#Blurred Vision mtas

[alihostyalohomora]

I'm very normal about this man

[sanddusted-wisteria]

A Builder, a Researcher, and a Rooftop, Ch. 25: Terminal Velocity

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At 1:22 and 43 seconds, Qi wondered if he should be crying.

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for MTAS's main story from this point in the fic onward, beginning with the mission "The Goat."

A/N: Welcome to Spoilertown. If you haven't gotten to this point in the game, I highly recommend you pause this fic and play through this act. Don't worry, you'll know where it starts and where it ends.

The back half of this fic's second act is what singlehandedly determined how I structured the plot of the overall story and what expanded my outline/idea dumps into longfic territory. And after several months and some writer's block, I'm so excited to finally be able to share it with you guys. Enjoy!

Also on AO3

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At 7:00, Qi woke up.

At 7:30, he finished his breakfast and brushed his teeth.

At 7:35, he was down in his lab to start the workday.

At 9:13, he finished writing the report from his last experiment on the Mobile Suit’s power capacity.

At 9:46, he decided to take a break from drawing up the diagram for the enhanced processor the builder had requested.

At 12:00, he put down the latest issue of the Vega 5 astronomy journal to break for lunch.

At 12:30, he went back downstairs and started working on the builder’s diagram again.

At 1:17, there was a knock on the door.

At 1:17 and 15 seconds, he was staring at the grim face of the sheriff.

At 1:17 and 20 seconds, Qi suddenly felt ill.

At 1:17 and 30 seconds, Qi could no longer hear what the sheriff was saying.

At 1:17 and 45 seconds, the sheriff had left.

At 1:18, Qi remembered to breathe.

At 1:19, Qi began to move again.

At 1:22, Qi was at the back of a crowd. Several people turned towards him with tears and pity in their eyes.

At 1:22 and 43 seconds, Qi wondered if he should be crying.

At 1:23, Qi realized someone was asking him something. He didn’t know what it was. He shook his head.

At 1:25, the crowd dispersed. More people came up to Qi and murmured words he couldn’t hear.

At 1:26, everyone finally left him alone.

At 1:28, Qi remembered to move.

At 1:36, Qi was back inside the Research Center.

At 1:37, Qi stared at the unfinished diagram on his desk.

At 2:00, Qi stared at the unfinished diagram on his desk.

At 2:3X, Qi stared at the unfinished diagram on his desk.

At 3:XX, Qi stared at the unfinished diagram on his desk.

At X:XX, Qi tried to eat something. He managed a whole three bites.

At X:XX, Qi climbed into bed.

At X:XX, Qi stared at the ceiling.

At X:XX, Qi stared at the ceiling.

At X:XX, Qi wondered why his body hadn’t released the neurotransmitter signals for sleep.

At X:XX, Qi got out of bed.

At X:XX, Qi opened the front door. It was cold outside.

At X:XX, Qi walked up the stairs.

At X:XX, Qi was on the roof.

At X:XX, Qi had collapsed onto a certain spot.

And there he lay. Shrouded in the shadow of the telescope. Alone.

He shivered as a frigid gust of wind rushed over him. Nothing was there to warm him.

No blankets. No tea. No food.

No builder.

Both his vision and his mind were a blur. The only thing his wavering consciousness could cling to was a single, terrible truth.

The builder was gone.

Thrown over a cliff.

A meaningless death.

Maybe it was a good thing that he forgot his glasses. At least this way, he couldn’t see the stars.

The stars…

His greatest source of awe and wonder for so many years. The builder became so entangled in that awe and wonder until they were completely inseparable from it. In Qi’s mind, he knew that the stars had existed long before any of them ever did, and would continue to exist long after everyone was gone. But in Qi’s heart, there were no stars without the builder.

A cascade of memories started pouring out from the dark recesses of Qi’s mind, taunting him with precious memories of their diligence, of their wits, of their laugh, of their touch, of their kindness, of their smile, of their warmth. Many of which were rooted in the very spot he lay.

He still remembered how their hand felt in his last night. He could still feel their last parting hug around his waist.

Deeper and deeper he drowned, as if desperately trying to recreate their presence, soothing and invigorating all at once.

But all it did was remind him of the nothingness he was left with. And the ache in his heart.

