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owlwithanapple · 10 months ago

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Fate Chapter 03. — New

Roronoa Zoro X OC X Trafalgar Law

The story tells about the encounter between Yuki and the Straw Hat Pirates from different worlds and different eras.

In the evening, you get together with everyone for dinner and talk about a grand carnival that will be held on a certain island. When Luffy heard about the carnival, he took the opportunity to clamor to go there and have fun. Sanji and Chopper happened to have to fill up supplies, so the next destination was there.

Robin knew the destination, she took the opportunity to suggest buying you some daily necessities and clothes. Nami felt a little guilty that she felt sorry for giving you old clothes, but you really didn't mind.

After dinner you helped to sort out the dishes and take them to the kitchen for cleaning. You came to this world, they treated you well but you didn't give them anything in return. Thinking about it was better to start with basic chores first, which was better than idleness.

Washing so many dishes reminds you in the past there were just a few dishes in your own home, but now there are so many as if they were enough for a family. It’s the life you’ve been looking forward to spending with your lively family and friends.

Your family originally had you with your parents, but you were alone in the empty home. You are a little envious everyone always has their parents to accompany and play with them, but you are always alone.

Even if your parents leave Japan to work abroad, they will come home to celebrate your birthday. You are very happy from the bottom of your heart. Since then, you have been looking forward to their return home and reunion every day, but the reality is often cruel.

In the end, there was nothing to wait for. The door to the house was opened by no one but yourself.Recently learned how to cook curry rice and feel very proud of yourself and want to share with them.

Gradually, you discovered that they have not come back in recent years, the phone calls are no longer dialed immediately. The only way to confirm that both parents are still alive is to remit the amount to your account every month. The once-a-year birthday wish suddenly collapsed. .

As time goes by, you gradually no longer have any illusions and expectations. Go to school then come home on time to do your homework, work part-time during holidays, and watch anime or sleep in your free time.

Perhaps these reasons have caused you to become more withdrawn and unwilling to socialize. It may be that you are afraid that the loneliness of separation will be unbearable. Life must go through many setbacks, and you should probably learn to accept or reject them.

In order to numb your emotions, wake up every day and tell yourself must face everything with strength. In fact no one to rely on. Even wanted to seek comfort for a small matter, you see nothing but just an empty space when got home. You could only curl up on the sofa and cry silently.

It's hard to get used to being with the Straw Hat Pirates now. It's so lively and you feel out of place. You have been accustomed to loneliness and suddenly come to a strange but lively world. You are afraid of making the same mistakes again. The moment of happiness will gone again.

"Hey!"

You were jolted out of your thoughts by a shout "Hwah!"

"Why are you looking so sad~" Luffy tilted his head.

"Really?" Luffy saw through it immediately but you still kept smiling.

Luffy just stared at you with a pouted "Hmmmmm..."

"Luffy?" Luffy kept staring at you, and felt a pressure in your heart.

He put his hand on the straw hat smiled brightly, "You are no longer alone!"

You learned from Nami that Luffy is a relatively casual and simple person. He often yells and makes a fuss in a silly manner but is a very reliable person. Although his behavior is very strange, he can inexplicably sense the vulnerability deep in your heart.

"I know." You were so moved by what he said, you almost couldn't hold back your tears.

Luffy seems like a sunny boy who can warm people's hearts. You have to cheer up, you are no longer the lonely person you were before, now you have the Straw Hat Pirates with you.

Luffy left happily after chatting with you. After that you organize all the washed dishes put them in the cupboard one by one. Some large plates are stored in high cabinets. You pull up a chair and stand up, holding several plates placing them carefully.

"Need a help?" Zoro's voice came from behind you.

Thinking that there were still a few plates that you could put away, so you politely refused him, "There's just a little more. It's almost done."

Zoro hadn't left yet just stood at the table with his arms crossed. He actually just heard the conversation between you and Luffy outside the door. He had a vague feeling that Luffy noticed something was wrong with you, and he walked in out of curiosity.

He was purely wishful thinking, and his body followed you unconsciously. He has a premonition that you may appear and disappear at any time, as you said, you may suddenly return to your own world.

He wants to hold on to you and not let go. Once he lets go, you will really disappear from his world. This also means from now on, the two of you will really be friends who can never meet again in different worlds.

He knows very well that he cannot control your appearance, because it is an unknown ability that brings you. He knows that since that ability can bring you, it can take you away at any time.

"I'm done!" You get off the chair.

Your voice brought him back to the present "Oh, good."

"Zoro, are you okay?" You stood in front of him to make sure he was okay.

He took a step back and looked away, "I'm fine."

"Liar. You don't look okay at all." His expression clearly showed that he was uneasy.

He was very annoyed when you poked a sore spot "Tch."

"Zoro...do you have something to say to me?" You don't know if it's your imagination, but you want to know what Zoro is thinking now.

He couldn't help but think about it, but after thinking about it he felt strange. Should he ask or not? He still compromised. He clenched the scabbard in his hand to calm himself, "I want to ask... if have the opportunity to return to your World, will you go back?"

His question poked deep into your heart. You had indeed thought about this question. If you could really make your own choice, what would you choose, whether you would go back or stay.

"You don't need to answer, I'm just asking casually." Zoro noticed that your expression had changed, he think about it and quickly change the subject with you.

Zoro looked a little flustered. You knew in your heart that he wanted to end the topic, but the question he asked was indeed a question that you had to think about and choose. "You are right to ask, it is the question I should be thinking about."

"Oh..." Zoro was a little at a loss because you didn't change the topic.

Zoro gives you the impression he is someone who knows right from wrong. Coupled with his super combat power and keen insight, he is like the strongest support for the entire team.

You believe that he has seen through your inner doubts before asking you this question. You don't hate the fact that he is straightforward and cares about other people's feelings. Getting along with him makes you feel much more at ease.

"If I could choose whether to go back or not...Zoro, as long as you ask me to stay, I will definitely stay." You haven't figured out how to answer yet, so you tell him in a naughty tone.

Zoro's current expression is one of surprise with eyes wide open "Huh!?"

"Hahaha, I'm kidding. I just haven't figured out the answer yet. I'll tell you as soon as I think about it." Zoro's reaction is really cute. You smile and answer your current thoughts.

He didn't know why felt an impulse surge in his heart for a moment, and he told himself to calm down in annoyance. Zoro, who was now in a good mood, just smiled softly and touched your forehead with his finger, "Idiot."

"Hehehe." You continued without saying anything and just laughed in front of him.

"Yuki-chwan~ Do you need my help?~" Sanji wanted to sneak in to take a look at you, but Zoro was there. He immediately rushed over stand between you and Zoro. "Hey! Marimo! You want to do something to Yuki-chwan again? !"

"Huh? What are you talking about again..." Zoro was indeed a little impatient.

You gently moved your fingers on Sanji's shoulders, "I've done the dishes."

Sanji turned around and saw your face so close. His eyes turned into loving hearts and his hands were waving in the air, "Thank you~ Yuki-chwan~ You must have been working very hard today~"

You shook your head, "No. I just want to thank you for hosting me."

Sanji raised your hand and put it under his lips. "No, it's actually just my wishful thinking that I want to be nice to you."

You are not good at dealing with Sanji's personality. You know that he treats you out of kindness. Although you are very happy but is difficult to adapt and strange suddenly have such special treatment.

You want to stop but you don't know how to say it. It would be rude. While you were troubled, Zoro went to the cupboard to get a tall pot and covered Sanji's head to plunge him into darkness.

Zoro pushed Sanji away then grabbed your hand with a wicked smile "Let's go."

"Hahaha..." You were frightened by his actions but amused.

You both fled the kitchen together leaving poor Sanji with a tall pot on his head and yelling "Damn Marimooooooo!"

You escaped to the front of the boat and made sure Sanji didn't catch you. Then you breathed a sigh of relief and found a place to sit down. Thanks to Zoro for saving, otherwise you really don’t know how to refuse.

You two looked at each other, and couldn't help but burst into laughter holding stomachs. Although sorry for Sanji, the scene of the head being covered just now was really hilarious.

After you finished laughing, you sat there stared at the night sky in a daze. It's incredible to be able to look at the sky in the middle of the sea. It's like the sky and the sea are so close but so far away visually.

The vast sky and sea may seem calm and beautiful, they can never erase your feeling of loneliness and helplessness. Frankly speaking, you are actually very scared when you enter another strange world.

Fear is normal. Coming to a strange world, woke up in a sea, suddenly sank into the sea, with a talking reindeer, a singing skeleton and all kinds of weirdos.

The emotions you were holding back surged up in your heart in an instant. You hugged your legs rested your forehead on your knees. You wanted to cry but hold back the tears because Zoro was sitting next to you and didn't want to affect him by your emotion.

Zoro touches you "Are you sleepy?"

You just shake your head.

He is annoyed by the way you are silent now and doesn't understand what he should do. He is not good at comforting and expressing his thoughts. He is more like the type who silently protects people from behind, but now he can only give it a try.

"Erm...the night is particularly beautiful today?" Zoro muttered but so embarrassed by what he said.

You raised your head and looked at him with dumbfounded eyes. Although there were tears in your eyes, what he said caught your attention. You tilted your head and wondered why he suddenly said such embarrassing words.

Zoro was startled and there were tears in your eyes. He was wondering if he had said the wrong thing, but he just said it casually. He scratched his head and couldn't understand.

You wiped your tears "What are you doing?"

"It's nothing. Don't pay attention to me." He relieved his embarrassment and looked at the sky.

You can probably guess from Zoro's reaction that he is not very good at expressing himself. He looks cool and strong, but he is very gentle and considerate, he doesn't show it. You know that he cares about what's going on, and you are really happy.

You smiled slightly, "I'm just a little scared, being in a strange world. Being alone in a world I'm not familiar with..."

Zoro interrupted before you could finish your sentence. "You are no longer alone."

His words moved you to tears. You tried to wipe away your tears but were stopped by Zoro's hand. Instead, he was wiping away your tears. You said nothing and just watched him comfort you with this small gesture.

"Thank you." You simply said.

He took back his hand and faced you, "You might as well tell me..."

You hesitated for a moment. Since everyone is Nakama, it doesn't matter if you tell him. If he wants to listen, let him listen. If he doesn't want to, just go away.

You clasped your hands and pondered for a moment before you started to say, "I miss my parents. I don't know if they miss me."

"Huh?" he asked.

"My parents and I are separated in two places. I am alone in Japan, and they work abroad, so I cannot see them often. I can only contact them by making phone calls."

"But... gradually I can't contact them anymore. I only know that my parents will remit money to me every month. Now I am in this world, I feel very warm. Everybody here who have filled my loneliness."

You looked down at your legs with tears in your eyes and your vision began to blur.

"So whether your parents are still alive, you only know through that thing called remittance..." Zoro doesn't understand what remittance means, but he probably understands you.

You nodded slightly, "Yes. Obviously we are a family but I feel very lonely. So I am very curious whether they will miss me and whether they will be sad when their daughter disappears suddenly."

"I don't know your parents' thoughts or reasons for alienating you. Now we have filled your loneliness, you can enjoy this world start from today on." Zoro crossed his hands and looked at you smile slightly.

You rested your head on his shoulder and closed your eyes "Zoro...you are so gentle."

"Ha!" He was a little embarrassed but not disgusted with you leaned on his shoulder.

"Huh..." A slight snoring sound was heard.

Zoro glanced at you "No way! Did you really fall asleep?!"

He poked your cheek saw that you were not awake. He scratched his head and was worried. He really couldn't do anything to you, he would wait until you were completely asleep before taking you back to the room. He was just chatting with you, but you fell asleep comfortably, leaving him alone in embarrassment.

His clothes expose his chest muscles, he can vaguely feel the warmth of your breath transmitted to him. He pinched his own wrist to suppress the turmoil in his heart. You are just a girl but you can make him feel itchy.

The one-line collar top reveals your fragrant shoulders and collarbones, your hair has a light floral fragrance, and your body moves with the rhythm of your breathing. You looked so innocent sleeping on the shoulder of a beast like him.

"Unsuspecting idiot." He lifted your hair.

Suddenly you rub his shoulder and say, "Zo...ro..."

"Damn...!" He covered his face.

He picked you up while you were sleeping, your face resting on his chest, and he felt the warmth of your breath getting closer and closer. He pushed open your door with his shoulder, walked in, gently and carefully placed you on the bed.

"Cute sleeping face." He poked your cheek several times.

When he stood up to leave the room, he heard "Zo...ro..." It was you moaning.

He sighed loudly and walked to your bedside pull up a chair and sit down. Your unsuspecting and innocent appearance aroused a burning desire in his heart. He clenched his fists told himself to calm down.

But he finally couldn't bear the feeling of saying his name from your mouth. He slowly stood up held your hand. His slowly came closer to your lips. He realize that your face was close and really beautiful at first glance.

When he couldn't resist the urge in his heart and wanted to kiss you secretly, you suddenly turned over and slept on the other side. He was fortunate realize that he almost made a mistake to you and immediately fell into embarrassment.

