between all three of his team mates, "I know we're all going to do our best, and I want to tell everyone that I'm proud of you."

Nora wiped something out of her eyes and quickly turned to dash towards the arena-side exit. Ren and Pyrrha quickly turned as well. All three trying to hide the moistness in their eyes.

[fandom-imagines]

I’d Let You Bite Me Anyday

Chapter One

Fandom: BTS

Pairing: Namjoon (RM) X Reader

Words: 1957

Masterlist

The day seemed pretty normal to begin with. Wake up at six, shower, go to work. It was the journey home when everything began. I was on the train, gazing out of the window when I saw it. A man, probably around 5’8, was…eating a young woman? The gasps of those on the train were what made me realise that it was real, that he was actually eating that woman. People began to dash from the train as soon as possible, rushing home to their families whereas others favoured to stay on the train for safety. Well, it was safe until someone began screaming from the carriage beside me. Looking towards the noise, I saw another fight breaking out. A group of people were trying to pull a woman off a young girl, only to be bitten causing more screams. Shutting my eyes, I quickly left the train which had just arrived at my stop, thank god.

Pulling my hood up to defend myself from the rain, I hung my head. My eyes darted around the streets which were virtually empty except for a few people running home, panic in their eyes. Unsure of how I managed to remain so calm, I entered my flat, locking the door behind me. Sighing, I pull my soaked hood from my head, stripping myself from my coat so I’m not wet. I quickly grabbed my leather jacket from the back of my couch, slipping it over my shoulders before zipping it halfway up. I was currently wearing some black jeans, a white t-shirt and, now, a black leather jacket with a choker wrapped around my neck.

Glancing out the window, I saw utter chaos. Screams were echoing through the streets as a family ran down the street followed by a bunch of decomposing undead? My eyes flickered to the ground for a moment, finally registering what was happening as I shut the curtains so that I was unable to see anything happening outside. Turning back to my flat, I headed to the kitchen, grabbing the bottle of water from the side.

Hey, I might be dead in a few hours, may as well die hydrated.

Banging from my door was what made me place to bottle down. Startled, I rushed into my bedroom, grabbing my pistol from beneath my bed, making sure it was loaded before heading back out towards the door. I carefully peaked through the peephole, seeing a young man looking at the door handle. I hesitated for a moment, eyes widening when he looked up at the peephole to reveal a missing eye and had a half decomposed face. Before I knew it, the outside of my door was crowded with the undead, the banging on my door becoming louder and louder.

“Shit,” I muttered, rushing towards my open window.

Glancing behind me, I turned to the first-floor window, ready to leap out of it only to have the glass shatter to reveal one of those things. The girl, or what used to be the girl, leaped onto me, mouth moving closer and closer to my face as I kicked its torso as hard as I can to try get it away from me. I kicked it one final time before grabbing my gun. I quickly shot her in the head, flinching slightly as I did so, the body falling on top of me as blood began to cover me. As soon as I shoved the body off of me, the door burst down revealing a huge group of those things. I let out a huge breath I wasn’t aware I was holding before lowering myself out of my window, landing safely on the ground, gun still in hand. Most of the walkers had left the street, now residing inside my flat meaning I was able to run down the street, gun in hand ready to shoot anything that came near me – anything inhumane.

~

The only thing I could hear was my panting as I finally reached a stop nearby a seemingly abandoned house. It looked like any other house on the streets: red bricks, closed curtains yet an open window, a white door with a gold handle and a circle window at the top where I assumed was an attic. Glancing behind me on the look out for any people of any sort, before making my way up to the front porch, opening to door and letting myself in.

The inside of the house was ransacked. Cupboard flung open, drawers hanging down, some on the floor and empty packets covering the floor. The couches had been overturned and the television was shattered. The only thing that remained intact was a photo frame on the cabinet besides the couch.

I made my way towards the photo frame, picking it up to analyse the picture. It featured two boys, both having dark hair and they were hugging, huge smiles on their faces.

I heard the clicking of a gun behind me making me place the photo back on the cabinet, not bothering to even turn around.

“Who are you?” A deep voice asked me as I raised my hands in surrender before turning around.

“Who are you?” I mimicked.

“I asked first,” he said, gun pointed at my face.

“What are we twelve?” I asked, quickly grabbing the gun, pulling it downwards and gripping his wrist tightly with my spare hand, forcing him to drop the gun. I immediately pointed at him, placing my finger on the trigger signalling I was ready to shoot. This time he was the one to raise his hands in the air.

“I’ll ask you again, who are you?” I asked, unmoving as I stared into his eyes.

“Kim Taehyung, this is my house,” he nodded which I returned, not lowering the gun. “if I ask your name will you shoot me?” He asked, nodding towards the gun which I slowly lowered, removing my finger from the trigger of the silver gun.

“Y/N, Y/F/N.” I sighed, running a hand through my hair, placing the gun in the back pocket of my jeans, not wanting to give him it just yet. “Your house isn’t exactly a safe place right now, is it?”

Taehyung looked around the mess of a house before shaking his head.

“No, people came in here, so we rushed upstairs to the attic and forced the door shut. Then we heard you and knew you were alone, so I came down to see what you were doing,” Taehyung informed me at which I gave him a short nod.

“We?” I asked, my eyes darting back to the photo.

I now knew that one of the boys in the photo was Taehyung but I was unsure who the other one was. Probably the guy he’s currently with in the attic.

“Jungkook, he’s my best friend. The guy in the photo.” Taehyung answered, running his fingers down the photo. “This was taken a few days ago, right before all this mess.” He continued, pointing towards the door where we both knew horror was currently taking place.

“Is he in the attic?”

Taehyung gave me a firm nod as we continued our eye contact in utter silence. Unfortunately, the silence was broken by a loud banging on the front door which was soon broken down.

“Not again,” I groaned, quickly tossing Taehyung his gun and grabbing my own, beginning to shoot alongside him.

“Upstairs, quick!” He yelled, shifting his gaze towards the stairs behind us, still shooting.

The two of us raced upstairs, climbing the ladders to the attic, trying our best to fight off the monsters that were chasing us. As soon as I reached the attic and climbed in, I saw Taehyung being pulled back down by the walkers. Panicked, I shot my gun a few times, doing my best to miss Taehyung before holding out my hand to pull him up into the attic as he kicked and screamed. I pulled him up with ease, quickly shutting the door behind us as he landed on top of me, our eyes meeting.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, “I owe you.”

“Don’t mention it,” I whispered, hearing a cough behind us.

Taehyung, or maybe I should I call him Tae, lifted himself off of me, not breaking eye contact until I did. I looked behind me to see a tall, brown haired boy, probably early twenties. He looked awkward, fiddling with the sleeve of his black t-shirt.

“Am I interrupting something?” He asked quietly, finally looking up from his sleeves to look at us.

“Not at all,” I said, forcing a smile.

“This is Y/N,” Taehyung said, signalling towards me.

“Hey,” I greeted, “you’re Jungkook, right?” I questioned, despite already knowing from the photo, he simply nodded, “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too,” he shrugged, avoiding eye contact with me, leaving me confused.

I watched as Tae walked over to one of the bean bags, sitting down on one of seven bean bags on the ground. Each of them were different colours, ranging from green to black. Somehow it was still pretty to look at. Jungkook followed him, sitting down on the bag beside him, patting another signalling me to sit. I did so, looking around the room.

The walls were covered in white paint and wooden flooring lay beneath us. In front of the bean bags was a huge television with a few consoles lying in front of a beech coffee table. A single game lay on the table.

Overwatch.

Fun game to be honest.

The walls were decorated with fairy lights which, I assumed, would light up different colours.

It was quite an aesthetic room.

I looked back up at the boys beside me, Taehyung already looking at me.

I tilted my head, confused at what he was doing. We maintained eye contact for a while, before I spoke, breaking the silence.

“Have I got something on my face?” I asked cautiously.

“No, but you’re covered in blood.” He stated, looking down at my clothes.

“Oh,” I whispered, following his gaze.

I had completely forgotten about the earlier incident, being more focused on the two here with me. I did want to make sure that they weren’t a threat in anyway. Considering I had just met these men, they were too kind to me. Then again, I had saved Taehyungs life despite only just meeting him, but that was just the right thing to do. Jungkook and Taehyung did seem to not have any bad intentions, you never know though.

Not until it’s too late…

“Do you need a change of clothes?” Jungkook asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Uhh, yes please. If that’s okay?” I said awkwardly, looking towards him to see a blush on his cheeks.

He stood up, walking towards a closet which I hadn’t noticed.

Well, it is in the corner, Y/N.

He pulled out a pair of jeans and another white t-shirt, similar to the one I was wearing previously. He handed me the clothes, eyes widening as I immediately pulled off my shirt, ignoring them.

“You just change in front of us?!” Taehyung asked, shocked.

“The worlds ending, boys. Why should I care who sees me in a bra?” I smirked, amused at their embarrassed faces as I pulled on the pair of jeans that barely fit me before throwing my leather jacket over it which had somehow survived being covered in blood.

“That is…” Taehyung began,

“A valid point.” Jungkook finished, causing me to chuckle.

“Of course,” I winked, sitting back down on the green bean bag beneath me.

We engaged in light chatter for what seemed like hours before a loud, rapid knocking came from the door to the attic.

Someone is there…

[grovyrosegirl]

I saw that you like Meicree in that one post. Could we get some headcanons please?? c:

Thank you for asking, dear anon. I thought the day would never come that I could gush about one of my favorite rarepairs.

And because I have a LOT of stuff, I’ll be putting it under a “read more” to avoid clogging up people’s dashboards with my shipping nonsense. 

It’s a slow burn ship. Like, a super slow burn. A stupidly super slow burn ship. Mainly because McCree isn’t canonically part of the recalled Overwatch yet, so it’ll be a while before the two even meet. 

But while we’re on the topic of first meetings. I can imagine the two of them meeting in two scenarios: 

Scenario #1: The recalled Overwatch is back in action, going on a different missions and slowly filling their ranks. Little do they know, McCree is secretly helping them out from the shadows. Things like “accidentally” leaving important information for them to find, dismantling some security measures of Talon/Null Sector bases, knocking out a few guards here and there, etc. And so far, he’s been doing a good job of helping them out without them even knowing. But alas, it doesn’t last, and during one mission where they’re fighting Talon agents, McCree has no other choice but to fight out in the open in front of some of the other recalled members. Echo recognizes him first, which allows her to tell some of the newer members, like Mei and Lúcio, that he’s not an enemy and they can trust him. Then during the battle, Mei makes an ice wall for cover and McCree ducks behind the first cover he sees to reload Peacekeeper. The interaction goes something like this:

McCree: *leans against the ice wall and starts reloading* Phew.

Mei: Um—

McCree: *looks at her* Oh—Howdy. Beg your pardon, ma'am. 

Mei: Oh um…it’s fine! 

McCree: *takes another look at the ice wall* So this came out of that ice ray of yours? 

Mei: *holds up her weapon* Endothermic blaster. 

McCree: *taps his free hand against the ice wall* Sturdy. Think you can make more? 

Mei: *nods and reloads her blaster with a determined grin* 

And then they lead a charge together, with McCree doing his thing with Peacekeeper while Mei provides him with ice walls for cover and ice ramps that help him get some air while he aims. At the end of the battle, McCree still isn’t ready to join the new Overwatch, and he leaves them with a “I’ll be around when you need me, you just don’t know when that’ll be” sorta goodbye. Mei can’t help but be curious about him, and she quietly hopes that they’ll run into him again. 

The much simpler and realistic Scenario #2: McCree joins the recalled Overwatch and gets introduced to Mei at Watchpoint Gibraltar. Not as exciting, but you know, most people first meet each other through polite introductions, so it could happen haha. 

Regardless of how they meet, skipping ahead to McCree being a part of the new Overwatch, the two of them grow to like each other. They often whisper jokes to each other and chat during meals. 

On missions, they make a surprisingly good team. They’re both resourceful in their own ways, such as how McCree can use his surroundings to his advantage during a fight while Mei can MacGyver almost anything useful out of materials around her. They start strategizing different ways to use Mei’s endothermic blaster in battle. One example is a strategy they call “Higher Noon” where Mei uses an ice wall to lift McCree up right as he aims and uses his Deadeye ability. 

They really start to bond when one day Mei is cleaning out stuff from an old storage container she had, and McCree discovers her collection of Western movies she had during her twenties. Mei was going to give them away or sell them, but McCree insists that they need to watch them all. So they make a bi-weekly movie night out of it. And they’re both those people who always have commentary on the movies they watch. 

McCree: This is terrible. 

Mei: *grabs the bowl of popcorn* You said it. The first movie had a clear ending, why did they make a sequel?

McCree: Oh you know, squeezing a franchise dry.

Mei: Franchise? 

McCree: They made three more sequels after this one. And a remake. 

Mei: Please tell me the remake wasn't—

McCree: Shot for shot remake. 

Mei: *groans* 

McCree: Ditto. *eats a handful of popcorn* 

It’s hard for McCree to come to terms to the fact that he might like Mei more than a friend. He’s someone who always tries to keep people from getting too close, lest they get caught up and hurt when his past catches up with him. It’s already risky enough having her close as a friend, if their relationship gets any closer, that could potentially place a target on her back. And he doesn’t want that. Not her. All she wants to do is help the planet and people, she doesn’t deserve to have her life at risk because of him. So he keeps it to himself for a while. 

Mei, on the other hand, keeps it to herself that she has feelings for him for different reasons. She’s worried that confessing to McCree could possibly ruin their friendship, especially if he doesn’t feel the same way about her. The way she sees it, confessing comes with the risk of losing a friendship that means a lot to her, which could lead to them becoming awkward around each other, which could lead to them not working as well together on missions, which could lead to trouble for the rest of the team, which could lead to—etc, etc, etc. Basically, the idea of confessing to him causes her insecurities and worries to spiral, so she’s holding back. 

But soon, they’re on a mission that goes out of control, and they wind up in a tight spot. They barely make it out alive in the end. It’s then at the Watchpoint infirmary that they finally talk it out and be truthful to each other.

And this is only scratching the surface! I have a ton of more stuff for Meicree as a ship. But this post is getting too long, so I’ll save them for another time. 

[babblingblondegenius]

Felicity Megan Smoak-Queen is the past, present & future HBIC

Whew, that episode was a wild ride.  Caution: episode 7x16 spoilers ahead>>>

The episode began with Felicity giving birth to her and Oliver’s daughter.  Oliver was by her side, holding her hand, and telling her how much he loved her.  In typical Felicity style, she told him she loved him too but would love him more once the baby was out lol.  Once the baby was out, swaddled, and handed to her parents, Oliver kissed the top of Felicity’s head.  It was such a beautiful moment and Oliver was glowing with joy.  There is only one person who can make him that happy.  I’ll give you three hints:

Damn, looking at those gifs makes me wonder how they only created one child together.  Oh yeah, the Arrowverse writers suck and Oliver is going to be dead or go missing soon.  Whatever happened, he was not physically present for the rest of the episode but he was certainly there in spirit.  The episode was more focused on Felicity as a mother.  

The mother to William--Felicity and William didn’t get much time together but she made an impression on him that lasted a lifetime.  Bonding over all things STEM and what it means to love Oliver Queen, William followed in genius stepmother’s footsteps.  Despite the distance between them, he kept the hozen that Felicity gave him and responded to a signal that took him all the way to Lian Yu for her.  William learns in this episode that Felicity (dba City of Emerald Capital) was the angel investor for his company.  She was watching over him the whole time.  

The mother of Mia--We saw highlights of Mia’s life, starting with her birth, and then it cuts to a young Mia being trained by Nyssa.  That was an awesome surprise.  Felicity may have hid her daughter from the world in an attempt to protect her but she also made damn sure her daughter would be able to protect herself when the time came by having Nyssa give her LOA-level fighting and archery skills.  Of course, I’d much rather have Oliver be there to do this with her (although you know Mia would never get properly trained because Oliver would always let her ‘win’ -- also think of all of times Felicity has barely tapped him and he said ‘ow’ lol).  Exhibit A of our bamf vigilante being a total cupcake for his girl:

More bruises from her than Deathstroke. ;)  Anyhoo, back to Nyssa.  I love that she is alive in the future and obviously, she and Felicity have put their passive-aggressive animosity aside and forged some type of friendship.  Felicity trusted Nyssa more than she trusted NTA and that is forever a BIG MOOD.  Based on the awkward hug between her and DD, it seems Felicity remains wary of her former teammate.  I am also confused why, after 20 years and knowing RR is still shady af, Felicity would tell him about Mia.  But I have to say, despite my misgivings, the introduction of ‘this is Mia.  These are mine and Oliver’s impeccable genetics’ was accurate, perfect, and exactly how I would expect Felicity to describe their daughter.  Cause look at these impeccable genetics. <3

The mother of invention--We’ve been watching Felicity create a security system to protect her family since she left witness protection.  It is this system that will become the program known as ‘Archer’- the one used in the future to protect the Glades.  It appears that Archer will be the catalyst to launch Smoak Tech.  We been knew but it is nice to have confirmation.  Except Felicity shouldn’t have based it in Star City.  They don’t deserve her or Oliver.  More on that later.

The future is bleak without Oliver Queen.  Felicity clearly misses her husband.  She is still wearing her wedding band.  The picture of the mantle of her, Oliver, and baby Mia was the key to opening her secret lair inside the house.  She wore an emerald green mask while undercover.  Wherever Oliver Queen is, he is not far from Felicity’s mind or heart.  

Yet our Queen continues to fight.  This is one of the many reasons Oliver fell in love with her.  Felicity has a desire to help others, to protect the city, to serve the greater good.  She was the one who wanted to come back to Star City from Ivy Town; heck, she never stopped helping the team while they were away.  Being Overwatch, even before she officially had a codename, was Felicity’s purpose.  

She will help people through Smoak Tech but Felicity will always want to do more. This is what makes her the perfect life partner for Oliver Queen and the Green Arrow.  So here’s my quibble with the FFs.  We’ve spent seven years evolving Oliver Queen from being on a solo suicide mission to fighting to live and reconciling the two sides of himself to working to achieve a balance between his life under the hood and his life in the light.  Felicity was one of two people who guided him on that journey of self-discovery and was instrumental in Oliver wanting a life outside of the mission.  Oliver himself has said he hoped one day he could hang up the hood.  This man would be perfectly happy to stay at home, cooking for his family and loving on his wife.

