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yestrnight · 1 year

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˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ POCKET SLIME ! part two

FROM : cyno, tighnari / slime! gn! reader

SUBJECT : after fucking the brains out of your masters, cyno and tighnari senses that’s something amiss. they suspect foul play and it has something to do with the cute stranger following them around. little do they know that you’re just a cute, innocent slime– well, as cute as you can be when you’re breaking them in.

LINK : (1) kavetham

( back with the monster doujin agenda bitches; dubcon; throat fucking (tighnari); multiple tongues (tighnari); prostate teasing (nari); i might have a thing for prostates idk; smut is making me discover myself; tentacles; knotting; my inexperience bleeds thru my writing; ahegao; mindbreak )

when the gang meet up for another one of their friendly tavern meetings (usually forced into a genius invokation showdown by cyno), tighnari and cyno senses something off about their seniors. for one, kaveh doesn’t immediately jump on the opportunity to send a disdainful comment at alhaitham’s way, nor does the scribe make the effort to make a snide remark about kaveh’s drinking. instead, they make eye contact, blush, and avert their eyes.

cyno and tighnari raise their eyebrows at each other. “maybe they finally resolved the underlying sexual tension,” cyno suggests, to which tighnari gives him a hard nudge on his side. the mahamatra hides his snigger under his cards, but behind them he narrows his eyes to observe his seniors a bit more.

the conversation with them is stilted— the two roommates are distracted and dazed, and they have to snap them out of it every minute or so just to bring them back to the topic at hand. sometimes they whisper to each other, uncharacteristically forgetting about tighnari's hypersensitive ears, but thanks to that he hears some interesting things.

"where are they?" alhaitham hisses to kaveh, to which the blonde looks frantic and confused.

"i don't know!" he whispers back, albeit more worried than his counterpart. "what if they got lost? or attacked? ah… maybe i should pick them up. this is all your fault!"

"my fault for training them to fit into human society? please," haitham scoffs. "if they're gonna live in my house then i expect them to—” suddenly, the tavern doors slowly creak open, and a shy head pops out to survey the room. the duo immediately snap their heads to look, and the newcomer brightens up when they lay their eyes on them.

cyno and tighnari watch as they rush towards the two and engulf them in a hug, nearly knocking them from their chairs. their speech is incomprehensible to them, like gurgles, but it seems that kaveh and alhaitham understand it enough to hold a fretted conversation with them. kaveh is fussing over them, checking their body for any injuries, while alhaitham demands a full report on their day.

“went to the market, like masters told me to!” the newcomer beams up at them. they hold up the bag they were carrying, full of groceries, and kaveh coos and brings them in for a tight hug.

“oh you poor, poor thing!” kaveh bemoans, tearing up at your innocent smile before shooting haitham a sharp glare. “i cannot believe you sent them out like that without telling me! you know they don’t know anything yet!”

haitham is about to retort, before cut off by the stares of their two juniors. “uh, excuse me,” cyno speaks up, staring blankly at the obviously non-human entity in front of him. “is that your child?”

haitham and kaveh choke. you smile even brighter.

✧.* TIGHNARI

TIGHNARI whose gift of being hypersensitive to everything lets him know what exactly type of creature you are when you walk through the tavern doors. it should be obvious, with how your body jiggles and the muffled squelching from your sandaled feet. the baggy clothes do well to hide most of your body, but TIGHNARI is one of the best researchers, and there’s no use hiding anything from him.

you’re a slime, but one that he hasn’t seen before. haitham detects TIGHNARI’s curious gaze and clears his throat. he explains how kaveh picked you up and how you revealed your ability to shift into a humanoid form (though he leaves out the filthy details for his dignity’s sake), and makes a request: that TIGHNARI look after you. there are many things that they don’t know about you and your special condition, and who better to trust this topic of research to than amurta’s leading researcher? haitham expresses that it’d be nice if they could take their hands off you for a while, and when TIGHNARI asks why, the pair averts their gaze and mumbles something about you being too distracting.

TIGHNARI who brings you to ghandarva ville and starts inspecting you. you let out a bubbly laugh every time he pokes and prods you, and even a few surprised squeaks when he touches the more sensitive spots. he observes how you vocalize and how your jelly constitution contributes to how warbly your speech sounds. you are made out of elemental energy, just like how normal slimes are, and yet he can’t grasp on how the hell you’re like this. some sort of experiment maybe?

whatever you are, TIGHNARI deems you useful enough to help around the village for your stay. he can’t have you revealing your identity to the villagers just yet, so you’re usually cooped up inside his home. the extra limbs you can make is useful, and you serve as a good cushion whenever collei drops something. he does feel bad for imprisoning you somewhat, so he makes a point to return to you as soon as possible. when he comes back, he can usually find you in your round slime form moping on his bed, only to quickly revert to your humanoid form when he walks through the door. un(?)fortunately, shifting shapes doesn’t exactly give you any clothes, so whenever you leap on him to welcome him back, he usually gets a faceful of chest.

TIGHNARI who one day comes home more tired than usual, stressed out by a group of stupid adventurers who angered a pack of rishboland tigers. he wants nothing more than to sleep, and apparently you can sense that, with how you slowly approach him. his tired eyes note how worried you look and he puts that info aside for later. “tired?” you cock your head, observing his slumped shoulders and drooping eyes. “i can help! have helped masters kaveh ‘n haitham before!” he thinks you’re offering a massage, because what else could you be offering? so he nods and lies down for you to do your work.

TIGHNARI who absolutely does not expect a cold tendril to snake under his clothes, and he yelps when he feels your weight on top of him. you’re smiling down at him with your usual innocent, brain empty one, but he feels something darker in your gaze. you giggle when more tendrils come out of your back, and they carefully peel off his clothes (your masters have scolded you over and over again about melting their clothes) . “wh– [your name]!” TIGHNARI sounds panicked as you strip him, and tries to cover himself up as he blushes under your intense gaze. “this is nowhere near appropriate! stop this at once– ah!”

you peel off one hand off his chest and admire his lean muscles. he shivers when he feels your cold fingers lightly circle his hardening nipples before they trail down his sides until you firmly plant your hands at his waist. he tries to squirm out of your grip, trying to deny the heavy haze settling over his mind, but you only lightly laugh while you saddle him. “been very long~” you purr, nuzzling his face and pouting up at him. “haven’t fed from masters in a long time. nari will give me food, yeah?”

“f-food?” he lightly gasps in between your stroking. “i-if you want food, you could just ask meEE~! a-ah, stop that, y-you…!” too late, though. you’re licking and kissing all over his face, body grinding over his crotch as you shower him with your way of love. you grab his face with both hands to properly face you, and you eagerly devour his lips. your tongue parts his lips for you to dive in deeper, and TIGHNARI, giving in to the temptation, leans in towards the kiss.

you smile at this and press even deeper, your tongue wrapping his and stroking it up and down like it was cock. he should be ashamed at this filthy display, but he was too lost in the pleasure as he wraps his hands around you and brought you even closer. something sprouts from the back of your mouth– more tendrils– and his eyes widen when they join the single one in his mouth. more of them explore his mouth, obscene squelching noise reverberating in his head, and two even coil together to fuck his throat deep. the stimulation makes his toes curl and his fingers dig into your jelly mass till they’re sunk in deep.

when you finally pull away, TIGHNARI choking as the tendrils slither out of his throat, he looks up at you. you smile at your work– fluttering and hazy eyes, tongue out, heavy panting, and a deep blush. “wh-what was that…? what did you…?”

giggling at his curiosity, you open your mouth. “beh~” a multitude of tendrils squirm in your mouth, in place of where a human tongue should be. “master kaveh likes this very much! he trained me to do it~! and now, nari loves them too, yes?” he blushes harder, but he can’t find it in himself to deny it. ‘kaveh, you filthy degenerate…’ TIGHNARI makes a mental note to give him a good talking to later.

he finds himself staring at your tongues, rubbing his legs together as he remembers the pure ecstasy of fitting them all inside his mouth, and gulps. he's a respected amurta researcher, leader of the forest rangers… he shouldn't be lowering himself to such acts. but… but! TIGHNARI whimpers as he tries to soothe the fire inside him, his ears flattening. they felt so good… and well, this does count as research, right?

"[your name]..." he softly calls out, shyly taking his pants off as he stares at you hungrily. "p-please… i'll feed you even more, okay?" he can't believe what he's doing right now, but he slowly spreads his tiny asshole and looks at you pleadingly. "do it to me more, please ♡ ?"

soon, TIGHNARI finds his legs stretched up to his head, and the mischievous grin you give him as you eye his pink hole. there's something so deliciously depraved about this position and how it leaves him vulnerable to your attacks, and he can only watch through fingers as he hides his face. he watches as you lean in and lick his hole a few times, wetting and teasing it altogether, and gasps everytime your tongue passes over it. when he grinds into your mouth hoping you’ll do something… more, you laugh at him before finally fucking him with your tongues.

TIGHNARI who has his back arched beautifully, gasping and moaning as he stares wide-eyed at the ceiling. “ah~can’t b-believe this feels so– ah!-- so gooood~♡” the feeling of two tongues coiled around each other, thrusting in and out of his ass like another form of cock, has him seeing stars. perhaps it’s his animal instincts, but he quickly gets hooked on the feeling, and he grinds his ass in time to the thrusting of your tongues. “oooh, ngh, deeperrr~ go even deeper~♡” he grabs your jelly hair and starts moving your head back and forth, using you like a dildo so he can satisfy himself.

he knows you can go deeper, that you have the ability to shove your tongue so deep you’ll form a new womb. but you don’t, and he knows it’s on purpose by the mischievous glint in your eyes. “ooh ♡ wh-what are you doing…?” he sobs, thrusting your head harder as he tries to make you hit his prostate. “it’s not enough, not enough! make me cum, make me cum pleaseee!” but you’re always just an inch too short, barely grazing over the bundle of nerves but never truly touching. TIGHNARI hiccups as he grows even more frustrated.

you slip out of his grasp, as fluid as the slime that you are, and smile innocently at him. “nnoooo can dooo~” slowly, you finally align your cock at his hole, the tip nudging against the hungry little thing. “can’t have nari cum yet~ studied so much for him~”

“s- study…?” only when he finally takes a peek at your cock, does he understand the meaning behind your words. a fat pair of balls, and a large, throbbing cock with a knot at its base. ah, you naughty little slime… you must have been reading his animal biology books while he was away, weren’t you? he doubts you understood anything from his complicated textbooks, but no doubt you used the images for reference.

he swipes a tongue on his lower lip, and uses his hands to present you his needy hole. ah~ he can’t help it at all~ he’s a man, a male fox hybrid… so why are the instincts of a vixen overcoming him? his mindless heart eyes stare hungrily at your cock, and pushes against the tip in hopes that you finally get to fuck him.

NARI who doesn’t think anything but your cock and your cock alone, who’s presenting himself like a bitch in heat. through his tears of frustration, he sobs for you to finally set him free from this agonizing torture. “[your name]~” he whines, like the debauched bitch that he is. “breed me, breed me pleaseeee ♡”

✧.* CYNO

CYNO who feels the same feeling of oddness from tighnari as he did from haitham and kaveh. when he goes to visit you and his friend, he can see the blush on the fox hybrid’s face whenever you’re brought up. he averts his eyes and fiddles with his fingers, looking away from him in an attempt to hide his growing blush. it’s exactly how guilt criminals act like, and his interest only piques.

when tighnari leaves for a patrol, CYNO enters his home to take a look at you. he doesn’t know what exactly tighnari has done with you, but it must be something bad to get the ever-collected researcher to act this distracted. he sees you in the normal slime form, that round squishy ball of cuteness, and a small surprised squeak from you when you see him has you morphing into a human form. a sound of surprise escapes him when you morph– naked body and all– and when you hug him, literally melting into him, he freezes. now he understands tighnari’s reaction.

CYNO who has you kneeling down the floor and is about to lecture you on the importance of clothes until you pout up at him, and he can’t help falling for that cuteness. “thought cy came to play with me?” an arrow struck his conscience. “why is cy so mad with me…?” another arrow struck his conscience. he doesn’t really have the heart to make you suffer through a lecture when you’re just a slime who barely knows the ways of humans. he sighs, a palm to his head, and decides to just observe you for now.

ecstatic to be closer to your masters’ and nari’s friend, you quickly show him around tighnari’s house. it’s something that CYNO has seen a thousand times before, but there are some added furniture for you. there’s a hammock by the window for you to sleep on (you add that nari is too shy to sleep with you, much to the general’s added interest), plants that serve as your snacks that nari cultivated to have elemental energy, and you pull out some of tighnari’s textbooks that you say you read in your spare time. judging by the way you keep pointing at the illustrations, there’s no doubt you can read a single letter of human language. but you’re cute when you happily describe the pictures anyway, so CYNO smiles fondly.

“here!” you flip to a page on animal biology and point to a jackal, then points at the headpiece that CYNO put away by the door. “reminds me of you!” he hums, scootching to you closer to get a better look. you don’t have any heat like how a human should, nor do you have the temperature of a pyro or cryo slime. dendro and geo slimes have this earthy scent to them while you’re scentless, you don’t zap him like how an electro slime does, and you’re clearly not anemo since you’re made out of some liquid. he should check on nari’s research on you later.

“and this!” you flip to another page, and CYNO suddenly starts choking on his spit. a picture of two jackals mating takes up a quarter of the page, and he hurriedly closes the book. he can’t have an innocent thing like you looking at such things! when he looks at you to warn you about these kinds of things, he’s greeted by your lusty leer as you press your noses together. “... they remind me of you too, cy~no~♡”

CYNO who you quickly consume with your smile, the lower half of his body completely seated in your jelly body, while the upper half leans on your chest as a cushion. you give him no time to struggle as you wrap your arms around his lean chest and lean in to lick his ear. he shudders at the new sensation, gasping as your tongue pokes and prods just at the hole. he’s clinging to your hand as you tease and blow his ear, and you giggle when a particular puff of air sends him shuddering in your touch.

“cyno~” you hum, one hand to trail down and twist his nipple. he moans at the sudden pain, and you take it as a sign to continue further. you pinch and tug at his cute brown areolas, giggling when his jaw slacks as he continues to moan and drool. “cyno is very cute~ like masters haitham and kaveh~ and nari-nari too~♡”

it should come as a shame to him, for the general mahamatra to succumb to such pleasures and be downgraded with a label like ‘cute.’ but he finds himself only nuzzling into your hand when you cup his cheeks, and moaning when you press a sloppy kiss to his cheeks. “gh~♡ i… i don’t understand this feeling~” he pants into your mouth, looking at you with a lust half-lidded gaze. “‘s all too– a-ahh… ♡– too muchhh~”

“hmm… cyno’s never had sex before?” his inital judgment was wrong— you were nowhere near innocent. “that’s okay~! i can teach cyno sex like the maker taught me!” giggling, you tighten the mass around CYNO’s cock and watch as he gasps and sinks even deeper into your chest. “first, you go shhlick!” CYNO gasps when he feels multiple tendrils slowly enter his ass, slowly thrusting in and out to accomodate the slowly growing length inside him.

“h-huh?” while the slime inside him slowly expands, CYNO’s eyes widen when he sees a little bump on his stomach, and he hurriedly puts his palm on it as if to push it down. “wh-what’s going on? why… why is my stomach like… like that?”

you giggle at his confusion and panic, pressing a sweet kiss on his ear to which he shudders at. “cy-cy is very innocent, hm?” you gently clasp his shaking hand and slowly caress the little bump. “that is my cock inside you! and soon…~” you thrust up, eliciting a girly yelp from the white-haired man. “soon, my baby will be there too!”

before he can even question your words, your slimy length starts pounding him up and down. each thrust his prostate, and CYNO can barely process his feelings right now as you continue driving the slime deep into his ass. his legs shake while sunk deep into your slime, and through the translucent [color] mass he can see his hard cock leaking pre-cum. “o-ooh~♡ f-feels so goood ♡” his shaky moans is almost lost in the indecent wet slapping of your sex, and his eyes roll backwards when you squeeze the jelly around his cock. “ahhh~ah, ah, ah fuu~ck ♡ ooh, yeah, fuck me deeper into my hole pleeasseeee– thank you thankyouthankyouthankyouuuu ♡♡”

soon, you press CYNO onto his chest, your slime body beneath him accommodating his nipples by creating suction holes that suckle on them nonstop. his sweaty back faces you, and in the back of his mind, he’s thankful enough that you don’t have to see the absolutely fucked-out look he’s been wearing this entire time.

