#that being said loon would be a horrible spy

[nuclearisopod]

and then i drew more ocs in tf2 . my Brain is Rotting

i am putting all my clowns on the red team and all my jesters on the blue team . they are ENEMIES

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

selfie | jjk | 2

pairing(s): jungkook x reader

summary: Is this a rom-com, slice-of-life drama with unsolicited social commentary about gender stereotypes, idol music, and the meaningless meaning of the word, “adult”? Yes. But also, Jeon Jungkook shouldn’t be in love with his hyung’s little sister and he is. Shit.

warnings: rated M (18+) for language; mentions of depression, anxiety, loneliness; fluff, but also frustrating because flirt already, sheesh; loons-to-lovers; non-idol!AU - oppa’s bestfriend!Jungkook x SHINee fangirl!reader

happy lunar new year!! year of the ox - jk’s lucky year <3

–

previous episode.

2. in which the two loons getting somewhere, only for more misunderstandings to happen.

Is this too much?

You stared at the picture and the message. Jeon Jungkook once again. Sending a picture of himself at the gym. It was a while since the last one, so his hair was slightly longer now. Was he growing it out? Oh well, none of your business. You sent your usual reply.

?

You sighed and went back to your journal, only to have your phone aggressively sing ‘3 PM’ from the Animal Crossing New Leaf OST. Directly asking for a video call this time. You thinned your mouth into a line and closed your journal, sliding it out of frame before accepting the call.

Jungkook’s big brown eye filled up the screen, directly on the camera.

“Why don’t you respond like a normal person?”

“Why don’t you start conversations off like a normal person?” you shot back, placing a hand on your cheek and leaning against it. There was stationery scattered all around you, but your journal was behind the charging stand.

Jungkook withdrew his eyeball, frowning. You could see his entire face now, his long black hair tied up into a silly sprout on top of his head. He was still wearing the dark gray sweatshirt from the photo, but he seemed to be in his apartment. All you could see was the wall.

“What about the pic though? Is it too much?”

“Too much what?” you responded irritably.

He waved his hand, shaking the phone with his movement. “You know… Too, ‘Hey I work out and am attractive, pay attention to me’ much?”

You raised an eyebrow. “You’re not even looking at the camera. Or wearing a sleeveless shirt.”

He blinked at you. “Should I?”

You rolled your eyes. “No, those are things not to do. Picture is fine,” you added, shifting some pens away so you could rest your head on your forearms.

“Oh.”

He looked uneasy for a second before the camera jostled around as he scurried to a different part of the room. You puffed your cheeks and closed your eyes, not wanting to get motion sick.

“I’ve been playing Persona 5!” Jungkook said cheerfully, making you open your eyes to see him directing the camera at his television where the Persona music was merrily playing. “Just finished Sakura Futaba’s Palace.” He switched the camera back as you smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

“Nice.”

Jungkook seemed to spy your deflated form on your desk.

“What’s wrong?”

You breathed out. “Nothing.”

He frowned. “Doesn’t seem like nothing.”

You shrugged. “Just thinking.” Your eyes flickered to him, smirking a little. “You wouldn’t know about that, I suspect.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes. Other than that, he didn’t react to your remark.

“Thinking about what?” he asked, leaning back into his gray couch. His long hair flared out, sprout blooming against the cushions.

Your eyes shifted to the pens all over your desk. To your tablet, where you had been practicing digital drawing for a little while now. Just little drawings of cute animals, no people yet. To your journal, where you had been writing your diary entry.

“Lonely.”

You said the word without thinking. It was the title of your diary entry. You hadn’t meant to say it, but it was the only thing on your mind right now. Your eyes flickered back to Jungkook, who was watching you carefully. You sighed, feeling the need to explain yourself.

“All my friends are busy with school and their jobs. Oppa is always at work or with his girlfriend. Parents are always working.”

You could feel the distance between you and your high school friends. They were chasing your dreams and you were chasing nothing at all. You weren’t distant from your brother, but you were respectful of how much time he wanted to spend with his girlfriend. She might become his future wife someday, after all. Would you have a future husband one day? You wondered what he would be like.

You shook your head and shrugged. “But I did it to myself by taking a gap year, so it can’t be helped.”

“It’s okay to feel lonely.”

Slowly, your gaze shifted back to Jungkook. He was getting up from the couch, holding the phone up as he walked to what looked like the kitchen.

“I mean, you can’t help what you feel, right?” he said as he set the phone in a cupboard and went to the fridge. “Feeling lonely isn’t some kind of crime, so you don’t need to lock it away or anything.”

