#that's a beautiful weapon and I'm damn proud of it

[phoenixiancrystallist]

Month 2, day 21

So normally I'd be back in Blender today since it's Friday, but I really wanted to get this design down first. And I think I'm happy with this! :D

If I do decide to make any more tweaks to it I can do that in Blender itself. Which I'll probably have to just to get things to actually, ya know, work in 3D space. But I'm really proud of how it turned out and I'm gonna have so much fun converting it into 3D tomorrow :D

[strawberryhotlips]

༆THE LAST WOMAN ON EARTH ☢︎︎- ➪enhypen ot7 x fem reader

SYNOPSIS: Moving to South Korea at just 20 years old to study medicine was something that made you extremely proud. You had so many plans for the future, but it seems that fate doesn't want the same for you. Overnight, a virus that affects only women spreads throughout the world, causing all the women in the world to die in a matter of weeks. You were the only one left standing, the problem? Nobody knew, only you. As time passed, you managed to survive this post-apocalyptic world, where you had to hide from men because if someone knew that a woman still existed, everything would go to hell for you. You didn't expect seven strangers to break into your house in the middle of the night and you didn't expect what was going to happen next either.

Word Count: 5.3k

Pairing: enhypen! x fem!reader

Genre: Suspense, death, dystopian, post-apocalyptic world, angst, too much drama, slow burn, smut as the chapters go by (mdni), fluff, Possessiveness, jealousy, fights, toxicity, lots of love (I know, it sounds contradictory) enhypen are complete losers for the reader in the best way, strangers to lovers and other things that may happen later

Warnings!⚠️: Death, loss of loved ones, use of weapons, depression and anxiety problems, mentions of suicide, survival, vulgar and sometimes offensive language, graphic descriptions of traumatic events. If you are sensitive, don't read it for your own good. Everyone is of legal age!! Heeseung is 26, Jay, Jake and Sunghoon are 25, Sunoo is 23, Jungwon is 22 and Ni-ki is 21.

Status: ongoing (16-01-2025 - )

Disclaimer: This is a work of pure fiction, everything came out of my head, the personality of the characters are not real and do not represent them in real life in any way, any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental. Everyone is of legal age in this universe. English is not my first language so you will probably find spelling mistakes.

Hi beautiful people!! I'm back with the third chap of this story. It took me almost five days to write it, but here it is finally!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!! Xoxo, aby..

CHAPTER I: "Disaster"

CHAPTER II: "Loneliness"

CHAPTER III: "Trust Issues"

more under the cut ☟︎︎︎

"I will kill you..."

Fuck, you couldn't have been any clearer with your words. If they made you the slightest bit suspicious, you would blow their heads off. And as much as you had said before that you didn't want to kill them, if they gave you reason even after your warning, you would have no choice.

After that, you had simply thrown some clothes at them, muttering a "take a bath and clean up this mess," pointing to the wet and muddy floor, and then disappeared upstairs.

You had locked yourself in your room (literally) because you had locked the lock with a homemade key that you had made at the beginning of all this when you didn't feel safe even in your room and felt the need to lock it. You had no energy for anything else, and that night you just lay in your bed, hoping to be alive the next day, while you heard little murmurs on the first floor, and also heard the boys walking around, probably cleaning up.

After a few minutes, surprisingly, you managed to fall asleep. ....

----------

The seven men in your house had barely gotten a wink of sleep the night before, they had been able to bathe properly and clean up as you had asked, but the fact of their new reality, living with you, the last remaining woman, had not let them rest properly.

And now it was a whole new reality that they had to adjust to, but damn it, it was so hard knowing that you were sleeping one floor away. They had you so close but so far away at the same time that it was almost impossible to get comfortable enough to sleep because there was something going on in their heads that would not leave them alone....

you

your existence, your presence, even the ghost of your perfume that had lingered in the living room and how you had confronted them so powerfully the night before. It was just you.

The next morning, the smell of cooking woke you from your sleep. Hell, you knew how to cook, but you hadn't smelled anything that tasty in years. That meant only one thing, one of the boys was using your kitchen, and whatever was cooking smelled delicious.

You replaced your pajamas with a pair of jogging pants and a tight, slightly short, long-sleeved t-shirt that revealed the delicate little metal that adorned your belly button. You combed your hair a little, and in the bathroom of your room you brushed your teeth and washed your face. Little things in your daily routine that you were still allowed to do.

You put your gun in your makeshift gun belt and unlocked the door to your room. What you didn't expect when you walked out was to see two of the boys sitting against the wall on either side of your door, asleep. Their expressions were unreadable as you looked at them doubtfully, now that you could see them better in the morning sunlight. Their features were relaxed, a stark contrast to how tense they had been the night before, they were wearing the clothes you had thrown at them, and they really were attractive men, but then again, you couldn't stop and thinking about that now.

With a sigh, you looked at them for a few more seconds before shaking your head and walking down the hall to the stairs. You didn't bother to wake them, figuring that if they slept so much, it was because their bodies needed it. Besides, the tension of the night before and the discovery that there was still a woman alive must have exhausted them.

When you reached the first floor after descending the stairs, you could visualize four more guys, scattered randomly on the couch in your living room, also completely asleep. You remembered two of them, one of them you had pointed the gun at and the other was the arrogant shameless jackass, yes, you remembered him very well and now his cute sleeping face had not a hint of arrogance, being able to fool anyone with that appearance of fake innocence.

Well, maybe you were being a bit dramatic but in your defense he had been a jerk to you.

Rolling your eyes at the memory, the delicious smell of food grew stronger as you walked through the living room. You could hear the small clink of the frying pan and the snap of something frying as you approached the kitchen.

When you finally got there, you could see the missing boy, obviously cooking, he hadn't noticed your presence yet, so you decided to lean against the door frame with your arms crossed and a serious expression on your face.

"Morning..." you finally spoke, your voice devoid of emotion as you watched him jump in surprise, "Shit...you scared me..." he turned to you with his eyes a little wide and a hand on his chest in shock as he tried to calm his slightly accelerated breathing.

You almost laughed at the scene but decided to keep your expression serious as you watched him intently. He looked at you for a second and then quickly looked back to the frying pan where he was cooking scrambled eggs while he cleared his throat, "So you're up already?" you could swear he was pretty nervous from the way his body was tense and the silly question he had asked since you were literally standing in front of him.

This was going to be fun.

"Jay, right?..." you clearly remembered his name because that cheeky idiot had called him that the night before as you shushed him, "yeaah, I'm starting to think you're paid to ask stupid questions..." there was a lot of seriousness in your voice as you deliberately gave him a glare, raising both your eyebrows as you watched him open his mouth to try and answer, but he just couldn't.

You remembered his name

and it sounded so beautiful coming out of your lips and it made Jay's head spin a little. Because he didn't want to look like an idiot in front of you, but your presence only, made it difficult.

You spoke again, meeting his gaze, "May I ask what you are doing in my kitchen?" your eyes had a little gleam of amusement in them now, but your voice was still deadly serious.

Jay looked at you and then at the ladle in his hand that he was using to cook, "w-well...i was making the...breakfast..." he cleared his throat again as you heard him stutter. You nodded as a sound of mock approval passed through your throat, "with my food..." you replied as you shook your head in acknowledgement, pointing to the eggs in the pan.

Your eyes never left his fake calm expression, his body language and voice clearly betraying the nervousness he was trying to hide in your presence.

"Uhu..it's just that I thought you'd all be hungry when you woke up, s-so i thought it would be a good idea to have breakfast ready..." he cursed himself for stuttering so much, damn, instead of a man he looked like a teenager dealing with puberty.

"Ahem..." you let the silence fill the kitchen air with anticipation, you kept looking at him wordlessly and Jay could swear he felt smaller and smaller under your gaze.

And fuck, he literally hadn't done anything wrong, yet your eyes seemed to judge the depths of his soul as the tension was suffocating in the deafening silence, and he hadn't missed the gun you seemed to always carry with you.

You didn't trust them

That was Jay's conclusion and it was obvious, who would in a situation like yours? he couldn't, nor did he have the right to blame you for judging his every move, after all it was basically you against the world.

You, on the other hand, were having quite a bit of fun deliberately making him nervous, curious to see how he would react and how the mere fact of talking to him or making him so nervous would make you wonder if you would have the same effect on the other guys as well.

"You know...I divided the food into portions..." you commented after a few seconds of silence that seemed like an eternity to Jay. At your words, his eyes immediately met yours and he blinked several times, thinking about what to say.

Fuck, he hadn't thought of that, of course, a day ago it was just you, you only had to worry about what you were going to eat, but now with the arrival of the seven of them, the picture as to how long the meal would last was completely different and Jay had overlooked that.

"Next time, ask me before you take my food, even if you have to break down my bedroom door and wake me up, ask me first, is that clear?" your voice was a little more relaxed now, but with the same seriousness as you pulled yourself away from the door frame to move a little closer to the oven where Jay was cooking.

He nodded immediately at your clear command, because yeah, it was a command, no room for argument in your words, "Sure, of course, it won't happen again..." he turned his head to look at you again and was surprised to see you closer than before, swallowing hard as he tried to hold your piercing gaze as he watched you nod at his statement.

"Speaking of my room, who are the two clowns sleeping on my doorstep like they were camping?" your question caught Jay off guard as he stopped cooking for a few seconds and stared at the frying pan, then closed his eyes, frowning and denying in frustration.

Those idiots!

He let out a sigh and then opened his eyes, finally turning off the oven. He slowly turned to you with a flushed face as he seemed to be searching for words to say, "Sorry, I didn't think they mean it when they said they would sleep outside your room..." he licked his lips as he served the scrambled eggs on different plates, "The black haired one is Ni-ki and the gray haired one is Jake..." you finally knew who was who and you laughed inwardly as you saw Jay fighting with himself not to go and wake them both.

"Oh...they thought it would be a good idea to stand guard outside my room..." you said, pressing the buttons even harder as Jay got redder by the second. He ran his hand over his face in frustration, "I'm really sorry...Ni-ki is the youngest of the group and Jake always goes along with his nonsense..." he let out another sigh as he finished his words, apologizing on behalf of his friends.

So Ni-ki and Jake were the reason why everyone was here now. You wondered what had gone through their heads to dare to escape in the middle of the night, not only breaking the curfew and putting themselves in danger, but also being chased by the police.

A few more minutes and they could have caught them, they could have caught you.

The smell of bacon brought you out of your thoughts as for the first time you showed an expression as you watched Jay place it on the plates, next to the scrambled eggs. "You used the bacon Jay, it was saved for special occasions, there were only three packages left and you used them..." your tone was accusatory as your eyes, a little wider than usual, shifted from Jay to the bacon on the plates, repeatedly.

Jay immediately widened his eyes when he heard you and seemed to panic as he realized the implication of your words and began to ramble, "I-I'm so sorry...I had no idea, fuck...I didn't mean it. We can still buy more, I swear I'll replace them and leave everything as it was-..." you cut him off as a few specific words caught your attention.

Uh, buy more? What the fuck did he mean?

"What do you mean, buy more?" your question came out with a mixed tone of annoyance and disbelief "Do you have a job? or money?" your lack of understanding was reflected in every word you said as you looked at Jay for answers.

how could he possibly have a job if only essential services were still running? was he part of any essential services? because if he was, you were screwed. The Essential Services worked with the government, who had offered a billion dollar reward if one of their workers found a woman and gave her to them so they could experience the repopulation of the world with her.

"N-no, I don't have a job…" Jay hurried to speak when he saw your panicked face and how your hand had unconsciously gone to your gun, your expression hardened at his words, you wanted answers and you wanted them now "My father, he was doing very well in business and he left the inheritance to me since i'm an only child..." he clarified the situation quickly but you continued to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"What happened to him, he didn't want to be a millionaire overnight by giving everything to his beloved son?" the sarcasm and annoyance was clear in your voice full of suspicion as you questioned him without measuring your words and that's when Jay's expression changed.

He swallowed as his eyes, now filled with what seemed to be sadness, longing, and frustration, looked at you for a few seconds, only for you to notice that they were filled with...tears...

Oh..

He was going to cry?

"When my mother died from the virus, at the beginning of it all...my father could only hold on to life for a few more months before he decided to give up and go with her...a-and...and...i saw it all..." shit, why did you have to be so loose with your tongue? Jay had lost his parents, who were the only family he had, and not only that, he had to witness his father's suicide, fuck, that must have been really traumatic and fucking painful.

You immediately took your hand away from your gun and looked at him with empathy, you too had lost your whole family, the pain was unbearable and you couldn't imagine his, but, in a way, you shared the same pain, having lost your families...

The boys were all the family he had left

And not just Jay, all seven of them must feel the same way, they had all lost a lot and they recognized each other as the only family they had left. Then in that moment you understood, no matter what big trust issues you had towards them, they were human beings, just like you, they were fragile, just like you, they had lost everything, just like you, and the only thing they were clinging to was the hope that somehow it would get better, they didn't even know where it came from, but they were hoping that all their suffering had not been in vain

just like you

And then, without knowing what to say, you raised one of your hands and placed it gently on one of Jay's shoulders. He took a deep breath as he felt your touch, something that had become immeasurably distant, but that he hadn't realized he was missing until now, the comfort. His eyes, crystallized with unshed tears, looked sideways at your hand on his shoulder before they slid down his cheeks of their own accord, unbidden and silent.

Your heart squeezed at the sight of his crying, at the realization that he allowed himself to be vulnerable in a world where vulnerability killed you "Jay...I...I'm so sorry..." those were the only words your head allowed to leave your lips, but it was enough to express in your now soft and delicate voice that you both shared the same fucking pain.

Jay was overwhelmed for a moment, your words, as simple as they were, brought him a comfort he needed long ago, and that was enough for him to have his arms wrapped around your waist from one moment to the next, pulling your body into an almost trembling embrace that he seemed to need so desperately, an embrace that screamed how much he needed the contact, the affection, the containment and the relief.

For a few seconds your body couldn't react and you were paralyzed. You hadn't had this kind of direct contact in years and it was something that took you and your head by surprise. You felt Jay hide his face in your neck almost instinctively and his tears began to flow more abundantly as he clung to you as if his life depended on it.

It struck you as odd, like, yeah, you understood that the memory of the loss of his family would cause him so much pain, but you had become so used to suppressing your emotions that it was unusual for you to see such a vulnerable and fragile man clinging to you. But after a few seconds of processing the situation, you realized that his crying was not only because he had lost his family, it was also because of the weight that had been on his back all these years, you realized that surely he had also had to suppress what he was feeling, and finding you and being in your arms now was an instant relief and a great weight that he no longer had on his back.

His cry was a liberating one

One that spoke of how much he had endured over time and that he had finally found the relief he had been so desperately waiting for. Then, understanding this, you slowly let your arms wrap around his shoulders, finally returning his embrace as his body visibly relaxed under your gentle touch. Leaving your suspicion behind, you decided to give him a moment of comfort, and decided to listen to the human part of you instead of the rational part.