“cyno is very good at sex~” you hum, lovingly stroking his hair while you continue thrust into him like a beast. “you can cum into me, then you’ll be just like my masters and the others~♡”

✧.* IT’S A THREESOME!

you lean back on TIGHNARI’s chair, enjoying the show before you. two tentacles drive themselves deep into CYNO’s ass, leaving him no room to breath as they fuck a bump into his belly. sobbing at the overstimulation and sapped out of energy after being fucked for over an hour, his hands grip tighnari’s own as he incomprehensibly cries out pleas of mercy.

his friend, on the other hand, is a bit more energetic. tighnari grinds against the breeding cock fucking into him, a wide and satiated smile distorting his usually calm features. his rhythm is downright animalistic, and his eyes are only fixated on your knotted dick as he watches it slide in and out of his wet hole. he’s drooling, eyes empty with nothing but sexsexsex behind them, so in love with you and the pleasures you offer that they’ve morphed into hearts.

“p-please… breed me more, please ♡” nari can feel the knot slapping against his ass, and cyno watches in shame as his best friend sobs trying to shove the entire thing in. “kn-knot me, please ♡ fill me with pups… your pups ♡! [y-your name] i’m begging youuuu ♡”

“n-nari…” cyno whimpers, holding the fox’s hands tighter. “can’t– ooh ♡– can’t think anymore…”

you giggle behind them, suspending them midair as you and your limbs pull them closer to you. “you don’t have to think anymore cy-cy ♡” you hum, stroking his chin before kissing him deep. both of you can feel tighnari’s hungry stare as you and cyno share a sloppy kiss, and you soothe his growing jealousy by shifting your attention and kissing him too. while cyno sits by dazed, nari eagerly laps up all the slimes you have to offer, taking them in like a man in a desert. “no one has to think at all ♡”

they can feel your cocks pulsing inside them, evident in the way they begin to pound themselves on your lengths. while cyno struggles to take your squirming tentacles to their base, tighnari’s broken laughter fills the air as he readies himself to take in that breeding knot. soon enough, hot and viscous slime erupt inside them, and their bodies arch in a silent scream as they feel you giving them more than they could take.

the general goes slack in your hold, body twitching and spasming as the tentacles spurt more wave after wave of sweet nectar inside him. tighnari releases a moan of relief as you force the knot all the way in, and when you pull, he squeaks as he gets pulled alongside your cock. he gives you a pouty glare whilst his partner stares slack-jawed at the ceiling.

ah~ if only your creator could see you right now, fulfilling the very reason you were born to do. you wonder if he’ll be very proud of you, to have the four of the finest men in sumeru succumb to your temptations. he had always told you that you were less slime and more of a demon, anyway. you don’t exactly know what a ‘demon’ is, but judging by the happy and satisfied looks on your friends’ faces, you’re sure that it’s something that makes humans verryyy happy, right ♡ ?

#*ੈ✩‧₊˚ next stop! creator & his test subject #genshin impact #genshin smut #genshin impact x reader #cyno smut #tighnari smut #genshin cyno #genshin tighnari #genshin x reader #cyno #tighnari #nite.writes

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hikarimiyanaga · 9 months

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Forget Me (Part 3)

Part 3. I really didn't plan this ahead of time. Forgive me. T_T Taglist : @letssayless

You hum as you get to the mountain in the east of Inameru. You see the lightning gathering at the core and hum.

“No need for me to intervene then. Seems like my remedy finally worked!” You fist pump and grin.

During the whole year that you’ve trained in Inameru. This was the one problem that you really wanted to solve.

You use geppo to quickly get to your base. You hum as you dive through the air and land perfectly without any noise.

“YES! Stealth mode of Geppo, unlocked!” You check it on your notebook and hum in satisfaction.

During your whole year on Inameru, you had five goals only.

One was to research the unusual thunderstorms. Two was to collect seeds and herbs. Three was to tame animals.

You hear a roar from your left and see Shishiro. The leader of the lions in the forest. You grin at him as you pet his head.

“Shishiro, you better be a good leader when I leave, okay?” Shishiro roars in agreement and you smile as you pack up your things.

Four was to train yourself and five was to not think about Hancock at all.

In between trying to solve the lightning mountain problem, trying to tame animals and also trying not to get eaten by them, researching herbs, fruits and plants, preparing food for yourself and Pyhia, you had no time to think about her at all.

You hum as you drag your sacks of seeds and herbs. Your bag full of meat. And your tent that you’ve slept on for the past year. As you were walking to your boat, various animals that you’ve befriended comes out of the forest to see you off. As you load your things on both the boat and the raft, Pyhia shows up and squeals at you. You grin at her.

“Pyhia! You’ve grown up so much.” She splashes you with water and you smile. You look back at Inameru and smirk at all the animals just looking at you.

“Bye, everyone! Get along well with each other, okay?” The animals roar in agreement and you get on the boat.

“Let’s go, Pyhia! Time to go home!” Pyhia squeals in agreement and she swims through the calm belt. At an alarming speed. You quickly hold onto the boat and pale.

“WAIT! PYHIA! You’re going too fast!” You scream.

Hancock wakes up and looks at the time. 8 am again.

She’s been trying to wake up at exactly 7 am for the past year to no avail.

“I still can’t do it.” She mumbles as she gets off her bed.

She bathes herself and changes into her usual wardrobe.

She sits through her usual meetings and reports.

She smiles appreciatively at every gift she gets.

She makes sure to do all the things that you’ve always reprimanded her for. At lunch, she eats with both Mari and Sonia with almost no energy left.

It’s been a year. A year since you left. A year since you confessed through a letter.

Hancock can’t even think about Luffy as she was too worried about you.

She’s asked Elder Nyon so many times to have your Vivre Card to possibly find you but the elder wouldn’t budge at all.

“She needs time to find herself. Time for her alone. DO NOT DISTURB HER.” Gloriosa has said this countless times to everyone who wanted to find you.

It seemed that every Kuja member has come to find you at least once.

As Hancock finishes her day up. She goes to Elder Nyon’s house. She knocks at the door and the older woman sighs at her.

“What do you want?” Hancock was about to speak up when Elder Nyon intercepts. “AND DO NOT SAY VIVRE CARD. I’m not above punching you.” Gloriosa can see that Hancock is just tired so she back off a little. Hancock shakes her head.

“Can I go in her room?” Elder Nyon gets surprised at that. She has been cleaning your room for the past year so it was preserved the way you left it. Gloriosa is surprised that the first one who wanted to get inside was Hancock.

“Sure. Come in.” Hancock gets inside and makes a beeline to your room. She opens the door and hums. She sits on your bed and looks around, realizing that it was the first time she’s been inside since she met you.

This was your sanctuary, the one place you didn’t invite anyone into.

Hancock looks at the books on your shelves, the closet with your clothes, the various gifts that you’ve gotten. One thing particularly catches her eye. She stands and gets closer to it.

It was a doll of Hancock.

Hancock picks it up and there was a note on it’s back.

“Birthday gift from Sweet Pea. I have to thank her.”

Hancock tears up. Your birthdays. She never missed one since you met her. Always claiming that her presence was a present enough and you just laugh it off and agree with her. She makes sure to always throw you a banquet and you always grin at her.

“Belated Happy Birthday, Y/N.” She sobs. “Please come back.” She clutches the doll and hugs it.

You puke your guts out into the sea while Pyhia watches you.

What used to be a few days of travel became 12 hours.

"I get that you've grown but damn it!" You lie down on the beach and pant.

"That was too fast!" You complain and sigh.

You wanted to use those few days to resolve yourself. To see if you were still in love.

You sigh and look as Pyhia releases herself.

"Go home. Come visit and roar at me, okay?" Pyhia squeals in agreement then swims away.

You unload all of the things that was on the boat and raft. You hum to yourself as you drag all of them to Elder Nyon's house.

Hancock was still in your room, fast asleep and clutching one of your clothes and her doll.

While Gloriosa was having her evening tea.

"Elder Nyon!" Two of the people in the house far from the castle get startled at your shout. You put down your things and grin. "I'm home!" Elder Nyon pops her head out of the window and tearily smiles as she sees you.

Although she was tough on others who are always itching to know where you were. Gloriosa cried almost every night the month that you left.

Hancock quickly runs outside, even passing Elder Nyon and opens the door to see you. She cries silently. You see Hancock and you feel your heart beat faster.

Oh. That answers that question.

You were still in love with her.

"Y/N!" Hancock calls out then runs to you. You grin and bear the pain that just clutches your heart.

"Hancock!" You hug her as she tackles you. You stand your ground and prevent the both of you from lying down on the ground.

"I missed you so much!" You smile and just hug her silently. Elder Nyon finally gets out of the house and glares at Hancock for stealing your first hug home. You chuckle as you release Hancock, who whines at the loss of your warmth, then hug Elder Nyon.

"I missed you, Elder Nyon!" You hug your grandmother tighter and Hancock pouts, did you not miss her?

Gloriosa smirks at Hancock who glares at her.

You release Elder Nyon, not knowing that you were in between glares then look around.

"Did anything change while I was gone?"

"Some things!" Hancock steps in, preventing Gloriosa from answering you, and clings to your arm as she says all of the things that happened during your absence. You were listening intently but want to get out of her hold. 'Why is she clinging on!?'

"What is all this?" Elder Nyon asks and you look back at her. You release yourself from Hancock and grin as you get your things.

"Oh! Seeds, herbs, and meat! I brought some back from the island south of here!"

"South?" Hancock asks and you nod.

"I named it Inameru!"

You were sitting by yourself in the living room while Elder Nyon and Hancock were at the sofa, listening to you. You tell them everything you did for the past year and everything you know about Inameru.

“Oh, yeah! I actually drew a map!” You exclaim and get the said map from your bag. You grin as the two marvel at it.

They both didn’t know that you knew how to draw maps. After all, you never got the chance to show this talent.

“Oh, yeah. All the meats should be given away. Seeds should be planted. And herbs should be prepared.” You mumble as you take out your notebook.

“What’s that for?” You look at Hancock and hum.

“Notes. Everything that I know about Inameru is in here.” You grin then yawn. Gloriosa tactfully closes the map and the notebook in your hand, if she let you to your devices, she was sure that you were going to do everything you just said with no rest.

“You must be tired. You should go rest.”

“Got it. Thanks, grandma. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Of course. Rest well.” Hancock stands and is about to go into your room as well when Gloriosa stops her. “AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING??”

“I want to sleep with her! I’ve been missing her for a year!” That made you flinch. Did they not realize that the walls in this house were thin?

“What?” Elder Nyon glares at Hancock. “You didn’t even notice when she was gone for over a week!” That made you tear up. Oh. Huh. You clutch your heart as the pain settles in. She didn’t even notice. You plop down on your bed and wear your noise-cancelling ear muffs.

“What- Why can’t you just forget about that?” That pisses Elder Nyon even more.

“She went over there to forget about you! Leave her alone!”

“She’s my best friend too, Elder Nyon!”

“And she’s my granddaughter! OUT!”

Hancock grumbles as she looks at the house.

She smiles though as she walks to the castle.

You were finally back.

Hancock wakes up groggily as she looks at the clock.

“The hell?” She grumbles as she sees that it’s already 8 am. “She’s already back, right? I didn’t dream last night, did I?”

You look over at Amazon Lily as you eat your lunch by yourself.

You already did everything that you were supposed to do.

Distributed the meat, planted the seeds and prepared the herbs.

All that was left to do is avoid Hancock even more whilst trying to find a job. Staying by her side didn’t mean that you had to see her everyday did it?

You shake your head.

"I might not have gotten over her but I should at least get my head together!"

You were humming to yourself as you catch some fish when you see a shadow overcast over you. You turn your head and sweat as you see Hancock glaring at you.

You've been back for three days and not once have you even visited the castle.

You just ate and trained together with Sonia and Mari outside the castle.

Hancock hasn't even seen you at all since the night you returned.

"Um. Hi?" Hancock's eye twitches at that.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HI!?" She grabs your collar and you look away from her. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?"

"Um. Trying to find a job?" You say, unsure of what Hancock's problem was.

"YOU HAVE A JOB. REMEMBER?" Hancock's eye twitches yet again as she releases you.

"But I quit a year ago? Did no one take over?"

As a matter of fact, Sonia and Mari did but Hancock would rather have you by her side.

"I never said that I accepted your resignation did I?" You realize that she was telling the truth.

"Huh." Was that how jobs worked, thou-

Before you could think more about it. Hancock holds your hand and drags you to the castle.

"Let's go!"

You were yawning as you finish all the paperworks for today. After Hancock dragged you to the castle to be her assistant again, she wasted no time just to order you around.

Even the most mundane tasks that you never did before was now yours to do.

"You tired?" Kikyo asks from the door and Hancock eavesdrops as she pretends sleeping.

"Yeah. You?" You yawn for the fifth time that evening.

"Not really. I think you did most of my job." You chuckle at that. "The Empress really did a number on you." You hum. "Not going to complain?" You shake your head.

"What's the use? She even dragged me here just to order me around."

"I think she missed you." You chuckle at that.

"No, she did not." You wipe away the lone tear that escaped your eye. "If she did then she would've noticed that I was gone the moment I left."

"But she didn't." You nod as you clutch your chest.

"She didn't." You wipe your tears away. "I should go home."

Hancock opens her eyes as Kikyo exits her office as well. She was crying as she realizes that she was hurting you. She picks up your letter and sigh.

"I need to let her go."

"You're fired." Was the first thing you hear as you were going to wake Hancock up. You notice that she was already awake and sitting on her throne. You raise your eyebrow at Kikyo.

"What?" You glance at Hancock but she doesn't even spare you a glance. "Hancock dragged me in here! I-"

"That's Empress for you." Hancock interrupts and you tremble.

Oh. She was even taking that back.

"Empress, huh?" You clutch your necklace and break it's cord. "I'm so sorry, Your Majesty. Here." You throw the clay pendant at her feet. "I'm breaking my promise to you." You turn around. "You'll never see me again."

You quickly get out of the castle. Everyone around Hancock were on pins and needles as Hancock picks up the pendant. She immediately notices the engraving at the back of the heart-shaped pendant.

BH + Y/N

What?

Before Hancock even realizes it, her tears were already flowing down her face.

What is this pendant?

A/N:

Sorry that I've been gone for a few days. I had to repair my monitor T_T.

#boa hancock #boa hancock x reader #boa hancock x you #one piece #one piece x reader

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jq37 · 3 months

Text

The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 8

Enter the Vultureverse

Welcome back to the Report Card where we are having a mini recap because my schedule has been off the wall bonkers! Luckily, this week we can split the episode pretty neatly into two sections: research and fighting. We’ll go more in depth on the research than the fighting because those are the bits that will be more long term plot relevant though I’m sure the fighting will be long term relevant to Gorgug and the therapist I hope he has because yikes gang!

First things first, we resolve stress tokens which the party has to use to nerf themselves and take disadvantage on the skills they choose. They are as follows:

Fig: Insight and Religion.

Gorgug: Initiative, Insight, Deception, and Charisma Saves.

Adaine: Initiative, Intimidation and Persuasion.

Fabian: Tool Proficiencies, History, Investigation, and Perception.

Kristen: Initiative, Wisdom Saves, and Medicine

Riz: Perception, Survival, Athletics, and Deception.

When we left, Lydia had dropped off all the info from her old party mates and the Bad Kids were surprised to see that it was all written not in Infernal but in Giant. The whole gang (except Gorgug who’s still at home) circles up in Adaine’s tower to help and she casts Comprehend Languages so she can read the texts. Fig tosses Adaine a bardic to juice her History roll which prompts Brennan to have Siobhan roll on a d100. On a 91, Adaine’s stomach gurgles and a cloud of dust mites fly into her eyes, causing her to knock her head and pass out.

Kristen rushes to her aid (with a medicine check rather than spells since she’s currently out) to stabilize her. Brennan asks if she rolled less than an 8 and even though she didn’t, her stomach also gurgles and she sees a vision of the food court: a flash of red, a familiar scream (not Cass), and then silence. In Adaine’s eyes, she sees splattered blood reflected. Ominous!