Yet tonight, Felicity sounded like season 1 Oliver.  In order to be a hero, you have put others above all else, including your own family.  Okay, but what happened to finding a balance?  And according to Connor, John and Lyla were not around much.  I just feel like OTA are getting thrown under the bus and the message that the show was built on is getting muddled to create unnecessary drama/tension/angst/gritty backstory? for the future character’s story lines.  I’m aware that a spin-off is imminent and this is not the first time that Arrow had to bend itself into a pretzel to launch another show.  But this time, Arrow is coming to an end.  I don’t want Oliver and Felicity to have spent years sacrificing to save a city that time and time again turned its back on them.  I don’t want Oliver to never get the chance to be with the family he worked so hard to even think he deserved.  I don’t want Felicity to have to hide, constantly living in fear and missing the love of her life.  I don’t want Olicity to be torn apart once again.  

Yikes, I need a Felicity Smoak pep talk.

Okay Felicity, I believe that he is going to be okay.  We’ll all be okay.  The writers will fix this clusterf**k of a future and Olicity will raise their family together, as a team.  Always.  They (and we) will get the ending that they (and we!) deserve :)

[meltypes-blog]

sakura seeds

[because the shared post looks weird as hell on desktop im putting the story in text post format] ao3 link

Hanzo Shimada hated himself.

That much was obvious.

He hated himself as he trained, the muscles on his arms and back straining until they cascaded tears of sweat, until his entire body burned and ached for rest. He hated himself while he ate, the simple pleasure of sweet and savory foods on his tongue only serving as a reminder of one other thing he had deprived his own kin from. He hated himself while he mediated, as if he could fool his brain into thinking that peace and quiet could erase the tumult in his mind and smooth over the jagged errors of his past.

His self hatred was apparent even on his countenance, his “RBF” as Genji had called it. Hanzo’s disgust for himself was soul deep, a seed that had planted itself in his heart since the first day his father had instructed him to murder in cold blood (“the master of the clan must protect the clan”) and had dug its claws deep the minute his blade had grazed Genji’s skin. His entire life was a culmination of all the wrong choices one could make, and it turned him into a bitter being, one that only survived out of the reasoning that even death was too honorable for him at that point.

His existence was unforgivable.

“You know I forgive you, Hanzo.” The brothers were seated on one of the many outlooks at the watchpoint staring at the sky, the sunset reflecting off of the younger, and irritating the older.

Hanzo only hummed in response. They were supposed to be meditating in silence, as per Hanzo’s request.

“I know why you come here.”

Hanzo exhaled through his nose and opened his eyes to glance at his brother. “To meditate, Genji. Shizukani.”

“No.” Genji turned to face him. “You come here in order to make yourself feel guilty. I know you, brother. You used to do it to me all the time when I went to the arcade. You would stare at me until I felt shame.”

Hanzo’s fists clenched on his knees. “How could you possibly know what I am doing or thinking? I have changed.”

“I know, because I am doing it as well,” Genji said softly. “Back then- I could have been more compliant, I could have helped you but I did not. I was young and stupid, and did not realize the gravity of my decisions, but I understand now. My actions were dishonorable. It was shameful of me-“

Hanzo stood up and turned on his brother, furious. “Do not. Speak to me of dishonor and shame.”

He walked a short distance then glanced back at his brother.

“Not until you have killed me for yourself.”

Later that evening, Hanzo messaged Genji that should he need to meditate, Zenyatta would most likely be available.

That had been the end of the their sessions.

He had been a fool to believe his brother could reconcile with him.

Genji still visited him, as Hanzo holed himself up in his room instead of socializing with the rest of the team- but that only ended in loud arguments.

“It has been weeks, Hanzo,” Genji stated exasperated, outside of his door. “How are they to know you if you do not allow them?”

“I am fine by myself,” Hanzo said.

“This is not healthy, Hanzo.”

Hanzo sighed. “I am perfectly healthy Genji.”

Genji threw his hands out. “You look like shit! You’re depressed and-“

Hanzo bristled, hand already reaching for his door. “Thank you for your concern, brother. Good bye.”

“Hanzo-!”

The door slid shut on the cyborgs face and Hanzo inhaled, exhaled, inhaled once more and breathed out.

Not healthy? Hanzo looked about his room. Healthy people had clean rooms, and his was pristine.

His closet held his various kyudo-gis, color coded. Organized. His small kitchenette held a shining kettle, small teacups and no dirty dishes. Clean. His bed was always made, not a pillow out of place, his furniture never covered in clothes and out of the way as always, orderly. His room looked brand-new, completely spartan. Nothing was worn down. Nothing was old or used or broken. It was clean. Healthy. It was as if no one had ever stepped foot in it before. As if no one lived in it at all.

Despite Hanzo’s fervor to abstain from socializing, that did not stop the others from coming up to him. Hanzo was out of his room to fill up his water container in the main kitchen, when one of the younger members had come up to him. They popped their gum in the awkward silence until-

“So...what’s your deal?”

Hanzo glanced at her confusedly, then turned back to his jug. If he remained silent, it was sure to deter her.

“Like- me and Lucio wanted to know since you’re like the base cryptid. We never see you until team simulations, and even then you’re only on defense so...you’re actually really good with a bow and arrow. Hey, can I call you Legolas?”

“What?” Hanzo blurted.

She smiled. “Y’know, that old fantasy series, he’s a meme because of those short guys and elf eyes and stuff.”

Hanzo felt himself soften. She was very similar to a younger man he once knew, one with green hair and bright eyes. “I believe they’re called Hobbits.”

“Hah! So you are a nerd! Lucio didn’t think so, but you look like someone who plays Pokémon. Actually, now that I think about it, you’ve got the whole samurai vibe going on too. Have you ever used a sword before?”

Hanzo mumbled no, then hastily escaped with a half empty jug.

Hana stood in the kitchen alone, a frown etched on her face.

The only other person that Hanzo conversed with aside from Genji was Dr. Zeigler- although, even then, that was less than desirable. He grabbed his sleeping pills and sighed when he realized the bottle was empty. Genji had annoyingly told the doctor not to give him more than a few days prescriptions at a time- not to deny that Hanzo had never thought of going out that way, but considering the fact that he was surrounded by those who risked their lives on the daily, it was extremely dishonorable.

Hanzo entered her office and she gave a strained smile, and he nodded in kind- the routine.

“Shimada-san, how can I help you?”

“I require another prescription, if you will,” he said placing the canister on her desk, making sure not to touch her. The first time she flinched when their hands touched had hurt him more than he was willing to admit.

“Of course.” She turned to grab a new prescription, placed it on the desk- but held and didn’t let go. “You know...Genji is concerned about you.”

Hanzo grunted in response, refusing to look at her.

“He says that you’re not...coping very well. From what he describes, it sounds as if you have depression, PTSD, perhaps even social anxiety-“

“Thank you, Doctor Zeigler, for the free consultation,” he interrupted coldly, looking at her with narrowed eyes. “But I am perfectly fine and would like to take my leave.”

Another strained smile, and she released the bottle. “Do come again, Shimada-san.”

And thus was Hanzo’s routine for months. The self-loathing, arguing with Genji, awkward and often tense food and water runs, picking up pills from the doctor. It went on for two months until-

“Howdy there.”

The cowboy had found Hanzo on his perch on the skywalk. He had come there to drink in peace after his fifteenth quarrel with Genji in two months.

Hanzo hummed.

McCree took a seat next to him and brought out his own flask. They drank in silence, the night air cold on Hanzo’s exposed skin. He was far too inebriated to be bothered by the gunslingers presence, and found himself actually drawn to his warmth.

Hanzo respected the American, despite his bluntness and overall...loud demeanor. He was a good shot, perhaps one to rival Hanzo, and he was tactically intelligent. More than once had the cowboy saved the team from dying due to his quick thinking and precise aiming.

More-so, he never approached Hanzo unwanted. He seemed to recognize when Hanzo was welcoming of a short conversation and when he was on the verge of seething rage.

An intelligent man. Warm. Hanzo subconsciously leant towards him, the alcohol getting the better of him.

“D’yknow the Deadlock gang?”

Hanzo grunted. “I am a former yakuza. What do you think?”

McCree chuckled. “Alright, alright. I may not look like it, but- I was their best asset. They used to call me,’The Undertaker.’”

“That does not surprise me. You are greatly skilled and smart.”

“O-oh. Well...” McCree coughed. “Anyways...I used to be real close to one of the members- his name was Jackie. J and J they used to call us, cause we were practically inseparable. Jackie was like my brother. I loved him.”

Hanzo turned to face McCree, slowly gaining an idea of where this was going. The gunslinger was looking down, fingers fiddling with his flask.

“Then I...I had to kill him. Turns out he was sellin’ information to Overwatch. Or maybe he was undercover. I don’t really remember. All I remember...”

McCree swallowed and he looked to Hanzo. “I remember feelin’ angry. Angry and sad and just- destroyed. And after he was gone all there was- there was nothing. I...felt empty.”

Hanzo’s heart seized. McCree looked away, pained.

“I kept askin’ myself, ‘how are you goin’ to go on now?’ I thought I was gone, gonna be empty forever. Then Overwatch found me and I decided that maybe I deserved a second chance. People believed in me. They saw me and saw hope.”

“Hope?” Hanzo murmured.

“Yeah,” McCree said, turning back to look Hanzo in the eye. “Hope that maybe even after a lifetime of all the wrong choices, one right choice can set you on the good path.”

Hanzo stared at him breathless. McCree’s eyes glinted in the moonlight, and then he noticed how close they were- their shoulders and thighs touching. Hanzo leant back, still transfixed on his bright eyes.

“Hope,” he repeated.

McCree nodded. He looked up at the stars and breathed deeply. “Come train with me tomorrow, archer. Ya won’t regret it.”

There started the deviation in Hanzo’s routine. For five mornings a week, the archer and sharpshooter trained together. They conversed about little things, favorite foods and drinks, then playfully argued when one named something that was distasteful to the other.

Hanzo’s self deprecating thoughts began to move away to make room for newer thoughts- one involving a tall man, red and flannel, bright brown eyes and a crooked smile.

Hanzo’s first real smile came during an intense training session. Both men were sweating profusely, challenging each other to see who could lift more. Of course, Hanzo prevailed- and Jesse cracked a joke at his own expense.

“Damn,” he breathed. “I’m pretty sure you could arm wrestle with Orisa and win with those beasts. Me? Can’t even lift Torb a couple of inches off the ground.”

His first real laugh had shown up during a team lunch. Hanzo had taken a seat by McCree and Genji, as he usually did, and said his thanks for the meal. Jesse pointed curiously at his food.

“‘S That wasabi?”

“Yes, it is.”

McCree snorted. “Weak shit. My hot sauce does more damage than that.”

“Is that so?” Hanzo raised a brow and gestured to his plate. “Why don’t you try some. You just need a small portion to see-“

“Don’t mind if I do,” McCree interrupted, spooning the entire portion into his mouth to Hanzo’s horror.

Genji winced from across the table and got up to get a glass of water. When he came back, he saw McCree red in the face, coughing, and Hanzo doubled over in laughter. The entire room laughed softly at the ridiculousness of the situation, and Genji felt a surge of happiness.

The first time Hanzo held hands with McCree was in their usual drinking spot on the skywalk. McCree had been blathering on about some old western movie when Hanzo moved his hand to cover the gunslingers.

McCree stopped talking immediately and looked down at their hands. Hanzo felt a surge of shame and slowly drew his hand away.

“I did not mean to-“

McCree gripped his hand before it could go any further, and gave him a bright smile.

“It ain’t no thing, darlin’.”

It was also the first time McCree had called him that.

Hanzo had opened up more. He did not feel so alone after meeting Jesse, no longer so isolated.

He began meditating with Genji again.

“You seem well, brother.”

Hanzo smiled softly. “Yes, I am.”

“It is because of McCree, is it not?”

“Partially,” he said. “I have come to realize that...one right choice can set me on the path of good. People believe in me. It would be a great dishonor to prove them wrong.” Genji lunged at him, hugging him close, and Hanzo was proud that he was able to hold in most of his tears.

Hana attacked him in the rec room a while later. “Yo, Samurai Legolas!”

He grunted not looking up, engrossed in an article written by Joel Morricone. “Do not bother me, Usagi. I am busy.”

It was quiet for a moment. Then-

“Did you just- what did you call me?”

“Usagi. It is the name of a popular anime heroine and also means rabbit. It is my nickname for you, since you seem adamant about mine. Trust me when I say it is an honorable one. Usagi was a powerful warrior, and also the cutest.” When he did not get a response, he looked up.

Hana was staring at him with wet eyes, and a huge smile. “I want to change mine for you.”

Hana now called him Big Bro every chance she got. When Hanzo turned in his sleeping pills, Doctor Zeigler looked at him in surprise.

“Are you sure, Shimada-san? You’re-“

“Perfectly healthy, Doctor Zeigler. And please, call me Hanzo.” He turned away from her, ears growing heated. “I have not needed them for...a while now.”

Angela’s eyes widened. “Oh! Oh, well,” she giggled,” alright then, Hanzo. Do come back again.”

“You believed in me.”

He and McCree were standing together in Hanzo’s room soaked, the rain pushing them from their usual spot.

McCree looked at him, and Hanzo’s heart stuttered. “I did. I used to be like you, back when I first joined so I understood. I still believe in you.”

Hanzo tentatively walked closer to him. “You had hope for me.”

McCree visibly swallowed and took his hat off, running his hand through his hair. “Yes. I still hope yo- still have hope for you, that is.”

Hanzo took a couple of more steps. “Why?”

McCree looked away. “I know a lost soul when I see one, s’all. Everyone deserves a second chance at redemption.”

They were nearly chest to chest now, and Hanzo had to strain his neck to look into his eyes. “You gave me hope. You have helped me to be better, and I...thank you, Jesse.”

Hanzo rested his head on McCree’s chest and Jesse’s arms came around him almost immediately, engulfing him in warmth despite their wet clothes. Jesse rested his chin on the archer’s head, and Hanzo nuzzled into his chest, face flaming and heart pounding.

“It ain’t no thing darlin’.”

Finally, after months of dancing, tripping and falling, McCree held Hanzo’s hands in his and grinned shyly.

“I really like you, darlin.’ Hope ya don’t mind that.”

Hanzo laughed and pulled McCree towards him. “I would hope that you do cowboy, considering we share the same bed.”

“I reckon people who like each other ought to kiss then, right?”

Hanzo’s face warmed and he leant up into Jesse’s space. “I believe that is how they express that, yes.”

McCree smiled and pressed his lips onto Hanzo’s, soft and sweet, the pull slow and languid. Hanzo nibbled on his lip and the kiss deepened, Jesse’s hands moving to bring Hanzo’s hips closer to his.

They separated to catch their breath and Jesse moved to Hanzo’s jaw.

“Ya know any other way people express how much they like each other, darlin’?”

Hanzo gasped a laugh, and gripped McCree’s shoulders as he kissed his neck.

“I am aware of a few, yes.”

McCree chuckled and nosed at Hanzo’s cheek. “Only a few? I got some evidence on my back that states otherwise.”

“Are you looking for more?” Hanzo smirked.

Jesse shivered and put his head on Hanzo’s shoulder. “What is it that ya always say? ‘The wolf marks his prey?’”

Hanzo flushed and smacked his shoulder. “Do not tease me, Jesse.”

McCree laughed, smiled at him, then gripped Hanzo’s hands, dragging him to their room.

Later, when both men were sated, they laid wrapped around each other, kissing lazily.

“Jesse,” Hanzo whispered, kissing under his ear.

“Yea, darlin’?”

“I love you.”

McCree shifted, laying on his side, Hanzo tucked into his chest. He leant his head on his elbow and dragged a hand down his lovers body. Hanzo shivered.

“It ain’t no thing, darlin’.” Hanzo let out a noise of protest, smacking his chest indignantly, and McCree laughed, wrapping his arms around him. He kissed his face repeatedly until Hanzo’s mouth met his, moving with intent, slow and hot.

“I love you too, Hanzo.”

Hanzo Shimada hated himself. Not as much as he used to, but the self doubt still lingered, the hatred a shriveled seed still present in his heart.

However, when he was with Jesse McCree, Hanzo hated himself just a little less- and a new seed blossomed in his heart, one he believed in and one he had hoped for all his life.

[btskismet]

Kismet (Chapter 13): A BTS Jin imagines fanfic

First ever fanfic. Contains fluff and some smut. Please read sequentially as it is a long story arc. Please provide feedback! My IG is btskismet.

She woke up ahead of him. She admired looking at his angelic, sleeping face. Relieved that he slept more soundly this time, she stood up to go to the window.

1317. Outside the window, Otaru was still experiencing grey clouds but the snow and rain stopped coming down. They didn’t get to eat the breakfast they had brought upstairs and the coffee was already cold. She called room service to request for a fresh pot of coffee and some hot chocolate. She was sure he would be very hungry once he wakes up.

Seokjin stirred in bed and reached out to the other side, which was empty. His left hand patted the bed and he murmured, “Eodiya?”, which meant where are you in Korean.

She smiled and didn’t reply. She sat down on the couch and waited for him to wake up. He should, it’s almost 130pm, she thought to herself. She watched him sit up and look around, his hair in shambles and sleepy face scanning the room.

She sometimes thought during mornings like these if he was used to not seeing clearly. She knew he didn’t like wearing his glasses that much and it made her wonder how bad his eyesight is. She knew how that was like - since she had progressive myopia ever since she was a kid, she understood how difficult it was to not have glasses on. Getting laser eye surgery when she became older really was a lifesaver. 

Seokjin looked at her sleepily and said Hi. “Hey.”, she said and made a hand gesture that meant if he wanted to eat. He nodded yes and gave a thumbs up. 

She stood up and went to him, held his head and kissed his forehead.

~~~~~

Suitengu Shrine was about 7 minutes away from Hotel Sonia by car. She was able to convince him to go there since the fishing trip was canceled and the fact they could go up the steep hill by car. Unfortunately, they couldn’t park near the steps themselves as the road started to become narrower. They still had to go up halfway through the steep hill from where they parked and then up the 100 steps to the top.

“Woh! So. many. steps!”, Seokjin said, heaving at the top of the last step. She was holding on to his hand and was behind him, breathing heavily as well.

“Are you ok?”, he asked but she started to laugh. “I think I underestimated the 100 steps!”, she said. He laughed loudly, sounding like a windshield wiper which is how his usual laugh really sounds, with her as they noticed that they were both sweating despite the cold weather. 

She started to shush him as there were a few people present, looking at them. She wasn’t doing a very good job as he was still sniggering and she giggled at that as well.

He then immediately changed his facial expression into a serious one and looked at her pointedly. This made her laugh again and he started sniggering at her reaction. 

She pulled him to the side near the garden of the shrine that had a view of the port so people could stop looking at them. The sea was dark blue and the view was as beautiful as the one in the Observation Deck but they saw more of the port with the boats, the buildings and even a cruise ship. More of Otaru’s establishments were seen from here and it was a sight worth going up a 100 steps for.

When they stopped laughing, they went to the shrine. She taught him how to pray properly at a Shinto shrine and he was surprised that you had to clap twice after saying your prayer. 

“What did you pray for?”, he asked her, as they went to a bench near the garden. “To see you again after this trip.”, she said sadly. She knew they would be parting ways soon and it would be a miracle if they were to have a chance to be this way again.

Seokjin pulled her close and kissed her head. “Of course you will.”, he whispered.

They stayed there to eat the sandwiches they bought from a cafe as a snack. The sounds of birds from the dock could be heard as they enjoyed each other’s company.