Heart over brain

Jay couldn't quite process what was going on, he only understood that you had welcomed his distress, that you hadn't taken him away from you, and that he inevitably found overwhelming comfort in your arms. Your scent soothed him, causing him to breathe shakily into the crook of your neck as his cry was silenced. Clinging to you, to your small waist and feeling the warmth of your body against his, helped him to calm down and understand that he was no longer alone, that he could express himself and act like a human being, at least with you.

Your chest felt tight, a shiver ran down your spine as you felt the slight trembling in Jay's body, but it diminished as the minutes passed, until finally you could no longer feel his tears soaking your shirt, and his once shaky breathing had been replaced by a soft and slower one. His crying had stopped, but he wasn't letting go and didn't seem to want to for the foreseeable future.

That is, until a clearing of the throat caused the two of you to abruptly separate for some reason. You turned to where the voice was coming from and your brow furrowed in annoyance as you saw the idiot in the kitchen door frame.

Right, 'the idiot' was your name for him.

He looked at you and then at Jay with an expression you couldn't quite understand, his eyes narrowed and his jaw visibly clenched "bravo.... you were really fast Jay...you got to her before any of us..." his tone was contemptuous, bordering on desperate as he made that ridiculous claim.

Jay on the other hand was sniffling and still looking at him with red eyes with obvious annoyance, "What the fuck, Heeseung Hyung, what kind of bullshit approach is that?..." the anger was clear in his voice as he snapped at him.

So 'the idiot' called himself Heeseung.

You raised an eyebrow at the situation and then sighed, really, what the hell was he trying to imply?

Heeseung had been awakened by the distant smell of scrambled eggs and bacon, his stomach growling with hunger and he just got up from the couch and followed the smell to the kitchen, but he didn't expect what he would find: You and Jay, hugging, obviously very close to each other.

His blood immediately and almost inevitably boiled with envy and jealousy, he knew you weren't an object, but he didn't like the idea of seeing his friends touching you in the slightest, and that was very clear to him:

Heeseung wanted you for himself

and the thought of having to share you with his other six friends was really hard for him to accept. Well, not only for him, the seven of them were extremely territorial and the situation could only get worse 'cause you were the only woman left, but hell, how could he even pretend to get to you when he was acting like a complete idiot?

Heeseung let out an unfunny laugh as he looked at Jay, the tension in the kitchen air was intense "Who do you think you are Jay, you think you have the right to touch her?" Jay frowned in annoyance at Heeseung's accusatory tone "Give it up dude...she's not a fucking object and she doesn't belong to you..." the complaint in Jay's voice was clear as your eyes shifted from him to Heeseung in disbelief.

Is this for real? they were making a jealous scene right in front of you.

"Hey stop talking shit, both of you..." the soft voice you had used with Jay before had been replaced by a cold and cutting tone "I don't belong to anyone and in case you haven't noticed..I'm right here, damn it..." now you were annoyed, really. The moment of consolation with Jay had been nice, but the fact that they were now acting like dogs fighting over meat didn't fucking amuse you at all and seemed hypocritical.

Heeseung and Jay seemed to be in a heated duel of glances, and fuck, if looks could kill, you thought they'd both be ten meters underground long ago, they both seemed to be about to say something, but your angry footsteps coming out of the kitchen made them both shut up.

Your angry footsteps echoed through the living room and down the stairs, and then there was a loud slamming of the door. You had locked yourself in your room. Heeseung and Jay could clearly feel your anger, so they were about to start fighting again, because the rivalry for your attention had already begun.

"Enough..." Jungwon's cold and cutting voice echoed in the kitchen, cutting off every word that came out of his elders' mouths. He walked into the kitchen, sipping a glass of water as if it was his home, then leaned against the counter and crossed his arms, finally turning his gaze to Heeseung and Jay.

"Shame on you, you're the most grown up of the group..." his voice was cold as he clenched his jaw in clear annoyance "What do you want to achieve by behaving like this?...you're going to scare her away and get her to throw us all out on the street.... " He sighed as he shook his head disapprovingly, "We've only been here one night, not even a full day, and you're already fighting to see which one of you gets her attention first? very mature of you, really..." the sarcasm and annoyance were very clear in his firm and cutting voice.

The air was suffocating for both Heeseung and Jay, because when Jungwon was serious and even more so when he was angry, it was scary, so much so that neither of them could look him in the eyes, even if their expressions were hard, even if they were annoyed and even if they had the urge to answer him, neither of them did it "Let this shit not happen again, we don't want to scare her, we want to make her feel comfortable and gain her trust..." his statement was firm, leaving no room for retorts "You two brag about how much sex you had but you have no fucking idea how to treat a woman...", A dry laugh without a hint of grace left his lips, to which Heeseung and Jay only sigh and nod slightly at Jungwon's cutting words, and that was enough for him to drop the subject and leave the kitchen, but not before giving them both a warning look and taking one of the plates of egg and bacon.

---------

It was something that really made you angry. Because you hadn't allowed them to stay to be treated like a damned object, but on the other hand, you felt desired. Even though you knew that it was something inevitable because there were no more women to desire, something inside you felt good about it, something about possessiveness and jealousy made you sigh, not in anger but in satisfaction. You didn't think you were a person with a twisted mind, or at least you didn't give that image. But you were frustrated and pleased at the same time that they couldn't take more than a whole day to start fighting over you.

You knew it was going to happen eventually, they were men around your age, all damn attractive, so you suspected they'd never been rejected by women before, and you were also very attractive as far as you were concerned. So it wasn't surprising that they were jealous or fought over you, but you didn't expect them to let it show so quickly. Even though you didn't want to let them off so easily, it was clear that you didn't trust them yet and that you needed to get to know them better before you could allow yourself to feel completely at ease.

Now, locked in your room, you thought about the moment you had spent with Jay: it was beautiful, sad and nostalgic, but beautiful at the same time. Feeling his strong arms around you affected you more than you wanted, but you couldn't blame yourself, you hadn't had human contact for years and this embrace was something that surprised you, your conscience was clear, you were a human too and humans were social beings, made to be accompanied, not alone.

They had been together all these years, but you had faced a loneliness that ate you up more and more every day, then you told yourself that enjoying a hug was not a bad thing. The slam of the door you had slammed was enough for the aforementioned Jake and Ni-ki to stop camping outside your room and join the other boys downstairs, wondering what had happened.

A knock on your door brought you out of your thoughts and made you jump slightly in your bed, "Miss, it's me...the red haired boy, my name is Jungwon..." you heard a voice that was already familiar. Of course, the red haired boy, the one who had tried to calm the whole atmosphere between you and the idiot when you had pointed your gun at him.

With some confusion, you got off your bed and unlocked the door, only to see Jungwon standing on the other side with a plate of egg and bacon that smelled damn good. He held the plate out to you with a slight grimace, "You should have breakfast, miss..." he suggested and you stepped aside and let him into your room, sitting on the edge of your bed without thinking much about it.

Jungwon followed you with a careful step, not wanting to intrude into your space, your room.

Fuck, YOUR room.

He swallowed hard when he realized that he was in a woman's room, a very attractive woman, something that had never happened to him because before all this he had never dated, calling them a waste of time and preferring to study and do well academically. The only room he had ever been in was his sister's room or his mother's room, so this was new to him and he couldn't help but take a quick look around, scanning your space with curious and longing eyes.

"Thank you, Jungwon..." your voice snapped him out of his trance and he quickly nodded to your words, ignoring the butterflies in his stomach when he heard you call his name, "Yeah, it's nothing...it's the least I could do after those idiots made that scene in front of you..." he said regretfully as he placed the plate on some of your furniture to then put his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

You looked at him for a few seconds, then nodded in understanding, but something distracted you.

He really was, just so cute.

Seeing your silence, he took the liberty of continuing, "I apologize in their stead, Miss..." He spoke with firmness and determination as he looked at you intently, "I'll make sure it doesn't happen again..." his voice was commanding, practically with born leadership, you frowned with a mixture of confusion and surprise, but didn't reply. He seemed to have this under control so easily, so you just gave him a nod.

You couldn't deny that you were fascinated by Jungwon, you wanted to know him better. He seemed to be someone very intelligent, who simply radiated confidence, but not the kind of confidence that scares you, but the kind that makes you feel a certain respect for him.

What you didn't know was that inside he was trying to ignore your precious presence, as well as the overwhelming smell of you that surrounded every corner of your room. He held himself back, he wanted to keep himself sane.

or at least appear to be.

But his legs were almost shaking and his composure was about to explode at the thought of being alone with you for the first time, alone with a woman who was not a member of his family for the first time in his life. He didn't want you to see the strong effect you had on him, not yet, so he simply nodded at your silence and turned with the intention of leaving your room, not only to give you your space, but also not to lose control of himself. But one thing he was sure of: if he had to fight with his friends for you, he would do it without any doubt, he just didn't want to show himself as immature as Heeseung and Jay had done.

"____...." your voice stopped his footsteps before he could leave your room, he instead turned around and looked at you curiously, giving you room to continue talking "That's my name...don't call me Miss anymore, okay?" Your words took him by surprise but he nodded without hesitation, all his tough exterior melted away as the blush came to his face at a ridiculous speed "Okay ___ Noona..." now it was your turn to blush.

Fuck, you couldn't deny that you loved being called that name, it was one of your weaknesses and Jungwon had found it out without any trouble.

He gave you a shy little smile, letting you see his adorable dimples that you hadn't been able to see before.

Shit, he was really cute.

He walked out of your room with his heart beating fast and you allowed yourself to smile for a few seconds. They all had different personalities and you would have to learn to deal with each of them, but from your point of view, it wouldn't be that hard if they started acting like Jungwon.

It would be a long and hard process, but one that you were sure would be worth it...

Taglist 🫶🏻: @strxwbloody @ch4c0nnenh4 @aussie-boys-wife @deobitifull @engeneheree @merwdusa @elairah @suhwife @d-dilemma @liafterhours @btxtenha @wonenonline-blog @cara9065 @otterluver05 @imnotsadtoday @immelissaaa

not the reader losing it for Jungwon lmao

[yujo-nishimura]

Red Hair or Red Nose? - Part 3

Sorry, I am taking my time writing this - I am enjoying the process so much. Have fun reading!

As you step back into the pub, flanked by the renowned pirate captains, a hush falls over the entire establishment. Sensing the weight of the moment, you quickly make your way towards your loyal navigator, who had patiently awaited your return. Not wanting him to uncover your past, you kindly request him to go back to the ship and inform the crew to wait there for you. Loyal as he is, he does not question your request, finishes his drink and stands up immediately to leave towards the harbor. In these moments you are proud to be the captain of the crew you had chosen. 

With your navigator's departure, two empty chairs at the bar beckon you, and you settle back into your previous spot. Buggy takes his place on your right, while Shanks occupies the seat on your left. You can feel the tension between these two, you are trapped in the middle. Just like the good old days.

You glance at Buggy, since you didn't have time yet to take a closer look at him - he has also become fairly handsome. His trademark nose has not changed a bit, but he has taken his flashy personality to the next level and has added clown makeup to his face. His bright gray eyes are still full of passion and determination as when you first met him, his shoulders and strong arms are a proof of the battles he had fought. His long blue hair is tucked under a bandana, you feel a sudden urge to touch it, unleash it, to tease this clown. The weakness in your knees was still there and you were glad to be able to sit down. Buggy realizes that you have scanned him from head to toe and he is smiling back at you with a sly grin. He seems to start to enjoy himself. 

"So, what does a beautiful lady like yourself drink in a place like this?" Shanks initiates the conversation, his voice laced with curiosity and charm. As you turn towards him, captivated by his words, you inadvertently miss the flicker of disappointment that crosses Buggy's face, realizing that he has momentarily lost your attention.

"Ah, it seems the beautiful lady has a taste for whiskey, just like a true pirate. And with that sword at your side, I assume you're a pirate yourself?" Buggy interjects, making an effort to regain your attention, while Shanks chuckles in response.

"Buggy, are you telling me you've already examined her hips before even sharing a drink?" Shanks teases, causing Buggy to bristle defensively.

"Damn it, I'm just cautious and always take note of any weapons people carry. You should probably do the same and be less reckless!" Buggy retorts.

"I believe a beautiful lady like her doesn't pose any danger, or does she?" Shanks redirects the conversation, his eyes now fixed on you, both captains eagerly awaiting your response. It's a relief that they have shifted their focus to engage with you directly. 

"Well, yes, I am a pirate, a captain just like the two of you. I'm here to restock my supplies and enjoy some drinks before embarking on the Grand Line once again," you assert, playing nervously with your glass.

"I wouldn't have expected anything less from you!" Shanks nods, satisfied with your answer.

Buggy, feeling a sense of exclusion from this newfound intimacy, scoffs. "You talk like you know each other!"

"Well, I do know both of you quite well. Your wanted posters can be found in every town and city along the Grand Line," you respond, emphasizing your familiarity with their notorious reputations. 

You still do not say anything about your name or identity. You wait for Shanks to reveal it or for better timing this evening. You slowly start to relax and enjoy yourself as drinks are ordered. Buggy's gaze fixates on you once again as the drinks arrive, and he extends the glass of whiskey, seemingly attempting to get a better look at you. His expression has shifted, revealing a mix of confusion, anger, and perhaps even arousal. His piercing eyes seem to penetrate through your very being.

Unlike the sense of safety and protection you felt in Shanks' presence earlier, this encounter with Buggy leaves you feeling vulnerable and weak. Strangely enough, this vulnerability doesn't bother you; instead, it triggers a peculiar sensation of submission that courses through your body. It's an unfamiliar feeling, one that you're still processing and trying to understand.

"Are you absolutely certain we haven't crossed paths before?" Buggy queries, his question carrying an air of force, as if he expects only one truth from you.

"You're probably just wishing you had the chance to meet her before," Shanks chuckles, his laughter filling the air. He wraps his arm around your shoulder, drawing you closer to his side. You blush and freeze in his warm arms. It becomes evident that he is relishing this moment, delighting in provoking a reaction from both you and Buggy.

Buggy's reaction to Shanks' actions is immediate, his frustration evident as he swiftly turns around and detaches his hand, reaching to touch your chin and redirect your gaze towards him. His demanding eyes again! You feel helpless. 

"Is this red-haired monkey causing you any trouble, sweetheart?" 

Buggy inquires, his tone laced with a mix of concern and possessiveness.

To be continued...

