#jokes aside i'm really happy this has resonated with so many people

[tiny-tf-faces]

:0

I didn't even know there were this many tf fans on tumbrl

Welp, I definitely chose the right website for this thing then

When I started screenshotting tiny faces, I had no idea it would one day become my biggest contribution to society. Not complaining, though!

Thank you (yes, you, the person reading this post), for your time, your attention, your delightful additions to my posts, the faces you've contributed, or just the overall good vibes :) You are much appreciated!

I still have plenty more to post, and there is more source material on the way, so let's hope I can one day reach 1000 faces

Until then, drink water and remember you're all really cool and awesome!

[swagtastic-bougie-pompadour]

I was going to make some sort of humorous joke about "Mondays". Perhaps one including that orange Purugly.

However, time has flown us by, and our guest was a bit busy with his work, so now it is Tuesday!

But it is still time for the:

Clive Update!

Brought to you by the Naranja-Uva Berry Collective! Feeling "Enigma"tic? Come Na"nab" some berries in the campus greenhouse and become a "Starf" of healthy eating today!

Today's Pride Feature is one who I have seen plenty of enthusiasm about online! ...Perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm. You really all ought to show a bit more respect in how you talk about this man, by the Treasures.

But that aside, today's guest is the Sub-zero Shredder himself, Gym Leader Grusha!

...So people still call me that, huh? Say, Clive, do you even know what "shredder" means? Hey, I'm not the one being interviewed here! Of course I know what it means to "shred". You, um... uh... it's got something to do with shredded ice, I'm sure. Mmhm. No looking at your phone, I see that. Don't think I won't bring you crashing down with me. SO, um, of course, shredding... I'm explaining this for the kids who aren't cool enough to get this, of course, it's... uh... when you snowboard so well... you, uh... you blow past everyone else... um... Ugh, nevermind, that's plenty. So uncool... how about we just get started already. What does pride mean to me, right? It's on the tip of my tongue... When you blow the competition... Pffh... Past. You mean... Whatever, I'm just answering the question. Pride, to me, is pressing forward. Even when the path you were on suddenly becomes irreversibly changed, finding a way to keep going. Because you know that you are worth the effort. Even though you're terrified of losing more than you've already lost to the swirling storms. Ahem. You've certainly had to rebuild a lot for yourself over the years. And yet, you've done well at it. You have a reputation as the strongest Gym Leader here in Paldea, and one of the most well-loved for your... "androgynous swag"? I suppose... but I can't let that get to my head. I can't let myself get swept up again, like I did that day. But I am glad that my presentation resonates with so many people. Just because I chose to live my life as a man doesn't mean I need to look a certain way. I can be pretty and be a man. And I think I like what I've got going... even if I lost a few ties along the way. So I'm glad that people can at least... see themselves in me. Men, women, people off the gender binary... Their enthusiasm reminds me of how I used to be. Ah! I have found it! "Shredding" refers to snowboarding on difficult or challenging terrain! Congratulations. I'm so happy for you. Anyways, thanks for the interview. See you some other time, "cool kid".

[reginrokkr]

Under cut I'll talk about something serious that shouldn't be taken as a joke in light of what has occurred in the recent days. If you don't want to read, you can skip this without worries. This is just a small warning before any of you peeps interested proceed reading:

These past days haven't been the easiest to me. While I wasn't affected by the person in question in the slightest (luckily for me, I have a good eye for these things and that person didn't inspire much trust with what little I've seen at the time), some things I've seen awakened memories of a bad period I've gone through in this platform also because of another person. Because yes, even if I think I'm doing a good job in keeping myself away from people that I feel like are more prone to be involved in these things based on observations of mine, these things come to my attention sooner or later. In my case it was a couple of days later.

