#Walk of Shame Shuttle

[veradune]

Went on an easy (paid) guided conservation hike today and am QUITE proud of my stubborn as hell family for absolutely refusing to leave our mom behind when the guide decided in the first five minutes that she wasn't capable of the trip.

Spoilers: we kept catching the group and got to revel in the awkwardness as the guide tried to save face by including us again.

[deadhands69]

Something More [than burns]

Katsuki Bakugo x gn reader

MDNI + eventual smut/afab

Setting: fuckboy!Bakugo, mid-time skip, Senior Year of College. Reader did not attend UA high, just joined for university. Enemies to lovers.

Warnings, etc: series contains eventual smut, slight angst, light violence/injuries but it's bnha soooo, drinking/intoxication, swearing.

This is part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 5 - part 6 - part 7 - part 8

Earlier today, you would never have dreamed you’d be stuffed in a closet with your rival, Katsuki Bakugo. Nor would you ever have imagined you’d enjoy that. But being here, pressed against his chest with his arm wrapped around you - it could be a lot worse. 

Yesterday Morning

It felt like nothing could go right. You overslept, waking up groggy and angry at the world. Your shoelace broke, you dripped toothpaste down your shirt, your phone died on the charger (hence the lack of alarm to wake you), and the weak coffee you chugged on the way out of the dorms did absolutely nothing to improve your mood. 

That’s all before walking into the classroom.

Earlier in the week, you were assigned a term-long project detailing your partner’s quirk. Pros, cons, good/bad match-ups, how your quirks work together, what you could learn from them to improve your own progress. You hoped for Izuku Midoriya, with his notebook full of information already, but you were paired with Katsuki Bakugo. 

Aizawa must hate you.

The two of you had never gotten along. Sure, he was warmer towards his friends, who he'd known for years, but never with you. That’s fair though, you also hated everything about him. You hated how cocky he would act. His stupid face when he thinks he’s right. How he always got away with his bullshit. You hated the way he treated the girls who swooned over him (all because he defeated some nerfed villain a while ago.) Then, you hated him even more when you saw the constant stream of faceless fangirls being shuttled in and out of his room in the middle of the night like no one noticed. Most of all, you hated the lack of respect he always had for you.

Unfortunately for you both, the assignment would involve a lot of back and forth, questions, explanations, etc. Considering the relationship you had with your partner, the two of you opted to work on your pieces alone, exchanging in the mornings. And, well, it’s the morning. Time to interact.

“Hey, Backfire. Ya get that work done?” (he’d always chosen to call you this, over your hero name “Echo.”)

“Yeah,” you handed him the paper detailing what you’ve observed about his quirk in practice.

He barely looks over it before adding his critique, “this is garbage. That part’s bad too. Are you trying to make me sound weak? Not like your shitty quirk is that great. Redo it.”

Not happening.

“If you have a problem, why don’t you do it then? Here’s a pen, there’s the paper. Be my fucking guest. Tell me alllll about how amazing the Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite is,” your biting words saccharine sweet as you pretended to fawn over him, “or should I just ask the girls lining up to crawl into your bed every night to write it?”

“What, jealous? God, you need to get laid. It’s a shame no one pities you enough to help out with that,” he responded with fake sympathy.

This wasn’t too far from a normal conversation between the two of you. Any other day, you thought. Any other time and maybe you could put up with his shit. 

But absolutely not today.

Before you could think, you smacked him. Hard.

A hush fell over the class as everyone watched for his reaction. Your next move.

To be honest, you surprised yourself with that one too.

You were always the “good kid.” Maybe standoffish and mouthy but you got good grades, always turned your homework in on time, and, mostly, tended to follow rules when it mattered.

But the bigger elephant in the room: no one actually fucks with Bakugo. Sure you’d all throw his words back at him and argue but physically? Between his strength, personality, and explosive quirk, no one touches him.

His face reddened in anger, hiding the puffy pink outline your hand left. “Do you wanna die??” he yelled before Aizawa shuffled to his desk in his yellow sleeping bag to start class.

Class went by as usual, despite the lingering tension in the air. Before you knew it, it was over. The teacher said something about randomly assigned partners for sparing in the morning then set you free. 

“Do it better,” Bakugo asserted, shoving the paper back at you. The imprint of your fingertips still dotted his face. 

“Fine, as long as you fix your half too. I am not getting a bad grade because of you,” you spit the words out like they would burn your tongue if you held in thoughts of him any longer. 

The rest of the afternoon, you stared at a blank sheet of paper. No matter how hard you tried, the words just wouldn’t show up. At seven, you gave up and went to Jiro’s room to hang out and watch music videos while discussing what you’d wear to Mina’s friend’s party the next day.

This Morning

Aizawa’s monotone voice carried through the training area. “We’ll be sparing today, as mentioned yesterday the matches are already set - the list is posted on the door. If you have an issue with it, don’t bother me. Otherwise, find your partner and make a plan.”

“The fuck,” you exclaim upon seeing your name next to Minoru Mineta’s with a match against Katsuki Bakugo and Shoto Todoroki.

The team pairings were randomly drawn from a hat but the matches were chosen. Aizawa must still be set on making your life hard when he made the list.

It would have been hard anyways, it’s not a fair fight. They’re the two strongest in the class and you were paired up with the weakest. They’re also both assholes when it comes to things like this so you know they won’t go easy on you. Not that they should. Your rebound quirk sends their attacks back at them, making you a difficult match for anyone who relies on their quirk. Generally, most of the class you are sparring against are resilient to their own powers to an extent so they aren’t at risk of being massively injured but that doesn’t make it any easier for them to take you down to win. You typically just have to stay out of the way. However, using your ability takes focus. With years of practice, you still weren’t sure if you’ll be able to go up against them both at once. And Mineta wouldn't be much help. 

In spite of the difficulty, you’d still have to give it your all. You’re lucky you even got into the hero course, honestly. Getting the points in the UA University entry exam wasn’t easy. Interfering with other potential students to bounce their quirks at the fake villains allowed you to scrape by. 

“Match one, get in place,” Present Mic’s voice rings through the building. 

Preparing on the other side of the room, your rivals didn’t look happy being paired with each other either. 

“We just have to get the flags off their belts,” you mumble down to Mineta, “throw your balls to trap them and I’ll walk up and take them. Oh, and don’t-” you pause, thinking of the last time you worked with Mineta on anything, “don’t do anything weird.” 