Jungkook picked up a take-out container and opened it, stiffing the contents. He seemed to be debating if it was edible or not. How long had that been there? You wanted to ask but then again, you didn’t want to know. Jungkook shrugged and dumped the mysterious contents into a bowl.

“I’ll talk to you whenever you want.”

You scoffed. “Why would you do that?”

Jungkook placed the bowl in the microwave and set the timer. The machine hummed as he turned around.

“To prevent you from feeling lonely.”

A butterfly danced in your chest.

You chuckled. “Why would I want to feel annoyed instead of lonely?”

Jungkook shrugged, taking out some chopsticks. “At least you have someone to be annoyed at instead of being alone?”

Two butterflies danced in your chest.

You huffed and rested your cheek on your forearms.

“Have you been talking to your Confidants?”

“What?”

“In Persona 5.”

“Who?”

You slapped your forehead. “Listen up, you monkey…”

“I’m an ox in the zodiac.”

“I mean your monkey gameplay…”

You began to explain the importance of Confidants in Persona to Jungkook.

-

That’s how you ended up in video calls with Jeon Jungkook several times a week.

He would usually start the call by sending a selfie, to which you would respond with your usual question mark. He was going to university for graphic design and worked at an electronics store part time. You, on the hand, were doing nothing. Well, not nothing, because you were clumsily learning digital art, but unless you were showering, you were always by your phone. Checking idol social media, especially SHINee. Sometimes your brother and his girlfriend asked you to accompany them to dinner, but you always declined, because being the third wheel was weird.

Also, watching your brother in love was weird.

Bleh.

“They always make out in front of me,” you were telling Jungkook as he asked why you weren’t at dinner earlier with your brother and his friends. Your brother had taken his girlfriend, of course. “It’s weird.”

Jungkook winced. “Yeah, I get what you mean. But I was there.”

“So what?”

Jungkook raised his hands. He was in his bed, rolling around in gray sheets. “Maybe you care?”

“I’d like to be spared watching oppa’s PDA, thanks.”

As usual, you were at your desk. This time your tablet was in front of you. You pushed the pen around, indecisively drawing lines and undoing your last action, twisting your mouth to one side, not really looking at Jungkook. He wasn’t doing anything of note, anyway.

“You don’t like PDA?”

You shrugged. “It’s whatever. I don’t really care.”

“What are you drawing?”

“Nothing good,” you sighed, putting down the tablet pen. The little cat character looked back at you, its expression the same bored and dispassionate face you usually had. You hadn’t really decided on a color for it yet. Maybe gray. That’s how you usually felt, anyway. You knew the collar color was going to be aqua though. A nod to your SHINee obsession.

“Show me.”

“No.”

“Come on.”

You looked up to Jungkook’s smile. There was a radiance about it. You felt the two butterflies dancing in your ribcage once again, fluttering, fluttering. His two front teeth where just ever so slightly too large for his mouth. It was endearing, like seeing a bunny. You looked back down at the little cat you created. Maybe you would make a bunny for Jungkook.

Pfft.

Why would you do that?

You laughed, confusing Jungkook as you placed your hand over your mouth, eyes squinting as you chortled to yourself, trying to imagine Jungkook as a silly little bunny. Probably one that worked out too much and drank banana milk every day. Probably loved to take selfies too. A cool bunny who wrote sunglasses sometimes and was probably altruistic and interesting.

Not like you.

Your laughter died down, eyes on the cat. You picked a cat to represent you because it was lazy and didn’t do much. Spent all day sleeping and staring outside, but never actually trying. Curious about things, but never committing.

“What’s so funny?” Jungkook asked, lifting the camera and holding it above him. You saw his long black hair flare out around his head. He was casually handsome, the kind of attractive that didn’t need much to be that way.

That’s weird. Why would you think something like that?

“Your face,” you replied, missing the usual bite you usually had behind your words. “You need a trim.”

He raised his eyebrow, pursing his lips. “You don’t like long hair?”

You pointed at the phone even though he probably couldn’t tell what you were pointing at. “The ends of your hair are splitting. It’s not going to grow well at this rate.”

“Are you a secret barber or something?”

“I’m a human being who cuts her own hair,” you replied impassively, sitting back in your chair.

Jungkook looked surprised. “Really? Since when?”

“Since the last time oppa attempted to cut my hair in high school.” You cringed at the memory.

Jungkook looked apologetic and ready to burst out laughing at the same time. “He tried his best.”