I understand that this must've felt like some kind of relief from others who didn't dare to speak up their experiences for multiple reasons, good for them. I'm happy for them if this will make them feel safer. But at the same time this was like opening Pandora's box in the sense of bringing to light something that is messed up. This something is what made me feel unsafe on this platform as soon as I read the callout and what keeps making me feel unsafe, which is this "stalking". In view of the methods people have to see the IP alongside other sensible information from the users, there is this fear about how anyone is a potential stalker when that might not even be the case. Just for viewing their blog. As someone who doesn't follow many people, I have the tendency to peek in my mutuals' notes sometimes to see if there is a new blog maybe I haven't seen before that could be a potential interest to follow, but now it feels like that isn't an option for me any longer in case I come across a person who is too aware of the traffic on their blog.

Putting my own experience aside and thoughts as well as how I'll operate from now on and what not, I do want to say something important. If you're someone who states clearly in their blog that you don't condone callout culture and that you won't partake in it, then don't. I've seen people admitting in their own tags to breaking their own rule to this in order to reblog the most recent one and that feels unsafe too to people who want to just enjoy themselves in this platform (RPing in my case). Now it's hard not to be skeptical every time yes, people say that they won't participate only for them to not only participate, but make more posts about it later on. By this I'm not saying to not do it, just that you're transparent from the beginning so some of us know what to expect. Anyone could say that it would be as easy as to curate my space to not be exposed to this, but let me tell you. The amount of people I follow is very little at the detriment of having lower chances to RP with people. I cannot curate my space more than I already have. The next step would be to leaving permanently and I don't want to do that, as there are people worth staying here for and I adore this hobby. This is my last resort to do something which might or might not resonate with other people also. Please be considerate of those of us who want nothing to do with any of this. This website is uninviting in many aspects as it is, let's not fuel it more with these messed up instances to make it unsafe at that.

If you reached this far, thank you for reading and sorry for this rambling. I really needed to take it off my chest.

[gas-stxtion]

@rejectshumanity said: ♡ ♢ ☼ for the munday meme!

(what is this? an interrogation? come back with a warrant - open)

//hehe thank you <3 i'll put these under the cut b/c i never fucking shut up lmao

♡ What are your top five favorite things about yourself?

//how daaaare you make me be nice to myselffffff

no jokes aside <3 anyway.

i like that i'm generally a nice person! i think that it's important to be kind when you can, because there's enough darkness in the world. why not be kind when you have the chance?

... on another note, though, i'm really happy that i'm getting better at standing up for myself and handling conflict. because being kind is important, but sometimes you gotta be a bitch and that's life! i was rereading something i sent a friend years ago regarding a conflict i was having at the time, and i was astounded by it lmao like... oh my god. my dude. you have very good reasons to be upset and it's okay to say "i'm mad at this person" without adding a million disclaimers that it's probably not their fault!!

i genuinely think i'm *so* fucking funny, and for better or worse, you will certainly hear my jokes.

i'm a good listener. when people are having a hard time and need someone to talk to, i'm good at like... just offering a listening ear. i may not always have advice but i can generally listen and chat and help someone talk through it if that's what they need.

i don't like to judge people unless they give me very, very good reason to, especially if i don't know them. i try to assume ignorance more than i'll assume malice, though i'm also trying to get better at recognizing when the line between those can get a bit blurred haha.

♢ What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?

//gimme that salted caramel <333 though honestly a long-time favorite is like. anything with cherries. that's the good shit.

☼ Who are your top five favorite fictional characters?

//CRACKS KNUCKLES.

okay for the sake of not going on forever, i'll just list five characters that aren't muses of mine (at least not on this blog). because we all know mr jack townsend is number one but like. others deserve a shot. for fun, i'll also explain myself a bit :3c

dr. robert langdon - the da vinci code (and other dan brown books)

i was obsessed with these books a completely normal amount as a middle schooler (lying). something about this like... charming middle-aged professor who keeps finding himself in the middle of massive conspiracies usually related in some way to religion and frequently having his life put in danger? and saves the day by being a fucking nerd? what a dude!