"What the hell am I doing..." He stood up and stood by the door, holding the doorknob.

After he calms down, leaves your room and goes outside to relax. He went to the kitchen get a bottle of wine and find Franky who was guarding at night. He sat down and started drinking heavily. He almost kissed you by mistake just now, but luckily he controlled it.

"Can't you sleep?" Franky adjusted his robot hand.

He put down the wine"Well, drink some wine so that can sleep better."

"What's wrong with you? Your ears are a little red. Do you have a fever?" Franky pointed to his ears.

"A little drunk." He said Franky casually.

Franky became suspicious and found it hard to believe, "You drunk?"

Zoro realized that he seemed have said the wrong thing, he chose to avoid the question and continued drinking his wine. Franky vaguely noticed something was wrong with Zoro, but he ignored it and continued to do his own thing.

As time passed little by little, it was already morning time. You was tired from getting used to the new environment and cleaning yesterday so slept for a long time, longer than usual.

Someone was running in the corridor, and the sound was getting closer to your room. Luffy opened your door and shouted, "Get up! Breakfast!"

You don't feel very angry when you wake up just your face looks bad every time you wake up. You lifted the quilt and sat up from the bed, glaring at Luffy who was standing there with a silly smile. Your eyes were sharp, but Luffy felt a fierce aura coming towards from you.

"Bye!" Then he ran away without closing the door.

You looked around realized there was your soft bed in your room, but why was the wooden chair next to your bed? It was obviously placed next to the wardrobe. Maybe you pulled it over yesterday and forgot about it.

You get out of bed leave the room and look up to see a clear sky with the sun shining brightly. The sun is not that close to you at home, but now you feel that the sun here is really bright.

Because the sun was very dazzling, you covered your eyes with hands and went to look for other companions. You see Ussop, Chopper and Luffy hanging out together. Robin sat alone and read a book silently.

You walked up to Robin, she patted the empty space with her hand to signal you sit down. You sat down and opened your mouth to yawn. You admired Luffy for being so energetic and lively so early.

"Oh, didn't you get enough sleep?" Robin closed the book.

"I'm not used to waking up early~" You yawned and fell asleep on her shoulder.

Robin looked at your behavior this morning and snickered, "Hehehe, so cute."

She continues to read her book quietly without disturbing you. Nami greeted everyone before walking towards where you and Robin were. Nami sat next to you and leaned back in the chair, chatting quietly with Robin.

"Such a soft face!" Nami poked your cheek gently.

Robin laughed "Hehehe."

"The hair is so messy. This little girl must not have combed her hair when she woke up." Nami ran her fingers through your hair.

Robin waved "Nami..."

Nami understood Robin's idea and nodded.

The two of them secretly used a comb and hair tie to create a new hairstyle for you while you were still asleep. Brook and Sanji came around to join in the fun.

You vaguely felt many eyes staring at you, making you uncomfortable. You opened your eyes slightly saw Chopper sitting on your lap. You were surprised why Sanji had love eyes and Brook covered his mouth with hands.

You felt a cool breeze blowing on your neck. You didn't remember that you had your hair tied up when you went out. Robin and Nami were sitting next to you and kept smiling. Did they do something to your hair?

Chopper took out a mirror for you to look at, and you saw a double braid look. You were not good at braiding hairstyles, so you simply tied a ponytail every day. Now you liked the new look very much.

"Nami! Robin! Thank you!" You smiled.

Robin smiled slightly and said, "As long as you like it."

Nami likes "Let's us braid your hair from now on~"

"It suits you very well~Yuki-chwan~" Sanji praised you with loving eyes.

You looked in the mirror and stroked your braided hair. The two of them were really good at creating such complicated styles. You saw Zoro coming over with a yawn, and you handed the mirror back to Chopper.

Zoro yawned "Hwahh~ Why are you gathering here?"

"What do you think of Yuki's hairstyle?" Ussop pointed at you.

He glanced at you and held out his hand with a chuckle, "Yeah, it fits."

"Hehehe" you smiled and let him stroke your hair.

"Hey~ I saw the island!" Franky informed the two of you who were chatting.

Luffy immediately jumped up "Yahoooooo~Island~"

You looked the direction of an island pointed by Franky. Ussop handed you a telescope to let you see more clearly. Through the telescope, you saw many ships docked at the island's pier.

There are a lot of colorful decorations on the pier, which is a custom of the island's carnival. You put away telescope and prepare for the fun time to come with anticipation and excitement.

Zoro stood behind saw you and Chopper looking very expectant and excited. He was secretly happy. To be honest, he was really looking forward to arriving at the island as soon as possible. Maybe it was your reason that infected him.

To Be Continued—

*If you have any ideas leave them in the comment section, and I will try to add in the story.*

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carionto · 1 year ago

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Humans and Boredom VI

Music is everywhere in the Galaxy.

All it takes is the simplest sense of rhythm, and a feeling. What that feeling is can be anything, from a total lack of feeling - true idleness, to the most profound and personal emotional states that no other will ever truly understand;

the rush from being on the prowl, amping yourself and your compatriots up by the sheer act of marching forward, to a mother's quiet tapping of a finger on the table, waiting for an answer, hoping it doesn't come, knowing what it will be when it inevitably does.

Repetition brings comfort, at least in the sense you what will come next. Whether it is something of a reassurance during troubling times, or excitement for joining along with everyone else during celebration, having some certainty of what comes next is incredibly powerful and essential for life.

What we could not predict is what we saw when we arrived at one of our moons Humanity offered to clean up after a small skirmish between some locals and pirates. An OCC ship had been tagging along this military escort. We know of the Orbital Cleaner Crews, their reputation, while only recent in Galactic circles, is unparalleled, so we gladly accepted their offer.

Now, this moon has an atmosphere. It's highly toxic and the surface is almost nothing but dust, so it has been deemed uninhabitable. It's only function, really, is the light tidal effect it produces for it's host planet, which is more or less just a farm and resort and retirement hotspot (with some secret military bases, but don't tell anyone).

Not long after leaving the OCC to do it's thing, we got a call from planetside about strange lights appearing on the moon at night. What the OCC were doing, or more specifically, the active cleaner currently on their 8 hour shift, flinging bits of space pirate ship debris at the moon. What the hell?

"It's fine, you said nothing lives down there, right? And we don't get a lot of atmosphere jobs, so I'm making the most of it. The air isn't bad enough to melt the drones I sent down there, and I've been, let's say, working on my magnum opus. Here, have a listen to yesterdays sample."

What she played was music. I think Humans call it jazz, with a mixture of symphony, and... heavy metal? A fascinating combination, and some of the notes were intense and booming. It did not sound like any instrument we had heard Humans use before, though it did remind us of a few Groh'rani bands, but that's just how their mouths learn to work in the upper lowland dialect.

"You're looking at it."

What?

"The moon and debris! Most people wouldn't think it, but based on the material composition, speed, angle and point of contact, orbital debris makes a lot of different sounds.

That sample specifically used: a triple impact of cockpit chairs; two laser batteries colliding a few meters above the surface; a hallway hitting the ground with its flat bottom first; another hallway whistling by as it shoots down open hatch first, the drone inside picked up some wicked air noises, didn't survive the direct crash though, would've loved to get the inside boom; and a barrage of twenty four diced up hull plates striking at quarter second intervals."

Hmm, well, that's certainly... creative use of available resources. And not breaking any laws or regulations either, huh.

"If you don't mind, I've still got some work to do. I'm in no rush with the piece though, the release is years away. I still need more low notes from carrier and larger ship impacts, plus it takes a lot of time to get authorization to get a planetcracker for a private job. I have to know what sound matter of all kind makes when those massive gravity hooks slowly squeeze and expand them. Man, I can't even imagine. So excited for when that paperwork goes through!"

Right, we'll leave you to it then.

Bye.

#humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #humans are space oddities #humans are deathworlders #humanity fuck yeah #carionto

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electriczayre · 1 year ago

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Since there doesn't seem to be anything written for your Omori AU, how do all the other ex-Headspaceians differ from canon?

first of all i want to genuinely thank you for expressing interest in my silly little swap AU hehe ^^ this is giving me a great excuse to think about ISOLI again and make a few silly little things for it!!

I had some tidbits about ISOLI's main party that I made when I first started developing the AU, I just never officially posted any information I guess... This will be long so I'll put everything under the cut!

The most obvious change from a glance is the character's names and designs. Sweetheart and Spaceboy (who don't have any human counterpart and are instead based on fictional characters within Sunny's world) are now regular humans within the real world, and within headspace as part of Isoli's party. Sweetheart's name has been changed to Stephanie, and (Captain) Spaceboy's to Charlie! The Unbread Twins and Mikal already have Faraway Town counterparts, so those are used for them. Biscuit becomes Bowen, and Mikal becomes Michael. Doughie's name stays as Doughie because of a personal headcanon of them being nonbinary, so in the AU Doughie uses they/them pronouns, and they changed their name to Doughie as part of transitioning ^^

I talked about what Stephanie is like already, so I'll move onto Charlie

Firstly, Charlie is a trans boy! He's always hated being a girl, but doesn't feel comfortable talking much about it with his parents. He's asked his friends to treat him like a boy and of course they happily did so. Charlie loves anything and everything to do with outer space, and often talks about wanting to grow up to study and explore space. He's very intense with his emotions, but his friends help him manage them. He cares a lot about everything, which can be stressful! He may also have a small crush on Stephanie, but she doesn't reciprocate those feelings. They still have a friendly relationship, though, even if they don't always see eye-to-eye!

After Bowen's death and the 4 year time skip, Charlie's found new friends to help distract him from all the Pain And Suffering. Instead of the hooligans, we have human versions of some of OMORI's space pirates! I haven't developed this much yet, but the plan is that they LARP being an evil Space Pirate crew while causing trouble around town. Charlie hides his emotions behind his fiery anger now, but it wouldn't take much to make him crack and start to cry... Stephanie doesn't really understand why Charlie's decided to be so mean all the time now, and Charlie doesn't understand how Stephanie just seemingly moved on from everything that happened so quickly.

Doughie, Bowen, Michael, and Sunny are all family - though Sunny is adopted, while the other 3 are blood related.

Doughie always wanted to pursue a medical degree growing up, but felt somewhat pressured to go into the family bread business (quite literally the opposite of Hero in OMORI!). They're a bit silly, but always seem a bit melancholy even when supposedly happy or content. They've also designated themself as the responsible one of the group, making sure that everyone stays out of trouble. After Bowen - their twin brother - died, they were extremely emotionally distraught, and abandoned their dream of becoming a doctor in order to fill the shoes of the next up in line for the bread business.

The death of Bowen also split the family apart due to stress, with the parents becoming estranged but choosing to still work together for the sake of the business. The dad lives with Doughie and Michael, while the mom took Sunny and moved into an available house in Faraway. The parents get the space they need, while also being close enough to keep the business running. This was also supposed to keep the siblings in contact, but then Sunny isolated for 4 years...

Bowen doesn't have too much information (besides being dead). He planned to go into the bread business because he genuinely loved it, and he's more of a gentle sweet soft guy type than in canon where he's sorta just a Wet Napkin in Headspace and a parrot to Daphne in Faraway. His siblings loved him, Charlie loved him, Stephanie loved him.

Which leads us to Michael... Oh, Michael. He's much more of a nervous wreck in this AU than in canon. He saw Sunny accidentally kill Bowen, recognized it as an accident, and panicked because he didn't want his brother and best friend to get in big trouble. So he helped Sunny cover it up. He feels sad and a little betrayed that his parents split apart and Sunny chose to isolate himself with his mom instead of everyone working it all out as a family. But he can't be mad, not when he feels this is all his fault. He doesn't wear a wig, but he does bleach his hair blond. In headspace, he's probably a bit of a rambunctious kid.

#OMORI #OMORI game #OMORI AU #OMORI swap AU #OMORI ISOLI AU #electricanswers

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kavvueh · 20 days ago

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Painting Flowers Chapter 27

by @kavvueh

Summary:

One year after Alice dies in a research accident, her daughter Klee develops a penchant for burning things and getting into trouble at school. Her big brother (and now guardian) Albedo has to juggle Klee's behavior issues with a career-making project at work: reviving the extinct Inteyvat flower. But luckily, Klee's first grade teacher is pretty patient with her, all things considered -- and, well, it helps that he's not bad to look at, either... Even if he swears up and down that he's a space pirate.

Read it here on ao3!

A brief snippet is below the cut. Enjoy!

“No one is meant to carry a burden so big alone.” Jean squeezed his shoulder, then pulled her hand back. “As for Kaeya… I can’t tell you why he left without saying anything. But I also don’t think he would hurt you on purpose.” She pursed her lips. “Perhaps I’m biased, because he’s a dear friend of mine, but I truly believe he is a good man. His heart is in the right place.”

“Could have fooled me,” Albedo replied, and the bitterness in his voice surprised even him.