“He did not,” you retorted, remembering the botched bangs and blunt shoulder length cut. It was horrible. You went to the salon afterward and had it trimmed into a short pixie cut, because you would rather be bald than look like an overgrown coconut.

“The pixie cut was cool though.”

“Eh.” You shrugged. “Too hard to cut it by myself. Need some length to hide my mistakes.”

“Your hair always looks nice though. A little messy.”

You touched the top of your head self-consciously. Maybe you should start brushing it before accepting his calls. You didn’t really brush it that often because, well, who was going to see you? You basically only brushed it when you noticed a tangle.

Jungkook was smiling at you. His dark brown eyes seemed sparkly because of the overhead lights in his bedroom. The butterflies in your ribcage circled each other, looping round and round. You made a disgruntled face, reaching up read the current time at the top of your phone.

“Don’t you have class early tomorrow? Go to sleep.”

And then you pressed the end call button.

For some reason, relief and disappointment washed over you. Relief because there was a palpitating anxiousness you felt when you looked too directly into Jungkook’s eyes. Disappointment because maybe you shouldn’t have hung up so abruptly. That was a little rude.

You noticed you had a text. From Jeon Jungkook.

Good night.

-

Jungkook placed his phone beside him after he sent the text. He thought about sending a selfie too, but maybe that was too much. She had just seen him seconds before, anyway.

Why had she hung up like that?

He smiled as he remembered her laugh. He liked her laugh a lot. She hid it behind her hands and her eyes always squinted when she did so, nearly making them disappear. It looked a little bit like a cat when it was purring in satisfaction. Jungkook wondered what made her laugh like that. It must have been a thought, because he could see her face changing as she observed him. When she stopped laughing, her face was different too, becoming introspective.

She looked pretty today too.

Her hair a little messy, combed through with her fingers. That’s how it looked best, he thought. She had a natural prettiness, the kind that needed no help to be that way. Every action she did seemed cute, from the way she held her pen, to the way she twisted her mouth to one side when she was working on something, to the way she touched the top of her head, lips parting in thought.

If she wanted to be a model, she probably could.

At least, Jungkook wanted to take her picture.

He frowned a little. He’d been consistently sending her selfies before calling her and she always responded with a question mark. Maybe she wasn’t used to taking selfies? Or maybe, and what was more likely, she probably didn’t even care about them.

Jungkook exhaled, flopping to his side. Should he give up? But then he remembered her face right before she looked at the time. It was like she was staring at the screen, at his face. And for a split second, he swore he saw her upper lip upturn a bit, shyness in her gaze, a bit of pink flushing her cheeks. Was it just the lightning or something? His mind playing tricks on him?

“Bleh.”

Jungkook made a weird noise and plopped his face into his pillow.

-

Jungkook stopped calling you.

You wondered why. You had been kind of rude to him last time. Maybe he was mad at you? Maybe he wanted an apology? But you weren’t really sure what to apologize for. And it was weird to call without a purpose, right? And besides.

You didn’t really need to apologize to Jeon Jungkook.

He wasn’t even really your friend. He was your older brother’s friend.

You chewed on your lip, staring at the last picture he sent you. He wasn’t your friend. He was… well, what was he trying to do? Why was he talking to you? Maybe he was bored. Maybe he was nosy. You did say you followed his art Instagram, so maybe he was enthralled with the idea of knowing he had a fan or something?

But you weren’t a fan, per se.

Well, a little bit. He was really talented.

But not that much!

Because Jeon Jungkook was kind of annoying. He still hadn’t returned Persona 5 to your brother. Not that your older brother noticed, at all. He never finished Persona 5 and it was mostly your game now, with how many hours you had sunk into it. Jungkook hadn’t even known about Confidants until you told him. Hmph. Didn’t he look up game guides? Well, he should. Confidants were really important to the game. They helped you with useful abilities during boss fights by developing relationships with the other characters.

You stared at the last selfie Jungkook had sent you.

You kind of wished he was looking at the camera.

Maybe you needed a Confidant. You certainly didn’t really know how to develop relationships with anyone, except maybe your older brother. But that was because he was your brother and familial responsibility. Well. Not true. Your brother was really nice to you.

That’s why you folded his underwear for him, even to this day.

Sigh.

Jungkook did like SHINee though.

At least that was one thing in common, right?

-

next episode: 3. in which only a major event can bring these two loons back together – SHINee is back!