…

“Hey…”

And now he was hearing things. He swore the whisper of the wind was the sound of their voice.

“Qi, hey…”

A large blob suddenly appeared above him. Its colors looked familiar. His head shot up.

“Yeah…yeah, it’s me.”

He slowly sat up, breath shaky as he drew closer to the figure. His heart pounded faster as the features of their face came into focus.

Face, bruised and cut in a few places. Eyes, tired but still shining. Lips, curved into a sad, sweet smile.

His builder.

His wondrous, death-defying anomaly.

The tremors in his breath turned to hiccups as tears leaked from his eyes.

At 12:54 and 31 seconds, the builder was in Qi’s arms. He embraced them as tight as he could, as if his arms were the only thing keeping them from falling off that cliff again. Every possible sensation was tearing away at his heart. It was crushed, imploded, collapsed, pulverized into nothing but dust…

The builder said nothing. They simply wrapped their arms around him and buried their face into his shoulder, rubbing circles into his back as he wept.

Qi had so many questions, so many things he wanted to say to them. But all his words were swallowed into ragged sobs. So he let all of the pent-up grief and relief wash over him, desperately clinging to the builder’s warmth as he cried and cried.

He didn’t know how long they stayed like that. But his tears gradually slowed and his breathing evened out again. Slowly, they pulled away.

The builder brought a gentle hand up to his cheek and wiped away the last trail of tears. Qi closed his eyes, feeling himself lean into their touch.

“I’m sorry,” the builder whispered, their expression forlorn. “I-it’s a long story, but… I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“W-why are you sorry…?” Qi breathed. He hit himself internally for asking such an idiotic question. He shook his head. “You’re back now,” he whispered instead. “That’s all that matters.”

The builder let out a hum. It didn’t sound too sure.

“Please…” Qi took a shaky breath. “Please… Promise me that you will be safe in the future.” His tongue was barely able to form the words as all his breath threatened to leave his lungs as another sob.

Something swirled in their eyes. Their lips opened, but no words came for a moment. Despite holding his gaze, he could tell they were itching to look away.

I can’t, their eyes said.

“…I’ll try,” they whispered.

Qi gazed far into the depths of their eyes for a moment longer. Then he carefully pulled them in and pressed their lips together.

Fear. That’s what was hidden in their eyes. Something he never thought someone so strong and courageous could feel.

Their lips were chapped, but still so inviting. Every fiber of him ached to go deeper, to soothe everything that ailed them.

But they were still injured. He had no idea how they managed to drag themself up here without collapsing. He probably already upset something with how tightly he held them. He couldn’t make it worse.

So it was chaste. Brief. Just enough to scratch the surface of what they both were feeling.

He pulled away first, opening his eyes to see the builder even more uneasy. A small flash of panic shot through his stomach. That was exactly what he didn’t want.

But before he could think, he saw the builder’s face twist for the briefest instant before their hands gripped the loose collar of his shirt, and their lips crashed into his again.

They kissed him more fervently than they ever had before, causing Qi to gasp. Their tongue parted his lips, and he let them in, tasting iron and smoke and desperation. The last rational part of his brain wondered briefly if he was the one who almost died instead, before being swallowed by a quiet moan from his throat and a shudder that raced down his spine. He melted into them almost instantly. He wanted to commit every stimulation of every nerve in his body to memory, lest it be ripped away from him forever.

The builder pulled away first this time, gasping for air. Qi took one deep breath after another, trying to pull himself together.

The builder was frozen. They didn’t pull him back in. They didn’t reach for him again. They were silent except for their nervous breathing. They only gaped at Qi with shining eyes.

It looked like they were on the verge of tears.

Qi gently put his hands on their shoulders. “You need to get to the clinic.”

The builder mutely nodded.

With one arm around them, Qi carefully led them down the stairs and down the street. They plodded along slowly, Qi being careful not to trip over something he couldn’t see without his glasses.

They reached the clinic door and rang the emergency buzzer. Fang was quickly at the door, releasing a sudden bright light and the pungent smell of herbs into their faces. Judging by the sharp intake of breath, he was just as shocked to see the builder.

“Rawk! What the heck?!” squawked the bird. “It’s a ghost! OooOOOooOOH!! Spooky scary!”

“X!” Fang snapped. “What…happened…?!”