Everyone is freaked and they’re getting major shrimp vibes. Fig declares herself cursed and submits to arcana checks from everyone. With his angel-spy necktie, Riz casts Detect Good and Evil and finds a fiendish aura around her that’s different than her natural one. She is for sure cursed.

While this is going on, Gorgug is at home, watching Frostyfaire stuff get set up. His parents allude to some ~mysterious machines~ under tarps and promise not to embarrass him. That’s not oddly specific at all and it certainly won’t come back to bite him in this very same episode. He gets the text from the group that Adaine passed out and goes to meet up with them but, as he leaves, he sees electricity running through one of his parents many gadgets and has a moment of inspiration about how the pulse of the electricity and the pulse of his blood and heart when he’s raging might have some kind of synchronicity. He makes a note and saves it for later.

OK! Now let’s round up all the new info the party learns from the notes Lydia provided:

There’s a record of Ruvina (Lucy’s god) giving Cass a wedding gift: a Bridle of Frost that would allow her to command a team of fiery horses. The fact that Cass was married is new info and Riz speculates whether she was being married to a giant/giant god.

Apparently, Cass, Galicaea (her sister), and Sol (her brother) were traveling together in the Mountains of Chaos.

(As an aside, we learn that Cass is more aligned with fae and Galicaea is with the elves–we knew that second part already. We also learn that Helio’s mom was a mortal woman.)

We learn of a law of magic called Obliviati Mori by Clerics and the Law of Theothanatic Silence by wizards. It basically means that even though gods can remember dead gods, they’re not allowed to revive them via worship by speaking their name and reminding mortals of them. Adaine gets the sense that if this is a law then it can be broken somehow and Brennan says yes, but there are likely hefty arcane penalties.

Fabian wonders if Cass’s, “I thought you were dead” was referring to this dead god who is maybe her ex. Riz wonders if Lucy was possessed by a god and that’s how she was able to write down the name of the dead god–something that should have been impossible since no mortals know their name and no gods are allowed to speak or write it.

Fig thinks the Ratgrinders are being mighty suspicious in their seeming lack of mourning for Lucy and especially in Ivy’s not shocked reaction to seeing her disguised as Lucy.

(These next pieces of info we don’t get until after a short interlude but I’m gonna put it here to keep it neat.)

Riz thinks that it’s suspicious that Tracker’s church would suddenly be blowing up right when this dead god is coming back and wonders if there might be some shenanigans going on where their worship is somehow being siphoned off to power this other god (something gods are specifically not supposed to do).

In one of the books, Kristen sees an illuminated page (illuminated as in illustrated–think Book of Kells) that is unfinished. It has an empty arch wreathed in flames and a design of red 24 point stars with sharp rays that are very similar looking to the shatter stars they encountered in the mall fight.

Fig wonders if a union of Doubt and Rage (Cass and this unknown god) was maybe too powerful so their marriage was sabotaged by another god.

After all the research, it’s almost time to go to Frostyfaire, but before they do, Kristen takes a leap of faith and (1) texts Tracker to see if they can meet up since her god is relevant to the investigation and (2) texts her parents to ask if they want to get coffee. Tracker says she’s busy the next few days but she’s free starting on Monday. Kristen's parents don’t text her back but her brother Bucky does and lets her know that her parents are debating it but it feels like they’re gonna say yes. Sibling loyalty!

Adaine does a Detect Magic on the token Kristen’s teacher gave her and determines that it’s basically a deity-less Holy Symbol so she’s got something to tide her over while she works on getting Cass back.

Fig, who you’ll recall is dabbling in paladin classes, decides to pray for the first time and attunes to a moment of doubt that’s sacred to her: when her horns first started growing in and it changed her whole life, ultimately for the better. The shards from Cass in Kristen’s pocket glows indigo and she decides to pray with Fig as well, gaining a 6th level spell slot back in the process.

On to the fair!

When they arrive, Gorgug’s parents welcome them–incluing Fig’s alter-emo Wanda since she’s in disguise to mess with Ruben/hopefully get some info. Riz and Kristen are thinking that all the crunchy, granola kids here from Aguefort are a substantial voting block but, before they can do anything about that, an old druid shows up and offers them a toke of his pipe.

Fool the Bad Kids once, shame on you, but they’re NOT getting trapped in a net like Max. They all immediately roll to check if something’s up and Adaine crits, clocking the druid as an illusion. Riz casually says, “No thanks Oisin,” as Adaine casts Dispel Magic, revealing not the Ratgrinder’s wizard but their bard, Ruben who sneers at them and then gets into an argument with Gorgug about whether he (Ruben) shits or not. Very normal teenager conversations. Fig has dipped at this point because she wants to debut as Wanda to Ruben at a strategic moment but she secretly hits him with a Hex to his Int to help guard against any rolls he might make to clock her disguise later. She also notices how mad Gorgug is getting at Ruben’s nonsense and texts Porter a list of things that piss Gorgug off, trying to help him out.

Ruben’s band, My Clerical Gnomance (of course), of which Fabian is a big fan (sure) head to the stage and start playing their set but then, all of a sudden, thunder rumbles and a surge of electricity makes the stage lights go weird. In a flash, Grix appears, hovering above the crowd! He assesses the crowd and finds it full of rulebreakers and felonies so he decides to do his part in restoring “Perfect Order” by CASTING DISINTEGRATE ON RUBEN. Why is he even here? This is so outside of his jurisdiction! He says the school experience is best optimized by being omnipresent but COME ON man! This can’t be legal, even in Spyre!

Anyway, initiative!

Like I said, we’re really gonna breeze through this fight because it’s mostly non-plot relevant but there are a few things I want to highlight:

Adaine right away burns a portent roll to save Ruben from the Disintegrate. I wonder if, in Ruben’s mind, that’s worth being a little softer towards the Bad Kids in the future.

Grix uses a spell or ability to awaken all the nearby machines to fight by his side but…uh…the Thistlesprings were busy during the four months of night and they decided to retrofit some of their random appliances into very elaborate sex toys. Both Zac and Gorgug are mortified.

Ruben curiously doesn’t just ditch when the going gets rough like you might expect someone who only grinds rats to do. He stays and does what you’d hope a bard would do: plays with this band to distribute bardics to everyone. Of course some of that is probably to impress “Wanda” who he spots in the crowd but you have to wonder how much his personal adventuring philosophy aligns with his party’s. Maybe not everything he’s done is logged on the official record. Also, he seems horrified by the situation so either (1) the RG’s aren’t somehow collaborating with Grix, (2) they are but only certain RG’s are in on it, or (3) he’s a great actor which he could be as a bard but I think that’s least likely.

We learn that Gorgug in addition to his homunculus, Cloaca, now has a steel defender: a gecko named Clobica (a Battle Smith class feature). It’s kinda like a familiar that can attack.

The fight gets hairy fast with multiple Bad Kids getting stunned and Adaine going down. Kristen uses her one spell slot to cast Mass Cure Wounds but that still leaves Adaine, a squishy wizard, surrounded by enemies and a bunch of party members stunned and failing to snap out of it.

Grix mentions that he was warned to expect tomfoolery in general but especially from the Bad Kids which of course begs the question, “By who?”

Grix is successfully able to cast Dominate Monster on Riz by appealing to his sense of order and visions of Lord Salazar Edge's College of Lone Adventurers dance in his head. He turns his attention to Adaine next (which makes me wonder if he was just consulting a dossier on the Bad Kids in that moment because Riz and Adaine are for sure the ones you’d target with this pitch).

Now, this episode might be known as the one where they had to fight a sex toy lawnmower except for what happens next. Because, much like in the first fight this season, there is a vulture on this battle set. And our intrepid heroes noticed it immediately. So, back against the wall, party in dire straits, and out of spell slots, Kristen decides to interact with the vulture as the rest of the table give thumbs up, supporting the bit.

She prays to Cass, asking for help in connecting with the vulture and then gives a now very familiar, “Heyyyyyy girlie.”

“WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?” the vulture says to the surprise of the full table. Feathers whip around the dome and a graphic appears: YOU ARE ENTERING THE VULTURE DIMENSION. A new set is brought out. Everyone is losing their minds. I didn’t take a hit from Ruben's pipe but I feel high. And that’s where we end our episode!

No extras this week because I’m crunched for time but, don’t worry, I’ll roll that all into next recap since the fight continues in the next ep. Can’t wait to figure out what the hell the vulture dimension is tonight!

#Dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #d20 #d20 spoilers #fantasy high #fantasy high spoilers #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #spoilers #the report card

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nifolution · 1 year

Text

You Loved Me Once

Pairing: Jake Jensen & Plus-size Reader

Summary: It couldn't be gone. Somewhere deep inside him, he remembered their love. He had to.

Warnings: fluff, angst, feels, humor, mentions of naughty times with food, injuries, car accident due to explosion, mention of guns and being shot and stabbed, concussion, memory loss, fat shaming, heartbreak, breakup, enemies to lovers to strangers

A/N: Takes place roughly 5 years after the movie. This is a revised copy of my oc fic. It is still written in 3rd person. No stealing, no reposts, no translations, no feeding to AIs. Comments, reblogs and likes are always welcome and appreciated.

Main Masterlist

Jake Jensen tiptoed behind his niece, holding a finger to his lips to keep her friends mum about his presence. Carefully dropping a card into the hood of her zombie sweatshirt, he scampered away. The birthday girl would notice soon enough. And if not, her friends would point it out. The eighth graders well onto the sneaky uncle’s game.

Hannah was old enough that she preferred picking out her own things, but Jake hated the idea of just handing her a gift card. So he bought several for her favorite places; the ice cream parlor, the sporting goods store so she could get new cleats, the movies and so on. Throughout the party, Jake would stick a gift card in his niece's hoodie without her knowledge. The first was placed when he hugged her and wished her a happy birthday. Once discovered, he would find an opportunity to put in another.

Groaning, Stephanie plopped herself down, joining the table of chit-chatting adults. “You're a great uncle, but why did you have to convince her to have a zombie birthday?” She pointed an accusing finger at Jake, “Do you know how difficult it was to make a brain cake that oozes fake blood?”

“What? Christmas in July, zombies in June, not to mention 13 is an evil-evil number, made perfect sense to me.” He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Hannah found the gift card, pursing her lips in mock annoyance as she pocketed it. “Besides, Angel here deserves half the credit.”

Y/N scoffed, “Don’t throw me under the bus. Your sister knows this was all you.”

In reality they both had an obsession with the genre. The couple loved watching monster movies together. Gotten into more than one heated debate over who could defeat whom. Each of them had their favorite creature army and strategies. And although dead and undead things didn't technically qualify, it fell under a similar umbrella.

“Party’s almost over. Any exciting plans after this?”

“Hannah is spending the night at her best friend’s house. So I plan to finish a bottle of wine, and the rest of that cake, while I watch my show and pass out. Then tomorrow, she has to be back by noon, to start her project on ‘armadillos and their impact on the environment.’ Don’t forget, Jake, you promised to help her research for the report and make a diorama.”

“Ooh, I can help too. I know lots of armadillo facts. They’re insectivores… they love to swim… give birth to identical quadruplets, and their armor is tougher than a 9mm.”

Jake threw his arm around his girlfriend, “My Angel is so helpful.” As he spoke, his niece walked by with her overnight bag. He quickly placed another card into her hood without missing a beat. “I can’t wait to get you home, watch Godzilla kick some Ghidorah butt. Maybe have my favorite snack, a little taste of the rainbow,” he grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

Stephanie cringed at the suggestive tone, “Eww, I don't even want to know.”

Hannah began to put on her shoes to leave, finding another gift card inside the left one. “UNCLE J!”

Looking as smug as ever, Jake grabbed Y/N’s hand, announcing that was their cue to leave.

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

The day Clay introduced Y/N to the team, Jake didn’t take too kindly to her. Giving any reason he could think of as to why The Losers didn’t need a sixth member. Determined to prove her untrustworthy and unnecessary, he drilled her about the drones she makes and her qualifications, trying to catch her in a lie.

He didn't find one, and Clay insisted that she would be an asset. While the rest of the unit was in the field, Y/N would be at home, providing remote support. So Jensen could focus on staying alive instead of his computer. It didn't stop him from feeling like he was being replaced. He was the tech guy, why did they need her?

"Just so we're clear, Y/N, if that is your real name, I am hacker A and you are hacker B. I was here first and I'm not going anywhere."

After the first operation she more than proved her usefulness. Research, logistics, hacking, navigation, and drone assistance. Her drones gave them a bird's eye view, cameras, surveillance, real time topography, thermal imaging, warning systems, an extra set of guns and more.

It was impossible to deny she knew what she was doing. They only walked away in one piece because of her. But it wasn’t until Jake was making his usual attempt at humor mentioned battling kaiju, that the most beautiful sound graced his earpiece. Y/N was laughing, she understood the joke. She then told him a real kaiju would stomp him into monster toe jam, giving Jake a fit of clamorous snorting and wheezing.

“Careful there, Jakey, I don’t want to have to call the paramedics because you passed out.”

He heard the smile in her voice, he couldn’t get enough. “I changed my mind. You are now hacker A. A for Angel.”

Everything changed after that day. Jake flirted with her constantly on comms, much to his teammates' chagrin. His nonsensical banter was now mostly aimed to amuse her. He loved hearing her heavenly voice in his ear. Willing to do whatever it took to make her laugh. The more time he spent speaking with her, the harder he fell. There was an undeniable connection between them.

"So my beautiful Angel, keeping an eye on us from high above, when will you grace me with a date?" Jake had asked before and she had let him down gently. He had to try one more time, even if it led to another rejection.

"I told you, I don't date coworkers. Not even reeeaaally cute ones," she whined. Once again regretting the no.

"I know, but we're more like… long distance coworkers." He smiled to himself, lowering his voice to what he considered a sexy tone, "We work oceans apart so we can be skin to supple naked skin at home… and occasionally other locations. So it's not really breaking your rule."

Y/N giggled, "How can I say no when you put it like that."

"Soooo that's a yes?"

She couldn't help but give in to his dorky charm. "Yes, you can take me out when you're stateside. We'll see where this goes."

"Oh it's going. It's going so far you won't know where the hell we are. Just me and you, lost with nothing but a flashlight and our body heat to keep us warm."

There it was again, his favorite sound.

Four years later Jake still makes inappropriate comments over comms. Their relationship remained strong. Their love and devotion never wavering. Y/N didn't know Jake had been hunting for the perfect ring and planning a big proposal. He wanted to get it just right, his Angel deserved no less.

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

“Let's get it oooonnnn.

Let's love, baby.

Let's get it oooonnnn, suGAR.

Let's get it oooonnnn, woo hooooooooo.”

An hour and a half outside one of Sri Lanka’s capitals, the roar of a large truck speeding down a dirt road, was accompanied by very offkey, shrill singing.

Pooch gripped the steering wheel tightly, turning his head briefly to yell at the offending teammate, “Shut up Jensen. You sound like a cat being skinned alive.”

The criticism didn’t bother Jake at all. “Don't be a party pooper, Linwood, I’m serenading my love.”

Y/N shook her head, smiling to herself. “You can sing to me later Jakey. Give the guys ears a break.”

“My gorgeous sexy Angel, when I return, I want to run a hot bubble bath for us. I need to feel those pretty nails scratch down my back. Then I’ll order sushi so you eat it off my naked body. This may or may not be followed by an equally sexy shower.”

"Clay, if I have to listen to this much longer, I'm gonna stab him." Aisha had enough. His lovesick screeching needed to be stopped.

Jake grinned ear to ear, placing his hands behind his head, "What can I say, she loves the angle of my dangle.”

“Okay, The Pooch does not need to hear about the weird Klingon sex or whatever you two are having.”

“Ooh Angel, HIja' bangwI' Ha'.”

"That’s enough,” Clay snapped. “Stop giving them new kinks and focus. The compound is eight klicks ahead. So unless you want to die today, zip it."

“You got it boss. Playtime’s over.” Jake’s voice became gruff and ominous, “Their evil lair looms in the distance. We must prepare our shields and sharpen our silver swords.”

“They aren’t werewolves... I don’t think.” Checking that her drones were in place and out of sight, Y/N cleared her throat, “Alright, it looks like the first set of guards are stationed in an armored vehicle outside the northwest entrance. All clear beyond that gate as of now.”

Clay nodded, “Copy that.”

“Come home to me safe Jakey.”

“Always my Angel. Love you.”