“And go!”

Immediately, Minetta covers the hall behind you in sticky purple balls. You rush to the other side, taunting them to chase you. 

“Hey, Todoroki, what’s this I hear about Endeavor in the news? You must be so proud, right? Come over so I can congratulate you!” 

The air cools around you, got him. Gliding with his ice, he rushes towards you before getting stuck on the trap you’d set. He immediately shoots a stream of ice, pinning your sparring partner to the wall.

You’re on your own now. That’s fine. It’ll be 1v1.

You turn to take Todoroki’s flag but only find his shoes. He’s in his socks, taking Mineta’s instead. You can still win this, you think. You’ll just have to be smart. 

Seeing a corner, you decide to duck into it. This will allow you to bounce back any attacks head on until they tire out. 

Red and white hair blurred towards you before the room froze. By focusing your quirk, you were able to shove his ice back ten while he attacked. You noticed his feet slide slightly back as well from the recoil. What you didn’t notice was Bakugo dropping behind your back and blasting you point blank into a wall of ice.

This Afternoon

“It’s because he hates me,” you groan. 

Recovery Girl had revived you, after mending quite a few broken bones and burns. She was still baffled by how beat up you came in from a “friendly” class match. A broken arm, two fractured ribs, burns on both wrists, and the entire back of your hero outfit had been blasted off, leading to even more burns.

“Hate is a strong word, he’s your classmate. I don’t think he hates you,” she continued while bandaging your arms.

“Definitely feels like it,” you mumbled looking down at your wrapped up limbs.

Once she finished patching you up, she told you to stay here for the day to rest then take it easy the next few days. She was leaving to visit family over the weekend but your condition is stable enough. You slept through the rest of the afternoon.

Earlier Tonight

9:05pm, the numbers on your phone illuminate the dark room.

Your hero costume had been sent in for repairs. Fortunately, your best friend has an extra key to your room. Jiro dropped off one of your hoodies and a pair of pants while you slept. She texted that she didn’t want to wake you but she’d see you at the party later tonight if you’re up for it. You pull the clothes out of the bag and get dressed, carefully avoiding your sore arms.

Feeling rested enough, you texted her back that you’d be there before throwing your boots on and heading out. 

In the dim waiting area, a black clothed figure was slumped over the chair. He begins to stir and rubs his blonde hair out of his eyes as you pass before he jumps up to follow you.

“Let me guess, is apologizing and walking me home your punishment?” you ask.

“Yep,” Bakugo responds.

“Got it,” you say walking out the door. The cold winter air burns your face.

After a long pause, he began to apologize. “I really am sorry though, I didn’t mean to actually hurt you. I should have known better and that’s on me,” his words puff out in clouds.

“I just figured it was because I slapped you yesterday.”

“It wasn’t out of retaliation,” he pauses before continuing, “I’m really not that mad about you hitting me. I mean, I was mad, but more shocked than anything. No one in our class ever treats me like that.”

“Well, someone has to. It’s one of the things I hate the most about you - people just let you get away with anything. It’s infuriating.”

“Hey, that is not true.” he side eyes you, “also, the thing you hate the most about me is how other people treat me? Really? That’s not even about me.”

“No, the thing I hate the most about you is how you treat me.”

“Well, someone has to,” your words felt icier thrown back at you.

As the conversation slipped to silence, you realized this was the first time you’d ever spoken to him alone. He almost seemed sincere, but you still weren't friendly. The rest of the walk continued like this. The dead air between you grew in tension until you reached the building. 

“Hey, you’re friends with Raccoon Eyes too. So you’re heading to that party off campus, right?” he asks, while you walk to the stairs.

“Mina’s friend’s party? Yeah I’m going.”

“I’ll walk you there. We can talk about our project on the way. Besides, everyone else has already left.”

You nodded, not having any excuse.

“Meet you here in twenty.” 

Fixing your makeup and hair took no time and you even added a little extra eyeliner. Clothes were another story.

Here’s the issue: all of the cute outfits you’d discussed wearing earlier in the week didn’t work unless you wanted to show off your massively bandaged arms. Out of time, you panicked throwing on a baggy long sleeve shirt with the skinny jeans and boots you were already wearing. Grabbing your sweatshirt to throw over the top, you ran out the door. Frumpy but at least no one would ask questions.

“Wow, it’s like you didn’t even try,” his voice calls out from the lobby.

“Oh, fuck you Bakugo! Half my body is covered in gauze because of the burns you gave me. Nothing looked cute.”

“You’re talking to someone who is covered in scars. No one cares. Besides, if anyone does say shit about it, I’ll kill ‘em. I owe you that much.”

"You covered the scars on your arm with tattoos though, doesn't count."

Ignoring this, Bakugo’s red eyes looked you up and down once more before running up the stairs past you.

“Now come on, Backfire, I’m not walking into a party with you if you look like that. Let’s pick something else.”

“Oh, treating me like one of your arm candy girls now? So fucking sweet of you,” you rolled your eyes but still followed him back up the stairs.

“If you were 'one of my arm candy girls', I wouldn’t have to drag you back to your dorm to change. Have to say, this is a first.”

“Ughh speaking of which, it’s ten - shouldn’t you be hooking up with someone by now?”

“Pretty hung up on that, huh?”

“On the way you treat women? Yeah, you’re disgusting.”

“Am not. I’m not leading anyone on or making anyone do anything.” 

“What if they end up wanting more?” you asked while pulling out your keys.

“Then I ditch ‘em, like I said I’m not leading anyone on.”

“Wow, you’re such a gentleman. Bet that’ll never come back to bite you.”

As you flipped the light on in your room, you were glad it’s relatively clean. Except for the pile of clothes you’d created on the bed but it’s not like you were trying to impress him of all people. 

Not missing much time, he practically dove into the discarded items you’d tried earlier. “This is cute,” he said holding up a tiny tank top, “and this one. I didn’t even know you owned stuff like this,” he said before handing you a stack to try. 

You almost commented about not wanting to take fashion advice from him before you realized actually looked good. He was wearing a grey jacket, tight black v-neck, and pants that fit really well. Fuck him.

Carefully, you put on the first shirt before looking up at the mirror. It’s a strappy black crop top. You bought it online over the summer but so far you hadn’t had the occasion (or the confidence) to wear it anywhere. The outfit, as a whole, looked cute but it really contrasted with the white cloth wrapped around your arms. 