--

masterpost

[shieldedsouls]

A little bird may have told him he needed to come into the living room. The little bird also might have been Connor, who Rogers quickly decided the lad would make a horrible spy. The wolf was thankful for the intel none the less. He made sure he could be heard approaching before he wrapped his arms tightly around Bucky and the wolf rested his chin on their shoulder. “Have I told you today that I love you?”

@battlesthatmatter i love themmmmm 😭😭😭

     He doesn’t really think much of Connor leaving the room when he does, if only because the kiddo’s been zipping around the house all morning. It’s amazing really, but every time a moon was coming up Connor got all high-energy; Bucky, perhaps unsurprisingly, just turned into more of a fretter than usual.

       Enough of one to actually jump slightly when first touched only to relax with a relieved sigh when he realises its Rogers. Apparently their son also could tell train of thought at practically a glance; that, he’ll have to watch for.

   “ You tell me everyday, sugar, ” he laughs, turning his head enough to press a grateful kiss to the blond’s cheek. “ I love you too, y’know. Even when you’re being a loon, ” Bucky teases, though the smile doesn’t last. Damn it this is going to stay difficult a long while before it gets any easier, isn’t it?

      “ ....Bee was really determined to stay this time. I’ve never seen her so upset about it. ” It’s a hesitant admission, accompanied by Bucky hugging the other’s arms around himself tighter. “ Said she wanted to be able to hug us and that she likes playing with my fur. ”

  He has to stop when he realises there’s a waver in his words that is dangerously close to a break, leaning heavily into the embrace. How the hell are they supposed to explain the full worry involved in all of them being wolves when she isn’t? It wasn’t like she didn’t know they could all shift, but there had been a lot of efforts in making sure it was either completely controlled or she was at Eva’s, like now. Eventually they would have to tell her in no uncertain terms, but honestly Bucky dreads that moment.

                                   Almost as much as he misses Bee every moon.

[titconao3]

that 11 question thing

i was tagged by @antarctic-echoes​ & @mametupa​, so here are my answers. Warning: i suck at these things. Sorry. tl;dr: i’ve been told several times i was too much of a realist, too down-to-earth and sadly unable to dream & leave what things actually are aside, and it shows.

1.  what’s your favorite hobby? Er, i don’t really know... anything where i can forget myself?

2.  What’s the movie you hate more than anything? there are several, and probably quite a few i’ve erased from my memory. i don't get why people like Love, Actually so much for instance - so depressing. And others, but i either don’t remember them or don’t want to get flamed, so.

3.  which would you rather be: Ninja or British Spy? And why? i teach English for a living, but i practised a martial art for a few years. No idea, you pick! If the British Spy thing means lots of sex, no thanks. If it means cool fun toys, why not. If the ninja thing means being able to do fancy moves, why not. If it’s about the training that allows me to do that, probably not.

4.  What’s your favorite book of all time? i don’t know. No, really. There are many books i enjoyed, but i’ve learned to be wary of picking them up again for a reread...

5.  If you could go anywhere, whether it be a real or fictional location, where would you go? no idea. Since i’m a very positive person who expects disappointment everywhere, well. Somehow, people think i’m pessimistic; i tend to see this as being realistic. It’s not that i don’t travel or like travelling, it’s just... i’m always keeping in mind it’s just a distraction that barely covers the emptiness of existence ;-) many places sound really great, but then when you’re there’s always that “gah i hate mountain paths” or “crap nearest toilets are far away” or “and now there’s the horrible trip back to look forward to” or “my feet are wet” or “those moving stairs are such a pain” or “the Pegasus galaxy is cool and stuff but i don’t have reliable access to AO3″... you get the idea.

6.  Which would you rather fight?  An angry horse-sized duck or a hundred angry duck-sized horses? depends on what tools / weapons etc i have at my disposal, i’d say? Do i have something that can incapacitate one large thing? or something to outrun small-legged animals for long enough i’d be safe?

7.  If you could have any dinosaur as a pet, which one would you have? i don’t want pets of any sorts. Not that i don’t like animals (i really do!), but i can’t properly care for them; i don’t have the time / space / patience etc. And, while dinosaurs are cool, they’d need a lot, and probably wouldn't be happy in an environment they’re not adapted to.