“Love you.”

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

All targets were eliminated, the team was on their way back to the hotel, the coast should have been clear. The explosion shocked everyone when an IED detonated under their truck. Four crawled out of the wreckage. The fifth was trapped inside, unconscious and unresponsive.

To say Y/N was drowning in guilt would be an understatement. She blamed herself for the accident. For logging off when she did. She wasn't watching out for them when they needed her. She should have monitored the vehicle better. It could have been prevented had she been more diligent. This was her fault. She would never forgive herself.

Clay knew the call would be a disaster. Weeping women made him uneasy. “I am the one that declared the mission complete. If you’re going to blame someone, blame me... No, do not fly out here. It could raise too many red flags and make the situation dangerous for us. Aisha already had to slip out of the country to avoid detection. Sit tight. I will call you when he wakes up… Jensen’s a fighter, Y/N, he will pull through.”

It would be three days of crying and worrying herself sick before she would hear from her team again. Clay called with good news; Jensen was awake.

“He’s okay. Like the rest of us, he has some superficial cuts and deep bruising. He has a concussion, so they want to keep him a couple more days for observation. Then we're heading home.”

Y/N could breathe again. “Please, let me talk to him.”

“That wouldn't be a good idea right now. Jensen is too agitated and confused due to um…” Clay exhaled, scrubbing a hand down his face, “Well, the concussion seems to have caused post-traumatic amnesia.”

“Amnesia? You mean he can’t remember anything?”

“He remembers everything before 2010 without any problem, but everything after is a blur. He doesn't remember… you.”

“He doesn't know me anymore? I…That doesn’t… If this is a joke, it's not funny, Clay.” As mad as she would be, she prayed this was a bad prank of Jake’s. Hopelessly looking around, expecting him to be sneaking up on her to grab her.

“I wish it was. The doctors assure us it is temporary, but its duration is undetermined. Could be hours to months. Until then he needs to avoid stress and stimulation, let his head heal. We can calmly tell him things he forgot, but not try to force him to remember. It will come back on its own.”

Clay grimaced, “And it kills me to ask this, Y/N, but can you pack up some of his things? It would be better if Jensen stays with his sister, just until he’s more acquainted with you. He would undoubtedly be more comfortable somewhere familiar with someone he’s known his whole life.”

There was no response. If it weren't for her breathing, Clay would have thought the line disconnected. “Y/N?” he tried again. “I know it’s a lot, hun, but you guys will get through this. Jensen will be better in no time. I’ll keep you updated.”

Y/N’s voice cracked as she softly answered, “O-okay.”

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

Jake had a killer migraine. The more he tried to think, the worse it got. Waking up in a different year will do that to a person. He wished it was because of something cool, like time travel or being kidnapped by aliens that zapped his brain, but no, it was just a car accident. An occupational hazard that caused him to lose the last five years of his life.

It felt like being trapped in the twilight zone. Everything was different. His team did their best to fill him in on what he was missing. He had to be told of their set up and life as fugitives. Of Roque's betrayal and death. How they were cleared and given honorable discharges, but let the ties remain cut. They were their own unit now, with Clay still leading. It made Jake happy that hadn't changed, they still kicked ass together. He didn’t want to lose anyone else.

The part that intrigued him the most was being told he had a long time girlfriend, Y/N. Whom he called Angel. The group did the best they could telling him about the love of his life. His phone was damaged in the accident, so he couldn’t see a photo. The rest of the team weren’t picture taking people, with the exception of Pooch, who had a million of his son. Crazy, that his friend was now a father.

He learned how they met, about their home, and things they liked to do together, like mini golf and road trips to comic cons. That he loved everything about her, often claiming he secretly made her in a lab, because she couldn't be more perfect for him. And Y/N felt the same about him. He’d give her the honor of wearing his pirate hat when he was away. The one he claimed can only be worn with undies. The Losers hated that they knew that detail, but Jensen liked to overshare. How he still begged her to create a drone that can grab him and carry him through the air like Superman.

Jake listened intently and was excited to meet the awesome mystery woman they spoke about.

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

He had been back for less than twenty four hours and his head was killing him. He hadn’t recognized his own niece, she had grown so. Hannah jumped into his arms when he walked in the door, and he didn’t know her. Jake saw the heartbreak on her and his sister’s faces when she told him who she was. He felt like shit. The years he misplaced, this damn brain injury, was hurting the people he loved most.

Someone decided to throw Jensen a welcome home dinner at Clay’s. It certainly wasn’t Clay. All of the Losers would be there, including Y/N. They hoped this night would trigger his memories, or at least make him comfortable enough to move back home with her. They convinced themselves that seeing his girlfriend again would make everything click back into place.

Jake anxiously awaited her arrival. Practically bouncing off the walls with nervous energy. Clay had told him more than once to sit his ass down and relax, but he found it impossible.

Having gotten a babysitter for the night, Pooch arrived with his wife Jolene, a few cases of beer and bottles of wine.

Cougar was the next to arrive, he thought it better to not bring a date for once, Jensen didn't need actual strangers around to confuse him further.

Aisha walked in shortly after. Jake’s face lit up as he ran over, “Holy smokes, you guys weren't kidding. She is definitely mine.” He attempted to put his arm around her waist, but she was faster, catching and twisting the limb until it nearly broke.

Clay walked over to separate them. Sadly, this wasn’t the first time he had to rescue Jensen from her for doing something stupid. “Not yours, mine.” At Aisha’s glare he clarified, “When she wants to be that is. Jensen, this is Aisha. Hands to yourself or she is likely to shoot you again.”

“AGAIN?!”

“Did we not tell you that?”

Shit, she was late. Y/N had stopped to pick up dinner and it took longer than expected. This was not the way she wanted to see her Jakey again. She wore the superheroes vs supervillains jacket he bought for her. Each side ran up a sleeve and collided in battle in the back. Hoping that the sight of her in it will jog his memory. Nervously bouncing her legs, she checked her appearance in the car mirror. Not everyday the love of your life meets you for a second time.

Y/N quietly entered the apartment, her eyes instantly locked onto Jake. He was having a conversation with Pooch and Cougar, laughing and carefree. She noticed the cuts and bruises on his face and arms, knowing there were more under his clothes. It took all her strength not to run over and kiss each one.

She stood awkwardly by the door with the bags of food in her hands, waiting. Jake turned his head and looked right at her. Holding her breath, Y/N searched for any spark of recognition in his eyes. He watched her quizzically, but gave no other reaction. Maybe she should have worn the droids shirt she had on when they first met.

Jake, seeing no one else moving to help, rose from his chair to assist. Giving an apologetic smile as he took the bags from her, “Sorry about that. Do we owe you anything?”

She blinked at him, “Huh?”

“I'm not sure who paid for the dinner,” he lifted the bags in question closer to eye level.

“Oh, I did. It was my turn.”

Jake stared blankly at her, before tilting his head, “So we know you?”

“Yes, I’m part of the team. I'm - I’m Y/N, your girlfriend.”

He threw his head back, “Ha! Very funny. Which one of them put you up to this?” Jake looked around the room for the culprit.

It felt like a snake winding around her heart. Why didn't he believe her? She looked at the group with worried eyes. This was getting uncomfortable for everyone. “No, it's not a joke. We’re together. We just had our fourth anniversary two months ago.”

“Oh,” Jake's eyebrows furrowed. He looked Y/N up and down, frowning. “Um, nice to meet ya. I guess.” Turning his back to her, he walked the food to the table. His splitting headache returned, thoughts swirling and unable to stick. He hated this.

Y/N didn't miss the pity in everyone’s eyes as she silently followed. She sniffed, trying to prevent the tears from falling. Her second first impression was turning out worse than the original.

During the meal, Jake sat in the chair next to her. His body tense, his smiles tight lipped and forced, unlike before. He avoided her gaze, scowling whenever Y/N tried to start a conversation. She made the mistake of touching his arm, and he recoiled. Her stomach was in knots, not understanding why he was reacting so harshly to her.

After everyone ate, Jake and the guys set up the poker table. He watched the women talking, growing bitter. As they brought over more drinks, he turned back to his friends, “This sucks. I deserve a hot babe like Aisha or Jolene. How'd I get stuck with the boring fat chick? Love of my life,” he scoffed, “I don't think so. Waste of my life maybe.”

Y/N froze in shock, her lip trembled. He couldn't have meant what he just said.

Pooch jumped to her defense, “Jensen what the hell, man? How could you say something like that? Amnesia or not, you’re never this rude and disrespectful. You may not remember right now, but Y/N is everything to you.”

“If you like her so much, why don't you date her,” he sneered.

”I have,” Clay retorted. “That’s how she came to work with us. Aisha and I were on a break and we dated. So I have first hand knowledge of how amazing she is.”

Jake’s voice filled with disdain, “Then why aren't you together? Perhaps it's because my first instincts about her were right. She can't be trusted and shouldn't be on this team.”

“Listen jackass, it’s because I decided to hire her. And you know I prefer my women a bit batshit crazy. She’s too sweet for me, but she’s perfect for you. You both have been smitten with each other from day one.”

Briefly turning to Y/N before refocusing on Clay, Jake shrugged, “I don't feel a damn thing when I look at her. Now that Aisha, she’s got parts of me stirring. Maybe I should steal her from you instead. Or have a different girl each night, like my man Cougar. Now that's the way to play it. Why tie myself to one woman, especially that one.”

There was an uproar from the group as Y/N sprinted to the bathroom, sobbing. Everyone began yelling at Jensen for his behavior. He fought back until his migraine got too severe. His vision blurred and he felt sick. Remembering his condition, the team felt guilty for the distress they caused. Cougar drove him back to his sister’s, while the women checked on Y/N.

Jolene rubbed Y/N’s back, trying to console her devastated friend. “You know his mouth is faster than his brain. He…”

“Talks out of his ass,” Aisha finished.

Jolene gave her a pointed look before continuing. “You two are amazing together. Just be patient, things will be better soon. This will all be like a bad dream before you know it.”

It was getting harder to breathe, the snake wound tighter and tighter. Y/N tried believing, but doubts and insecurities screamed in her head. And somehow the loudest was the one whispering, ‘You lost him and he's never coming back.’

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

Stephanie kept the team updated on Jake’s progress, or lack thereof. He spent the next two weeks hiding in her guestroom, sleeping or on his laptop, refusing to talk about what happened. In fact, he wasn’t speaking much to her or Hannah at all. Her brother’s silence was deeply concerning. To her memory, he’s never been quiet for more than ten minutes at a time. Hell, the man even talks in his sleep sometimes.

No one could imagine how hard this was for Y/N. They encouraged her to hold on just a little longer and her Jakey would be back to normal.

He doesn't mean it. You guys didn't hit it off the first time either. Keep trying.

You two need to spend more time together. You know he is crazy about you.

Sometimes brain injuries can lead to personality changes. This is temporary. The man loves you.

He will remember and come crawling to you with his tail between legs, begging for forgiveness.

He's not himself right now. He hasn't even been following how Hannah's soccer team is doing.

Give him another chance.

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

It was Tuesday night so the Losers went to their favorite hangout, Bar None, for half price drinks. Everyone was surprised when Jensen showed up in an Uber. Y/N did her best to greet him with warmth and a bright smile. For the next hour she tried talking with him, mentioning things from their life together and unsuccessfully keeping his eyes and attention on her.

Regrettably, he didn't give her the chance that she was trying to give him. Jake only looked at her with hatred in his eyes, making snide remarks. Her Jakey didn't have a mean bone in his body. He would get a bit aggravated with others when presented with something he forgot, but he was acting so cruelly toward Y/N. As if his subconscious was telling him she was his worst memory and protecting himself from her. It broke her heart more to think that may be true. She tried to hold her ground, but he was winning and his eyes were wandering.

Right now Jake was busy flirting with some redhead by the bar. The new him was surprisingly smooth. The woman responded to whatever he was saying with giggles and soft touches to his arm. After getting the chick’s number, he walked back to the booth like he won a trophy. He was met with a sea of disappointed and angry faces.

“What's wrong cougar, ya pissed I'm taking all your tail? The handsome cool laconic stranger act only goes so far pal. I'm on a roll tonight.”

Aisha’s fingers twitched, aching to grab her gun and shoot Jensen in the leg. “You’re pathetic. You are going to hate yourself when your memories are back. You’re royally fucking up here. The real Jake only has eyes for Y/N.”

Jake was sick of everyone telling him what he should feel. “Well, I'm not that Jake, I'm this Jake and this Jake doesn't want to go home with the ugly fat ass.” He looked at Y/N with disgust. Then raised his bottle in the redhead's direction, “I prefer to sample the riper fruit.”

The snake sunk its fangs in. Swallowing her hurt and humiliation, Y/N grabbed her purse and jacket, apologized to her teammates and headed out of the bar. Jake smiled at her retreat. ‘Good,’ he thought. His head felt better already.

Clay followed after his recruit, grabbing her arm before she got outside, “Don't go.”

“What's the point? Y/N screamed, her eyes watering. “You heard how he truly feels about me. We're clearly over.”

“He just doesn't remember.”

“And he doesn't want to. He doesn't want to know me. He wants nothing to do with me. What we had must have been some huge cosmic fluke. I have no other explanation for how he could stand to be with me.” She shook her head, arms falling limp at her sides.

“Y/N.” Clay clasped her shoulder, unable to find the words to comfort her.

“Don't Worry, I'll get my own fat ass home.”

Cougar was furious. Jensen was directing his confusion and ire toward the person he needed the most. Y/N did not deserve this. As his friend got up to get another beer, Cougar stood in his way.

Jake sidestepped, only to be blocked again. “What’s your problem, Cougar?” he snapped.

“How dare you… You haven't shut up about that woman since you met. She gets you. Does all that geeky nerd shit with you. I’ve never seen two people so sickeningly in love. If you let her go, you are the dumbest fucking asshole on this planet.”

Jake laughed, “Wow! Tell me how you really feel.”

Cougar’s teeth clenched, "Go. After. Her."

Sparing a glance as Y/N slipped out the door, his lip curled. “I can do better.”

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

Clay was hesitant to allow Jensen on the new assignment in Corpus Christi. Jake begged, stating boredom and that his sister was treating him like a child. “I know I've been grouchy, but I'm fine, really. It's not like we’re even leaving the country.”

The Losers were already down a member, Aisha having business elsewhere that took precedence. Even with Y/N’s drones, three men on the ground wasn’t enough. Clay acquiesced on the condition that Jensen would alert the team if he got dizzy, his headache worsened or things became too much.

Jake was acting like his typical talkative self, but the topic was one Y/N couldn’t bear to hear. She did her best to be professional and not to let her team hear her cry.

“What a night boys. What... a… night. I’m surprised I can still move. Yasmin, that redhead from the bar, more like yaaas ma’am. I was gladly on my knees for that insatiable little sex kitten. And get this, we stopped to grab some beer and I saw a bag of skittles. Light bulb! I had the brilliant idea to trail the wet candy on her skin and lick off flavors and she was dowwwnnn for it. She…”

Y/N ripped out her earpiece, clutching her stomach. She was going to throw up. That was their secret thing. Jake loved saying he wanted to ‘taste the rainbow’ in public and it meaning something kinky.

The snake consumed her heart whole. Their love was gone. The shared laughs, the kisses, the cuddles, the sex, the conversations were gone. Their precious and too little time together now only memories. He wasn't her Jakey anymore.

Her Jake made her feel special and beautiful. He showed her everyday that he loved her dearly. He would never do this to her, never treat her like this. He’d kick anyone's ass that made her feel less than. He never let her doubt herself, always knew how to make her laugh. Her sweet motormouthed goofball was gone. She didn’t recognize the man that took his place.

What were you supposed to do when your whole world shattered in front of you?

Y/N could not continue working with them. It was too hard. Staying would surely kill her. Angrily wiping at her eyes to clear her blurred vision, she took a series of deep breaths. The monitors needed to be watched properly. She could at least do that. She could keep the Losers safe one last time.

Putting her comm back in, she knowingly subjected herself to hearing Jensen spill more details about his wild night with that woman. Y/N stayed online until they were back inside the safehouse.

Getting out of the van, Jensen tried to convince the team to go out. “We’ll grab a little surf and turf. Then find a nightclub to drink, dance and mingle. Come on guys, let’s get this party started.”

Everyone adamantly refused.

