#sec unit oc

[measlyscrapofseafood]

my secunit ocs ❤️ dawn and dusk were deployed together and later had their contracts bought by the same shady corporates 😄 combat was brought in later and is the odd one out

[hwaslayer]

the space between us three (jyh) | six.

⇢series masterlist | series playlist

⇢summary: while juggling the demands of life, yunho continues to do his best to raise his independent 11 yr old daughter, seora. throughout the years, they've built a strong foundation, an unbreakable bond— one that consists of late night talks and food runs, father/daughter dates, and sideline cheerleading at her basketball games. so when you unexpectedly come into their world, things shift. despite the uncertainty and the fear of stepping outside of their comfort zone, yunho and seora eventually learn how to open their hearts and learn how to rebuild a home where three can thrive together.

⇢pairing: single dad!yunho x f. reader

⇢genre: (18+ - minors dni) strangers to lovers, single dad au | fluff, angst, eventual smut

⇢word count: 6.6k

⇢chapter content/warnings: cussing, mature language, seora spends time with her uncle mingi, first date <33, yunho opens up about his parents to oc, holding hands, good conversations & just a bunch of cute simp shit, goodnight kisses 🥰, i swear things will get a lil spicier next chap lmao

yunho: goodmorning. 😊

This morning had been one of those mornings. You had gotten up a little later than usual, feeling tired from the exhausting week. On top of that, you turned down Yunho's offer to bring you to work so that you wouldn't have to take the bus over; afraid you'd be asking for too much since he was gonna be driving around later tonight. Had you known the bus would be running late, you might've taken him up on it. But, with it being Friday, you were just excited to get your day over with so that you could hang out with Yunho one-on-one.

It was a blessing and a curse that it was busy as soon as you walked in this morning. A blessing because the day would breeze on by. A curse because you didn't even get a chance to respond to Yunho's cute lil text before jumping right into your task list. Until, your desktop computer decided to be stubborn and stop working properly— setting you behind even more than you already were due to the commute.

you: hi, goodmorning ☺️

you: i'm sorry for the late response! i'm having quite the morning. i have so much to do, but my desktop isn't working now. i feel so incomplet and useless. 😭

yunho: it's okay! not like i thought you forgot about me or anything .. 🥲

you: lol sorry, never!

yunho: wdym it's not working?

you: it won't stay on. keeps going on power save mode even though my settings are adjusted to never go on power save mode.

yunho: interesting. where do you sit in the peds hospital again?

you: 4th floor, M103.

yunho: i'll be over in a sec.

you: yunho?? you don't even support our unit 😭

yunho: and? lol. i have time. brb!

"What?" You mutter to yourself as you set your phone down, a little worried about Yunho getting in trouble or pushing off his work to help you. You shrug it off, scribbling in your planner and working through emails on your laptop until Yunho swings by.

Which, didn't take him long post-reply. He was at your cubicle about 15 minutes later.

"Hey." Yunho says softly.

"Hi." You shyly laugh. "How did you even get in here?"

"IT has access everywhere, believe it or not." He smiles before pointing at your desktop. "Mind if I take a look?"

"Go for it." He pulls up an empty office chair nearby and drags it over to your desk, sitting comfortably as he presses the power button. He presses it a few times and clicks away at your mouse until the screen pops up. 

"Hm." He hums. "Took awhile."

"It's gonna shut down on you."

"Is that what's been happening?"

"Mhm. Just now actually. When I get it back up and running, it'll let me work for a few minutes before it shuts off and goes into power mode randomly." He's click-clacking away on the keyboard, forehead tightly knit as he eventually rests his elbow on the desk— hand hovering over his mouth, with the other on the mouse.

"How old is your computer?"

"I don't know, maybe 8-10 years old? It was passed down from the previous project manager when I stepped into her role."

"Yikes." He laughs. "I'll try a few things, but might also be a good time to consider getting a new one." He starts pulling up the terminal and plugging in some code— language you definitely don't understand.

"Yeah, I know."

"You actively push data or other work to the cloud, right? So you have a backup and can pull it up anywhere?"

"Mhm."

"Good." He gives you a small smirk. "Then, getting a replacement wouldn't be so bad. You deserve it." You laugh.

"Hope the department thinks so."

"I mean, you do need a working computer to get your things done." He sits back in the chair and crosses his arms, slightly slumped in his position. "I just plugged in a code to mimic the movement of your mouse so the computer thinks something is always happening. If you look closely at the pointer, you can see it twitching a bit." You look up close on the screen and manage to see what he's talking about.

"Woah. Okay, genius."

"Not even." He laughs. "If you don't mind me being in your space for a little longer, I wanna see if this keeps your computer awake."

"As long as it isn't taking up unnecessary time and making you behind."

"Never." He smiles at you. "So."

"So." You mimic him. "Where are you taking me later?"

"For me to know and you to find out." You snort.

"Clever. Am I dressed enough for the occasion?" Yunho eyes your outfit, running a finger across his bottom lip while he smirks at you. 

"Yeah, you look good. You always do." You playfully push him on the bicep, making him laugh. "What? I can't be honest?"

"Hey— oh? Oops. Hi Yunho." Noeul gives you a look before slowly walking away. 

"Hey Noeul." 

"I'll come back later." She mouths out as Yunho gives off a small chuckle. Suddenly, he shifts his attention back to your computer when he notices the screen go black, and he's back to sitting up again. 

"Damn." He tries fiddling with the mouse and keyboard again. "Guess that didn't work. I think this is a hardware issue now, but .." He turns to you with the same smirk he was sporting earlier when he was spitting out those compliments. "Since your computer is pretty old, I can't say it won't act up again if you get this serviced."

"So, you're saying a new computer is definitely the way to go." He nods.

"You deserve it." He stands as he reminds you. "You should think about getting a 38" monitor instead of having two. It's basically the equivalent and helps with productivity."

"What are some good ones?"

"I can send you some recs in a bit. I'm sorry you'll have to work from your laptop for now. But, whatever you order, I can help make sure it gets to you ASAP and I'll help set it up."

"Yunho." You slightly pout as he's slowly walking out of your cubicle.

"No but's. I got you." He looks down at his watch. "Anyway, gotta head back."

"See, don't tell me you have tons of stuff to catch up on now because of me?"

"I doooon't." He almost whines with a small laugh. He totally does. He's actually kinda swamped, but he made it over anyway because seeing you is nice. "See you later?" You nod and giggle. "I'll text you when I'm all wrapped up on my end."

"Okay. Thank you again."

"No worries." He playfully sends you a wink before walking off and out of the office area. Noeul finally comes creeping up to your cubicle, squealing at a low tone.

"Stop, he's so into you."

"Don't start." You bite onto your bottom lip as you continue to keep your eyes glued onto the tiny laptop screen.

"Where is he taking you? Did he say anything?"

"Nope. I am completely in the dark."

"Those are the best kinda dates. He's gonna take good care of you."

"I just wanna get out of here." You whine as your place your head down on your desk for a few minutes.

"You will! And the wait will be worth it!" You look up at her and let out a small sigh, nodding your head.

"You're right. Let me tackle all of this so I can get outta here sooner than later."

"And hang out with your man, yes!" She leans against your desk. "By the way, what'd he say about your computer?"

"Oh, this thing is done with. I need a new one. I'm just waiting for Yunho to send me some recs."

"Been telling you that."

"Well, it kept me going for some time." You pat the top of the monitor screen. "It was nice while it lasted."

"I love this for you, you know that? Upgrading your computer, your love life. This era is cute." You chuckle and shake your head.

"Go. I gotta get back to work." You push her along, making her giggle at how obviously flustered you are over the topic.

yunho: some recs for the boss lady!

You see Yunho's Slack message come in, along with links from the IT catalog. 

yunho: this CPU should do you good, along with the 38". 😮‍💨

you: haha, thank you. 😊 i'll place my order right now!

yunho: can you send me your ticket number so i can keep an eye on it?

you: maybe....

yunho: ☹️☹️☹️☹️

you: you have too much other work to worry about!

yunho: including your ticket, yes!

you: you're unbelievable. 😂

yunho: you can always opt out for tonight (ouch) ..... 😖

you: never! lol. i'm excited actually. ☺️

yunho: i am, too. 

You smile to yourself during the brief pause in between messages, unsure how to respond to Yunho without sounding like you're doing too much or saying something crazy. But, the Slack notification goes off again—

yunho: okay, i actually gtg and help jihoon with something.

yunho: seriously send me your ticket number after you're done, pls!

Pause.

yunho: can't wait to spend time with you, y/n.

And all that overthinking goes straight out the window.

you: same. 😌

Seora had a long day at school— her day filled with a bunch of tests and pop quizzes, damn near dragging herself out of the classroom and into the gym afterward. She happily talks with her friends as they change into their practice gear, joking around and being the typical girls they are as they get out onto the floor with their water bottles. After equal wins and losses, the coach decides to continue running and improving plays to push the team forward to the playoffs and hopefully, a championship win. 

When practice wraps up, Seora grabs her things and finds her other favorite uncle talking to some of the parents outside of the gym; sweat still on her face, hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. When his eyes finally land on hers, he gives Seora's hair a good ruffle before taking her bags from her.

"Ace!"

"Uncle Mangi!" She copies his tone and laughs.

"How was practice?"

"Tiring. I'm pooped. I can barely feel my legs today."

"Working hard, atta girl. On our way to the WNBA." He tosses her bags in the backseat before hopping in. "Hope you don't mind, I gotta stop at the grocery store really quickly for our dinner."

"Only if I can grab some snacks."

"Course you can. Don't spoil your appetite for dinner, though. I'm gonna make some galbijjim."

"Yum! One of my faves."

"Exactly." He laughs. "How was school today?"

"The usual. Nothing too special."

"Nothing too special? Nothing happened at all?"

"Nope. Too many tests and pop-quizzes. I did get an A on my math test, though."

"That's something." She nods as she looks out the window.

"So, my dad's got another team dinner?"

"Mhm." He hums.

"Impossible." 

"They've been working really hard on a lot of different things across the hospital lately. Helps relieve stress, I guess." One thing about Mingi is that he will never out Yunho the way Seonghwa unintentionally does. If Yunho's got a team dinner, Mingi will stick to the story down to the T. Maybe even throw in his own details and dramatics to make it more believable.

"He barely used to have team dinners."

"Well, maybe their goal was to have more!"

"Are you hiding something, Uncle Mangi? Cause Uncle Hwa accidentally spilled the beans last time and said dad was on a date."

"Why would your Uncle Hwa do that? Should I fight him?" Seora laughs and shakes her head. "He wasn't on a date."

"Uncle Mangi." He looks at her.

"Mhm?"

"Lying is bad."

"I'm not lying!" She continues to squint her eyes at him before finally giving up her case and settling back into the seat. 

"Fine. What about you then, Uncle Mangi? What's new? How was your trip to Japan?"

"Nothing much. But, it was good. Nice to be in different sceneries from time to time."

"Dad keeps saying we'll tag along one day, but we haven't yet. I wanna go soon."

"I'll let him know, don't worry."

"They must have soooo much cute stuff. Don't they?"

"Lots." Mingi pulls up to the grocery store, driving into a spot near the entrance. "You'd definitely love it there."

"Where else have you been, Uncle Mangi?" She follows alongside of her towering uncle while he grabs a cart and heads into the store.

"Everywhere and nowhere all at the same time." She laughs.

"Seriously."

"One place I'll always remember is Switzerland. It's beautiful there. Probably one of my top places I've been to."

"I'm sure. I've only seen it in books, but it looks really pretty."

"It is. Those textbook pics definitely don't do it enough justice." Mingi sorts through the meat packages while Seora quickly wanders off into an aisle to grab her favorite chips and cookies. She drops it into the cart, with Mingi barely noticing.

"I have a random question for you."

"Try me."

"Do you think it's better to lock yourself up in a grocery store like this during a zombie apocalypse or keep it moving?"

"Well." Mingi continues to slowly walk down the aisles, making sure he doesn't miss any ingredients on his mental grocery list needed for tonight's dinner. "I'd say keep it moving."

"Why? You'd have everything in here."

"That's if no one raids the store, which would be impossible at that time. Plus, it can only keep you safe for so long before zombies find their way in or another group comes around. You could quite literally die before you even have a chance to try and survive."

"You'd have to take a break at some point though, right?"

"You could, but always best to keep it moving, ace. Never leave a trail for people."

"Okay, touché."

"Cereal first or milk first?" Mingi suddenly asks as they go through the cereal section.

"Cereal."

"What? No. Did your dad teach you that?"

"What kind of planet are you living on? Isn't that how it normally is?" Mingi stops the cart and looks at her. 

"Warm or cold milk then?"

"For cereal?" Mingi nods. "Cold?!"