arthur morgan - red dead redemption 2

if you were there for my rdr2 fixation (which most of you definitely weren't lmao) then uhhh yeah <3 genuinely i had a huge crush on this character and was so obsessed with him for so long. the yearning was out of control, folks. i do still have a lot of fondness for him, but tbh some not-so-fun interactions in the fandom really put me off of the whole series for a while. he still means a lot to me though!

rhys - tales from the borderlands

would it be exaggerating to say that rhys tftbl is the reason i'm trans? probably. but y'know something about him really resonated with me at a time when i was really going through some gender fuckery and trying to figure myself out. idk what it says about me that that shitty little twink helped me figure myself out a bit, but anyway.

evelyn mckinnon - accounts from a lonely broadcast station

had to list at least one woman lmao- but yeah i really love evelyn. she's such an incredibly written character and every time i reread (or. rather. re-listen to) the series i actually get a little choked up because her narrative is so *fascinating* and well-done to me. like wow we love a tragic cringefail woman who has to face her own mistakes and become better, not just for her own sake but for others'!!! and face the fact that her fuck-ups hurt more than just herself!!!

evelyn is one of the many characters i'm considering for the horror multimuse i talk about sometimes. and maybe i'll even let her stay a cis woman- i'm kidding ASDFJKL; but like. fr. we'll see.

charlie kelly - it's always sunny in philadelphia

honorable mention for the trashiest man i'm currently thinking about lmao- so i started watching iasip because i wanted to see the insanity for myself and. wow all of these characters are terrible. but god it's so fun to see them in action. and charlie is by far my favorite. he's illiterate. he drinks paint. he eats cat food for fun. he's an artist. he makes a living beating rats to death with a stick. he's a wet paper bag of a man. he's very deeply traumatized and doesn't realize it.

he's the perfect man.

[deanismysavior]

Your blog is really making me hopeful that Byler will happen, although unfortunately I still don't really trust the chreators to make it happen... I mean, I've been mislead and disappointed so many times - but that wasn't the point of my ask. I sorta wanted to rant, but I am lowkey too scared to make my own post. Here we go: it really REALLY bothers me how so many of the milkvan shippers are super homophobic while "defending" their ship/attacking byler and/or byler shippers. You can really see this while scrolling the milkvan tag (biggest mistake I made, ever).

Also what I saw was so many of them claiming bylers don't care about Mike, or if Eleven gets her heart broken, etc. etc., that bylers only care about "their gay noncanon ship". It's so ridiculous that it almost makes me laugh because a LOT of the milkvan shippers (before anyone gets mad, of course not all of them) are the ones who don't give a shit about the plot, the individual characters or really any other aspect of the show that doesn't have to do with milkvan. So many of them reduce El and Mike only to each other's love interests, as if there is nothing else there. A lot of the byler shippers get these characters as individuals and think of them individually. I also saw many ppl on the milkvan tag claim bylers don't care specifically about Mike AT ALL, only as Will's love interest. What??? I really haven't seen many of these byler shippers around. And... as if many of the milkvans don't do the same exact thing. They literally do not care about Mike, or El, or anyone. Or anything that happens in the show. It's so hypocritical.

Sorry this is so incoherent, I am tired and having trouble gathering my thoughts together. Also, absolutely no pressure to answer this! I am sure many of these things have been said before.

Hi! I'm so happy that my blog has been a positive experience for you! That being said, I completely understand not having full confidence, because I know that queerbaiting is a huge issue in media, and I've experienced that pain as well *coughs* destiel *coughs*

It really is a problem that people have started to use their ship as an excuse to be homophobic. I've seen it happen a few times in my ask box and it's always really disturbing to me how much hatred these people have towards Will just because he's "getting in the way" of their ship. Like weird ass, did you even watch this season? He single-handedly saved the bones of Mordecai and the Rigbys that remains after all the lies and gaslighting. If anything, they should be thanking Will.