~~~~~

Hotel Neuschloss is a beautiful hotel, situated on top of a cliff near the Otaru Observation deck. This was the hotel she originally wanted them to stay at so it would be interesting to see how the rooms were like. JHope and Taehyung were able to get a suite there and they were on their way to meet them.

She was nervous about meeting them. This wasn’t like the time she met Jimin and JK, when everything hasn’t started yet. She felt she would be scrutinized by these men who are very close to Seokjin, now that their relationship has gotten this far. Coupled with what Seokjin said about Taehyung, she felt like she wanted to run away.

He parked the car and saw the worried expression on her face. “Please don’t worry, Jagiya.”, he said, holding her hand and squeezing it tightly. “Haha, it feels like I’m going to meet your parents.”, she replied.

He chuckled and tightened his grip on her hand. “Remember, I’m their hyung so they should still respect that. Including you. You are a noona, so...” This response was met with another slap to his hand. 

“You really like reminding me a lot about that fact, don’t you?”, she said as she was getting out of the car.

“That’s because I find older women sexy and you are MY sexy woman.”, he chided and took her hand as they went inside the hotel.

~~~~~

“Jinhyuuuuuuung!!!”, JHope shouted when he opened the door and gave Seokjin a big hug. “O, JHope!”, Seokjin said loudly while being hugged. JHope patted his back and had a big smile.

“Neoleul geuliwo!”, JHope said as he let them in. She and JHope locked eyes for a second and he smiled at her. “Hallo, I’m JHope. Nice to meet you.”, he said to her and shook her hand. She introduced herself to him, happy that JHope was in a very sunny disposition and was generally pleased to see her.

JHope and Seokjin started speaking in Korean and she could understand Seokjin’s responses as the translator did its work. He shared with JHope where they were staying, why they were in Otaru and mainly the commute to the city. Seokjin asked him where their manager was. He also asked where Taehyung was.

“Jagiya, do you want to drink something? JHope said they have some soda and beer in the fridge.”, Seokjin offered.

“Sure, I can get some. Do you both want anything?”, she asked. 

She heard him ask JHope what he wanted. “We’ll both have cokes. Thanks, Jagiya.”

She went to the fridge in the room and took out three sodas. She could hear JHope excitedly talking to his hyung and Seokjin shared about the translator and the earpieces. It seems he was surprised that when Seokjin spoke to her in Korean and then she responded in English, they still both understood each other.

Seokjin handed the earpiece to JHope and he asked her if she could understand him in Korean. “Yes, I can understand you. This gadget is pretty neat, right?”, she replied. JHope said wohhhh and was pretty amazed.

She started having a conversation with JHope about who she is and where she’s from as well as how she got to meet Seokjin, Jimin and JK that night. She found JHope to be really funny and attentive. He admitted he was happy he didn’t need to adjust too much in speaking in English because he even studied a little on the plane just so they could talk.

“Ahhh, ya... I’m so relieved! I thought I was going to go through some test in English!”, he exclaimed.

The whole time they were talking, Seokjin sat beside her, laughing at their discussion and caressing her back. 

Room service came and they had some japchae, bulgogi and steak. JHope was happily sharing so many things to her about Seokjin, the tour and what they were doing in SoKor while Seokjin was with her.

“Aigoo, it was sooo quiet at the dorm ‘cause Jin hyung was not around to ask us to clean up. Jimin missed him because no one was there to cook kimchi stew during our time off! So, we had to have deliveries of kimchi stew and chicken instead!”

She said aaaaww and looked at Seokjin. “Poor Jimin.”, she said but Seokjin scoffed and said in English: He is adult now.

She started to look around the room when Seokjin and JHope talked about the upcoming tour in Taiwan. She wondered where Taehyung was at as she was drinking her beer. Seokjin then motioned to give her a piece of steak which he cut up and JHope smiled at her when she ate it. She only realized how big the piece is when it was already inside her mouth.

“Whaaa, this is a big piece!”, she said in between bites and JHope laughed and translated her response to his hyung.

“Sorry, sorry!”, Seokjin looked at her worriedly and gave her a napkin. She started chuckling in between bites and waved it off. They all started laughing and it took them a minute to realize that Taehyung came into the room.

An awkward silence permeated the atmosphere. Seokjin stood up and hugged Taehyung. Taehyung was a little cold in his greeting towards him and he said a curt Hi to her when Seokjin introduced her to him.

She heard JHope ask Taehyung if he wanted some beer but he refused. Taehyung then went to the bedroom. 

“Jagiya, excuse me, ok?”, Seokjin said in English and followed Taehyung.

JHope then asked her about what she did for a living and was interested to know that she teaches English to employees at a bank. He asked her about certain words and what they were in English. She also shared with him that she liked to play video games too and they started talking about Overwatch.

They could hear muffled voices in the bedroom and Seokjin’s voice was getting louder. JHope looked at the door and so did she. He took out the earpiece and gave it to her and went inside the bedroom.

She started to worry because she didn’t want to be a cause of fights for these brothers. She knew Taehyung wasn’t pleased to see her here and she was thinking if she should leave. But no, Seokjin will be upset with me if I do that. Don’t want to add fuel to fire.

After what seemed like more than 10 minutes, JHope went out. “Sorry...”, he said softly. 

“Gwenchana...”, she said as she handed the earpiece to him. 

“They are arguing but it’s ok now.”, he assured her. It was odd to see JHope sad. The first and only time she saw it was when he was crying when they received the 2018 MAMA Artist of the Year award.

“Should I leave? I can go, you know.”, she said to JHope.

“No, no, no! Jin hyung will fix this. Taehyung is just upset with him.”, JHope quickly responded.

“I know why, JHope. Seokjin told me.”, she said. JHope was surprised and asked a question that any sane person would ask her: “Are you ok with this?”

It took a while before she responded. Sure, it was difficult to wrap her head around it. I mean, were they really just brothers or was there more? Did Seokjin romantically get involved with him at some point? Is that why Taehyung was this way?

But she knew one thing: Seokjin loves her. She felt it deeply that he does.

“Yes.”, she said to JHope firmly. 

JHope nodded and said: “You know, Jin hyung loves you. I’ve never seen him give up time for his work in the group and us ever. He constantly practices, takes care of us and cheers us on. Maybe his video games are the closest thing he would spend so much time on but he would do that on top of all the work he does and what he does for us. This is the first time I’ve seen him drop everything just to be with someone.”

She looked at JHope and he smiled. “Jin hyung loves you very much. I guarantee that.”

She smiled a sad smile and said: “I love him very much too.”

Seokjin stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door. She heard him and JHope talk about the plans for tomorrow. Then JHope handed the earpiece to him.

“Let’s go. We’ll have dinner and karaoke with them tomorrow night. It’s late too.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here?”, she asked.

Seokjin looked at her with a weirded expression on his face. “Are you kidding? And leave you alone in our hotel room? You’ll feel cold. That won't do."

She said good night to JHope, who gave her a big hug. He also hugged Seokjin goodbye. “See you tomorrow!”, he said and closed the door.

~~~~~

She didn’t ask him about what happened so the drive back to Hotel Sonia was very quiet. When they got to their room, she sat down on the chair and started removing her accessories. He sat on the bed and started removing his jacket and shirt, his chest exposed for her to see. She looked at him in the mirror and wondered what happened but she was too scared to ask. 

Their eyes met and Seokjin stood up. He walked to her and stood behind her chair. He caressed her face and hair with his hands, letting his fingers touch the softness of her skin, her neck and shoulders as he looked at her in the mirror. His fingers traced her lips softly which made her close her eyes. He let one of his middle fingers slowly go into her mouth and she slowly sucked it.  

She opened her eyes when he drew his finger back and he lifted her face to look at him. “It’s you I love and want, ok? Believe that I need you.”, he whispered.

“I do believe you.”, she whispered back.

--- to be continued ---  

[ladyhinata1814]

Anyone Can Be a Hero

The large dropship made slowly planted down on the launch pad. The door opened as the team made its way back on base. They had just finished up a dangerous mission involving Talon agents, and they needed to regroup and rethink their next plan of attack. The chatter grew louder as the group passed Mercy, who had just finished eating lunch in the infirmary. “I heard the Junkers were captured the other day,” Tracer said.“Really? Wow. They’ve been on the run for so long, I was wondering if anyone would ever catch them,” Pharah replied.“Yeah. Soldier: 76 was serious about capturing them. They’re in a holding cell on the lower level of the base.” 

Mercy could feel herself tense up as the group passed and continued on their way to report to Winston. She had just returned to the base just a few days ago after being held hostage by the Junkers for several months. At first, she had been worried she’d never be found by her colleagues. Over time, she had grown used to being in hiding, and being out in public again was strangely awkward, like learning how to walk all over again.

 After waiting for the group to pass by, she made her way upstairs to where Soldier: 76 was. She paused and took a deep breath before knocking on the door three times. “Come in,” was the gruff reply of the old soldier. Mercy hesitantly opened the door and approached the desk where Soldier: 76 was sitting. “It’s almost like old times...like the mission we had in England years ago.” Mercy attempted to make small talk.Soldier: 76 sighed before turning to look at Mercy. “You had us all worried, disappearing like that. We almost assumed you were killed or left for dead somewhere. We’re already having trouble dealing with Talon,” he said. “I know, Jack. But it’s not like I threw myself in front of them and asked them to take me away.” Mercy looked out the window and down at the training area, where McCree was currently engaged in a spar against Genji. “I appreciate you and your team coming to help me. But it wasn’t like I was in extreme duress. Anyway, I wanted to ask...what do you plan on doing with the Junkers?” 

Jack sighed before turning to look out the window himself. “Besides Talon, we’ve had trouble dealing with these two as well. They’ve got a huge bounty over their heads. Considering the charges they’ve got under their names, they’ll probably face maximum sentence in prison. Most likely they’ll be under tight security in there.” There was a moment of silence between the two as Mercy felt a brief jolt of pain in her heart. She turned and faced Soldier: 76 again. “And you’re okay with that?” Soldier: 76 looked at Mercy right in her eyes, a stern look on his face. “They’re dangerous criminals. They’ve caused millions, if not billions of dollars in property damage. What would you do? Give them a slap on the wrist?” Mercy backed up, her face clouded with hurt. “Of course not! I wouldn’t propose that, but I also wouldn’t lock them up for the rest of their lives!”

 Soldier: 76 sighed and looked at Mercy again. “I’m going to have to ask you to sit out during their trial, Angela. I’ve heard quite a few things regarding your capture. Over the last few months, you seem to have developed an attachment of sorts to Roadhog. And you seem to have grown friendly with Junkrat as well. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but I think it’s best that you sit out, especially with the possibility of you switching allegiances.” It took Mercy a moment to register what he said. “Wait a minute...you think I’m going to betray Overwatch because of what happened? Because of our...relationship?” she struggled to speak the last word. “I’m just doing what I feel is best for the team, Angela. We’ve worked together for years, and it pains me to even think of you possibly betraying us, but after what’s happened, I can’t have you sitting through their trial.” Soldier: 76 turned to look out the window again. 

Another brief period of silence passed before Mercy spoke again. “I won’t deny that they’ve committed several crimes. They’ve killed others, they’ve destroyed buildings and the like. But they are people too, Jack. And they’ve suffered. When I was in captivity, I got to understand them a bit more. It doesn’t excuse their behavior, but I have sympathy for them. They’ve lost everything they had in that explosion. And we didn’t help them. No one helped them. Not Overwatch, the United Nations...no one. They probably felt as if the world turned their backs on them. No one lifted a finger or tried to reach out. So they acted in what they felt was appropriate. They developed their own society. And you want to take what freedom they have from them?” Mercy struggled to keep her voice steady, although tears were running down her face. “I know you don’t trust me now. Yes, I have developed a relationship with Mako...Roadhog. But he’s still a human being. He and Junkrat, no matter how psychotic they are, they’re human beings, and...” her voice trailed off.

“Angela. Please. Don’t make this any more painful for yourself. The trial is tomorrow. Just stay here on the base or take a vacation. But I’m ordering you to stay away. If I see you tomorrow at the trial, I’m going to have the police arrest you. Please don’t make me do that. We’ve worked together for years and I consider you a good friend,” Soldier: 76 said. “Jack, I’m going to ask one last time: you really think it’s best to throw them in prison?” Mercy asked. The old soldier sighed again before replying: “Well, what would you do?” Mercy wiped her eyes and took another deep breath before speaking.  “While I was in hiding, there were a few instances where I was in danger. And even before I was captured, I noticed that despite being criminals, they are skilled. They are very intelligent when it comes to explosives. Being in such a harsh environment, they know how to defend themselves. I won’t deny they’re skilled fighters. And we’ve been having trouble with Talon lately. We could use a bit more help--”

“OUT OF THE QUESTION. ABSOLUTELY NOT.” Soldier: 76 had to refrain from shouting. “Are you suggesting we hire criminals to work for Overwatch? Do you know how long we’ve been having trouble capturing these two? And you want them to work with us? I think your judgment has been impaired since living with them, Angela.” “And you believe throwing them in prison to rot for the rest of their lives is better?!” Mercy hissed, putting her hands on her hips. She glared directly into the soldier’s Tactical Visor and didn’t say another word. There was a tense silence between them before Mercy spoke again. “I’m just saying, Jack. We’ve got them here locked up. They’re good fighters. Why not? We haven’t had much success in taking down Talon. We need extra arms, and they’ve got them...well, not too many, considering Junkrat’s mechanical arm.” She looked at Soldier: 76 with a stubborn look, the same stubborn look she’d given him years ago, when she voiced her differences.

Soldier: 76 sighed again. He was a fighter, but at his age, sometimes it was best just to give up. “Fine, dammit. You win.” He pressed a button on the desk. “Winston? This is Jack. I need you to do something for me.”“Yes?” Winston replied on the other end. Soldier: 76 paused and looked up at Mercy again. “Don’t make me regret this, Angela.” “Oh, don’t worry. You won’t. I promise.” Mercy beamed at Soldier: 76. “Jack? What was it you wanted me to do?” Winston asked nervously. Soldier: 76 gulped before answering: “I need you to go down to the lower level. Please bring the Junkers up to the office.”

//END

I wrote this based on a picture I saw here of Roadhog and Junkrat (if they were a part of Overwatch). This story was also written based on my headcanon for how Mercy wound up in a relationship with Roadhog (a story for another day). I’m sorry if it was written poorly.

[pizzapality]

Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought I would drop the fanfiction I wrote a few months ago on here...

Title: Valentine’s Day (Or, Concerning Oolong and Pfeffernüsse)

Author: pizzapality

Summary:  It had been so long since she had heard those words – ten years, at least. The thought didn't even cross her mind until just now. Was it February already? How many Valentine's Days had she missed?

Ship: Ana Amari/Reinhardt Wilhelm, Anahardt

Link to AO3

"There, perfect."

Ana Amari raised her rifle to take a better look at it. The metal glittered brilliantly in the light, tarnished only by the notches she'd put in the weapon.

Was it really perfect…? Would it ever really be perfect?

Carefully, she raised a finger to run over the blemishes, a pang of something like quiet discomfort washing over her. Eighteen…nineteen…twenty…at least twenty human lives taken for their cause, she reflected. If not more. Her rifle wouldn't look the same without those scratches carved into them, and yet…she forced herself to remember those lives she took. People with lives, families, children. People no different from her.

The door to her private quarters swung open that moment, jolting her out of her thoughts before they took too somber a turn. A young girl of about ten or so ran in, her knee-length dress swishing about her legs as she half-skipped toward her mother. Ana smiled and put aside her gun just in time to have the girl jump into her lap, enveloping her into a hug.

"Fareeha, my daughter," she began with a chuckle under her breath. The girl looked up at her, her black hair falling messily around her face. Blue, green, and red paint dotted the child's cheeks, although she could still see the youthful pink shining through her features. "I thought I told Reinhardt to watch you today."

"Yes, Mommy." Fareeha replied, nodding. "But he told me today was special! That today we're supposed'ta bring you presents!" She adjusted herself in her mother's lap, holding up her other hand that held a slightly crumpled piece of paper. Ana chuckled again – Fareeha never could be delicate about anything. On the paper was a relatively crude drawing of Ana and her daughter together with the words "Ich liebe dich Mom" written in bright green paint across the top and the bottom.

"Look, Mommy! Reinhardt even taught me how to write 'I love you' in German! And here's Jack, Gabe, and Angela and Reinhardt and…" Fareeha continued on while Ana's eyes scanned over the drawing. She noticed quite a few stick figures standing awkwardly off to the sides of her and her daughter, unmistakably the other members of their squadron. Blonde-haired Morrison…ah, there was Gabriel in the back with the black beanie…and Reinhardt, well he was…

"Yes, Captain," a voice boomed from the door, causing the woman to glance upward with mild surprise. It was a wonder that she'd missed him when they came in – Reinhardt Wilhelm was one hulk of a man – but he was just crouching underneath the doorframe to enter the room as well. "After we painted, she said she must show you now, so here we are. Isn't that right, fraulein?" He hummed a laugh as he made his way to a chair in front of a small desk. Fareeha nodded happily in affirmation.

"Do you like it, Mommy?" The girl chimed in, holding it up proudly and absolutely beaming. Her mother cracked a smile and nodded, running a hand through her daughter's hair and taking her face into her hands.

"You have done very well, Fareeha. I love it. Perhaps you will be a famous artist one day."

She could see Fareeha's eyes glint with mischief at she conjured a response.

"Perhaps I will be a famous member of Overwatch one day too."

Reinhardt let out a snicker at the comment while Ana couldn't help but roll her eyes. Rebellious youth.

"Why don't you go show everyone." She changed the subject, which immediately made her daughter begin to pout as she climbed down from her seat. "I'm sure they would all be happy to see your picture."

Fareeha folded her arms and huffed, puffing out her chest slightly and taking a wide stance. "I want to join Overwatch and be like you, Mommy!" The little girl stamped a foot on the ground for emphasis.

Her mother sneered before gesturing to the door. "Go."