Jean hummed, looking out at the grapevines for a few moments, before speaking again.

“I think,” she said slowly, “we all have our Inteyvats. And they don’t grow alone. Someone has to share that struggle with you.”

“I don’t think Kaeya would,” he said, quietly. A wave of emotion surged through him - the feelings he’d been suppressing since that night, the feelings he had for Kaeya, all of the conflict and all of the heartbreak, and underneath it, still - all of the fondness, the warm, unmistakable feeling of -

“Maybe not,” Jean admitted. He turned his eyes to her, and their gaze met. “You won’t know unless you try. Unless you ask.” She stood and reached out, and he stared at her outstretched hand. “The real question, though, Albedo, is if you’re willing to wade through those troubled waters to meet him half-way.”

He thought of teasing tones, breathy laughs, the tension in Kaeya’s shoulders when they’d last spoken - and had they, he wondered, really spoken then, or had they only talked at , rather than to , each other? - and of the hurt and terror of being left behind, over and over again, by those who were supposed to care, to always be there. His mother, and Varka, and Alice… It wasn’t fair to compare them - Alice did not go by choice, and Kaeya had not said a single word - but even still… Still. Is it worth the risk?

And his mind answered him instantly with another question, as if it had always known this was coming, flooding his mind with memories: with stovetop experiments and Calla Lilly soup, gold-leaf books and gardening gloves, with flowers and dancing and coffee and crooked smiles.

All of it begged the same question: Can I live with myself if it isn’t?

#genshin impact #albedo #kaeya #kaeya alberich #kaebedo #albedo kreideprinz #klee #albedo and klee are siblings #painting flowers fic #my fics :>#kaveh #seeeeee i updated on friday i CAN keep promises (lying)

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spacepiratenemo · 8 months ago

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Shortly before Nemo officially joined the Whitebeard Crew, there was a breakdown that led her to trust the first “Blue World People” she got to know. Wanting to give Nemo time and space, the Crew often watched her behavior, not wanting to push her to talk about things she wasn’t ready to discuss. However, as her behavior and actions grew increasingly worrisome, the Crew couldn’t stand by and watch any longer. Especially Ace didn’t wish to see his new friend destroying herself, drowning in sorrows. He recognized a lot of her behavior from himself before he met Luffy and Sabo. And since he recognized this pattern of behavior, he understood where Nemo was coming from.

One morning, after a sleepless night filled with worry, loud screaming echoed across the deck as Ben, her assistant droid, caused alarm. Its Boss hadn’t been asking for help, refusing to absorb thermal energy, not sleeping, constantly working, and pushing everyone away. The night before, Nemo learned how quickly the weather can change on the Grand Line, and while everyone was asleep, a quick blizzard froze her solid, effectively threatening her life. When the Crew found her after Ben alerted them, they brought her into her parked spaceship, where Ace quickly heated her up, thawing her out and helping her regain consciousness. Once again, Nemo pushed him away, telling him to “mind his own damn business” - But this time around, Ace wasn’t having any of it! He wasn’t willing to keep watching, hence, he didn’t let her go this time around. Ultimately, this is how Nemo also finally accepted him, as a true friend.

Author’s Note: Ace prevented Nemo from running away, keeping her close, eventually causing her to fully snap. The Space Pirate first began to clench her teeth, tighten her fists, resolving in punching against the Firefist’s chest over and over again, yelling, screaming… and ultimately, crying. Despite the Crew already knowing bits and pieces of what happened to Nemo, they hadn’t realised the full scope of what she had been through.

During her complete breakdown, Nemo told him that she and her crew were just having a party and did some maintenance, resulting in security systems being shut down. No one could’ve expected this massive blast from the Blue World annihilating pretty much everyone within a second. And those that survived were on the brink of death. Ultimately, the next unfortunate circumstance was Enel’s appearance on the moon shortly after the destructive killing-blast. This self-proclaimed god wanted them to bow, and when they refused, he wiped the rest of them away. Only Zekka was still strong enough to defeat this opponent, but the Capt’n lost his life trying to save at least two of his kids: Nemo and Alliqui.

The siblings couldn’t comprehend what happened. Suddenly their whole world was gone, everyone was dead and they were the sole survivors of an apocalypse. Struck by grief and overcome by emotion, the siblings quickly finished the Omnis, and despite the ship not being ready, they still used it to dive into the Blue World and enter Mariejois, demanding answers for this genocide. You can imagine how this turned out. Nemo and Alliqui were captured, tortured and used as guinea-pigs. Eventually they managed to make their escape, but Admiral Kizaru now stood between them and their freedom. Knowing Ben restored the Omnis so much that it could at least fly them away, they knew they only needed to make it to their spaceship in order to flee. However, Kizaru wasn’t willing to let them go, resulting in Alliqui sacrificing himself so his baby-sister could live… Nemo had to watch… And ever since, she refused to sleep or rest, afraid of the nightmares and pictures that kept haunting her. Completely broken down into tears, she kept wondering what the Lunarians did to deserve all of this. What justified such genocide? Were they monsters with no right to live?

This breakdown served as a character-development and bonding scene. After the “worst is over” - Nemo joins the Whitebeard Crew, knowing that the Jackpots would’ve wanted her to live and be happy again. Ace helped her to see that and overcome this extreme grief, helping her to cope and showing her a new path. Ever since, these two have become best friends that weren’t able to live without each other for a single day.

#onepieceoc #onepiece #whitebeardpirates #spacepirates #onepieceart #originalcharacter #canonxoc #animeart #fandomart #fandom #animeartist #onepieceartwork #animecollab #portgasdace #portgasdacexoc

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pirunika · 10 months ago

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trying to make Eos' Rogue Trader backstory meanwhile... so we have

She's from a Fortress World. So she's likely very disciplined and learned fighting since she could hold a gun. I also think this would make her prone to emotional and rushed decisions, you can die any day every day to be fair it seems this is everywhere in wh40k

there's... Titan. kind of want it bc Eos' origin comes from mythology lol it'd be cool. Apparently, it's a... Inquisition Fortress World / Space Marine Chapter Homeworld / Ice World could she be the daughter of an Inquisitor....? from the top of my head I think of a very protective single mother who had a tryst with someone from a certain dynasty. She's alive bc I'm tired of the dead mother trope... and keep thinking of them interacting

Back to Eos. She is a... Crime Lord. Maybe she began this sort of thing to get out of under her mother's wing. and it got huge. she has special skills in manipulating and convincing people and has experience leading and planning as well as managing and in a way looking after her people.... and crime I guess. (lol) She's very good at gaining people's trust and loyalty.

The feat of Greatness You prevailed in a bloody shadow war against the void pirates of your sector. okay this fits.

Brand of Shame You turned your partners in to the authorities and became known as a traitor. - I think she would also do this, growing up the way she did. Perhaps even she turns them in for her mother. She is especially wary and scared of daemons so despite being a softie when it comes to that she's very cutthroat.

Going with an Iconoclast pt right now. I'd say she walks a line between So many people sacrificed their lives so we can have a semblance of safety (spent her childhood around memorials n such) we NEED order vs I have seen how corrupt the system can be/how worthless mortal lives are so damn it I will try to help. and if we can profit also that's life. I also think she's a very ''a father to his men'' trope despite being rather young.

#warhammer 40k #rogue trader #xx #oc: eos

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stormbreaker101 · 10 months ago

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Iridian Fairytail - Bookworm and Illuminator Illustrator of the Lost Pages

Age: 8

Level: levelless Myth

Personality; Bubbly, whimsical, imaginative, emotion-driven, sweet as caramel

Status: Enjoying a safe life with her cousins and adoptive family and 'auntie', but hoping that Nora can make it home safe too.

Story: Iridian is the only one of my Wizards who wasn't born on Earth, and so the Spiral had never been a game for her. She was made by Bartleby to serve as an emotional anchor for Nora, who feared that Nora would not be able to handle the crushing weight of Azteca's demise. Iridian would be something Nora could live for while recovering and waiting for Khrysalis's storyline to begin.

Iridian grew up surrounded by a loving community. Not just Nora's family, but most of Ravenwood welcomed her as a friendly and familiar face. It was not too uncommon of a sight for her to become a 'guest' in any of the Ravenwood professors' office hours outside of class, listening to the students talk magic and drawing her own magic on the side. She would ask to visit Cyrus the most; Myth magic and storytelling came the easiest to her.

None knew of her semi-divine origins. Nobody needed to know. She fulfilled the role Bartleby set out with flying colors as is, keeping the Scion steady during the antsy times between questing sessions.

But not even Iridian's presence could keep Nora from reaching her tipping point after Arc 3. When Nora lashed out at the Chaos Heart, she quickly grabbed Iridian before fleeing the Spiral entirely.

Iridian missed her friends terribly and didn't understand why she and Nora had to leave, but... at least she has her big sister by her side. And Iridian quickly made friends with a stranger she and Nora found while searching for a distant land to call home. That stranger was Renee, a woman whom Iridian would quickly start calling 'auntie'.

Despite being far away from the Spiral, Iridian's magic blossomed. She could still see the Spiral vividly, drawing out different things that were happening in it as stories, doodles, comics, drabbles. Sometimes Nora would have to go back to the Spiral by herself, saying it wouldn't be safe to make Iridian travel too much with her, but Iridian never felt too far from Nora, thanks to her stories.

Something blindsided even her mythic vision. As suddenly as Iridian was whisked away from the Spiral, she was frantically brought back, now in the Arcanum that Nora had been friends with... once. In the stories.

A few days later, terrible news struck. An outcome Iridian could have never imagined EVER. Nora was dead. Gone. Her story's... over. Just like that. That's... not supposed to happen.

But it did.

Star suggested the idea that Iridian would be better off with a stable home elsewhere, but Iridian didn't want to lose anybody else in her family! Star had to assure her that Iridian wasn't gonna lose anybody else. The trio of cousins would stay with her. Star's friend Owen Macheca (@saturniidaze) offered to let the girls move in with their adopted family in the (Multiversal) Reconstructed AU (@clockwork-fiends).

Indeed, the Macheca family was more than kind to Iridian. This family had its own... quirks... but what family didn't, really? This seemed a wonderful space where Iridian could get a chance to live a good life, grow up stably...

Though, oddly, Iridian never seemed to grow. She hardly looks any older than 5, the age she was when she and Nora first left the Spiral. Life stagnated for her. Calm, stable, but boring. All the stories were elsewhere! Emma became a lost pirate, Star was on Earth doing detective-ing, Savannah's learning so much magic not just with the Arcanum but a new buncha characters called the Astral Alliance, and now Owen has xeir own business in xeir first Spiral too!? When will it be Iridian's turn to not just write stories, but live them? Make them? Be them?

Maybe she can learn something from her dreams...

#wizard101 #oc: iridian #corrupted spiral #reconstructed au #intertwined au #character bio #school started for me so these posts are gonna slow down a LOT #but. have a critter :3 #leah speaks :3

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auxiliarydetective · 9 months ago

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now for the chaos corner ( or part seven ) of the ask extravaganza, let's talk about my beloved little fennec fox felicity !! could i please ask after questions one, four, five, seven, and eight from that list of questions ?

can't wait to see the answers, and i hope you're doing well !! <3

Yeeessss, Lily, my sweet little baby!

1. What's an animatic about your OC / OTP that you've been spinning around your brain?

So, for Lily, I actually don't think I have a specific song animatic in mind for her, just general vibes. I feel like it would probably be an angsty one about childhood innocence and her relationship with Sanji, generally pretty happy and adorable and all, but occasionally you'll get scenes of her crying and throwing tantrums in fear... Delicious angst. Specifically, the main angst potential comes from the Whole Cake Island Arc. I know you know basically nothing about it, Dolly, but all of my OCs (except for Lux) have a deep and profound trauma from that arc, some more than others. That's because that arc is peak Sanji angst. Anyways, for some happy moments, I could see little montages of them training together, cooking together, Lily showing off her ballet skills, general crew shenanigans... It's about the contrast!

4. Give a full breakdown of one song on your OC or OTP's playlist!

*checks my Felicity playlist* Well, well, well...

I could cheat and do an instrumental one. I can’t do ones that are just there based on vibes because they're... well... just there for vibes. Most of them are just there for vibes, actually. So, we'll do this one:

"Have you heard from the news? / Clouds are falling from the sky / And everything that's pink is now blue."

... is about the scary things in Lily's life and how her world is coming apart, first because of Buggy, then because of Kuro.

"Have you heard from my mind? / We gotta find a way to cope / Or else things might not turn out so fine"

... is Lily's escapism, the way her brain cooked up the automatic response of age regression as a way to cope and make things fine again.

"And I start / To give in / To the sin / To the sin"

Lily puts up no resistance against this sort of escape but it's a "sin" because devil fruits are, well, devil fruits, and she's already a non-human freak without it, but even more so when it keeps changing her appearance in tune with her mind.

"And I start / To realize / Lullabies / La, la..."