“I look like a mummy,” you said as you walked out of the bathroom to show him.

Saying nothing, his eyes analyzed you. “No, that’s the outfit,” he said, continuing to stare critically, “do you have a sweater or something?”

“Yeah,” you said while picking a thick oversized grey cardigan, “you sure I don’t look like a little kid on halloween?” Why are you even asking his opinion, he’s probably just fucking with you. 

“No, you don’t,” he laughed.

The walk off-campus wasn’t the worst. He seemed to genuinely feel bad for hurting you so he got every door for you (which felt uncharacteristically nice but you decided not to get used to it.) You brought up the project from class and after a quick discussion, you both agreed it would be good to work together on it. Phone numbers were exchanged and you decided to meet tomorrow on “neutral territory”, the library. It wasn’t until you walked in the door of the house, that you realized the two of you were accidentally matching. 

Not wanting to look like Bakugo’s date of the night, you split off fairly quickly and found Jiro and Mina outside. 

“Hey, [y/n]! How are you feeling?” Jiro yelled before hugging you.

“I”m okay - thanks for dropping off clothes, that was a lifesaver!” you turned to give Mina a hug as well, “thanks for the invite! This party is awesome.”

“Of course! You should grab a drink and catch up to us!” Mina slurred back. You turned when Jiro grabbed your shoulder. 

“Oh. And as a heads up, Mineta’s been looking for you,” Jiro mumbled under her breath.

“Thanks for the warning!”

He probably just wanted to recap after what happened in class today. That could wait until Monday - he could be tolerable in moderation when he was sober, but dealing with Mineta after a few drinks? Absolutely not. You made it three steps through the door when a glint of purple entered your peripheral vision and you booked it. Rushing between people, you ran down a hallway.

Now

Seeing a door to your left, you take a chance. You reach for the handle when it flies open and you collide with Bakugo, who is also cramming himself in what you’re now realizing is a closet. His arm wraps around you, pulling you against him to shut the door.

“Ouch, fuck,” you grumble after he grabbed the still raw burn on your back. Shifting back slightly, you hit a bunch of coats, leaving you pressed into his chest.

“What the fuck are you doing in here??” his hushed voice interrogates you.

“Hiding, obviously!” you respond in a whisper.

“Hiding from what?” 

“Mineta. I think he wants to talk about today but.. Ugh I can’t deal with that little creep right now.”

Upon further thought, being in a closet with Bakugo isn’t ideal either.

“You know what, I think I’ll take my chances,” you begin to press the door open when he grabs your hand.

“No, you don’t. If you open this she might see me.”

“She? Who's ‘she’??” 

“A girl in the support course. It’s so fucking stupid. I hooked up with her last week, now she thinks we’re dating.”

“So you’re hiding in a closet? So much for being direct and not leading anyone on.”

“Oh, I forgot. You’re just sooo much better than me. I’m not in the mood for a lecture,” he shifts against you, “you know what, fuck it. I’m going out there.”

“Wait!” you whisper yell at him, fighting the urge to say you told him so, “fine. I’ll drop it. Now wait a few minutes, if you open this door, I’m sure Mineta will still be lurking around.” 

“Fine.”

Taking a deep breath, for the first time since entering the closet, you become acutely aware of how good he smells. He smells clean, like laundry and shampoo, but there’s another smell. Something more subtle that really draws you to him. Not that you could be drawn much closer. In this tiny space you feel the warmth of his body, the movement of his breathing. His arm still wrapped around you. This isn’t so bad. What the fuck are you thinking?

Bakugo breaks the long silence.

“This is the worst game of seven minutes in heaven,” he jokes, in an attempt to break the tension.

“No, it could be worse. Last year I got shoved in a closet with Denki. He was wasted and pretty handsy.”

“Really? I can’t picture you playing that game, you seem-”

You laugh, “I seem what?”

“I dunno, like you’d be too good for that or something.”

“Too good for that?”

“Yeah, like. You don’t even date,” he responds.

“You don’t date either.”

“You know what I mean. You’re basically asexual.”

“Oh my god, I am not,” you reply, “ I’m just busy, that’s all. I’d love to have more fun but it takes a lot of work to keep up in school. My quirk’s not all flashy like yours.”

He pauses. 

“None of this is easy,” you almost feel like you’re imagining things when his thumb subtly rubs your shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m hard on you because I didn’t think I’d beat you otherwise.”

“I’ll tell that to Recovery Girl next time.”

“I promise there won’t be a next time. I went too far. And I got lucky. If you’d directed your quirk at me, I would have slammed into the wall and been in there with you. It was a risky move anyways and I shouldn’ have done it.” He squeezes your shoulder, “I’ll make it up to you. Come on.”

Pressing out of the closet door, you really hope no one notices you stepping out of the small space with Katsuki Bakugo. He takes your hand, pulling you down the hallway.

“Where are we going?” you ask.

“Kitchen. That little runt’s afraid of me so you’re fine as long as you stay close.”

Approaching a counter of liquor, he opens a bottle of tequila, pouring both of you a shot. He slides it to you.

You pitch an eyebrow up at him, “you think I’m taking a drink from you?”

“Oh come on, I’m not a perv. You said you wanted to have more fun and I owe you.” 

Skeptically you agree. “Okay, but I am not going home with you.”

He laughs, “who said I’d wanna go home with you? Besides, I’m still not convinced you’d ever relax enough to fuck anyone.”

“Oh fuck off, Bakugo. Clearly you don’t know me at all,” you say before downing the shot. It burns but you don’t let yourself react.

“Clearly,” he responds slightly smirking before drinking his own.

A few hours after you first started drinking with Bakugo, the two of you are sitting on the kitchen floor with the bottle between you. You’d started shot for shot but at some point managed to lose the shot glasses and switched to passing the bottle back and forth. Your sweater and his jacket piled in a ball between you.

“Okay. So,” you slur, gesturing vaguely at him, “you want to be a hero because of All Might?”

“When I was a kid, yeah.” He puts a hand on your shoulder to steady you, “but now I have more reasons, not just him. You didn’t answer my question though! Who’s yours?”

“Who made me want to be a hero?” you’d slightly dodged the question because, even in your inebriated state, the answer is a bit embarrassing. “Okay, I’ll answer but you can’t make fun of me for it.”

“That’s no fun, I already answered and you’re definitely gonna make fun of me.”