I also think it's super weird that people assume that we hate Mike, because personally, Mike is my favorite character. I love how layered he is and there's something about the progression of his character that really resonates with me. But seriously, why would we ship Mike with Will if we didn't like Mike? I think some people are under the impression that we only ship Byler because the ship itself is gay, which I take a bit of issue with because they make it seem like we're making shit up just to make it gay. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy ships like Steddie or Ronance, and I think they're cute and have a certain amount of chemistry, but those ships, while fun, don't hold the same weight as Byler, and I feel like people are kind of lumping Byler in with that category even though we have much more substantial evidence that something could really happen here. But Byler aside for a second, even if I wasn't for Byler, at this point, I still wouldn't be for Monstrosity because their relationship is plain unhealthy and imbalanced.

I would agree though, I've seen a lot more Mannequin shippers say stuff about them hating Mike and loving El than I've seen Byler shippers say anything negative about Mike (other than in an affectionate or joking way). It's honestly weird bc why would you want El with Mike if you don't like Mike?? Make it make sense.

[you-cant-spell-subtext-without]

(Tone/intention indicator: non-aggressive!! Pensive and open/hopeful for discussion and/or advice. Not at all trying to be a grouch.)

I do get the joke and I get that there's plenty of evidence that he does like to take it up the ass which is rad for him if he does, you know, but it feels crappy to me, the way a lot of the fandom (NOT you—I haven't seen anything like this from you) and actually also Misha treats Dean and sometimes/by proxy Jensen with the whole calling him/them a bottom, especially when Jensen isn't part of the conversation and doesn't even know that there's anything to respond to. It just gets said about him in public, and then onus is on him to find it and respond. It's a gotcha situation though, I don't think there's even anything he could say in his own defense (if he wanted to, that is. idk, for all I know, maybe Jensen is into it too, but that's sort of my problem.. I don't how he feels about being called a girl, a bottom, an omega etc) that people wouldn't claim that, by saying he isn't a bottom, sub or femme, he actually is proving he's a "subby little girlboy," or so I saw it said. I wish we as a community could talk about the nuance and inherent homophobia and transphobia in leering about it that way, in stereotyping 'bottom/subby behavior' and categorizing that behavior as feminine etc. I'm a trans dude, a dom and a top and a lot of the things I see people saying about Dean being a bottom or, worse, about Jensen being a bottom, are just so.. emasculating to me, because a lot of that stuff is stuff I do, too. Dean is a fictional character so his feelings can't get hurt, but Jensen is a real person, you know? And there's like a million people on the internet saying they can tell he's a subby, femme bottom despite whether he's ever said anything to the contrary or not. It's.. jarring, too, since I'm also a real person and they're often pointing to traits and behaviors that I share as evidence. It makes me so dysphoric to see so many people calling him girly and needy and in heat or what have you and citing how he (over)performs masculinity. I over-perform masculinity, too, but I do it because I enjoy the presentation, not because I'm over-compensating and Actually A Girl. I'm actually pretty comfortable in my relationship with gender at this point. Sometimes I also wear dresses. I'm still a dude. It sucks that it seems like the overwhelming opinion is that loudly performing masculinity can only ever mean overcompensation, and never gender euphoria. It seems like a lot more people are more interested in forcing Dean to perform femininity—like people want to humble and humiliate him for his past/present comphet and his idea of his own masculinity—not in allowing him to participate in traditionally non-masculine things according to what he likes, or to perform gender in ways that make him feel authentic and happy. It's like, instead of him aggressively overcompensating his Manly Man-ness, everyone wants to make him aggressively, stereotypically effeminate and one dimensional in the opposite direction. What are your thoughts on it, if you don't mind sharing? Do you think there's a way to have this conversation in the fandom? Or am I missing the point?

hi! okay first of all I love your tone indicators, we should all be doing this online tbh because it absolutely sets the voice for the rest of your ask and I appreciate it so very much.

preliminarily - I am not an expert on this topic in any way, so please take my response with an entire value-size canister of salt.