... is Lily really falling into Little Space, the last two syllables being a sort of reference to baby speech - listen to how they sound in the song!

The chorus is filled with antitheses between childish, happy things and scary things you might encounter in life and that's also the world that Lily lives in. Sort of a childish bubble she has built for herself and the harsh pirate's life of death and fighting outside of it. There's one line that's special though and that's:

"Lollipops and cigarettes"

Lily, being half mink, has heightened senses, and she's also very emotional, so a lot of times, things just become too much for her. That's when she asks her dad Sanji for a "smoke break" which is code for "mom come pick me up i'm scared". Sanji is a smoker, so he has an excuse to just remove himself from a situation and go outside for a while and Lily copied that for herself. I think the first time she pulls this trick, it's and accident. She probably mumbles to herself "I think I need a smoke break" (copying Sanji, most likely) and everyone just looks at her as if their souls had left their bodies. But then Sanji smiles and says "You know, me too" and they leave and then this becomes actual code speak for them. There's only one thing that's an issue: Lily feels left out if Sanji is smoking and she isn't. She keeps bugging him about how it isn't fair until he gets her lollipops as a comprimise. Also fake cigarettes made of chewing gum or chocolate.

"Losing innocence is easy / But growing up is hard to face. / Give me something to hold on to / Or I'll slip right into little space"

The "losing innocence is easy" part is a reference to Lily losing her parents, an event that she can barely remember and never understood. In her eyes, they just disappeared, and she doesn't know what really happened or never quite pieces it together - because she was young, still is young and her mind refuses to recall what happened. So she just unconsciously refuses to grow up. And she doesn't have to. She's still so young but also she'd rather be this little kid again when her parents were still by her side and she doesn't want to face things like losing her second set of parents - ie. Kaya's - or getting kidnapped by Buggy or the chaos caused by the Black Cat Pirates. She needs someone or something to hold on to or she gets scared and slips into little space, basically becoming a nonverbal ball of fear.

"Remember all the rounds / When we sneaked in just to have a kiss / But now we need to keep the noise down"

In the original interpretation of the song, this is more of an allusion to puppy love vs sexuality, but in Lily's version, the last line is more related to violence and screaming, maybe also her sensitivity to noise because of her gigantic ears that she maybe wasn't so accutely aware of when she was younger.

"Remember sleepy eyes / When we see each other every day / But now this is our final goodbye"

This part is about Kaya and Lily who grew up like siblings for a long time. Granted, they are quite a few years apart, but Lily has very fond memories of just napping with Kaya and seeing her every day because they lived together, but her going out with the Straw Hats means she might never see her again - or at least not for a very long time. The "final goodybe" is also a reference to Merry's death, who was another of Lily's father figures and who was also part mink.

Chorus time! The final lines function the same way, contrasting fun, childish things and scary, adult things.

So yeah, the whole song might as well be interpreted as a look into how Lily's mind works!

5. What would your OC's tumblr blog be like?

I haven't decided on whether I want Lily to be twelve or thirteen yet, but I'm currently gravitating towards twelve and... yeah, she's too young for Tumblr XD

But if she did have a blog, I imagine it would be very chaotic. Ballet stuff, Barbie movies, children's shows, aesthetics, slime videos, kidcore, pastel stuff, Disney...

7. What's your OC's ___-core aesthetic?

Probably a soft and childish balletcore, mixed in with some more pastel-y kidcore. Also fennec fox. You cannot do Lily without a cute little fennec fox.

8. What are some TV Tropes that apply to your OC or OTP?

Oh, a lot! Here's just a little list: The Cheerful Child, Curious as a Monkey, Parental Substitute on multiple occasions (first Kaya's parents, then Merry, then Sanji!) and her and Sanji get a "Like a Son Daughter to Me" moment. She's also somewhat of an Innocent Prodigy when it comes to fighting and ballet, and Cheer Them Up with Laughter is how to stop her tantrums and breakdowns. Finally, Cheery Pink. That's it.

Sorry that this took so long. I had very little free time since Christmas and I've just been working on this whenever I had the time and frame of mind. Thanks so much for your ask!

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄✼▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ Taglist: @starcrossedjedis @oneirataxia-girl @daughter-of-melpomene @supermarine-silvally - let me know if you’d like to be added or removed!

#one piece oc #opla oc #oc: felicity #ask #evie's ask extravaganza

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burningexeter · 11 months ago

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[SECOND HEADCANON/FAN THEORY]

One of the greatest animated shows of all time, Transformers Prime and its finale movie Predacons Rising, takes place in or rather shares the same universe as plenty of other media ranging from other TV shows, movies and even video games.

The theme here that would connect them all is that they focus on ensemble casts of characters not just living in a world where the odds are against, be they supernatural or not, but also having them go up against not just said odds but the highest stakes possible that affects them.

Top it off, the ensemble casts of characters are not the type of standard, generic, heroic superhero type of characters and instead are vastly different from each other with them being distinct and flawed type of people who would never think would be the "heroes" in these scenarios. They're way less Gerard Butler in 300, Liam Neeson in Taken or Robert Downey Jr. in later MCU movies and way more Genna Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight, Paul Walker/Vin Diesel in The Fast and the Furious and Clive Owen in Sin City.

Another thing is that with the media here is that no matter how fantastical, grand in scale, epic and supernatural even as they all get, they ALWAYS remain either somewhat grounded OR grounded to some degree. Again for example, they're way less the crappy later Fast & Furious movies, the shitfest that is the DCEU and whatever the hell Ben 10: Omniverse was and way more the Jurassic Park Trilogy (even the third one with the 'Alan' raptor), Die Hard and Big Trouble In Little China.

Now let's get to it, shall we:

• Far Cry Primal

• Solomon Kane (2009)

• Wolfwalkers

• Pirates Of The Caribbean Trilogy

• Red Dead Redemption Duology

• The Wild Bunch

• The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns

• Indiana Jones Quadrilogy

• Overlord (2018)

• Inglourious Basterds

• Kolchak: The Night Stalker

• Runaway Train

• Big Trouble In Little China

• The X Files (first nine seasons, 1998 film, Millennium and The Lone Gunmen)

• Heat (1995)

• From Dusk Till Dawn

• Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel

• The Incredibles

• LOST

• Heroes

• Cloverfield

• Krampus

• The Invisible Man (2020)

• Upgrade (2018)

and

• Alita: Battle Angel

[ADDED BONUS]

Whatever happened to Airachnid?

After she had drain all of her Inseticons done to nothing but the robotic bone, Airachnid was able to find a hidden yet grungy ship within the moon she was stranded on by Soundwave. Resourceful enough to make it work and turn it into her own twisted and demented ship that's all hers, Airachnid escapes and flies back to Cybertron. Learning of the death of Optimus and the war now over, Airachnid realizes she still has unfinished business she needs to settle right here and right now. She kidnaps her nemesis Arcee, who is now secretly dealing with trauma of her past once again due to Optimus' passing, and offers her an opportunity.... due to their previous fights with Arcee always winning, she managed to do the one thing no other bot or being couldn't - she impressed her. Therefore, Airachnid controls her infection and offers to Arcee that they should team up and become hunters across the galaxy but this time hunt down the worst of the worst, the most dangerous criminals there is and the deadliest of species that do nothing but cause havoc. Sensing Arcee's new PTSD and emotions after the death of Optimus Prime, Airachnid is able to use that to her advantage and manipulates her into taking the deal.... which Arcee reluctantly does.

The two of them are now bounty hunters that take in criminals of all kind throughout space whether they'd be dead or alive and as we speak, Arcee and Airachnid are awaiting their marriage this week.

#transformers prime #predacons rising #shared universe #the x files #buffy the vampire slayer #lost #heroes #whatever happened to airachnid #arcee x airachnid #SoundCloud

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whumperstorm · 2 years ago

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Mel’s OC Profiles

Here are my babies, whom I would never, ever wish any harm upon..... I’ll probably add more later

Origins:

Last Chance: its the 2100′s, and climate change has brought the earth to the brink of collapse. To prolong it’s life, the earth, Terra, has split it’s soul into pieces and given four humans the power of the planet itself. These humans have to decide for themselves what to do with this power. Will they deny it? Use it to help themselves? Or sacrifice everything to save the world?

Fog About the Stars: After escaping a vicious, tyrant pirate captain, Apollus travels the stars with his own rag-tag group of scoundrels. Thieving, drinking, fighting, etc. However, his new life of freedom is threatened by the appearance of a mysterious and beautiful stranger. Theodore needs Apollus’ help, but it would mean facing the man who imprisoned him for years, and who could easily destroy the new life he’s built.

The Seven (collab story with @trivialpopsicle): Thousands of years after Terra’s magic was released onto the surface, society has long since collapsed. Those who are left wander the wastelands in groups, using their super-human (albeit diluted) powers to get by. Seven spunky young adults make up one such group.They have a knack for getting into trouble, and somehow always end up in the middle of the chaos.

Name: Keegan Khatri

Titles: Element of Fire, The Phoenix, Heart of Terra

Origin: Last Chance

Age: 21

Pronouns: she/her

personality: Hot-headed, stubborn, protective, athletic

Relations: S/O to Zephyr

Likes: Spicy foods, running, singing, birds, cats, concerts

dislikes/fears: small spaces, alcohol, shouting

Backstory: Born in an impoverished US city, Keegan struggles to provide for her sister, Lohitha and herself after their mother passed away and their father started drinking their money. When she suddenly gains the power of fire, she panics and her home goes up in flames. Before the authorities arrive, she takes Lohitha and runs. She hates the powers. They ruined everything and she just wants them gone. And she certainly isnt interested in “saving the world”. But, she’ll play along. At least until she finds a way out of this mess.

Fun Fact: Keegan’s mother worked at a aviary, caring for and breeding endangered raptors. She had a special attachement to one of the hawks, who, after she died, escaped it’s enclosure and became Keegan’s familiar!

Name: Zephyr Yamamoto

Titles: Element of Air, the Wolf, Soul of Terra

Origin: Last Chance

Age: 18

Pronouns: She/He

personality: Spunky, romantic, impulsive, emotional

Relations: S/O to Keegan

Likes: rainstorms, music, dogs, sweet drinks, adrenaline,

dislikes/ fears: cars, carbonated drinks, deep water, quiet, needles,

Backstory: Zephyr was raised by her two mothers in Japan, a country that while thriving economically and sustainably, is ravaged by superstorms and other natural disataters almost constanly. And Zephyr, while living a comfortable life now, cannot see a future ahead of her this deep in the climate crisis. She wants to run away from everything. When she’s struck by lighting and giving the power of air, she does just that. She flies far, far away, embracing her new magical abilites. But her troubles follow her, and eventually she’ll have to figure out what it is she truly wants and who she wants to be.

Fun Fact: Zephyr played competitive roller derby until she gained her powers and went blind. She can now see peoples’ auras though, and can use echolocation, so technically she could still play. But it’s hard to explain having magical powers to a coach. So she quit... For now.

Name: Vivian

Titles: Element of Water, The Dragon, Mind of Terra

Origin:Last Chance

Age: 24

Pronouns: She/Her

personality: Caring, level-headed, direct, determined

Relations: n/a

Likes: figure skating, swimming, reading, photography, salty food

dislikes/fears: sour candy, heights, fireworks, loud music,

Backstory (Vivian is an enigma... but here’s her current backstory idea): Vivian was born into wealth. Her father is the CEO of a huge drilling company that is currently searching for a new energy source rumored to be found in the core of the earth (spoiler alert, the energy is the soul of the planet). She’s all set to start working with the company herself, when she gains the power of water. Not only that, she has been given the mind of Terra, and knows exactly what is going to happen if they keep drilling. She tries to explain it to her father, even revealing her powers in hopes that he’ll believe her, but instead he tries to have her experiemented on. She flees, Searching for the other elements that call to her in her dreams. She believes that together, they can save the world.

Fun Fact: It may seem like Vivian has the brain cell of the group, but you’d be mistaken, this girl is a mess. she’s just better at hiding it.

Name: Luke Schneider

Titles: Lust (of the Seven Deadly Sins)

Origin: The Seven

Age: 19

Pronouns: he/him

personality: flirtatious, dramatic, emotional, loving

Relations: n/a

Likes: tasty treats, animals, kisses, fruity beverages (bonus if alcoholic), chemistry

dislikes/fears: hot weather, sticky things, citrus, mosquitos, being disliked, abandonment

Backstory: (TW attempted assault) Luke lived with his parents for most of his childhood, until his father tried to assault him. His mother blamed his powers, and sent him away to live with his uncle.But when he arrived in the town where his uncle should’ve been, there was no-one. He ends up being picked up by a Madam and raised in a brothel where he learns how to control his powers and makes perfumes for the ladies to sell to their clients. He gets in serious trouble after stealing from a client, and ends up joining Wryan and Enn (Wrath and Envy) to escape the conciquences. Now he spends his days making bad jokes and getting wasted.