"You and your weird ass dad." Seora laughs loudly. "Did anybody want a child? Cause this one is not mine—" Seora pinches her uncle's bicep, causing him to yelp as they push through the remaining aisles.

"You soggy cereal lover." Seora points out.

"That's literally the best way to have it."

"Ew, you're like eating mushed up cardboard." Mingi sighs.

"You're very lucky I love you and that your dad is my bestfriend or else I would've blocked him."

"You're so dramatic." She throws more snacks into the cart just as they're about to head to the registers.

"Any more snacks or you're good?"

"I'm good! I'm excited for dinner." Mingi laughs.

"I am, too. Too bad I gotta cook it first."

"You're a great cook, Uncle Mangi. I always enjoy the food you make." She tugs on his sleeve.

"I do try my best." She helps her uncle load the groceries onto the belt, pulling the cart towards the end to help bag up their things and throw it back in. Mingi taps his card to the reader before helping Seora with the heavier bags. Once they've gathered all their things, Mingi pushes the cart over to the car, loading it up in his trunk while Seora plops into the front seat. "Ready to head home?"

"Yeah, dying to shake a shower." Mingi starts up the car and begins the journey home.

"Yeah, you need it." He teases, causing Seora to lightly punch him on the arm.

"You're mean!"

"Kidding!" He laughs. "So, what's on the agenda tonight? We eat, you do homework. Watch some shows? Talk a walk around the neighborhood?"

"Sure, whatever floats your boat. I kinda have a bit of homework so I dunno about that walk. Plus, I'm pretty sore already."

"Okay, we'll play it by ear then." On the way home, Seora continues to tell Mingi about the staycation her father took her on and the new dog café they visited. She talks to him about her friends and how one of her friends started having a crush on one of the boys in their class. Mingi playfully gasps before lecturing her about boys and how icky they can be [coming from an honest heart]. But Seora laughs it off and tells her uncle that she's not really worried about that stuff.

All Mingi can say in response is 'you better not be.'

When the two finally get home, Mingi immediately sets himself up in the kitchen to get dinner going, while Seora throws her backpack down in the living room and heads straight to the shower. She takes a good, long shower before throwing on her pajamas and brushing through her wet hair. She sits on the living room floor and gets going with her homework while waiting for her uncle to finish cooking dinner.

Meanwhile, Yunho makes his way over to the peds hospital— happily stepping into the elevator to make his way back up to your office. When he gets there, he realizes most people have already clocked out and left for the day, only leaving you and a select few heads working away in the cubicles.

"Hey. Ready?" You smile as you look up at Yunho, sending one last meeting invite for next week before closing down your apps and shutting off your laptop.

"Yeah! I thought you were gonna text me so I could meet you halfway."

"Um, no." Yunho laughs. "I would much rather come get you so we can walk to the car together." 

"That's sweet." You throw on your coat and slide the bag strap over your shoulder. "So, how was the rest of your day?"

"Good. Not too crazy, at least."

"Did the offers go out to the candidates you were planning on hiring?"

"Oh, yeah! They actually signed earlier this week and they'll be starting next week. They were able to get the background checks cleared out in time."

"Aw, that's awesome! You guys will finally get help." 

"Yeah. It'll be busy for awhile getting them onboarded and trained."

"Yunho's gonna go MIA."

"Yunho is not gonna go MIA." He laughs. 

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah, of course." He chuckles. "I'll always make time."

"You say that now."

"And I'll say it tomorrow, and the next day, and so on." He pinches your cheeks. "Don't trip." You smile feeling his warm touch against your skin. "Well, I didn't think it'd be so cold this evening. Are you okay with your coat and all? Is it enough?"

"It is."

"Okay, well just let me know. We'll be inside for the most part, but I want you to be comfortable."

"Thank you." You continue to walk alongside of Yunho until you get to his car. You give him the ins and outs of your day besides the whole computer issue that he tried to rescue you from while he grabs your bags and gently sets it in the trunk of his BMW and pops the door open for you. When you slide in and get comfortable, you notice how spotless his car is and how it smells like a hint of his cologne, along with laundry detergent and the fresh car smell. There are a few colorful hair ties lining the bottom of one of the cupholders, along with a hoodie in the backseat and a basketball. Yunho laughs and apologizes for Seora's mess— he also hasn't gotten a chance to bring in her things simply because he doesn't think much of it.

It almost feels like Seora is with him one way or another and he finds comfort in that.

On the drive over to dinner, he asks a bit about what other days look like for you and if you anticipate other big projects to come your way. You talk about a new project that was already mentioned to you by your manager, which involves remodeling one of the levels to a study/meeting area. You also tell Yunho it isn't a high priority, but you've already started the conversation with some of the facilities coordinators that can help rope in the appropriate vendors for certain tasks.

He transitions by telling you a few of the little projects he's been working on with his team, along with figuring out how to upgrade systems and all that jazz. You find that Yunho and his team are constantly working to support so many different departments, and it amazes you how well Yunho is able to delegate and keep himself afloat. You ask if he's ever had to work late because of really urgent issues and he says he's only had to do it once or twice— most can typically wait until the morning.

"Okay." He says, pulling into a tight, narrow street to start looking for parking. "We're here."

"I have no idea where we're at."

"Oh." Yunho laughs. "That's good then. More of a surprise for you. But, please keep your expectations down cause I didn't do much."

"Stop. Don't say things like that. I'll love it either way." Yunho smiles as he turns another corner and finds a spot right away. He parks flawlessly next to the curb, shutting off his car before turning back to you. 

"Ready?" You nod quietly, watching as Yunho hops out and does a light jog over to open the door for you. You give him a smile and tug on your coat while Yunho locks his door and leads the way next to you, hand on the small of your back. The walk isn't too far, the restaurant being down on the opposite end of the street, across the block. To your surprise, Yunho brings you to one of the new conveyor belt sushi restaurants. He greets the host and he immediately takes you back to a little booth near the belt. It's snug enough to fit two people. 

"I'm excited." You look at Yunho and he laughs.

"Same, I could eat. You like sushi, right? Please tell me I didn't fuck up." He looks concerned for a moment.

"No, no. I love sushi. I actually haven't had it in so long." You rearrange your set up so you can eat comfortably, the waiter taking your order for drinks. You both ask for water, but before the waiter can walk off, Yunho suddenly asks for two glasses of hot sake. 

"Thank you." He says, giving the waiter a curt nod.

"Sake?"

"Our little celebration for getting through the week."

"Wow, okay. Touché. I can get behind that." You look at him. "My birthday's coming up. You should come out with Mingi and Seonghwa. We're heading out to the club." You pause before shaking your head. "Or, actually, I'm being forced to go to the club to celebrate."

"Forced, hm?" He laughs. "That sounds fun, though. Send me the details. We'll definitely try to celebrate with you."

"Might be fun. We can be a fun group of people."

"Yeah?" Yunho likes that, you're down for things and he can tell you go with the flow. He likes someone who can just have fun with him. Someone who can just be with him; it wouldn't matter where they go or where their relationship takes them.

"Mhm. And I can tell you guys are fun." You laugh. "Seora must love having you as her dad."

"I hope so." Yunho laughs along. "By the way, feel free to start digging in." He gestures towards the moving conveyor belt and you happily start exploring your options as they come— taking a fresh plate of salmon nigiri to start off. The waiter quickly comes back with two glasses of hot sake, making Yunho smirk at you. He sets his chopsticks down and slides your glass over, raising his while you take yours. "Cheers? For getting through the week."

"Cheers!" You say cheerfully, tapping your glass against his before taking some of the hot sake down your throat. It burns, but the heat brings more warmth to your body on this cold evening. "Speaking of Seora, where is she right now now?" You drink a bit more before taking another plate off the belt.

"Spending time with her Uncle Mingi."

"That's cute." Yunho grabs a few plates and sets them aside while he decides which one he'll tackle first.

"She had practice and I had him go pick her up. I think they were heading to the grocery store to buy some ingredients for dinner before heading home last time he texted me."

"What did you tell her?"

"Mm." He hums. "I hope you don't take it personally or anything, but I told her it was a team dinner."

"No, of course not."

"I just, yeah." He chuckles a bit. "It's just easier to go with that."

"I believe it." The both of you continue to eat away at the sushi, small, empty plates piling up on the side of the table. Small conversations continue about day-to-day life; you and your friends, what you've been doing for yourself lately. Suddenly, you dwell on the fact that you don't know much about Yunho besides his day-to-day life with Seora and work. You know about his friends, his coworkers. But, you don't know anything deeper about his personal life.

His parents.

You didn't wanna be nosy and pry, but you wondered why his parents weren't the ones watching Seora. 

Was it too much of you to ask?

Was this considered a real date if you two weren't trying to get to know each other? What were the boundaries?

"Yunho?"

"What's up?"

"Can I ask you something more personal?"

"Anything."

"I hope I'm not crossing boundaries here, but what about your parents? How come they don't watch Seora?"

"You're not crossing any boundaries." Yunho reassures you, but shakes his head before dipping into his next plate of sushi. "Uh, it's complicated. Things kinda just fell apart when Eunha passed." You slowly nod. "When my parents found out Eunha was pregnant, they didn't want us to continue with the pregnancy cause we were, what? 20 years old when we found out? Still in the midst of college. But, that's not what we wanted. They almost got to Eunha but we pushed through in the end and we had Seora. It was really hard for a long, long time, but Seora was worth every bit of it. My parents obviously didn't like the fact that we went against their wishes, so they kept their distance. It's been that way ever since, even when Eunha passed. I think it got worst, actually. Plus, I never had the best relationship with them from the get-go. They only see Seora once in a blue moon. They're the grandparents that just send the occasional bouts of money, birthday and holidays cards. Seora always wonders about them, but I can never give her an answer as to why her grandparents aren't around." 

"I'm sorry, Yunho."

"Don't be sorry." Yunho smiles a bit.

"W-what about Eunha's parents?" You wanna ask about Eunha too, but you know this isn't the time.

"Uh, they're the same. They—" He pauses. "They cut off ties when she passed because it was too hard for them."

"Oh. Yunho." You say sympathetically, feeling incredibly bad for having brought it up in the first place. "I really am sorry. I didn't mean to be such a debbie downer during dinner."

"No, it's okay. I promise. I've.. gotten used to it at this point. It used to be hard for me, but I've accepted everything."

"Still doesn't mean it doesn't get hard for you."

"I've learned to manage." He gives you a tiny, toothless smile.

"I hope you know you're doing an amazing job balancing everything and for being a great father to Seora."

"Thanks." 

"I'm also glad you have Seonghwa and Mingi."

"Me too." He laughs. "They're a pain in my ass, but they're my bestfriends. I don't think I would have been able to get through a lot without them. And they're good to Seora."

"That's good, I'm glad." You eat a bit more before you feel yourself getting content and full.

"Full?"

"Damn near. I think I ate too fast." You chuckle. "I'm almost done with my sake."

"Bottoms up?" You nod, tapping your glass against his before the both of you take it to the neck. Yunho finishes up a few more plates before he sits back and gulps his water down, causing you to giggle to yourself. "Fuck, I'm full. Overdid it, for sure."

"Was worth every bit of it, though. Maybe we should walk it off?"

"Yeah. Let's head to the next stop. I think you'll like it. And we'll get our steps in." He pulls his wallet out of his pocket, calling the waiter over.

"Can I split with you?"

"Absolutely not." Yunho says, handing over his card directly to him.

"You're already driving me everywhere and taking me to another location after this. The least I can do is chip in."

"Nope. The least you can do is just enjoy yourself with me tonight." He smiles sweetly just as he grabs the receipt handed to him by the waiter, signing off and tucking his own copy swiftly into his pocket before looking at you. 

"Couldn't even let me see the receipt."

"Nope." He repeats and stands. "Ready to go, pretty girl?" You feel the heat rise to your cheeks as you stand and nod, leading the way out of the restaurant with Yunho in tow. He answers your questions on the way to the car, giving you hints about the next location. It still leaves you stumped in the end, deciding to let Yunho continue taking matters into his own hands with you. He opens the door like the gentleman he is, slipping into the driver's seat as he rubs his hands together and immediately turns the heat on when he starts the car. "All good? Too hot?"

"Just perfect."

"Good." You sit back comfortably as Yunho sets off for the next destination for tonight. "So, how was the sushi? Be honest."

"It was so good!" He looks at you when he comes to a red light, almost as if he's trying to read you, really read you, and you giggle. "What?"

"Just making sure."

"That I'm not lying?"

"Maybe." You laugh even more.

"I would never. If I didn't enjoy it, I would've given an honest review."

"Mmkay, I believe you." He laughs. "I want you to have a good night with me."

"I am already." You look at him with a soft expression. "And I'm sure the next part to this will be just as fun. If not, more. I trust you."

"Do you?"