I think your feelings and thoughts are absolutely valid, and I don't disagree. I personally try to steer clear of most of the real person is this and that thing unless they uh. you know. tweet it out loud at the internet (for what it's worth, I do think - any joking I may have vaguely done aside - that Misha's past two top related tweets specifically were fairly pointed at himself (yes, I know one was about Dean and Cas fanfic, but he said "I" enjoy being on top, not Cas enjoys topping Dean). I am certain he is aware of the innuendo though, and how fandom will take it so your commentary on his being a participant is certainly correct as well. Also, I firmly believe that Misha does treat humans, especially those he is close w, with the utmost respect and any joking he has done re Jensen has been in a place of Jensen being okay with it (like I don't think he would ever say anything he knows would make Jensen feel uncomfortable whether he is within earshot or across the country when it's said).

*takes off Misha apologist hat*

As for the rest, I think your points are extremely well made and it's definitely a conversation that can (and should!) be had in fandom. I do agree that this topic can and has been misconstrued (sometimes for shitposting's sake sometimes not) as it applies to irl people and situations. I personally think that Jensen is a very multidimensional and layered human (which serves him greatly as an actor, I mean he contains literal multitudes) and to classify him as either pendulum end - as you mentioned, is doing his human self a disservice. I think it's also important for all of us to remember that gender is a construct and can be so fluid, so putting any of it in a socially constructed box just defies the entire point of the conversation.

I don't know if this is making any sense (your points are a lot more well spoken and coherent than mine), but I do think what you said is so important and needs to be out there. Also, I hope you know you are so freaking valid and nothing that's said on this site or others about traits/behavioors of Jensen's that mirror your own is a firm definition for those traits/behaviors, especially if people are putting them in a category you don't necessarily agree/feel comfortable with or identify as the right 'definition' if you will. Your words - "to perform gender in ways that make him feel authentic and happy" really resonated with me, and I think they hold true for both Jensen and you. To radically be our authentic selves is the goal, and I'm so glad that based on what you said you're feeling about your own relationship with gender it seems like you are in that place!!!

Sorry this is so long of a response and probably. muddy. I hope I got the gist of what you were asking, but also thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me, you expressed them really clearly and it's given me a lot to think about :) if I got anything wrong, or misunderstood a point you were making please feel free to pop by and clarify or correct me.

I hope you have an excellent day <3

[fireemblems24]

hey if you uh 👀 wanna share that essay on dimitri 👀 i'm sure more than one of us will be happy to read it... 👀👀👀 (dont mean to pressure you or anything! just joking around but in all seriousness your metas are 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼)

This feels a bit like someone asking me to indulge in my favorite food.

I’m a bit stuck right now with no new content for Dimitri, and with that shocking personality turn, I’m dying to know where this all goes, and you bet there will be some massive Dimitri analysis coming. 

But for a “short” breakdown of why he’s my favorite so far:

He’s that kind, empathetic, diplomatic lord I always go for, but avoids being too vanilla because he’s allowed to have faults. It’s also so nice to see a character who goes through trauma and see it realistically affect them, and not just in a romantic tool kind of way either. You see it in literally everything Dimitri does and how he interacts with everyone. It’s an excellent case of “tragic backstory” done right.

It’s almost unfair how many complex relationships Dimitri has on the other main characters. It takes the Byleth pandering edge off a lot when he’s got these deep, rich connections to Felix, Dedue, Ingrid, Rodrigue, Sylvain, Gilbert, and even Annette and Catherine. It’s such a leg up on the other main characters that he gets to skip over awkward intro C-Supports and jump right into the drama. 

He surprises you. I fully expected Dimitri to be kind of boring, but instead he just made me . . . fall in love with him? Like, I’m closer to 30 than 20. I have not done this over a character since high school. Like what is this?

The trauma is interesting and well-done and all, but even without it Dimitri’s a character who I would’ve gone for. He’s so awkwardly adorable and gets so easily excited when you talk about his favorite sword or whatever. But then he’s also so composed and confident at times.  