[saturnstrays]

Halo and ULTRAKILL ramble uhhhh

Ermm spoilers for halo 2 if you gaf but that game is literally older than me so.. also halo 3 but I'm older than halo 3 I think <3 and also ultrakillz spoils

I just realized Thel 'Vadam (Arbiter) and Gabriel have a lot in common in their arcs (Halo 2-3 and Ultrakill act 1-2 respectively) in how they were weapons for their religion, and then after failing their prophets, they were punished and sent after a heretic to kill them. But the heretic ultimately changed their viewpoint and led them to killing their religious leader(s) (if I remember right Arby only killed one of the prophets himself but still)

They also are very different in how Thel was the "will of the prophets" after he failed to prevent the destruction of one of the Rings or Holy Halos or whatever they were called, and Thel's new status as Arbiter actually made him a disposable soldier who was sent on 'noble' missions that were also incredibly dangerous enough to get him killed. As one of the prophets said (I can't tell any of those old sacks apart, it was probably Regret because I Regret looking at his ugly ass) "The tasks you must undertake as Arbiter are perilous--suicidal! You will die as each Arbiter has before you. The Council will have their corpse." I'm citing my evidence are you proud English teachers.. He was Arbiter not because he was such a good soldier, but because he was being punished for failing the Prophets EVEN THOUGH IIRC HE LED LIKE THE SECOND LARGEST FLEET OF ELITE SHIPS AND OBLITERATED MILLIONS OF HUMANS so clearly he wasn't THAT incompetent but I guess that's why they made him Arbiter instead of killing him. He was still useful and devoted to The Great Journey (their religion) so the prophets used him without having to value him.. damn... kinda what they had going on with Gabriel..

And GABRIEL was like the opposite in status.. he was one of the best angels, he was never defeated until that cute bastard V1 ground him down to size... he sat in shame before the council as they wrenched a scream from his throat with the agony they put him through (Just like Thel). He had wrought bloodshed and destroyed countless souls with blind faith..jUs LIKE THEL HEEHEHEHEHE.!!! I don't really think there's much I can go into with ultrakill that hasn't already been said because you ultrakill fans are beautiful thoughtful yappers. However the halo fans are... mostly homophobic Xbox players... so.. yeah as far as I'm aware not a lot of deep reflection happening there LOOOL also I'm just scared of them because they're usually unpleasent in my experience

I might go more into depth because this was just a ramble I started and ended in like 20 minutes, there's surely a lot more to be said, maybe I'll write a little essay if I have the time because I love these games so freaking much. Halo I played since I was a wee lass with family and friends and myself so I hold it very close in my heart. I love Thel so much he's awesome. And I love Master Chief too but Arby is special to me.. also I think Master Chief and that guy he's stuck with in Halo Infinite should kiss and get married. ANyways, Gabriel.. well.. I like what he represents but Gabriel himself.. I have fun objectifying him 💗

Also unrelated but I love Rtas 'Vadum he's awesome too and him and Arby should kiss also (?? What is wrong with me?

[gryficowa]

I love the liberals' text when they say "But Trump won't help Palestine!", I have a fucking question, how did Biden help Palestine? Giving weapons to Israel to murder Palestinians and colonize? Oh yeah, Biden was blue, so you don't give a damn

The Blues won't stop supporting Israel either, but you liberals are too gullible, a few empty promises and that's it, you vote without a second thought

Do you seriously buy pinkwashing/homonationalism? If you cared about LGBT+ people, you wouldn't buy empty promises

Oh yeah, you're too proud Americans to admit that you're electing a terrorist…

Don't believe politicians with beautiful promises, damn it

Do I seriously, as a Pole from a country where politicians lie like crazy, have to explain this to you? After all, since you are more "Civilized" you should know that politicians cannot be trusted, their promises are often beautiful only during elections, I have a question whether Biden got rid of this wall, that Trump created? According to the promises, this should happen, right, liberals?

Biden hasn't done much for America, but you guys masturbate to him like he's done great things, WTF

Even I didn't buy the empty promises of liberal platforms in my country (Unfortunately, Poles did because "PiS" has to lose and it's depressing, yes, they still haven't offered partnerships as they promised, so you can see how liberal parties are so sincere that it can't be seen , but "It was worse under PiS!", yes, it was, but KO is like Biden and PiS is like Trump, in short, shitty options, KO still has this wall on the Polish-Belarusian border, and Donald Tusk from KO says to strengthen this border, when they lied beautifully to the liberals that they will get rid of it and get out the immigrants who were trapped there by the border guards from both countries, I didn't buy it then, it was just empty and yes, there were also attacks on students by the police in my country, but liberals are silent, because KO is not PiS, so they will not criticize it… Yes, liberals, you are useless and should be ashamed of yourself)

If I tell you that Biden (or rather the blue ones) is a bad choice, it's a fucking bad choice, because I know it from my own experiences and I see how liberal parties make beautiful promises and do shit, the very fact that you buy it is irrational on many levels

How do you support LGBT+ people and minorities, would you listen to them and not attack them for their strikes "Because they don't convince anyone with them", if you supported them, you chose the third one, in short, you are false supporters, and you use pinkwashing and Palestinians to scare people, not to actual action, but this is typical of liberals, all you know how to do is scare people, but to do something? Guys, this is too much, it's better to go after those who are actually fighting (Yes, I'm talking about Greta, but also about other activists you love to attack)

That's why we leftists don't like liberals, they don't do anything to change anything, and only think about their own comfort, not about other groups (They prefer to use them for emotional blackmail to get them to vote for their party), you are such artificial allies that leftists they prefer not to have you in their group, you simply don't fight for minorities, and you use them as emotional blackmail (Like conservatives/right-wingers), and no one likes to be used this way

And no, Americans, your policy is nothing special, in Poland there are usually two candidates for president, and hardly anyone uses the third option (It sucks, because you either have Andrzej Duda for causing problems, or liberals)

And yes, in 2020 the elections were… Strange, unfortunately, Duda won, because at that time the campaign against LGBT+ people (which this clown created) was doing too well, so yes, I'm telling you straight, this fucker won because TVP Info was spreading queerphobia, and many boomers watched this station and well, connect the dots

And this election looked like this: Andrzej Duda shouted into the fucking glass that was standing at Rafał Trzaskowski's stand, so yes, that's why I call this election weird as fuck

But yes, Biden has done nothing good for Palestine, so it's hypocritical to say the same about Trump (Even for people who hate that orange face, it seems like a double standard) and by the way, I'm not from Russia, I'm from Poland, that's what I'm saying to the liberals who love to call me a "Russian troll" because I have the nerve to tell you, you're crazy, isn't confusing Poles with Russians considered racism in your country? Hmm…

So in short, Biden and Trump are the same evil, and the fact that one of them cares about your ass doesn't change anything, because he is guilty of the genocide that Israel is committing against the Palestinians (Just like Obama, whom you also voted for, so Yes, you love picking people who supply weapons to murder civilians in other countries, don't you?)

Vietnam, Afghanistan, Palestine… Those you elected made this happen, but you live by the logic that "If it's not me, not my family, it's not my problem", and this is a sick way of thinking (And it is related to white supermacy)

So what if your electorate gives rights to LGBT+ people when in another country your electorate is complicit in genocide? Many LGBT+ people would prefer not to be used to explain why a genocide goes unpunished…

What about LGBT+ people who were murdered by blue people? What about them? Are they less important than you Americans? Do LGBT+ people have to be Americans for you to care about them?

You don't support LGBT+ people when you elect someone who murders them in another country (Do you think that LGBT+ people in Palestine were not murdered by weapons provided by your beloved Biden? Do you seriously assume that LGBT+ people do not exist in countries other than America? And? yeah, you're liberals, you don't care, I forgot…)

You will probably start calling names, because that's all you liberals can do, because when it comes to action or even persuading change, you are the ones who are always against it (Because you love the status quo)

And by the way, you were happy that striking students were attacked by the police because they supported Palestine, so what do you expect from you?

[newtthetranswriter]

Please may I have a Fairy tail headcanon of Gray Fullbuster with a female S/O who has Edward Elric's abilities from Fullmetal alchemist. S/O joined Fairy tail when she was a young child not long after Gray did..S/Os unlimited abilities meant that she can basically create anything that she can put her mind too..she isn't nicknamed the metal mage for nothing. She isn't proud of what she had done back then..she earned those abilities to be a metal alchemist at a consequence of trying to revive her late mother..she was damn lucky that she didn't lose her body parts..she is a independent young woman in Fairy tail and a member of Team Natsu.

So, I've never done headcanons before, but I'll give it a go, hope you enjoy these. I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for, but I did my best, if you enjoy please feel free to let me now and don't be afraid to send ion more requests. Anyway Enjoy and have a good day/night. MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT

Alchemy isn't an exact science, things can go wrong, and that's what happened when you tried to bring back your mom.

Unlike past Alchemists who had tried to bring people back from the dead you were lucky, you saw the truths of the world but managed to hang on to all of your limbs.

With the knowledge of the universe giving you a major boost in your magic at such a young age, you needed to join a guild to help control and grow this power.

At the age of 8 you wondered into the guild hall of non-other than Fairy Tail, a legendary guild full of powerful mages.

You were welcomed with open arms by nearly everyone there except one kid who couldn't keep his clothes on, when you first meet Gray, he was cold to you, not to say you were really any better having just lost your mother for a second time.

As time passed you grew stronger and more confident in your abilities to manipulate the chemical structure of items and shift them into new things. You primarily specialized in turning things to metal to create more useful weapons.

Master Makarov saw your potential and by the age of 17 you had become an S class wizard known as the Metal Mage.

Along with growing your power the tension between you and gray only got worse, almost like him and Natsu's fighting but with a little more flirting

like I see you guys sitting at the guild hall ignoring each other until he pops off with something stupid about being better a making things with his magic and you just use your magic to make something to hit him with using the table and yell at him about covering his abs because in typical gray fashion he's probably in his boxers.

At first no one notices the more flirty comments until one of you calls the other handsome/beautiful directly making the other blush

Being as stubborn as you are you try to deny it for the longest time and so does he

Now if we add on the being a part of team Natsu, it gets more hectic

I'm talking Happy teasing you, Natsu trying to tease you but ultimately ending up fighting Gray for something he says, Wendy is just confused, Lucy and Erza think its kind of cute that the two stubborn mages wont admit their feelings, and then there is Carla who just thinks everyone involved is dumb

And when you guys finally get together i don't think a lot would change

like yeah you guys don't fight as much or the comments aren't as pointed but there is still playful bickering between the two of you

I just feel that Gray is the type to show affection by being sarcastic

also spend a lot of time just hanging out show off your magic to each other and getting ideas from each other

When you get together Happy still makes stupid jokes, Natsu still tries to tease you guys but fails, Lucy, Erza and now Wendy are secretly planning your wedding as soon as it announced you're dating, and Carla is happy for you two.

Now on to some other aspects of the relationship,

If you are having a bad day because of something reminding you of your past Gray will 100% understand, and try to help you calm down

He knows how hard it is to have a difficult childhood and lose your family so he's going to try to make it better

he may not be able to bring your mom back but he can try not to fight Natsu as much and stay close to you for support.

and vice versa, if he's having a hard time with let's say Juvia being annoying, You would be there to try and be a buffer, or if she doesn't take the hint just telling her off.

Overall I see Gray and you being very close and comforting when its just the two of you, but if you're with the rest of the guild or on a mission you know how to be respectful of everyone around you.

[highfantasy-soul]

Quick list of things I particularly loved from NATLA Episode 3 - Omashu before my in-depth overview

The whole rebellion inside the Fire Nation - love seeing EVERYONE fighting back

"I think that's what they said - I never listened." ^_^

"What makes you think we're outsiders?"

"We ARE Fire Nation, even out here"

"Irrigation, am I right?" :D

Aang darting through a crowd messing up everyone's day - just straight from the animated!

And the first tease of the cabbage merchant!!!

Our Gaang wasting NO time after the explosion to run in and help

Bloodthirsty Teo ready to recruit Aang to carpet bombing the Fire Nation - yet another example of children's morals and sense of self being warped by this war

How proud Teo is of his father!!

Sokka being able to show his interest in tinkering and engineering!!!

And did I spy some ECLIPSE glasses????

Aang's "no, I'm not going to just leave people in trouble, I'm going to stay and help them any way I can" moment

"He's done the impossible" in the most mocking voice imaginable! XD Adore that Azula isn't afraid to mock her father

And Mai and Tylee cameos!!!!

And the Yuyan archers! So many hints to the future here

Katara practicing her waterbending forms even in the background - really showing that she's taking every opportunity to hone her skills - she's not just perfect immediately

JEEEEETTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!

Honestly first thought cart-boy might have been Haru, but once he caught the Mechanist meeting with the spy, my Jet senses started tingling

Jet's combat - perfect! Katara's skills - growing!!

LOVE how there's such a marked upgrade in Katara's control from her single ball of water and big splash of last episode to her controlled twin water ball attacks

Jet's bird-whistle signal

I started giggling maniacally, knowing what was coming!!

And that DAMN piece of straw XD

Sokka saying 'No, my role is to be a warrior and protect the village' with the most heartbreaking look on his face as he sees the skills he truly loves being devalued (or the perception that their devalued) and then Sai reassuring him and his frown turning into a hopeful look on the verge of a smile. Seriously, my heart, guys

Chills every time Smellerbee throws up her hand and shouts "Freedom Fighters!" and the whole camp cheers - really you see how they're a family, a community, healing together the best way they know how

Honestly, everything with Jet is great - him actually giving GOOD advice to Katara, making him a real person rather than someone who only cares about himself - I believe this Jet actually cares about Katara the person, not just Katara the weapon

Also the fact that there's only the small hand-brush as a romantic gesture, the rest of Katara and Jet's interactions keep strictly platonic - nowhere near as charged as all Sokka's interactions with Suki and Yue

Katara's mom smiling in the sunrise D;

Zuko's annoyance at Iroh loving the city XD

And Lotus tile reference!!

Sokka's paper bird!!!

And oooohhh here comes the fighting!

Such a great choice to pit the Mechanist (Sokka) against Jet (Katara) where they're BOTH bad! This isn't a one sibling is right scenario - both their new allies are doing bad stuff! Very juicy and great plot thread/theme weaving

"To prove you're a jerk!" "Oh yeah, well I don't need proof of that!!"

Cabbage merchant tease #2!!

SSCCAARRRFF ZUUUTTAARRRAAAAAAAAAAA

"This guy - again?" *rolly eyes*

Sokka's first mad plan!! Riding the crates to the palace!!

The Zuko/Aang fight - beautiful, stunning, stylized, classic

Zuko being beaten by a woman furious that he's hitting a child

"YOU READ MY DIARY!!!!!!!!" sorry, "YOU HAVE MY NOTEBOOK!!"

MY CABBAGEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!

Water HAWHIP!!!!

Iroh's first firebending in the show is him using it to draw attention to him so Zuko can escape :( not to harm anyone, but to protect

Aang's little "Uh oh o.o"

This was the first episode where it ended and I thought "I HAVE to watch the next one RIGHT NOW"

Damn you cliffhangers

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

[dixonsdarkelf]

Finding Myself, Finding You: Chapter Thirty-Six: Epilogue

Masterlist

AO3 link Wattpad link

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist <3 (18+ only, MDNI)

Thank you to everyone who has come along on Lydia's journey with me. Looking back on all the late nights and hours upon hours I poured into this makes me emotional. Thank you for every single note. They all mean the world to me. The fact that people were interested enough in my work to interact with it is still mind-blowing to me. Writing this healed something in me, and I hope, if you needed it, that it healed something in you too. Just because this story is over doesn't mean I'm done writing with these two. I have more planned for them.