“Then let's stay for another day and go swimming at the beach. I'm sure there’s an army of bikini clad hotties just waiting to be wooed by us manly men.” His friends looked at him with disapproval. “What, I'm horny.”

Clay knew she was still there, he stayed on as long as she did. Not saying a word until, “I'm so sorry, Y/N.”

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

Another Tuesday, another night at Bar None, only this time Y/N met the Losers to resign. She wanted to have a goodbye drink with her friends.

Pooch embraced her, “Don’t leave us. Don't leave him.” He was unaware that over his shoulder, she could see Jensen with his tongue down a brunette’s throat.

“I can't. I'm sorry, I can't.” She couldn’t stay and watch this again.

Aisha shook her head, she wasn’t a hugger and found the loss of her friend not something to celebrate.

“If you need a glowing recommendation, you know who to call.” Clay smiled, understanding she had to do what was best for her.

Y/N returned the gesture, “I already landed another job. I’ll be leaving the country in a few days.” She handed a business card to her former boss. “This is the real estate agent willing to sell the house. If you could give that to Jensen, or he can keep it. I don’t care.” She refused to cry again.

Cougar took Y/N’s hand, glaring at Jensen who was walking their way with his new conquest. He placed a lingering kiss on her hand, slipping her a small piece of paper in the process.

“I’m going to miss you Losers.” Y/N finished her beer and walked out of their lives.

Clay’s fists clenched, “Jensen, consider yourself suspended. Effective immediately.”

Jensen rolls his eyes, “Tsk, why? Because we lost a ton of dead weight. You should be thanking me.”

“Because you have proven the ‘new you’ cannot be trusted. You can return to duty when you're back to your old self… I need a team I can depend on and right now you are the farthest from that.”

“You’re serious?” Jensen dragged the brunette with him to find another booth. “Whatever, I don't need this shit.”

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

(3 weeks later)

Jake groaned, sleepily scooching closer to cuddle the warm body beside him. “Mmmm, my Angel.”

“Ooh baby, you ready for another round?”

Jumping at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, Jake scrambled out of the bed. He grabbed his gun and aimed it at the unknown woman. “Who the fuck are you? What did you do to my Angel?”

Her eyes grew as big as saucers, “I don't know who you're talking about, you goddamn psycho. We came here alone.”

Gun in hand, Jake began tearing through the apartment, searching for any evidence of Y/N.

“I'm calling the cops. Get out of my goddamn house,” she screamed, throwing his clothing at him.

Picking up his belongings, Jake yelled back, “I'm going, stop screaming.”

“Go fuck yourself, you fucking freak!”

Jake ran out holding his clothes, managing to get his boxers on as he fumbled down the stairs. Fishing his phone out of his pants, he dialed Y/N. Instead of his girlfriend’s voice, he heard ‘We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service.’ ‘That can't be right.’

Once outside, he put his glasses on and looked around, not recognizing a thing. ‘Where the hell am I?’ He redialed. “Come on Angel, please.” He received the same message.

A dark cloud of understanding enveloped him. ‘Oh God. What the fuck did I do?’ “You fucking idiot, what did you do?”

Jake trembled, “This can't be real. It's a nightmare. That's all it is.” He squeezed his eyes shut and began slapping his face. “Wake up you loser. Come on, wake up. WAKE THE FUCK UP!”

The sound of sirens approaching, and the sting of his cheeks proved a consciousness that he couldn’t accept. His eyes remained closed, “Please.”

The End

A/N: Thank you to everyone that has read this version or the original. I appreciate you all. I’d love to know your thoughts.

* Bad klingon: HIja' = yes, bangwI'= my love, Ha' = let’s go

Sequel: Love Me Again

#jake jensen x reader #jake jensen x y/n #jake jensen x you #jake jensen angst #jake jensen fluff #plus size reader

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angelosearch · 17 days

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Every time I finish a writing session, I think to myself, "I can't wait to write again."

I cannot explain how good it feels to think that. I am near tears right now. I've fallen in love with writing again and I am so incredibly grateful.

As a kid, I loved writing. It was amazing to me, how words could evoke emotions. I looked forward to making people laugh or cry with my poetry and fiction, mostly in the form of over-achieving creative writing assignments and cards for family members. When I was 11-13, I lost so much family through death and estrangement, and I lost all of my friends because I moved. I was a weird kid, so I had trouble making friends in my new middle school. I felt alone in the world. Writing and fandom made a space where I could connect with others. A place where I could feel like an insider instead of an outsider.

Writing was my main hobby as a tween and that continued through high school. At that point, writing was a domain that held all my academic confidence. I went to a vocational high school for math and science (my two worst subjects) and literally had the second-lowest grades in my class of 41 students. My STEM-focused classmates made me feel like an idiot (sometimes on purpose, sometimes not) but I destroyed them in English or whenever a non-lab report paper was due.

So when it was time to select a college/major, writing felt like the only thing I was capable of. Undergrad Writing BAs (as opposed to English BAs with writing concentrations) are not common (at least as of 14 years ago, in the US) so the program I got into had basically every teenager who wanted to pursue writing on the East Coast in it.

I went in believing I would write "the next great American novel."

I came out thinking I was only good for writing technical stuff and marketing copy, if that.

Don't get me wrong, I learned a lot from the program, my professors, and my peers, but my peers were so skilled, and some of my professors were so ruthless, and some of the classes were so challenging that my confidence was obliterated. Writing was no longer something fun and expressive that could bring joy to others--no, it was my meal ticket and nothing else.

For years after my graduation, I tried here and there to get back into creative writing, but I was so burnt out on my jobs that creativity felt like a burden. Then, I spiraled downward with my mental health... I forgot I could love anything, nonetheless writing.

Journaling was the first thing to get me back into writing. And then personal essays. But the true joy came when I started writing fanfiction again, and it's been fucking magical.

I am obsessed with taking the ideas in my head and showing them to others. I love having to do deep research to understand something enough to write about it. I'm evoking emotion again! I'm connecting with people! And even my confidence is back thanks to the support of the amazing individuals who read and comment on my writing. ❤️

And maybe (specifically FFVIII) fanfiction is my main focus now, and maybe it always will be. But for the first time since I was a teenager, the idea of publishing something fictional or otherwise--publishing something that I WANT to write--feels obtainable.

It's cheesy, but hell, I feel like I'm doing what I was meant to do. When I write, I feel like I fit in my body, like I can tune out my anxious thoughts, like I am home. What a gift. I hope everyone can find a hobby that makes them feel this way.

And I know writing will frustrate me at times. And someday it may not feel magical to do it. But for now, I am just so excited to release my words into the wild and see what they get up to out there.

Thank you all for being on this journey with me! Now, I'm going to go write. :)

#whoops I've def said this all before but #engaging with gratefulness always lifts my mood!!#personal essay #writing #journaling #fanfiction #ao3

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zerosecurity · 7 days

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Malicious Actors Exploit YouTube for Phishing, Malware, and Scams

YouTube has emerged as a new battleground for cybercriminals to launch phishing attacks, distribute malware, and propagate fraudulent investment schemes, according to a report from security researchers at Avast. The report sheds light on the growing threat of malicious actors exploiting the popular video platform to target unsuspecting users. Deepfake Videos and Cryptocurrency Scams Researchers specifically highlighted using Lumma and RedLine malware for phishing, scam landing pages, and malicious software distribution. YouTube acts as a traffic distribution system, directing users to these malicious sites and pages, and supporting scams of varying severity. Moreover, the report uncovered a concerning rise in deepfake videos on the platform. These realistic but fake videos mislead viewers with fabricated people or events, spreading disinformation. Avast found multiple accounts with over 50 million subscribers each that were compromised and hijacked to spread cryptocurrency scams reliant on deepfake videos. These videos feature fake comments to deceive other viewers and contain malicious links. Exploitation Tactics on YouTube The researchers observed five different ways YouTube can be exploited by threat actors: - Personalized phishing emails to YouTube creators, proposing fake collaboration opportunities to gain trust before sending malicious links. - Compromised video descriptions containing malicious links, tricking users into downloading malware. - Hijacking YouTube channels and repurposing them to spread threats like cryptocurrency scams. - Exploitation of software brands and legitimate-looking domains with fraudulent websites loaded with malware. - Creating videos using social engineering techniques that guide users to allegedly helpful tools that are malware in disguise.

Protective Measures and Cybersecurity Awareness

Avast credits its scanning capabilities with protecting more than 4 million YouTube users in 2023 and approximately 500,000 users in the first quarter of this year from these threats. Trevor Collins, a WatchGuard Network security engineer, emphasizes the importance of companies and security leaders preparing their teams and organizations for these threats. "Regular education is essential. Make people aware that there are scammers out there doing this," Collins says. "In addition, train and reassure them that it's OK to notify either their security team or other people within the company if they've gotten an unusual request — for instance, to provide login credentials, move money, or go buy a bunch of gift cards — before acting on it." As cybercriminals continue to exploit popular platforms like YouTube, individuals and organizations must remain vigilant, prioritize cybersecurity awareness, and implement robust security measures to protect themselves from phishing, malware, and scams. Read the full article

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ukrfeminism · 2 years

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3 minute read

TW: domestic violence

The cost of living crisis is forcing victims of domestic abuse to remain with their abusers, charities have warned, while refuges are struggling to stay open amid spiralling energy bills.

Across England and Wales, more than two million people experience domestic abuse each year. Now a Women's Aid survey of victims found that, in two thirds of cases, abusers are using the cost of living crisis and concerns about financial hardship as a tool of coercive control, including to justify further restricting access to money.

One survivor said: “I feel like my only option to keep my kids is to go back to my marital home, where he nearly killed me.”

Lizzy Dobres, policy and practice manager for Women’s Aid, told the Telegraph that the cost of living crisis is having a “devastating impact on survivors of domestic abuse”.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “If women can’t afford to heat their own homes, how can they leave with their children?”

Ms Dobres added that women’s refuges have not received the energy rebate, and many of these centres – which can be lifesaving for those fleeing violence – cannot afford spiralling energy bills.

“We’re getting emails from centres who can’t afford the energy bills,” she said. “One service said last week they had to provide a wellbeing table of food for the staff, it’s beyond belief.”

The research also found that 73 per cent of victims said they are scared to leave their abusive home because of fears over finance.

Ruth Davison, the chief executive officer at Refuge, the largest specialist domestic abuse organisation in the UK, said that the degree to which frontline staff are hearing women are balancing the danger of living with their perpetrator and the struggle of managing alone is “staggering”.

Deanna*, a survivor of domestic abuse that lasted three years, spoke to The Telegraph about the impact economic abuse had on her.

Deanna said she had a very privileged upbringing, with a close support network of family and friends. She attended good schools and studied at Manchester University. Shortly after graduating, she met her now ex-partner, who was working in London.

Her abuser tore at her close relationships, cutting her off from her family and making her delete all men – including her brother and father – from her phone. He then quit his job and forced Deanna to fully fund their lives.

“Because of money we had to move gradually further and further out of London [and away from her family], I was paying for both of our lives, bills, food. I sold all my belongings, gifts from my 18th birthday, and DVDs to sell food. We had no electricity, no hot water,” she said. “I didn’t see friends or family at all. It was a very lonely and solitary life.”

Deanna’s abuser demanded access to her cards and forced her to be a guarantor on his payday loans, putting her in thousands of pounds of debt.

“He made me be a guarantor [for payday loans], knowing he would never repay it,” she said. “There’s very little safeguarding women financially.”

Refuge said that 92 per cent of its frontline workers reported that the cost of living crisis is pushing survivors into debt or further into debt.

Deanna said she was not allowed to ask her abuser about his own financial situation, and that any manner of question could provoke a rage.

“I woke up every day terrified, and terrified not knowing what to expect that day, not knowing what version of him I was going to get,” she said.

“[The violence] started with a push, a shove, hands around my throat. He drew blood on my neck where had his nails in my throat. That first instance I locked myself in the bathroom and slept on the bathroom floor. It got worse and worse. The worst act of violence left me with permanent nerve damage.”

Deanna said that the economic abuse was the most debilitating part of their relationship.

“The physical violence was the least worst of everything. What he did to me psychologically and emotionally was crippling,” she said. “Money was the most debilitating thing in that whole situation.”

Expressing fears about how the cost of living crisis could impact other women in her position, Deanna said: “The cost of living crisis is utterly fatal.”

Women’s Aid is calling on the government for an emergency domestic abuse fund to help survivors pay for essential items and energy bills.

Refuge said it supports the call for an emergency fund to be put in place for survivors of domestic abuse, and for the £20 Universal Credit uplift to be reintroduced for all claimants.

Ms Dobres cautioned that the survey was conducted shortly before the recent increased energy cap – which could see the average household paying £3,549 annually. “We’re very worried about what this means going into winter,” she said.

*Deanna’s name has been changed for her safety

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icybreaths · 2 years

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|| @characternerdocs || continued from here ||

Logan eyed the dripping coffee as she took the opposite seat of the ranger. She had a thermos of her own dirty bean water, which was probably lukewarm by now, nowhere near the hot, fragrant, fresh pot that was brewing now.

But she wasn’t sent here to sample the local coffee. (She make that her second priority.)

She dragged her backpack in front of her feet as she began to rummage through its content, the dog that accompanied her attentively watched, perhaps in hopes Logan would produce a treat, or perhaps a toy. “Well, my assignment at your park was based on the odd and unexplained activities. But rangers being drunk, while not my area to looking to... isn’t ideal to hear.” As she straightened up in her seat once finding her documents, the hair the hung over the right side of Logan’s face shifted and for a fleeting moment the ranger could see the pink scarring where her eye had once been.

Logan handed over her licenses, ranging from calling her an anthropologist, a cryptozoologist, to a field researcher all of which were stamped and authorized by a Smithes Scholars’ Archives. “I hope that’s proof enough I’m not a fanatic.” A coy smirk raising her scarred lips as Logan reaches back into her bag. In truth Logan would call herself a fanatic, it still seemed strange and unreal to her she was employed to invested and study what “normal” people regarded as fakery and myth; finding proof in the legends her grandmother told her at bedtime. it was unbelievable, but Logan loved it. Still smiling to herself, she pulling out a pen and notebook, and a doggy biscuit she tossed to her now very pleased dog.

“And you can call me Logan, if you like. And you? are you a stickler for the formality of Ranger Stone?”

“Hardly, it’s just the card I play ta new faces ta gauge ‘em.” Thankfully, Logan didn’t seem like she walked with a stick up her ass. “You’n call me Jewel.”

At a glance, one would think Jewel barely read through the files, but despite her casual leafing she skimmed with a careful eye. The information matched up with the agency Boss reached out to. “Looks good ta me, Logan.”

Handing the agent her files, Jewel stood and scooped her bottle up. She passively wondered what happened to her eye but thought it better not to ask. They’d only just met and it really wasn’t any of her business. Best to not delve into the personal lives of strangers, she concluded to herself.

“I s’pose we’ll get started then. Follow me.”

In her office, alphabetically organized files filled the wooden shelves that lined her walls at either side. Heading left, she knelt down to the S section and pulled its container out. “This’s the past happenin’s of supernatural occurrences this year. Some are jus’ reports from tourists but we got some in there from our own officers ‘ere as well. Some of ‘em got photos but don’t hold yer breath. A snow-caked fir and a yeti look pretty similar when all ya got’s adrenaline and a cruddy flashlight in the dead a’night.”

Plopping the file bin on her desk, Jewel parked it in her big, comfy chair and gave it a swivel as she perched a boot up on her work station. Gifting herself a long drag off her bottle, she gestured at the opposing bookcase. “You’n peek through those too. That one’s lined with missing persons and murders over the last century or so. Some of ‘em are… somethin’.”

“Matter fac’,” She added, “I should get on filin’ a report a’my own. Somethin’s been fuckin’ with my trail markers and I’ve about had it with whatever shit-stirrer’s out there. Human, creature, whatever. Need it gone because it’s makin’ my life a frostier hell than it needs ta be!”

#characternerdocs #[ park ranger au ]

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paynxt360fintech · 10 months

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The global gift card market continues to grow at an accelerated pace on the back of digital gift card offerings in 2023

Digitalization, tech-savvy population, and increasing trend of strategic alliances is driving the growth of the global gift card market in 2023. The growth rate is significantly higher in markets like the United States. According to a report from PayNXT360, the United States gift card market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7% from 2023 to 2027. Based on the estimates, the industry will increase from US$185.4 billion in 2022 to reach US$247.9 billion by 2027.