8. What is your favorite animated movie? er... i really don’t watch a lot of films, animated or otherwise. There are some i’ve enjoyed, and they’re definitely not Disney films. No shade on those who enjoy them, bear in mind i haven’t watched a Disney film since i was a kid, apart from the Lion King on a plane or something and the political undertones and how the way the lady lion’s role was downplayed made me angry (and why do so many of these end on “and they got married, the end”? not the more recent ones, from what i understand?) and also why do these people sing all the time? i... don’t like random singing??? i live in fear of the Lucifer musical ep, and i’m one of like 2 or 3 people who don’t like Lucifer singing stuff. I try to pretend he’s Freddie Mercury when writing him. Regarding anime, i’m probably supposed to say Miyazaki or something because everyone loves his stuff, and... it’s nice, sure. Really. Honestly, young characters have never been my thing - Ponyo was sure cute, i guess? i liked the Kenshin OAV because it mixed great music, anime, trope use etc? Or should i mention The Grave of the Fireflies because it’s all deep and stuff? It’s really good, but i’d never EVER rewatch it. Or perhaps Ghost in the Shell? great Kenji Kawai music there. Haven’t watched any animated film in ages. 

9.  What is your favorite dessert? i generally don’t really like sweet things - i can appreciate them, but one spoonful or two is enough; it’s not really my thing.

10.  what is your movie score? the... number of films i’ve watched? i used to be big on artsy cinema in my younger days, now i can’t stand being still for several hours, surrounded by people potentially munching on crunchy stuff. I’d probably not get a good score (HAHAHA) at most quizzes. to answer the question, the music i’m living to? i do enjoy some film scores - but i like silence more. 

11.  If you could go to dinner with any fictional character, who would you choose and why? no idea. i don’t have anything interesting to say to anyone. i imagine i can pretend for a while, but that’s what i already do most of the time i’m not home, so... i mean, there are many characters i find interesting / fascinating, but i don’t fit in their world or they don’t fit in mine. How would that work? Am i a lowly ensign on the (original) Enterprise? What am i supposed to talk about with Tony Stark and his buddies? i guess i could just stare moodily at a beer bottle while Methos looks all cool and liquid on the chair next to me, he’s probably one of those people who won’t mind silence too much? It would be rude to pester him about what he’s lived through. Maybe ask where he gets his sweaters, they look comfy. Not Lucifer, because i’m not the Detective (or in her orbit) / a pretty young thing / a good singer. I can drink? But i don’t know what to do with myself in a club, so.  and now from @mametupa​: 1. Which is your favorite holiday and why?  As a rule, i dislike holidays. It’s uncomfortable, i don’t particularly want to see most of my family, and it all feels forced. Of course i do know that for some people it’s a joyous time, but be it Xmas / Easter / birthdays whatever, it’s... not my thing. Sorry.

2. What is your favorite food to cook or eat?  i’m easy either way. A few years ago i used to cook with a friend. We became estranged, and now i don’t really cook anymore - i mean, i still cook everything myself everything i eat (including bread or yoghurts) but since then i’ve lost the taste and it’s all very utilitarian; fuel so i don’t faint at the gym or at work. i don’t really care, but i’m okay with or at least will try almost anything. Really.

3. If you had to live in the body of someone else, who would it be? Er, no one. Honestly, and that’s not a fun answer, but i’d rather not exist at all. Bodies are hard work (plus luck) to maintain reasonably healthy and, worse, in what is considered “good shape.” Besides, some that really look good are actually not good at all inside, not all diseases / pains are visible.

4. Favorite season? spring makes me sneeze, summer is too hot, winter is that horrible holiday period, so i guess autumn? i do like red colours on leaves (but i live in a city, so don’t see them much like on those nice autumn moodboards with pretty forests)?

5. If someone wrote a book about you, what would the title be? that won’t happen :-)

6. Favorite childhood book? i was a voracious reader until lit studies made me quit reading for a few years, so i read a lot as a child. I kept ideas, feelings, one little thing from many books, but i don’t think there’s ONE book that made me go THIS ONE. sorry.

7. Favorite smell? i don’t know. Wet forest? Fresh bread? Fireplace? What is one supposed to answer?  Definitely not perfumes or flowers, i’d sneeze and my eyes would become liquid or something.

8. What different languages do you speak or understand? French, English. I used to be good at Spanish, and i can (especially after a few days of resetting the brain bits) cope. My grammar and vocab are all shot to hell but i can definitely get by; i understand people enough to enjoy guided tours & stuff and get food and a hotel and get directions to park the car. For some reason i now have an English accent whenever i try to speak Spanish (i once said “nos quedamos ten minutos” sounding like a posh XIX lady and the friend i was travelling with was laughing like a loon. She had to repeat what i said to me). i’d like to learn Arabic, because it’s different and the grammar and sounds and writing and word etc are both alien to what i’m used to and yet a source of the languages i’ve learned before, so. i did Latin and Ancient Greek loooong ago, and well it was useful to read street signs in Greece and St Petersburg (i’d brushed up on the Russian alphabet just in case).