No one said anything for a moment.

“They…didn’t die,” Qi croaked.

“I…see,” Fang muttered. “Need to treat…any injuries…immediately.”

The builder shuffled forward.

“I…assume I can’t stay?” Qi said.

“No,” said Fang, a determined edge to his quiet voice. “Need to concentrate. Must make sure…nothing goes unchecked.”

“Don’t worry, sweetie,” twittered the bird in a softer voice. “Everything will be okay.”

Qi nodded slowly. “Thank you, Doctor.” He turned to leave.

“Qi, wait.”

Qi froze in his tracks. It was the builder. He turned back towards the light of the clinic, hopefully making eye contact with the blur that was them.

“…I love you.”

They sounded so small. His heart once again pulsed with ache.

“…L-love you too,” he murmured, summoning a scrap of courage despite how his tongue instinctually fought against the words. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He heard a quiet hum before Fang shut the clinic door, leaving him alone in the dark once more, with only the moon and the stars.

At 1:41, Qi started walking back to the Research Center, mind and body humming with an emotion he couldn’t identify.

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At 7:00, Qi woke up.

At 7:10, he finished washing up.

At 7:15, he had a quick drink of water and was out the door.

At 7:20, he reached the clinic.

Fang was tending to the builder, partially covered by a privacy screen. Qi idled by the door, hands picking at a loose thread on his pants.

“Awk! Ooh, look at the lovebird, honey! Hello! Hi! Hi!” crowed the bird as it flew from out behind the screen and alighted on a perch next to the medicine cabinet.

“Er…hello…bird,” Qi said with an awkward wave, before his head could question why he was trying to socialize with a raven.

Fang looked up at the sound of the bird’s voice. “…One moment,” he nodded to Qi.

“Hey, Qi-Qi…” came a tired mumble from behind the screen.

Fang quietly shushed them. Qi frowned. Qi-Qi…? 

Still probably dazed. Or maybe that was the medication.

He waited until Fang walked back around the screen. “How are they?” he asked in a low voice.

“Stable,” muttered Fang. “Few…fractured ribs. Couple wounds needed…stitches. No infection. Lots of…bruises and…other minor injuries.”

Qi let out a long sigh of relief. “I suppose that’s the best case scenario for almost dying…”

Fang nodded slowly. “A miracle…if anything.”

Qi didn’t believe in miracles. But it did seem like physics had taken mercy on them. “Can I—?”

“Yes.”

Qi swiftly moved over to the screen, cautiously peering behind it. The builder was sitting up in their hospital bed, a sheepish grin brightening their otherwise bruised and bandaged face.

“Aww, Qi-Qi… You came to see me so bright and early?”

They were back to their usual jovial self, it seemed. It was like a different person entirely had kissed him last night on the roof.

“Of course,” he said as he took a seat on the creaky chair beside them, finding himself a little short of breath. “Why…why wouldn’t I?”

“You skipped breakfast again, didn’t you?” Their eyes narrowed, but their grin didn’t falter.

Qi sighed. “I won’t be here forever, will I?” He gently clasped their hand as they extended it on top of the blanket. “This…takes priority over anything else.”

The builder’s face softened. “I’m joking,” they murmured. “But still…it’s sweet. Thank you.”

They fell silent. Qi idly circled his thumb over their palm, feeling all the familiar calluses.

“Sorry about last night, by the way…” the builder murmured.

“Why do you keep apologizing…?” Qi whispered. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

They shook their head. “I got carried away. I just…” Their voice shrank to a whisper. “I…I really thought I was gonna die.”

Qi felt his heart ache. He gave their hand a squeeze, hoping that would be more comforting than anything he could say.

“I…managed to fall into a tree,” they said slowly. “Hurt like hell. Passed out for a couple minutes.”

Where did the fractured ribs come from?

Qi swatted the thought away from his mind. Be sensitive. 

“I saw the goat stepping up a climbable…ish path on the cliffside,” they continued. “Probably going back to look for more rutabaga.” They let out a mirthless chuckle.

“So you followed it?”

They nodded. “Reallll carefully. Took me hours, but I did it.”

Since when did they know how to rock climb? Without the proper equipment, no less…

Qi’s brow furrowed. “And…after all that, you didn’t rest? Why on earth did you come find me instead?”