I also love how traditionally “feminine” his strengths are. He’s kind, empathetic, wants to compromise rather than punch his way through his problems, and he’s still totally a guy. Many times these “softer” male characters are written super feminine, but it’s nice to see these traits in a character who is still traditionally masculine. It’s refreshing because it shows these things don’t have to be one or the other. You can be a guy’s guy and still be emotional, considerate, and caring. Like his hobbies are swordplay and sowing, and he’s allowed to just like both and no one makes a big deal of it one way or the other.

Dimitri embraces his leadership role. You can tell it takes a toll on him, and that he’d probably really rather not have to take on all this burden. But he does. I’m so sick of entitled leader characters play the “but I never ASKED to be XXXX!!!” Dimitri just embraces it and wants to use it to help others. For all of Dimitri’s trauma and how center-stage it takes, you literally never hear this guy complain about anything. The headaches? You know know because of Felix and Dedue. Same with the sleeplessness. Dimitri never says a word because he’s just so ingrained to take on all the burdens and lead everyone else. It’s to an unhealthy level, but oh my God it’s so refreshing after dealing with so many heirs and chosen ones that come across like spoiled brats. 

There’s a few key moments in the story that Dimtiri really stuck out to me too. 

Post-Lonato - This was the scene where his character really caught my attention. So often fantasy glorifies war. Kings and chosen ones fight for their ideals against some dark overlord and it’s all rah, rah!!! And it’s all good and fun, but I can’t ever help but wonder what any of these stories look like from the common man’s POV. Dimitri gets that. He’s not about some high and might cause. He’s always focused on how the common man is getting hurt by their leaders. He does this with Miklain too. Of all the lords, he’s the only one who noticed how Miklain mistreated all the nearby commoners. That was what he talked about. It’s what he’s always talked about. And it really resonates with me. Leader characters with admirable ordeals are a dime a dozen when you read as much fantasy and historical fiction as I do, but ones who set that all aside and their ultimate goal is to serve the people - now that’s interesting. 

Post-Jeralt - This was one of the few times I felt kind of self-inserted in the game. I don’t care too much for Byleth or Jeralt. But after Jeralt did his thing, I got Edelgard’s harsh treatment, than Claude’s complete disregard, and I was honestly feeling so put out. I really expected the game to play this up given how much they love to pander to Byleth. I was especially shocked to see Edelgard be so dismissive of Byleth’s feelings when she’s so hung up on Byleth. It’s like Claude and Edelgard ask so much from Byleth - both openly wanting to use Byleth to achieve their own goals - and the single time Byleth shows weakness, is faltering, neither care enough to bother. By the time I got to Dimitri, I expected nothing. But when he showed up instead of Alois (sooner than the other two), I was a bit taken off guard. And then I finally got to see someone really care about Byleth for Byleth’s sake, and not only what they thought Byleth could end up doing for them later. He was so kind and considerate. He didn’t belittle Byleth for grieving, he offered to cover for anything Byleth needed. And it really got to me, because we’ve all been there. We have people we think we’re good friends with, but when you need them they’re just . . . not there. And then that one person who is there just really ends up sticking out so much more. 

I really expect this list to get so much longer after seeing the time skip. He’s clearly going to get some massive character development, and I’m so excited to see all the sides of Dimitri explored - even - especially - the not so good ones. So it’s slightly torturous that I’m stuck replaying the route I saved over and not seeing anything new and smarts even worse because Dimitri’s (and Dedue who coincidentally is another favorite) are literally the only characters I’ve seen 0 final supports for and I’m just . . . really dying over here. 

[echo-three-one]

Whatever It Takes : RELOADED

More safe house shenanigans as the gang looks for leads.

Table of Contents

Previous Chapter : My Damsel in Distress

Delayed Flight 

John 'Soap' MacTavish

Task Force 141 - Disbanded

Safehouse 110197, Brazil

Soap haven't slept like this for quite a long time. He almost felt guilty that he's peacefully sleeping all while the world was in chaos. 