9. Favorite era?  they’re all interesting, past and present and future. The way some categories of people are / were treated tends to make me run away, though - women, sexual or racial or or or minorities, slavery, you name it. Nowhere, nowhen is 100% a haven.

10. What 5 things would you want to have with you if you were marooned on an uninhabited tropical island? i don’t know if the Internet counts, i guess i could tell people i’m stranded with it, so maybe not? If it doesn’t, no idea. i guess i should say useful stuff like, i don’t know. A fridge with electricity? A survival handbook? A fully-stocked house (with furniture) with electricity? or a means to kill myself as painlessly as possible?

11. One thing that you would never throw away? i don’t know. something useful? Or trousers, perhaps? i hate being naked. But a knife is always useful? Probably? i tend to not throw away stuff BUT i don’t *get* a lot of new stuff either (unless it’s polish, but even there i’ve slowed down because it has to be really special to catch my eye now). i don’t have 11 questions to ask people, but if anyone wants to pick among the many that have been asked before, feel free.

[idreamofasriel-blog]

Metal Slug Past Life Ch 12

“History of regrets, here I come.” She said sarcastically. When the bright light dimmed away, Eri gave herself a minute to let her eyes adjust and rubbed them. She's on a cobblestone street and it was a beautiful sunny day. A cool spring breeze blows and ruffles the leaves and pigeons were on the building ledges, cooing softly to each other as they survey for free food to drop at any minute. The buildings were still standing but yet there were Slug tanks parked out in the streets and Eri found some banners with a large A printed on them mixed in with The Rebels. Ripped to shred, soiled, and set on fire under the street lamp and new ones put in their place. They're the banners that bear the PF Squad's emblem along with The Regular Military and Sparrow. “Now I remember. This is the day when we celebrated our successful mission on stopping The White Baby Crisis.” said Eri. She walked down the empty streets, looking around the city and spotting more parked slug tanks and a transportation truck with The Regular Military emblem on the side. She stopped to sniff the air, there was a wavering smell of freshly cooked turkeys, dumplings, a baked ham, and other mouth-watering food and Eri ran to follow the scent of this prepared feast. Along with the delectable aroma, Eri got close to hear familiar voices talking and laughing with the accompany of dishes and silver wares clanking against each other. She stopped and spotted the large table before her and all of her friends surrounding it and she can feel the festivity in the atmosphere and see their delighted faces. Past Eri was smiling and helped passed out the food and drinks with Tarma before joining their friends to proclaim their accomplishment over The White Baby Crisis. They laughed and talked about the missions they endeared, the enemies they fought, and cities they won back from the enemies. Even Marco praised Trevor and Nadia for a job well done for their first mission and Trevor was blushing to hear his idol praising him and Nadia was giggling and hoping to do another one in the near future. Eri let out a small sighed and smiled a bit. She was glad that The Time Rift picked this part of her past rather than any of the assassination and subterfuge plots the government got her involved when they discovered her and took her in to train her to be their personal spy. She remembers her nose hurting and touched it to see if Allen O'Neil jr broke it with his gorilla-sized fists and snapped the nose back into place and reached into her bag for a first aid kit. She found a nose cast was pre-made for her and secure it over her broken nose and took her now blood soaked bandanna off to treat her head. “So, Eri. Do you got any plans after The War?” Fio asked Past Eri. Eri dropped the bottle of disinfectant and turn her attention to the table. She saw her past-self acting nervously and stalling to give them an answer. All eyes were on her and she tugged at the collar of her shirt. “I-I'm going to stay in the Military?”She smiled nervously in hopes that they would buy it. “What a bunch of lies and you know it,” Eri scolded at her past-self and stomped her foot out of rage “You had no future and you know it. I should have told them the truth...But I didn't.” she muttered. She stood in silence, looking away from them all and re-listening to all of her friends' plans for the future and feeling the set of dread for her own life setting in. Fio talking about wanting to be a Sports Doctor, Nadia was boasting about wanting to keep working for the Regular Military to live for the thrills and keep herself slim, Trevor already have plans to retire from the Regular Military and pursue a career in Cyber Security, everyone already knew what Tarma's dream goal was going to be but he bragged about it anyways; to open up his own motorcycle shop with the cash he saved up from the paychecks that The Regular Military gave him, and as for Marco, he thought about becoming a computer tech teacher or work in Cyber Security like