“If I was going to make fun of you, I already would have. You’re wearing All Might socks,” you lightly kick his ankle, the blue and red socks showing where his pant legs slid up. He glances down before his head lolls back towards you, staring expectantly.

“Okay, fine. Mine’s Eraserhead.”

“Eraser? Like our teacher?” he laughs, “no, that makes a lot of sense. You totally have a crush on our teacher!”

“I do not!” you lightly shove his shoulder. Unfocused, your eyes rake over him. You’d never noticed how pretty he is until now, he’s beautiful. He bumps back into you.

“Is that why you try so hard in class? You should tell him!” he picks up your phone from the floor.

“No! But also kind of?” your hand reaches towards your phone, missing his entirely, “I don’t have a crush on him but I want him to like me.” he raises his eyebrows at you, “NOT LIKE THAT!” you pause before continuing, “how would you feel if All Might didn’t like you?”

“He doesn’t dislike you.”

“He made me work with you,” you blurt out without thinking.

Bakugo flinches slightly at the honesty, but he seems to get it. “He’s not stupid, Backfire. He’s had almost two years to see that we fight all the time and he just wants us to get along or something.” 

“If only he could see us now,” you laugh. To a stranger, you probably look quite close right now. Your leg over his, his arm over your shoulder, leaning in towards each other.

Wait, fuck.

His glossy crimson eyes light up, “wait! I’ve got it, that’s what you should send him!” he says while sloppily swiping the camera open on your phone and flipping the screen to a selfie. Pulling you in closer, your head falls onto his shoulder. The screen of your phone flashes lightly and he drops the arm in front of you, but you can’t be bothered to move. Tipping your face into him, your eyes closing. He really does smell so good.

 “Aww it’s like we’re friends, he’ll love it,” he says, nudging your phone into your hands.

Prying yourself up, your eyes adjust to the screen. As your doubled vision merges with itself, you notice the notifications in your group chat with Jiro and Mina.

Jiro [where’d you go??]

Mina [we miss you!1!]

Mina [okay, we’re looking for yuo]

Jiro [re3alyy where r u?]

“Oh shit,” you say, “my friends must have texted when we were in the closet.”

You [omggg just saw tghhese]

You [not dead]

Tipping your phone away from Bakugo, you add

You [hes so hott6t]

You [shuold i kiss himn?]

Mina [oooooooo]

Jiro [who.?]

You [image]

Jiro [no]

Jiro [defnitly not]

Mina [🚩🚩🚩]

Mina [babe, ur SLOPPY]

Jiro [is that a kitchen?? we’re otw!]

Jiro [dotn do anythng!!]

Abandoning your phone on the floor, your head droops back into his shoulder. He leans into you, pressing his cheek into your forehead. Taking the bottle from his hand, you sip idly - unable to feel the burn anymore. You wonder what it would be like to kiss him, gazing longingly at his lips that are now only inches away. 

“Blasty, you’ve been hiding [y/n] from us!” Mina’s voice fills the kitchen as your friends pile to the floor next to you, Kirishima in tow.

Jiro takes the bottle before grasping your hands and pulling you upright. “Hey, you alright?” she asks soothingly. 

“They’re fine,” Bakugo asserts, “and I didn’t hide shit. We’ve been here most of the night,” he yanks the tequila back from Jiro, polishing the bottle off in a final gulp. “All of you just suck at looking for people.”

“Come on man, get off the floor.” Kirishima urges, “let’s go kick everyone’s asses at beer pong!”

“We need to get up and go too,” Jiro adds as she and Mina collect your belongings. 

Staggering slightly, you follow your group out to the living room before everyone begins to part ways. 

“I’m gonna stay with them!” Mina whispers to you, “Eijiro will walk me home later,” she adds with a wink.

“Bye, have fun!” you hug her before turning to Jiro.

“Don't forget about tomorrow!” Bakugo yells over his shoulder, following his friends.

“One o'clock, I'll be there, ” you yell back, your words still slurring together.

“What’s tomorrow?” Jiro asks while guiding you out the door.

“School project we have to do,” you respond. 

“That makes more sense, but still. Maybe next time we go to a party you can find a boy to sit on the floor with who didn’t try to kill you earlier.” 

part 2

m.list

[grimalkenkid]

“The Kind of Person I Wanted Back Then”

(Had a burst of inspiration thanks to @havanillas art of Aventurine with a baby, so have this angsty-yet-hopeful Drabble! Enjoy?)

Aventurine knew his place; he was a tool for the Strategic Investment Department to deploy in situations deemed too risky or underhanded for any of the other Stonehearts. He was basically disposable, a pawn who was nevertheless useful if he could turn the tides at a pivotal moment. So it came as little surprise when Diamond sent him to once again “offer” the IPC’s aid to a particularly stubborn border planet that refused to ally with the Amber Lord against the Antimatter Legion.

Even from orbit, Aventurine saw the scorched craters where once-thriving cities stood, though the sight couldn’t hold a candle to the devastation he witnessed firsthand in his opinion. Of course, he would offer his sympathies or condolences when he met with their leader, but he wouldn’t sugarcoat anything. If Diamond thought a gentle touch would get through their thick skulls, then he would’ve sent Topaz.

The negotiation went about as well as expected. Their leader was a tough, old soldier, determined to maintain his people’s independence. However, Aventurine had seen enough of the crumbling masonry and hastily-set tents along the outskirts to sense the cracks in the man’s resolve.

“Give the IPC a controlling share in the planet’s geothermal energy market, and you’ll have the Preservation’s protection.” The words burned his tongue, bitter and acrid.

Like they should have protected the Avgin…

Aventurine left the meeting having given the leader a few offers to ponder and many possibilities to chew on. He was certain they’d come around and agree to the IPC’s terms. Eventually, everyone did.

There were few casinos still operating within the city, having lost most of their clientele to leisure activities less reliant on luck. A shame, Aventurine thought, and so he returned to the small space-port, texting Stelle to pester her into playing online poker. They were two hands deep when a laser-scorched shuttle made an abrupt landing nearby.

Dozens of injured civilians and soldiers rushed out. Aventurine hung back, keeping out of their way as they undoubtedly hurried to the nearest hospital or, more likely, a first aid kit. He tried not to think of how powerless he was right then. For all his wealth, he couldn’t actually protect anyone. Only the IPC could wield that kind of power, and he was little more than their puppet.