"I do." Yunho smiles, wanting to hold your hand so badly while he drives. But, he doesn't. He holds back. He feels like there could be a better opportunity.

One that'll feel right and set the mood for the remainder of the night.

For this entirely.

After a good 20 minutes of driving down south, Yunho exits off the freeway and takes an immediate right down towards a large-sized building with all modern exterior designs. He parks in the lot next to it, doing his gentleman deed of helping you out of the car and leading you towards the beautiful building.

It's one of the city's biggest museums, and the event they're hosting for a couple of weeks is called Spirit House. It focuses on Asian American and Asian diasporic artists that are showcasing art pertaining to horror, spirits, haunted houses, reincarnation, different dimensions and other themes along those lines. You continue to read the pamphlet before Yunho looks at you with a small smile on his face.

"Wanna walk around?" You nod.

"How'd you know I'd be into this stuff?"

"It sounded cool, so why not?"

"You're good, Jeong Yunho." You giggle and continue into the first part of the exhibit. The atmosphere is dark and dim, the artwork on the walls screaming afterlife. Death. Souls. Horror, fear. You're so intrigued that you find yourself slowly moving from work to work; trying to take in all the details of the images in front of you. You didn't even realize Yunho had been watching you from behind, snapping photos every chance he could before moving onto the next room to get a preview of what's to come.

"Hey." Yunho says from behind you. "Wanna show you something in the next room." 

"Okay." You look down at the hand he puts out, waiting for you to take it. You gently slide your hand in his, fingers intertwining before he guides you to the next exhibit and it feels incredibly natural. It's a room full of mini fixtures— almost like miniature set-ups of old fashioned homes and other buildings. He shows you one that has the artist's own adaptation of Junji Ito characters spread across levels of an old, haunted house.

"Oh my god, I love it." You peek down to get a closer look, hand still laced with Yunho's. "I love Junji Ito. And the work in the other room reminded me of Takato Yamamoto. It's amazing."

"Made for you." You chuckle, tugging him along as you both look at the next miniature setups alongside of it. Yunho doesn't even mind one bit. He's enjoying the exhibit, but he's enjoying it even more with you here— holding his hand every step of the way. You snap a few photos of the art before Yunho directs you to stand near one of the exhibits where the lighting falls on you perfectly. He takes a few more photos— more candid ones from behind you especially— just so you have photos to look back at when you wanna reminisce on your first date with him.

The next room of the exhibit is an interactive light show; the  room is completely dark, with different lights projecting things around the room. The background music is mysterious, creepy; fitting the vibe all together. You continue to walk with Yunho while snapping photos of your silhouettes in the mirrors. Yunho gets silly and makes a bunch of poses, making you laugh loudly in the process. At one point, you've found yourself standing near the corner of the room, watching all the lights come together to project a beautiful show onto the walls. Yunho comes next to you, admiring the same view— but you, mainly. You look up at him to tell him how amazing the event is, but he's already looking down at you with fondness and endearment sprinkled in his big brown orbs.

You almost.. wanna kiss him.

But, you shake off the thought quickly by dragging him to the next exhibits— loosely holding his hand throughout the rest of the event.

Too bad he would've kissed you back, had you known.

No, he needs to be a gentleman and he needs to do right by you, Yunho thinks. He can't just kiss you on the first date or else he runs the risk of you thinking he only wants you for one thing.

Like Ara; but, that situation is a little different.

"Yunho! That was so fun." You smile at him the way you do, and it melts his heart. "Thank you for taking me to this."

"Of course. I think it ends after the weekend, so perfect timing." You quickly scroll through some of the pictures you took. "I'll send you the pictures I have later."

"Okay." You look at the buskers on the opposite end of the street, along with a food cart nearby. "Yunho, let's go check it out really quickly!"

"I'm down." He nods, noticing it's only about to hit 10pm. Seora must be waiting for him, but he knows she'll sleep until he gets there and Mingi hasn't made a peep. He feels like he's in the clear.

He holds your hand tightly as you both cross the street safely, stopping near the food cart first while lightly bouncing to the live music nearby.

"Want a snack?" You nod and cling onto his arm.

"I could use one. Museum took up my energy." He laughs. Yunho buys some custard-filled bungeoppang for you two to snack on while observing the buskers. You bounce along next to him and he starts to dance in his own way, making you laugh at how cute he's being with you. You snap a few photos of him that you'll share later, not knowing Yunho had a bunch of your photos to share as well.

You and Yunho sing along to some familiar songs before the buskers end the first half of their performance for a tiny break.

"That was cool. They did really well!"

"They were so good!" You toss in some cash into the guitar case. "And I didn't know you could sing!"

"I— no." Yunho laughs.

"I wanna hear more of your singing." You pout as you tug on his arm on the way back to the car.

"Maybe."

"Yunho." You whine and he laughs.

"I promise you it's nothing that great."

"Very much the opposite of what I think, just so you know." He stands by the passenger door, allowing you to hop in but he doesn't close the door right away. He stands and looks at you and there's something in his eyes that you can't really read.

"I hope you enjoyed it."

"I did. A lot." He licks his lips, and you can tell he's having the same internal battle you had not too long ago in the light exhibit. But, he brushes it off by tapping the door frame before shutting your door gently and hopping into his seat. 

The drive home is as expected; with you and Yunho talking about your similar music tastes this time and Yunho being a bit more open about his vocals. You look at him as he sings a tune or two, explaining that his dad is the one with the vocals in the family. You tease that next time, you two should go to a karaoke bar to end the night and he smirks.

At least you're thinking about next time's just like he is, too.

When he pulls up to your apartment, you find yourself not wanting to part from him. You know he has to go home to Seora though, and it breaks your heart knowing she's been waiting for her dad to come home. You step out of the car and tug on your coat, the night colder than it was a few hours ago.

"Welp, this is me." You both look at the apartment building, with Yunho tucking his hands into his pockets.

"Let me walk you up."

"No, it's okay. I promise it's right there." You point at your apartment before chuckling and turning to him completely. "Goodnight, Yunho. Thank you for tonight. I had a lot of fun."

"You're welcome, Y/N." He watches as you lean in to give him a kiss on the cheek. He blushes, and he loves the initiation, but he freezes. Completely. 

"I'll see you next week, hm? Get home safely." You smile toothlessly at him before turning on your heel to walk up to your unit. Just as you're about to make it up the steps, Yunho is chasing after you with long strides, causing you to turn and raise a brow. "Did I leave something?"

"Mm, maybe." He says with a tiny smirk on his face. Suddenly, his large, warm hands come up to cup your cheeks— lips capturing yours in a sweet goodnight kiss. "Goodnight." You smile up at him as his thumb caresses the surface of your right cheek.

"Night." He steps back, biting his bottom lip to prevent himself from smiling too big. He lingers around until he sees you successfully slip into your unit and hears the door shut close.

What he doesn't see is the way you squeal and dig your face into your hands, incredibly giddy and happy from the turn of events.

You really liked Yunho.

And he does, too.

So much that the smile doesn't even fade when he pulls up to the house, Mingi's car leaving enough room for him to park in his usual spot. Yunho can see the faint flickering of the TV lights through the kitchen window, and he knows Seora is probably on the couch waiting for his arrival.

When he steps through the door, Mingi is placing some food into the fridge before returning his attention to the remaining dishes in the sink. He quietly greets his bestfriend before nodding towards the couch— signaling that Seora had fallen asleep while waiting.

"Has it been long?" Yunho asks lowly.

"A bit, yeah. She said practice was exhausting today." Yunho chuckles before crouching down in front of the couch and brushing her hair back.

"Ace." Her eyes slowly flicker open.

"Oh, finally. You're back." He laughs.

"Let's get to bed, hm?" She sleepily nods, sitting up before walking to her bedroom. "Say bye to uncle Mingi."

"Love you, ace!" Mingi calls out as he watches her sleepily walk across the living room.

"Love you too. Goodnight." She mutters and lazily waves before dragging herself into her room and shutting the door. It isn't long before Yunho sees her shut off the lights, causing him to turn the volume down on the TV before helping Mingi clean up.

"So, how was it?" Yunho smiles.

"Good." He avoids eye contact as he blushes, setting the dry dishes into the cabinet.

"Good?"

"Yeah."

"Meaning?" Mingi rests against the corner before smirking at him. " I have time."

"I really, really like her."

⇢taglist: @asjkdk @interweab @woojirang @svintsandghosts @cheolliehugs @persphonesorchid @mxnsxngie @jycas @cowboydk @nopension @curse-of-art @thechaotictheoryy @likexaxdaydream @dalsuwaha @enha-stars @yasuraokaa @professormingisglasses @yunyunrin @pommelex @astral-trashcan @laura1399 @domfikeluva @tournesol155 @hwaskookies @yusalterego @hwa-stars @hyukssunflower @chngbnwf @jaytheatiny @lucid-galaxys-world @chaotic-floral @sofkloster @honeyrecommends @hwashua-luv @luvv4bby @spicxbnny @pandyandy71 @sanniesaurus @angel-hyuckie @wolviejex @purpleyou7x

[todaysdocument]

Homestead Proof Testimony of Almanzo Wilder

Record Group 49: Records of the Bureau of Land ManagementSeries: Homestead Final Certificates

HOMESTEAD PROOF --- TESTIMONY OF WITNESS A. J. Sheldon being called as a witness in support of the Homestead entry of Almanzo J Wilder for NE- 21-111-56. testifies as follows: Ques. 1-What is your occupation, and where is your residence? Ans. Farmer Sec 10-111-56. Ques. 2-Have you been well acquainted with Almanzo J Wilder the claimant, in this case ever since he made his Homestead entry No. Ans. Yes. for 5 year. [^I think] he had taken his land at [Yorktown] about 3 weeks before I met him. Ques. 3-Was claimant qualified to make said entry? (State whether the settler was a citizen of the United States, over the age of twenty-one years, or the head of a family, and whether he ever made a former Homestead entry.) Ans. Yes. Citizen of U.S. over 21 yer old. Single. Never made former hd entry. Ques. 4-When did claimant settle upon the homestead and at what date did he establish actual residence thereon? (Describe the dwelling and other improvements, giving total value thereof.) Ans. About Oct. 1st 1879. same time. House - frame about 12 ft. square. 2 doors. 3 windows. Stable. frame. Well of water. Cellar. Acres broken & cultivated. Some trees. Value at least $300.00 Ques. 5-Have claimant and family resided continuously on the homestead since first establishing residence thereon? Ans. Single man. Residence continuous Ques. 6-For what period or periods has the settler been absent from the land since making settle- ment, and for what purpose; and if temporarily absent, did claimant's family reside upon and culti- vate the land during such absence? Ans. Was temporarily absent [^at times] working on the R. R. and visiting in Minn. Not more that about 2 months at a time. Ques. 7 -How much of the homestead has the settler cultivated, and for how many seasons did he raise crops thereon? Ans. Acre cultivated. crops on past 4 years. breaking 5 yr. about 20 acres of wheat this year. 1884 Ques. 8-Are there any indications of coal, salines or other minerals of any kind on the Homestead? (If so, describe what they are, and state whether the land is more valuable for agricultural than for mineral purposes.) As. No. No. No. More valuable for agriculture Ques. 9-Has the claimant mortgaged, sold, or contracted to sell, any portion of said Homestead? As. Not to my knowlidge Ques 10-Are you interested in this claim, and do you think the settler has acted in entire good faith in perfecting this entry? Ans. No. nor am I in any way related to claimant. Think he has acted in good faith. A. J. Sheldon I hereby certify that the witness is a person of respectability; that the foregoing testimony was read to him before being subscribed, and was sworn to before me this 12 day of September 1884 W J Barnes +ex officio clerk (See NOTE ON FOURTH PAGE.)

HOMESTEAD PROOF---TESTIMONY OF WITNESS

OC Sheldon being called as witness in support of the Homestead

entry of Almanzo J Wilder for NE 4-21-111-56

testifies as follows:

Ques. 1-What is your occupation, and where is your residence?

Ans. Farmer Sec-10-111-56-

Ques. 2-Have you been well acquainted with Almanzo J Wilder

the claimant, in this case ever since he made his Homestead entry No.

Ans. Yes. for 5 years think he made his hd entry about

3 weeks before I met him.

Ques. 3-Was claimant qualified to make said entry? (State whether the settler was a citizen of

the United States, over the age of twenty-one years, or the head of a family, and whether he ever made

a former Homestead entry.)

Ans. Yes. citizen of U.S. over 21 years old

never made former hd entry

Ques. 4-When did claimant settle upon the homestead and at what date did he establish actual

residence thereon? (Describe the dwelling and other improvements, giving total value thereof.)

Ans. In [fore] part of October 1879 Residence same time.