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paynxt360 · 1 year

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Innovative business models are driving gift card industry growth in 2023

Employee retention is one of the major pain points for corporates around the world. Many of the human resources teams run employee recognition programs to recruit and retain the top talent for their organizations. This has created a lot of demand for innovative startups in the employee benefits space over the last few years, which is also evident in the fact that a number of startups have emerged in the segment over the last ten years. One such startup is Bonusly which was founded in 2013.

Read More — https://www.paynxt360.com/view-point/innovative-business-models-are-dri/686

#gift card prepaid card payments NFT market research reports

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e-the-village-cryptid · 2 years

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An under-discussed aspect of the problem with labeling kids “gifted” at a young age isn’t just the harm done after the kid inevitably can’t keep up that level of achievement forever and burns out, but the harm done by the weight of expectations even when the kid is still managing to meet them all. When perfection is treated as the norm, it is impossible to achieve anything that feels like more than mediocrity. Perfection all the time every time is the minimum expected and the maximum achievable. Perfection all the time to be rewarded with not a sense of accomplishment, but a mere sense of relief, followed immediately by anxiety for next time.

I remember 7th grade, 3rd marking period, staring down at my report card. For the first (and last) time ever, I’d done it. 100% in every class. I felt a brief flicker of satisfaction, followed immediately by an inexplicable sadness. I felt a bit nauseated. I couldn’t put it into words. I went home, got the “hey, nice job honey, I knew you could do it!”, and all I could feel was a choking sense of dread, anger too. See, my parents weren’t surprised because they were supportive, because they really did believe in me. But all I could think was, That’s it. You physically cannot do better. You’ve tried for this for years, you’ve done the best you could possibly do, no one is impressed, no one is surprised. It can’t get better than that, only worse. And also, You can’t try to talk to anyone about this feeling, because you’ll be accused of bragging. That’s the other part of it, of course. You have it so good, how dare you be unhappy with it, oh so you want even more attention?

Even before the burnout, the pressure to be perfect is absolutely soul-crushing. The pressure doesn’t have to be overt, parents and teachers don’t have to demand it directly. Every time they decide what is worthy of praise, what is worthy of “oh no, you’ll do better next time”, what is worthy of surprise and what is not, they communicate that expectation and kids can pick it up. Despite the face that they are labeled “gifted” and elevated above their peers, these kids can easily become starved for praise and assurances that they’re doing well when even their most challenging accomplishments are met with lukewarm appreciation. “I knew you could do it,” “I’m not surprised,” “Of course you will!”, “Good job as always,” etc. All of these may seem on the surface to communicate praise and positive regard, but I grew to dread them as a child, because they also communicate, “This was just my expectation for you all along,” “I expect you to do just as well next time,” “Congrats, you’ve done the bare minimum to earn my appreciation, anything less would have been subpar.”

I honestly don’t know what the answer to this is, but there’s been some interesting research showing that praise should be process-based, not achievement-based. “Wow, you’re working so hard on this!”, “I can see how careful and precise you’re being with drawing those shapes,” “You’re showing a lot of determination in sticking to trying to learn this!” etc. are all process-based praise that emphasizes the positive behaviors and skills the kid is practicing rather than the end result. Also, no one needs letter or number grades in elementary school. If assessments are really to determine if the kid needs extra help or whatever, then the teacher can do what they need to with those assessments, the kid doesn’t need to see it and it doesn’t need to be used as an “evaluation” of the kid.

And if you’re still dealing with the aftermath of this, here’s your reminder that things don’t have to be perfect, the world is a lot more forgiving than it was made out to be, and giving 100% all the time is unrealistic and unhelpful. Kids and adults deserve better than to struggle for the hopeless standard of constant perfection.

#an e original

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niffala · 1 year

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You Loved Me Once

Pairing: Jake Jensen & Plus-size OFC (Maisie)

Summary: It couldn't be gone. Somewhere deep inside him, he remembered their love. He had to.

A/N: Barely proofread. Takes place roughly 5 years after the movie. Reader insert version found here. No stealing, no reposts, no translations, no feeding to AIs. Comments, reblogs and likes are always welcome and appreciated.

Main Masterlist

Maisie scoffed, “Don’t throw me under the bus. Your sister knows this was all you.”

“Party’s almost over. Any exciting plans after this?”

“Ooh, I can help too. I know lots of armadillo facts. They’re insectivores… they love to swim… give birth to identical quadruplets, and their armor is tougher than a 9mm.”

Stephanie cringed at the suggestive tone, “Eww, I don't even want to know.”

Hannah began to put on her shoes to leave, finding another gift card inside the left one. “UNCLE J!”

Looking as smug as ever, Jake grabbed Maisie’s hand, announcing that was their cue to leave.

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

The day Clay introduced Maisie to the team, Jake didn’t take too kindly to her. Giving any reason he could think of as to why The Losers didn’t need a sixth member. Determined to prove her untrustworthy and unnecessary, he drilled her about the drones she makes and her qualifications, trying to catch her in a lie.

He didn't find one, and Clay insisted that she would be an asset. While the rest of the unit was in the field, Maisie would be at home, providing remote support. So Jensen could focus on staying alive instead of his computer. It didn't stop him from feeling like he was being replaced. He was the tech guy, why did they need her?

"Just so we're clear, Maisie, if that is your real name, I am hacker A and you are hacker B. I was here first and I'm not going anywhere."

It was impossible to deny she knew what she was doing. They only walked away in one piece because of her. But it wasn’t until Jake was making his usual attempt at humor mentioned battling kaiju, that the most beautiful sound graced his earpiece. Maisie was laughing, she understood the joke. She then told him a real kaiju would stomp him into monster toe jam, giving Jake a fit of clamorous snorting and wheezing.

“Careful there, Jakey, I don’t want to have to call the paramedics because you passed out.”

He heard the smile in her voice, he couldn’t get enough. “I changed my mind. You are now hacker A. A for Angel.”

"I told you, I don't date coworkers. Not even reeeaaally cute ones," she whined. Once again regretting the no.

Maisie giggled, "How can I say no when you put it like that."

"Soooo that's a yes?"

She couldn't help but give in to his dorky charm. "Yes, you can take me out when you're stateside. We'll see where this goes."

"Oh it's going. It's going so far you won't know where the hell we are. Just me and you, lost with nothing but a flashlight and our body heat to keep us warm."

There it was again, his favorite sound.

Four years later Jake still makes inappropriate comments over comms. Their relationship remained strong. Their love and devotion never wavering. Maisie didn't know Jake had been hunting for the perfect ring and planning a big proposal. He wanted to get it just right, his Angel deserved no less.

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

“Let's get it oooonnnn.

Let's love, baby.

Let's get it oooonnnn, suGAR.

Let's get it oooonnnn, woo hooooooooo.”

An hour and a half outside one of Sri Lanka’s capitals, the roar of a large truck speeding down a dirt road, was accompanied by very offkey, shrill singing.

Pooch gripped the steering wheel tightly, turning his head briefly to yell at the offending teammate, “Shut up Jensen. You sound like a cat being skinned alive.”

The criticism didn’t bother Jake at all. “Don't be a party pooper, Linwood, I’m serenading my love.”

Maisie shook her head, smiling to herself. “You can sing to me later Jakey. Give the guys ears a break.”

"Clay, if I have to listen to this much longer, I'm gonna stab him." Aisha had enough. His lovesick screeching needed to be stopped.

Jake grinned ear to ear, placing his hands behind his head, "What can I say, she loves the angle of my dangle.”

“Okay, The Pooch does not need to hear about the weird Klingon sex or whatever you two are having.”

“Ooh Angel, HIja' bangwI' Ha'.”

"That’s enough,” Clay snapped. “Stop giving them new kinks and focus. The compound is eight klicks ahead. So unless you want to die today, zip it."

“You got it boss. Playtime’s over.” Jake’s voice became gruff and ominous, “Their evil lair looms in the distance. We must prepare our shields and sharpen our silver swords.”

“They aren’t werewolves... I don’t think.” Checking that her drones were in place and out of sight, Maisie cleared her throat, “Alright, it looks like the first set of guards are stationed in an armored vehicle outside the northwest entrance. All clear beyond that gate as of now.”

Clay nodded, “Copy that.”

“Come home to me safe Jakey.”

“Always my Angel. Love you.”

“Love you.”

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

To say Maisie was drowning in guilt would be an understatement. She blamed herself for the accident. For logging off when she did. She wasn't watching out for them when they needed her. She should have monitored the vehicle better. It could have been prevented had she been more diligent. This was her fault. She would never forgive herself.

It would be three days of crying and worrying herself sick before she would hear from her team again. Clay called with good news; Jensen was awake.

“He’s okay. Like the rest of us, he has some superficial cuts and deep bruising. He has a concussion, so they want to keep him a couple more days for observation. Then we're heading home.”

Maisie could breathe again. “Please, let me talk to him.”

“Amnesia? You mean he can’t remember anything?”

“He remembers everything before 2010 without any problem, but everything after is a blur. He doesn't remember… you.”

Clay grimaced, “And it kills me to ask this, Maise, but can you pack up some of his things? It would be better if Jensen stays with his sister, just until he’s more acquainted with you. He would undoubtedly be more comfortable somewhere familiar with someone he’s known his whole life.”

There was no response. If it weren't for her breathing, Clay would have thought the line disconnected. “Maise?” he tried again. “I know it’s a lot, hun, but you guys will get through this. Jensen will be better in no time. I’ll keep you updated.”

Maisie’s voice cracked as she softly answered, “O-okay.”

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

The part that intrigued him the most was being told he had a long time girlfriend, Maisie. Whom he called Angel. The group did the best they could telling him about the love of his life. His phone was damaged in the accident, so he couldn’t see a photo. The rest of the team weren’t picture taking people, with the exception of Pooch, who had a million of his son. Crazy, that his friend was now a father.

He learned how they met, about their home, and things they liked to do together, like mini golf and road trips to comic cons. That he loved everything about her, often claiming he secretly made her in a lab, because she couldn't be more perfect for him. And Maisie felt the same about him. He’d give her the honor of wearing his pirate hat when he was away. The one he claimed can only be worn with undies. The Losers hated that they knew that detail, but Jensen liked to overshare. How he still begged her to create a drone that can grab him and carry him through the air like Superman.

Jake listened intently and was excited to meet the awesome mystery woman they spoke about.

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

Someone decided to throw Jensen a welcome home dinner at Clay’s. It certainly wasn’t Clay. All of the Losers would be there, including Maisie. They hoped this night would trigger his memories, or at least make him comfortable enough to move back home with her. They convinced themselves that seeing his girlfriend again would make everything click back into place.

Jake anxiously awaited her arrival. Practically bouncing off the walls with nervous energy. Clay had told him more than once to sit his ass down and relax, but he found it impossible.

Having gotten a babysitter for the night, Pooch arrived with his wife Jolene, a few cases of beer and bottles of wine.

Cougar was the next to arrive, he thought it better to not bring a date for once, Jensen didn't need actual strangers around to confuse him further.

“AGAIN?!”

“Did we not tell you that?”

Shit, she was late. Maisie had stopped to pick up dinner and it took longer than expected. This was not the way she wanted to see her Jakey again. She wore the superheroes vs supervillains jacket he bought for her. Each side ran up a sleeve and collided in battle in the back. Hoping that the sight of her in it will jog his memory. Nervously bouncing her legs, she checked her appearance in the car mirror. Not everyday the love of your life meets you for a second time.

Maisie quietly entered the apartment, her eyes instantly locked onto Jake. He was having a conversation with Pooch and Cougar, laughing and carefree. She noticed the cuts and bruises on his face and arms, knowing there were more under his clothes. It took all her strength not to run over and kiss each one.

She stood awkwardly by the door with the bags of food in her hands, waiting. Jake turned his head and looked right at her. Holding her breath, Maise searched for any spark of recognition in his eyes. He watched her quizzically, but gave no other reaction. Maybe she should have worn the droids shirt she had on when they first met.

Jake, seeing no one else moving to help, rose from his chair to assist. Giving an apologetic smile as he took the bags from her, “Sorry about that. Do we owe you anything?”

She blinked at him, “Huh?”

“I'm not sure who paid for the dinner,” he lifted the bags in question closer to eye level.

“Oh, I did. It was my turn.”

Jake stared blankly at her, before tilting his head, “So we know you?”

“Yes, I’m part of the team. I'm - I’m Maisie, your girlfriend.”

He threw his head back, “Ha! Very funny. Which one of them put you up to this?” Jake looked around the room for the culprit.

“Oh,” Jake's eyebrows furrowed. He looked Maisie up and down, frowning. “Um, nice to meet ya. I guess.” Turning his back to her, he walked the food to the table. His splitting headache returned, thoughts swirling and unable to stick. He hated this.

Maisie didn't miss the pity in everyone’s eyes as she silently followed. She sniffed, trying to prevent the tears from falling. Her second first impression was turning out worse than the original.

During the meal, Jake sat in the chair next to her. His body tense, his smiles tight lipped and forced, unlike before. He avoided her gaze, scowling whenever Maisie tried to start a conversation. She made the mistake of touching his arm, and he recoiled. Her stomach was in knots, not understanding why he was reacting so harshly to her.

Maisie froze in shock, her lip trembled. He couldn't have meant what he just said.

“If you like her so much, why don't you date her,” he sneered.

”I have,” Clay retorted. “That’s how she came to work with us. Aisha and I were on a break and we dated. So I have first hand knowledge of how amazing she is.”

Jake’s voice filled with disdain, “Then why aren't you together? Perhaps it's because my first instincts about her were right. She can't be trusted and shouldn't be on this team.”

Briefly turning to Maisie before refocusing on Clay, Jake shrugged, “I don't feel a damn thing when I look at her. Now that Aisha, she’s got parts of me stirring. Maybe I should steal her from you instead. Or have a different girl each night, like my man Cougar. Now that's the way to play it. Why tie myself to one woman, especially that one.”

There was an uproar from the group as Maisie sprinted to the bathroom, sobbing. Everyone began yelling at Jensen for his behavior. He fought back until his migraine got too severe. His vision blurred and he felt sick. Remembering his condition, the team felt guilty for the distress they caused. Cougar drove him back to his sister’s, while the women checked on Maisie.

Jolene rubbed Maisie’s back, trying to console her devastated friend. “You know his mouth is faster than his brain. He…”

“Talks out of his ass,” Aisha finished.

Jolene gave her a pointed look before continuing. “You two are amazing together. Just be patient, things will be better soon. This will all be like a bad dream before you know it.”

It was getting harder to breathe, the snake wound tighter and tighter. Maisie tried believing, but doubts and insecurities screamed in her head. And somehow the loudest was the one whispering, ‘You lost him and he's never coming back.’

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

No one could imagine how hard this was for Maisie. They encouraged her to hold on just a little longer and her Jakey would be back to normal.

He doesn't mean it. You guys didn't hit it off the first time either. Keep trying.

You two need to spend more time together. You know he is crazy about you.

Sometimes brain injuries can lead to personality changes. This is temporary. The man loves you.

He will remember and come crawling to you with his tail between legs, begging for forgiveness.

He's not himself right now. He hasn't even been following how Hannah's soccer team is doing.

Give him another chance.

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

It was Tuesday night so the Losers went to their favorite hangout, Bar None, for half price drinks. Everyone was surprised when Jensen showed up in an Uber. Maisie did her best to greet him with warmth and a bright smile. For the next hour she tried talking with him, mentioning things from their life together and unsuccessfully keeping his eyes and attention on her.

Regrettably, he didn't give her the chance that she was trying to give him. Jake only looked at her with hatred in his eyes, making snide remarks. Her Jakey didn't have a mean bone in his body. He would get a bit aggravated with others when presented with something he forgot, but he was acting so cruelly toward Maisie. As if his subconscious was telling him she was his worst memory and protecting himself from her. It broke her heart more to think that may be true. She tried to hold her ground, but he was winning and his eyes were wandering.

“What's wrong cougar, ya pissed I'm taking all your tail? The handsome cool laconic stranger act only goes so far pal. I'm on a roll tonight.”

Jake was sick of everyone telling him what he should feel. “Well, I'm not that Jake, I'm this Jake and this Jake doesn't want to go home with the ugly fat ass.” He looked at Maisie with disgust. Then raised his bottle in the redhead's direction, “I prefer to sample the riper fruit.”