With a heavy-hearted sigh, Aventurine tried to turn his attention back to his game, but a lone figure lagging behind the rest of the refugees caught his gaze first. It was a small child, his awkward gait a sign that he had just barely learned to walk. He stumbled about aimlessly, his wide eyes watery and darting everywhere. Before a single thought formed in his head, Aventurine had already pocketed his phone and strode over to the confused child.

The instant the child saw Aventurine approaching him, he abandoned his wandering and stumbled as fast as his little legs could carry him towards the only adult who even seemed to notice him. Aventurine knelt down in front of the kid, his heart nearly stopping as he saw his eyes clearly, with the distinctly two-colored irises of a Sigonian.

“Where are your—?” Aventurine started, but his question would have to wait as the kid slammed into his chest, clawing at his waistcoat and sobbing as only a frightened child could.

Whatever questions Aventurine had could wait. He slowly brought his hands up and wrapped the poor kid in an awkward hug. He wasn’t supposed to be the one who offered comfort, shouldn’t be the one people trusted. Wasn’t supposed to be a person, just a tool, a pawn. And yet this kid was clinging to him like a lifeline. The least Aventurine could do was give him reassurance in return.

He patted the kid’s head, speaking softly until his tears dried and his breathing grew steady. Only then did Aventurine lift him into his arms, whispering a comforting lie as he returned to the city,

“Now, let’s go find your parents.”

Hours later, and Aventurine had the answer he’d known all along. The kid’s parents were dead, and no one would take him in. Of course they wouldn’t; why would anyone take in a Sigonian? To do so would be asking to invite a future thief and liar into one’s house.

But Aventurine was already a liar. A murder. A loser.

As the kid fell asleep in his arms, Aventurine returned to his ship, shutting himself away from the prying eyes of his subordinates. He sat down in the first chair he saw and finally let his own tears fall.

“I’ll take care of you,” he swore with all the kindness and tenderness that remained in his scarred heart. “I won’t leave you to fend for yourself. I’ll protect you… I promise.”

And he meant it.

[adverbally]

Every Claim You Stake

Written for the @steddieangstyaugust prompt “‘Who did this?’” | wc: 1,364 | rated: E | cw: sexual content, slut shaming, unprotected sex | tags: friends with benefits, non-exclusive sexual relationship, jealousy, argument, not a happy ending | title from “Every Breath You Take” by The Police

———

Eddie is pretty proud of himself as he trudges up the walk to the Harringtons’ front door. He actually made it two whole weeks without caving in and calling Steve. That’s probably the longest he’s gone since they began their little arrangement.

It’s not like he hasn’t seen him. They’re friends, they hang out with the same people and shuttle the same kids around town. But it’s been two weeks since Steve last invited him over and sucked his brains out through his dick and then thanked him for it.

That’s what Eddie has the most trouble wrapping his mind around. If anything, Steve is doing him a favor by saving him a trip to Indy for his hookups. Plus, sex with Steve is basically like physical therapy, considering the amount of stretching and cardio involved. Eddie can actually touch his toes now, go figure. And even though they’re not dating and Steve doesn’t seem to know about Eddie’s big fat crush, he’s actually a very considerate and romantic lover. To get all of those benefits and the sight of Steve on his knees, grinning up at Eddie with come and spit dripping off his chin… well, maybe karma is real and the universe is trying to make up for the whole “almost getting eaten alive by demobats and dying in the Upside Down” thing.

He’ll take it.

Steve meets him at the door, looking unfairly beautiful for a guy wearing sweatpants and fuzzy socks and glasses. “Hey, man, come on in. Is it still snowing?”

“Barely,” Eddie responds, kicking off his shoes and shrugging out of his jacket. He shakes his damp hair like a dog to make Steve laugh. “Gonna warm me up?”

“I’m gonna send you back home if you try another cheesy line like that,” Steve threatens, though he’s still smiling. He steps closer and settles a hand on Eddie’s hip.

Eddie only has time for a single suggestive eyebrow wiggle before Steve is suddenly in his space, guiding Eddie back against the entryway wall. His lips follow shortly thereafter, licking into Eddie’s mouth with more enthusiasm than finesse. Eddie likes it like this, a little sloppy, like Steve wants him so badly that he doesn’t have the brainpower to coordinate his movements.

When Eddie breaks away for a breath, he trails his lips across Steve’s jaw, lingering on the two little moles high on the side of his neck. It’s one of Eddie’s favorite places on Steve’s body, the X marking the spot where Steve will shiver and gasp at the scrape of teeth over delicate skin.

Steve manages to slip his hands under the hem of Eddie’s t-shirt and flannel, coming to rest in his back pockets. It probably says something about Eddie that he really likes when Steve does this, just grabs his ass and steers Eddie into grinding their hips together.

“Fuck,” Eddie mutters into the skin of Steve’s throat. He uses the hand at the nape of Steve’s neck to grab a chunk of hair and pull his head back, maybe a little too hard. When Steve groans his approval, Eddie feels the vibration against his lips. “Yeah, you missed me?” he teases, bringing his other hand to the opposite side of Steve’s neck with a gentle squeeze.

His stomach swoops when Steve flinches and hisses an inhale through his teeth.

“Shit, sorry, did I hurt you?” Eddie releases his grip on Steve’s hair and pulls away.

Steve’s worn t-shirt, with its stretched out neckline and holey hem, has been tugged into just the right position to reveal a truly massive hickey.

It looks a couple of days old but it’s still deep purple at its center, nearly black, with a sickly green-yellow fading at the edges. If Eddie looks closely enough, he thinks he might even see teeth marks.

Someone else’s teeth marks. On Steve.

The sight makes Eddie’s stomach churn with jealousy he knows he has no right to feel. This thing between them is just casual sex, they definitely haven’t discussed whether they’re exclusive. Apparently, while Eddie assumed they were, Steve did not. Somehow that makes it hurt even more. What would Steve want that he couldn’t ask Eddie for? Was he not good enough for him?

“What the fuck?” he whispers, reaching out to pull Steve’s shirt collar even farther down his shoulder.

“Eddie–”

“Who did this?”

“Just some guy at the club in Indy.”

Steve and Robin had gone just last weekend, Eddie remembers. He had stayed home and ate dry cereal out of the box while Steve was apparently getting partially cannibalized. He can’t help but picture it. Probably some hulking blonde jock who could pick Steve up and fuck him against the wall while he begged for it. Maybe he bent him over the sink, making Steve look at himself in the mirror, all pink-cheeked and hazy-eyed.