The young girl turned with her picture and stepped to the door, lingering for a moment with a hand on the doorknob. Ana's breath caught for a moment, wondering if her daughter was going to press the issue, when she saw Fareeha glance back and say "Happy Valentine's Day, Mommy." before smiling and walking casually out the door and into the hall.

Happy Valentine's Day.

The woman's ears perked at the phrase. It had been so long since she had heard those words – ten years, at least. The thought didn't even cross her mind until just now. Was it February already? How many Valentine's Days had she missed?

Ana slouched from her stiff stance, slightly confused, slightly lost in thought. But it was one clear of the throat from Reinhardt, still in the room, to bring her back to Earth.

"Ana…!" he cooed softly, leaning forward in his chair. Ana could feel the hair bristle on the back of her neck. "My, you definitely seem checked out today."

Ana pretended to be unaffected by her co-worker's observation, opting instead to readjust herself on her bed and lean back on her hands.

"And how did my Fareeha come to know about Valentine's Day? Certainly, I have never told her – working here has kept me far from that holiday for years." she spoke quietly, looking sidelong at Reinhardt and conjuring a wry smile. The large man flushed a slight pink color while taking a giant hand to run his fingers through his dirty blonde locks.

"It has been a well-celebrated holiday in Germany for as long as I can remember," her company explained while he rested his elbows on his knees. "My mother was always baking all kinds of sweets for us to take to our classmates – it was quite a tradition. And when I had to travel this afternoon from the Watchpoint to grab some supplies for baking, Fareeha – she asked what the occasion might be."

"Wilhelm!" She exclaimed, her eyes aglow with the same mischief that rose from her daughter not moments ago. "You bake?"

Reinhardt laughed haughtily. "As I said – in my family, it is tradition."

An equal parts comfortable and awkward silence stretched between them as the two Overwatch operatives remained quiet in each other's company, glancing at each other one moment and losing the gaze the next.

"Valentine's Day is for lovers," Ana spoke up after a short while, although she immediately regretted the words as they came out. Now the air was definitely awkward. Reinhardt blanched instantaneously, glancing away to peer out the glass doors that opened to her private balcony overlooking the ocean.

"…Perhaps…" he half-murmured, wringing his hands nervously as his muscles tensed slightly under the black t-shirt that clung to his skin. He sounded like he was going to speak again, but she wasn't sure if or when that would be the case.

The silence settled into place again.

"So, did you ever give your mother's cookies as gifts to a sweetheart?"

She had intended the question to come out teasing, so she wasn't sure why she'd asked him so airily. She could make out the faraway look in his good eye as he opened his mouth to speak, but his words hitched slightly before anything could come out. He looked down, almost painfully, but then heaved a sigh.

"Wil –?" she started, concern lacing her tone.

"This is going to sound…very strange." He interrupted with a slight chuckle, looking up at her. His furry eyebrows almost obscured their line of sight, which Ana wasn't sure if she minded or not. "But I never could muster up the courage."

Ana wanted to snicker at that. To tell Reinhardt how ironic it was that this lion of a man who charged headstrong into battle every single time she'd seen him, who'd come back beaten and bruised but still smiling and still laughing, who any woman should and would feel blessed to be with, had qualms about being in love.

But she remained stoic. After all, she wasn't…the most romantic person in the world, either.

His snap to attention almost startled her. His head whipped back into position and he near absent-mindedly reached for a small brown box behind him. The box was foreign to her – he must have brought it in with him without her noticing. Reinhardt slowly rose from his chair – did she seem him tremble? No, it had to have been a trick of her mind – and came to sit beside her on her bed.

"But…perhaps now would be as good a time as any to overcome childhood fears." He said, extending the box to her. Her eyes glanced between the man and the box, a bit taken aback at how sharp a turn the conversation had taken. She carefully took the box into her hands, holding it delicately between her fingers and palming it ever so lightly as to not disgrace the gift given to her.

Just knowing that Reinhardt had thought of her on Valentine's Day made her pulse feel thick and heavy for a moment before she was able to regain herself and lean in Reinhardt's direction.

"Ah, you mean to tell me that Reinhardt Wilhelm, crusader known and loved the world around, has graced me with some Valentine's Day cookies that he baked with my daughter? My, what a family man you turned out to be." She crooned out the side of her mouth, and she almost caught the dazed expression that had washed over him as he took in her playful jab. A smile made its way to his face and he simply placed a large hand over top of both of hers.

"In time, there will be pfeffernüsse. Open it." He nodded, and she trusted the confidence in his voice as much as she did the curiosity brewing within her.

Slowly and carefully she flipped open the top, to reveal an ornately-painted teacup, complete with saucer. Daintily, the sniper raised it from the box, admiring the hot pink floral pattern that decorated the outside. She could feel her mouth fall slightly agape as one lithe finger traced the gold-flecked rim of the cup, astounded at its understated beauty.

"…How charming…" she breathed. "And you got this…for me?"

When her eyes fell upon him, she could feel him withdraw for a moment, obviously terribly nervous but also terribly excited. He raised a hand to comb through his blonde beard, hoping it would ease some of the tension.

"Ah, well. Yes. Just this morning, actually. Fareeha and I –"

"You devil of a man! You had my daughter in on this?" She couldn't help but playfully slap him on the shoulder, which caused him to relax quite a bit. Soon his raucous laughter was filling the room.

"You'll have to forgive me, Ana – she was the one who helped me to pick it out. I had my heart set on another, but she pointed me to this one and I…I simply knew."

"Did she now."

Heat rose and pleasantly flowed through her at the mention of that, and, without her notice, she welcomed it. For someone so shy about the uncertainty of romance, Reinhardt sure did know how to flatter someone.

A balmy type of stillness hung between them for quite a while, almost as if they had been encapsulated into a bubble that the rest of the world was closed off from. Even with no tea in the cup, the gift created thoughts and feelings that Ana wasn't sure she was willing to explore. They were co-workers, squadmates, friends, but…she felt so full of emotion, full of some kind of freedom that she hadn't let herself have, well…since she helped to create Overwatch. And it felt rather good, being beside him like this. Comfortable, even.

"Do…you like it, maus?" his voice turned up at the end of the question, a tad vulnerable. She looked up to lock eyes with the man, and without even thinking, her mouth stretched into a warm, genuine smile.

"I am in love with it, I think." She responded before the smallest snicker ghosted itself upon her lips. "Thank you."

He stifled a laugh himself.

"Good. Happy Valentine's Day, Ana."

And the grin that lit his features was so kind, so real, so genuine that she thought herself ready to drop the cup. Hastily, she placed it back into the box and rested it beside her rifle, where it was very much out of the way, and could be washed and possibly enjoy the company of some chamomile later.

"I…didn't think to get you a gift." She admitted, turning in his direction and folding her hands in her lap. "I am sorry, Reinhardt."

Reinhardt looked wistful for a moment, but then abruptly shook his head, assuring her that he never expected anything from her, and that it was supposed to be a nice surprise.

"It is my gift to you, Ana. I hope it will serve you well." He finished, placing a hand on her knee in reassurance.

Suddenly, a thought sprung to her mind. Perhaps it was the bubbly, giddy air around them both clouding her mind, or maybe it was the warm sensation that kept poking at her insides, but the thought almost felt right, and with every passing moment, the urge to do it grew stronger within her. No amount of mild suppression would bring about the termination of the thought that in this moment, Ana Amari wanted very badly to kiss Reinhardt.

"I…want to repay you somehow." She managed, scooting forward a bit. She was giving into herself a little, but my, was she bad at this.

"Ana, maus, as I said, you don't have to –"

"No, Reinhardt. I want to."

Reinhardt's body stiffened in that moment, paling a few shades as she continued to advance toward him until their faces were only centimeters from touching. She could hear his breaths quicken to a fever pitch, and realized that he was just as telling as she was. Nervous. Unsure.

What was she doing?

Before she could stop to second guess herself, Ana reached up and joined her lips with his. The musky scent of his beard tickled her nose, and she couldn't help but let a girlish giggle escape into his mouth. Before either of them knew it, she had lifted her long slender fingers to tie knots into his unruly blonde hair, and he held onto her with such need, such passion that it was almost as if he didn't, she'd cease to exist. Without much thought, she leaned forward against him, pressing her chest against his to feel the man's heart pound wildly against his ribcage beneath. The faintly bitter taste of his mouth reminded her of her favorite cup of oolong after a stressful day, and she knew that she'd never be able to drink that tea again without thinking of this moment.

Somehow that seemed…pretty okay.

But, hell, did this feel good. Strange emotions, ones she wasn't aware she'd still had smoldered within her, stirring around her stomach and robbing her of more rational thought as each second passed. Ever so minutely, Ana tilted her head, and Reinhardt pushed back, leaning into her with the same dizzying amount of fervor that she had.

But it wasn't to last.

A gentle pair of footsteps and a sing-song rendition of the word "Pfeffernüsse!" coming from down the hall ripped them apart as Fareeha returned into the room, grinning all the while.

Luckily, she was too wound up to suspect something from the two interrupted adults breathlessly watching her on the other side of the room.

"Reinhardt, can I have some of the pfeffernüsse we made? Please?" she questioned, attempting to put on her cutest face. Tough as he was, the crusader was a sucker for her daughter's adorable mannerisms.

Reinhardt, taking a moment to run his tongue along his slightly kiss-swollen bottom lip, turned the corners of his mouth up into a smirk.

"Only if it's okay with Mama, Fareeha." He responded.

The girl's pleading eyes turned to her mother, taking a moment to stand herself on her tippy-toes and fold her small hands in front of her.

Ana laughed a little, taking a moment to settle her pulse while running her hands through her hair, hopefully to make it appear less messy.

"Go downstairs, we'll be down in a minute."

Fareeha was gone before Ana could even finish the sentence, yelling "YAY, COOKIES!" at the top of her lungs.

The moment was gone, she knew, but that didn't stop her from turning again to Reinhardt once they were all alone. He still looked a little winded, as if he had only dreamed of the repayment he received for his small gesture. His expression held so much emotion, so much that he wanted and needed to say to her, and she knew that it would come bursting forth any moment.

But Ana needed time to reflect on her mistakes. If, in fact, this was one.

"Maus…" His voice, gravelly and low, came then, barely above a whisper. He leaned in closely, reaching for her face and holding his hand to gently stroke his fingers through her hair.

Luckily, before he could say much more, Ana was able to raise a finger to his lips, stopping him in his tracks.

"Asad," she started, softy. "I think you and I could really use some pfeffernüsse."

His eyes begged her to reconsider but a raise of her eyebrow was all she needed to silence him on the subject. With that, she slowly rose from the bed, smiling as Reinhardt followed suit before handing her the small box that was seated next to her rifle.

"Pfeffernüsse is a tea cookie, you know." He mentioned as he stood aside for her to exit the room.

"That's good to hear." She replied, looking at her companion out of the corner of her cybernetic eye. "Because I feel a strong desire for a good oolong right now."

Thanks for taking the time to read! I actually have a companion piece to this called Mended in Gold, and that’s on AO3 as well. If you have a moment, you can check that out as well! :) Thanks again, and long live Anahardt!

[joh-gaming]

Why is this affecting me so much?

This is probably going to be an incredibly long post, one that I don’t expect many would read but that I feel I have to write. If not for Epic to read it at some point, then for myself, to remember this and why this game was so important.

I will have a lot of personal opinions, unfair comparisons and highly critical comments in those comparisons that may or may not be accurate. There will also be speculation as there’s more going on than what they’ve been willing to say.

If you care, then please, click on Keep Reading to continue.

How did I learn about it?

Honestly, I have no idea and that’s an issue that lead to its current situation. This is what I remember hearing back then. Paragon is a new game by Epic Games, creators of the Gears of War series (which I’m not really a fan of) and the Unreal Engine (which has always fascinated me) It was going to be a MOBA (which I hate, don’t like any MOBAs except Paragon but I’m getting ahead of myself here)

Clearly the above isn’t enough to get me to try it, on the contrary. So what was it, I must have seen something that made me think, this is worth a try. As great as that announce trailer was, none of the heroes in it speak to me, not even Sparrow whom ended up as my first mastered character and the one I own the most skins for. It wasn’t a gameranx before you buy thing which to this day I haven’t seen nor plan to, nor Angry Joe’s first look which again, I have no interest in watching. I’m not being critical of those channels, it’s just that I already experienced the game, most if not all of its iterations, so I really don’t care what they had to say about it.

Well... funny enough it was Overwatch the reason I gave Paragon a try. While Paragon is relatively older than Overwatch, it was in closed beta for the first few months. After trying, and falling in love with Overwatch’s beta, I felt the need to fill that void but with another, hopefully similar game. Then I saw the announcement of Paragon’s own free open beta weekend

I don’t remember if I took part on it or not, the next thing I wrote of Paragon after that was Digital Foundry’s graphic comparison of the game on PC and PS4 vanilla (at the time, the only PS4 there was) praising how a console game let you use mouse and keyboard.

Now, going back to Overwatch for a second, there are a few things you should know. 1. I have a friend that is part of the Overwatch team 2. I bought the game myself, no free keys and it was the PS4 version 3. I didn’t have enough money to buy it at launch, I ended up buying it late June or mid July, can’t remember and it’s not THAT important right now. 4. I tend to prefer cartoon like graphics as they are pretty much timeless

With that being said, this was my first impressions on Paragon, having tasted Overwatch.

“I feel really bad for the artists working on Paragon. Clearly a lot of effort was put into the design and modeling of the characters but good God they're so damn boring. The maps are also bleh with a palette that doesn't help things at all. Animations feel like over a decade old with awkward jump and run. I will be surprised if this game is actually successful 'cause it's a MOBA and what's the most important part of a MOBA? The damn heroes.“

I’ve been wrong before, but this is probably the top one. The map in question is what we now call Legacy. After spending a long time in super colorful maps in Overwatch, I found myself in this semi realistic map with ruins and a jungle that looked old and boring. Movement was too slow and I’m not sure what I was talking about with the animations, maybe they were bugged at the time ‘cause Paragon’s animations are impressive. Some of the best work in gaming.

Needless to say, I had a rocky start with Paragon, mostly because I didn’t understand it. I don’t know how long I tried it before I deleted it but that’s what I ended up doing. I got frustrated and instead of doing research I just quit.

So, going back to Overwatch for another second, how long was my honeymoon after I bought it? It lasted for about a month, after that I started seeing all the issues the game had and has (most of them are still there) especially on consoles. Broken heroes, Play of the game that encourages nonsense, the “scoreboard” that highlights the wrong things, lack of content, lack of heroes, easily exploitable on certain maps, etc. So I guess, thanks to Overwatch, not only did I dare to try Paragon, but fell in love with it. (btw, I did check, bought Overwatch mid June and by mid July I was sick of it, only made worse in August trying to get the limited time skins I wanted) And that’s not even talking about how Overwatch popularized Loot Boxes (yes, they have existed for a long long time, they just made it seem OK in a full priced game, ‘cause it was $60 on console)

Now, I couldn’t find this anywhere but I remember I returned to Paragon when Lt. Belica was announced. Gave it another go but again, failed to understand the character and gameplay. I will get more into the true problem for new people later on, but for now let’s go with why did I delete the game a second time. Well, it wasn’t out of frustration this time, rather than HDD space on my PS4. At the time it didn’t support external HDD. When did I return in a more permanent manner? When Countess came out.

She became my main for a while, which is funny ‘cause part of her kit was taken from the hero that would completely grab me forever. I started understanding the design decisions of the characters and the graphics, I got past the part where they wouldn’t last a few years, I was wrong about that too. I think they found the right balance between realistic and somewhat cartoonish to make the graphics last. That and they weren’t shy on retouching characters later on.

On November 2016 I said this

“Now I have a better understanding of the game, mind you that if I were to read about it I MAY learn it faster, but I prefer to learn from my own mistakes rather than trying to play like someone else that is probably more skilled. I can accomplish a similar standard just playing with things that work for me rather than what is "optimal". Or that word that gets on my nerves, the META. Fucking meta...” 

Funny, I still agree on that.

Paragon growing on me

I’m going to quote myself again, but I’m going to edit said quote for context purposes, not trying to say something different than I said before. For instance, the post was made with a video that I won’t include here, so anything mentioning the video is out of context.

“The more I play Paragon, the more I like it, but at the same time the more I notice its problems. Paragon currently has 24 heroes with a new one added every 3 weeks. Only has one map and one game mode, but it's free and high quality so no complaints here. However if you're like me, you tend to pick certain characters based mostly on looks not on play style. This is one of the biggest issues in Paragon and even Smite for that matter. The character design in Paragon is on point but at the same time it’s dull and boring.

You have your human characters, your robots and your beasts. They decided to go with a semi realistic look for the game instead of doing the cartoon like design from popular and unpopular  MOBAs. Which is fine I guess, you want to differentiate yourself, especially when now everyone that does it is instantly going with "an Overwatch look". On PS4 they had to lower the graphics quite a bit.

Paragon has a hero limit since launch and you can't switch heroes of course. The character selection process is completely random (I was the first to pick this time by pure luck) there are no rules for this other than what common courtesy SHOULD dictate. Personally, even if I get to pick first, let's say if the third player selects Countess before I do, I consider that a priority so I leave Countess open for him. You should learn how to play at least 4 characters. Game actually wants you to learn five characters, that's why you get 5 deck slots by default.

I prefer to play Countess, but I'm better with Sparrow and already have experience with Belica. That being said, the whole mastery system induces people to rage quit when the character they wanted gets picked by someone else. It starts off fine, but eventually leveling up your character becomes a chore and a grind.”

This was still back in November 2016.

On December 2016, I had this to say about the game

“There were a few things keeping the game from being as good as it could be. One of them being the learning curve. This wasn't your go in spray and pray your way to victory while you press a button to get a highlight at the end of the match to feel great about your awesomeness. No, in Paragon you needed to learn a lot about the mechanics, you had to build your character from scratch, and you had to find a way to balance your build to be ready for what's to come. It was amazingly refreshing to be honest. Sure it took me some time to like it, mostly 'cause I still feel the graphics aren't what they should be and the characters, while having an interesting design, they lack a palette that makes them unique.”