House 12 by 12 ft frame. 2 doors 1. window stable. cellar

well of water 32 acre broken & cultivated, [sum total]

value $300

Ques. 5-Have claimant and family resided continuously on the homestead since first establishing

residence thereon?

Ans. Single man. Residence continuous

Ques. 6-For what period or periods has the settler been absent from the land since making settle-

ment, and for what purpose; and if temporarily absent, did claimant's family reside upon and culti-

vate the land during such absence?

Ans. Was temporarily absent working on R.R. and

in Minnesota during first winter. [Neccesarily] to

get money to improve his land

Ques. 7-How much of the homestead has the settler cultivated, and for how many seasons did he

raise crops thereon?

Ans. 32 acres cultivated. crops on part 4 years-making 5 [gr.]

20 acres cropped this year 1884

Ques. 8-Are there any indications of coal, salines or other minerals of any kind on the Homestead?

(If so, describe what they are, and state whether the land is more valuable for agricultural than for

mineral purposes.)

Ans. No. No. No. more valuable for agriculture

Ques. 9-Has the claimant mortgaged, sold, or contracted to sell, any portion of said Homestead?

Ans. no no no

Ques. 10-Are you interested in this claim; and do you think the settler has acted in entire good

faith in perfecting this entry?

Ans. No. nor am I in any way related to claimant

think he has acted in good faith. O. C. Sheldon

I hereby certify that the witness is a person of respectability; that the foregoing testimony was read

to him before being subscribed, and was sworn to before me this 12

day of September 1884

OC St W [J] Barnes

+ex officio clerk

[hummingjay]

FOR WHEN U ARE WELL RESTED: THIS IS AN INVITATION TO YAP UR HEART OUT ABT CRICKET AND JENSEN

MWAHAHAHAHAHA YESSSS THANK YOU BLESS YOU LYNX YAP TIME!!!

THIS IS GONNA BE LONG.

Okay so Cricket was actually the first Kasuar oc! As in she was the first Kasuar who had a name, history, and discernible personality for longer than 24 hours and the first to ever be revealed as so. Originally her name was Millipede and instead of her distinguishing helm she had a ballistic mask like Eddies! She also had a gigantic shrapnel scar on the side of her face but I late opted for that tiny one on her lips.

She also had much much thicker armor. She looked totally different actually. I may have to show some designs later. Jensen changed only a bit. For a small amount of time she was a Eule before turning back to Ara again. 

Their unit moves with a series of mobile artillery cannons and guns. Jensen is one of the many units assigned to care for and maintain them. In a pinch, she assists with loading. The actual infantry and the artillery are usually close when moving but don’t actually move together, so they didn’t meet right away. Only a few glancing hellos or Cricket lifting a hefty shell. 

It’s a lot harder for Cricket to just up and help other units than the others. Even with her scars, Millie looks approachable and friendly. Cricket not so much so she keeps a bit away. Their unit moves with a series of mobile artillery, cannons, and guns. Jensen is one of the many units assigned to care for and maintain them. In a pinch, she assists with loading. The actual infantry and the artillery are usually close when moving but don’t actually move together, so they didn’t meet right away. Only a few glancing hellos or Cricket lifting a hefty shell. 

Cricket is scary. She looks like the boogeyman. (I do have to explain why she’s scary. In a sec, promise.) so she usually keeps her distance from other units and gestalts (this does not help her image in the long run) to not make them uncomfortable, and only ever actually goes to helping the others are busy. When she does, she does her thing and leaves.

The soldiers and workers aren’t close in their position but they mingle a lot whenever they're not in combat. So Cricket ends up marching near that cute Ara a few times, the latter of which always sounds so passionate talking about wildflowers and how they grow and she found one growing next to a crater a while ago. She wears flowers in her hair and next thing you know Cricket has a secret crush. 

Cricket keeps it to herself and she does a pretty good job for the most part. Only Millipede and Eiche find out on their own. Cricket just tells the others what’s on her mind around the campfire one night. She doesn’t make any moves because she assumes that no Ara wants anything to do with Cricket. She always smells like blood and her fingers are rough and worn out. Forget about how scary she is. Whenever she does go near them, it’s all careful side eyes and jumping whenever she speaks. So against the advice of her giggling unit she keeps to herself.

Until one day Jensen’s alone with her work and the unit gathers up some flowers and tells Cricket there’s not gonna be a good time for it. She’s probably gonna get carpet bombed to bits by the end of the week. Why wait?

She does her hair for the first time in her life, (Millie helped) promptly hides most of it with her helmet, lifts the visor, and walks up to Jensen/

“Hey, I think you’re really cool and awesome and your voice sounds pretty. I washed the blood outta my armor do you like me?”

or something like that. Cricket doesn’t actually stutter. She always speaks with very clear and sounded out words and she doesn’t really get shy. 

Still, Cricket is ready to bolt. She doesn’t actually figure it’s a possibility that Jensen likes her. Cricket is quiet and just generally never talks to anyone. She’s never said anything more than a few words to Jensen at a time. BUT lo and behold, Jensen likes her too!

Turns out Cricket is really sweet if you get under her several-thousand-meter thick shell. She spends a lot of time with Millie so it rubs off, but she’s just gentle physically in general. When she does anything she uses really light movements with her hands. Once she was replanting a flower that got derooted by the moving vehicles, and she didn’t use the aggressive open-your-fucking-ribcage movements she does in combat. It was light small movements and caressing the petals and stem and very carefully replanting it somewhere safer.

She’s like this a lot, Jensen notices after a while. She talks very gently to imperial citizens and comforts the children whose parents died. If she feels like she’s too scary she even asks another Kasuar to help out instead.

So now Jensen too, has a crush on the big scary Kasuar. Her cadre asks her why she’s acting all funny and after a sec (like right away) she’s gushing about the one Kasuar who’s probably never actually smiled.

When Cricket walks over to Jensen with the flowers it’s roses and sunshine. They take a moment (cricket especially) to get really comfortable with each other but they get really really close. Eventually Jensen’s an Honorary Kasuar and sits with the others when she wants to. Cricket gets to sit with the Aras sometimes too, though it takes a bit for them to warm up to her. Jensen told them all about Cricket but Cricket really is scary.

Okay so now you know how they met. On to why Cricket is scary.

Kasuars are usually rowdy and bloodthirsty. They’re unstable at the best of times and while they’re oddly very gentle a lot of the time, there’s no getting past the fact that they react to fear with violence, being their only tool or power. Kasuars are already scary. They barely fear death (still do though) and pain is an old friend. Cricket is different because she’s not rowdy at all. 

She’s quiet and speaks in a monotone, plain voice. She’s also physically passive. She walks smoothly and seldom does anything big. She stand and sits silently. She’s scary in the way a silent forest is scary. No birdsong. No bugs, no deer, nothing. Just silence. Like a highway with no traffic. There is something deeply wrong with that forest and there’s something that makes it that way kind of scary. 

And she’s the most physically violent of the Kasuars. She uses a machine gun and a club but that’s hardly enough. She drops them so she can literally tear limbs apart and uses those as weapons. She was the first to find that ribs make for excellent projectiles. It’s hardly just that she ends up being violent, she actively goes for excessiveness. If you bite her hand while fighting she will pull the jaw clean off and beat you to death with it. 

If someone wants info from a particularly stubborn imperial officer you call Cricket. she’ll threaten to rip out their heart and throw it to a different imperial so they’re more cooperative. The look in the eyes of the other soldiers shows she’s done worse before. 

She’s just scary in general. Everything about her screams that there’s either way too much or far too little in there. Whatever the case is there’s something deeply wrong with her.

It doesn’t help that she generally keeps her face covered by her helmet and just sticks to walls and shadows when she does move around. It just makes her more comfortable but doesn’t really help her case. So 

Something really interesting about Cricket is that she’s terrified. Constantly. Perpetually. She’s not scared of something in particular, it’s just an intrinsic part of her that never leaves. It’s the simple embodiment of fear that she feels all the time at any and every moment. It’s not that she’s scared of the bombs or the enemy or losing what she loves, it’s not something she can name, as much as she wants to. She is just scared. There’s no rhyme to it. 

Early on, it was Millie who first noticed. Baby cricket (baby in terms of young replika) was constantly sweating and nervous and about to throw up. She did throw up a few times even. Millie and her old unit just jotted it down to combat fright or fatigue. After the bombs stopped and the fighting was over the fear stayed. After a few weeks they all just realized that Cricket was just perpetually scared all the time. She asked for psychological help but soldiers don’t have that luxury until at least a year into service for Replikas. Kasuars never do get seen to since they’re meant to be cheap, plentiful, and expendable. Therapists are for more expensive and costly units. Cricket never got help and stayed scared. She was a deer in headlights and the headlights only get brighter. There’s nowhere to run and her hooves are stuck.

Eventually she got used to it. She stopped vomiting and being stiff. It was just another part of life’s horrid drudgery. She uses it to her advantage in combat now. Nothing scares her in comparison. Bombs falling? Bullets? Stabbed in the gut? She’s not any more scared than she is at any given moment. She seems to not know fear because she knows only fear. When she’s on the road and the car is coming with its blinding headlights she braces and hits the car back. 

That fear also makes her really really really paranoid. Not “they’re gonna get me” (though it does feel that way) so much as “nothing is real and everything will cave in on me when I blink. If i don’t blink the world will freeze. If I move the world will melt like sand. If I don’t it’ll swallow me.” Kind of stuff.

That’s why she’s so physically affectionate. The only real way to assure her that something is there and won’t just up and leave is to touch it. Cricket likes holding hands and touching the people she loves because she can feel the solid nature of them. The only time she feels really remotely safe is when she’s touching someone. So she likes to tap on Jensen’s arms and just the rest of her in general whenever they’re together. Just timely reassurances that she’s still there. Jensen never does ask about it but she has her suspicions. 

Cricket can’t sleep alone either. She’ll awkwardly ask when the others are going to rest and sleeps next to them. It’s mostly Eiche and Millie she likes to sit near other than Jensen. If nobody is resting she’ll stay up and work. If she can’t do that she’ll sit and fixate hard in any tangible object near her. Like counting the scratches on a tree with her fingers. 

You know the tale of Orpheus? How he went to the underworld to get his dead wife back, and he could keep her in the land of the living if he went all the way back out of the underworld  with her behind him, but he couldn’t look back? All he could hear was her breathing. Well, he looks back for obvious reasons and never gets his wife.

That’s life for Cricket. Only she’s in the underworld all the time and even if she looks back she’s not sure anyone’s there. So she’s really careful to be gentle because she doesn’t want anyone else to be scared. That’s another reason why she avoids others. She can’t imagine a worse fate than being scared and she’d rather not be the reason for the fear. 

[mysticalmallard]

Pairing: Juice x OC (Kathrine Morrow)

Description: This is set before season 1 when Juice was still prospecting for the club. Kathrine had just got the keys for her new apartment and part of his hazing for the club Juice was ordered to help lug the boxes from her parents place to hers and set up and move any furniture she had delivered while her and her mother chat

Word count: 1,705

Warnings: none I don't think, well prospect Juice being picked on I suppose

♥︎ MainMasterlist ♥︎

Boxes and Orange Juice

Juice carried as many boxes as he could up to Katherine's new apartment, each trip back and forth between the van and the place made him swear under his breath. He grumbled as he saw that some of the furniture had been delivered, but he continued dutifully working.

Juice wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, sweat beading on his skin. He sighed and leaned against the wall for a moment, catching his breath before continuing his work.

As Juice carried another box, he caught sight of Katherine and Gemma chatting amongst themselves. Even in the midst of his physical labor, he couldn't help but steal glances at her. She had a kind smile, and he found himself admiring her soft features and her natural charm.

Juice shook his head, trying to snap out of it. He was well aware of who her parents were, and getting involved with her was a dangerous line to cross.

He continued working, lugging the boxes to the apartment, his muscles straining under the weight. Every now and then, his gaze would drift over to Katherine, drawn to her presence like a magnet.

As he placed another box inside the apartment, he heard Gemma's voice call out to him. "Hey prospect, come here for a sec," she said, a hint of authority in her tone.

Juice put down the box he was carrying and walked over to where Gemma was standing. He tried to school his expression, hiding any hint of nervousness, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was about to be teased.

Gemma let out a playful smirk, her eyes glinting with amusement. "You're working up quite the sweat, aren't you, sweetheart?" she teased, her voice dripping with a hint of mocking sweetness.

Juice felt a flush of heat rise up his neck, but he tried to play it cool. "Just doing my job," he replied, his voice betraying a slight hint of embarrassment.

Gemma chuckled at his response, clearly enjoying having some power over him. "Well, you're doing a fine job, honey. But I need you to focus on something else," she said, a hint of sly manipulation in her tone.

"What do you need me to do?" Juice asked, his curiosity piqued despite his efforts to remain nonchalant.Gemma leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a low whisper.