Slowly got up after noticing that Alex and Ghost were still asleep beside him, they looked like they just slept and he didn't bother waking them up for breakfast. Another scan of the room indicated that everyone else is downstairs. 

John quickly tiptoed across the room and swung the door open. On the other side of the door was France who looked focused while carrying two mugs of coffee.

"Oh! You're up!" she said in surprise as her coffee mugs wobbled. John's quick reflex immediately caught her hands and held them tight until it stabilized.

"I'm sorry I surprised you. Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, a smirk escaped his face as he noticed a faint blush from the female's cheek.

"Yeah. I brought you coffee since the hot water was almost out and you were still asleep." she stammered, not making eye contact to him. Soap looked curious, where was the woman that confidently rejected him yesterday? 

"Aww. So you are concerned!" he mused, holding her hands tight, drawing the steaming coffee mug close to him.

"Not really. I just thought that you're the last one to drink some so the kettle would finally be empty. Don't get your hopes too high, MacTavish." she gently shoved him the mug and carefully stormed off. There she was, back on her guard.

"Well, thanks for the concern." He greeted as he stepped down the stairs while sipping his coffee and met with everyone in the living room.

"Aren't we supposed to do recon for Samantha?" He asked, addressing the leaders who were casually reading a newspaper.

"Negative." Jack said, not looking at the Scottish soldier.

"We still have fuel from Nikolai's plane but we can't waste in on suspicion alone. We have to get solid intel." Price added.

"So we're like chilling here. Doing nothing." He said.

"Not exactly nothing. Ghost might have a lead anytime soon. For now, why don't you run some errands. Maxine needs some things for us here." Price replied, eyes still focused on the paper.

"John?" Maxine peeked from the kitchen and both Price and Soap turned to her.

"I meant Price." she dismissed, making Soap turn away from embarrassment.

"Can I come with them instead of making a list?" she asked, Soap could see Roach behind her eyeing on the interaction. 

"Sure. You've got three bodyguards with you. Just make sure you're always with at least one of them." he muttered. Beside him, Jack stood up and placed the paper on the table. 

"All-righty then, I'll lead you to the town just this once. Next time out, you'll be on your own. It's quite a long walk. And you lad, dress less suspicious." he pointed to Soap's camo pants. Soap actually felt scared at Alex's former CO. His very being still intimidated the Scot.

"I'll be back in a minute." he mumbled and dashed upstairs while France walked by Maxine to the door.

~

"I know Price told us to wear civilian clothing but for some reason you still have the ability to stand out and raise suspicion." France announced as the small team of four exited the safe house en route to the nearby town.

"Is it the hair?" Soap quickly placed one of Price's bucket hats and flashed a grin at the two ladies behind him. "Happy now?" he asked.

"Aside from the fact that you're wearing a t-shirt too small for your size? Yep. When did you last buy clothes for yourself?" France replied sarcastically and asked. Maxine giggled as she walked beside her sister, something she started to accept and try to recall.

"You're just finding an excuse to look at me." He muttered as he dashed to catch up with Jack, who was peacefully enjoying the walk.

"I'm amazed as to how you two act like you're not soldiers right now. How do you do it?" Jack chuckled as he rolled his eyes to Soap's direction, trying not to laugh at the Scot. If he was being honest, the hat did him a worse job. It made his head look small and unproportional to his bulky build. He turned back to France and Maxine who were silently signaling him to keep quiet.

The road was quite long and Soap finally found a small puddle of water to look at how he looked. No wonder they were giggling. He looked like a teddy bear who had a small head.

He then shyly took off his hat and glanced back at the puddle. Maybe it was time for him to buy larger clothes.

"Yeah. Guess someone has to help me pick some clothes as well." he muttered, while France paced beside him and gave him an assuring smile.

"I could always help, John." she said cheerfully and their eyes met. John slowly felt the sincerity on her smile, his heart sped and he found himself inching his face closer to her.