“This past Tuesday, Epic Games decided to upload Monolith. Basically Paragon is now a whole different game. Taking into account player feedback, mostly for how slow the game was, they applied a lot of changes to the mechanics of the game. Some of the changes would have been enough in the Legacy map to make the game nearly perfect, but no. Monolith is a smaller map than Legacy, character speed is improved but then it creates other issues when you fight other heroes. Certain classes are now having a tougher time. You gain less card power, forcing you to stay on the map longer rather than going back to base to level up. That in theory would be great if you weren't so fucking weak for half of the game. So what are people doing to combat this? They basically have the same builds. Build for attack speed and power, then some life steal and you're good to go. It's boring now, it's more like a shooter. “

I ended up that paragraph with something I regret and therefore won’t repeat. Even if it didn’t happen... I didn’t uninstall the game and have no plans to do so. Not even after it’s gone (unless it keeps affecting my health, more on that later)

“The simplification of Paragon, as a whole, made it more accessible to regular players, you know your regular multiplayer bro. So it's kind of funny to see the rage quitters because the early game is so painfully slow (in terms of levels) and how easy it is to die when you don't understand how minions and towers work. They changed more things in Paragon than what Massive changed in The Division. Paragon is like a different game, one that doesn't require you to be as smart as before. You now stack attack and go play. That's why I'm a little disappointed with the update. Thankfully they are listening to the feedback so perhaps they can find a middle ground between this version and the previous one, because both have great ideas, they just need to remove the bad ones. A match in Paragon is still more fun than a match in Overwatch though.” 

2017, a roller coaster of emotions

Last year alone Paragon went through at least 3 big changes. Many think these changes lead to its current downfall but I don’t agree. In a community corner video (I may edit this if I find it again) they said (a bit arrogantly I may add) that Legacy won’t ever come back. Keep in mind that while at first I was one of those that felt betrayed by the changes Monolith brought to the game, I was still playing and having fun. Originally the thought was, “we don’t want to split the community” and at the time I agreed. But looking back I failed to see the same thing they missed, the community was already divided. Bringing Legacy as a mode, or a more strategic version while Monolith would be more fast paced wouldn’t be bad.

Look at Smite and Overwatch, both games that wouldn’t want to have a split community, now their games have plenty of modes. Keeps players in because if they tire of one thing they could test another ‘cause at the end of the day, it’s the heroes that will keep you coming back. So it wasn’t the changes, more like a pinch of arrogance and a lack of modes. The player retention they later complained about, was of two folds, lack of ranked mode and a poor tutorial.

What made Paragon different and special, besides the heroes I will come to love even more than those in other games, was the card system. You’ll find videos from ‘tubers that are now jumping to conclusions just to talk about the closure of a game they never even heard of. You’ll hear them say something about it being pay to win with buying cards and what not, which funny enough was true in 2016, nobody said anything about it then, but all of that was removed when they added the card crafting system so long ago that I don’t even remember when that was implemented.

Building a deck was crucial to success in Paragon, just as much as understanding minions, towers, your role, buffs, rotations and kills. For most of the 2 years, the jungle was crucial too, that was changed in one of the latest patches. Some say for the worse, I’m not too sure it was. If it was simplification they were after, then the current jungle makes the jungler job easier to understand. Farm, get some levels and skills, then go help the lanes. True that had it been a mode in Monolith with Legacy being the more strategic match, it would have been better received, or at least that’s my perception.

People don’t like to feel dumb, even less to realize they actually are. If what I’m writing here makes me sound dumb, then perhaps I am, but it doesn’t matter as this post has nothing but my sincerest thoughts on the matter, even if I’m trashing Overwatch along the way. I think Paragon was a great game, unique in a sea of MOBAs, that people just failed to understand and that the developers didn’t support correctly.

Was Fortnite the issue?

Epic Games is often accused of doing popular things then scrapping them, fad chasers is what they call them. Paragon started when MOBAs were a big thing, just like Fortnite started when Minecraft was a thing. Sure at the time you had Cliffy B on board so he wanted a gritty and scary thing in Fortnite. Fortnite was one of those games that went through development hell, a game that if not by PUBG catching fire (see what I did there) and they being able to rip it off, it would have crashed and burned by now. Fortnite was sold as an Early Access game

I clearly bought into Fortnite’s Early Access, hence the screenshot of the banner unlocked. What made me buy Fortnite when I knew it wasn’t done? If there’s one thing I learned from playing Paragon, is that Epic will change everything trying to find the best system for the gameplay. I wanted to be a part of that too, I wanted to see the game change and grow (keep that expression in mind) over time. I also wanted to thank Epic for Paragon, so I thought this would be the best way to do so.

I was aware of Fortnite before I knew anything about Paragon, I mean like I said, it’s one of those games that went through development hell. I was watching one of their livestreams when they were giving away keys to almost everyone, they didn’t give me one (at the time it was a PC only game) so I never got the chance to try it myself. Over time I stopped paying attention to it as I never got a key, nor even acknowledgement that I wrote them asking for one. Why was I interested in Fortnite? Well, obviously the cartoon graphics as I mentioned before, then there’s the whole building thing which I enjoy a lot (main reason why I like Fallout 4) and Orcs Must Die 2 is one of my favorite Tower Defense games. (Keep that game in mind too)

If I had known that everything they said about working on developing what is now a mode (Save the World) was a lie, I would never have wasted money on Fortnite. The game is as incomplete now as it was on launch. Sure they have had events but almost every resource is going into the Battle Royale mode. Again proving that they are indeed fad chasers. If you feel like I’m wrong here, that it was a logical business decision and that justifies whatever you’ve spent on Fortnite, then fine, that’s what you think. But personally, I can’t recommend anyone to spend money on ANY Epic Games game from now on. This will sound like Blackmail and maybe it sort of is, but I do mean this, if Paragon is completely closed (as in I can’t play it in any way, shape or form) to me, I don’t see myself giving EG money again in the future. I don’t just say things like that and change my mind when it’s convenient, I haven’t bought an EA game since they burned me with SimCity 2013.

The Heroes of Paragon

Paragon has a bunch of great heroes, my favorite hero would come out in May 2017. That would be Phase. I’d say it was love at first sight but it wasn’t, it was love at first try. Before Phase there was Aurora, a controlled type character that had the looks and mobility, not to mention damage output. I often play range roles or control types, while Aurora was melee, I felt she has more mobility than Countess plus her control abilities were great to set up team attacks. I never thought a support would be far more interesting to me.

Phase’s kit was amazing, actually it was too good to the point where she broke the game for some people. One thing is a good support, another is a support good at everything. Good at healing, dealing damage and controlling the enemy. She got nerfed a couple of times, with her healing being affected the most, she’s still my main. For whatever reason, Phase felt like a part of the Phantom Thieves in Persona 5. Granted that after reading her lore I completely understand why that was the case, but the fact that I thought about it without reading it says a lot about the work put into the character itself

There are so many nuances in her animations, even her new launch pad animation. While not as involved or defining as most of the characters’, it still feels like a Phase launch. Her relationship with Shinbi was explored later, it was interesting but it didn’t change what I thought the character was like. She is the character I’ll miss the most, but don’t think she’s the only character I like a lot.

1. Countess 2. Aurora 3. Lt. Belica 4. Sparrow 5. Dekker 6. Serath 7. Morigesh 8. Zinx 9. Drongo 10. Wraith 11. Yin 12. Gadget 13. Muriel 14. Twinblast 15. Murdock 16. Shinbi

I will miss all of them. There are a few I haven’t even tried.

The greatest game I couldn’t play

From September 19, 2017 to January 9 2018, I didn’t have internet access. Hurricane Maria had destroyed our infrastructure leaving many of us in a terrible situation. Originally I was OK, I was prepared for around 2 months of no power, let alone net access. My house held fine (or so it did at first) and my family was OK. Then it started, the following days it started raining what felt like non stop and the damage Maria did, was now evident. Water was pouring in, my things were getting damaged, first I lost my bed, then my desk, well to cut to the point, I pretty much lost my house. I don’t have the money to fix it and with the situation my country is in, I don’t think it’s even worth it.

All I kept thinking about was, man I wish I could play Paragon again. Sounds silly but everyone has something that helps them disconnect from whatever terrible reality they are in. For nearly 4 months that’s all I wanted to do. Late October I moved to my brother’s house, it had power, water would come later but at least it had power. I started playing some games to avoid thinking of what I lost and had yet to lose, as I couldn’t save everything important. Nothing clicked, all I wanted was to play Paragon. I would watch my captures of my game time, over and over and the “music video” I did of my first coop match playing her

I missed the October event, I wanted that mummy Yin skin. I almost missed the winter event skins, got net back right when they extended the event 1 more week, so I was able to buy Morigesh and Aurora’s skins. Those weren’t the last skins I bought, no. The last skin I bought was the Panda skin for Phase. The day before they announced that Paragon would close.

So you see, the answer to my first question, why is this affecting me so much? well, after losing my house and some of my things, the game I wanted to play the most is going away too. It breaks my heart, I saw Paragon from almost every stage in development, highs and lows I loved playing it, I still do. There are terrible games that somehow are still up (Day Z comes to mind) yet this amazing game that is making so many people cry, it’s going away. Or is it?

Were we lied to?

It all points to yes, something happened that they can’t talk about. In their open letter they said

Here inside Epic, we’re talking about the future of Paragon in pretty much the same terms as you’re talking about it. The core challenge is that, of new players who try Paragon, only a small number continue to play regularly after a month. Though Paragon has evolved, no iteration has yet achieved that magical combination of ingredients that make for a sustainable game. (As an aside, the problem isn’t marketing or how to make money with Paragon. We have good ideas that would solve those problems if we can find a way to make Paragon grow.) 

So, if the problem wasn’t marketing (which btw it was, it wasn’t even promoted 1/5 of what Fortnite has been) nor making money with it, the problem was making it worth the effort. At least that’s my opinion. Fortnite success came over night, so it was an easy decision to ditch their less popular game even though it is their superior product. But is that even the case here? While Paragon is going to close for us, in China it started its closed beta

What the flying fuck is going on here?

It’s hard not to feel betrayed, it’s hard not to wish Epic Games failure (I try not to) but nothing is harder than seeing a great game close, with some relatively true explanation but no real logic behind it. Closing Paragon, even if it was to make development on Fortnite easier, is a mistake. Leave it in life support until you can come up with better ideas for it. The rank mode they were working on was never implemented in Paragon, instead it was moved to Fortnite. So don’t tell me you did everything for the game, it died because you didn’t support it Epic. It died because you killed it not because we left, I never left. As the final months are quickly going by, and I try to enjoy my final moments with it, in an analogy I rather not say, I feel myself getting sick. I get this massive headaches now, Paragon may have nothing to do with it but coincidentally, they come after playing a few matches. It hurts to know it’ll be gone and that I won’t be Phase anymore.

On the other side, I hope Epic Games have realized that Fortnite is more of a platform than a game. Quickly being able to transform itself from tower defense building game to a battle royale with building elements. I mentioned Orc Must Die series, well their latest game was one of the many MOBA attempts that kind of failed. They had to add the classic gameplay that made them popular in order to keep their fans, because they were bleeding players like crazy. Now, the current version has plenty of modes, kept the MOBA, (EDIT: They removed the MOBA mode) added the classic and created a few more. Fortnite can be Paragonized if they wanted to, they could even add some of the Paragon characters to Fortnite, I would gladly pay for Phase.

Soldier Class

1. Belica 2. Murdock

Constructor Class

1. Terra 2. Greystone

Outlander Class

1. Phase 2. Twinblast

Ninja Class

1. Shinbi 2. Kwang

And clearly, I’m not the only one that thinks that’s doable. naastika.deviantart.com

Final thoughts

I may be angry and disappointed, and I do mean it, that if I can’t play Paragon or Phase (mostly Phase) any more, that I truly won’t support any more Epic Games games, but I do appreciate the rare opportunity to play such an amazing game. I’m too old to like video games for the gamey aspects of it, I prefer the media side of it, the opportunities it offers as a story telling device that surpasses books and movies. I started my gaming on the Atari 2600, I’m done with jumping around for hours or shooting for no reason. It is extremely rare for me to get attached to a game with no narrative, and the fact that Paragon pulled this off, speaks to the talent working on the game.

Thank you for Paragon, and fuck you if you do close it.

[jessemccowbae]

EVERYONE AT OVERWATCH IS HOT. A THESIS.

ALRIGHT KIDDOS SADDLE THE FUCK UP.

We have now officially reached the drunk enough to say shit you ort notta said part of the evening. And we have so many new people showing up, and said to myself, damn self, there are so many pretty people showing up tonight. And then I realized why: it is because LITERALLY EVERYBODY HERE IS ATTRACTIVE

I am not making this up. When objectively removing existing friendships and awkwardness and social niceties and power imbalances and general Reasons It Is A Bad Idea, I would most definitely bang everybody in this building.

So naturally before making suhc a statement I needed to double check the entire roster. And make sure I wasn't leaving somebody out or making someone feel bad. Or anything like that, because even if I didn't want to bang you all I still almost entirely like y'all and don't want to cause no hurt feelings. We're still a family and I still love you okay? But I went down the whole list and. I was right. Literally. Everybody. At Overwatch. Is like 100% bangable. Some over 100%.

For the purposes of this I am leaving Bastion and Orisa off the list. Because Orisa is a youngun and probably doesn't have a grasp on such things yet and Bastion seems to be like... three? Four maybe? Mentally? I mean given that we just had to explain porn I think there maybe issues with the concept of sex, much less consent. But it's definitely not just an omnic thing, as you will see.

So look. We're gonna go straight down the fuckin list and I will Mathematically Prove This To All Of You.

ANA. Alright, this is one of those where like I normally outside of this experiment wouldn't think about it mostly because Fareeha would murder me. But for the sake of makin' the point I will. The Captain was a fuckin' fox in her day and hasn't lost most of it. It's like 80% attitude, she could kill pretty much everyone I have ever met, but even if you base it just on looks she's got it nailed, alright? 10/10 gimme the damn time machine

HANA. I feel like I shouldn't because she is enough younger than me that it's creepy? So I will just say this: if she had been here when I was a 17-year-old recruit I would have basically tripped over my own dick trying to get her to so much as fucking glare at me. Hypercompetence is fuckin hot. */10 but teenage Jesse is like nerf me pls

GENJI. Is a hot dude. I'll just go there, alright? He is. I am also like 90% certain that some of those mechanical parts have functions that weren't in the instruction manual if you know what I'm saying, and I have watched his ass train, you would not believe the fuckin flexibility. Like if you like dudes even a little and you wouldn't fuck Genji you're lying. 11/10

HANZO. Go on and fucking laugh. Get it out of your system, I'll wait here. Okay, you done? Cause this motherfucker is carved out of fucking marble. Like I think if I punched him in the stomach I'd break my hand? And my hand is metal. Just fucking. Chiseled out of granite or some shit. Top to bottom. His face is the same too, he looks like some kinda Renaissance statue or some shit. Like even if I wouldn't bang him, which make no mistake I would, I would still want to touch him a lot to just see how he's fucking real. 13/10

JAMIE. Okay but lemme let you in on a secret. Happy fun laughing sex? Is the best sex. And if this little asshole is half as manic in bed as out you are in for a fuckin' time, alright? Plus he's tall as hell and has long ass fingers and the accent ain't bad either. Solid 8/10, probably a 10 if he could concentrate long enough to put actual effort into seduction? Either way, bring Gatorade

LUCIO. I mean, have you met this dude? He is probably the most gentle and caring and tender jackass you ever met in a bed. Will just dote the fuck all over you until you're a crying mess because you know no human can ever be that good back to him and he doesn't even care, he's just glad you're here, and then he wants to snuggle after. I mean sure, he's hot, but that's fuckin' secondary at this point. 11/10 also probably has the best sex playlist on the planet

MEI. If you have never seen Mei outside of her winter gear. Do yourself a favor. If it ever looks like she is about to take her coat off. Make sure you do not have any food or drink in your mouth. Because the first time I saw her in a t-shirt I basically snorted soda up my nose. She is a sweet and kind and wonderful darlin', make no mistake! But more prurient to the current subject her body does not even make sense. I'm shocked Winston ain't made a project of her yet because that many curves in that small a space has got to violate some laws of physics. Just... so much... EVERYTHING. All at once. Twenty pounds of bodacious in a ten pound sack. Here for it. 13/10 thighs would make excellent earmuffs

ANGIE. Okay. Look. You know all those American movies where there's this like shallow useless prop of a Gorgeous European Woman who's flirty and sexy and statuesque and golden? Now imagine they're also friggin crazy insane brilliant and like the kindest most loving person you ever met in your life and can also cook. Why do the rest of us even exist. Fuck me sideways. 11/10

FAREEHA. She is smarter than me, cooler than me, tougher than me, more educated than me, and can and has beaten me up. If you're into ladies and muscles this is your second best bet on base. And she's good at fucking everything? Which, again, I'm into, you should be too. 10/10 wear your pads

REINHARDT. Look. I'm just gonna come right out and say what we're all thinking. He's like 6'6" at least and about a yard wide at the shoulders. Even if he's just proportionally average he's still probably hung like an elephant. And hey, still got the bod after all these years, it's impressive. 11/10 I am a tall dude I've never been held up against a wall and it sounds fun

ROADHOG. You know what? Hog is a super fuckin sweet dude. I was not expecting that. But like, I got a big soft warm hug earlier just because I was drunk and sad.  And we ain't even super good friends yet. So honestly this probably goes the same way as Lucio, basically. Plus he's got big hands so hey. 10/10 why the hell not

JACK. I mean, fuck, look at him. Fuckin blond-haired blue-eyed pristine midwestern beefcake asshole. Got a fuckin' statue. You'd do him just to say you did it. 10/10

SATYA. Look, I'm normally real good at reading people and the whole aloof and mysterious thing is kinda played out? But she's working it. Like, just warm enough on occasion to reel you in a little. I dig it, very controlled, well executed. If you're into someone else taking control it's totally there. Or just insulting you, if that's your thing. And I mean, also gorgeous eyes and legs to the fuckin moon but did I even need to say that? No, no I didn't. 11/10

TORBJORN. YES I SAID EVERYBODY. Now look. Everyone wants to talk shit because Torb is small which is a fuckin disability actually, and it gives him migraines and shit and it makes everything hard and it sucks for such a good dude. But I have two points here. One: he is an engineer. I have seen him work. The level of manual dexterity is fucking astrounding. Two: He has like eighty-leven fucking kids, so he is CLEARLY doing something right. 10/10 get you some old man

LENA. Is a doll, alright? Everybody knows that. But everything I said before about happy fun sex applies here. Like yes, super cute, got it, but she's just like. Fun and happy just to be around. Lena makes everything a good fuckin time and if anything should be a good time it's fuckin', right? 11/10 maybe 12 if she brings British chocolate

WINSTON. Yeah I know. I said everybody. But like, here's the thing. There's the obvious Not A Human issues. That's weird. And weird in a way it isn't with omnics because he's a thing we normally don't view as equal but he's special and separate. So I am not gonna say this in a like, of me way.

But here's the thing. Winston is just. Good. Better than any of us, seriously. And he's the reason we all ended up back here. The reason I ended up back here when I damn well don't deserve to be. I walked away from the best thing that ever happened to me like a fuckin' idiot because I was scared and you all just. Let me back in. Like I didn't stab every damn one of you in the back when y'all needed me most.