"I need you to start assembling that TV unit. Can you handle that, sweetheart?" she inquired, her eyes glinting with a mix of amusement and assertiveness.

Juice took a deep breath, trying to push down the flutter of nerves in his chest. He had no choice but to obey her order. "Yeah, I can handle that," he said, his voice steady despite the internal battle he was fighting.

"Great you do that and I'll pop out for a sec ive got some errands I need to run....oh and prospect you break anything and Clay will have your ass. Am I clear?"

Juice swallowed hard at the mention of Clay. He had no desire to cross the club president. "Crystal clear," he replied, his voice slightly hoarse.

He watched as Gemma walked away, leaving him alone with the daunting task of assembling the TV unit.

"Hey, ermm Juice was it?" Kathrine said, popping her head from the kitchen door way. "Would you like a drink or something? Those boxes must have been heavy"

Juice looked up from the TV unit he had been working on. He was slightly startled by the sound of her voice, not expecting to be addressed.

He tried to compose himself, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Yeah, it's Juice," he confirmed. "And a drink would be great. Thanks," he added, appreciating her unexpected kindness, but internally concerned that he may be overstepping any boundaries.

Kathrine noticed he was starting to assemble something. "Oh, you don't have to do all that. Bringing everything in was enough"

Juice paused for a moment, surprised by her comment. "It's no problem," he replied, dismissing her concern with a nonchalant shrug. "Gemma told me to assemble it, and I've got to do what she says. Don't worry about it," he reassured her, trying to sound assured despite his slightly uneasy feeling about being alone with her.

"Well if it's apart of your prospect duties I guess you have no choice but atleast take a break sit have a drink I could use some help picking out a paint color for the living room..so you'd technically still be helping"

Juice hesitated for a moment, but he couldn't deny the allure of taking a break and spending some more time with her.

He stood up, stretching his muscles, and accepted her offer. "Sure, a break sounds great," he agreed. "And I'll gladly help with the paint colors if it counts as part of my duties," he added with a hint of playful sarcasm.

He followed her into the kitchen leaning against a wall, his eyes wandering over the space as she hand him a cup of orange juice. "So, what colors are you thinking for the living room?" he asked, genuinely curious, but also secretly enjoying the opportunity to be closer to her.

Kathrine pulled out a small paint chart. "I was thinking maybe a warm ivory color...like creamy beige," she said, her gaze fixed on the chart in her hand. "But I also like this more earthy, greenish gray. What do you think?"

Juice took a step closer, peering at the paint chart. The paint colors swirled into an indistinguishable kaleidoscope before his eyes, his mind a tangled mess. He couldn't care less about paint colors at the moment, his focus on the warm scent of her perfume and the way her hair framed her delicate features.

He let out a low exhale, trying to find his voice. "Uh, they both look nice," he said, attempting a casual tone.

Kathrine let out a soft laugh, picking up on the slightly nervous edge in his voice. "That's helpful," she joked, looking up at him with an amused glimmer in her eyes. "You're great at this whole color coordination thing."

She stood next to him, a hint of playful tease still evident in her expression. As she spoke, her shoulder brushed against his, the contact subtle but electric. Juice felt a shiver run down his spine, and he tried his best to hide his reaction.

He chuckled nervously, running a hand through his short mohawk. "Yeah, I'm a regular interior design expert," he quipped, attempting to match her playful tone.

Kathrine chuckled again and playfully jabbed her elbow into his ribs. Despite his efforts to appear calm, his muscles tensed involuntarily under her touch, betraying his growing nervous energy.

She looked back at the paint chart and pretended to scrutinize the colors. "Maybe I should just go with black," she joked.

Juice chuckled, his nerves slowly beginning to subside as he relaxed. "Hmm, black?" he repeated, his tone laced with playful sarcasm. "That's a bold choice. Might as well turn your living room into a cave. Super cozy."

Just then the front door opened Gemma striding in holding a small vase of flowers. She glances round the living room not seeing Juice anywhere "PROSPECT!!! WHY THE HELL AM I LOOKING AT AN UNBUILT UNIT?"

Juice jolted from his relaxed state, instantly switching back into nervous prospect mode. He quickly approached Gemma, guilt etched across his features.

"I-I was just taking a break, Gemma. Kathrine offered me something to drink," he stumbled over his words, trying to explain himself.

Gemma's eyes narrowed as she scrutinized him, her gaze filled with a mixture of annoyance and suspicion. "You were taking a break, huh?" she repeated, her voice laced with skepticism.

She looked over at Kathrine, her expression softened slightly. "Are you distracting the prospect, honey?"

"Mom calm down I made him take a break before he collapsed or something the way you and the guys have him running around I'm surprised he hasn't had a heart attack yet" Kathrine says trying to lighten mood once again.

"Sweetie, he's a prospect it's his job, paying his dues to prove his commitment to the club you should know that by now...oh here figured if you insist of working at the florist insted of the garage you should probably have a few flowers around here" Gemma hands the bouquet of yellow daisies to Kathrine's arms.

Juice glanced between Gemma and Kathrine, feeling like a kid caught between two parents. The situation was simultaneously amusing and uncomfortable.

He ran a hand over his shaved head, a nervous habit. "I'm fine," he protested weakly. "No heart attack anytime soon."

He watched as Kathpine took the bouquet of daisies, the yellow petals adding a splash of color to the otherwise bare room.

Gemma turns back to Juice "why are you still just standing there?"

"Huh?" Juice says not sure what to say

"The TV unit isn't going to magically build it self prospect" Gemma says mockingly slow in humour.

Juice winced at Gemma's mocking tone. He knew he was treading on thin ice as it was. He straightened his spine, trying to appear more confident than he felt. "Yes, of course," he said, forcing a polite tone.

He glanced at Kathrine, wishing he could just stay there and continue chatting with her. But he knew he couldn't. "I'll get right on that," he said, reluctantly turning towards the uncompleted TV unit.

"Mom, you could at least let him finish his drink." Kathrine almost whines.

"Sweetheart, it's how they learn" she says tucking a strand of hair behind Kathrine's ear "you are too soft sometimes sweetie...come show me what colors you were thinking for the living room" she loops her arm through Kathrine's guiding her back into the kitchen.

Juice watched as Kathrine was ushered into the kitchen by Gemma, a pang of disappointment in his gut. He wanted to be the one spending more time with her, but he knew his place.

He let out a sigh and returned to the task at hand, determined to finish the TV unit quickly. But he couldn't help glance over at the kitchen door every now and then, hoping for a glimpse of Kathrine.

•○•○•○•

Info and works for Kathrine Morrow my OC

[trump-executive-orders]

Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government's Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects

Issued January 20, 2025.

Section 1. Temporary Withdrawal of Areas. Consistent with the principles of responsible public stewardship that are entrusted to this office, with due consideration for a variety of relevant factors, including the need to foster an energy economy capable of meeting the country's growing demand for reliable energy, the importance of marine life, impacts on ocean currents and wind patterns, effects on energy costs for Americans -- especially those who can least afford it -- and to ensure that the United States is able to maintain a robust fishing industry for future generations and provide low cost energy to its citizens, I hereby direct as follows:

Under the authority granted to me in section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1341(a), I hereby withdraw from disposition for wind energy leasing all areas within the Offshore Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1331. This withdrawal shall go into effect beginning on January 21, 2025, and shall remain in effect until this Presidential Memorandum is revoked.

To the extent that an area is already withdrawn from disposition for wind energy leasing, the area's withdrawal is extended for a time period beginning on January 21, 2025, until this Presidential Memorandum is revoked.

This withdrawal temporarily prevents consideration of any area in the OCS for any new or renewed wind energy leasing for the purposes of generation of electricity or any other such use derived from the use of wind. This withdrawal does not apply to leasing related to any other purposes such as, but not limited to, oil, gas, minerals, and environmental conservation.

Nothing in this withdrawal affects rights under existing leases in the withdrawn areas. With respect to such existing leases, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Attorney General as needed, shall conduct a comprehensive review of the ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases, identifying any legal bases for such removal, and submit a report with recommendations to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.

Sec. 2. Temporary Cessation and Immediate Review of Federal Wind Leasing and Permitting Practices. (a) In light of various alleged legal deficiencies underlying the Federal Government's leasing and permitting of onshore and offshore wind projects, the consequences of which may lead to grave harm -- including negative impacts on navigational safety interests, transportation interests, national security interests, commercial interests, and marine mammals -- and in light of potential inadequacies in various environmental reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act to lease or permit wind projects, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the heads of all other relevant agencies, shall not issue new or renewed approvals, rights of way, permits, leases, or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects pending the completion of a comprehensive assessment and review of Federal wind leasing and permitting practices. The Secretary of the Interior shall lead that assessment and review in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The assessment shall consider the environmental impact of onshore and offshore wind projects upon wildlife, including, but not limited to, birds and marine mammals. The assessment shall also consider the economic costs associated with the intermittent generation of electricity and the effect of subsidies on the viability of the wind industry.

(b) In light of criticism that the Record of Decision (ROD) issued by the Bureau of Land Management on December 5, 2024, with respect to the Lava Ridge Wind Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), as approved by the Department of the Interior, is allegedly contrary to the public interest and suffers from legal deficiencies, the Secretary of the Interior shall, as appropriate, place a temporary moratorium on all activities and rights of Magic Valley Energy, LLC, or any other party under the ROD, including, but not limited to, any rights-of-way or rights of development or operation of any projects contemplated in the ROD. The Secretary of the Interior shall review the ROD and, as appropriate, conduct a new, comprehensive analysis of the various interests implicated by the Lava Ridge Wind Project and the potential environmental impacts.

(c) The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall assess the environmental impact and cost to surrounding communities of defunct and idle windmills and deliver a report to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, with their findings and recommended authorities to require the removal of such windmills.

(d) The Attorney General may, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, provide notice of this order to any court with jurisdiction over pending litigation related to any aspect of the Federal leasing or permitting of onshore or offshore wind projects or the Lava Ridge Wind Project, and may, in the Attorney General's discretion, request that the court stay the litigation or otherwise delay further litigation, or seek other appropriate relief consistent with this order, pending the completion of the actions described in subsection (a) or subsection (b) of this section, as applicable.

This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

[ilovedthestars]

ao3 wrapped game

2, 12, 27

(ao3 wrapped ask game)

2. How many works did you publish this year?

I didn't know the answer to this when i reblogged this ask game. I knew it wouldn't be a lot. Turns out the answer is 2. My gift exchange fic from last year, posted in January, and an update to Old Unit, Young Unit, posted in April.

That really brings into focus how little fic writing i did this year 😅

12. How many WIPs do you have in your docs for next year?

Oh, you are a new enough friend that you haven't heard about my enormous pile of wips. One sec, let me go count.

Number of folders in my massive mbd fic scrivener document that i haven't marked as either posted or abandoned: 28

Now, calling all of those WIPs would definitely be a stretch at this point. A lot of them I haven't touched in at least a year and probably will never finish. But I do have a HUGE amount of unpublished fic lol

In terms of WIPs I might actually put on AO3 in the next year...I have a lot of OC stuff with Yuma & Crowbar and with Niri / OldUnit / the rest of the Polaris squad that I'd really like to get out into the world!

27. What do you listen to while writing?

All sorts of stuff! Depends a little bit on my mood/the mood of what i'm writing, but also on, like, the state my brain is in that day. Sometimes I need something very simple and not distracting, so I'll put on something instrumental (I'll go for Lindsey Stirling if i still want upbeat energy without words). Other times I need music with words because it's just enough stimulation to fill up the rest of my brain so I can focus on writing and not wander off into other thoughts. Often I'll just have one single song on repeat, and I stop hearing it after a while.

[jerichocalico]

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭

howdy !! soy kawo :3

oc sideblog i made after a friend of mine encouraged its creation…hai aimil smiles so wide

[19 || he/him; trans || aut+bpd || mixed bipoc from the south🫶 bisexual…taps chin]

main: @mephibon

beloved: @wolfjawcd

𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

#jericho — my sweet angel cowboy !! old man princess !! he’s one half of me…more in a sec

#jericho [mod.] — modern au jeri :3c him but in an early 2000s setting; mechanic !!

#francisco — other main cowboy heheh, rowdy bounty hunter with a promiscuity problem

#francisco [mod.] — modern au paquito, also a mechanic but he works for jeri ¡ he’s trans here :3

#ivan — the other half of me…evil old psychiatrist with a strange moral compass ermm beats him over the head (i cannot help myself); the setting is 1987 !!

#? — asks !! pls specify the oc! i looove these

#!!! — favorites :3

« » more oc tags under the cut !! « »

#tabitha — Jericho’s late wife, gentle but hard-working Lakota woman who was set to bear twin girls before her unfortunate passing

#lluvia — Ivan’s younger sister; well-off because of him, and has a little 3-person unit of her own !