Trevor. As time went on, multiple meals have eaten, the sunset over the buildings, giving off a breathtaking view of the sky with mix colors of pink and orange with purple clouds lazily floating over them. Street lights came on and it was time for The PF Squad and Sparrow to work together once again, this time to tackle dirty dishes, leftover food, and return the furniture back to the restaurant they borrowed from. Marco and Trevor volunteered to take the tables and chairs back while Fio and Nadia packed up any food they didn't touch to put together as meals for the recovered POWs back at Head Quarters. As for Tarma and Eri, they were left with dishes duty. They filled the tub up with warm water and soap and Eri offered to dry while Tarma washes them. “Man, I'm so stuffed right now. I won't be having any problems sleeping tonight.” Tarma chuckled and handed the dishes off to Past Eri to dry. Past Eri was quiet and took her time drying each plate off before moving on to the next one and present Eri knows why she's being like this. Tarma took his sunglasses off and tuck it in his shirt's collar to see the dishes better in what light sources they have come from the street lights. He washed another one and handed off to Past Eri, the wet plate slipped out of his grasp and shattered onto the cobblestone street. “Hey, Eri! Pay attention to what you are doing!” Tarma rebuked at her action. Past Eri didn't reply and she buried her face into her hands. Here it goes, Present Eri predicted this was going to happen anytime soon. Seeing her sobbing, a wave of guilt came over Tarma and looked at her with remorse in his eyes. “Aww, Eri. I'm sorry to yell at you and don't cry, it's just a plate and I'll help you clean it up and pay the restaurant to replace it.” “It's not that, Tarma,” She said between sobs and wiped her tears away and looked at him, “I lied. I lied to all of you when we were talking about our lives after the war.” The tears kept coming and she sniffing her nose constantly to keep them from running. Tarma can see it in her eyes and Eri has lead a secretive life long before she joined their team and took years to open up to them and express her feelings like friends would with each other. Tarma looked around for something for Past Eri to blow her nose on and wipe her eyes. All he grabbed was a dishcloth and offered it to her. She stared at him as if she was seeing this as nothing more than a sick joke but she knew that Tarma was trying to help her out to calm down and accepted it. All the chairs were gone so Tarma couldn't offer her one to sit on and suggested the bench outside a Ma and Pa store. He helped her to her seat and adjusted himself to get a clear view of Past Eri's face. “So, what's your real plan after the war then?” Tarma asked her and Past Eri shook her head. “I don't have one, Tarma. Because I feel like I have no future outside of the military. I didn't grow up in a perfect home with a mom and dad with brothers and sisters or grandparents who'll spoil me rotten. I got no one outside of the military. The gang of Street Kids I used to be their leader to growing up? They either moved on or found better lives for themselves.” she sighed and pulled her feet up and wrapped her arms around them, “I don't have computer skills like Marco and Trevor, I only know few medical skills than Fio, and I can't even customize a tricycle like you can with your motorcycle.” She buried her face into her legs, “All I know is how to blow things up, spy, and kill a man in many horrible ways.” Tarma frowned after hearing her thoughts, he never knew that she was holding all of this in and this is the woman that Tarma worked side by side every day in and out of the battlefield, the woman who would make a quick remark at any jokes with her own when he makes one toward her. Now here she is, like a scared child in the big world without her parents to hold her hands and guide her. Tarma did make a silent vow that one day, he will find Eri's parents and lashed out at them for abandoning her at birth and put her in this horrid situation. He will get the answer out of them, even if he has to use brute force to get it. “Eri,” Tarma said to her quietly and Past Eri looked at him and sniff. He reached his hands out and caressed her face gently as if he was holding the most precious thing in the world, using his thumbs to clear any more tears coming down from her cheeks. Past Eri can see Tarma's eyes has softened and wondered what's going on in that head of his she always called his coconut head when he said something ridicules in mission briefings. She sniffed and waited for him to speak. “Come home with me after The War, I'll take good care of you and you can work with me in my shop.” Past Eri sniffed and looked off at the corner of her eyes. “I don't know, Tarma.” She hesitated at the idea of being a burden to Tarma, working to support two people even if she was helping him out in his shop. “You can handle the front desk for me while I work on the customers' motorcycles in the garage.”  