I deserved what I had. Being alone and scratching out a meal and on the run. All I was doing was reaping what I'd sown myself and now... this. Now I'm home again and you all just act like I didn't...

And Winston gave me this. What I didn't deserve the first time around and sure as hell didn't deserve a second chance at. I owe him everything. I owe him my damn life. Winston is good and kind and amazing and wonderful and I want him to be happy and have whatever he wants, and if that includes getting laid then by God I hope he finds it.

10/10.

Anyway.

ZARYA. Holy hot damn. Like, I understand submissiveness in bed and whatnot, I may not entirely feel it but I get it. But I've never quite gotten the like, actual physical roughness thing? Until now? Because I'm pretty sure I want her to punch me. Honestly I'm suprised Lena can hold a conversation with her without choking. 11/10

ZENYATTA. Yeah yeah y'all were waiting for this weren't you. And this was gonna be a pretty standard "lol vibrating robot parts" joke but a little while ago I was snifflin' into this shot glass and he put one of those happy orbs on me? And just... guys everything is so good. I love y'all a bunch and we're all here together, an' we're doin' good an' makin the world better and it's so good. An' it don't even feel fake-good like getting drunk and forgetting your problems, which I was failin' to do earlier. Just... like there's so much good stuff already in the world an' I just couldn't see it before. Anyway what I'm sayin' is bangin' Zen might be the path to eternal enlightenment. 11/10 align my chakras baby

AND THAT. Is the thing. Is the post. That I have spent like an hour on now? But everybody here is hot and I'm surprised I can goddamn function.

[puddingley]

the color of love

jeon jungkook x reader

highschool!au; one shot; 2.6k words

fluff, oH SO MUCH FLUFF

synopsis: she couldn’t live for a solid 10 minutes without experiencing a migraine, and no one knew about her odd condition, assuming she was a quiet girl who continuously spaced out in class. a certain boy’s voice was the only thing that day that brought her peace. a story of an innocent first love.

chromesthesia - a condition in which one experiences color immediately after hearing specific sounds

“Y/N…Y/N!!”

Y/N’s head quickly turned from looking out the classroom window to her best friend’s face. The vibrant, quick stroke of magenta that passed her vision was not pleasant, and she definitely didn’t want to see it again.

“H-hey…” she spoke, timidly, “what’s up?” 

“I was just going to ask you if you had anything planned after school. The other class rep is a butthead who doesn’t get crap done, if he even shows up in the first place. We’re scheduled to help staple some handouts together.” Y/N’s best friend huffed in frustration as she glanced over to the other class rep being reckless, but then turned back to Y/N, flashing a smile.

Y/N was used to seeing the little fluffs of magenta that floated around her best friend. It made her feel warm inside, just like when they were little and Y/N was unaware of her condition. Even though her condition kinda sucked when the setting was noisy (don’t even get started on the class chalkboard), and even though those noises evoked a variety of colors she didn’t like and many headaches, she thought it was kinda cool to see colors, and to have a specific color for each sound she heard.

Except, no one else thought it was cool, because she never told anyone.

The soft green haze of chirping birds and rustling leaves. The warm undertone of yellow when she flipped to the next page of a book she found in the library. The strong but gentle rainbow that came to her vision when specific keys were pressed as she played her favorite song on the piano. Her best friend’s cheerful magenta, her mother’s comforting sky blue. Those were all colors that she came to love and be comfortable with.

The bell rung for lunch, resulting in a bright, geometrical blocks of chartreuse covering her vision. You know how I also mentioned colors she didn’t like? That was one of them.

“I’m free after school! My mom isn’t coming home until 5:30.”

“Great! Y’know, I have no idea how he was chosen for class rep. Look at him! What an absolute dic-” 

“Hey,” Y/N let out a chuckle, “No need for crudeness.”

“Sorry about that, I got a little fierce there, didn’t I?” her best friend responded, “By the way, are you okay? I’ve known you for years to know that you’re naturally quiet, but you just a little…too quiet today.” 

Yeah, that’s because we have the noisiest science class and a bell every forty-five minutes doesn’t help. Also, I hate chartreuse. That’s what she wanted to say, but stuck with, “Oh just a little tired today. I was trying to get ahead on the project last night.” 

“I see. Let’s eat, shall we?”

After experiencing at least 5 other bursts of chartreuse (or as Y/N calls it, 5 bursts of yellow-green hell), the school day had finally came to a close. Y/N and her best friend met up in the student council room to staple papers together.

It was around 4:00 when they finished, and Y/N’s best friend had to leave.

“Bye, Y/N!! It’s weird we’re not walking together today. You sure you wanna stay here?”

Reassuringly, Y/N replies, “It’s no problem. I want to check out some books in the library.”

Y/N’s best friend smiles at her again, “Alrighty! Don’t stay too late, you don’t want your mom to worry.”

They wave goodbye, and Y/N is left alone in the hall.

She sighs. Finally, Y/N thought, I love her and school and all, but it’s finally quiet…

As she walked to the library, a bright red fogged her vision. It was light so that she can see where she was going, but it was also unfamiliar to her.

“What…what is this?” Y/N quietly said to herself, stopping in her tracks. She had never seen this color before at school.

In the opposite direction of the library, she can hear a boy singing. She couldn’t make out what he was singing, but anyone can tell that the voice was beautiful. Unaware to her brain yet, her body started moving, turning her back to the way of the library and following the boy’s voice. She found herself moving quietly but fast. What am I doing?! I shouldn’t be prying into someone’s business. Although that’s what her brain said, her feet opposed.

The red had became stronger and stronger as she made her way to the music room. She stopped at the door that was slightly ajar, and listened.

The boy was singing a song she had never heard of. Maybe he wrote it. Either way, his voice was marvelous. It was a loud voice, but also a gentle, smooth one. The color she was continuously seeing reflected his voice as well. The red was not strong as in overbearing, but more of a vibrant red. It didn’t cloud her vision as to blind her, but stayed near her peripheral, giving her a sense of comfort and support. It was a color and shape combination that she had never seen before, but she loved it.

Before she knew it, the boy finished singing and noticed her in front of the door.

“H-hello? Do you need something?”

Y/N looked up. The red had subsided into a softer one, but it never left. As she expected, his talking voice, although much deeper, was nice too.

“I-I’m sorry! I was just heading to the library-” Idiot! The library was the other way! Y/N paused, then continued, “but I heard your voice, so I came. You sing beautifully.”

The shy boy’s cheeks slowly reddened. It was the same red she just saw.

“Thanks…” he looked down, scratching his neck, “you’re really direct, you know. Come in.” He chuckled. 

Y/N slowly opened the door more so she was able to walk in.

“I’ve seen you before…you’re Y/N, right? I’m Jungkook. We’re in the same grade but it looks like we don’t have classes together.”

“I guess we don’t.” Silence ensued. Man, this is awkward. What do I say now?

“I, um,” Y/N spoke up, “I have played the piano at school before. You might have seen me.” 

Jungkook smiled, showing teeth that resembled a bunny. The more Y/N looked at him, the more she thought he was so, so cute. He was tall and had black hair that went to cover his eyebrows. He wore his uniform casually with the collar of the shirt unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled up. The black school uniform tie still worn properly. Cute and has a good voice? Was he just fated to have everything good? “That’s where I saw you!” Jungkook spoke up, his voice going from quiet to a more casual volume, “You were really good.”

The two talked more, becoming more comfortable with each other. Y/N heard Jungkook sing again, resulting in more red to come into her sight.

“I’m sorry Jungkook, but I think I have to leave. My mom will be coming home soon.” Y/N worriedly said as she checked her watch.

“It’s all good. Can we maybe…” Jungkook looked down, becoming bashful, “talk again? I want to get to know you better. I’m always here in the music room after school. We can always chat here, i-if that’s okay with you!”

“Yeah…that’d be great!” Y/N smiled before waving goodbye and leaving.

Jungkook wasn’t able to practice anymore without picturing Y/N’s smile. After singing a couple of songs, his face went red as he kept picturing her face, voice, and frame.

“What the heck…why is she so cute?!”

In a span of a month, they continued to talk with each other after school. There were times where both or one of them had to leave early, and of course they needed to make time with their friends, but there wasn’t a day where they didn’t at least greet each other or text each other. Y/N learned so much about Jungkook, such as how he also dances, likes white t-shirts, Timberland boots, and ripped jeans, and plays Overwatch. Their friends were able to get along with each other and they were all able to have a great time together.

However, as time went by, Y/N and Jungkook started to act differently when they were together. Unknown to each other, their presence and even just the mention of the other person from their friends caused both of them to have a rapid heartbeat and a subtle blush on their faces. Despite this and the fact that she gained more friends, Y/N never thought of telling anyone about her condition.

Until one day, when she was in the music room, listening to Jungkook sing again.

The two were usually comfortable in each other’s presence, but today just seemed, awkward. 

When Jungkook finished singing, Y/N gave him a small applause. Jungkook smiled and turned to shuffle through his music papers and song sheets.

Suddenly, the sounds of ruffling papers stopped.

“Y/N.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you think…” Jungkook kept his back to her, “that we’ve been a little awkward together? I can’t really say why.”

Y/N couldn’t help but agree, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. Maybe it was better to keep quiet. Should she tell him about it? Would that close whatever gap that has formed between them?

“Jungkook,” she called quietly, “can I tell you something?”

Jungkook turned around and sat criss-crossed in front of her. They were both now on the floor in the center of the music room, facing each other.

“Go ahead.”

“I have this condition where I see color whenever I hear certain sounds.” Y/N then proceeded to tell him everything. About why she always hung out in the school’s garden and the library. About which colors and sounds were her favorites. About which that weren’t. About all the migraines she’s experienced. About why she spaces out in class. About why her grades weren’t always the best. About why she hated her science class sometimes. Her condition wasn’t a big deal, but why was her voice quivering as she told him, and why couldn’t she look him in the eye? After all, it was rare and not life threatening. Why would he care?

“Sorry, I’ve never told anyone before.” Y/N finished, looking at the ground.

“It’s okay. I just didn’t know you had to endure all of that by yourself. It must be hard perceiving the world like that.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t think you would believe me.” Y/N let out a nervous laugh.

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re such a genuine, honest person. I was wondering, though…”

Jungkook grabbed Y/N’s hands. Y/N looked up, her eyes meeting to see his beautiful, brown doe-eyes. She would have never thought to be so close to Jungkook.

“…What color am I?”

Y/N’s mouth was sealed shut. It was already nerve wracking to be telling all of this to a boy she met only a month ago, but for him now to be so close to her, his warm hands intertwined with hers. 

“Y/N, do I not have one?”

No, no no no. She thought. You do have one! It’s one I’ve never seen from a sound before. I just can’t put it into words.

“Am I not special in your mind?”

No, you are special!

“Am I not as special to you as you are to me?”

What?

Y/N’s eyes widened.

“Y/N, I know it’s only been a month since we’ve met, but I’ve fallen hard for you. I love everything about you. Your quirky habits and hobbies, and your smile. Oh man. I don’t know what it’s like to be in love, but I love your smile.”

Y/N was speechless. She wanted to tell him so much, but she was just so in awe that she couldn’t. Jungkook lowered his head to look at her hands.

No more words were said by him. It was just silence. Yet, Y/N can still see his color fog up her vision.

“I’m sorry,” Jungkook quietly said, “I messed up, didn’t I? You just told me something that you had never told anyone, and then I just confessed to you. I just took advantage of the situation. Why was I expecting you to feel the same?”

Y/N’s mouth was slightly open. Please, she begged to herself, please just tell him something. Don’t just let him walk away. Nothing he just said was true. I do feel the same!

“I have to go. I’ll see you later.”

With that, Jungkook took his bag and stood up. The warmth of his hands disappeared. He quietly opened the door and left, closing it. 

Y/N was left alone on the floor of the music room. Her hands were still open, as if she was wishing for someone to grasp them. Her eyes saw no red, but she was wishing that they did. 

She started to cry.

“You’re such a fool, why couldn’t you say something?” She whispered to herself, her breathing shaky and uneven. Y/N couldn’t move, she was stuck on the floor, but she somehow got the energy to pull herself up, becoming dizzy for a moment.

He can’t be that far, can he?

Y/N grabbed her bag, quickly opened the door, left the music room, and ran. She went to the main entrance, determined to tell Jungkook what she wasn’t able to.

Y/N came to a stop at the front door of her school and saw Jungkook at the bottom of the stairs. She started to freeze again, her brain being unable to process what was going on, but she realized that he was going to be out of her sight at any moment. Y/N ran to the top of the stairs where Jungkook became more visible to her, and with as much strength in her voice that she can muster up, she yelled,

“RED!!”

Jungkook heard this, turning around. He was shocked to see Y/N at the top of the stairs, her face flushed and panting, her nose red and eyes watery. She was crying?

“…Red?” 

Y/N became flustered at his questioning face, looking down at her shoes.

“When I heard your voice on my way to the library a month ago, my body acted on its own and started walking to the music room. When I was able to hear your voice more clearly and loudly, my sight was filled with red. It was a very vibrant and comforting red, one that didn’t make my head hurt. One that I became very fond of…”

Jungkook looked at her, speechless. Y/N let out a shaky sigh.

“What I’m saying is,” Y/N continued, “your red is not a red of destruction. It’s not a red of manipulation or evil. It’s a red of fresh grown, sweet strawberries. It’s a red of the crisp autumn leaves. It’s the red of romantic roses. It’s the red of passion. It’s the red of a person’s blushing face. It’s the red of someone that…”

Y/N looked at Jungkook, their eyes meeting each other.

“…has fallen in love.”

Y/N smiled.

“I’m in love with you, Jeon Jungkook.”

All Jungkook could do was cover his face and blush.

i’ve been reading too many shoujo mangas and i think that’s what inspired me to write this (+ a book i read about a girl who had synesthesia, i can’t remember the title since i read it a long time ago. she didn’t have this specific type of it but a different kind). thank you for reading!! i know it’s not fluffy with physical touching and stuff but i wanted to do an innocent one shot. 

[starpiper3]

Losing Faith

Chapter 1: Lost and Found

Chapter 2: Last Few Words

Chapter 3: Keeping Secrets

Chapter 4: A Fresh Start?

Chapter 5: Saving Faith

Chapter 6: Losing Faith

Jack lost a part of himself as he watched Angela fall lifelessly from the rafters above him. His heart sank and as much as he wanted to finish it off with Gabriel, he needed to be the hero he was and save her.

Launching himself off of Gabriels body, he ran towards her. Yet, the faster he ran, the faster she seemed to fall. He wouldn't get there in time and he knew it. His heart pounded in his chest in hopes of catching her in time. Only when he got to her, it was too late. 

The side of her body hit the ground with such a force, he thought she was dead on the spot. Her head hit the mat beneath her followed by a crunching noise. The fighting stopped. Members of Overwatch looked over at them in horror, leaving the enemy scurried away to safety. The battle field silenced. 

“NO!” He screamed at the top of his lungs as he knelt down next to her to check for a heart beat. He didn't find one at first, but as he kept listening, a weak beat arose, “I’m not going to lose you again like I did the first time,” he grunted as he laid down all the biotic fields he could around her.

Tracer was the first to zip over to him and stopped his hand in mid air.

“Jack please! Think about this for a minuet. She’s in this bad of a condition, we need to get her back to the base as soon as possible. You can lay down your fields once we get on the plane.” She spoke frantically. After giving a moment of thought, he agreed with a tear stained face.

Her world was cold.

Frigid.

A puff of air escaped her mouth, letting a toxic cloud appear in front of her.

“Where am I?” She thought to herself. The desolate land in front of her was covered in snow. She was here for a reason, but what? She held her staff in her hands and questioned why she was here. All she knew was that she was supposed to be looking for someone, but who?

The snow crunched beneath her feet as she made her way over to what appeared to be a chaotic mess. Steel beams were twisted in archaic shapes and  debris covered the ground like funny little decorations. What was this place? It looked oddly familiar to her.

The Swiss base.

She stumbled over her own feet as she advanced further into the war torn facility. 

She was looking for someone, but who.

A tall lean man finally came into her sight. She held her staff closer to her and aimed it at the man who was frozen in time. This was it. This was who she was looking for. 

The vigilante.

“I’ve got you now,” she hissed under her breath. Drawing closer to him, she could feel her surroundings slowly fade away. The steel beams became off colored and the debris drifted away. She began to move faster and faster towards the man, but the faster she moved, the further away she became and the faster the scene faded from her sight.

The ground beneath her quickly disappeared and her footing was soon lost into the abyss she was being dragged into. Her staff had left her hand the minuet she went to grab for the air. She needed to stay up there and finish what she had started. 

From her view below the fading scene, she saw the man turn to her. A mask over his face and a heavy pulse riffle in his grasp. Mercy’s world began to grow dark. Her head swarming with nothing but blackness. The scene which she was supposed to be in was no more than the size of a marble, yet the man was still visible to her. 

He took off his mask before he spoke to her in a whisper like tone.

“You couldn’t save what we had....”

The rest he spoke was only mumbles to her, for she had lost to the black abyss.

Her body ached, head was swimming and the bright light above he didn't seem to help her any. 

Where am I?

She slowly lifted her hand up to her head and found a soft piece of fabric touching the tips of her fingers. Taking a deep breath, she could only guess what happened: She had gotten injured on a mission. But whatever had happened to her must’ve been minor if she only felt this bad. Anything worse and she would probably have been dead by now. 

Her stomach ached as she tried sitting up. Her hand immediately flew down to her side in hopes of relieving some of the pain. She looked down to see just how bad the damage was.

A close to healed stab wound? It didn't make any sense at all. It was just a simple mission, nothing that would put her life in danger. What happened? As she looked down at her wounds, she couldn't help but notice the bruises that covered her hand, her arm, arms. She gingerly pushed up her sleeves only to reveal more discolored skin. 

Her heart rate began to increase and the sense of uncertainty  flooded her body. She was alive and ok... but was she safe? Who’s quarters was she in? Was Talon holding her hostage? Was she captured from the group?

Just then, her eyes landed on a figure in the room. He looked familiar, but she just couldn’t put her finger on who he was. His head hung down and he rested it in the palms of his hands. The plain navy blue t-shirt he wore seemed to show off his muscular form more than she wanted it to. Even if she was with Talon, this man was hot. 

Her cheeks turned a rose red as she cleared her throat weakly. Her fear had suddenly subsided and al she could think about was this unknown man in her room. His head snapped up from it’s down right position and his stunning blue eyes landed on her. 

“Angel,” his voice was soft. 

“Hiii...” she dragged out shyly, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red.

“How are you feeling love?” He said standing up and moving closer to her. 