I’ve had several people tell me they cried after reading this so maybe have a box of tissues nearby idk.

Story is 18+ for mature content/themes, minors do not interact please

TW/CWs for this story--implied/referenced past rape, canonical violence, non-canonical violence, blood, gore, referenced past suicide, swearing, surgery, excessive drinking, nightmares, panic attacks, mention of scars, vomiting, amputation, medical procedures, non-con medical procedures, referenced past medical torture, referenced past drugging, attempted sexual assault, panic attacks, mental health struggles, referenced sibling death, referenced parent death, PTSD

Each chapter will have its own TW/CWs listed

This story, Lydia Vector, her family & bestie (c) me, TheVeganDarkElf

TWD & its characters (c) AMC & Robert Kirkman, the writer of the comic series

Legolas & Lord of the Rings (c) J.R.R. Tolkien, Sleeping Beauty (c) Disney

TW/CWs for this chapter--swearing, mention of nightmares, mention of past rape, mentions of major character death (Glenn, Eric, Carl), mention of panic attacks, vomiting, there’s a dead body and a decapitated head in this one, mention of: scars, grief, blood, gun violence, maybe a little gore

Word count: 10k

Life in Alexandria was going pretty smoothly. We'd become friendly with some of the surrounding communities—Hilltop and the Kingdom, primarily—and our own community continued to grow stronger. Our food supply was steady, weapons were on hand, and more people had joined us. We were successfully preparing for the coming winter months, where getting food from the garden wouldn't be possible. I made new friends and became closer with the ones I had before. And I had the most handsome man on the planet all to myself.

Eventually, I had my first nightmare-free night of sleep.

I woke up the following morning feeling more rested than I had in a long time. I rolled over to see that Daryl was already awake, and he immediately told me I'd slept through the night without stirring even once. It came out almost like word vomit, like it was an exciting secret that he couldn't hold in anymore. He scooped me up in his arms and held me tight, telling me over and over again how damn proud of me he was. I cried a lot of happy tears.

Mine and Daryl's relationship continued to blossom. We spent a lot of time together, practically joined at the hip, as Aaron had put it. Wherever one of us was, you could typically find the other close by. It was a dream to come home to him each night and cozy up before falling asleep. I woke up every morning somehow more in love with him than I was the day before. I'd even written hypothetical wedding vows. I hoped to be able to read them one day, whether that was at the end of an aisle in front of our friends and family or across from each other alone at the kitchen island. And I learned that all of those Rick-ordered runs we went on back before officially getting together were orchestrated by Daryl, hence why I never heard about them from the mouth of our fearless cowboy leader. He had gone to Rick shortly after I arrived and asked if he could take me on a couple of runs under the guise of "she's a doctor, she knows what medical supplies to look for." And it snowballed from there.

I still worried about him every time he went out on the road for more than a day, maybe even more so now, but I knew he'd always come back. Daryl was tough, and the life he'd lived prior to the apocalypse had prepared him for it. If anyone was going to be the last man standing, it was him.

Our relationship wasn't perfect, of course. No one's was. We had our arguments, just like any other couple, but we prioritized never going to bed angry and staying up as late as we needed to to work it out. Sometimes we'd need space, but we'd always come together after and talk through things.

That took some getting used to for Daryl. Given the environment he grew up in, where people got in each other's faces and screamed until their throats were raw, I understood that he was used to handling conflict very differently than I was. It took a lot of practice and a lot of patience on my part, but over time, we cultivated an open line of communication, and it was a beautiful thing. It allowed us to become closer and get to know each other even better.

One aspect of becoming closer was continuing to learn new things about each other. The most surprising thing I learned about Daryl was that he was a virgin.

Part of my healing journey was getting comfortable discussing sex again. I was talking about my history before the world fell, sharing past experiences and being candid about how many partners I'd had, some of the things I was into, etc. When I asked Daryl about his, he danced around the question, dodging it every time I tried to circle back. Someone as gorgeous as he was had to have been very sexually experienced, I thought, so I didn't understand why he wouldn't even just share how many partners he'd had. Eventually, he came clean, saying he was worried I might think he wouldn't be able to satisfy me if I knew how inexperienced he was. Not only was he a virgin, but it had been quite a long time since he kissed someone before me.

"So when you said it'd been a while since you kissed someone..."

"Had a first kiss when I's a kid, if ya could even call it that. Was worried what ya might think if I told ya earlier."

Like any of that would change how I felt about him.

After lots of time working through my shit, a lot of talking, and a lot of tears, I was able to...give him what I never thought I could.

It was a long, slow process, and there were times when I didn't think I would get there. I beat myself up a lot, especially if we started and had to stop. I wanted so badly to experience him in that way, but my body and mind wouldn't allow it. I felt like a broken toy that would never work again, and I hated myself for robbing him of that level of intimacy and pleasure. Regardless of how frustrated I was with myself about it, Daryl was nothing but a saint. He never made a big deal out of it, never made me feel anything less than safe and cared for. He told me again and again not to push myself "just so's he could get his rocks off." Anything I needed, he was on it, never putting up a fight or making me think, even for a second, that I was burdensome in any way. He didn't care about having to wait or stop. All that mattered to him was that I was alright. His support was one of the main reasons I was able to make it through my healing journey in the first place.

Daryl even developed a plan for when I would get triggered. If I needed to stop mid-act, he'd ask if I wanted to climb under the covers or get dressed first, then ask if I wanted to cuddle or take a minute alone. If I wanted to get dressed first, he'd step out and give me space to do so. If I wanted to cuddle, he'd climb into bed with me and wrap us up in the covers, pulling me as close to him as physically possible. He'd either rub my back or massage my scalp, all the while reminding me that I was safe, he was there, and there was nothing to be afraid of. Since I found his voice so comforting, sometimes he'd tell me a story or bring up one of his favorite memories with me, anything to keep himself talking. If I was so overwhelmed that I wasn't sure what I wanted, he'd get me my blanket and some water, leave for a couple of minutes, then come back and check in with me again. He hadn't needed to step out and come back more than once a session, but I knew he would do it as many times as I needed.

It was a journey for him too. Everything we tried was a first for him, and I got to teach him how to do it all. And he learned quickly. One of the perks of teaching him was not having to work against some silly notions planted in his head by other men who thought they knew what women liked. Learn what women like from a woman, what a novel concept. It was beautiful to bond with him like that, to get to learn each other's bodies in the most intimate way and experience each other at our most vulnerable.

The first time we made it all the way through, I cried afterward. Not because I was triggered or anything bad happened, but because I was so proud of myself and, truthfully, just how amazing it was. Poor Daryl thought he'd done something wrong, only reassured once I was giggling and kissing him all over his face.

Unfortunately, life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows forever.

When the Saviors came, we lost a lot of good people...including Glenn. Maggie's cries haunted my dreams for weeks after, her screams permeating my most peaceful moments. My heart ached for her. I couldn't even begin to fathom the pain she was experiencing.

As we all waited with bated breath in those dark, eerie woods, the man called Negan snapped at one of the men on the sidelines, gesturing for him to hand something to him. The man stepped away and came back, handing something off to Negan. Negan held the thing up, asking "which one of us creatives was responsible for this little art piece." Upon seeing what he was holding, I involuntarily began vomiting, doubling over and spitting out chunks, some of it catching in my hair.

It was a head. Adam's head, with the vibrator still in his eye socket and his flesh so decayed, his jaw was almost falling off. Turns out Adam had been a Savior.

Negan took my reaction as confirmation that I was the responsible party, a sick smirk stretching across his lips as he snapped at another few men to bring out something else. "You do this too?" he asked as two men brought out Adam's body, the sleeves of his shirt and the majority of his pants cut off to expose his surgical scars. I continued to vomit, absolutely humiliated, both from having to see Adam's body again and from everyone having to see the word ‘rapist’ carved into his forehead and knowing I was the one that put it there.

He approached me, lifting my chin with the cap of his bat to look him in the eyes. He was...impressed. Really impressed. He saw what I could do, and he wanted me to join them. I would never join him, and despite him asking me to, I think he knew that. I was lucky my face didn't become closely acquainted with Lucille.

After Daryl punched Negan in the face and Glenn was killed, he was taken and thrown into their van. I screamed as I watched him get pulled away, falling forward as my body gave out and landing in my own vomit. My chest was on fire, and my eyes were so clouded with tears that everything in front of me was a blur. Had my body not felt gelatinous, I would've leaped off the ground and punched Negan myself.

"Thanks for getting rid of this one," Negan said, tossing the head behind him blindly somewhere in the dark.

After Daryl was abducted, I was a complete wreck, hardly able to eat or sleep, terrified that I would never see him again. I slept on the couch, as looking at the empty space in our bed next to me was too much to bear. Maggie and I spent a lot of time together, leaning on each other for support during our time of grief. There was one afternoon when I cracked a joke, not thinking I would get any type of reaction, but it pulled a small smile from her, and that warmed my heart to see.

When Daryl and I were reunited, we clung to each other and cried, afraid that if we let go, the other would slip away again. That was the first time I'd ever seen Daryl cry. It broke me to see him crumble like that, knowing how much pain he was in. I wanted Negan to pay, not only for the trauma he and his men had inflicted on my little Georgia peach, but for ripping my friend from this world in such a violent manner, and in front of his wife no less. I wanted Negan to suffer.

The Scavengers were a force to be reckoned with. Rick convinced their leader, Jadis, to ally with us to fight the Saviors, but they eventually went behind our backs and ratted us out to Negan and his men. We allied with the nearby communities, Oceanside being the most recent addition, and even some former Saviors, to form The Militia, joining forces with only one thing in mind—destroy the Saviors.

There was an all-out war, and with war comes blood. Lots of blood. Lots of lives lost, lots of damage done. Alexandria would have to be rebuilt, but our people were strong and I knew, ultimately, we would be ok.

Eric's death shattered Aaron. He'd caught a bullet and eventually succumbed to his injury. and poor Aaron had to come across him as a walker. I knew that pain all too well, and I tried my best to be there for him as much as I could. My friends were being taken out one-by-one. It wasn't fair.

Carl's death was another moment that tore everyone to shreds. He'd hidden his bite until he couldn't hide it anymore, and knowing that another precious, kind soul was taken from us was heartbreaking, though heartbreaking didn't seem like a strong enough word. Carl had written letters to some people before his death, and I was one of the lucky individuals who received one. He thanked me for everything I'd done, all the time I spent answering his questions, and for caring for his sister and making sure she was healthy. I added the letter to the collection at the back of my notebook, and Daryl held me while I cried hysterically all night.

Being a trauma surgeon, I'd treated many of the types of injuries people were dealing with. I beat myself up whenever we lost someone in a way that I could've prevented. Daryl always assured me it wasn't my fault, telling me not to blame myself for not being able to save everyone. I was only one person, I couldn't do it all.

And then, there was Rick's disappearance.

The silence that followed the bridge explosion was almost more deafening than the explosion itself. Michonne's screams and everyone's crying still haunt me, and it makes me emotional if I think about it for too long. We explored the area around the bridge, expecting to find his body, whether whole or in pieces, or maybe some of his belongings, but we didn't find anything. There was no sign that he had been there. I don't know how he could've made it out of there alive, but that was the only explanation.

After he went missing, Daryl made it his mission to find him. He tried to convince me to stay behind, wanting me to be safe by staying within the walls, but I wasn't going to let him look for his best friend by himself. Plus, Rick had become like a father figure to me. If he was out there, I wanted to help find him.

Six years. A total of six years we spent looking for him and found...nothing. The one thing we did find was Dog, a friendly German Shepard who joined us on our journey. He was a wonderful companion, making me smile whenever things seemed hopeless. Sometimes, when Daryl would actually sleep, which wasn't often as he preferred to stay awake to keep me safe, I'd sit and talk to Dog. I'd vent my frustrations and ask for advice, even though I knew he couldn't answer. Having a dog around was wonderful. However, he wasn't the only dog we acquired.

While out on the road, we came across a sweet little French bulldog. She was black as night with a small white patch on her chest. She was digging through a pile of something, probably scrounging for food. Upon hearing us, she poked his head up, intrigued when she laid eyes on Dog. Daryl held him back as he began barking at the bulldog, trying to calm him down as he only continued to get more excited. I knelt down, and she came bounding over to me, the tags on her collar jingling as she laid on her back and rolled around, demanding belly rubs. I flipped the top tag over, and my face lit up when I read her name.

"Daryl...her name's Delilah."

"Ain't that your childhood dog's name?"

"Yes! It's a sign, we have to keep her."

"Thought ya didn't believe in none o' that."

"Normally I don't. C'mon Daryl, please? Look at that face. How can you say no to that sweet little face?"

"Ya talkin' 'bout yours or hers?"

He was hesitant at first, as having one dog had proven to be a lot, but he had a hard time saying no to me. The way she and Dog were bonding so effortlessly, and how happy she was already making me in just the few minutes since finding her, he couldn't strip that joy away from me. So Delilah joined us, bringing our family to a total of four.

Amongst all the death, we were gifted with new life. Maggie had her baby, naming him Hershel Jr, after her father. He looked so much like his dad. It was like having a little piece of Glenn back with us. Michonne also gave birth to a little boy, giving Judith another brother and naming him RJ, Rick Grimes Jr. Aaron took on the task of caring for a baby girl named Gracie, treating her as if she were his own. Even Rosita had a baby, and precious Socorro joined the family as well. More kids that I got to be an auntie to. I had no complaints about that.

After returning to Alexandria, we discovered Negan had been captured, living in that tiny little cell I'd woken up in all those years ago. Good. Let the man rot in there for all I cared. Judith convinced Michonne to search for Rick, and she and RJ were put in mine & Daryl's care. They'd both grown so much in the time we'd spent away, and it was a pleasure to get to know these blossoming humans. There were curious things, Judith especially. She asked a lot of questions, and her curiosity knew no bounds. She asked medical questions, asked about my life before this, and even about my family.

"I know my mom's gonna find my dad. I hope you find your dad too," she'd told me.

One of my favorite memories was from an afternoon I spent with her and RJ. RJ was playing with some of the other kids, running around and playing tag or God knows what, and Judith wanted to stay on the sidelines with me while I picked flowers. I was surprised, as she was a feisty little thing and wasn't afraid to get down and dirty playing games with the boys. I learned later that she had an ulterior motive.

All these years later, everyone still only knew me as Vec or Vector, and Daryl still called me Vec in front of others. But there were a few nights where she overheard Daryl call me by my name, and being the speculative kid she was, she had to know why.

"Why does Daryl call you Lydia?" she asked, twirling one of the small flowers in her fingers.

"Because that's my name," I explained. She peered up at me from under the brim of her father's hat, and I could practically see the smoke pouring from her ears as the gears of her inquisitive mind shifted around.

"Why does everyone else call you Vec?" I looked up for a moment to make sure RJ was still in my line of sight before bringing my gaze back to hers.