“Just some guy who used you like a chew toy,” Eddie scoffs.

Steve scowls at him. “Are you angry about this? Sorry, I didn’t know I was supposed to get you to sign my permission slip first.” He shrugs his shoulder violently enough to dislodge Eddie’s hand.

“Fuck you.” Eddie shoves Steve so hard he stumbles a couple steps backwards. “Who was it?”

“Why are you acting like I cheated on you? You’re not my boyfriend, or my dad, or-or my babysitter.” Steve’s eyes are shiny in the dim light of the foyer. “It’s none of your business who I sleep with.”

Eddie is so angry he’s shaking now. It’s one thing to have sex with someone else, but it’s another to put Eddie’s health at risk without so much as a heads up. “It really is! Were you fucking them bare, too?” He puts on a TV commercial voice. “‘The full cumslut experience, now including AIDS. Share it with your partner today!’”

Steve has the nerve to look hurt that Eddie would question him. “We used condoms. You’re the only one I didn’t…”

Boy, they sure didn’t. Steve wanted to be filled with everything Eddie had, in whatever hole was available. Many a lazy evening was spent with Eddie idly pushing his come back into Steve’s ass or licking it out of his mouth or painting it across his face. The mere thought of Steve doing that with someone else infuriated him. He wanted to make him forget that anyone but Eddie had ever touched him, to show him that Eddie had everything he needed.

“Well, I guess the whore isn’t as stupid as he looks,” Eddie spits.

“I was stupid enough to think you liked me!” Steve pinches the bridge of his nose. “Stupid enough to trust you, stupid enough to start falling for you… Stupid enough to fuck someone else just to make sure I wasn’t imagining how good it was with you.” He closes his eyes and sniffs. “I guess I won’t have to worry about any of that now.”

Eddie freezes. Rarely does life present you with a blinking neon sign telling you “YOU FUCKED UP,” but here is one if he’s ever seen it. Regret floods him until he feels like he’s drowning in it. What can he even say to try to salvage this? He clears his throat tentatively, trying to shift some of the heaviness in his chest. “I didn’t mean… You don’t… Steve.” So much for his improv talents.

The house is silent for a moment before Steve glances back up at Eddie. His face is wet, his eyes red and puffy. Then he returns his gaze to the floor and calmly says, “I think you should go home.”

“Steve–”

“Please don’t call me again.” Steve hugs his arms around himself. “You can see yourself out.” He squeezes past Eddie to go upstairs.

Eddie watches him ascend, then turn the corner and disappear out of view. His brain feels like it’s full of static as he picks up his shoes and his jacket, putting neither of them on before going back outside. The snow may have stopped, but the ground is still cold and wet, soaking Eddie’s socks. He doesn’t really feel it.

He doesn’t really feel anything right now but regret.

[elfieafterdark]

Harrow Nova, defeating Ortus in a duel. Defiling the inner sanctum with violence, in front of pilgrims.

Shameful, embarassing, and perfectly legal. Much to the Reverend Daughter's chagrin, Ortus accepted the terms, then wretched little Harrow carved him up with her rapier and strangled him with a chain of Samael until he yielded.

So, in a cruel twist of fate. Gideon, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House, has a new cavalier primary.

Riding in a shuttle to Canaan House. Summoned by the emperor. They sit across from each other, on strange and rather uncomfortable fold-out chairs made of Plex.

Why the fuck is everything made out of plex? Don't they have any other materials? Plex chairs, plex tables, plex toothbrushes, plex... toys...

NOT that the Reverend daughter knew ANYTHING about such lustful things. And she certainly isn't feeling anything lustful now, now that this little rat creature is her Cavalier.

Not to mention that said cavalier is scowling at her like she means murder.

All Gideon can do is weep, she misses her house. Though she keeps her face steeled. The Ferret grins wickedly as they walk off the shuttle. The first house is beautiful, yet the beauty is lessened by the scrawny punk wearing those ridiculous glasses.

The shuttle door opens.

"Would you like, my hanky?" Ferret croaks. Anger flares. The nerve of this rat.

"I would like to watch you die."

Harrow chuckles, "Maybe nav, maybe... But not today."

[sol-consort]

I gotta say I'm really enjoying this roommate series you got going on with the Turian and Quarian. I'm reading them and kicking my legs and giggling on my bed. I love that they're both low-key kinda pervy in different ways.

I sprinkle a little pervieness into every character I write as a little treat. Everyone deserves to be a little pervy inside. It's good for you.

Kaidan's eyes drifting to your ass on those long elevator rides before realising it and immediately averting his gaze with a sense of shame.

Ashley who keeps staring at your lips whenever you've been talking for too long, a passing thought of how your nose would feel pressing between her legs as she sits on your face crosses her mind like a flash before she snaps out of it.

Garrus who may or may not have started visiting the human category on the turian porn sites ever since he joined your crew, that habit spiralling so much he can't remember the last time he finished to a non-human porno.

Tali who spreads her legs just a little wider, so her thigh is pressing against yours in the shuttle to and from missions.

Vetra who intentionally doesn't stock a certain favourite food of yours on the ship, forcing you to come to her, standing on your toes to meet her eyes despite the great height difference, whining and pleading for her to please get you this one thing you want, pretty please. The sound of her name coming out of your pouty lips in such a whiny, needy, and desperate tone does unspeakable things to her.

Wrex who pulls you by the waist around like a ragdoll during the battlefield, who gets to cup a feel—be it your chest, thighs, ass or whatever, the human body is too squishy and soft, the entirely of it seems like a sensitive mush meant to be squeaked and fucked—whenever the two of you are tightly pressed together behind a cover, who doesn't rush you at all as you reload your gun while practically sitting on his lap in the middle of the dusty barren planet with enemies surrounding you.

Mordin, who's a little too enthusiastic to hear about your latest sexual endeavours with the crew. Oh, you've been sleeping with Thane? Mordin will look you in the eyes as informs you that you should try swallowing his cum because it has nice effects on your cute human brain, but be careful of drell skin, it might cause irritation. That's why he thought ahead and brought this anti-inflammatory lotion right here. Strip, lay on the table, and let him massage it into your skin while you recount exactly how Thane's cock felt inside you for the first time. Or do you plan on sleeping with a turian next? Garrus, maybe? He has a few position recommendations.