The snake sunk its fangs in. Swallowing her hurt and humiliation, Maisie grabbed her purse and jacket, apologized to her teammates and headed out of the bar. Jake smiled at her retreat. ‘Good,’ he thought. His head felt better already.

Clay followed after his recruit, grabbing her arm before she got outside, “Don't go.”

“What's the point? Maisie screamed, her eyes watering. “You heard how he truly feels about me. We're clearly over.”

“He just doesn't remember.”

“Maise.” Clay clasped her shoulder, unable to find the words to comfort her.

“Don't Worry, I'll get my own fat ass home.”

Cougar was furious. Jensen was directing his confusion and ire toward the person he needed the most. Maisie did not deserve this. As his friend got up to get another beer, Cougar stood in his way.

Jake sidestepped, only to be blocked again. “What’s your problem, Cougar?” he snapped.

Jake laughed, “Wow! Tell me how you really feel.”

Cougar’s teeth clenched, "Go. After. Her."

Sparing a glance as Maisie slipped out the door, his lip curled. “I can do better.”

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

The Losers were already down a member, Aisha having business elsewhere that took precedence. Even with Maisie’s drones, three men on the ground wasn’t enough. Clay acquiesced on the condition that Jensen would alert the team if he got dizzy, his headache worsened or things became too much.

Jake was acting like his typical talkative self, but the topic was one Maisie couldn’t bear to hear. She did her best to be professional and not to let her team hear her cry.

Maisie ripped out her earpiece, clutching her stomach. She was going to throw up. That was their secret thing. Jake loved saying he wanted to ‘taste the rainbow’ in public and it meaning something kinky.

What were you supposed to do when your whole world shattered in front of you?

Maisie could not continue working with them. It was too hard. Staying would surely kill her. Angrily wiping at her eyes to clear her blurred vision, she took a series of deep breaths. The monitors needed to be watched properly. She could at least do that. She could keep the Losers safe one last time.

Putting her comm back in, she knowingly subjected herself to hearing Jensen spill more details about his wild night with that woman. Maisie stayed online until they were back inside the safehouse.

Everyone adamantly refused.

Clay knew she was still there, he stayed on as long as she did. Not saying a word until, “I'm so sorry, Maise.”

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

Another Tuesday, another night at Bar None, only this time Maisie met the Losers to resign. She wanted to have a goodbye drink with her friends.

Pooch embraced her, “Don’t leave us. Don't leave him.” He was unaware that over his shoulder, she could see Jensen with his tongue down a brunette’s throat.

“I can't. I'm sorry, I can't.” She couldn’t stay and watch this again.

Aisha shook her head, she wasn’t a hugger and found the loss of her friend not something to celebrate.

“If you need a glowing recommendation, you know who to call.” Clay smiled, understanding she had to do what was best for her.

Maisie returned the gesture, “I already landed another job. I’ll be leaving the country in a few days.” She handed a business card to her former boss. “This is the real estate agent willing to sell the house. If you could give that to Jensen, or he can keep it. I don’t care.” She refused to cry again.

Cougar took Maisie’s hand, glaring at Jensen who was walking their way with his new conquest. He placed a lingering kiss on her hand, slipping her a small piece of paper in the process.

“I’m going to miss you Losers.” Maisie finished her beer and walked out of their lives.

Clay’s fists clenched, “Jensen, consider yourself suspended. Effective immediately.”

Jensen rolls his eyes, “Tsk, why? Because we lost a ton of dead weight. You should be thanking me.”

“You’re serious?” Jensen dragged the brunette with him to find another booth. “Whatever, I don't need this shit.”

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

(3 weeks later)

Jake groaned, sleepily scooching closer to cuddle the warm body beside him. “Mmmm, my Angel.”

“Ooh baby, you ready for another round?”

Jumping at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, Jake scrambled out of the bed. He grabbed his gun and aimed it at the unknown woman. “Who the fuck are you? What did you do to my Angel?”

Her eyes grew as big as saucers, “I don't know who you're talking about, you goddamn psycho. We came here alone.”

Gun in hand, Jake began tearing through the apartment, searching for any evidence of Maisie.

“I'm calling the cops. Get out of my goddamn house,” she screamed, throwing his clothing at him.

Picking up his belongings, Jake yelled back, “I'm going, stop screaming.”

“Go fuck yourself, you fucking freak!”

Jake ran out holding his clothes, managing to get his boxers on as he fumbled down the stairs. Fishing his phone out of his pants, he dialed Maisie. Instead of his girlfriend’s voice, he heard ‘We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service.’ 'That can't be right.'

Once outside, he put his glasses on and looked around, not recognizing a thing. 'Where the hell am I?' He redialed. "Come on, Angel, please." He received the same message.

A dark cloud of understanding enveloped him. 'Oh God. What the fuck did I do?' "You fucking idiot, what did you do?”

Jake trembled, “This can't be real. It's a nightmare. That's all it is.” He squeezed his eyes shut and began slapping his face. “Wake up you loser. Come on, wake up. WAKE THE FUCK UP!”

The sound of sirens approaching, and the sting of his cheeks proved a consciousness that he couldn’t accept. His eyes remained closed, “Please.”

The End

A/N: Thank you to everyone that has read. I appreciate you all. I’d love to know your thoughts.

*Bad klingon: HIja' = yes, bangwI'= my love, Ha' = let’s go

Sequel : Love Me Again

#niffala fics #jake jensen x ofc #jake jensen fluff #jake jensen angst #jake jensen oneshot #jake jensen x oc #jake jensen

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kakyoinscheryblush · 2 years

Text

Once upon an lost island [Joseph Joestar x reader]

Summary: Y/n was an archaeologist at the Speedwagon Archeology Centre. After being paired up with a famous adventurer Joseph Joestar to an upcoming expedition, she will have to overcome her many fears in order to prove to her agency that she is fit to be one of their best researchers they have.

However, neither Joseph nor Y/n were prepared for what the mysterious island had in store for them…

This work is originally posted on Ao3 on my profile @Tena_HH

Masterlist << Next chapter

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

Chapter one, Somewhat a celebrity

Dear grandpa,

New York is livelier than ever, even after many letters we have exchanged over the years. My job is still the same and I swear the rats are getting bigger and bigger. And the Speedwagon Archeology Centre is thriving as usual!

You know how every time I write to you I say there aren't any major discoveries? Well, this time I have a surprise for you!

One of our satellites discovered a medium island in the Pacific ocean two months ago! But I wouldn’t be writing to you so urgently if it wasn’t a major discovery.

The satellite caught a picture of a temple in the middle of an island. Though, it is surrounded by probably kilometres of rainforest.

Today there will be a huge conference with all the famous archeologists you could think of, and the commission will be choosing the candidates for the expedition to the newfound island!

Since the Speedwagon Archeology Centre discovered the island with our satellites, we have to recommend who we will be sending to the expedition.

And I sincerely hope it isn't me. You know I’ve never been good at such things, I’m better off brainstorming in my lab rather than getting eaten by a huge beast or something.

The news reporters are going to be swarming within minutes the conference is done and there will be numerous articles and theories about the island. Even though we ourselves don’t know much about it.

But, I’ll be updating you in the next letter. Until then keep safe and don’t forget to lock Roger in his cage at night!

Your dearest granddaughter, N/n

The h/c haired woman sighed as she put down the pen next to the letter. “I’ll send it off tomorrow…” she murmured as she folded it up and put it aside.

This was the biggest discovery that the Speedwagon Archeology Centre ever had! It felt as if it was just yesterday when everything happened.

And today, there will be a conference where her agency will have to recommend two people to go on the expedition.

It would probably be Jessica and Christoper… The duo was an ace when it came to going on expeditions to unknown places.

Which made Y/n extremely happy since she didn’t have to really go anywhere. Most of the time it was her assistant, Penny Adamas, who brought her the news or a cup of (favourite drink).

Y/n greatly appreciated her and she showed that by sometimes giving Penny gift cards for some clothing stores.

“Ms. L/n! Ms. L/n! We must get you dressed! NOW! ” a short woman with her hands full of clothes slammed the wooden doors open, making the vases around the huge office shake.

“Oh God, Penny! Don’t scare me like that!” Y/n exclaimed as she placed her hand on her heart.

Penny laughed and dropped the pile of clothes on Y/n’s opened books, “No can do in this kind of emergency, Ms. L/n. Also, I picked out this outfit for you! Now go change quickly!”. Without observing the clothes Y/n picked them up and rushed out of her huge office and went into a nearby toalet.

There were five of her other coworkers inside touching up their hair and make up.

“Hello, Y/n!” one of them greeted as she pulled out a red lipstick out of her small handbag.

"Hello to you too, Nicole!” Y/n greeted as she rushed into the bathroom stall and locked the doors.

“Let’s see what Penny has brought me…” she whispered as she unfolded the freshly ironed clothes.

It was a white blouse with a knee length black skirt, black blazer and black heels. https://imgur.com/a/SV7GEcR (look reference)

“Hm, looks promising…” Y/n muttered as she took off her previous clothes and put on the ones that Penny gave her. After she dressed up she neatly folded her clothes and grabbed her shoes.

She opened the bathroom stall doors and walked out, while trying to quietly stepp in her heels.

The other five women left and now it was only Y/n in the bathroom. “Thank God I washed my hair yesterday…” the h/c haired woman mumbled as she brushed down her hair, keeping her (type of hairstyle) intact.

Y/n walked out and entered her office, and spotted Penny observing the artefacts in one of the tall showcases. “What do you think, Penny?” Y/n asked as she placed the clothes onto her chair.

The brown haired assistant whirled her head around and gasped.

“Ms. L/n! You look absolutely stunning!” Penny’s hazel eyes glimmered in happiness. “Of course I do… After all, you’re the one that chose my outfit.” Y/n smiled at her assistant.

Penny laughed and clapped her hands, “Now… Time for some perfume!” she exclaimed as she pulled out a glass bottle with translucent pink substance in it.

Y/n’s eyes widened in alarm, “No- Penny, put that thing down!” she shouted as she hid behind her office chair.

“I’m sorry Ms. L/n, but this has to be done!” Penny shouted as she ran to Y/n and sprayed her multiple times with the pink perfume.

“Gah-” Y/n choked and squeezed her eyes shut. Penny rolled her eyes, “Ms. L/n… Really?”. Y/n fixed her posture and sucked in a deep breath. “Yes, really …” she mumbled as she shook her head.

After a few moments Penny chuckled as she sweated a bit, “Ms. L/n… I may have forgotten to tell you a tiny detail about the press conference…”. Y/n raised an eyebrow at Penny, “What is it?”.

“Joseph Joestar is attending the press-”

“WHO IS WHAT -” Y/n screamed as she grabbed her chair, preventing her from falling on the wooden floor.

Penny grimaced a little, “Mr. Speedwagon invited Mr. Joestar to attend the press… Hehehe… Apologies for not telling you sooner…”. Y/n’s throat went dry as she shook her head.

“O-Oh God… I think I’m about to faint…” she mumbled out as she paced her palm on her forehead.

Penny panicked and rushed to her, “Oh, come on Ms. L/n! Don’t be like that! Isn’t he the person who you always considered an icon in the archeology world?”.

Y/n shakily nodded as her cheeks flared up in embarrassment, “That’s the thing Penny! I will fumble with my words and make an absolute idiot out of myself! I can’t even have a normal conversation with anybody and now I’ll have to talk to the Joseph Joestar!?”

Penny patted her shoulder, “There, there, Ms. L/n… Maybe you can ask him for an autograph when the press finishes?” she suggested.

Y/n sighed and shrugged her shoulders, “Yeah, but which one?” she muttered as she bent over a bit and opened one of the desk drawers, revealing up to 10 magazine covers with Joseph on them.

“Wow, Ms. L/n… I didn’t know you admired him that much…” she teased the taller woman. Y/n rolled her eyes as her cheeks flushed, “Don’t even start, please …” whined as she placed her face in her palms.

“Alright, alright I wont…” she chuckled as she looked at her silver wrist watch. “Oh shit! Your ride is waiting outside the facility!” Penny shouted out as she pushed out Y/n out of her office.

“W-Wait- You’re not going with me?!” Y/n exclaimed and Penny rushed to the table, picked something up and ran to Y/n.

“No, I’m not. I have too much paperwork to finish. Now take this and go!” Penny slammed one of her magazine covers into her chest and closed the doors in front of her.

Y/n stared at the doors for a few moments until she shook her head, folded up her poster and hurried to the elevator and pushed a button.

Once she entered the elevator she pressed the button for the first floor and the metal doors closed automatically.

The elevator opened and Y/n walked out into the huge reception floor. Many people were also in a hurry, many of them wearing lab coats while some were wearing suits and dresses.

“Excuse me- Sorry-” Y/n apologised as she bumped into a few coworkers.

Once she got out she spotted a man dressed in an all balck suit holding a paper with ‘Y/n L/n’ on it. “Sir! That’s me!” Y/n exclaimed as she waved at the driver.

“Took you long enough, princess…” the older driver grumbled as he opened the doors of the back of the limo for her. “I’m sorry sir, it was a real struggle to get out of the building…” Y/n apologised to him.

“Eh, it doesn’t matter, I just wanna get paid…” he muttered as he entered the limo and looked at the back of the paper. “The Sci-Dispatch Press facility…?” he mumbled to himself as he started the car.

Y/n stayed quiet as she swiftly stuffed the magazine cover into the pocket of her black blazer.

The driver started driving and noticed Y/n fidgeting a bit, “You ok over there, champ?” he asked as he looked at her through the rearview mirror.

She looked up into his eyes in the mirror and bit her lip anxiously, “Not really… There is a big press conference that I have to attend and I’m starting to think that I won’t be able to do it…” she admitted in defeat.

“The Sci-Dispatch Press doesn’t like weaklings like you, buster. Let me tell you that… I hear a lot of nasty shit that they do behind the scenes…” He muttered as he opened a piece of bubble gum and popped it into his mouth.

“Want some?” he asked as he outstretched his hand and offered her a pack of pink bubble gum. “No thank you sir…” Y/n replied politely.

“More for me… By the way, the name’s Tony Castellano…” Tony introduced himself.

“I’m Y/n L/n, nice to meet you sir.” Y/n said to the older man. “If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of ‘nasty shit’ did you hear that the Sci-Dispatch Press does?” Y/n peered over to the limo driver who loudly chewed the pink bubble gum.

Tony laughed snarky, “Cara mia, you sure ask a lot of questions… But alright… I overheard that the Sci-Dispatch Press is helping with multiple artefact smuggling from all across the world. Not sure if it’s true, but you didn’t hear this from me, capish?” Tony warned the e/c colored woman and her eyes widened in shock.

‘This is where we will have our press conference about our newest discovery!’ Y/n thought as many alarms balred inside her mind.

Tony laughed as he speeded up a bit, “Keep that capo of yours focused and don’t answer any of the questions you find suspicious.” Tony said as he lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“Thank you for the advice, Mr. Castellano…” Y/n thanked the limo driver who only popped the pink bubble, “Eh, it’s no problem kid. Now go get em’ tiger…” he chuckled as he stopped at the gigantic building.

“Goodbye sir!” Y/n exclaimed as she opened the doors and closed them. Tony laughed a little and dove off.

Now it was time to face her biggest fear…

The press conference in the Sci-Dispatch Press

She sighed as she walked on the stone path that had small pine trees and flower bushes lined up on the side.

There were dozens of news channel vans parked by the building, the reporters scrambling to set up their equipment the quickest.

As Y/n was about to open the doors, a loud screech acoed around. She turned around and saw a white limo that stopped by the building.

For a few moments everything quieted down until the driver walked out and opened the doors.

“It’s Joseph Joestar!” one of the reporters shouted as he and his camera crew rushed to him.

Y/n’s heart stopped functioning and she stopped breathing, ‘He… HE IS HERE!’ she panicked as she saw him flash his signature smile at every camera he looked at.

As he moved, the paparazzi and the news reporters moved with him, attacking him with numerous questions.

“Mr. Joestar! Is it true that you almost died on your last expedition!?” “Will you be attending this year’s gala?” “Are the rumours about you crushing a million dollar plane from your last expedition true?”

And so many noncoherent questions that Joseph tried to answer. “Thank you so much for all the questions, I know my fans are worried…” Joseph said as he flashed his smile at one of the cameras.