Fun Fact: Luke’s emotions can effect those around him like pheromones, unless he literally “bottles them up” into little potion bottles! This couldn’t possibly end poorly :)

Name: Apollus

Titles: Captain Apollus

Origin: Fogs About the Stars

Age: mid-thirties

Pronouns: He/Him

personality: determined, artistic, polite, caring, principled

Relations: S/O to Theodore

Likes: fancy clothes/make-up, sparring (fencing), dancing, exploring,

dislikes/fears: disorder, wasting time, necklaces, touching of his hair, objectification, imprisonment

Backstory: Apollus was separated from his parents at a young age, when his home planet was pillaged and ransacked. He was kept as a trophy by a cruel pirate captain, paraded around in expensive jewelry to represent the captain's wealth. Karone, a fellow slave, was Apollus' only friend and one day they escaped together. They ran to the other side of the galaxy to disappear. Over time they built themselves their own crew of misfits and now Karone serves as his first mate.

Fun Fact: Apollus’ species has blood made up of gold instead of iron! The captain made gold jewelry out of his own blood and forced him to wear it.

Name: Theodore

Titles: n/a

Origin: Fogs About the Stars

Age: unknown (appears mid-thirties)

Pronouns: He/They

personality: reserved, gentle, fiercely protective, mysterious, skittish

Relations: S/O to Apollus

Likes: shiny things, string music, soft things, tool-smithing, making jewelry

dislikes/fears: small spaces, darkness, fire

Backstory: When Theo's pod was netted by poachers, he sacrificed his freedom to save them and became the captain's pet. He can't escape, not when the captain is using his seal coat as leverage. Years later, he's found by Apollus and his crew, chained and injured in the wreckage of a ship. He's terrified to be in the hands of more pirates, but instead of hurting him, they nurse him back to health and even offer him a place in the crew! He still wants to go home, but his coat is missing... Maybe he can make a life for himself on the ship.

Fun Fact: A selkie's coat is rumored to grant the wearer eternal youth.

#my posts #last chance #the seven #my ocs #fogs about the stars

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whimsicaldragonette · 2 years ago

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ARC Review: The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard

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Add to Goodreads

Publication Date: November 24, 2022

Synopsis:

Xích Si: bot maker, data analyst, mother, scavenger. But those days are over now-her ship has just been captured by the Red Banner pirate fleet, famous for their double-dealing and cruelty. Xích Si expects to be tortured to death-only for the pirates' enigmatic leader, Rice Fish, to arrive with a different and shocking proposition: an arranged marriage between Xích Si and herself.

Rice Fish: sentient ship, leader of the infamous Red Banner pirate fleet, wife of the Red Scholar. Or at least, she was the latter before her wife died under suspicious circumstances. Now isolated and alone, Rice Fish wants Xích Si's help to find out who struck against them and why. Marrying Xích Si means Rice Fish can offer Xích Si protection, in exchange for Xích Si's technical fluency: a business arrangement with nothing more to it.

But as the investigation goes on, Rice Fish and Xích Si find themselves falling for each other. As the interstellar war against piracy intensifies and the five fleets start fighting each other, they will have to make a stand-and to decide what kind of future they have together…

An exciting space opera and a beautiful romance, from an exceptional SF author.

My Rating: ★★★★★

*My Review and Favorite Quotes below the cut.

My Review:

I love Aliette de Bodard's books, but they are probably the most intellectually challenging books I read on a regular basis. Especially the mindship books. I think on the one hand there's the Vietnamese-inspired names and foods and customs which are so different than what I'm used to (a good thing! Reading is for expanding one's horizons!) and on the other hand there's the whole human-falls-in-love-with-a-sentient-spaceship oh and also there is the physical plane and then there are overlays and avatars and bots that have physical form but can also be used a lot like coding but you can (I think) think the commands at them and have the information appear directly in your brain rather than having to rely on a pesky computer, oh and you can simultaneously have conversations out loud and other conversations virtually in your head -- and my brain refuses to make sense of it all. I don't regularly read a lot of sci-fi, so there's that. I generally spend the first third of these books trying to wrap my head around how it all works and the next two thirds slowly sinking into the story and becoming immersed in it while the details stop being so confusing and fade to the background. And falling in love with the story and characters and romance

Aliette de Bodard's writing is poetic and evocative and also understated, with a tendency to leave things unsaid for the reader to infer. This, too, takes a bit to get used to, but I really love it. I don't especially like having everything spoon-fed to me all the time, and while I read and love a lot of 'easier' fantasy and romance, I appreciate having to really engage my brain to pick up on most of what's happening. (I'm sure I don't pick up on all of it.)

Some of the descriptions, especially of Rice Fish's avatar, with her hair flowing into the floor of the ship and patterned with stars and nebulae, were so satisfying and just gorgeous. I had trouble with a mental picture of the characters (other than Rice Fish), but I think that's just me -- I rarely get a clear mental picture of characters in the books I read. I did get a clear picture of the Pirate Citadel - enough that I felt like I was there, walking beside Xích Si and experiencing it with her.

This is first and foremost a romance, one between a human who has been beaten down for years living on the edge of getting by as a scavenger, and a sentient spaceship who is also an influential leader of a pirate faction in a society she helped to build and carries deep emotional wounds left by her murdered wife, however unintentionally.

Xích Si, the scavenger, has been captured by pirates at the opening of the book and is forced to leave everything she knows - including her young daughter - behind. She understandably is scared and angry and fears the worst. Rice Fish, the mindship she is travelling on and head of the pirate faction who captured her, shocks her by proposing marriage -- a 'business arrangement only.' Together they face a rebellious son, an endangered daughter, authorities determined to erase the scourge of pirates, treachery from within, and questions of the future of the entire pirate alliance. Not to mention their own bruised and bleeding hearts.

They make mistakes, they hurt one another, and -- they learn. They learn to love, they learn to trust, they learn to hope and dream again and how to heal themselves. And the journey of how they get to that point is beautiful.

I would like to add that I have seen some criticism of ace rep in this book and I strongly disagree. I would not categorize Rice Fish's murdered wife as ace, no matter that she did not want the physical aspect of the relationship that Rice Fish did. It's not that simple. It was mentioned several times that she took her lovers outside of the marriage partnership ("Huan, for her part, had collected flings the way scholars collected books and vids", "I watched Ma collect her friends and lovers and never get the intimacy she craved") -- she just did not want such a relationship with Rice Fish. I don't know whether it was that she simply was not attracted to Rice Fish that way or whether she truly believed that any physical / romantic relationship between them would sully the partnership and what they were trying to build. But I think criticizing it for "bad ace rep" misses the point and is not fair. (Disclaimer: I am ace and I wanted to address this criticism because I have seen it more than once.)

The scenes with Xích Si's daughter, and some with Rice Fish's son, tug at the heartstrings. Alliette de Bodard knows how to use a few brushstrokes to create poignant, touching family scenes. I appreciate them more, I think, since having a child myself. It's clear that she gets what it's like, having to guide a child and be strong for them but also show yourself to be vulnerable, and eventually to let them go.

Even though this is a romance, it's very politics-heavy. The different factions within the pirate fleet, the warring empires, the scavengers and wealthier scholars and beaurocrats… There is a lot of information to unpack and a lot of things that aren't quite said out loud that are perhaps easy to miss. At first, it is very hard to grasp what is going on, which actually makes a lot of sense, as Xích Si is also unfamiliar with how the pirate fleet functions and also struggles to grasp it all. She learns and becomes more comfortable with it as the reader does, which makes it easy to identify with her.

Despite the heaviness of the themes (indentured servants are discussed quite a bit from several perspectives, as well as raiding and capturing merchants to hold for ransom, as well as emotional trauma and pain) and the dense, somewhat obscure way the text is written, and the sci-fi aspects, this also has quite a bit of adventure and mystery. I spent the last 40% or so on the edge of my seat wondering how it would all go down. I came away knowing that I absolutely loved and will recommend it, while at the same time I will need to read an easier book next just to give my brain a break.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Gollancz, and JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc. for providing an advance copy for review.

Favorite Quotes:

She was still kneeling, but she did it like an empress.

---

Rice Fish nodded, and said nothing more — and for a time that felt like ten thousand years, they remained side by side, looking at the stars.

---

A pirate consort - no, a pirate queen in her own domain, and she was beautiful and she was terrible and so, so vulnerable in that moment. The air trembled with a distant music, a distant heartbeat.

---

Tam looked sheepish, which was a whole look on a pirate with a gun in her belt.

---

Xích Si sipped the tea - it tasted like fungi, like the greenhouses after the watering cycle, muddy and damp and unexpectedly sour.

---

...and every time she looked at him, Xích Si fought her own instincts to jump for the nearest suit - he looked like a walking habitat breach.

---

Xích Si realised that had been her, once upon a time. That she’d kept her head down and not dared to dream large, because she knew she would always get kicked in the teeth. It wasn’t the habitat that was smaller. It was that she had outgrown it.

---

“Yes. But that’s not what matters. It’s being afraid and doing it anyway. And…” She hesitated, but what else could she do other than fling herself bodily into the void. “Love means we’re always going to know how to hurt each other. We choose not to. Or to repair our hurts”

---

But it was his choice to make, and he was her son, not an extension of her. So often, being a parent was about letting go.

#red scholar's wake #aliette de bodard #the red scholar's wake #queer romance #sentient spaceship #human x mindship #science fiction #sapphic space pirates #orbit #gollancz #arc review #shilo reads #netgalley

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springtimebat · 1 year ago

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I got tagged by @blindrapture ! Thank you I ramble on a lot so:

Last Song: I Like Giants by Kimya Dawson. I’ve been listening to them a lot while revising for end-of-year. I think I really enjoy their music because it sounds like my thought process; all fractured and emotional.

Currently Watching: I started watching Revolutionary Girl Utena for the first time and I’ve been really enjoying it! I had only seen out of context clips before so I had a few expectations and it’s subverted a lot of them. The “filler” episodes of the show actually convey important plot and character information which I love. I have a lot of friends who just skip an entire season of filler in an anime and lose nothing so it’s really refreshing. Also, even though the animation can be stilted, THIS SHOW IS SO PRETTY! I have a weakness for how 1990s anime looks, I kinda dislike how polished 2010-2020s anime looks. It feels more like a product trying to appeal to the audience rather than fit to the story it’s telling. In terms of the story and characters, it’s really difficult to discuss without trivialising a lot of the severely dark turns both take but I was glad that I actually loved Utena as a main character because I thought she might be annoying. She’s a nice contrast with everyone else because of how optimistic she is.

Currently Reading: Almost finished reading The Transgender Issue by Shon Faye. I read an extract from the book a few months ago but put it off because I had to read a lot for my classes. It also took me twice as long to read this particular book because of how emotional it made me but it was extremely important to read right now. I really appreciated the discussions about homelessness and the discrimination felt within the prison system and hostels in regards to Trans people and I hope more people listen to the experiences of the victims of such prejudice rather than just parroting what the news or talk shows perpetuate.

Current Obsession: I started playing the Sims 2 after like nine years in the past few months and…yeah that fixation came back. The second game is my favourite in the series just because of how inexplicably eerie it can be by accident. While when I was a kid I played with the premades a lot, basically destroying their lives and the scripted events (For example, Ophelia died of starvation because I didn’t understand the need system and I am still traumatised by it) i am trying to make my own neighbourhoods, families and backstories. It was super fun and I usually played for an hour after studying, which helped me relax. My favourite families so far include a space pirate who’s enemies with a cow mascot at his alien son’s university for randomly flirting with his wife when they visited them, an evil scientist family who create and sell servos and are trying to find the secret to immortality and a family of zombies who adopted like six kids.

#tagged and answered #tag #writing #reading #revolutionary girl utena #sims 2 #kimya dawson

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spacebagfullofstars · 1 year ago

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I've actually been writing something like that for a year now lol. Anyway:

Context: The war is over and the Cybertronians that are in space need to find their way back to Cybertron.

Main cast:

Jazz: Spy, former TIC of the Autobots. Friendly, but tired Autobot veteran who's been through a lot in his life and wishes nothing more than to return home. Nitpicky about sharing stuff from his past and hides how lonely he secretly is, but with time, he slowly recovers and reconnects with his old self.

Blurr: One of the two self-proclaimed Rogues, no faction. Blurr is a wise-cracking young bot created in a laboratory by an unspecified Decepticon scientist. He was created with modifications beyond his control that make him a living super battery, he uses that energy to run and drive with a speed of light. He and his partner have a reputation of being public nuisances in the eyes of many, but he wears that title like a badge of honour.

Clobber: The other self-proclaimed Rogue, young ex-Decepticon soldier. After a lost battle, she was abandoned by the Decepticons on the battlefield and forced to fend for herself. She eventually found company in Blurr and they've been inseparable ever since. Clobber is well-intentioned, but she herself turned to the life of petty crime. She prefers to let Blurr lead, but when she needs to, she's ready to step in and take care of her friends- be that emotional support, or to defend them with her life. There's a running gag that she's into philosophy.