As for the roommate Turian, I tried to make him slightly pervy in a more self-aware way. He's just bad at hiding it, so it comes off as endearingly awkward. He tries to be sneaky as he touches your waist or gawks at your thighs and chest while you walk around half naked, but he fails each time.

But the roommate quarian is more accepting. He has little regard for your personal space and time. His tendency to fuss about your health does lead to some tantalising situation as his first thought for seeing you slightly flushed covered in a blanket is that you're sick...when you might have been just enjoying some me time while scrolling through porn.

[notafraidofredyellowandblue]

Rammblings Nijmegen 2024-06-19

Now this was good weather for being outdoors 😊

a lot different from the day before

so i took my time checking out all the merch, food, drink etc stuff at the venue 😊

The sun was very bright, straight at the stage, so i'm not surprised most of them wore sunglasses, i see Richard squinting in clips from the first few songs, i think he's like me in not liking that much sun in the face. As the sun was setting and shadows were growing larger, the shadow of one tower was exactly near Richard's spot, and i think he moved there for a song. Sun also made it difficult to see the big screens for the first part of the show, which was a shame, this really is the time of year when the sunset is quite late, when i was in the shuttle to the station afterwards (about 23:15) it was still somewhat light out. In that aspect yesterday's dark skies were better.

This time i was on the other tribune, right next to the stairs (woohoo!). Still a bit behind a tower, which unfortunately meant i couldn't see Olli's spot 🥺 but i could see the others quite well, Till and Schneider too

Everybody seemed in a great mood, Paul very playful stomping around his part of the stage. Flake and Till having a cosy walk (and Paul chasing after Flake on the way back). I think on one of the first songs Richard went to Flake's station and Flake came down his stairs briefly to him 🥰

my 2nd show in a row, now i'm sure there were some sound issues on tuesday, because this time i could very clearly hear Richard's 'Links' solo (loves his solo, Ausländer too, at the end he went to Schneider's drumkit, to have a little eye contact 🥰 I think there also was more pyro and/or lights than yesterday, wonder if stuff didn't work because of the rain (don't remember). Also still very much love Richard's Puppe backing vocals, don't be surprised if i'll be posting on that more often in the next days 🥰

Also think i saw Flake and Richard get together at the final salut, don't know if there was a hug, i hope so 🥰 but i couldn't tell.

Personally didn't move or dance like the day before (when we were a bit like that 'aristocats meet rammstein' cartoon) i was a few rows from the top and people behind me stayed in their seats so i figured i shouldn't stand up and block their views, which made it a little less fun for me personally (maybe i should have just stood up anyway, don't know). So although it was a textbook Rammstein show, everybody in great spirits, everything working fine (afaik), i am happy that i did both shows, because the first one with all it's imperfections was a bit more fun for me personally 😊 (what can i say, i like the imperfections)

Radio and Ausländer again worked great live, isn't it funny how some songs may be better on an album, but don't translate to the stage, and these, that may be not as spectacular on record, just have "it" on stage 🥰 Loved all the great bangers like Sonne, Du Hast, and Wiener Blut sounds soooo good live. I had hoped to see the silliness of Mein Teil cheering squad, but unfortunately that didn't happen. I admire the piano ladies for their enthusiasm, it's quite difficult to get the crowd excited, kudos to Richard for getting them a bit of extra applause on b stage 🥰

Saw Schneider pick up a passenger again in the boats, and although i normally don't like when he does that, this girl was so cute in her snowwhite outfit, Till got her to wave to the camera and everybody cheered for her 🌺 (Till also headbutted Paul's mic when it was left unguarded, but i don't think he was injured)

So all in all, great show, with even greater music 🥰 And i finally got to see my fave band live 🥰

-

and on a personal note, i had some anxiety up front about getting there and back with such a large crowd, but i took enough time before (was already there at least an hour before the show started which with seats is absolutely not necessary, many people only came to their seat when Rammstein started, but it was quite relaxed that way) and on the way outi let everybpdy sort of flood down the seats and the field and then got down, and because i was by myself, i could zigzag around the crowds and get to the shuttles quite easily. All friendly people, everyone in a good mood 😊 Even the linesat the toilets were very quick (yes that is important) 😊

So now on to the journey back home after two great days 😊 but i admire fans who do several shows and venues back-to-back, i couldn't do it (and that's not just because my age being 'younger than most of Rammstein') 😄

[pizza-writes]

Famous Last Words

Hunter x Fem!Reader

Summary: You’ve been kidnapped and it’s up to Hunter and the boys to save you.

Warnings: kidnapping, mention of violence, the kidnapper being creepy with reader

Rating: 16+ for mentions of certain violence that is probably not appropriate for young eyes

Notes: This is pre-Echo era. Sorry, y’all. Also I actually really like the antagonist in this but I made him extra creepy because I wanted to give Hunter ✨Motivation✨

Word count: 1.8k

You stared down the mirage an uncountable distance from where you stood. The heat paved the way for sweat to coat your skin. It was disgusting. Dry, unforgiving, ruthless, exhausting. One might wonder if you were describing the climate or the chilling presence of the bounty hunter flanking you.

“I would never let someone kidnap me.”

Famous last words. That was your exact response to Hunter’s concern in Mos Espa. Looking back, you would slap yourself if you had the chance. But, seeing that you don’t have an inter-dimensional third hand that can clap through the thick skull of your past self, you opted for a very deep sigh—one of many you’d very expressively given to your captor.

Speaking of which, Cad Bane took that as a sign to rest his hand on your shoulder. Yeah, that’s right. Cad Bane. Oh how you wished for that third hand… His blaster’s barrel flirted with your temple and ensured that you didn’t make any moves. You felt his uncanny patience through the thick, hot air of the desert planet.

“Maybe I won’t give you back,” the man drawled, bringing to close a soliloquy he’d started an eternity ago. “I’d be far fetched to let such a pretty thing go.”

You shifted your weight and huffed out another long sigh. The blue guy snickered at you but you ignored him. No, he wouldn’t win. You’d keep your cool.

The throng of an engine met your ears and you perked up. The Havoc Marauder buzzed over and landed close-by, sending clouds of sand into the air. You eyed Bane—he, like his goons that he had hired for this op, remained unfazed. His poise stood calm even when Hunter and Wrecker emerged from the shuttle with vengeance in their stride.

“We have the credits,” Hunter said. He stopped short when Bane’s men forced him to.