Love?

“Ahh... Sore and hungry, but other than that, I’m ok.” She said squirming in her place a bit. His shoulders sagged as he let out a sigh.

“I’m just so glad you're ok,” he mumbled as he moved to the side of her bed. This made her more than a little uncomfortable. 

“Ahh...” She reeled back from him slightly, “Whaaat are you doing?”

“Oh, sorry, you're right. I probably shouldn't hug you when you're in this condition hu?” He reached behind his head to rub the back of his neck. Wow, that was definitely a smart move Jack. He sighed.

“Yeah... It would be a little bit of a rush don’t you think?”

“Oh, um, yes, of course... my bad.” He let out an awkward chuckle and smiled passionately at her. She blushed once more before she finally picked up on the hints he was giving her.

“Am I supposed to know you?...” She mumbled out still smiling at the man before her, “cause it seems that you already know me.”

His heart sank.

No... No... This couldn’t be.

“Angela...” His voice was barely a whisper, “you... you dont know who I am?”

She somberly shook her head, “I’ve never seen you before in my life,” she muttered. Tears filled his eyes and his vision became blurred. He knew things weren't going to be the way they were before the attack when they got back to the base. He felt it in his gut and he was right. Nothing would ever be the same ever again, and in that moment; the Jack within him got desperate. 

“Angela, please, you have to remember me. Please,” he heaved as he moved closer to her. Tears streamed down his face and his hands were balled up by his side, “It’s me angel, its Jack, Jack Morrison! The man who has loved you all of his life! You can't forget what we had now!” he shouted, gaining attention from the figures in the hall.

“I-I’m sorry Jack, b-but I really don’t know you.”

Pain flooded through his body and the thought of losing her again was no longer an option. He had saved her many times, and it was time for him to save her once more. His hands gripped the end of the bed and he leaned forward towards her.

“Angela please, you have to remember. The times we spent together before the explosion, before I went missing, before we even knew that we love each other! Please you have to remember!” He shouted, causing fear to flow through her veins. 

“I-I’m sorry!” she whimpered as she brought her arm up to shield herself from him, “I dont know what you want me to remember.” Her voice shook. The door to her room opened suddenly as Winston and Tracer both entered the room.

“Commander, please take it easy.” Winston spoke. 

“No! I will not! I have tried so hard for so long and I can’t lose her now! I’ve come too far!” He screamed irrationally, causing Angela to shake. Tracer raced to her side, hoping to bring comfort to the wounded doctor. As the screaming continued, it was clear to the team that it was time for Jack to be taken out of the room. 

Winston along with Zarya and McCree struggled to get the screaming commander out of the room. Once the door was closed behind them, with D.Va, Pharah and Tracer at Angela’s side, Winston slammed Jack to the ground.

“Commander please-”

“I AM NOT YOUR COMMANDER ANYMORE!” Jack yelled. He heaved and took deep breaths as he laid on the ground. The small group in front of him took a couple steps back, giving him the space he needed. 

“You don't understand,” he whimpered out weakly, “I am nothing without her. I am not a commander, I am not a soldier, I am nothing. She has to remember...” Tears were streaming down his face and the thought of living a life without his angel pained him. His heart pounded against his chest sending him into a mass of agony

“Come on Jack, why don't we get you back to your room.” Winston mumbled as he helped him up. Taking his arm, he looped it around the back of his neck, allowing Jack to use him as a crutch. With the help of Winston and Hanzo, Jack managed to get back to his room quickly and safely.

Yet they could only help him for so long, for after he was in his room, the waterworks and agony refused to stop.

“My Angel...”

* 3 WEEKS LATER... *

“Yes love yes! You’re so close!” Tracer cheered as Mercy crossed the finish line, “You’ve come so far!”

A wide smile was plastered on Mercy’s face. Her legs were no longer as shaky as they used to be. After laying in bed for 2 weeks (once she had woken from her minor coma), her legs became jelly like when it came time for walking. As of the last hour, she was deemed completely healed. Sure the ghost pains still came to her, yet the memories were still lost.

“Feels like legs again,” she joked as she walked to Tracer. Since she had wakened from her slumber, the team decided to help the one person who had managed to heal and keep the team together for years and years. Her rehabilitation started immediately and the support she got was enough to make her want to live her life again. 

“This is amazing love! Just in time for vacation too!”

“Vacation?” Mercy raised a brow.

“Oh! Winston didn't tell you the news yet?” “No, it seems he hasn't.”

“We are going on a team vacation to a private beach the base used to own, well, still own, before the Swiss head quarters was.. well.. destroyed.”

“Oh my! That sounds delightful!”

“I know! I can't wait for late night swims and early morning runs on the beach.”

Mercy smiled at Tracer’s cheery mood.

“When do we leave for this said trip.”

“Well, Winston really didn't want to leave you behind, he said once you were well enough to join us. So I’m guessing the minuet the news gets to him, it won't be too long till our departure.”

“Oh! Then we should tell him right now!” The two girls cheered and went to go leave the room, but they were stopped by a deep chuckle.

“No need to rush out and find me. Mercy, you are released from your rehabilitation and are finally free to enjoy our little vacation together.”

“Thank you very much Winston! Tracer, will you and the girls celebrate with me in the lounge with some coffee?”

“Of course! Give me two seconds and I will be there in a jiffy!” Mercy giggled before walking out to the lounge. It was time for Tracer to get serious.

“How is the big guy doing?”

Winston sighed, “not any better than the day we dragged him out. He doesn't want to go on this vacation at all.” 

Tracer frowned, “but if the both of them go together, the spark could be reignited. We could put them up for dates! Mercy won't stop talking about this myserteous man named Jack on the team-”

“I dont think thats what he needs at the moment Tracer. I think this will be a time for him to forgive and forget.”

“You really think so?”

He nodded.

“Yeah, I do.”

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

The team packed that night and the next morning they were off on the private jet. The girls were in a small group by themselves, giggling to whatever matter they could find to laugh about. It didn't help much that they were on a number of wine coolers. Yet, as hard as they tried to get Mercy in the small circle, she declined every time. This was her vacation time, and unlike other events that were still unknown to her, she wanted to remember this one. 

The view from the plane gave her some peace of mind. The clouds rolled around the plane and the blue sky lightened up her world. This was the first time she could relax in a long time. Despite her recovery process, she was determined keep working with her research. Patching up her suit and fixing her staff. She was surprised to find something in her research. Even though it wasn't much, it was still a help to her project.

Yet, while working on her research, she couldnt stop thinking about the mysterious man.

“Jack,” she whispered as she scanned the clouds. The sound of his name was so familiar, yet she still couldnt put her finger on it. His name was so soft, sexy even. She wanted to get to know him more, but after his out break in the recovery room, she wasn't too sure that he wanted anything to do with her. 

He had been more than distant lately, to her and the entire team. She was so sure that she was the cause of all of his problems since he didn't even want to do one this trip in the first place. She heard Winston argue with him just out side of his room. Saying things like he needed his time and his space. Along with the smaller things, such as needing to shave and taking care of himself. But in the end, Winston managed to convince him to tag along, saying that it would help his mental capability. 

And now he was with them, but locked away in his room on the jet. 

This isn't what Winston wanted. This is all my fault.

Mercy sighed and rested her face against the window. This was all she needed for now to keep her sane.

Just the window, and the plane.

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

The laughing, the screaming, the goofing around all lasted for what felt like decades, and no one wanted it to end. The beach bums and the water racers were scattered about, yet they were still in one big group. The men were ‘obliviously’ showing off their muscles to the younger women passing by. None of the men that were giving their full attention to the ladies got any attention back. Well, all but one, whom, wasn't even trying. Out of all the people on the team, Mercy couldn't help but notice this the most. 

She knew deep down inside that she had known him for much longer than she thought she did. Only, she didn't know why she had the feeling. Everytime she looked at him, she felt the urge to take him aside and be with him forever. She didn't even know him at all, yet a small part of her ached for him. It confused her deeply, but no matter what the measurers were, she was going to find out.

Getting up from her beach chair, she headed to the small beach house the team owned. A large 8 room, 5 full bath, 3 half bath beach house, all for them. It was a great place for all of them to reconnect and really dive deep into their team relationship, especially for Mercy.

After finding out that she used to have a room all to her self, (as she is now sharing a room with Tracer) she wondered if there could possibly be anything in her room that would be able to trigger her memory about the mysterious Jack Morrison. As a past commander, he was the only one in the house that didn't have to share his room. Since he was being an old beach grump before the trip even began, everyone agreed to give him space. 

As she began ripping through the closet, she began to wonder to herself if she was doing the right thing. The small though ran through her brain as she rummaged through her dresser drawers. Surely, she would find something. Only after hours and hours of looking, she found nothing. 

“Stupid useless brain!” She screamed as she banged her head again the wall of the walk in closet. With the last bang, the door leading to the attic swung open. Dust rained down on her head and eventually got into her respiratory system. A sneezing and coughing fit took over her body as her watery eyes looked up to the new entry. Maybe there was something in there that could possibly help her. 

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

“Has anyone seen Mercy lately?” D.Va asked as she sat up on the couch.

“No, actually, I haven't.”

“Nor have I,” Tracer responded.

“Jack, have you seen her anywhere?” Winston asked, but all he did was grunt in respond. 

“Did she go swimming and didn’t tell us?”

“No, she said she doesn't like the open water.”

“Maybe she went out without telling us,” Pharah brought up.

“No no, she would never do that without telling us,” Tracer argued.

“She’ll show up,” Jack’s voice rang through the thin air, “don’t worry about her, she's smart and she probably knows what she's doing.” The rest of the team that was now in the beach house grew quite. None of them had ever been this stressed since the destruction of the Swiss HQ. All the other events that lead up to today only seemed to make the matters worse. 

“Maybe we should do a small search?” Winston offered.

“Yeah, I think that would be good.” Pharah said.

“No searching is required, she’s fine,” Jack grumbled again.

“What is with you Jack?” Tracer snapped, “what did she ever do to you?!”

“She didn't find me in time,” he said coldly. The team grew silent and glared at him harshly.

“Come on guys, we need to find Mercy, even if it takes us all night or not.”

“Go on,” Jack pushed mildly, “You won't find her anywhere.”

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

The team had been out for hours and none of them had returned. As if. Jack grunted and whipped off his shirt he was wearing. A short shower wouldn't do him any harm.

Walking into his bathroom, he prepared himself a shower and stepped right inside; hot water burnin him and all. He didn't mind. Besides, what was the point? He knew that they wanted him to get better and reignite the fire with Angela, but there was just nothing left inside of him to try anymore. She didn't even remember him, not one bit, and he would know if she as messing around with him. 

The moment her eyes opened and looked at him, he knew it, but he didn't want to believe it. Her eyes were new and the look of unknowing flooded her irises. He was no longer in that pretty little brain of hers. Erased completely. Nothing could bring her back.

He rested his head against the wall of the shower. There was no turning back now. He was going to officially move on from his only constant in life. Right here, right now. He needed to stop being this weak little soul he was and move on. It pained him to do so, but he was finally free of the pain.

After over what felt like hours in the shower, he shut the water off and stepped out into the cool air. Using a bath towel to dry himself off before wrapping it around his waist, he headed into his bedroom. The moon was full and shining through the large window in his room. It managed to light up the entire room and then some, allowing him to keep the lights off for the time being. He used one hand to open his dresser drawer and the other hand to grab a pair of boxers. 

Once he wiggled his boxers on, along with a pair of mesh shorts, he noticed small figures in the distance walking on the beach. Rolling his eyes, he moved closer to the window, allowing a long shadow to crawl along his floor. As he was so preoccupied by the people on the beach, he failed to hear the quiet foot steps pattering into his room.

On the turn of a dime, his eyes were locked on her. She wore a long silk night gown and her toes knotted themselves into the plush rug beneath her. Blond silk hair cascaded down her shoulders and her face was stained with her tears. She sniffled as her nose had been running for longer than it should be. In her arms she held their most prized possessions. Filled with the happiest memories, to the funniest memories. The delicacy of their history in her hands.

Their dating scrapbooks throughout the years...

In a trembling voice she spoke.

“I remember you....”

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

And now.... the end has come.......

Yes, this is how I am ending it. There is no ‘next chapter please’ cause this series has come to an end.

And I would love love love to dedicate this chapter to @imlostinatunnel they have been with me and supporting me through thick and thin. I may not have been able to find the motivation to finish this chapter without them. Between all of the gribba grub I’ve been through these past coupe months, it’s been hard. But man, I can't thank you enough for the kindness you've shown me along with the care you've given me. This chapter is really for you man and I hope you enjoy all of it (even though it was rushed and not edited.) Thanks for being with me till the end :) you are the true MVP!! They (sorry I have no idea what your gender pronoun is and I refuse to get it wrong so I'm trying to play it safe) have so many awesome fanfics and I really aspire. They have so many great things and it would make me so happy if you guys would support their writing. They deserve it, they've worked hard for it. So it’s time to shine a little light you guys. :)

I would also love it if all of you guys would give @xavirne a look at her account and the awesome things she posts and reblogs. If it wasn't for her, the rest of this story would not be here today. She is the one who inspired me the most and continues to inspire me today. The minuet she reblogged the first chapter, I screamed and immediately began plotting the rest of the story. She is like my #1 idol right now and probably forever. I would do anything to meet her in person and I just don’t, she's just straight up amazing. Anyway. You guys should really look into her fanfics. She just so happens to be a phenomenal writer (better than me and I am not afraid to admit that). Her fanfics will quench your every Mercy76 needs and will guarantee you a better summer. She’s amazing and I promise you won't regret hitting that follow button. 

As with all of my stories now, I do have a song. I think this one goes perfectly. I actually played this song my freshman year of high school and I have adored it ever since. It will forever and always hold a special place in my heart, and I hope it does for you guys one day too. 

Don’t worry, this isn't truly the end of my writing. I still have many more ideas and many more fandoms to contribute to.

I’m not 100% sure but I think my ask box is up so feel free to make any requests. I’ll be glad to do one. Also if you want to get ahold of me message me and I will get back to you asap!

Till next time :)

~Starpiper3

[fanficsofmine]

Danger - Chapter 4

Thank you guys for being so understanding about us taking a break last night from posting. Next Monday, we will post the next chapter on time. It just didn’t feel right last night. Here is the next Chapter of Danger! Enjoy! -T

Read Prologue Chapter 1, 2, 3

Reader POV: Everything was a frustrating blur. I understood where Junmyeon was coming from abut hiring me security detail, but I, honestly, felt absurd. I wasn’t EXO. I wasn’t any other idol. I was just, me, and I was beginning to lose that feeling of being “just me.”

I was also constantly graced with the company of one of the guys. I know that a lot of people would give just about anything for that, as was being made painfully obvious to me. (Physically and metaphorically.)

However, I was beginning to miss my free time. I wanted to walk out and grab a cup of coffee without a security officer sitting a few booths behind me, staring at me as though I was some form of a lost treasure he was forced to protect.

I felt as though I was wasting the guys time by them feeling obligated to be around me constantly. They all insisted that it was fine. Honestly, I felt as though it was just going to cause more problems being seen out with them more frequently. I lost every battle attempting to tell them so, however.

“It’s not up for discussion,” Yixing told me one particularly emotional day that I was having.

He, Baekhyun and I were at the dorms a few days after my apartment had been ransacked when I snapped at them for attempting to control my every move.

He put his arm around me and I laid my head on his shoulder. “Love,” he told me, “we don’t want to control you. We care about you. It’s rare for us to make genuine, non-idol friends. You care about us for us. You’re one of the few people who has ever treated us like people when we first met. You’re important to us. That’s why…”

I cut him off, gently, but firmly, “I know. I know Yixing. I get it. I would probably do the same thing if the roles were reversed. I just… I don’t know, I guess. I feel like I’m being babysat. As a grown up, that’s extremely frustrating.”

He rested his cheek on my head and sighed.

“Believe me. We get it,” Baekhyun chimed in, “we are used to being told what we can and can’t do down to what we could and couldn’t eat during trainings. Constantly being followed by a guard. It’s infuriating. We aren’t wanting to rule every aspect of your life. We just want you safe.”

I could tell that I was not going to change their minds. I raised my hands in defeat.

“I surrender.” Yixing lifted his cheek from resting on my head, and smiled down at me.

“When this blows over, we’ll help you return back to a normal life, okay?”

I nodded.

We heard the front door open and close, and Chanyeol and Jongin walked into the room.

Jongin waved, said a quick hi, and walked into his room. They had been practicing new choreography at a studio, so I wasn’t surprised that he probably went to take a nap to rejuvenate from dancing.

Chanyeol, however, stiffened up when he saw Yixing and I on the couch. This was an interesting reaction to me.

I had always had a special liking for Chanyeol, even before I had met him. Once I became friends with them, his personality had made me fall for him. I never said anything, though. I did not want to risk ruining the dynamic that we had going on with the group. I had every assumption that he was not interested in me as well.

This new reaction, however, had me curious. He had never tensed up upon seeing me with other members before. It was not new for me to cuddle up with them in a friendly way either.

I was suddenly aware of an awkward feeling rising through my chest. My cheeks grew warm and I slightly scooted away from Yixing. He glanced back and forth between Chanyeol and I and smirked.

“Hey! Yeolie. How was dance rehearsal?” He removed his arm from my shoulders and leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

Chanyeol shook his head to bring himself back to where we were. I wasn’t sure what was going through his mind, but I intended to find out

Acting as though nothing was wrong, he flashed us his flawless smile.

“It was good. It’s always tough to rehearse with Jongin. He’s miles above me in the dancing department. Makes me work harder though.”

He sat next to me, his knee relaxing against mine. He put his hands behind his head and slouched back. He threw me a slight half-smile and I felt my heart flutter.

“Hey, Y/N,” Yixing suddenly turned to me, “didn’t you say you had to run home to do some homework? Maybe Chanyeol could take you? Baek has CBX stuff and I gotta go meet SM for my next solo mini album.”

I felt my cheeks flush hot again as I turned to him and he winked at me.

I turned to Chanyeol and his ears were just as red as my face, but he was better at composing himself as he said, “sure! I don’t mind!”

“My CBX thing isn’t for another two hours, I don’t mind taking you if Yeol is too tired from rehearsal,” sweet, oblivious Baekhyun offered. Yixing rolled his eyes.

“I’m sure Chanyeol is fine. Besides, if someone comes to attack her, what is your tiny ass gonna do?” He glared at Baek as if to tell him to shut up.

Finally, he got the hint.

“Ahhhhhhh! Good point. Yup. Should definitely be Chanyeol. He’s much stronger than I am. Have you noticed that, (Y/N)? Just how strong Chanyeol is?”