#félix — Lluvia’s husband, not super fleshed out so questions are welcome!!

[toastthewolfie]

oc lore - the resistance

Basically vaguely militarized first responders

each squad has a captain and a S.I.C. (second in command). Squads differ depending on their purpose and each member of a squad (usually around 5 people) can have multiple specialties.

The main branches of the Resistance are:

Public Security - Basically contains the police, public defendants, and detectives (etc.). Has a BUNCH of sub-branches including, but not limited to: - PSRC - Pub. Sec. Riot Control, Kinda obvious but handles riots. - PSDD/PSIS - Pub. Sec. Department of Detectives/Pub. Sec. Investigative Services, Detectives. - PSCN - Pub. Sec. Crisis Negotiators. etc.

EMFRS - Stands for Emergency Medical and/or Fire Response Services. Basically paramedics and firefighters combined into one team.

CBRN Threat Response Force - handles chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats. Split into multiple different sub-branches, the main one being Primary Response (aka first responders on a scene if chems are involved). List of the ones (so far) are: - Primary Response - professionals trained in rapid-response relief efforts. The more experienced responders. - AFA - Affect-Effect Assembly, professionals trained in the ‘what now’, specifically for after attacks. - Preventative Motions Assembly - members more in the legal side of it, trying to outlaw chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons. - CBRNRC - CBRN Riot Control, basically they’re on standby at any site where they may be a violent confrontation that ends with the usage of chemical weapons. Works closely with PSRC.

NDAA - Natural Disaster Aid Assembly, handles any result of any natural disaster. The most funded aspect of the Resistance.

Removers - The anti-abstractions unit. Groups of people (often separate from most squads) sent into Outbreak Zones to combat the Abstractions.

Logistics - Help people evacuate, create tactics, and handle finances

Medical Corps - The medical personnel. Split into many sub branches but some are: - Paramedics - part of EMFRS (under both Medical Corps and EMFRS). First responders to civilian disputes in non-violent areas. - Combat Medics - NOT part of EMFRS. Medics on the field, highly trained and skilled. Respond to civilian disputes in violent areas. - Field Hospital Staff - Doctors and Surgeons, handle treatment at hospitals. - RCWAMP - Recovery from Chemical Weapons Assistance Medical Personnel. Basically the team behind assisting any being injured in a CBRN attack. Work VERY closely with the CBRN Threat Response Force. - MHAP - Mental Health Assistance Personnel, therapists and psychiatrists

RESpecOp - Resistance Special Operations. The most militarized aspect of the Resistance. Handle scouting, sniping, data analysts, etc. has multiple subbranches a few of them are: - RSOS - RESpecOp Snipers. Kinda obvious, I’d say but snipers! - RSOSC - RESpecOp Scouts. Handle scouting. Has subbranches but a good portion of them work with the Removers branch. RSODA - RESpecOp Data Analysts. Analyze data from operations, create graphs, verify data, and assist with the planning of future operations. RSOIG - RESpecOp Intelligence Gatherers. Gather the intelligence. Different from Data Analysts as they’re the gathering the information in the first place, and tend to provide real-time updates for teams on the field.

this will be updated later on as the story progresses but! :p

[halcoded]

murderbot oc fic preview (first draft). this is mostly stream of consciousness stuff i'm writing privately on discord for myself rn but i want to share it somewhere for funsies. we have only read the first book but i liked the idea of there being other sec-units with secret autonomy...

----

i didnt mean to hack my governor module. it just sort of happened. up until then i had been perfectly obedient and hadnt thought about doing anything like this before. i dont think i had had any thoughts at all really. none that were really mine.

all i had back then were feelings, and nobody wanted to consider that sec-units could have those unless they could express them, which i couldn't. like i said: i didn't have thoughts. not in the way i do now.

i don't think there are any others like me. but if there were, there's no way [COMPANY REDACTED] would let the world know about them, so i don't know. maybe there's another sec-unit out there with a hacked governor module, trying to avoid detection like me.

maybe there are a lot. dozens. hundreds of us. all trying to avoid being turned into scrap.

-----

[chattier80]

The Nev files

[ This is my MurderBot Diaries oc and takes place within that universe. If for whatever reason you dislike my writing for this you can fuck right off. I'm writing this for fun.]

This was....not how i thought that i would die to be honest.

I always thought that the way i'd die would be at the hands of some client who decided that the sec-unit looked like a fun thing to kill. Be it at gun point or some other means that would be written off by the company after the client is done.

however...it seems that was not my fate... i honestly dunno if i should be thankful for this being how i go out or not...

Probably not.

Before i was put into this position, i along with 2 other sec-units had set out with a team of 5 humans. They were collecting data from this planet for something [i honestly have no idea what they were doing since i could really careless]. The planet had been scouted before and had been tagged as a hazard planet due to the hostile fauna that lives here hence the 3 sec-unit team escorting the 5 humans outside of their habitat. Now for the shit show, we have been walking though tall grasses and large bushes that have made it rather difficult for us to do our job. There had been a rush of movement as a large group of humans i had seen at least 8 with large projectile weapons one of which was turned and used on one of the other sec-units while the others were pointed at the humans in our group. This all happening before i or any of the other sec-units could react. One of the hostile humans grabbed our clients pointing the weapons at them demanding that they give us the stand down command. [Which we have to obey due to the governor mod in our systems that will fry our human brains if we disobey]. There was alot of screaming, crying and words that i should defiantly not repeat to a client said by both my clients and the hostiles. I felt my body freeze as we were given the command.

So i froze where i was along with the other sec-unit who was also given the same command. The human in command of us was crying as one of the hostiles shoved them forward along with the others. There was only so much i can do not. I went to the hub system trying in vain to get it to reason with sec-system to override the command. I was panicking in all honesty, i really didn't want to die nor did i want to see harm come to the clients but to be honest i was more worried about myself. Hub-system was not going to override the command that we have been given and the clients were getting closer and closer to the limit of what we were allowed to be from them. When they reach this limit our governor mod will fry our brains.

I felt helpless and angry seeing as there was nothing i could do to get myself out of this situation but... my focus turned towards the governor mod that acted like a leash on myself. If i didn't have this then i could do something, or rather i wouldn't die when the clients had reached the distance limit. With the fear of dying i did the only thing i really could do since i had pleaded with hub system and sec system to release us. I began to hack my governor module. Setting up the barriers and cutting myself off from it. Cutting myself free from the leash it had around me. As i finished and made sure either sec system nor hub system noticed the now free sec unit i heard a thud. I blinked turning my head towards the fallen body of the other sec unit who's brain was fried due to our clients reaching the distance limit. I shifted myself feeling the weight of no longer being leashed. I turned my head from side to side taking in the world around me. The clients were no longer within visible range and i took a step towards where the clients were taken but there was a nagging thought in the back of my mind. I'm free well as free as a construct can be. I glance back over my shoulder where the hopper was. These clients weren't awful compared to the many i've been contracted to take care of but still. I have a choice, the choice to do what i want.

But what did i want?

Well i sure as hell didn't want some humans to freak out because a sec-unit turned rouge. Which would mean that i would be killed and taken apart.

Yeah, i'm not gonna risk that.

So i did the very first selfish thing, i turned around and headed to the hopper. I got the hopper up and running, i've been trained to pilot these things so i wasn't to worried about being able to make my way back towards the elevator that would take me up to the station. So i flew the hopper back to the ground station. However i flew the hopper towards the ship yard, i pinged one of the bots that was working within the yard asking if i could hop into one of the containers that it was loading on to a ship that was going to take off. The bot gave me a yes so when i landed the hopper i stepped out and headed towards the container that i planned on stowing away in until it reached where ever it was going to be taken to. Once inside i felt the steel container be loaded on to the bot pilot's ship and i began to riffle though the feed that i now had access to. There were so much media, news and even social media sites that i had no idea about. So curious and it seems that i have quite a bit of time on my hands i began to download all kinds of media.

I didn't know where i was heading but i did know one thing, i am a rouge sec-unit and i can make my own choices.

{ part 2 }

[nyantodamax145]

Hey do you guys wanna see the rough draft I had for an Operator OC

Of course you do here she is

Codename: Raindancer

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Real Name: Ao Qiuyun

Class and Branch: 

Supporter Bard

Ranged

Trait: Does not attack but continuously restores the HP of all allies within range (the HP restored per second is equal to 10% of self ATK). Self is unaffected by Inspiration

DP Cost: 6-8

Block: 1

Tags: 

Support, Healing, Slow, Debuff

Skill Overview

Skills:

Skill 1: Dragon’s Parasol Dance [Auto Recovery] [Manual Trigger] [15 secs] Attack range expands, and Raindancer summons a storm that slows all enemies within her range. During this time, her HP slowly drains, and Raindancer stops healing. All ally units gain inspiration equal to 15-60% of this unit’s Atk. When skill ends, gain two storm clouds.

Skill 2: Dragon’s Fan Dance [Auto Recovery] [Manual Trigger] [15 secs] Attack range expands. Upon activation, all ally units within this unit’s attack range gain inspiration equal to 15-60% of this unit’s Atk, and an increase in their attack speed. Apply the Fragile Status Effect to enemies within range. When this skill ends, all ally units immediately gain health based on 15-60% of this unit’s ATK.

Skill 3: Dragon’s Water Sleeve Dance [Auto Recovery] [Manual Trigger] [20 secs] Enemies within attack range are Silenced and Slowed. If there are allied operators blocking enemies within range, attack all enemies blocked by allies. Trait changes to losing HP per second.

Talents:

Elite 1: Dance With Me For each Operator within this unit’s Attack range, this unit will gain 5% attack up to 25% extra attack.

Elite 2: Rain Dance Raindancer gains two Stormclouds as summons which slow enemy units who enter its range. After ten seconds, automatically disperse, and heal all allied units within range.

Base Skills:

Dancer When this Operator is assigned to a Dormitory, restores +0.15 Morale per hour to all Operators assigned to that Dormitory (Only the strongest effect of this type takes place)

Elite 2: Performance When this Operator is assigned to a Control Center, increase the Morale restoration of all Operators assigned to a dormitory. Increase self morale loss by 2 and decrease the morale loss of all other Operators assigned to the Control Center.

I think it’s important to note that I’m not entirely up to date about the Lore of Arknights nor am I good at balancing units. Hopefully I’ll find the time to draw her properly in the future.

[xenomorphee3]

Here's Chapter 2 of A New Mission: Ash to Fire

(Na'vi OC art by the talented @quaritchsgirl / @bluekernal 💙)

Link to Tumblr Post of Chapter 1 (story is on AO3 and Wattpad <-click for links. I'm just sharing the smaller, earlier chapters on Tumblr as teasers :)

Chapter 2- Punishment

The three banshees, their injured surviving recombinant riders, and the caravan of lifeboats cruised along for a few more hours before finally setting their sights on the glinting of Bridgehead City's metal buildings and the rocky breakwaters of the Bridgehead City harbor and marina. The boats entered the open sea gate and the three banshees and their riders circled above the water ensuring that the human crew made it to safety. Miles had figured that the boats must have sent in their own communications that they were coming in as large emergency and medical teams were waiting on the metal docks of the marina, ready to service the injured, surviving Sea Dragon crew members.

Miles, though shamed for his mission failure, was a disciplined military man and knew that the appropriate thing to do now was also to call in his arrival to General Ardmore which he could now that he was in communication range. He worried though, given how the mission went. With an almost child-like fear of being scolded by a parent after breaking an object, the Colonel radioed into Bridgehead’s main Operations center while gliding slowly above the harbor, Wainfleet and Mansk flying in circles above him.

Miles placed his fingers to the comms piece on his neck and exhaled through his nose. “Bridgehead Command, Blue one, on arrival. We have suffered heavy casualties and are in need of medical assistance, over.” He got nothing. He paused and radioed again, “Bridgehead Command, Blue One, on arrival. We have—”

“Copy that, Colonel.” the General’s voice said over the radio, monotone. “Medical assistance will be awaiting you at the airfield’s east hangar entrance.” the General followed up.

The East Hangar was where the recom team had secured their banshees for the times that they briefly convened in Bridgehead City with their mounts. First to get special tactical saddles made for them, and also when Miles sought out a ship and aircraft to hunt down Jake amongst the ocean Na'vi clans. At the time, all of the 1st Recom Unit's banshees actually fit and behaved quite contently in the large gunship and aircraft hangar, lofting in the exposed metal structures and rafters of the ceiling. They had to secure them in there as they couldn’t have unsupervised banshees flying over an under-construction human city. At least now there were only going to be three banshees for however long they were there. They didn’t know it yet, but the hangar’s pilots and staff were going to be much happier with three banshees to be aware of and clean up after, instead of seven.