Other Autobots:

Cliffjumper: Jazz's bff, the hardest Autobot to get rid of (at least according to him). Minor anger issues problem, but loyal to the core. During the war he had several near death experiences and he came out of every single one of them unharmed. This boosted his ego to the point where he believes that he simply can't die.

Chromia: Captain of another group of Autobots heading for Cybertron. She's a perfect captain material, considerate, loyal, and a great warrior. She makes a great sparring partner.

Moonracer: Sniper, everyone's favourite wild card. Moonracer is known for two things: she makes her own rules and she never misses. At some point she was a part of the Wreckers, but was deemed 'too unpredictable' and left.

Prowl: Former strategist turned general. He doesn't practice such things as 'humour' and prefers to get things done without any distractions. His trust issues made him unable to connect with any of the Autobots, in fact, he actively denies being friends with anyone. That doesn't mean he doesn't care for his people. Even when he doesn't show it, he makes sure to look out for them.

Other Decepticons:

Motormaster and the Stunticons: After the war they decided to harrass random organic planets for their own entertainment instead of going back home.

Lockdown: Bounty hunter, ex-Decepticon engineer. The Stunticons gave him a bounty on Jazz and his crew. For some reason he is reluctant to finish his task.

Makeshift: Former Decepticon spy, shapeshifter. He was picked up by Jazz, Blurr and Clobber on one of the planets. In order to escape with his life, he made a decision that other Decepticons saw as an act of betrayal. Makeshift is of peaceful nature, but he's snobbish and easily irritable. He likes nothing more than to be left alone with his book.

Tarn: [REDACTED]

Other characters:

Junkions: With their home planet destroyed, they became space pirates led by captain Rum-Maj, after their former leader, Wreck-Gar, stepped down.

Congratulations! Hasbro has agreed to let you write for a Transformers story! However, there's a catch. As you're a new writer, they aren't ready to trust you with their most popular/lucrative characters yet.

You must pitch a cast that does not include:

Optimus Prime

Megatron

Bumblebee

Starscream

Ratchet

Shockwave

Wheeljack

Soundwave

Grimlock

Arcee

If you wish to have human characters, you may not reference Spike Witwicky

Who is your lead cast?

#spoilers to cybertron chase #idk if anyone cares but

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muddyhippy · 4 years ago

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Night Terrors, Chapter 5: Check-ins and Check-ups

A Lily Of-Many-Names Mechanisms Story

(reposting because Tumblr refused to have this pop up in the mechanisms tag before!)

Summary

Lily has another nightmare filled with darkness and bad ones later than her usual night terrors torment her and when her usual source of comfort is nowhere to be found she decides to try her luck with the one person she’s pretty sure will still be up…

Featuring; Some science officer observations, discussions of nightmares, lots of comfort, medical practice, some past Jonny whump, and some soft mechs at the end!

On AO3 here

Check-ins and Check-ups

There was a tentative knocking at the lab door.

Raphaella frowned, she checked the ship’s time, 4:54 am. That was unusual. The only one who bothered to knock like that was Lily and Lily would be in bed by now and—

Ah.

Raphaella moved in a fluid motion, rising from her workbench and opened the door to be greeted by a slightly soggy Lily, the tear tracks and snotty nose was evidence of what had happened, clutching a fuzzy lump of something.

“Jonny not in his room?”

Lily shook her head, “M’sorry.”

Raph sighed. It wasn’t a great inconvenience, she was hardly interrupting a breakthrough, she’d just lost track of time documenting one of her less hazardous bio-concoctions. Without a word she scooped Lily and her fuzzy thing up and carried her back to the bench. Lily immediately cuddled in close to her, Gemini tucked against her chest, breathing in the science officer’s familiar scent of chemicals, leather and a hint of flowers from her long golden hair. Lily loved Raphaella’s hair, it was so beautiful and silky. She loved being allowed to play with it, threading her little fingers through the fine strands and trying to plait them carefully.

“You want to tell me what it was about?” prompted Raphaella.

“It was silly.” Lily thought the science officer was so clever and busy with all he experiments she felt shy and small and silly admitting what was wrong, she was a big girl and she should be able to handle one little nightmare. Even if it had really scared her. Lily hadn’t wanted to bother her, Raphaella was always kind when she did her checks on her but that was always at the same time, they were planned. So were all her fun science lessons. This was definitely interrupting and interrupting was rude.

Raphaella sighed, disappointed at Lily’s conclusion, “If it upset you then by definition it is not silly. Just because dreams are caused by synapse transfer and your brain’s interpretation of events does not mean that the outcome can be deemed ridiculous if it has an impact on you.”

“Oh.” Lily wasn’t entirely sure what that meant but it sounded like she didn’t think Lily was silly after all.

“Quite.”

“I dreamt the Aurora was all dark and cold and I could hear banging like a big, angry someone was trying to get in.” Lily explained quietly.

“I see.” Raphaella frowned.

Lily quailed a little, misinterpreting her expression and began to hide her face, “I said it was silly.”

The science officer sighed, realising what Lily thought she’d meant, “And what did I say?”

“Sorry.” The child cast her eyes down as she mumbled.

Very gently Raphaella caught Lily’s chin and pulled her face up to meet her, “No, don’t be sorry. This is a perfectly rational thing to dream Lily. You’ve been very brave and you continue to be brave. My research indicates that nightmares are a way of processing something very frightening and unpleasant that as happened to you. What happened to you was not silly so your way of processing it is also not silly.”

It had actually be a good excuse to research nightmares in general since she knew full well the whole crew got them, regardless of age. Her own ones were manageable if unpleasant, determined to remind her of things she’d much rather forget.

Lily’s lower lip wobbled dangerously.

Raphaella sighed and for once decided to take a leaf out of Jonny’s book.

Logical rational explanations could wait until she was little older. And she knew Lily responded extremely well physical comfort, she’d seen evidence of that be beyond that farthest doubt.

“Come here little proton, it’s alright.” Raphaella wrapped both her arms and wings about the upset child and began rocking her like she’d seen Jonny do. It seemed to work after all and if observed action had been proved to yield positive results then who was she to argue with empirical evidence?

“It’s alright. You’re safe. Aurora is never truly dark, Nastya, Jonny, Tim and Brian don’t really like the dark either so she makes sure it’s always bright enough. And no one can get into Aurora without our say so. Aurora wouldn’t let them in anyway.”

“An’ you’d shoot them if they did.” Came a convinced voice.

“We certainly would. Or do something more interesting but we’d make sure they never got to you.”

“Promise?”

Raphaella was not in the habit of keeping promises, they were ephemeral and inconsequential unless you could use them to get what you wanted but this one felt important.

“On my honour as a scientist.”

Lily’s eyes widened at the words, that was very important. Raphaella was the best scientist there was and science was very, very precious to her. So she very much meant it.

“Thank you.” Lily snuggled closer

Raphaella sighed once more, not really put out, she began to card her fingers gently through Lily’s silvery hair. It had been more pleasant than she’d been expecting to show Lily an exact comparison for her hair colour in the natural world, sunshine reflected off the surface of the lake. She rather thought the explanation of how light travelled and refracted might have gone a bit over her head but Lily had been an enthusiastic listener all the same which was better than her crewmates most of the time. She had been thrilled at being compared to sunshine too.

Lily tentatively inched her fingers towards Raphaella’s cascading tresses, seeking the comfort they represented, Raphaella was kind and she was safe, she looked after her using her science. Lily loved sitting on the science officers’ lap, it made her feel important and special when Raphaella spoke science to her, (like when the others told her about things they loved too) even if she didn’t always understand it, she especially loved it when she let her play with her hair. Lily wanted to grow hers just as long.

The science officer gave Lily her warmest smile, the one she had cultivated especially for the child. “Go on little proton, I don’t mind.”

Lily gave her a smile filled with wonder that quickly turned into one of happy, soothed exhaustion. Two hands, one large, one small, each carefully combing fingers through soft hair, both knowing a singular form of peace.

It took precisely two minutes and thirty seven seconds for Lily to fall asleep under the science officer’s ministrations. Lily had never fallen asleep on Raphaella before, she wasn’t normally the lulling type, leaving it to the others when the occasion arose but this was immensely satisfying, she could now see why Jonny never really complained about holding her till she slept.

She was glad this interaction was being recorded too, it would be useful to refer back to when comparing different calming methods they all used to see which was the most effective. She had a suspicion that despite all their research, Jonny’s instinctive cuddle and rocking combination from the first night was probably the more sure-fire way to settle Lily. Not that she’s tell him of course. He didn’t need to know just what a comparably good job he was doing. The thing Lily had been clutching was likely to be a Jonny concoction too, the man was deceptively good at needlecraft, he’d mended enough of the crew’s clothes over the years when sufficiently bribed with whiskey, he’d even fixed the Toy Solider’s uniform when it got torn badly enough, complaining that he’d done so only because he couldn’t stand it moping around lamenting the damage.

He’d even carefully embroidered eyes on the thing Lily held which seemed to be some sort of geological shape. She could admit whilst in her own company only that the craftsmanship on it was rather remarkable. He’d obviously gone to some effort to make her something with crystalline accuracy in some sort of fuzzy fabric and given how tightly Lily had been holding it but she’d never seen it in the mess at meal times nor had it accompanied the child to her check-up sessions, it was her comfort-at-night object. That, that was surprisingly thoughtful of him. She smiled quietly to herself.

He definitely didn’t need to know what a good job he was doing.

Maybe a hint.

He also didn’t need to know the general positives these interactions were having on the pair of them and by extension, the rest of the crew. They would all work it out eventually and if she said anything too soon the idea would be dismissed out of hand, no, it was much better to be able to make unobtrusive observations and predictions unhindered.

Lily was beginning to grow at a healthy rate, she wasn’t back up to where she should be yet but after three months she was now making steady progress. At her last weekly check-up Lily was now projected to be back on track to reach where she should be for a healthy eight year old in the next three months. They’d successfully reversed the physical damage done to her by the three weeks of acute malnutrition but the longer effects of a lifetime of not having quite enough would take longer to mend.

Still, it felt, well, nice to see her improving.

The first time she’d insisted on a proper check had been only few days after Lily had joined them. She’d asked Jonny to bring her to lab so she could get a real idea of what they were working with for Lily, exact height and weight, not to mention resting heart rate, lung capacity, bone density and a blood test to make sure everything was functioning as it should be. Lily was human so there were some basics that could be taken for granted but Raphaella wanted a solid starting point for knowing how best to reverse the damage of long term malnutrition.

She’d argued with Jonny about it for 47 minutes before he finally saw sense and agreed to bring her along. His hang ups over poor medical practice were one thing and even understandable but not to the point that it impeded Lily’s recovery.

He’d grudgingly agreed, especially when the others added their voices in assent and Raphaella assured him that she’d keep to the bare minimum of procedures to assess Lily.

Marius had argued that it was so they could help her not hurt her. Given how delicate the matter was nobody teased Marius that surely it should be him leading the investigation if he was, in fact, a doctor. As it was, they all recognised that Raphaella’s dedication to the scientific approach would probably yield better results long term. Marius and Brian advised on what she should be looking for specifically all the same.

It was Nastya who’d finally swung him into accepting the proposal. She pointed out that if they didn’t check her properly when they could have and it turned out that they’d ensured the damage done by her ship management was permanent then that made them no better than the idiots that had led her mission. A grim accolade no one wanted to earn, the more Lily talked about life on her ship the more everyone was convinced it was mission led by utter idiots doomed to failure.

She added quietly that they weren’t like their creator, that Carmilla would only be interested in tests to see how she could exploit Lily. They needed to conduct tests to work out exactly how to help Lily properly and make sure she stayed healthy and happy.

Jonny couldn’t argue with that. Well, he could. But he wouldn’t, Lily being safe and well and as healthy as she could be was too important. Kid was a bag of bones, a mortal bag of bones at that and he should know, she still spent half her time attached to him and he was honestly worried by how light she was. He had very vague memories of being young except for a few key things but if he really thought about it he was sure at eight he’d been taller and broader. That wasn’t a bullshit boy vs girl nonsense thing either, he was sure he’d been taller and heavier at her age and that was with his family set up. Something was wrong. Raphaella was right, they did need to check.

He didn’t have to like it though.

Raphaella wasn’t sure which of the two were the more nervous coming in to the Lab.

She made it more into a game in an attempt to settle them both, it wouldn’t do for their nerves to set up a negative feedback loop. She got them both to play catch with one of her more robust recorders so she could check hand to eye coordination and reflexes. She challenged Lily to scrunch up as small as she could then stand on her tip toes and then stand as straight and flat-footed as she could on her weighing scales.

Raphaella had Jonny pick her up and hold her as though they were posing for photo whilst she deployed the scanner for Lily’s bone density, explaining that she wanted close ups of her smiling face. It covered her dental development too.