"That's the nickname I like to go by," I answered. I could feel the series of questions that were coming.

"Why does he get to call you by your name?" she inquired, a hint of jealousy in her voice. I sighed and half-jokingly rolled my eyes. Kids sure ask a lot of questions, don't they?

"Because I love him." I could feel my cheeks turning a faint pink. Even after years of being with him, I still gushed and blushed when talking about him.

"Don't you love me too?" She hung her head slightly, sadness beginning to slip into her voice.

I laughed softly under my breath and squatted down to her level, picking a flower and handing it to her. "Of course I do, my angel. But there's different types of love." I picked a flower for myself, stroking the soft petals. "I love you the way your parents do, the way Maggie loves Herschel Jr. & Aaron loves Gracie. I love Daryl the way your parents love each other."

Her face lit up, and there was a curiosity in her eye. "How did you meet him?"

"Well, my dear," I said, sitting down next to her and crossing my legs, "you were just a wee baby when I showed up at Alexandria for the first time..."

The Whisperers might've been the most terrifying. "Skin jobs," as some had taken to calling them. They showed up around the time we returned to Alexandria, wearing walker skin and creeping around with the nasty things. Their horde was insane. They'd gathered thousands of walkers, keeping them on standby like some sick weapon. They terrorized us, one of them infiltrating our community and poisoning our water supply. Daryl took on a leadership role in Rick's absence. I was proud of him for stepping up and bringing people back together after Rick's disappearance tore everyone apart.

The war with the Whisperers was long and catastrophic. We lost Hilltop and the Kingdom, and ultimately, Alexandria. We would rebuild, just like we always did, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the peaceful days we had back when I first arrived there. Negan was even let out of his cell to infiltrate the Whisperers and take them down from the inside. I hated Negan, but he was a charismatic guy, I had to give him that. I could see why people might like him despite everything he'd done & everything, and everyone, his previous group had taken from us. And he was incredibly manipulative, so he was able to get close to them easily enough. The one good thing Negan did was kill Alpha, bringing her head to Carol once the task was completed. Alpha's daughter, Lydia, joined us, helping to take down her mother's horde once and for all.

It took a while for Lydia to get comfortable around everyone. She was most comfortable around Daryl, as they had similar childhoods & he could understand what she'd gone through in a way the rest of us couldn't. She didn't talk to me much at first, avoiding me as much as possible and hardly looking at me. I assumed she didn't like me, but when I told Daryl that, he laughed.

"She thinks you're super cool," he told me, "talks 'bout wantin' to be a badass like ya."

I racked my brain for ideas and came to the conclusion that finding a way to relate to Lydia, even a little, might help her. I didn't tell her exactly what happened to me before arriving at Alexandria, but I did explain that it was something awful. I assured her I wasn't perfect, I had my flaws and my history, but that didn't make me any less of a badass. I had one other idea up my sleeve that might make her smile and help her bring out the badass I knew she had lying within herself.

"Can I tell you a secret? You have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Umm, ok. I promise."

"My name's Lydia too."

Then, there was our arrival at the Commonwealth.

It was strange being back in my home state after so many years. We were interrogated by different people, asking about our history, where we came from, what we did before the outbreak, etc. Eventually, Daryl and I were pulled into an office together where we met the infamous Lance Hornsby.

Lance was the Deputy Governor, second-in-command to Pamela Milton. He was a charismatic guy, and for the most part, people seemed to like him. He had a sense of ambition about him, and he seemed to want the best for the Commonwealth and everyone in it, but I wasn't buying it. Something about him made my stomach queasy, but I couldn't put my finger on it. He gave me uncanny valley vibes.

"One of you is a doctor?" he asked. I hesitantly raised my hand and bit my lip, like there was somehow a correct answer and I was worried about getting it wrong, despite the fact that I was the doctor in the room. "What kind of doctor are you?"

"I'm a trauma surgeon," I replied, lowering my hand and steadying my voice to appear more confident than I was feeling, "amputations, bullet wounds, skin grafts, I've done it all."

Lance laughed. "What are you, 35? You're a little young to be a surgeon, aren't you?"

"That's flattering, but I'm 42. Smart of you to guess younger," I chuckled, "I had almost completed my residency when the world went to shit. I was a couple of months from board certification. You met Aaron, right? The guy with the fake foot and arm?" He nodded. "I did both of those with no medical equipment."

"She's done a hell of a lot more than just that," Daryl interjected.

"Get Tomi in here," Lance ordered, waving to a man by the door, "now!"

A few minutes later, another man was brought in, who I guessed was Tomi. He was wearing plain clothes, but given that it was so important he be retrieved, he had to be a fellow doctor, I presumed. My presumptions were quickly confirmed.

"Dr. Okumura, this woman is claiming to be a surgeon," Lance explained, gesturing to me, "test her."

"Test her?" he inquired, "ok, umm...Dr. Okumura, fellow surgeon. Thoracic. What kind of surgeon are you?"

"Well first, hi. I go by Vec," I introduced, offering him a handshake, to which he reciprocated, "would you prefer I call you Dr. Okumura, or is Tomi ok?"

"For a fellow doctor, Tomi's fine," he replied, a small smile crossing his face.

"Trauma surgery. Was almost finished with my residency at Johns Hopkins ER before all this."

He turned to Lance, seemingly impressed by my credentials. "Lance, that alone is amazing. She got into Johns—"

"I said test her," Lance demanded. Tomi rolled his eyes and sighed, turning back to me.

"You have a patient that shows up on your table. Bullet wound to the abdomen. How do you proceed?"

"Well, what's their history? Is the patient diabetic?" I wondered.

"Why does that matter?" Lance butt in, his impatience becoming ever present in his voice.

"It matters," I corrected. I held my hand up in his direction and closed it, indicating for him to shut his mouth. "Their sugar levels would need to be checked first to ensure they aren't hyper- or hypoglycemic. That would also need to be monitored throughout surgery. And they might need to take antibiotics for longer as they're at a higher risk of infection."

"She's right," Tomi confirmed, "as much of the patient's history as possible needs to be reviewed first before deciding how to proceed." I looked over Tomi's shoulder at Lance, who was pouting in his chair with his arms crossed. I raised my eyebrow and smirked at him.

"So when do I start?"

Everyone was assigned their jobs based on what they did prior to the outbreak. Daryl didn't have much in the way of a career prior to the world falling, but given his combat and survival skills, he was recruited to join the Commonwealth Army. Seeing as doctors were in high demand, I was quickly employed at the hospital, and we were given a cushier apartment. I could tell Daryl was already feeling out of place in such a, what he would deem, 'classy' environment.

"Hey," I assured, "you belong here. You deserve this. Just as much as anyone else."

"All I know's I belong wherever you are," he replied.

We settled into our new home and got the kids set up in school. I was excited that they were getting the opportunity to receive an education, something that I was sure would never be a possibility for them. I got to wear cute little sundresses nearly every day, a simple pleasure that I was grateful to partake in once again. And let's be real, Daryl enjoyed it as well. Many of our friends also made a home in the Commonwealth. It existed in its own bubble, like a little slice of the world that hadn't gone to complete shit. I got to wake up next to Daryl every morning, knowing that he, the kids, and our friends were safe. And after everything we'd been through, that was more than I could ever ask for.

*Third person perspective*

The autumn sun beamed down through the clouds, casting a beautiful glow on the red, orange, and yellow leaves that decorated the surrounding trees. There was a chill in the air, but given that he was always warm, Daryl wasn't concerned about being cold. As a gentle breeze came through, he looked at one of the trees, a small smile breaking out on his lips as he watched the branches sway to and fro. Lydia may have been his ray of sunshine, but this weather reminded him of her most. She's often talked about missing being able to go apple picking, spend an afternoon in a pumpkin patch, and drink warm cider by a campfire. "The most basic bitch thing about me," she would joke, but Daryl never thought it was silly. Lydia found joy in the small pleasures of life, and it was one of his favorite things about her.

Daryl was in his first week of basic training, preparing to join the Commonwealth Army. Not that he needed any training, though. His life out on the road, both pre- and post-apocalypse, had given him all the skills he needed to be successful in his duties. Today, they were out in an abandoned, desolate corner of the Commonwealth, filled with empty, run-down apartment buildings crawling with walkers. They were going to be teaming up and tackling the empty buildings with a single weapon like some sick obstacle course, the walkers being the obstacles.

A man in white armor approached him, giving him a wave before removing his helmet. He set it on the ground next to him, shaking out his hair. He looked familiar, but Daryl knew he'd never seen this man before. Still, there was something about him that he couldn't put his finger on. When he introduced himself, that was when it clicked.

"'Sup man?" he greeted, extending his hand to Daryl, "the name's Jay. Jay Vector."

Daryl froze. There was only one Jay Vector he knew of. This couldn't have been him, could it? But he kind of looked like her...it had to be him.

"Ya got a sister?" Daryl asked, the shock preventing him from returning the handshake. Jay looked stunned and coughed repeatedly, clearing his throat after having choked on his saliva.

"...yeah," he answered cautiously, like he was trying not to get his hopes up, "well, I did. Did you know her?"

"I know her," Daryl corrected. Jay's eyes looked like they were about to burst out of his skull, and he picked his jaw up off the ground. Tears were already beginning to well up in his eyes.

"Know her? Is she here? I—is she alive?" he asked, his voice beginning to quiver. His emotions were fluctuating between the relief that could come from hearing she was safe and alive and preparing for the heartbreak of hearing that she was dead.

"Wait—," Daryl instructed. Before he could finish, Jay took off running for the city center, the sound of his feet pounding the sidewalk drowning out the groans from the walkers in the abandoned buildings.

"Vector!" Mercer called out, but that didn't slow Jay down for even a second.

"I said wait!" Daryl shouted.

"I can't!" Jay shouted over his shoulder, raising his volume the further away he got, "our dad's here! I have to go get him!"

Not only was her brother alive, but her father was too. Lydia was about to be on cloud nine.

"Dixon!" Mercer yelled as Daryl took off toward home. Since he was still in basic training, he knew this stunt could get him in trouble, but he didn't care. At that moment, his only priority was to get to Lydia as fast as possible, to tell her that her family, whom she thought had been dead all this time, was alive.

*end of third-person, back to Lydia's POV*

Today was a day off for me, so I'd taken the opportunity to do some cleaning around the apartment and run some errands. Daryl was at basic training, and Judith and RJ had been asking for days now for a sleepover at Uncle Aaron's, so they were with him for the evening, which gave me the opportunity to work uninterrupted. I loved having them around, but I also needed my alone time now and then.

After returning from the grocery store, I took Dog and Delilah out for their afternoon walk. It was wonderful to have some semblance of a normal routine again after so many years of unpredictability and being out on the road. Being able to regularly go to work, go to the store, see friends, and come home to the love of my life and the kids and our dogs...after everything fell, I never thought I would live life like this again.

We returned from our afternoon walk, and I unclipped them from their leashes. They immediately ran to their respective water bowls, which Judith had decorated to have their names on them. As I hung their leashes by the front door, the sound of the lock clicking caught me by surprise, and in came Daryl, a subtle sheen of sweat on his face and lightly panting as he tried to catch his breath.

"Hey baby," I cooed, pulling him toward me by the collar of his shirt and kissing his jawline, "you're back early."

'Baby' had become a special pet name for us. We only used it in two contexts: one, to indicate to the other that we were in the mood. And two, in bed. Outside of that, Daryl preferred being called 'my little Georgia peach' or 'my love,' and I liked being called 'sunshine' and 'buttercup.' But in a sexual context, 'baby' just rolled off the tongue so naturally. Plus, there was something sexy about having a pet name reserved for the bedroom.

"Later." He picked me up by the waist and set me down in the hallway, eliciting a small, surprised yelp from me. "Someone ya gotta see first."

"What do you mean? The hospital didn't call," I asked as he locked the door behind us. He began ushering me down the hall, an urgency in his step that I'd only seen in true emergency situations. Which of course, admittedly, had me worried.

"Ain't a medical emergency," he said.

"Then where are we going?" I asked, nearly tripping over my feet as we began descending the stairs.

He ignored my question and coaxed me down the steps and out the front door of our building onto the busy street. It was the middle of the day, and everyone was hustling and bustling about, going to and coming from work and gathering their kids from school. The farther we got from our building, the less familiar everything became. I'd hardly had any time to explore all the nooks and crannies of the Commonwealth, so I didn't have a clue as to where we were going.

"Daryl, you're worrying me." I gently tugged on his shirt sleeve to get him to stop, and he turned and looked at me. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

He took my arm and pulled me to the side of the walking path, taking us around the corner of the nearest building so we were secluded in its shadow. Whatever he was going to respond with, he wanted privacy for. Whether it was for the nature of the topic or my potential reaction, I wasn't sure.

"I think ya brother's alive."

The ringing in my ears began before my brain fully processed what he said. My heart rate was escalating quickly, and my skyrocketing blood pressure caused my head to spin. I was almost certain I would pass out. My knees caved in, and I would've collapsed had Daryl not already had his arms around my waist to catch me.

Guess the privacy was for my reaction.

"My what?" My voice was shaking, and tears were already beginning to well up in my eyes and pour over onto my face. I was certain I must've misheard him. "A—a—are you sure?"

"Any other Jay Vector's ya know?" he asked as he helped me steady myself back on my feet. He wiped a few tears off my cheeks and kissed my forehead. "C'mon."

We went back to the walking path, his hand on my lower back as he guided me through the crowded street. I had no idea where to go, but had my legs not felt like jelly, I would've taken off running.

We ended up in a desolate area of the community filled with abandoned buildings, their windows broken open and doors pulled off their hinges. Vines crept up the sides of some of the brick structures, creating beautiful patterns as they worked up and around the textured surface, and the overgrown grass tickled my ankles.

There was a crowd of people up ahead, most of them dressed in casual clothes like Daryl. There were a couple of people in white armor and one man in bright orange armor, who I guessed was the one in charge. I figured this must've been where Daryl was doing his basic training, and everyone, minus those in armor, were his fellow recruits. As we made our way toward the group, some of them turned to us, ignoring the orders of the man in the orange armor. One particularly tall man in white armor caught my attention, and his familiar features immediately sent comfort washing over me. My sharp inhale caught in my throat. and my eyes quickly welled up with tears and clouded my vision. Daryl was right.

There he was, my big brother, in the flesh. Despite seeing him with my own eyes, I almost couldn't believe it.

He was in his mid-40s now, and his usual dark hair had taken on a salt & pepper appearance as he aged. He'd grown a beard, which had the same salt & pepper look as his hair, and he looked well-fed, well-rested, and happy. He clearly had been here for some time. He towered over nearly everyone in the group, aside from the man in the orange armor. Jay was the tallest in our family, even outgrowing his twin. No one knew where his gigantic stature came from.

And next to him was our dad.

He had gone fully gray, the wrinkles on his face telling a story of someone who'd been to hell and back. He was in his mid-60s, but he didn't look frail or fragile by any means. He'd been able to take care of himself. My father wasn't often a man who cried. Not because he thought it wasn't masculine to do so, it just wasn't how he processed his emotions. But upon laying eyes on me, he burst into tears.