The builder laced their fingers together, a clouded, faraway look in their eyes. “I…I had… I had to find you. I just…had to.”

If they climbed with no equipment…shouldn’t their hands be blistered?

Qi stared at their intertwined hands. “You should’ve at least waited until you got treated.”

“And leave you like that?”

“…I could have waited at least a little longer,” Qi whispered.

“…I couldn’t.”

They both fell silent. The only sounds in the room were the whir of Fang’s odd equipment, and the bird occasionally stretching his wings out. Qi felt every minute twitch of the builder’s hand against his own.

“Does everyone else…know?” Qi piped up suddenly.

The builder raised an eyebrow. “I was about to ask you that. My guess is no, since, y’know, we all just got up.”

“I’m sure Dr. Fang will…hm. No, on second thought, maybe I should make the report. If I don’t, every person in town will be barging into the Research Center today to tell me something I already know.” And he hated when people tried to tell him things he already knew.

The builder chuckled. “Oh no, what a disaster. Other people showing concern for you? Can’t have that, can we?”

“I have work to do,” Qi rolled his eyes. “It’s a distraction.”

“Well…” The builder gave his hand a squeeze with a wink. “So’s this, isn’t it?”

“Th-this is different.”

“Sure, sure.”

They stayed like that for another moment longer. Qi was out of things to say.

Their hands slowly parted as he stood up from his chair. “I should go. I have to talk to the mayor. I’m sure the rest of the town will be eager to see you once the word gets out.”

“For sure. Got a lot of explaining to do, it seems.”

Qi thought for a moment, before he bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of their head.

…Why do they smell like gunpowder…?

“I’ll see you later,” Qi whispered. “Get plenty of rest.”

“Thank you,” the builder murmured. “And you…don’t overwork yourself.”

Qi gave them a small nod, before quietly turning around and heading out.

When the door to the clinic closed behind him, he turned his head up to the sky and let out a long, tired sigh.

He certainly felt lighter than yesterday…but something still creeped at the back of his mind, poisoning the joy and relief he should be feeling in full force.

Doubt.

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A/N: Fun(?) fact: If you've read my angst fic Empty Skies, Hazy Skyboxes (heed the tags), you might've seen a couple of background references to things in this fic, particularly in Act 1 (e.g. Qi hypothetically developing treaded wheels for the mobile suit, the builder telling old myths about the stars). Since ES,HS suddenly sprung into my head as I was starting this fic, a couple ideas for B,R,R carried over into ES,HS to establish the background of Qi and the builder's relationship.

Does that make ES,HS a "bad end AU" to this fic...? You decide. :)

(Btw, ICYMI, ES,HS now has an extension...)

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[alihostyalohomora]

Howdy Yakboy, hot weather ?

[alihostyalohomora]

"Shoo" Logan ain't no more sure about thorny jumpers.

[alihostyalohomora]

Them.

(from my Logan/f!builder (spicy) romance fic )

[alihostyalohomora]

Nonchalance

[alihostyalohomora]

Them. I love them.

(from my Logan/f!builder (spicy) romance fic )

[alihostyalohomora]

Blurred Vision, a MTAS Logan romance fanfic

--- Summary : An accident at the valley of Whispers made our builder almost blind. She can only see blurry silhouettes on the light. Since, she feels fragile, and she feels useless, struggling to keep her job as a builder and only keeping it thanks to an arrangement with Mi-an and Rocky. But the worst thing about being blind, is to have been unable to see the face of the old mill mysterious stranger, that day. ---

The downside of wearing a protective suit was the inability to wipe away the dripping sweat from one's forehead. And she was sweating a lot . But she needed those aluminum scraps, so she did her best to endure the unbearable heat she was trapped in, in order to keep on salvaging the materials. The midday sun beat down hard on the Valley of Whispers.

Another major flaw of the suit was how it altered certain senses, notably hearing. Likely this was why she didn’t hear the pack of masked fiends behind her until it was too late. By the time she noticed them, they were already lighting a bomb to throw at her. But sparks— combined with toxic gas—was a terrible combination and definitely not the best thing to do. Before they could do anything more, a massive explosion erupted, throwing her violently backwards into darkness.