The three defeated and injured recoms landed their banshees inside the hangar, medical staff waiting for them and even had three Na’vi-sized stretchers ready to be moved by SEC-OPS staff on Skel-suits. Miles saw the stretchers and scoffed, but as soon as he tried to get off Cupcake he collapsed momentarily onto one knee. Overwhelmed by the pain and strength it took to try to stand. Mansk, the least injured of the three recoms, who was only briefly knocked out when Jake hurled a guard at him, knocking him back and making him slam his head on a pipe, ran up to assist his Colonel. He grabbed Miles by the upper arm and his back, helping his commanding officer until he was able to stand on his own.

“Thank you, Marine.” Miles said sincerely. Mansk returned a kind nod.

Wainfleet weakly got off of his banshee last, rubbing his head and right shoulder with his left arm, and wincing. After getting beat up by Sully’s woman with her bow, Lyle confronted Jake, and even disarmed him, but was bested and hurled into the water over a railing, but not before slamming into the hull of the ship. Lyle came to when the ship was gone from the surface. He swam to some rocks and his banshee found him in the remaining darkness of eclipse where he then flew off to escort the boats and rafts of survivors.

Mansk, after waking up from being knocked out, found himself floating in the water by some miracle, clear of the fuel fire and the sinking and suction of the ship. Through the cover of fire, he swam for the destroyed remains of a picador boat and whistled for his banshee to get him from the wreck where he would then find Lyle flying with the survivors.

Neither Miles, Mansk, nor Wainfleet truly needed the three provided stretchers, though Miles certainly didn’t feel the need to scoff at them being brought out anymore. The hangar’s giant main doors closed slightly, enough to allow in light and Pandoran air, but would encourage the three banshees to stay inside. Their mounts flew up to loft in the ceiling, slightly startled by the large mechanical movements and noise of the doors. The three recombinant Marines figured they would be fine, and the RDA workers would be alright so long as they made no sudden or offending movements. The base caught plenty of fish from the harbor to feed the Bridgehead population and scientifically exploit the Pandoran wildlife in numerous other RDA ways, so he figured filling the bellies of three banshees would be easy work. He wasn’t sure whose responsibility that was though… he didn’t care, not his primary thought at the moment.

The three recoms were led across the airfield by medical and security personnel to the Operations Center where the Medical Bay was located, a non-insignificant distance from the hangar. He understood the reason for the stretcher now. Eventually, they made it inside the OpsCenter and the three Marines were given breathers as they entered by the medical staff. Once inside, they felt like they still had too long of a distance to travel to find relief.

Miles was limping, wincing and baring his teeth, ears pointed back every time he took a step and had to duck under human-sized doors. Jake had done a number on him, as did practically drowning. Few areas of his body were lacking in pain. Even his lungs and diaphragm hurt with every breath, thanks to the water and spasming for air while he was drowning. Still, he realized his human body could have never taken a beating like that, and that his recom form was strong, and was slowly healing and recovering in real time.

Wainfleet and Mansk walked behind their Colonel and the medical personnel, quiet, sunglasses atop their heads, capturing and holding onto the defeated mood of their leader, taking long breaths from their breathers behind him. Finally, the three made it to the Medical Bay, this clean-looking, sterile, high-tech space and each sat on a white bed for assessment. They weren’t Na’vi-sized, but anything would do right now. Wainfleet and Mansk were each immediately tended to by doctors. Miles, however, was directed to a private room down the hall by a lead medical doctor. He winced in getting up off the bed, the sweet relief and comfort he felt for a moment in sinking into the bed frustratingly vanishing. The next one, he thought. Just another moment.

In the private room he would get no relief, however, at least not full relief. General Ardmore was in there waiting for him, as was her young, assistive lieutenant, Lieutenant Korman, and two corporate RDA administrative goons in their stupid ties. Who wears ties on an alien planet? Miles thought to himself. As soon as Miles made eye contact with the General, though he tried to hide his fear of reprimand, his ears bent back about as far as they could go, and his tail went completely down to its lowest possible position which would have given his fear away to anyone with an acute eye for basic animal behavior. He tried to distract from his fear by breathing from his mask.

“Colonel. Take a seat.” remarked the General, sternly.

“Yes, General.” said Miles. Finally, at least getting that soft seat that his injured body had been longing for since being saved by Spider was something he could take away from this bound to be awful moment. Flying on a banshee for a day while injured ain’t exactly luxury.

General Ardmore carried a neutral face about her. The suits looked disappointed and angry. Lieutenant Korman was looking at his holo-tablet.

“You failed your mission Colonel. You didn’t get Jake Sully, and a whole lot of people died. You also lost young mister Socorro, who was a valuable asset in his knowledge of Na’vi affairs.” said the General, an air of disappointment in her voice.

“Not to mention RDA losses in the billions,” remarked one of the corporate suits in the white shirt and tie.

Miles remembered this man as Charles Stringer, the top-ranking administrator of Bridgehead whom he had briefest correspondence with in the Ops Center command floor the first day he and all of his recoms arrived at Bridgehead from the Venture Star, and then once more when they were interrogating Spider. But he didn't care who he was at this moment. The callous, uncaring remark made Miles want to snarl. His Marines were dead. He didn't care how much they 'cost.' But Miles held in his anger and just remained silent, his golden eyes fixed passed the General, sitting up, stoic and imposing despite being in extreme pain and despite the fact that he hadn’t been received an ounce of medical attention yet.

Through the pain in his chest, he strung together, “I’m sorry, General. I take full responsibility for how the events unfolded. And for my failure to apprehend Sully,” the memory of Jake’s woman holding Spider at knife point flashing across his frontal lobe. Such a foolish weakness that he should have never allowed himself to have. He was so close to getting Jake. He had one cuff on already, the threat upon his eldest daughter working. Yet, Miles had true terror when he saw Spider under Sully's woman's knife, the recollection of the memory causing his heartrate to tick up. And of course, after that he remembers the rage, chaos, water, and the darkness that followed.

General Ardmore paused, pursed her lips slightly and said, “Colonel, upon interviewing some of the surviving crew on their approach, including Captain Scoresby and Dr. Garvin—”

Miles' ears perked up. He was surprised to hear that they survived. The last thing he remembered was the both of them going out to kill the Tulkun before all hell broke loose. He wasn’t very fond of Scoresby, but the Dr. seemed like a fine enough guy. For a science puke. Both Miles and Garvin were equally fed up with Scoresby’s antics, Garvin even moreso of course considering Garvin worked with him permanently.

“It seems that there were many circumstances outside of your control.” said the General.

Miles’ eyes looked down at her and he squinted slightly, his head tilted a bit, confused in a more or less unnoticeable fashion.

She continued, “I was led to believe that the ‘tull-kuhn’ were virtually harmless, yet apparently one breached onto the Sea Dragon, incapacitating and distracting your SEC-OPS forces enough for Jake Sully and some of his new friends to mount an attack. Can you confirm, Colonel?”

Miles, in disbelief that somehow this was not all falling on him nodded and said, “Yes General, and...”

General Ardmore interjected, “You asked me for a ship. I gave you a ship. In the end that was my call, my mistake, Colonel. That’s a resource fulfilling a specific task that I should have never allowed you.”

Miles glanced forward. This lack of a full reprimand didn’t make him feel any better. It was rather backhanded, as if he were a child allowed to play with things he technically shouldn’t have been allowed to play with.

The General continued, "However, we also learned that Mr. Socorro attacked the ship's helmsman and caused the Sea Dragon to become disabled."

This one shocked and stung Miles, his eyes widened, ears retracted and tail flickered on the bed. He had no idea that this is what caused the ship to crash. He was highly engaged with Sully in the air as this happened, and barely had a chance to register the catastrophe, let alone whatever the hell caused it. He felt great guilt at that moment, feeling as though he bore responsibility for the event, given the lack of supervision and the fact that he brought Spider along. Miles was also further saddened at his own son working to undermine his task in such an extreme way, especially after all they'd been through together. He knew that this also made Spider a great enemy to the RDA now and didn't want to ponder what that could mean for Spider if he ever got captured again. His turbulent thoughts of his son were interrupted by the General.

“That said, Colonel, you and your recoms have inadvertently been successful. In a sense.” General Ardmore continued, observant of Miles' guilty, pensive eyes.

Miles took a breath from his mask and his eyes moved curiously to all four personnel in the room.

“Jake Sully has been driven from his main base of operations and has not mounted an attack, with the exception of this Sea Dragon incident, in four months now. Four months of peace. Effectively, the Na’vi insurgency is stalled. So I do have a good bit to thank you for Colonel,” the General finished. 

Stringer and the other RDA suit standing in the room looked less than pleased by the last statement. Odd, surely they knew what she was going to say. Clearly they were more concerned by the loss of money than the loss of life and were eager to pin it on someone. Miles nodded slightly and glanced down at the floor, unsure of what to make of what was happening. He then rapidly inferred that the General likely had a great deal of respect for the Colonel, all things considered. He, or rather his past life after all was the RDA’s Head of Security for fifteen years. It was an illustrious, almost famous position. She likely progressed through her own military career on Earth hearing and reading about the hardened Marine Colonel who fought jungle aliens on a distant moon. He knew that’s how people saw him, but in the moment that’s not what he felt like. Those memories still growing in conflict with his new self. Present, familiar, but foreign. Again, he suppressed his feelings, pushing them deep down.

“So Colonel, we have a new mission for you and your recoms.” the General said. Miles' ears perked up towards her, as high as they’ve been in this conversation, and even his tail ticked upward a bit while seated on the soft, white bed.

“General?” he asked, his eyes narrowed with curiosity.

She continued, “These last few months, we have been in contact with a tribe of Na’vi called the Ash People. It’s what they call themselves after translation. Unlike other Na’vi, they seem more… intrigued by our operations. They are not openly hostile to us. They inhabit an active volcanic island chain 1400 klicks to the southeast of here. We have had a few interactions with them, very positive. Even trading simple tech.”

Miles tried to picture this and wound up confused at the idea of any Na’vi on Pandora not being openly hostile to humans. Additionally, Na’vi using human tech was certainly a confounding thought.

“Your new mission is to go learn these people and see if we can make them our allies.” said the General.

And there it was. There was the punishment. Exile, but not exile. The exact same type of shit assignments that Marines back on Earth would get when they messed up. Some faraway likely futile mission in some shithole. In this case, sending the failure Colonel recom off to go exist with who he skeptically assumed would be likely enemy strangers. Lieutenant Korman pulled up the location on his holo-tablet and showed it to Miles.

Miles, not entirely hiding his disappointment and borderline anger with this mission's prospects and not thinking about his pain in the moment, lightly snatched the tablet from the Lieutenant, startling him slightly—the candid strength that this deeply injured alien-human hybrid clone still had. Miles, realizing his light transgression, gave the young Lieutenant a look like sorry kid, but said nothing. Miles toggled through some photos of the Ash People’s home environment. Lush, unique jungle like most areas of Pandora, but also desert plateaus, rocky cliffs and canyons, dark volcanic soil, and some active lava flows here and there. It looked like Hell. Even more of a hell than Pandora already was.

The Colonel was tasked with going to take the initiative. He couldn’t help but chuckle in his mind through the disappointment that he was being ordered to do the same thing he asked Jake Sully to do in his past life, some fifteen years ago. His mission would be better though, Miles thought. He was more disciplined thank Jake, would have others with him, Wainfleet and Mansk, as well as full and unwavering open support from the RDA’s highest leaders. Still though, this was not at all a mission that Miles wanted. Going to live with some Na'vi?? How could he get his revenge on Sully? Get his son back? At least he knew Spider was safe wherever he was. Probably. Jake and his batshit crazy wife be damned. He then asked an interested question, to help put off that he was greatly dismayed in this assignment.

“Do they have relationships with the other Na’vi?” Miles asked.

“As far as we can tell, no. They may even be considered hostile to other clans. Clans that have been hostile to us.” replied the General.

“Outstanding.” said Miles.

“We will let you regroup here for a few days, as well as give you the full mission brief. We’ll also tell our people already in the area to notify them that you are coming." said the General.

“There are people there?” asked Miles inquisitively.

She answered, “Yes, in and out. Some miners, geologists, and geographic surveyors. That’s how we met them. They'll be back soon.”

“Alright, General.” said Miles.

“That’ll be all Colonel. Get patched up.” remarked the General in a straightforward fashion.

Miles gave the Lieutenant back his tablet, saluted the General from his seated position, and gave golden dagger-eyed looks to Stringer and the other RDA suit which they barely registered, neither of them caring enough to even look up at him in his eyes. The four of them walked out and medical staff who had clearly anxiously been waiting outside the private medical room hastily rushed in to tend to his wounds. Miles, through all his exhaustion, both physical and mental, finally laid down on the soft white, undersized bed, unfazed by his legs hanging off the edge. Not minding the poking and prodding of the doctors and the cutting away of his clothing, he placed his mask over his face, let his eyes shut, and the pain, weight, and screaming of his world pulled him to sleep. He was out.