I sprinted for them, first nearly tripping over my own feet, then some sidewalk cracks and God knows what else. At the speed I was moving, I was sure I had started floating, no longer feeling my feet as they pounded the sidewalk. I didn't care if I face-planted and ate shit in front of all of these strangers. My brother was alive. My dad was alive. I had already grieved them both years ago, accepted the fact that they were both dead, or if they weren't dead, that I would never see either of them again. But here they were, safe and sound and alive.

"Jay!" I cried out, tears flying off my face as I ran and soaking my hair, "Dad!" Jay ran toward me, arms open and ready to catch me like he'd always done growing up.

I nearly toppled him to the ground as I ran straight into his arms, squeezing him tighter than I ever thought I'd be capable of. Overwhelmed by the familiar comfort of his hug, my legs gave out, and we both fell to the ground. We buried our faces in each other's shoulders and sobbed openly. The cries that came out of me were almost heart-wrenching, but they were cries of joy. Of happiness. Of relief.

"You're alive," Jay whispered, unable to speak louder without his voice breaking, "I can't believe my baby sister's alive."

Another person came and knelt next to us, wrapping their arms around us both. "Lydia, sweetheart," the voice said, "we've missed you." I knew that deep, soothing voice to be that of my dad's, and hearing that nickname he'd only ever used just for me sent me careening into more fits of sobs.

I released one of my arms from around Jay and wrapped it around my father, bringing him in for a group hug. "I thought you were dead," I sobbed, "I thought you were both dead."

In the time we sat there, huddled in a group hug and sobbing into each other, the world outside of us didn't exist. All that existed was our familial bond, the love we had for each other, and the grief that was washing away being replaced with relief and joy and excitement. Years ago, I had accepted that I would never see them again, but that didn't mean I ever lost hope that maybe, just maybe, we would cross paths again. And damn, I was grateful I never gave up that hope.

Jay was the first to pick his head up, wiping tears off his cheeks. He got onto his knees and helped our dad to his feet before doing the same. I followed suit, slowly rising to my feet and steadying myself on my dad's shoulder. The adrenaline pumping through my system was beginning to wear off, and my muscles felt like jelly.

"When did you get here?" Jay asked, rubbing his eyes with his fists, "where have you been?"

I ran my hands through my hair and cleared my throat. "I only got here recently. I was in Virginia for a long time. I wandered around looking for this safe zone and eventually found it. I was hoping maybe I'd find you there, Jay, if you had come out to Maryland looking for me."

"Did you have people with you?" he asked.

"I found...some of the best people I've ever met," I explained, "a lot of them are here now or in other nearby communities." I dropped my eyes to the ground and smiled. "I don't know if I would've made it this long without them."

"Leave it to you to find the best of the best, even in a fallen world," my dad complimented, laughing softly under his breath. He had always admired my ability to surround myself with good people, regardless of the circumstances I found them in.

"Dad, how did you even get back? What happened up there?" I asked. He wiped a tear from my cheek, then his own.

"When we didn't hear anything from our command station for several hours, we knew something was wrong. We reached out again and again and got nothing. It took a lot of effort and thinking on our feet, but we were able to land successfully back in Florida. By that point, everything had fallen, and we had no idea what was going on." He patted Jay on the back. "I was hunkered down at the base with my crew until Jay showed up."

"God, that's scary. I'm so sorry." I couldn't help but think back to the story Rick had told me, how he woke from being in a coma after everything fell & trying to find help in an empty hospital. Being up in space, having no communication with anyone down on Earth, all while knowing something seriously wrong had to be happening...I couldn't imagine the fear he'd experienced.

"We've been here at the Commonwealth since its formation," Jay cut in, "I went to Florida, hoping I could find him, then we made our way back home, hoping we'd find you and Eli."

Upon mentioning home, my father's face lit up, looking hopeful. He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me gently. "Eli! What about Eli, is he with you?"

The smile on my face quickly dropped, overtaken by a somber expression. I locked eyes with my father and shook my head, my heart breaking at having to crush his hope and deliver the news that Eli didn't make it.

"No," I choked out, reaching into my jacket pocket, "he, uh...he never made it out of the house that day." I turned my gaze to Jay, my eyes clouded with tears. "I went home to look for you both. He'd...already succumbed to a bite when I found him." I decided to spare them the details of the axe in his shoulder and me having to finish him off.

I pulled a folded-up piece of paper from my pocket, handing it to Jay. "He wrote this before he died. Guess now we can say we fulfilled his last wish." The end of my sentence came out through broken sobs, the words barely coherent. They read over Eli's note, the one I'd kept in the back of my notebook all these years and had recently started carrying on my person.

Jay, Dad, Lydia,

Do what you need to stay alive

Find each other

I love you

Eli

The paper shook in Jay's hands as they scanned over Eli's last words, tears falling from their faces and soaking the letter. My father buried his face in his hands, taking a few deep, shaky breaths. He had a brief moment of hope that his youngest son was alive, and it was crushing to have to destroy that hope. Jay folded the note and handed it back to me.

"I had a feeling he was gone," Jay sighed before a small smile broke out on his face, "y'know, twin telepathy and all that." Jay was the master of comedic relief in tense moments in our family.

I looked back over my shoulder and waved for Daryl to come over. He hadn't moved an inch from his spot, giving me space to reunite with my family, waiting for me to give him permission to join us. He came over, approaching slowly, and stood beside me, placing a hand on my lower back. Daryl was clingy with me, but it wasn't just because of how much he loved me and loved touching me—it was also a comfort thing for him, a grounding activity that helped him when he was feeling hesitant, overwhelmed, or anxious.

"Two of my children are alive," my dad cried, his voice trembling still as he tried to regain his composure. He wrapped one arm around Jay's back and the other one around my shoulders. "In this world, that's more than I could ever ask for." Jay was the first of them to acknowledge Daryl's presence.

"Hey Lydia?" he asked, using his head to gesture to Daryl, "how do you know this guy?"

When Daryl told me Jay was alive, I hadn't even thought about how I would introduce him to my brother. We hadn't gotten married, as up until arriving at the Commonwealth, marriage wasn't a thing, not in the way it used to be at least. There was never a need to refer to each other with titles, as we normally spent our time around people who knew we were together, so introductions weren't necessary. Anytime they were, Daryl had only ever referred to me as his woman, and his introduction of me didn't require any introductions of him on my part. But now it was necessary, and I had to make a split-second decision.

"This is Daryl," I introduced, "he's my—"

"I'm her husband," Daryl interjected.

My what?

I bit the inside of my lower lip to keep my jaw from unhinging onto the ground. I blinked repeatedly, hoping it would stop my eyes from bugging out of my skull. Both my brother and father's faces lit up, and Jay looked like he was about to start jumping for joy.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," I said, gently nudging Daryl with my elbow and smiling to conceal the utter shock coursing through me.

"Oh sweetheart," my dad gushed, bringing me in for another hug. He tilted his head up and spoke to Daryl as he hugged me. "It's wonderful to meet you, Daryl. Thank you for caring for my daughter."

"The honor's all mine, Mr. Vector," he replied.

"Please, call me John. Mr.—"

"Mr. Vector was my father," I mocked in a deep voice. He laughed and playfully elbowed my arm. That was the response my dad always gave any time someone called him Mr. Vector. If I had a dollar for every time I'd heard him say it, I could pay off my, now non-existent, medical school debt.

"How did you two meet?" Jay asked. He was giving Daryl a look-over with his eyes, scanning over him from head to toe. While he was happy for me, I could already feel the protective big-brother energy radiating off of him.

"I cut a guy's foot off," I replied. Daryl chuckled softly under his breath, and Jay and my father each cocked an eyebrow at me. I realized I sounded a little too elated for what I was talking about. "Not Daryl's foot. My friend Aaron's. He got bit. I didn't do it for no reason." I rested my head on Daryl's shoulder and smiled big, reflecting on the happy memories of my early days at Alexandria. "Aaron and Daryl lived in the same community. That's how we met."

"Daryl, do you mind if I take a moment with my daughter?" my father asked, and Daryl shook his head. My dad coaxed me a few steps away, just out of earshot of the others. I knew exactly what was coming.

There was a series of questions my father had made a habit of asking my siblings and me when we started dating someone knew. He started doing it with Preston when he got his first girlfriend in middle school, and it'd been a staple since. He looked at me and smiled, knowing full well that I knew exactly what he was going to ask & there was no need to preface anything.

"Does he treat you well?"

"The best any man ever has."

"Does he make you happy?"

"More than I thought I ever could be."

"Is he good to other people?"

"Yes, unless they don't deserve it."

"I can't wait to get to know him," he replied as we stepped back to join Jay and Daryl. That was the response we always hoped to receive from Dad after he asked his questions. It was his way of giving his blessing, and even as a grown, hyper-independent woman, the little girl in me was still pleased to have my father's approval.

"You two are very similar," I said to Jay, "you're gonna be calling him your new best friend in no time."

"Aww hell yeah!" Jay beamed, holding his hand up for a high-five, which Daryl reciprocated.

"Well, we need to get together. Got a whole decade of life we need to catch up on. Are you two free for dinner tonight?" my dad asked.

"What do you think, Daryl? Can we do tonight?" I inquired, "the kids will be with Aaron." I was immediately kicking myself for my wording choice, my cheeks turning beet red and nearly stumbling over my words as I tried to correct where I imagine their trains of thought were going. "They're not our kids. Well kind of. Not biologically. I didn't birth them."

"Tonight works," Daryl confirmed.

"I can tell you about the girl I'm seeing," Jay said confidently, running a hand through his hair.

"Jay William Vector," I gasped, placing a hand over my chest to feign shock, "a girl?"

"I know, a girl that's into me. Crazy, right?" he laughed, "her name's Rosie. I know you'll love her."

"Dixon! Vector!" the man in the orange armor bellowed.

"Surprised Mercer ain't said shit 'til now," Daryl commented. Ah, so this is the infamous Mercer, I thought.

"Should get back." Jay pulled me in for another hug, this one tighter than the last. "I missed you so much. I'm so glad one of my siblings is alive."

"I missed you too," I echoed.

"I should get back too," my dad said, "I've been helping the science teachers with their curriculums. You should see how the kids' faces light up when I tell them I've been to space."

I chuckled and pulled my father in for another hug. "We'll see you tonight. I can't wait to hear all about it."

"I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, dad."

"I look forward to getting to know you, Daryl." My dad extended his hand to Daryl for a handshake, which Daryl reciprocated. "My daughter's always been a great judge of character. If she chose you, you must be a good one." With a nod, my dad was off, headed back to his scholarly duties.

"Hey, guys! I have a brother-in-law!" Jay called out as he ran back to the group. He was the goofball of the family, the class clown if you will, and oh, how I'd missed having that energy around.

Once they were both out of earshot, I turned to Daryl, locking eyes with him and folding my arms across my chest. "My husband, huh? When were you planning on telling me this?"

"We'll talk when I get back," he replied, his fingers tracing down my arm to my hand and taking it in his. I could sense he was feeling a bit anxious. I'm sure meeting my family impromptu like that was a little overwhelming, so I didn't press the issue further.

"Well don't be too long now, handsome," I said, giving him a flirtatious smirk and gently squeezing his hand, "your wife's gonna be waiting for you."

Once I was home, I tossed my jacket onto the back of the nearest chair and went to the bathroom. I took my glasses off and set them on the bathroom counter, rubbing my eyes with my fists. I splashed some water on my face and used my dress to clean my glasses before putting them back on. I ran my hands through my hair, fluffing it and brushing the flyaways back in their place.

"Maybe I'm gonna get to read those wedding vows after all," I said to myself.

Daryl returned sometime later, immediately greeted by Dog and Delilah. They bounded over to him, Dog jumping onto his hind legs and Delilah dancing around his feet. He scratched behind Dog's ears as he licked his face. Delilah sat on Daryl's foot, a little habit she had picked up whenever she wanted someone's attention. She'd pop a squat on their foot and stay there until she received the attention she was looking for. He coaxed Dog back on all fours and knelt down to give Delilah some pets. She rolled over onto her back, demanding belly rubs, which were her favorite. I chuckled softly as I watched him play with her, thinking back to how hesitant he was for us to take her on when we first found her. Now, they were the best of friends. After a minute, she rolled over, walking away now that she was satisfied.

"Hey handsome," I greeted, leaning back against the wall and crossing my arms over my chest, "did you get in trouble with your commander?"

"He cooled off once he realized what was happening. Jay didn't get in trouble neither," he replied. He came over to me and closed the space between us, pressing his body to mine and kissing me with such fervor that you'd think we were reuniting after several years rather than just a couple of hours.

"So, that talk we need to have...you've never called yourself my husband before." His hands wandered down my back and around to my hips, his thumbs drawing circles on my hip bones over my dress. I was already beginning to turn red. Even after all these years, Daryl still managed to make me blush the same way he did over a decade ago.

"Once my job got settled, wanted to ask you proper," he explained, kissing my cheek and then my jawline, "save up to get ya a ring 'n whatnot. Ya deserve it." My heart was singing so loud, I was certain Daryl could hear it.

"My love, you could've asked me to marry you with a twig fashioned into a ring and I would've said yes," I smiled, snaking my arms around his neck.

"Get to call ya my wife...kinda hot." One hand remained on my hip, the other traveling down and into the slit of my dress to caress my thigh. He continued to plant sweet, sultry kisses on my jawline before working down my neck, and had Daryl's body weight not been holding me to the wall, I would've crumbled. The man knew my weaknesses.

"Should I start going by Dr. Dixon now?" I asked, biting my lip to contain my fits of giggles.

"Dr....Lydia...Rae...Dixon," he said between planting soft, open-mouthed kisses on my neck, "has a nice ring to it, don't ya think baby?"

"Yeah," I gushed, "I like it." He abruptly stopped the series of kisses and wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me and coaxing me to wrap my legs around him. I ran my fingers up into his hair and buried my face in the crook of his neck. "Daryl, where are we going?"

Like I didn't know the answer.

"Gotta consummate the marriage, right? Ain't that how it works?" he teased.

I leaned back and looked deep into his eyes, my signature big, silly grin spreading from ear to ear. I continued to twirl his chocolate locks in my fingers, playing with them as he carried me to our bedroom.

Way back when everything first went to shit, I thought I would be lucky to find a community of half-decent people. Hell, I thought I'd be lucky to just survive. But I did find a community, one made of the best people I could've asked for to go through this hell with. The best of the best, of course, was the man in front of me holding me around his waist. I wasn't looking for romance after the world fell. Truthfully, I'd given up on that being a possibility. Given all the shit I'd dealt with before walking through the gates of Alexandria for the first time, I was hesitant to even consider it. But then Daryl came into the picture, and everything changed. He'd sat with me while I cried, comforted me after my nightmares, listened to me yap on about the same things over and over again, and was beyond patient with me on all fronts. He'd been there through it all. He'd loved me through it all. I'd found myself again, and in that journey, I found Daryl as well.