Tarma Spoke. It didn't convince her, he can see it on her face and gently let go of her cheeks and thinks. He rubbed his chin and thinks it over, he even got up and paced around to get the trail of thoughts going and then he stopped and that goofy grin that Past Eri recognized spread across his face, “I got a better idea and you're going to love it.” Tarma said in an ecstatic voice and Past Eri raises a brow and decided to humor the man, “All right, Tarma. What do you got for me now?” she said, wondering what idea the doofus came up with now. He placed his hands on his hips, grinning like a loon at her, “I was talking to my parents no too long ago and my mother was telling me about a self-defense teacher retiring in a few years in the city they normally visit to get groceries or dance lessons they signed up for on weekends. I have a thought just now, Eri. You'll make a great self-defense teacher. After all, I've seen you break more enemy's bones  than I would with mine.” He laughed and smiled at Past Eri. Past Eri sat in quiet and thinks it's over. It's better than being stuck behind a front desk all day, shuffling papers around, answering phones, and crunching numbers to see if Tarma's shop made any profits. Plus, she'll be helping those who can't protect themselves and get creative on many ways to hurt would be attackers too. She'll be helping the weak find their inner strength. Help the defenseless become their own strongest protector to their family, friend, and themselves. Past Eri turned her gaze onto to Tarma's and smiled. “You know what, Tarma? That's the best idea you ever came up and I love it.” Past Eri closed her eyes grinned at him and got off the bench. “I don't know. I still think strapping a jet engine to a motorcycle is the best idea.” Tarma playfully thinking about it and Past Eri gave him a light punch on the arm, “Again with that death trap? You might as well ask me to blow you up.” she giggled. Eri giggling like a teenage girl was like music to Tarma's ears. It gave a great feeling that Eri did shed away that lonesome shell she developed over the years and all it took is great friends to crack it wide open. Tarma took a glance at a nearby street clock and let out a long whistle, “We better finish the dishes and catch up with the others before they come looking for us to see if we got kidnapped or worst.” She agreed and followed Tarma back to the tub with the water now feeling lukewarm to the touch and the soap suds barely there anymore. “Thank you for helping me out, Tarma.” said Past Eri. “What's this? Miss Kasamoto thanking the handsome Mr. Roving The Third for helping her?” he teased and Past Eri rolled her eyes at him playfully. “You're such a dweeb, Tarma.” Past and Present Eri said in unison. Tarma laughed, “I'm your Dweeb, Eri and you know it.” As they went back their dishes duty, the world around Eri faded away into a bright light and back into the present where she belonged. The starry sky greeted her and the gentle breeze of summer tussled her bangs around, Eri is laying in the middle of the road and tried to get up with her only good arm. She grabbed her bandanna she tucked away in her belt and made it into a makeshift sling, for now, to cradle her broken arm in. The Rebels are long gone now but traces of boot prints, tires tracks heading toward the farm house and the wrecked motorcycle is what they left behind. Shell casings of the M60 littered the roadside and Eri figured that Allen O'Neil shot them off to get her friends or he did it out of a fit of rage over her escape. She turned around when a car's engine grew louder and the headlights drew closer to her and she drew a gun out and steady it to shot any Rebels that Morden may have send out to look for her for the second time. The car came to a rolling stop and the engine gone idle and climbing out of both driver and passenger side is Fio and Nadia. “Nadia! She's alive!” Fio shouted gleefully and runs to Eri. “I told you Eri is one smart cookie to get herself out of danger. Cookies sound good right about now.” Nadia said and joined Fio and Eri. Fio frowned, she saw the blood on Eri's face, the broken nose in a cast, and her arm in a sling. “Oh, Eri. They roughed you up, didn't they?” said Fio, walking her friend to the car they stole from General Morden with Nadia's help. “That big ape, Allen shot at my motorcycle and blew the tires out. If it wasn't for The Time Rift suddenly appearing, I would have been road kill by now.” “You didn't have a horrible experience with it, did you?” Nadia asked Eri, concern what grisly part of her life it might have shown her and Eri smiled and shook her head, “No, Nadia. Thankfully, it didn't. All it did is renew my hopes of a better life for me.” Fio and Nadia looked at each other and wondered what Eri was talking about. Fio opened the car's door for the back seat and instructed her to lay down and secure her in place. She stared up through the sunroof of the car to the clear starry sky and thought back on The Time Rift she experiences. The conversations, Tarma's suggestion to becoming a Self-Defense teacher, and the huge feast they had to celebrate White Baby's defeat. All the fighting and sneaking around tonight made Eri tired. Nadia checked on her once in awhile to make sure she's okay while Fio drove. The lulling of the night gave comfort to the young lady and Eri drifted off to a peaceful slumber.