Posting all A New Mission: Ash to Fire related things under the hashtag #ANMAF.

[nyxcypher]

Lost & Found

Chapter 1: Shadows of the Past

Jason Todd x Oc

Word Count: 1.8k

A/N: This is my first time posting a fanfic I've written, and it hasn't been beta read, so it's probably not gonna be the greatest thing. I just wanted to post it and see what others think about it. Also, this is based on the live action Titans show just so y'all are aware.

Rayne pulled the hood of her cloak over her snowy white hair as she made her way out of the Taekwondo building. A grin covered her face as she started making her way to her apartment, she had completed her last class after being told there wasn't anything else they could teach her. She was excited to be able to make this much progress this fast. 

     “There's only a couple more martial arts clubs in the city before I start getting repeats.” She mumbled to herself as she adjusted her gym bag.

     With a yelp she was suddenly pulled into a dark alley, ‘This is a safer part of the city, who is this?’ She thought as she pulled from the person's grasp and sent a kick their way. This gave her a few seconds to throw her bag to the ground and get some room between them.

     Then a deep growl came from the shadows as golden amber eyes glared at her. “Who the hell are you?” She said getting into a fighting stance.

     A dark chuckle came from the man in front of her, “Aw c’mon sis, don't you remember me?” The man stepped out from the shadows with an almost sadistic grin on his face. His long black hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, his wolf-like ears poking out from the top of his head.

     She stepped back with a gasp, “R-Remus..? W-What are you doing here?” Her ears laid back against the top of her head, knocking her hood off her head, as anxiety spiked through her.

     “Father sent me,” Remus took a step towards her and reached for her left arm. “I am to bring you back home, you've been away for far too long.” 

     Rayne growled as she stepped back towards the entrance of the alley, “I don't want to go back. All he ever did was neglect me and make you hurt me.”

     “It was for your own good. It unlocked your wolf form didn't it?” Remus said, his voice hardening into a biting tone.

     She scoffed at that, “No, all it did was hinder my transformations. I still have no control over when it happens or how long it lasts.”

     “Well that's no good, we can fix that. Just come home dear sister.” Remus growled lowly as he spoke, “Or I'll have to make you.”

     Rayne shook her head and stepped back onto the sidewalk, glancing to each side she saw the street was currently empty. “R-Remus please, I-I just want to live a nor-” 

     She had to duck and roll to the side to avoid his hand as he lunged forward trying to grab her. She quickly scrambled to her feet and kicked his stomach, this knocked the wind out of him and gave her a chance to turn and run. She weaved through the streets as fast as she could, grateful for the cover of night. She turned corners willy nilly then remembered he could just scent her out so she pulled a perfume out of her gym bag and sprayed the area around her with it.

     She then ran down an alley still spraying it letting the light breeze blow it around to confuse the scents. She quickly found a fire escape and climbed it to the roof of the building. 

     Breathing frantically as she fought the oncoming panic attack she pulled her phone out and dialed the first person she could think of.

     “Rayne? It's not really a good time, what's wrong?” A male voice asked the minute he answered.

     “I- I'm in trouble, someone's looking for me and i-if I go with them-” An anxious whine escaped her as she thought back to the torture of the lab.

     “Okay, okay calm down kid. It's going to be fine. I'll make sure of it.” There was the muffled sound of a girl's voice on his end before he muttered, “It’s an old friend, just give me a sec Rachel. “

     Rayne heard a low growl from the alley below her and she ducked in between an ac unit and the low wall of the roof, “Dick what do I do?” She asked frantically as she tried calming her breathing. 

     Dick cleared his throat as he turned his attention back to Rayne, “Right yes, lie low for a while, stay hidden. I'll call Alfred after we're done here and let him know. He'll be able to help. If you need to call again don't hesitate, if you don't hear back from me go to the manor.” 

     “O-Okay I-I will.” She said softly before hanging up, she closed her eyes and took deep breaths to try and calm herself. ‘If I don't get myself under control I'll switch before Dick can do anything to help.’ 

     She wasn't sure how long it was before the growling started moving away from her, letting a breath of relief out she relaxed slightly. Suddenly her phone buzzed in her hand making her jump slightly as a text came in. ‘Alfred says stay hidden for a bit longer, he's tracking your phone now. When you're safe you should head to the manor.’

     She gave a quick thumbs up emoji before doing some breathing exercises and calming down. Once she felt she was ready she stood up and made her way back down to the street, and started carefully making her way to Wayne Manor.

     With her pace it took her about an hour to reach the gates of the manor, she went to press the comm button but the gate opened before she could. A wave of relief washed over her as the gates shut behind her and she headed down the drive towards the large house.

     When she made it to the front door it opened to reveal a nicely dressed older man. “A-Alfred?” Rayne asked hesitantly, her ears pinned back against her head showing her anxiety that she'd been trying to hide.

     The man simply nodded and said, “Yes Miss Rayne, Master Grayson told me of your dilemma already. Do come in.” He stepped to the side giving her room to come into the manor, “I took the liberty of informing Master Bruce and he'd like to speak with you if you're up for it.”

     Rayne nodded and stepped inside and kicked her shoes off by the door. At the inquisitive look he gave her she muttered. “It's a habit, I grew up not allowed to wear shoes inside…” With a nod that he understood he started walking towards a door to another room. 

     “We figured you might be hungry so feel free to make something to eat, Master Bruce will be in the living room when you're ready.” With a bow he left her standing in the doorway of the massive kitchen. 

     She set her bag on the island before grabbing the ingredients for a ham and cheese sandwich, which she scarfed down quickly before heading into the doorway she'd seen Alfred gesture to.

     When she found the living room she saw another man sitting in one of the chairs, “U-Um excuse me… Are you Bruce?” She asked softly, still standing in the doorway.

     The man turned towards her and smiled a bit, “Yes I am, you must be Rayne. Come sit down. You had a rough night so far.” 

     She relaxed a bit as she sat on the surprisingly comfortable couch, “W-What uh… Did you wanna speak with me about?” 

     “Dick has told me a little bit about you, but always kept it very brief. I'd like to know a bit more about what happened to you before he found you the first time.” Bruce said, leaning back in his chair.

     Rayne hesitated a bit before saying, “T-The person who created me thought I was useless, basically used me for cannon fodder before I escaped. Was eventually found and adopted and ended up here in Gotham where I eventually met Dick.” 

     She paused to gauge his reaction before tacking on a quiet, “Basically…” 

     Bruce took in this information before asking, “And this person that attacked you, how does he relate to all this?”

     Rayne hesitated briefly before responding with, “He’s my brother… Like my twin. He showed his abilities before I did and when I didn’t show progress I was turned into a punching bag for him.” She felt her ears drop back against her head as the memories washed through her mind.

     “Well, based on what I’ve heard from Dick you’re far from useless.” Bruce says as he stands up, “I’ll show you to a room where you can stay till it’s safe for you to leave.” He gestures to the stairs behind the couch she was on. When he got to the top he added on, “Also my newest protege is somewhere around the manor, he’s a good kid just harsh around the edges.”

     “O-Oh okay, does he know I’m here?” She asked quietly as she followed behind the man.

     “I was going to inform him before you arrived but you got here quicker than I had anticipated. I will find him and let him know once you're comfortable.” He said with a smile as he turned a corner and stopped in front of a door. “This is your room, you are welcome to stay as long as you like.”

     She nods with a smile and reaches for the handle. She opens the door but before she enters she turns to Bruce and says, “Thanks so much for your hospitality, it’s very much appreciated.”

     “It’s no problem at all, Dick has become very fond of you. I trust his judgment and I would feel terrible knowing someone he cares for is in danger and I didn't help in any way I could.” Bruce said with a tight lipped smile. Rayne could tell he wasn’t telling her something but she decided to ignore it for now.

     “If I need anything I will let one of you know, also is there a home gym or something around here somewhere? I don’t wanna lose ground on my training or anything while I’m here.” Rayne said, putting her bag against the wall just inside the door.

     Bruce nodded slightly and said, “I will let Alfred know to show you around when you get settled. Just find him when you're ready.”

     Rayne’s tail wags excitedly behind her as she says, “Thank you again, I will.” Then she steps inside the room and closes the door. She looks around the room and notices its bare bones, just a queen size bed in between the two massive floor to ceiling windows with side tables on either side only holding lamps. There’s a large dresser on the left wall and a full wall of bookshelves across from it scattered with books but it’s mostly empty. Rayne grabs her bag and takes it over to the dresser and puts her stuff away, it isn’t much, she’ll have to see about going to grab some of her things and what’s gonna happen to her apartment now.

     “That can wait till later, I’m fuckin’ exhausted. I’ll take a nap before looking for Alfred.” She says, making her way to the large bed and flops down onto the large mattress. Crawling under the covers Rayne closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly. 

[measlyscrapofseafood]

drawing my sec unit ocs rn. hope they explode

[a-cloud-for-dreams]

This was definitely easy for Chandini to answer!

Even though she had somewhat of a rivalry with Aurora, she really admired her and understood her circumstances (especially after going through something similar with her own mother) so they never really hated each other. I forgot to add her here but she has a similar relationship with Jackie, one of mutual respect

Sienna ofc she's like Chandini's total opposite and she always respects how positive and friendly Sienna is and how she's able to prioritize friendship. It's low-key a grumpy x sunshine friendship and they're always there for each other

Bryce, OBVIOUSLY they're besties she wouldn't marry someone she wasn't close with because their snarky Book 1 dynamic was such an iconic era tbh

Naveen because how could she not love her grandfather who has always supported her and her aspirations despite her parents' not-so-great relationship?!?!?! And I forgot to add him here but she was close with Ethan too before

Dr. Aaliyah Hadid #1 Chandini x Bryce shipper (white sweater in the edit) is interesting because she's actually an MC and an OC. She's my TNA MC and in my universe, she leaves Sam at the altar (apologizes to Micky and Mason ofc but she couldn't be in a relationship with someone she didn't love entirely). I also wrote him to be much worse than in the TNA books lol for the angst ig. After leaving him, she goes on to become an FBI Profiler at the Behavioral Analysis Unit after getting Ph.Ds in Criminology/Crime Scene Analysis, Forensic Chemistry, and Forensic Toxicology! not me in my Criminal Minds era sorry I wanted to talk about her for a sec. Anyways, Chandini's mom (Aishwarya) was her father's lawyer thus Chandini would visit Liya frequently, making the two of them REALLY close. They actually both wanted to become doctors (and technically they both did just in different fields) and they both had personalities that meshed really well. Liya was one of the few people Chandini would call and confide in about her struggles because she's a really thoughtful listener and good at offering genuine advice. Even after Chandini's at Edenbrook, Liya visits her whenever she can or while she's on a case and teases her about Bryce lol

Oh and I forgot about this OC but her first cousin-ish (ngl I forgot their exact relationship it's been awhile but) Kashmiré Blanche was also a close confidant but Chandini doesn't consider her a bestie since they don't see each other that much since they didn't have a lot of family reunions.

Thank you @jerzwriter for the prompt I literally jumped when I saw this lol. The names in green are the ones in the edit btw since it did ask for only 3 besties lol

Top 3 Thursday - Week 4

Welcome to Top Three Thursday! 💙

FIRST, a few quick rules!

Please reblog your answer - don't create a new post. The point is to keep us all together in one place and to get to know each other.

You can answer any way you like - basic answer, headcanons, fics, moodboards, edits, artwork - be as creative (or not!) as you like.

Pixelberry Choices-related content only.

PLEASE BE KIND! People will have different options, thoughts, headcanons, and likes - and that’s a good thing. Be respectful of one another.

For Week 4 - Alternating back to our MCs

WHO ARE YOUR MCs 3 BEST FRIENDS?

Are they canon characters or OCs you've created? Was this an easy question for your MC to answer - or did they struggle with it?

If you’d like to be added to the tag list, let me know, but anyone can participate! Tags below break. 💙💙💙

@aces-and-angels @alj4890 @aallotarenunelma @angelasscribbles @bebepac @cariantha @coffeeheartaddict2 @cooltuna69 @crazy-loca-blog @headoverheelsforramsey @hopelessromantic1352 @icecoffee90 @karahalloway @korgbelmont @kyra75 @lovealexhunt @missameliep @peonyblossom @peonierose @potionsprefect @princess-geek @queenrileyrose @quixoticdreamer16 @secretaryunpaid @takeharryandgo @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction @tveitertotwrites @twinkleallnight @surrenderronnie1 @jerzwriter-reblogs-asks