"I love you."

"I love ya too."

Taglist: @raddydaddydude @lovenormandixon @angeldemoncrowley

[ashasworld23]

I feel like the show never really took a deep dive onto Quirin and what it was like for him being trapped in the amber an his P.O.V. On it this is also based off on the episode once upon a head maiden before Varian showed Eugene his weapon.

Work Text:

It was a beautiful morning in Corona and Varian was taking his father to the castle to show him his newest invention although Quirin's mind was blank yet racing with images of him during his time being trapped in that amber he felt like he couldn't…..”Dad, are you okay?”

Varian's face looked concerned as he unknowingly interrupted his father's thoughts. “I…I’m okay son what is it that you wanted to show me?”

Varian didn't look too convinced that his dad was really okay but he brushed it off cause he didn't want to push any unwanted buttons, especially for today

“This project that I've been working on with Eugene this is the one weapon that will defeat or contain Cassandra.”

Varian dramatically opens the door to the outside training for the guards which changes into training for Varian’s newest invention

“Father I present to you pause for dramatic effect”

Quirin looked at his son confused but then chuckled a little bit. Varian then grabs his invention

“I can now present to you Project Of Obsidian!!....This Machine here is a weapon that can trap Cassandra in her tracks with a similar formula that encases the moon rocks.

Wait the formula the same one that kept him trapped in for a whole year? Quirin tried to pull a smile for his son to let him know that he was proud of him but he felt like he couldn't breathe as he looked at the very similar yellow amber suddenly he felt dizzy and nauseous his ears started to ring as his son was still speaking about his weapon Quirin was about to speak but his son turned around and he blasted the weapon again at the wooden stand that had Cassandra's face painted on it.

For target practice Varian then turned around but suddenly looked concerned when he saw his father gripping his shirt tightly and started to hyperventilate and he started to lower himself to the ground Varian then ran up to his father while dropping his weapon “DAD!…dad?..”

Varian looked at his father and touching his dads shoulder with his hand not knowing what to do so he says “ Dad I'm..i'm going to get help just—”

“No..please just I need you here..*gulps for air *, ..please just.”

Quirin was too afraid of the flashing images in his head to even finish his sentence; he was this close to crying in front of his own son. “I need to know that..I'm not there again.”

Varian looked at his dad confused and asked “Again? What do you mean?…. I ….oh. Variant wanted to punch himself in the face so maybe he could get Eugene to punch him once he calms his father down. Varian hesitated at first but he took his father’s hand and said “Dad you're not trapped in the amber you’re here with me outside,what are 3 things that you can feel?”

But Quirin felt confused at first with his son’s question but he answered.

“I..umm…*gulps* …feel the breeze of the air.. and your hands the grass?” Quirin then opened his eyes and saw his son leaning against his shoulder then the dam broke and he started sobbing. Varian then hugged his Father as he cried and tried to speak as he was crying

“I’m..*gasp*..I’m sorry I….I know that I’m supposed to be strong for you son but I can’t I really can’t especially when it’s about this,being trapped inside that damn Amber ruining our lives and relationships with the people of Corona…I’m sorry that I couldn’t be strong for you.”

Quirin then spoke more about how he felt being trapped in the amber

“I was just completely frozen, unable to move but I could hear only small muffled voices but I couldn’t move…or open my eyes just frozen and no one could ever understand what that could’ve been like, not even you my son.”

Varian then pulled away from the hug with tears falling from his face and said “Dad you can always be honest with me on how you feel and I’m so sorry for showing you this. I should've known that seeing this amber again could’ve triggered you.”

Quirin wiped his tears and said “I was already off edge earlier today thinking about that amber and please son it…it wasn’t your fault.” Varian hugged his Father and said “I love you dad please try to be more honest with me if you get those attacks again.”

Quirin hugged his son back and said “I promise…love you too.”

The End

#t

[strawberrydracos]

Playing Ace Combat 7

Started playing the game today! I'll go little by little and updating this post through reblogs sksksksks

@technoblade-apologist-and-proud this is for you buddy, since you asked :] Starting with Mission 1 and 2 today

(Putting stuff on read more bc I get a little self concious of long posts)

First impressions of the game upon opening it: Menu music is beautiful "Wow this is so. Graphic design. Wow." upon seeing the actual menus "Why do we have cowboy music on the cutscene?" Girl talking about loving the color of the sky instantly made me remember the damn "Don't you love the color of the sky? / Which one?" classic tumblr post. "That plane looks like a tesla" upon seeing the drone in the cutscene Started laughing for a whole minute when rave music started playing in the plane selection screen before the mission.

Right out of the bat we start Mission 1 with DEATH from controller. I didn't know what to press and the screen only told me about R2 to accelerate so I killed myself by crashing on the end of the take off thingie. This was a warning to what was about to come.

I need to publicly apologize to every Ace Combat fan that has ever lived because inverted controls make me feel insane so I had to "invert" them back to normal. I am very sorry. I have failed you all. Don't look at me.

Anyways, first mission went TERRIBLY. WHO have me a license. I was DRUNK driving in the skies. Absolutely dogshit piloting skills. I didn't know it did a neat little replay of the mission at the end + the replay with the tiny lowpoly planes. Humiliating. Everyone was flying to neatly and I looked like I was using my plane for a ribbon dance.

As someone that played Drakengard on the ps2 and Armored Core on the ps4: Piloting a plane is much more similar to riding a dragon than piloting a mech.

There's a lot going on in the cutscenes, the story seems cool and I have an idea of it already but by god they just feel so goofy sometimes, very silly, I am very lost.

Second mission started terribly as well, I still fly like I'm drunk, I died at least 5 times because I turned a little too much and crashed on the ground. At some point when I was managing to stay alive I thought I was gonna fail from the time running out because I just couldn't hit the targets.

Also. Did you know? In Armored Core you press X, Square and O for boosting and movement, and L1/L2 R1/R2 for your weapons. Ace Combat is the opposite. I've been playing Armored Core for a month already. My brain is having a hard time trying to grasp the controllers, somebody help me.

Second half of this mission went better than the first half bc I *am* learning but by god. I died once because I hit the ground again, I keep doing it, my pilot craves the safety of the ground. It was a nightmare trying to get to the targets to properly hit them but I did manage to do it.

All and all? Game is pretty fun! It will be a challenge to actually learn how to play, specially with expert controls, but that's the fun of every game, learning and mastering!

Had to stop for today but I'll reblog this once I play more :]

[emlee81]

Agent Whiskey X Reader-I'll Be There

****

Agent Whiskey was charged with keeping you safe after you witnessed a brutal murder.

You end up falling for him. And him with you.

Some swearing and innuendo and major angst and some violence.

..............

You're huddled down on the floor, next to the motel room bed, shaking like a damn leaf and wishing you were anywhere but here.

The man who's been assigned to look after you is firing his own weapons. You have your hands over your ears, trying to block out the awful, loud noises.

Suddenly, everything goes silent. You uncover your ears and look over at the guy. He's panting slightly and he crawls over to you.

"They're gone. Or else, you know. We need to get the hell out of here. Now."

You allow him to take your hand and you quickly leave the motel and head out of town to who knows where.

.............

You must have fallen asleep. You're disoriented when you wake up. You yawn as you roll your neck, trying to get the kinks out.

"Y/N, are you okay?" You glance over. Agent Jack Whiskey is smiling at you. You try to smile back.

"No. I'm not okay!" You snap. You can feel tears starting to form in your eyes and you quickly blink, not wanting to have a meltdown in front of Agent Whiskey.

He reaches out for you, gently grasping one of your hands. You suddenly cling to his hand. You need someone to hold on to right now.

As much as you don't want to cry, you still end up crying. Agent Whiskey pulls you into his arms and you sob against him. He gently strokes your hair.

You move away and angrily wipe at your face, turning away from him. You sit down on a bed and wonder how you ever got to this point in your life.

"I'm going to look after you." Agent Whiskey's voice is low and soothing. You lean against him after he settles down beside you.

"Oh, Jack, " you whisper. "I'm scared. I'm really scared." Agent Whiskey wraps his arms around you and you turn your face, pressing it into his shirt.

"I know you are, sweetheart. But I'm gonna do everything in my power to protect you."

You nod, weariness overtaking you. You move away from Agent Whiskey and lie down on the bed, stretching out. You touch Agent Whiskey's arm.

"Will you just lie here with me? Please?"

"Yeah, darlin.' I surely will."

..............

You wake up screaming. Jack is right there to put his arms around you and console you. He gently rocks you in his arms until you calm down.

"What's the matter?" Jack is gently rubbing your back and you lean against him. He smells like whiskey and mint and a hint of spice. You close your eyes and breathe it in.

"I just had a bad dream. Someone was hurting...you." You feel Jack's lips on your forehead and it calms you down.

"Nothing is going to happen to me, darlin,'" Jack murmurs softly.

"I hope not, Jack. I need you."

"I'll be here."

.............

You're standing next to Agent Whiskey. He says he's going to teach you how to properly handle and fire a gun.

The thought makes you slightly nervous, but you honestly think that this isn't a terrible idea. If you can be of any assistance to Jack when those assholes come after you again, you'd prefer that.

You follow Jack's instructions and actually do a pretty damn good job of it.

Jack looks pleased and even a little proud of you. He leans down, giving you a gentle kiss and you just gaze at him. He has such beautiful brown eyes and you love looking into them.

Yet...you can see some sadness there as well. You wonder what made Jack that way and you suddenly feel protective of him.

"Those assholes won't expect you to know how to fight back," Jack is saying. You slip your hand into his and he winks at you. You give him a wink.

..................

Whoever these assholes are, they're relentless in coming after you and trying to take down Agent Whiskey and drag you off with them, to who knows where.

Not on your damn watch. Jack hands you a gun and tells you to fight like hell and not let them take you.

You agree and then kiss him. Jack grins at you. He gently strokes your cheek before jumping up and starts firing his own weapons.

You peek around the side, looking to see if anyone is lurking close by. Or if anyone is within firing range. You spot a sniper about twenty feet away and you know damn well that you're not skilled enough to take him out.

You hurry in the direction Jack headed. He's out of ammo. You shout out his name and toss him his whip.

"Thanks, darlin'!" You grin. But then, someone is firing at...you. You whip around and aim, and much to your surprise, you actually hit one of the assholes.

However, your victory is short lived. Another person is firing at...Jack. You race to cover him. Then...the sniper fires, hitting you.

You scream out in pain. You stumble backwards and Jack catches you in his arms. He's examining your injury. You discover that you were only hit in the leg.

Relief floods through you and you start wrapping up the wound with your coat. You struggle to your feet and Jack starts cracking that whip of his, knocking out half of them.

He grabs your hand and you both start for the car. It's difficult to run, since your leg hurts and you can feel the blood running down it.

You reach the car. But not before...Jack is struck by a bullet.

...............

You barely managed to get the both away from there. Jack isn't unconscious, thankfully. Although as much as he's moaning, you almost wish he were.

No. You take that back. You don't wish that Jack was unconscious. You reach over and take one of his hands, squeezing gently.

"Hold on, Jack, " you whisper. "I'm going to take good care of you."

................

Several hours later, you're both holed up in a shitty, little motel room. You've gotten the bullet out of Jack's shoulder and then cleaned both of your wounds and carefully wrapped them up.

Jack is lying in the bed and you're sitting up beside him. He keeps kissing your fingers and you like that.

"I knew teaching you to shoot was the right thing to do." You smile and stroke his sexy mustache.

"Damn right. Jack?"

"Yeah, Y/N?"

What's going to happen now?"

"I want you with me. If you want to, that is." You lean down and gently kiss him.

"I definitely want you, Jack."

"Good. Because I want you, too, darlin.'"

[doodle-do-wop]

KOTLC AND PJO

@valentinerose529 passed on the brain rot so now I'm dragging y'all down with me

Please buckle up your non-existent seatbelts and keep all hands, wings, feet, tails, and horns inside the vehicle. This is gonna be a long post

So

As I've previously stated else where I firmly stick my foot in the hill that the Aphrodite Cabin (10) has so much more under the surface of pink and glitter (not that there's anything wrong with pink and glitter)

Aphrodite is quite literally the Goddess of Love if you're a PJO fan and don't know Greek mythology or you're a fan but completely forgot.

She has an ever changing form to each individual as well as an ever changing personality (in the PJO universe) due to beauty standards and the culture of the place she's in.

Love is complicated and messy, it's not the same for everyone or every situation.

Thus why I put Keefe in good old 10. What a better place for an empath than the Aphrodite Cabin?

Now moving onto the ever messy Vackers

I love Fitz and Biana. I do............but I got an entire skeleton of bones to pick with Alden Vacker and of he can meet me outside the Denny's parking lot please-

While not actually smart Alden did manage to become emissary in KOTLC and Athena seems to like mildly smart guys who end up being very mid dad's. Girls got a type and I can only say hopes and prayers she gets better.

Athena is a strategist and occasionally thinks only in the form of a game (I will be using chess). Athena knows when it's time to get sharp and wet the blade and move people to where they have to go. She may be immortal but time is still against her so chop chop guys, we've got a magical meguiffin to snatch and bring back.

Athena is the goddess of wisdom, war strategy, handicraft.

What better godly parent to leave an ever lasting shadow on the eldest son Alvar. And the bitterness that stems from being out shined by perfect child Fitz who developed a far more impressive power than his older brother.

"but Biana feels so Aphrodite coded!" You cry and I hear you but Biana is a fighter at heart. She likes winning Quest Hunt and tackling the shit out of people in Tackle Bramble (she would love rugby). She's competitive and clever though it's not clear where on earth that gene came from, clearly not Alden.

And let's not forget it was Biana's idea to turn shirt ruffles into weapon hiding spots. Girls got strategy and style. Athena would be proud.

(plus the absolute sandal that would be blowing up the Camp's gossip train of Biana potentially being Aphrodite's daughter dispite having two Athena brothers would be scalding hot)

Onto everyone's favorite technopath

"oh Hephaestus, we all know" well you're wrong bucko

Worm, germs, plotted plant I named Timmy. What has Dex Dizznee built so far? Bombs, multiple bracelets for punching, many devices used just to heck the government's most top secret files, a panic button/tracker, more devices that hack into the government's files, a circuit that shall not be discussed.

These are all pretty crazy cool shit and Hephaestus would be damn proud to have Dex as his son.

But Dex isn't his son.

Dex's dad is the father of thieves, travelers, and roads. Hermes

"WHAT?" Yeah I know I know. But think about it. Dex is smart, he's so damn smart but he's tricky too. He knows the chemicals needed to dye an imp pink with glittery nails to match, he can whip up a batch up balding blam to get revenge, he can also be easily lost in the background of things.

So what a major disappointment it must be, to be waiting any day now for the sign of the hammer in a blazing forge and get a stupid winged sandal instead.