"The town's almost there!" Alex yelled from the distance as the two broke their gazes toward each other and quickly caught up with the two.

Awkward silence. They walked together behind Jack and Maxine who were now discussing what Jack's interests were back in the day. Not that it mattered to John, as all his mind was thinking was this pretty lady walking beside him. He wanted to graze his hand against hers, just to feel her smooth touch, he wondered if she'd let him hold her.

But he insisted, France was more of a slow but steady kind of person. She pointed it out to him multiple times and if he really wanted them to work, he had to do it the old-fashioned way. Sure the kiss was sudden, but what they had back at the Gulag was something worth waiting for and kissing her anytime now would never feel the same as the first.

Jack and Maxine quickly split off toward the market while the two of them remained by the center of the plaza. John scratched his head as he stuttered to ask her where to go.

"So… um… where to?" He asked.

"Looks like they got some cool jackets over there! You think you look good on those?" She asked excitedly.

"What do you think?" He asked shyly.

"Hmmmm.. Maybe… I'm not quite sure." She replied. John expected the classic you'd-look-better-without-any joke but she's not that kind of girl, and he's digging it.

When they say time flies by when you're having fun, John resonated with the quote. They spent most of the time laughing over clothes whose designs didn't make much sense and ended up buying most of them. Despite all the things going on around the world, John felt normal when he's with her, something he hasn't felt in quite a while. He'd even imagined that they're actually boyfriend and girlfriend whenever people around look at them. He was happy. He could get used to this.

~

It was about lunch time when they returned to the Safe house, and the scenery inside was the most unexpected thing ever.

Price was sleeping by the couch, his whole head was covered by a newspaper which had "End' times" written as the headline. Ghost and Roach were fighting over a piece of broccoli on the table while Alex sat by the stairs, wearing a shirt with a huge whale printed on it, playing with a lighter, flicking it open then closing it back as he stared at the flames.

"So that's where Smokey went." Soap muttered.

"Smokey?" France asked.

"My lighter." Soap replied confidently.

"Really?" 

"Yep." he said, popping the 'P' as he unloaded most of the supplies to the kitchen.

"What happened here?" Jack asked, taking off his jacket, completely regretting wearing it in a tropical country.

"Roach ate my broccoli!" Ghost complained.

"Ghost ate my pie!" Roach complained back as Jack sighed and placed a palm on his face.

"We had pie?" Soap asked, his eyes beamed at the table, only to be disappointed that there was none.

"Technically it's a tart and it's supposed to be for Maxine." Ghost smiled shyly eyeing at Maxine.

"Well, it didn't have her name on it so I assumed…" Ghost replied.

"You don't have to assume! You should've asked!" he yelled.

Soap was amazed at the spectrum of the team, which ranged from very righteous and courageous warriors to actual toddlers. It made him happy that he joined this little group he could call family.

~

Another day had passed and they still had no leads. But Ghost looked like he was onto something as Soap found him with Price as they discussed matters that sounded serious. He just hoped it was a lead. He's starting to worry about Alex who was constantly moping around. With nothing to work on, all he could focus on was Samantha.

"Guess you liked playing with that lighter so much." Soap leaned by the door, looking concerned at his comrade.

"Hey man. How was the market." Alex asked, his tone was nonchalant, almost lifeless.

"Well, it was busy. Jack led us there because you were asleep all morning…"

"Yeah. I couldn't go there. We shared so many memories in that town. I just can't handle it at the moment." He frowned and tossed him the lighter which Soap caught immediately.

"Thanks for this. And if you ever need someone to talk to… We're here for you, pal." Soap said awkwardly. The term pal was very American and he thought it'd be appropriate.

"Thanks, pal." Alex chuckled and stood up. 

"Let's go get dinner." Alex added, his eyes were fueled with determination. And Soap was happy that he's taking small steps to recover.

Next Chapter : Lurking in the Shadows

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