Checking her ears and throat had been relatively easy, getting silly to pull as ridiculous faces as she could whilst trying to sing ‘Old King Cole’ worked on her throat and the otoscope was hardly invasive.

Jonny had managed to keep things light enough asking if Raphaella had found some of Ashes’ missing gold down there. Lily had been indignant and Raphaella had played along, pleased he was trying to make things easier.

The blood test was unsurprisingly a little harder of a sell.

Lily went rigid with fear when she saw the needle.

Hmm. Understandable but not helpful, it was one of her smallest ones as well.

Jonny cleared his throat, his own spine stiffening and also not taking his eyes off the syringe. “Why don’t we have a go with the stethoscope first?”

That was a surprising suggestion coming from him. Raphaella had been planning to brace herself and try to use that as a wind down but maybe there needed to be buffer. She decided to put it to Lily to decide.

“Lily, I’m not going to hurt you. I need to take a little bit of your blood to check everything is working as it should be inside you. Your blood can tell me all sorts of important things that you yourself won’t be able to tell me.”

Lily still looked scared. Raphaella found it wasn’t an expression she liked to see on so young a face. Raphaella had no problem being seen as intimidating or even down right terrifying by those who crossed her path or got in her way. That was half the fun, but on Lily? No, she didn’t like being the cause of that fear one bit. The test was still needed though.

“But you’ve got a choice,” she continued in the tone she’d already modulated especially for the child, no-nonsense but gentle, firm but soft enough to put her at ease most of the time. “I can take this sample now then use the stethoscope to listen to your heart and lungs or I can listen first and then take the blood sample but either way I need to take it.”

The child had tried to melt into Jonny, clinging to him, fingers burying in fabric and belts.

Raphaella tried not to notice that the comforting hand that was running up and down her back was trembling.

Lily turned to face Jonny. “What do you think?”

Jonny tore his gaze from the poised syringe and did his best to look relaxed and nonchalant despite the fact his heartrate had audibly trebled, “I think it’s always better to get the thing that scares you done first. Raph’s right though, she’s only doing it because she wants to make sure you’re okay inside and out. It won’t hurt, it’s more like getting a sharp pinch on your skin for a second and then it’s done.”

He didn’t mention that it was fine when blood was being taken from you rather than a bunch of different poisons being injected into you over and over again to see how quickly each one affected you and how quickly you came back. How each one burned and cramped and ripped through every single system until he was desperate for death. He was the first after all. Carmilla had to make sure her new creation was full-proof and indestructible. That he could come back from anything.

“How do you know?”

Jonny smiled ruefully, “I’ve had a lot of injections over the years, given lots of samples too. It doesn’t hurt.” ‘It’s what comes after’ remained unsaid.

“Oh.” Lily clearly thought about it, weighing up the pros and cons. She eyed the stethoscope on the science officer’s workbench. She knew how that worked at least. There was something right next to her that might make her feel braver. “If Raphaella takes a sample can, can I listen to your heart while she does it?”

Jonny was halfway to opening his mouth to say ‘no’ on sheer reflex when Lily added in a small voice, “I don’t want to watch. I don’t like blood. It goes bad and gloopy and changes colour too quickly. And it smells horrible.”

Well fuck. He could hardly say no to that.

“You won’t be able to smell it Lily, it’ll be in the syringe.” Raphaella tried to distract, she was well aware of Jonny’s dislike of anything to do with exam practice. She was actually impressed he’d not just dumped Lily on her and run, that he’d taken part so far. He had more courage than she gave him credit for, that or a greater sense of guardianship than she’d expected. Either way, he was making her job much easier and she appreciated it.

Raphaella had tried to get a better understanding of his Mechanism not long after she’d joined the crew, intrigued by the ticking of his chest. She’d come at him with a stethoscope and woken up in the wreckage of her workbench recovering from 6 gunshot wounds.

She hadn’t pursued that line of research further.

“Still don’t like it.” Lily half spoke into Jonny’s chest and half to the science officer.

“That’s fair enough.” Conceded Raphaella

Lily’s eyes were doing the thing again. The thing where they took up half her face, she gazed imploringly up at him. “Please?”

Fuck. He really had to immunise himself against that. Later. Now though?

He swallowed. “Sure.”

Raphaella raised an eyebrow, fully prepared to snatch Lily out of his arms and rocket skywards if he looked like he was going to detonate like he did last time.

Jonny gave her the tiniest nod.

This was Lily. He shook himself internally. It was Lily. Lily couldn’t hurt him if she tried. Okay, well she could but she wasn’t armed right now and she liked his ticking. He forced himself to watch her, to brace for the touch of the disc. He’d be ready, he’d know. If he closed his eyes there was no guarantee he’d be able to hold it together for her. This was Lily reaching to him for comfort, he reminded himself firmly. She needed him to distract her from something frightening but necessary. Lily wasn’t going to sigh and tut and then open him up.

He wasn’t strapped to a table.

He forced himself to breathe as calmly as he could, the way Ivy had shown him from one of her books when he’d taken refuge once in the earliest incarnation of the library.

He was fine, he was holding Lily. He was free to move. He was holding Lily and being reassuring because needles were frightening. He was proving it was fine. It was fine.

The disc made contact.

It took everything in him not to bolt.

“Jonny, your ticking is very fast.” A little voice piped up matter-of-factly.

Before he got a chance to answer Lily had already drawn her own conclusions.

“I know I’m not a proper doctor like Raphaella but I won’t hurt you. See?” She took the disc off then pressed it even more gently against him, then rested her head on him too, trying to be reassuring.

Fucking Hell. That she thought she could hurt him? Like this? At all? But the pressure helped. Carmilla had never been gentle with his chest. She’d never been gentle full stop.

Lily was.

This was Lily and it was fine. He held her a little tighter. “I like this,” she spoke quietly, as if she was speaking directly to his heart but then again, when wasn’t she? “I can hear your ticking all around. It’s going slower now.”

It took two tries to speak.

“T-That’s because you’re doing a good job.” Raphaella was watching him like a hawk, despite the fact he’d drained of colour and there was a noticeable (to her experienced eye at least) tremor running through him he was still sat still and solid for Lily, making no sign that he was about to flip her workbench.

“I am?”

“Of course.” He managed the ghost of his usual grin, “I don’t let just anyone listen to me.” If only she knew how true that was.

Lily beamed at him, utterly delighted. Just as Raphaella took her moment.

Jonny was aware enough of the situation to catch Lily’s face as she turned to see the source of the sudden pinch, directing her back to look at him, the surprised ‘Eeep!’ already escaping her lips. “Keep looking this way Lemondrop, it’s alright. Keep listening to the ticking.”

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

“It’s alright,” he ran his fingers through her hair, hating that she was upset, hating that they were doing this. He’d always sworn he’d have nothing to do with anything like this but here he was. A necessary evil. “It’s alright, she’ll be done soon. You’re being very brave.” He didn’t dare rock her and risk jostling the needle so he hummed instead.

She clung to him with her other hand, with a muffled whimper but did as he asked. It didn’t hurt, not really but the idea of something being stuck in her was an idea she didn’t like. Still, Jonny had her and she could hear his ticking loud and clear and he said she was being brave so that was good. She could hear him humming Rose Red as well and she couldn’t help but relax, Jonny had her, she could hear his ticks and the humming and she could smell his spicesmokewhiskey.

It was okay.

She was safe.

They were looking after her because she was part of the crew, they cared about her. It was alright.

All at once there was the feel of something going away and something pressing on her arm.

“There we go, all done, good girl, you’ve been very brave.” Raphaella finished taping the small cotton gauze to her arm covering the tiny pinprick of blood.

Lily took a moment to take in the sight of her arm and then the science officer, Raphaella had been right, it hadn’t hurt. It had been scary because she wasn’t sure what it would be like and she was scared it would hurt because they were bigger and stronger and braver than her and that they said it wouldn’t hurt because it wouldn’t hurt them when they had to have needles in them but actually, it had been a bit of a shock but it hadn’t hurt at all and Jonny had made her feel safe all the way through and he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her or let anything else hurt her anyway.

She gave a sunny smile to Raphaella.

“It didn’t hurt!”

Despite herself, Raphaella was rather pleased, she allowed a knowing grin to bloom across her face, rather than the haughty scoff that she saved for the others, “I did say.”

“You did!” Lily beamed wider.

“Well I’m glad I was proved correct. Are you ready for me to take a turn listening to you?”

“Yes.”

“Good, I just need a listen to your chest and then we’re all done. Can I have the stethoscope back?”

Lily carefully removed the buds from her ears and hand the piece of equipment back, she missed hearing Jonny’s ticking quite so loudly. She leaned against him instead.

Raphaella decided not to comment on the sudden drop in tension from Jonny the second the disc was taken away from his chest.

With gentle efficiency she had the device in her own ears.

“Can you sit up straight for a moment please?” Lily did so, “then take some nice deep breaths for me.”

Lily did the best she could.

After a few minutes Raphaella sat back, satisfied.

Her initial suspicions were well founded, Lily was almost chronically underweight and under-height but that could be fixed with care. Her lungs and heart seemed strong through and her reflexes as well as hand to eye coordination were sharp and focused, ears and throat were clear of infection too and that was the most common source of ailments for human children according to her research. Lily was a fighter and, pending the results of the blood tests had no reason not to make a full recovery. That was pleasing and definitely worth the few uncomfortable moments.

She gave Jonny a short nod over Lily’s head.

The relief in his face was something Raphaella was going to remember for long time to come. She might find him deeply irritating most of the time but he’d certainly proved himself when it counted. He was many things but could not be accused of being a selfish bastard. At least, not right now.

“Alright then, all done here. I think you’ve earned something nice.”

“Really?” Lily perked up even more.

“Oh yes.”

“What?”

“I happen to know Brian’s been busy in the kitchen with Marius.” She happened to know exactly because they’d planned it earlier, it was only fair for Lily to get some sort of recompense for having to go through something unpleasant. It was something they all wished they had had when they were young (not to mention everything that had happened since they were young).

The excited squeal that erupted was something that warmed both of the adults in the room and would certainly not get passed on to the chocolate cake bakers. It wouldn’t do to give them ideas after all.

Not for the first time they found themselves hand in hand with Lily, swinging the excited child all the way to the mess.

Raphaella came back to the present and smiled as she held the currently comforted and sleeping Lily, the child had got far more used to the weekly check-ups following the first one, it helped that her blood came back fine and healthy, no underlying issues to be concerned about so no more blood tests were needed.

She still liked to listen to Jonny’s heart with the stethoscope during the check-ups.

Jonny still endured it for her sake.

Raphaella thought that over the weeks he’d looked a little more relaxed each time.

The check-ups proved what they were seeing in real time. Lily was mending. She was putting on healthy weight and starting to grow, her skin was starting to have a glow to it again. It felt nice to have used her research and scientific approach for unquestionable good for once. She’d shared her findings with them all. The rest were pleased too. They’d made a comprehensive list of supplies with Ivy and Raph’s information that Ashes organised and sourced. Marius and Brian eagerly added more recipes to the collection and the others made a point of each eating vaguely healthy snacks every so often so as to not make Lily feel like she was the odd one out. Regular mealtimes helped too.

It was satisfying to see that improvement over time, Lily was proving to be a fascinating research study that Raphaella was very much invested in. It was also immensely satisfying that the rest of the crew was just as invested her topic of study for once. Seeing Lily grow and heal and improve was something that was having a positive effect on the rest of the crew, she’d noticed (and made notes of course) that the crew interacted more frequently and more positively usually when Lily was present but sometimes even without her there. These developments were, pleasing, to put it into layman terms. Though Raphaella wasn’t entirely sure why. It would take further investigation of course but she did have eyes, the positive interactions were slowly improving the general well-being in the crew, communal mealtimes and friendlier banter seemed to be improving moods across the board.

Most notably of course was Jonny.

His general comportment had softened a little, his violent outbursts reduced and he definitely looked like he was sleeping more regularly. Raphaella estimated his alcohol consumption had dropped by a least a bottle a night which was rather impressive, it wasn’t like the alcohol did anything long term since all their mechanisms prevented permanent internal damage, especially when one was killed far too frequently to even consider organ failure due to extensive alcohol poisoning. But still, it was nice to see him looking more, centred, for lack of a better word.

Heavy boots made their appearance on the peripheries of her hearing.

Think of the devil…

Raphaella took a moment to soak up the situation, Lily had fallen asleep against her peacefully and easily as if she were her mother. It was a completely new experience but not an unpleasant one it turned out. Raphaella had enjoyed introducing the scientific process to Lily over the past three months, teaching her the basic principles of chemistry and physics and now botany since she’d set up the hydroponics lab with Nastya and Ivy. That had been a fun collaboration and all three enjoyed Lily’s delight at each seed sprouted and new leaf grown.

She’d added a whole new strand of research to her study too, the poisons and toxins of plants were fascinating and she was eager to put those to good use when the next opportunity arrived. There was always opportunity for hybridisation too. Excellent.

The heavy boots stopped right outside the lab door followed by an uncharacteristically gentle knock.