When she woke, at first she thought night had fallen, due to the blackness before her eyes. She groped for her weapon, but could not find it. Anxiety ran through her veins. How much time had passed while she was at the mercy of the nearby monsters? Her breathing was hard and harsh in her ears, and she realized with a start that her suit had lost its impermeability. She was breathing toxic gas. 

Panic swiftly succeeded anxiety. She still saw nothing, but the acid was rapidly filling her lungs. She needed to move, and quickly.  Her horse had certainly fled with the explosion, but she still whistled desperately. After what felt like an eternity, she heard the muffled sound of hooves on the sand.

“Dybet!” she whispered, relieved. The tip of her horse's nostrils gently touched the top of her suit. She rose to her feet slowly, steadying herself against her mount. It was a struggle to get into the saddle, but she succeeded thanks to the adrenaline that only a deep survival instinct could summon.

"Take me home," she implored her horse.

Regardless of if her mare understood her command, she still set off. Elise could only allow herself to be transported. At some point she fell unconscious again, but when she woke she was still in the saddle, weakly lying across Dybet's neck.

"Builder!" 

She heard the cry but couldn't reply. Several hands lifted her from the saddle, and she felt her suit being removed. Panicked screams echoed in her ears.

"Go fetch Dr. Fang! NOW!" 

She passed out.

[Read more on AO3]

[alihostyalohomora]

Illustrated scene from my Logan romance fic.

The sticker of censure, from @myrtlethetyrtle will never cease to make me laugh xD <3

[alihostyalohomora]

Artcollaboration with my lovely @takityphoon . Scene from my MTAS Logan/builder romance fanfic, Blurred Vision!

I reiterate here Taki : Drawing with you is pure hapiness. I love you so much. <3

[alihostyalohomora]

Them

Blurred Vision, a MTAS Logan romance fanfic

I present you my first MTAS fanfic ! 16 chapters are out actually, with more than 75k words and a lot of Logan fluff (and smut). --- Summary : An accident at the valley of Whispers made our builder almost blind. She can only see blurry silhouettes on the light. Since, she feels fragile, and she feels useless, struggling to keep her job as a builder and only keeping it thanks to an arrangement with Mi-an and Rocky. But the worst thing about being blind, is to have been unable to see the face of the old mill mysterious stranger, that day. ---

The downside of wearing a protective suit was the inability to wipe away the dripping sweat from one's forehead. And sweating, she was a lot. She needed those aluminum scraps nonetheless, so she did her best to endure the unbearable heat in her suit and keep on salvaging the materials. It was close to midday, and the sun was beating down hard on the Valley of Whispers.

Another major flaw of the protective suit was that it would alter certain abilities, notably hearing. Which was probably the reason she never heard the pack of masked fiends arrive behind her before it was too late. When she noticed them, they were already lighting a bomb and aiming at her. But lighting a bomb in an area full of toxic gas was definitely not the best thing to do. Before they could launch it at her, a massive explosion occurred, and all things went black as she was violently thrown backwards.

When she regained consciousness, she first thought it was nighttime, for she saw nothing. She groped for her weapon but could not find it. Anxiety ran through her veins. How much time had she been unconscious and at the mercy of the nearby monsters? She then noticed that she was having a hard time breathing. Her suit has lost its impermeability. She was breathing toxic gas. 

Panic succeeded anxiety. She still saw nothing, and the harshness of the acid gas ran into her breaths. She needed to move, and quickly. Desperate, she whistled. She was pretty sure her horse had fled with the explosion. But after what felt like an eternity, she heard the muffled sound of hooves on the sand.

“Dybet!” she whispered, relieved. She felt the gentle warmth of her mare's nostrils against her hair. Slowly, she rose to her feet, steadying herself against her mount. She then struggled to get into the saddle, and she succeeded only thanks to the adrenaline that only a deep survival instinct could summon.

"Take me home" she implored to her horse.

Whether or not her mare understood her command, she set off, and she could only allow herself to be transported. She did not remember when she fell unconscious again, but when she woke up, she was still in the saddle, weakly lying on Dybet's neck.

"Builder!" 

She heard the cry but couldn't reply. She felt hands lifting her off the saddle. Amid panicked screams from several people she did not recognize, she sensed her suit being removed. 

"Go fetch Dr Fang! NOW!" 

She passed out. [Read more on AO3]