This time we all rolled our eyes and I couldn’t help but chuckle. It felt nice to laugh a bit. Chanyeol looked down when I did and gave me a sweet grin.

We drove in a comfortable silence. His long fingers fidgeted on his gear shift. I stared at his hand for a bit, desperate to lace my fingers through his. I almost dared myself to, but decided against it at risk of him not reciprocating my feelings. I could potentially be imagining everything I’ve been seeing today.

We got to my apartment and he parked behind the security detail car that was on watch for my place. This stirred my irritation again. What could they even be watching for? There was no way sitting outside of my complex could allow them to catch anybody. But, alas, here they were.

He jumped out of the car and ran to the other side to open the door for me. I was going to appear sunburned with how often I was blushing today.

I thanked him and he escorted me to my door. I was still a bit stiff from the accident, so it was nice to have a bit of support while I walked. Unfortunately, I lived on the third floor of a complex that had no elevator. Chanyeol was patient with me as he helped me up the stairs, slowly.

We got to the door of my apartment and I turned the key. I wasn’t sure why, but I had had a gut wrenching feeling that it was going to be open. I was comforted to know that it wasn’t.

I pushed the door open and another surge of anxiety was washed away when I saw my apartment was still orderly. I had a lot fewer pictures, as most of my frames had been shattered during the destruction, but it was still put together.

I fiddled with my keys as I looked up at a Chanyeol.

“Do you wanna come hang out for a bit? I could make you some tea and throw on Overwatch for you while I do my homework?” I really wanted him to stay. I still didn’t feel comfortable in my own home, but I had been putting on a brave face. I didn’t want them to know that I was actually terrified. It would only worry them more.

He pulled out his cell phone and checked the time.

“I know we have a dorm dinner tonight after CBX get back, but I can probably hang out for an hour or so.”

I was relieved to hear him say that. And giddy that I was going to get some one on one Chanyeol time.

I welcomed him into my apartment and meandered over to the kitchen. I put a kettle on and grabbed a box of cookies for him. I hadn’t been home, so my groceries option was limited.

I walked out to my living room to see Chanyeol making himself comfortable on the couch he fluffed up some pillows behind him and reached for the tv remote. Considering he had his own console at the dorms, he knew exactly how to set mine up so he could play video games.

“I have quite the fine dining experience for you, if you’d like to snack before you go back,” I joked, “would you prefer this half empty box of cookies, or I can pop you some popcorn.”

“Ah, the finest of meals, you offer!” He faked as though he was lost in thought and tapped his chin.

In the end, he settled for popcorn. I made his tea and snack and came back to him cursing at my television, mid round.

“God dammit, Genji, just fucking die already,” he was leaning forward, extremely into his game.

“I can’t believe you’re a Hanzo main,” I said, “Hanzo mains are just as bad as Genji mains.”

Without looking up from the game, he grabbed a handful of popcorn and threw it at me.

The next hour flew by, and I got absolutely no homework done. We took turns playing rounds on the PlayStation. It was the lightest I had felt since I had first realized my laptop was gone.

Eventually, Chanyeol got a call from Junmyeon asking where he was. I laughed when he rolled his eyes, no doubt getting a lecture from Junmyeon about how he’d better be on time.

“That’s my cue, unfortunately,” he groaned as he stood to leave.

I followed him to the door and opened it for him. He leaned against the frame and fiddled with his keys.

“Today was a lot of fun, (Y/N),” he looked at me and smiled. I could not stop staring at his lips. They were so pink and full. I felt myself leaning forward even though I hadn’t initially planned on it.

My breath was hitched in my throat when I noticed Chanyeol not moving away from my lean. Maybe he was feeling exactly what I was about him.

As I was almost to his lips, his hand slowly caressed my cheek. He wrapped it around the back of my neck and gently pulled me to close the gap between our lips.

It was a soft kiss. It wasn’t a passionate make out session, but a tender, sweet first kiss. I felt him smile beneath my lips and when he broke away, he looked perfectly pleased.

“I want to do more of that tonight. Can I call you after dinner so we can see each other?” He hadn’t removed his hand from my neck. We were still standing with bodies touching. I could feel his heart racing.

I nodded. I couldn’t quite formulate words from the excitement of having just kissed Chanyeol.

He told me he would call me later then, kissed my cheek, and turned down the hallway.

A girl from my Humanities class was walking by as he left. I waved at her to maintain my composure until I shut the door behind me. Immediately after I turned the lock, I let out a tiny squeal. I flopped down on my couch and could not wipe the grin off of my lips.

A few minutes later, I was caught off guard by a knock. I was not expecting anybody else. Maybe Chanyeol had forgotten something and needed to come back. I glanced around for a forgotten phone or keys, but found nothing.

Sometimes, though, security would come and check on me to ensure that I was still okay, so I assumed that’s who it was. After checking the peephole first, I confirmed it was my SM assigned officer. I unlocked and opened my door.

I was met with a sharp pain to the side of my head, and then darkness.

When I came to, it was dark and cold. My head was aching. I felt a wetness running down my cheek and neck that I concluded was blood from whatever was causing pain to radiate though my skull. I blinked my eyes a few times to try to clear my vision and adjust to the lack of lighting.

Once I was focused again, I was caught off guard to find that I was in a barn.

I was laid on the ground. I realized that I was unable to move my arms or legs.

“Fuck,” I whispered under my breath.

I fiddled with the rope restraining my wrists. I began to feel it burning its spot into my skin as I failed to loosen it. My anxiety filled my chest. I felt as though I was swimming in a bucket of ice water. The pressure of my heartbeat could be heard in my ears and felt through every vein.

It was dark, and I was alone. I was unsure where I was, and the sole thing that I knew was true was that I was mortified.

I knew that befriending one of the world’s most beloved K-Pop groups would have its repercussions, but this, this was unanticipated. I never expected it to go this far.

Harassment, sure. Name calling, I was beginning to block out. All of that was online, and people were brace behind keyboards. People using me to get close to the guys, used to it. It happened a lot when I was still in my home country.

It was the attempted murder and the kidnapping that were new and unwelcome factors.

Whoever was behind this knew me, and they knew me well. They had memorized my schedule. They knew my frequent stops. They knew I had security. I assumed that the officer was simply working for someone else, as an employee of SM would have no reason to attack me personally.

I forced myself to regulate my breathing as I attempted to go back in time.

I still had not really spoken to many people, though. I had a duo project with one girl that I had a few study sessions with, but we had always met at a coffee shop up the road, never at my apartment.

There were a few people in several of my classes who I had seen around my building. As I continued to attempt to escape my restraints, I pictured every person that could have done this.

One girl in particular’s face came into mind. I did not know her name, but I remembered her being on my floor a lot, even though I thought she resided on a lower one. She always seemed to be in passing, so I never thought much of it. Maybe she had a friend on my floor she was visiting often?

She was in four of my six classes. We had never spoken, though.

Could she be the one that had broken into my apartment? Was she there the day that the guys were helping me move in and recognized them? Or maybe she saw them come over for one of our movie nights.

“Holy shit,” I muttered under my breath when I realized that it had been her walking down the hallway after I had kissed Chanyeol. She had not even acknowledged him as she walked by, and she had given me a warm smile.

Surely I was just overthinking things. I needed to focus on getting out of where I was before I tried to play detective. I attempted to regulate my breathing, but was unable to. My wrists were starting to bleed from my frantic pulling and twisting at the restraints.

“Is anybody there?” I knew yelling was probably worthless, but it was worth a shot. I heard nothing but a screaming silence around me. The air didn’t even feel as though it was moving.

I felt a sob welling up inside of my chest, aching to break free. I choked it down. Now was not the time to lose my composure. I stopped rolling around like a fool and used my core to pull myself into a sitting position.

I used my fingers of my right hand and slid them under the ropes around my left wrist. I hissed slightly at the contact between my finger and the burned skin. I was able to create enough of a gap between the rope and my wrist with my finger there that I was able to actually slide it free.

When my left hand came loose, the rope fell from my other hand. This little victory caused the tears to begin to flow uncontrollably down my cheeks. I could not believe I had actually managed to free myself.

I quickly undid the ropes at my ankles. I stood and ran toward the door of the barn. The fresh air slapped me in the face. I was lightheaded from my wound that was still bleeding. I only made it a bit of the way through the field next to the barn before I realized I was too woozy to run.

I forced myself to sit, followed immediately by laying down. I felt nauseous from pain. I ended up rolling to my side and throwing up. I didn’t have much in my stomach to begin with, but now I was empty.

I felt hopeless. I felt my pockets in hope that my cell phone had magically appeared in my pocket, but I knew that it was pointless. I’m sure whoever told my guard to bring me here had taken my phone into consideration.

I wasn’t sure how long I laid there. It could have been hours. It could have been minutes. Eventually, however, I heard a vehicle rolling up to the barn.

I forced myself up on my elbows and knees and slowly crawled to the edge of the field that was still tall enough to hide me. I was to ready to make my presence known yet, in case it was the person behind all of this coming to finish what they had started before they left me here.

Five tall figures jumped out of the car and sprinted into the barn. I heard a string of curse words and then my name multiple times.

When I heard one in Chanyeol’s register, joy leapt into my heart.

I cried his name it and attempted to scramble to my feet. The head rush from standing too quickly caught up to me, though, and as soon as I was upright, I was headed toward the ground again. I blacked out, but not before I, thankfully, saw my friends coming my way.

[tancong]

Autumn of Artemis

Sorry that this is not Overwatch related. But yes, I also RP and write non-fanfiction stories at times. I figured I would share it here!

 A short story inspired by @shepiu‘s cute drawing and @temixart‘s cute little Artemis.

There was a memorable autumn in his childhood that Lancer would never forget. If every kid in the world had a time in their life when they acted edgy, that was his time. Granted, he was not terribly old, perhaps it was around when he was 11 or so. He just simply didn’t seem to fit in really well. Part of it came with moving around a lot he supposed, though he didn’t really find other kids interesting anyways.

There was a time when he tried of course, but in the end he realized that it was futile. Even if many of the kids were friendly and spent time with him, ultimately he would face yet another move and forced to leave them all behind once more. That is, if he actually got to join their friend groups in the first place.

Humans were fickle creatures. They desired to be cared for, admired, and respected, yet they sometimes don’t do the same for others. Some says that they want to make new friends and be good to everyone but in reality they simply stay near those that they are familiar with and only with others when it was advantageous for them.

Young Lancer did not know this of course. He was just an ordinary child after all. What really made him treasure the memory of that one frame of his past was not because of the naive nature of children and how he could enjoy their presence even without being friends. Sure it might be a bit better than where he was at now, but that was not the point.

The important memory was made to him by a young girl named Artemis.

* * * * *

Well, he didn’t know how old she was actually. She simply looked around his age or maybe a bit younger even, though he never really asked. He never really asked anyone about anything other than their names. After all, what use would it be to know that information only to leave them behind soon after.

As it were, he met her at school soon after he came to the city and got brought to school. He noticed people more than most might actually. Whereas students really only pay attention to the new classmate for a short duration out of curiosity of where they came from, Lancer did it all the time. Perhaps it was because he moved around more than others and always saw everyone as new. Perhaps it was because he saw things in others that reminded him of the similarities between the places he’s been. He was always seeing so many of them.

But on that day, all his attention was focused on just one girl in a cute green dress. She had a band-aid on her leg and her long sock fell down to her ankle on that side. What really caught his attention was her ears and tail. After all, they were large and fuzzy, with a soft shade of brown that just drew his eyes in.

If not for a single reason, his favorite color might have been brown for the remainder of his life.

She seemed a bit lonely and out of place, which strangely compelled him to come up to her and greet here with a sheepishly awkward scratch of the head and a small smile. Though he was sure that she had been here much longer than him, something told him that she probably had a bit more trouble than he would at fitting in.

“Hi, I’m the new student. I’m Lancer, what about you?”

The girl seemed to hesitate for a moment from being approached by a complete stranger in school, though she ended up telling him her name. Artemis.

* * * * *

The weeks went by in a flash. Over the course of that time, he only saw and spent time with Artemis during breaks and lunches. They never really interacted outside of school, though he considered asking a few times. For some reason, he found that most of the students and even teachers referred to her by another name, Amanae.

The answer he got from inquiring about it was simply that she was pretending to be someone else. As common as that might have been, he never actually brought up the topic. Instead, he simply called her by the name she had told him. There was no reason to change, though Artemis seemed happy to hear him say her name for some reason or another. It was an endearing side to her really, much different from her usual downcast gaze whenever she walked alone.

He found himself looking forward to seeing her, not caring about the fact that all the other kids found him weird for liking to hang out with somebody like her. The strangeness that they perceived was just a normal thing to Lancer. He had been to many places and met many people, so why would he treat Artemis any differently.

He found himself learning more about her. The way her walk changed depending on her mood. The cute little things her tail does whenever she does certain things. The things she liked. The things she did not like (though some of these lessons came with a slap on his hand). He was even sprayed with water via a spray bottle once. He wasn’t sure why she had it, but it was definitely worth it to touch her tail.

It was so soft and poofy that he one day could not resist the temptation. Despite how short it was, he relished in the sensation of something so soft and more heavenly than his dreams of touching a cloud. Of course, she frowned at him and got rather angry, meaning he couldn’t touch it again ever without having her hate him for the rest of his life. Though it was a shame, getting sprayed was definitely worth it.

One day, the dreaded moment came. His family told him that they would be moving once more. He felt a sadness that he had not experienced ever before, since they moved even when he was young as to never really got any close friends even then. His thoughts immediately went to the girl who always spent her time with him and made his days so interesting and fun. There was nothing he could do about his parents’ decision of course, but he wanted to do something special.

He asked his parents to buy him a small rectangular box of chocolates, asking to stay late after school and may go somewhere with a friend. Though most parents might have been concerned, they knew he was responsible enough to take care of himself and come home safely. Besides, they realized that he finally found someone that he really cared about, a close friend that they had never seen him requested anything for. As such, they allowed it.

It came as a surprise when Artemis declined to walk around after school and talk with him when he said he had something important to talk about. Instead, she gave him a bright smile and invited him to her house. While unexpected, Lancer had put his backpack back on, leaving the box of chocolates safely secured and hidden in there. With that, they went to her house.

He couldn’t recall the details of the house after all the years. All he could recall was his final moments with Artemis. He had sat down on her couch and thanked her for the offered tea. After a short moment of silence, he began to speak. Though he had intended on talking about him leaving, he found himself asking something else instead.

“Why does everyone call you Amanae?”

The question surprised even him, which gave them both a pause and caused Artemis to look away.

“What did they tell you?”

Lancer frowned at the avoidance of the question, though he answered, “They told me you made it up and pretend to be someone else.”

“Is this why you want to talk to me …? To tell me to stop pretending and if not you would …”

Lancer blinked a few times in confusion, his mouth opening to reply before stopping at the sight of the small glimmer of dampness in the eyes that suddenly gazed back at him. He could only gaze into them, only to finally close his lips and swallow once before speaking calmly.

“I never once doubted you Artemis. You have a beautiful name and I’ll forever call you by it regardless of what others say. You’re a good girl Artemis, don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.”

Before she could respond, he looked away toward the fireplace and spoke with a sadder tone in his voice, “However, you are unfortunately right about the last part. I … My parents are moving again. So … I don’t know if we’ll ever get to see each other again …”

That brought a silence into the room, one that made Lancer hesitant to look at Artemis once more. However, he soon did, meeting her soft eyes and giving her a small comforting smile. He then reached into his backpack and brought out the box, placing it in front of her and smiling at her as if to tell her to open it.

When she did, Artemis’ eyes widened and her expression brightening considerably. She looked at him as if for permission before taking one and taking a piece out of the neat arrangement in the box and popping it into her mouth. She let out a happy hum, her ears perking up and her tail swaying happily as she chewed on it.

Lancer sipped his tea and blinked in somewhat surprise when she held one out to him. He took it from her, his finger brushing against her own slim smooth ones for a short moment before he did the same with his piece. He wasn’t too fond of chocolates and would much rather let her enjoy all of them, though it wasn’t as if he could decline such a kind offer from her.

Once he finished chewing, he glanced at the small sporty watch on his left wrist before letting out a soft sigh and standing up. He gave her a sad smile as she did the same and walked over to him.

“Well, I should probably head home now. My parents are waiting and we still have to finish packing for tomorrow.”

Artemis nodded and stood there for a second, as if searching for the right words to say. Suddenly, she embraced him in a warm hug, much warmer both physically and emotionally than any that he had ever felt from anyone else. His entire body felt warm against her, making the gentle bliss in his heart feel ever better than he could have expected from that simple gesture alone. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, for just a moment longer before he had to leave. While he was hesitant to touch most other kids, she was the exception.

When he finally let go, he couldn’t help but notice the strange black object on top of the fireplace. It looked a lot like a teapot, except it was hollow and not covered except for the one area at the front with what he thought was the spout. Instead, the bottom and back were simply tough looking leather straps. He pointed at it and inquired, only to receive a smirk and a coy response.

“Maybe I’ll tell you when we meet again and older.”

With a shake of his head in confusion at her response, Lancer left her home, waving to her and continually looking back over his shoulder at the figure that still stood at the door to watch him go down the seemingly endless street. Once he reached the corner, he waved to her once more, receiving one back before smiling softly to himself and turning the corner. The corner of the road and yet another in his life.

* * * * *

Lancer walked down the main street of the city, slipping past the pedestrians there with ease. He looked around at all the people around and all the scenery despite how mundane it all seemed. He was no stranger here, and yet he couldn’t help but search the surroundings and took it all in. Some things never changed he supposed. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing.

He walked along, humming a song to himself as he walked. There was a small smile on his face, making him seem as if he was just another cheery person going through their day. No one minded that. His hands were in his pocket, humming along to a song that brought him a sense of nostalgia that he couldn’t quite place at that moment.

“I'm on a quest of which I know that I can never fail

I will prevail

Even though there may be many foes stalking my trail

I'm in love

Weak at the knees and yeah I'm growing pale ... “

The man walking tall in his black coat paused for a moment, his humming coming to a stop as his eyes suddenly locked onto a single figure in the near distance. In that moment, he felt a feeling that he had thought to be forgotten. Even after all these years, he couldn’t believe that she could still do that to him …

“There’s only one thing left to do~” he sung happily under his breath, walking toward the woman. He tried to keep himself as calm as possible, though the excitement practically seeped from his aura and walk. After all these years, what should he say to her?

...

“Hey Artemis. Am I old enough now for you to explain to me that thing back at your house all those years ago?”

He gave her a bright smile, one that showed his full sincerity in the soft light of his eyes as he met hers. Ah that was right, there was only one reason that brown was not his favorite color.

He could never get the beautiful shade of purple in her eyes out of his mind.