The Song Twins

Tam and Linh really gave me a run for my money because they're twins but Linh is an obvious Poseidon kid while Tam isn't and however powerful and weird the gods may be, two gods can't have kids with the same woman at the same time. It just ain't possible.

Linh's water powers are important to her character but so are Tam's. But Tam can still have spooky powers just not in the same flavor. Linh is the pretty side of Poseidon's rule over the seas. The water that heals and the funny animal shapes she makes. But the deeper into the ocean you get the darker it becomes. Tam's powers are the less pleasant things in life.

Now for everyone's second favorite arsonist (not Sophie)

Marella Redek has Pyrokenisis and you're saying "oh this one's eazy, Leo, come pick up your sibling" but you're wrong yet again my friend.

While Marella would probably be super frustrated with getting the tinker cabin over something that could help her mom (y'all remember how helping her mom was her main motivation?) at least with the STEM geeks she could hammer out some kind of magic mood ring to help her mom or make a bracelet with charmed gemstones capable of alerting her mom or herself when danger is near or just something

But no

Instead Marella is stuck in the only cabin that couldn't have been a worst match up for her. Hecate. (I know I previously said Ares but I changed my mind)

Marella, instead of having a knack for magic like almost every other child of Hecate instead got the flaming torch part of the deal. Literally. Marella can also see strings of magic and she doesn't like it one bit.

And finally Sophie (because this is getting too long)

Sophie was a tricky one since she has all these powers and it was nearly impossible to put her in a cabin that really fit with her

What finally got me to decide was actually her teleporting powers and inflicting. They have a sort of lightning and thunder styled description so who better than lord thunderbutt himself, Zeus.

[vampirecatprince]

I'm having feelings about Lucy in my gameverse and I just.... Ugh-

Like, imagine you're young and dumb and the the second highest ranking celestial being in a Very, Very strict hierarchy. You love the one who created you like a father, but you're basically the equivalent of a roudy teenager with godlike powers and you're questioning the strictness and the harsh rules.

So, you have an equivalent of a rebellious teenage moment. You question your strict Father, along with friends you brought along for support, only for all of you to be immediately violently thrown away for daring to step out of line. You're replaced. Your friends, who were supporting you, are also damned- simply by association. So you violently lash out, instinctively trying to protect yourself and your friends and new family, because that all you know and all you've been taught. You've been nothing but a weapon since the day you were made, after all.

You were your father's right hand man, his trusted companion. His favorite.

How DARE he throw you away at the first sign of questioning him?

And then you discover what his punishment really is. You're a demiurge now, responsable for the souls that didn't obey his rules. You're given instructions to punish those who are just like you. Other creations of his that questioned his rules or fought against him.

And something in you just..... Breaks.

He... never actually loved you, did he? You were his favorite simply because you were the strongest and the most beautiful. He didn't love you. He was only proud how well he made you. You're pissed. You're angry. You're more than just good craftsmanship, you're a living fucking being. So you keep lashing out and hurting the souls sent to you in your anger.

And the centuries wear on and eventually all that anger and indignity just slowly..... Burns out. It does in all of the ones who were cast out with you. And you all look at what you've done and the little pocket world you've been given and decide, maybe all this constant hate and pain and punishment and torture isn't.... Good?

Why are we doing this? What do we even get from treating our human denizens like this? Why are we copying the behaviors of our abuser? Why are we still spreading this pain?

So you and your trusted second-in-command decide to try to fix things. And it's slow and it's not easy, but you slowly turn this first pit of despair into a place that those who made simple errors in life can at least rest... mostly peacefully. You still punish those who were truly heinous, but instead of marking them as 'permanently tainted' you make it a goal to rehabilitate them the best you can.

And the whole time you're turning your supposed punishment on its head, everyone is terrified that He's going to notice. Your Father is going to come swinging in and with the same violent furvor as before ruin all your hard work.

But it never comes.

And you realize.... No one's heard from Father in.... centuries.

And you realize with a sinking feeling in your gut- that maybe he just got bored and.... Left this whole project of his, with millions of living souls, on autopilot. And now... You're the most powerful one left. And you never wanted all this, but fuck. You're mad again, but not at yourself. Not at your situation. No, you're mad at him.

And then this knowledge, alongside new human innovations and weapons slowly trickling into the afterlife, triggers a civil war. Most of the people in charge, your friends, scatter or go into hiding or are killed and you lose so much. Again. But you refuse to become bitter again. Because, you still have a few old friends after all. So you rebuild again. Make new friends. Fall in love for the first time. You find a form that feels.... Comfortable for the first time. It's been less then a century since it all ended last and you almost feel.... Happy?

But- you're gonna do anything you can to prevent from becoming like your Father again.

[lesbianwyllravengard]

For that Simarkus Medieval AU (no I'm not obsessed even though it's not written yet, wtf that would be weird, anyway) could we get some minor Gavin annoying Connor and just generally being Gavin in the background?

Like I'm a Knight too but I'm more experienced, you're just a newbie, so I should have this n°1 priority case of finding the rebels, go make me a coffee, also your just-a-bit-taller-than-me brother with the soft looking hair and the beautiful blue eyes that's in the King's special protection unit is really ugly and I hate you both

This needs to be a multi chapter novel size fic please I beg you 🙏

HELPDJFLDNF THIS IS PERFECT

I'd totally write this into a series if I could just get other things written

"your brother with the soft looking hair and the beautiful eyes is really ugly and I hate you both" is so fucking funny and so Gavin, thank you for that

But yes I could definitely see it like, instead of androids taking over jobs, the new tyrannical rulers brought their own kingdom with them when they took over the throne, so there's all these new villagers that are from this other Bad Kingdom and are basically being allowed whatever jobs they like because the rulers ofc prefer their own people. So Connor and Nines were from the "bad" kingdom, both given high ranking roles within the Palace guard, Nines being one of the new ruler's personal guard, and so Gavin is pissed because he was part of the old kingdom and had to work his way up to becomming a Knight, but damn if the head of the personal guard ain't pretty.

Hank taking Connor and Nines under his wing because, while he's pissed with the new ruler taking over, he sees how lost the boys are and how they remind him of his son (ima make Cole alive in this bc I CAN) so he can't help the paternal instinct of looking out for them.

Also, neither Gavin nor Elijah know they're related, and since Kamski was overthrown they never saw each other. Until later....

With the androids = people from the new kingdom analogy we could also say that the Jericrew gang were once loyal subjects who soon saw the tyranny of their rulers and vowed to end their reign, and wanted Markus - a member of the old kingdom - to not just join them but also rule someday, as he could bridge the gap and also they see how capable he is as a leader, and how compassionate he is for the people. When Connor is sent to arrest Markus, Markus manages to convince him that the rulers are corrupt and evil and need to be overthrown. Nines is a bit tougher to convince, but once Connor goes he follows. Gavin is... Gavin. I don't think he'd believe anything they said unless he experienced himself, or maybe even then he'd be in denial. But once Hierico manages to overthrow the dictators, he's quickly motivated to change sides lol.

I want some Leo redemption too, so I'll throw in that since Leo knew Markus best he was hired to tell them everything he knows about Markus, where he would go, what he could do, etc. And at some point along the way, plus after seeing how they treated Markus and how upset it made their dad, Leo decides he's not gonna help them, so he tells them complete lies, insists that Markus is too flighty and scared to stage a coup against the royal family, that kind of thing. And he conveniently leaves out that Markus was an amazing blacksmith, instead saying that his sabotage was actually just his failure at crafting the weapons. When Leo and Markus meet up again at the end of it all, Leo apologises and expects Markus to hate him, but Markus forgives him, accepting Leo as his family, and Leo says "I'm... I'm proud, to be your brother."

[couldbebetterforsure]

Winter Performance completed!!!!! And....WOW......Oh Rama Havenna might be my favorite play yet! For something that was supposed to be a throwaway play, it really turned out soooo beautiful!

Chicchi is such an interesting character and man when her secret came out and her life fell apart around her it broke my heart! Kisa did such a beautiful job with the emotions of that character, especially in the crying scenes. Rukiora was also incredibly endearing in how sympathetic I was to all she was going through, really Mitsuki's best work in a Jeanne role to date! Miguel was a perfect cool guy, I knew Fumi could pull off a Jack role well, I wanna see him do more!!! Fugio was such a fascinating character in how I swerved back and forth on finding him genuine or sketchy, Sou really and truly has grown as an actor. Neji was exactly as enjoyably detestable as I wanted in his evil role as Domina, like wow Domina is such a piece of shit I wanted to strangle her myself for what she's putting everyone, especially Chicchi and Rukiora, through. The priest may not have many lines but he certainly made an impression, I'm glad Kai didn't give up and made the role his own. And then...Suzu as Jire....Good grief Jire is such a pitiable man. It's so clear he loves Chicchi so much but it doesn't change the fact that he decided what was best for Chicchi FOR her and hurt her so badly. Chicchi is well within her rights not to forgive him, and I'm glad at Jire seems to accept that. But yeah, Suzu did a wonderful job with this role, I am so so SO proud of him for being able to get Jire to work at last. Also, while I didn't fully get the villain Suzu role I wanted, I got some version of that and a hot CG of Jire with a weapon, so I'll take what I can get!!! 😍😍😍 The play itself was so emotional and I was soooo wrapped up in Chicchi and Rukiora's relationship and so utterly happy when they became close again at the end. You know when Neji brought up a scene between the priest and Chicchi at the end I was like "??? what's with everyone's reactions? what kind of scene could it be???" Then I get to the end of Oh Rama Havenna and "....ohhhh...Chicchi and the priest are gonna do the do now...now I get the earlier reactions..."

For the music this time around, it was so damn hard for me to pick which one was my favorite! All three songs were simply spectacular! Oh Rama Havenna, Oh Beloved Havenna was so jazzy and had such a great tune to it, I couldn't help but shimmy while playing the rhythm game. Faded Color was an absolutely beautiful duet between Kisa and Mitsuki and truly wrapped up all the emotions and love of Chicchi and Rukiora's relationship in wonderful fashion. But Intense Confessions at the Confessional...was sheer perfection from start to finish for me...Seeing everyone's outfits was perfect, Kai and Neji's singing was perfect, the freaking choreography was perfect!!! The song just gets wrapped around your brain so tight and refuses to let go, it was so good and catchy and while it was hard to pick between the three at first, I am satisfied naming it my favorite from the Winter Performance!

I came out of the Winter Performance arc feeling so damn proud of Mitsuki. Because when he was suddenly assigned the Al Jeanne role, I understood what Neji was trying to do. Neji, Fumi, and Kai were all gonna graduate. Mitsuki is a second year, the only prominent one of Quartz in the story. So he would naturally become the next leader after the current third years are gone. So Neji basically threw Mitsuki into training for the position by putting him a lead role so suddenly. And of course Mitsuki couldn't take the pressure at first...But he broke through, and acted like such a damn good leader throughout the training. Helping Kisa with her struggle for her role and talking things out with her, helping Suzu realize why Jire is such a tough role for him and what he needs to do to perform, helping Sou get more comfortable with the parts in the play where Kisa and Sou's characters are more physically intimate. And not just the underclassmen, Mitsuki managed to be such a help to the upperclassmen too! Helping Neji realize he could take Domina more seriously as a character and helping Kai realize he still has so much more to give as a Jack Ace and not to give up. And the way he comforted Kisa during the play by telling her that it doesn't matter to him what her secret is, he accepts her and forgives her. And man, the sheer relief in Kisa's voice when that happens....She nearly drove me to tears! I loved Mitsuki's growth from someone who was just going through the motions to someone who is genuinely invested in the class performances! I'm sure he'll be a wonderful leader for Quartz next year!

Suzu's own development regarding acting was wonderful too. Seeing him having to face his frustration at falling behind Kisa and Sou as a result of his injury in the Fall Performance and also acknowledging his trouble with acting in roles so unlike who he is. For Suzu, he has trouble acting as those he can't connect with. And Suzu himself is someone who tends to be straightforward, so more complicated ones like Jire who feels such conflicting thoughts and Jean Jose who is manipulative and cunning are difficult for him. But I liked that Suzu didn't wallow in his frustration and sadness over not performing at the level he wanted. He accepted the fact that who he currently is cannot give such roles the true life they deserve, but he'll use the skills he DOES have to still make such roles shine until he is able to fully develop into the type of actor who can perform outside of the range he is stuck in. And I truly believe he's not so far off from such a dream anyways! I mean the king from The Sleepless King wasn't too much like Suzu as a person and yet my boy KILLED it! I think so long as Suzu can find that one part of the role that he connects with, he'll be able to do anything. He just needs to grow as a performer and reach that point, and sine he's still a first year he has plenty of time to make that growth happen!

So yeah, now I am officially done with the common route of Jack Jeanne! Christmas in the game is the start of the route splits. So I can finally have Kisa go after Suzu!!!! 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 My sweet earnest puppy of a boy, I cannot WAIT to see what your route has in store! I hope I can at least start it today...If not I gotta wait for tomorrow...

....Also, semi aside, how on earth did the costuming department manage to make Neji's chest look like that for Domina? 😂😂😂

[lillylila2]

Monster Hunter

Name: Zino Gre Bodhi

Gen: 3-4

Weapon: Longsword

Zino is the 1st child of Seth Bodhi and Seth's first wife Ples Bodhi. Zino's early life consisted of being such a gentle little soul and a mamma's boy going to the field with Ples picking flowers for flower crowns, learning about the smaller monsters, and learning what plants are safe to snack on. Tragedy would strike one day when he was about six and sitting home like usual when his parents were out on a hunt but unfortunately only Seth would return after the hunt for Yama Tsukami. Zino would naturally ask where his mama is and Seth's response was to hold little Zino and say " My boy my beautiful little boy I'm so sorry.. I tried to save her I truly did little one but Mama's gone and she can't come back." A few tears came out of his eyes while Zino was confused until Seth had to explain what death was and then it really hit him. Zino would go on to become emotionally distant from would-be friends and avoid making connections to try and avoid feeling that pain of loss all of again but one day that would all change when he hits his late teenage years and their village was attacked by a deviant Nargacuga and at the time no hunters were there to defend the village because of a Elder Dragon hunt. As Zino hid in his father's workshop he could hear the fearful screams of other villagers and their small scared children just like how Zino felt as a tike. His heart wrenched as his mind imaged those scared children having to go through what he had so without proper thinking he grabbed a long sword off the rack and went outside to confront the Nargacuga even if it cost him his life. The fight was savage the monster's speed and ferocity was almost too much for Zino to bear but he knew what he was fighting for and knew damn well he would rather die than have others suffer like he did and with a rush of determination and adrenaline he would manage to launch himself over the monster slicing it down it's back in one clean cut ending up completely slashing it's spine as well permanently paralyzing beast. Now with the beast immobile Zino would slash off its head to end the beast suffering before collapsing himself before waking up with his father holding his hand telling him how proud he is of Zino as he laid there on the cot.

Nowadays he joined the monster hunting guild to protect his village and others like it and help others go through loss whether it be adults or children he would sit by them, listen, and give advice on how to get through it.