Y/n saw that they were nearing her and she quickly opened the doors and rushed in. She breathed out as she observed the scene outside.

Joseph stopped by the doors and answered the questions that the reporters were bombarding him with.

Joseph looked inside and made eye contact with Y/n. He smiled and slammed open the doors.

“Oh, look! My private assistant is already waiting for me! I’m sorry, but I have to get going!” Joseph exclaimed as he smiled one last time and closed the doors.

“Somebody better lock the them or they will break in…” he mumbled as he dusted off his black suit.

Joseph’s bright green eyes fell upon the frozen Y/n. “My dear, you really saved me from the paparazzi over there…” Joseph laughed as he smiled at her. Y/n opened and closed her mouth but nothing came out.

“Dear, are you alright?” Joseph asked the unmoving woman as he approached her. “Uhuh- Yeah- I’m fine-” Y/n mumbled as she fumbled with her hands.

Joseph laughed, “Oh, alright! You’re also here for the press conference, right?” he asked the h/c haired woman.

Y/n nodded shakily, “Y-Yeah… I am… I’m here under the Speedwagon Archeology Centre-” “Oh! Speedwagon! Man, I can’t wait to see him!” Joseph exclaimed in happiness.

Y/n laughed awkwardly, her throat going dry.

“You two! You’re going to be late for the conference!” rushed out a ginger woman with a clipboard and a pen.

“The seats are full so you’re going backstage-” She instructed as she led them to metal doors.

“The curtains haven’t risen so you can go and prepare yourselves.” The woman said as she opened the doors, pushed them in and locked them again.

Joseph and Y/n looked at each other and exhaled.

“Ladies first…” Joseph smirked as he walked to the beginning of ten stairs and stretched his hand. “Urm- Thank you-” Y/n squeaked out as she lightly placed her hand in his bigger one.

“No problem dear, now let’s see who else is behind the curtains…” Joseph muttered as they both reached the end of the stairs.

“Joseph! You finally arrived!” Whisper shouted Speedwagon as he rushed to the duo. “Speedwagon! Hello!” Jotaro quietly exclaimed as he hugged the older man.

“I see you have already met Y/n.” Speedwagon noted as he broke off the hug.

Joseph chuckled as he pulled Y/n closer to him by wrapping his arm around her shoulder, “And I’m glad I did! She saved me from the paparazzi outside…” The brown haired adventurer smiled at Speedwagon.

Y/n’s face erupted in fiery red colour as she felt his strong arm around her. ‘This must be a fever dream! This can’t be true!’ she slightly fawned at the scenario that was happening.

“Nice to see you two getting along, but I must go back to my seat. I, along with some of my associates, are sitting in the first row. Unfortunately we don’t have enough seats for some reporters over there so I don’t think that there would be any free seats for you two.” said Speedwagon as he scratched his head.

He led the duo deeper into the backstage and as they passed they saw six older men clad in navy blue suits and red ties, quietly discussing something.

“That’s the commission of the World Archeology Organisation… Be nice and be quiet, because one wrong move around them, and you can say goodbye to your career…” Speedwagon mumbled quietly.

“You’re saying that as if we’re children…” Joseph huffed, removed the arm that was around Y/n’s shoulder, and crossed his arms.

“Yes, and the child in question is you, Joseph…” Speedwagon muttered as he sighed.

Y/n surprised her laugh with her hand as she averted her gaze from Speedwagon and Joseph.

Speedwagon rolled his eyes, “Alright, you two, stay here unless somebody calls for you…” he said as he quietly walked away.

“I thought this would be much more interesting…” Joseph rolled his eyes, but as he glanced at Y/n, his frown changed to a smirk.

“At least you’re here with me.” he flashed her his signature smirk and Y/n swore she wouldn fall unconscious.

The chattering from the other side of the curtain suddenly quieted down and the dark red satin curtains rose, revealing the commission to the press.

“Hello everyone! I thank you for showing up in such a big number in the name of the World Archeology Organisation!” exclaimed the man in the middle of the table.

Everyone clapped and so did the other five members by the table.

Joseph and Y/n were still covered by the curtain, making the commission the only thing they could see.

The man in the middle rose from his chairs and cleared his throat. Flashes of cameras could be heard from the edge of the podium.

“Today, we all gathered around to hear out our esteemed member of our organisation, Robert Edward O. Speedwagon about the break-through discovery of his agency!” Exclaimed the man as a roar of applause echoed around the conference room.

Speedwagon rose from his seat and humbly smiled, “Thank you, Dr. Jenkins for having us over… This discovery has shaken up our whole laboratory from the minute we noticed the satellite footage on the big screen.” Speedwagon started his speech.

“You recieved photos and a brief explanation in your mail, so I’m going to keep it short. Dr. Jenkins has said that I have to decide two people who will be the two lead researchers on this expedition. And I’m proud to say that, Y/n L/n and Joseph Joestar have been chosen!”

Wait

DID HE JUST SAY HER AND JOSEPH’S NAME!?

“Y/n L/n and Joseph Joestar, please walk to the podium!” exclaimed Dr. Jenkins.

Joseph cheered and without thinking he picked up Y/n and spun her around, “I can’t believe this! This is a dream come true!” Joseph exclaimed as he gently put her down.

Y/n stood petrified on the floor. “I’m just going to touch up you a bit before we go-” Joseph mumbled out as he smoothed out her hair and laughed.

“Let’s go!” he exclaimed as he grabbed Y/n’s hand and dragged her over to the podium.

Roars of camera clicking and applauding almost blinded both of them, but Joseph, an expert when it came to such things, only smirked and waved. But Y/n… she was lost, completely lost.

“Just hold my hand and everything’s going to be alright…” Joseph whispered to her and Y/n shakily nodded.

The whole commission turned to them and Dr. Jenkins humed, “... Interesting choice, Mr. Speedwagon… I know why you chose Mr. Joestar. But what about the girl?” he questioned.

Speedwagon smiled warmly, “It may not look like it, but Dr. L/n has proven to be a great researcher over the course of time she has worked under me. And I think it’s time for her to prove herself to be worthy of working under my agency.”

Dr. Jenkins, and the rest of the commission, nodded in thought. “We confide in your choice for this, Mr. Speedwagon.” he said as he sat down.

“Now, does anybody have anything to add?” questioned another commissioner next to Dr. Jenkins.

The conference room went dead quiet, Y/n was ready to sigh in relief but a sudden male voice echoed through the room.

“Mr. Jenkins, as much as I agree with all of what was said… Don’t you think that having just two lead researchers is a bit… too little for such an important expedition? I mean, there haven't been any discoveries as big as this one for hundreds of years…” the man explained, earning a few gasps and glares.

Y/n’s eyes widened in shock while Joseph released her hand and clenched his fist.

She took a closer look at the suit clad man and observed him. He was visibly taller from most people in the room.

He had longer purple hair and striking red eyes with violet eyeshadow covering his eyelids.

It was none other than Kars

He was the top dog of the archeology world. He was smart and didn’t shy away from newly discovered ruins or such.

Kars was mostly known for doing everything in his power to reach his goal, even if that meant hurting somebody on the way.

“What exactly are you initiating Mr. Kars?” Dr. Jenkins said as his wrinkly face scrunched up in confusion.

Kars smirked as he glanced at Joseph who was clenching his fists and glaring at the wooden podium floor.

“What I’m trying to say is that I would like to join the expedition to the island.” Kars said firmly, leaving no space for disagreement. “He does have a point…!" mumbled out Dr. Jenkins as the other five members whispered together.

The room fell into a big tension as Kars was waiting for the response.

Dr. Jenkins rose from his seat and cleared his throat, “Mr. Kars, you will also be a part of the expedition team, along with Ms. L/n and Mr. Joestar.” he said as he nodded in Kars’ direction.

The cameras flashed in an instant speed, the reporters now piling over Kars and asking him too many questions.

While he was busy, Joseph and Y/n looked at Speedwagon who was sitting in his chair with widened eyes and gaping mouth. “I can’t believe this…!” Joseph sneered as he tried to keep a neutral face.

He wanted to pounce on Kras and tear his skull apart, but he held himself back. If he did what he wanted to Kars, not only would he lose his spot on the expedition but he would also end up in jail.

Y/n wasnt any different from Joseph, only without the whole ‘I’ll murder him’ part. Of course she was afraid of Kars… At this point who wasn’t? Even the commission was afraid to decline his proposition.

Once the crowd of reporters calmed down, everybody sat once again.

“The expedition will start in one week, so I advise you to start preparing now. For any other information, we will send them to you via mail.” one of the commissioners said as all of them rose.

Each one of them walked towards Y/n and Joseph and shook their hands with a thigh smile.

Once everyone left, Speedwagon went up to Kars, “Mr. Kars, you’ve met Joseph a few times, right?” he asked politely.

Kars laughed as he swept a few of his purple hair strands off his shoulder.

“Why, yes I have. But I haven’t met you, dear.” Kars smiled as he turned to stiffened Y/n. “I’m Y/n L/n, and it’s a pleasure to work with you, Mr. Kars.” Y/n said to the taller man.

“I have read a few of your works in the past, so I think that it would be a pleasure to work with you… Would you like to come to my place so you can explain more about this mysterious island, dear?” Kars purred and Joseph placed his arm around Y/n shoulder in an instant.

“I’m sorry but she’s already booked with me.” Joseph retorted and Kars’ smug expression fell as he looked at the brown haired adventurer.

“I don’t remember asking you anything, Mr. Joestar …” Kars scoffed in Joseph’s direction.

Speedwagon and Y/n felt the tension rising and looked at each other with worried expressions.

“Alright, alright… Joseph and Y/n you’re free to go. I have few other things to discuss with Mr. Kars over here.” Speedwagon said as he motioned to them to walk out.

“No problem, Speedwagon! Let’s go, dear…” Joseph gently tugged Y/n with him as they both walked out of the conference room and into the huge marble floored lobby.

“Do you want to get some ice cream?” Joseph asked as a smile climbed up to his face while unwrapping his arm from her shoulder.

Y/n stopped in her tracks and looked at him shakily, “U-Uh- Sure- Why not…” She squeaked out.

Joseph laughed, “Great! I know a secret place where I go when I’m free…”. But soon they stopped as they noticed a pile of reporters from earlier waiting outside with their cameras and microphones ready.

“We can leave from the back exit-” “No need, dear! Now let’s go!” Joseph exclaimed Y/n’s hand and ran to the glass doors.

The cameras flashed as the duo ran to Joseph’s limousine and quickly entered it. “Henry, our next destination is Vincenzo’s Gelato!” Joseph exclaimed and his driver nodded his head and speeded away.

The clicks of the camera became more quiet as they drove in the distance and Y/n sighed in relief.

“Vincenzo has one of the best ice creams in the whole New York! Ever since I was a kid, I always went there for ice cream…” Joseph spoke as his eyes sparkled with joy.

Y/n nodded her head and hummed, she didn’t really know what to say without stuttering, so she kept quiet.

After a few minutes, they arrived at a more secluded street that was partially empty.

"Thank you Henry- Now let’s go!” Joseph opened the doors of the limo and exited. Y/n sighed as she exited the limo, trying to calm herself.

It was a rather small ice cream shop on the corner of the street with pastel green and pink palette decorations.

“Vincenzo!” Joseph exclaimed as he walked the glass ice cream display. An older man, similar to Speedwagon’s age, walked out with a pink apron and white dress shirt.

“Joseph! Long time no see! I see that you brought some company with you…” Vincenzo laughed as he prepared his ice cream grabbing tool.

“Vincezno, this is Y/n L/n, my partner on the upcoming expedition!” Joseph introduced Y/n who smiled politely and waved, “Hello sir.”.

The older man chuckled, “Nice to meet you too. Now, are you ready to order?” he asked and Joseph pointed to a caramel flavoured ice cream.

“Two scoops of caramel, please.” Joseph said and Vincezno scooped out the ice cream and put in a cone.

“And you, dolcezza?” Vincezno asked and Y/n pointed to a f/f ice cream, “One scoop of f/f!”. Vincenzo chuckled as he scooped out the ice cream, “Good choice…”. Once Joseph and Y/n had their ice creams, Joseph patted his suit for his wallet.

“How much is it?” Joseph asked and Vincenzo shook his head, “It’s on the house, Josephino.” . Joseph and Y/n looked at each other and smiled, “Thank you, Vincenzo/sir!” they both exclaimed at the same time.

They started to walk towards a small park that was nearby as they ate their ice creams. “You live somewhere around here, Mr. Joestar?” Y/n asked Joseph wno nodded.

“Yeah, I live in that huge building.” Joseph pointed to a gigantic building that was down the street.

“That makes more sense…” Y/n chuckled as they both sat on a nearby bench. Joseph looked at her and shook his head with a smile, “You can drop the formalities, just call me JoJo!”.

Y/n blushed, “I- Sir- I can’t… You’re my colleague!”. Joseph licked his ice cream and raised an eyebrow at her, “Don’t be ridiculous! Just call me JoJo!”. Y/n nodded hesitantly, “Alright… JoJo…”.

“See! It wasn’t that hard!” the green eyed adventurer laughed as he ate his ice cream.

As the sun was starting to set behind the horizont, it gave the park a soft orange and pink glow.

Both stayed in silence as they ate their ice cream, but Y/n glanced at Joseph a few times. It still felt like a fever dream.

She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Joseph Joestar was sitting next to her and eating ice cream.

After they finished their ice creams, Y/n sighed in sadness. “I’m sorry Mr. Joestar- I mean, Jojo- But I have to get going now…” she said to Joseph.

“You’re leaving so soon already?” he asked as his expression partly fell.

“Unfortunately yes… I left my assistant all by herself with piles of my paperwork and I promised to help her after the conference…” Y/n said and Joseph laughed.

“Oh! I just left Caesar to fend for himself with my paperwork!” he sniggered as he slapped his knee.

Y/n shook her head, “That isn’t quite nice, Mr. Joestar…”. Joseph didn’t even hear her as he was laughing at his miserable assistant. Once he calmed down he whipped a stray tear coming from his eyes.

“If you must go, dear. My driver will drive you to Speedwagon’s agency.” Joseph said as he got up and dusted off his outfit and Y/n followed suit.

Once they arrived at the limo, Joseph opened the doors for Y/n and smiled, “Ladies first…”.

Y/n smiled and awkwardly chuckled, “Thank you…”. Joseph sat next to her and looked at his chauffeur, “Harper, can you drive us to the Speedwagon Archeology Centre?”.

Harper nodded his head, “Of course, sir.” he said as he started the engine and started to drive.

Once they arrived in front of the huge building, Y/n turned to Joseph and smiled, “Thank you Mr. Joestar, and see you next week…”.

Joseph smiled and grabbed her hand, “See you next week too…” he mumbled as he pressed his lips at the back of her hand.

He gently let her hand go and watched as Y/n’s face exploded in mad blush. “Uh- Yes- Goodbye!” she exclaimed as she opened the doors and rushed out. Joseph closed the doors and laughed, “Can you drop me off at my building?”.

His chauffeur nodded and they drove off.

Y/N stumbled into her office and she noticed Penny napping on one of the chairs. “Good grief…” Y/n mumbled as she saw Penny drooling over one of the papers.

“I guess I’ll have to print out a copy tomorrow…” the e/c eyed girl sighed as she sat on her office chair and held her face in her hands.

How will she survive this expedition? She is extremely afraid of bugs and snakes, and seeming that this was a secluded island that hasn’t been discovered yet, there was a huge chance of it being filled up with them.

“Time to do some paperwork…” Y/n mumbled out tiredly as she picked up her pen and started filling out numerous papers.

After a few minutes she turned on her desk lamp since it had gotten darker outside.

As she was filling out one of the papers, her vision became blurry and her eyelids started to close slowly.

“Maybe… I need to take… a little nap…” Y/n mumbled as she rested her head against the paper and breathed out loudly.

She would worry about the expedition tomorrow, but now, she needed to take a much deserved rest…

#jojo bizarre adventures #jjba x reader #joseph joestar #joseph joestar x reader #jojo pt2 #Kars #Adventure #Explorer AU #Joseph Joestar x y/n #Joseph Joestar x you #Romance #Advanturer!Joseph Joestar #speedwagon #robert e. o. speedwagon #archeology #Archeologist!reader

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