“Come in Jonny.”

The first mate entered looking annoyed at the presumption that quickly melted into relief when he saw a sleeping Lily in her arms.

The science officer gave him an appraising look. Despite the obvious panic at not knowing where Lily was Jonny still looked calmer and better rested than he had for centuries. Raphaella found she liked that look on him, he seemed far more settled, music rehearsals with everyone had become a lot more productive too, always a bonus.

She still found it funny he refused to use his ship communicator to ask the group chat where Lily was on an evening she had a late nightmare-startled wander, clearly too proud to admit he’d lost her. It wasn’t as if she could get into any real danger any more. Both the Octokittens and Stowaways knew not to touch her and Aurora wouldn’t let her get lost anywhere too dangerous. Then again, the day he did they knew it would be a serious one.

As it was the first mate was only looking marginally stressed and panicked, a whole lot better than she’d seen him look.

Jonny took in the sight of Raphaella as he entered the lab. From the lights behind her and a sleeping Lily in her arms the science officer resembled an angel that he’d seen statues of on multiple worlds, beautiful and terrible, just as he remembered the preacher talking about on Sundays when he was small. He’d seen what Raph could do to somewhere or someone that irked her and he’d come to believe all those stories.

Still, the look she was giving Lily as he walked in was something else, it was a face he knew she saved just for Lily, that slight softness, a pride in her eyes and smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Jonny knew Raphaella was incredibly pleased by the progress Lily had made both physically and with all the science lessons she’d been teaching, Lily had talked his ear off about all the things she’d made by experimenting. The physical checks were good too, in their way. Much as he hated them. If he really had to admit it, the checks were worth it, it was good to know Lily was on the right track at least, that they weren’t making a mess of her, at least not physically.

“Thought she might be here.” Came his way of explanation,

“Well congratulations.”

“She been here long?”

“Only half an hour or so.”

“Good.” He stayed curt, not wanting to give her room to rinse him more than he was expecting, Raphaella had a way with words that could cut like one of her scalpels if he wasn’t careful, most of the time it didn’t bother him but if it was about Lily and how he handled her, it tended to cut to the core of him, much to his annoyance.

“How did you lose her this time?”

“I didn’t lose her!” he snapped, “She just got up when I wasn’t around. I do check the times on things you know, she’s usually up at 11, 1 and 3 so much that you can set a metronome by her. It’s not my fault she just got up out of sequence!”

“And you weren’t in your room because?” pressed Raphaella, not giving an inch.

“Because I wasn’t!”

“Jonny,” Began the science officer in a deceptively gentle voice, “I could wake her up and make Lily ask you with her big blue accusing eyes.”

The first mate looked furious he was about to say ‘you wouldn’t dare’ but Raph absolutely would to prove a point and he really didn’t want to risk having to admit the truth to Lily, he found it incredibly hard to lie to her properly after all.

“Fine, Lily mentioned a birthday coming up some months from now and I am making something for that. Away from my room. Lost track of time. That’s it.” He ground out.

“A secret something I take it?” Raphaella teased, amused to have caught him in such an obvious lie, Jonny on the whole was usually quite good at lying. He managed it effortlessly on stage after all. And he was damned good poker player.

“You won’t find it.”

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with the bits of clothing several of us have missed over the last few weeks would it?”

Jonny’s ears began to turn red.

“No.”

‘Aha.’ Thought Raphaella. But she was intrigued enough to let it stand, it was honestly rather refreshing to have Jonny do something vaguely productive outside of his musical and lyrical talents, repair work not-withstanding. There were only so many theoretical studies of chronic alcohol abuse and sleep deprivation she could observe before it got tiresome. This proved to be far more interesting.

“Alright then, well I await to see the results with bated breath.”

“Fuck off Raph.”

“I could just wake her.”

“I could just shoot you.”

“You know you won’t.”

The impotent rage on Jonny’s face was amusing to witness.

“Fine, but I fill find a way to make you suffer.”

“I look forward to it.”

He matched her feral grin, feeling like he’d at least gained somewhat of an upper hand he moved on to the more important issue, Lily hadn’t been out of her bed unexpectedly for the last month, not since she found Brian during the poker game.

“What was it about this time?”

“Doors being rattled and banged on by enemies in the dark.”

“Oh, standard then. Good.”

“Standard? I thought they were all like this one?” This was interesting, there were others? Raphaella got halfway through that thought and froze.

Uh, Jonny realised he’d not actually shared a lot of detail of Lily’s nightmares, he passed on the basics to everyone at Tim’s insistence after she’d climbed in with him, demanding to know at least what they might have to deal with if the crew was now fair game to ask comfort from. The others had backed him up, the bastards, and he’d been forced to share a bit. He didn’t really want to, nightmares were private things after all and it wasn’t fair for him to share stuff that bothered someone else but as it had been pointed out, Lily was a child whom they all cared about, whom they were all guardians for and thus they all needed to know likely sources of upset and triggers to avoid when they spent time together, either during the day or if they happened to be the ones to comfort her at night.

He’d relented, wanting to make sure she always had some solid options for comfort. He knew in excruciating detail how unpleasant it could be to suffer that sort of fear and misery on your own. Until you learned to ignore and bury it that is.

So the others knew the basics at least, it was always the threat of attack, rattling and banging and bellowing in the dark unsurprisingly. He tended to keep the extra details to himself though, he knew how desperately Lily wanted to be seen as a ‘big girl’ by the crew. Even though there was nothing she could say or do that would actually make them think she was somehow less. Kid had endured enough and was still pretty functional, that was one hell of an achievement already. And she was stil mortal.

Sometimes her nightmares was flavoured with gunfire (though not Tim’s apparently, that sounded different according to Lily, Jonny had no idea how the hell gunfire could sound ‘friendly’ but supposedly Tim’s did-children clearly had a higher nuance of sound perception-it made music lessons all the more interesting that was for sure), sometimes it was visions of what was left of her crew, her parents dying and on one particularly horrendous night images of her parents demanding to know why she hadn’t saved them. He had mentioned that one to Marius and then the rest of the crew since it had taken the singing of the entirety of ‘Alice’ to lull her back to sleep bookended with ‘Rose Red.’

The one about her being left behind that she told to Brian was concerning, that one he had talked to the others about straight away, worried that taking her to a planet had, in fact, been a bad move. Given that that was as near as an admission to the idea he’d been wrong about wanting to take her planetside actually had them all discussing it properly with only minimal jeering. It ended up being pointed out that since it was such a new experience, even though it had been very positive, Lily’s subconscious was so traumatised it wasn’t surprising it had sparked off a different set of nightmares.

It had assuaged the guilt a little at least. He was glad she clearly had really enjoyed the visit.

“Jonny?”

He realised he’d been staring into the middle distance and not actually talking. Shit.

He refocused on her. A look crossed Raphaella’s face that he’d seen maybe once or twice before in all the years he’d known her. A hint of worry.

“Does, does she have nightmares about what we, what I,” she corrected, “do here?”

That question knocked him sideways, his initial instinctive bastard response died on his lips. This was Raphaella actually asking him, Jonny, for reassurance, reassurance that what she was doing wasn’t physcologically damaging their charge. He’d never seen the science officer look unsure before. Jonny realised he had a choice, he could lie and tell her that yes, the check-ups upset Lily and he’d had to calm her down from a lot of nightmares inspired by Raph’s actions or, or he could be honest.

He thought about how genuinely devastated he’d be if one of the others told him that the reason Lily had come to them wasn’t because she couldn’t find him but that she was scared of him, that she’d had a nightmare about him because of something he’d done. He felt his guts twist. No, he couldn’t do that to Raphaella, he could murder her happily along with the rest of the crew whenever Lily wasn’t about and he’d been suitably bored or antagonised but lying about this?

He couldn’t do it.

If he stopped to think about it, there were quite a few things he couldn’t do now. All involved Lily, he couldn’t lie to the others about her, they were all in this together, more so than anything they’d been bound by previously. Jonny knew he was the primary source of Lily information but he actually respected that fact and that he should share as much as was reasonable to make sure it was as easy for the others to comfort and look after her as possible. This communal guardianship parenting thing they’d fallen into was working but it needed proper communication much as it felt like pulling teeth sometimes. It was needed so he did it. So they all did it.

He fixed Raphaella with as sincere look as he could manage.

“No Raph, she’s never had a nightmare about you or the check-ups, I think she’d settled into them, always asks me stuff about what you do in the lab so I reckon you’re fine.”

Raphaella tried and failed not to look relieved.

“Oh, well, thank you that’s, that’s preferable.”

Yeah, it is. Her ship’s done enough of a number on her, she’s been here long enough now to know, I think, that we’re not trying to fuck her up.

That seems like a reasonable conclusion. She’s not been put off by what she sees on a daily basis, between Tim’s shooting practice, TS’s stories and my science if that’s not affected her negatively then, for the moment we may remain in grace period.

“What do we do when that ends?”

“We’ll have to slowly introduce more regular elements of life on board to get her more used to things, little by little, it seems to be working so far.”

Jonny considered, Raph did have a point, last week something had exploded and whilst Lily had gone stock-still and the colour drained out of her face she hadn’t cried or outwardly panicked, instead asked Jonny very quietly if they could find out what happened, because ‘it was probably Tim trying his new canon that he had been showing her through the building process but could they go and check please just to make sure?’

So they had and it was. Jonny was feeling pretty fucking murderous but Tim had ignored him and got there first, explaining when they arrived exactly what he’d been upto, that he was sorry it went off without her there to see but the trigger had been too sensitive. He’d shown Lily the system and rig so that she understood the weapon and where the sound had come from, feeling much happier that she knew this was something to protect them and not a sign that they were under attack.

Jonny had planned an elaborate murder for Tim and braced himself for an onslaught of nightmares that never came. Well they did but it was just the usual, banging on the doors in the dark one nothing to do with Tim or his explosions. He’d been waiting a full eight days and nothing. He was beginning to suspect Tim’s approach of including Lily in the construct of the weapon really had been a big help. Clever bastard.

“Yeah, that’s, that’s probably as good a plan as we’ve got.”

Raphaella considered, Jonny didn’t have to have been kind a moment ago. But he was. She’d almost entirely forgotten what it was like to be concerned about the long-term effects of her science and she hadn’t liked the feeling whatsoever. He could have made it worse and didn’t. That certainly counted for something and definitely towards her working theory about him and his own developmental track.

“It’s probably better than what she would have in any other circumstance or with anyone else who might have rescued her. We’re all doing well with her, physically and mentally, we’re all in this together and it’s working, I can see it in my results and charts as clearly as I see it on her, against more odds than I think even Ivy would be comfortable calculating we’re improving her, as a crew, she’s healing and mending, and,” she considered her words, “you’re both the catalyst and accelerator in this compound of all of us, with all the variables.”

Jonny began to open his mouth.

“You’re good for her, my research indicates it.” Elaborated Raphaella stiffly. Being kind and gentle with Lily was far easier than she expected it to be, transversely being articulately kind to her crewmates was decidedly harder, she’d had very little practice and took refuge in her scientific terms, they always flowed more easily.

Jonny’s eyes widened at the implication of what she was saying. That it was her saying it.

Still, with him, sometimes actions spoke louder than words.

Very carefully she handed over Lily to him, fuzzy rock thing and all, taking care to catch Jonny’s hand in the process and squeeze it for the briefest of moments.

She was deeply surprised to receive a returning squeeze, equally as brief.

She tried to read his face, a myriad of expressions flitted over him, shock, confusion, wariness, pride and elation before settling back to his default of ‘cocky bastard smirk’

He held Lily close a moment then allowed a softer, sincere expression to linger in his eyes, “Thanks Raph, s’what the crew’s for, everyone’s got a job with this one.”

He sobered and shifted, face returning to its usual look, his regular swagger sliding into his stance, “See you at breakfast.” He threw out his familiar feral grin without the need or will to add a snarky comment and sauntered out with a Lily tucked up against his chest who was at least half an inch taller and several pounds heavier than when she arrived.

They were working as a crew and it was mending Lily.

Not for the first time Raphaella considered the pair as they left her lab, a fond smile spreading across her face. The unlikeliness of this scenario had already cost Ivy one full notebook but the science officer could honestly conclude that she was deeply satisfied by this anomaly and looked forward to the further variables it generated.

Otherwise, what even was the point?

Smile still on her face she settled down to update her research log on the day’s nocturnal events. Her file was getting decidedly long.

Raphaella found that only pleased her more.

#the mechanisms #jonny d'ville #raphaella la cognizi #Lily Of-Many-Names #the mechanisms fanfic #This is deliberate soft!mechs content and I do not apologise #Lily is an original OC child character who was accidentally rescued by the mechs #She's a creation by the Hello Ladies tumblr group chat #And she lives with these space pirates now and makes them have emotions #Jonny is basically a Dad now #And Raphaella has become Mum #Again I make no apologises #fluff #angst #nightmares #more fluff #soft!mechs

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