“Shame. I was just reconsidering our arrangement. See, clone, I don’t think you realize what a fine gem you had.”

You glared at him. “They didn’t ‘have’ me, perve.”

“He didn’t train you very well, did he, pet?”

You winced and pulled away, but he held you down, calling you a “naughty girl.” Hunter’s visor caught sunlight as it tilted downward. His hand drifted to his side arm.

“Your move, clone.”

Hunter paused and his head cocked to the side. His hand shifted. You recognized the signal for the unseen marksman.

“I don’t think so,”

You frowned. Bane chortled.

“Scared?”

Hunter must have sensed something that you couldn’t. His tone steadied as he said, “You come to me,”

“Walk, little lady.”

Wrecker and Hunter simultaneously brought out their blasters. Hunter shook his head. “No. Be a gentleman and walk her over,”

“Think she can’t walk? I didn’t actually have my way with her.”

Wrecker thrust his blaster towards Bane. “Talk about her like that one more time.”

In an instant, all of the men surrounding you mirrored him. Hunter scanning the group, blaster ready. Your captor tutted. “Don’t threaten me, boy. I have more than twice the firepower.”

You chuckled as the Marauder’s cannons fired up. “Idiot.”

Hunter stood a little taller, “You’ll come to me if it’s safe to walk that path through the energy field. Now, you’re going to escort Y/N to me or you’ll get to see just how much firepower we have.”

“I’m no fool. You’d better not try anything,”

“Don’t tempt me,”

The blue man sighed. He grabbed your bicep tightly and forced you to the side. With a frown, you complied. He took a very curved path to get to your guys. A few paces away from Hunter, Bane stopped and pushed you. You stumbled into Hunter who kept you upright, staring the other man down. You didn’t really need to hold onto him, but with his arm around you, it was the perfect excuse.

“How did you know?”

Hunter’s voice rumbled through his chest, “I have my ways,”

Bane nodded and looked back at you, red eyes piercing your soul before he tipped his hat. “Goodbye, little lady. You were lovely.”

“Don’t push it,” Hunter warned. Bane raised both hands in surrender and slowly backed away. Hunter dropped the case of credits into the sand. It rattled, audibly exposing the hefty price he’d gathered in return for you.

“Sarge,” Wrecker muttered, raising his blaster.

Hunter’s helmet jerked up to the man with a data pad in hand furiously tapping. The goons suddenly scattered away from the field Hunter had had you walk around. Hunter shouted into his comm, “Now!”

Bane lurched forward with a shout, falling to his knees. The man with the data pad collapsed, splaying across the ground. Steam rose steadily from a hole in his back. Then another did the same, followed by another. Bane looked up at Hunter in anger.

“You broke the rules, clone!”

Hunter silently nodded to Wrecker. The big man scooped you up and took off running.

You looked back as Cross’s blaster bolt struck the blue man again. This one didn’t hit home. Bane struggled to his feet and engaged the thrusters on his boots. In an instant he flew overhead and caught up with you. He began a volley of blaster fire on your trio but Hunter quickly sent him careening towards the sand. You loaded up in the ship and Wrecker towered by the open ramp, covering Hunter until he made it aboard. You raced to the cockpit as Tech took the shuttle towards a nearby plateau. That was where you spotted Crosshair packing up his gear. Tech swooped in to pick him up, and soon you were headed for the stars.

“Yea-hah!” Wrecker shouted as he barged into the cockpit, followed by the other two. “Another successful mission!”

You gasped, a faux look of hurt on your face. “That’s… all I am to you?”

His expression dropped, “I—er… no, you’re… that’s—“

With a laugh, you got up and hugged him tight. “I’m messing, Wrecker. Thanks for coming for me,”

He grinned and picked you up in a near-bone-crushing hug. “We missed you, Y/N!”

“Augh I missed you too. Maker, I missed you guys.” You caught a glance of Hunter. He stood taut, brows furrowed. That same dark expression stayed on his face.

“You are one expensive mission,” Tech glanced at you as Wrecker set you down. “15,000 credits.”

“Not really!” Wrecker danced in place a moment and shoved past Hunter and Cross to the back of the ship. You watched him pick up a small box. He returned, huge smile on his face. “I picked this up with one of Cross’s blaster attachments before we took off.”

“Normally, you’d be dead,” Cross hummed, sticking a fresh toothpick between his teeth, “but I guess this can slide.”

Hunter patted his brother’s shoulder, “Good job, Wrecker.” Then to Crosshair: “And nice shooting up there. Don’t think we would’ve made it out of there without you.”

Cross and Wrecker both gave Hunter an appreciative grin. You glanced at your pilot, “You too, Tech. Thanks for decoding my awful distress call.”

“It was not difficult.”

After a while of discussing the meat of the mission, Hunter set a hand on your shoulder and nodded to the door. You followed him out.

You patted Gonky’s head lovingly as you strode past him. Standing next to Hunter, you sighed, appreciating the feeling of being home. The Marauder didn’t smell or look the best, but it was home, and so were the four troops that manned it. This especially stood for Hunter. Over some time, you two had grown much closer than you ever could’ve dreamt.

When he turned to face you the puppy-ness of his eyes caught you off-guard. He took both of your hands in his. “Did they hurt you?”

You met his soft gaze and shook your head. “They hardly touched me. I think they were only interested in the payment until Bane caught eyes.”

His expression went dark again. “Did that bastard—”

“No,” you shook your head and reached up to cup his cheek reassuringly. “he told the truth.” You sighed, “I’m sorry about all of this. I don’t know how I got separated from you all. It all happened so quickly.”

“Cyare, there was nothing you could’ve done,”

“There’s always something I could’ve done different. I could’ve stayed with you. I could’ve paid better attention. I could’ve listened to you—”

“Shh,” he hushed, running his fingers through your hair. “What-if’s won’t change anything,” He shook his head. “What’s done is done. And you’re here now. You’re safe.”

He rested his forehead against yours, arms wrapping around your middle. His brows furrowed, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’d be even more okay if you kissed me,”

He smiled, leaning in slowly, “Tempting.”

You tilted your head to meet his. His lips brushed yours but he held back. You breathed slowly, taking in the moment. His warmth fanned across your face, sending comfort through your bones, and you knew that there was nothing in the galaxy you would trade for him. His protective arms draped around you, his forehead pressed against yours. You melted into him, letting your shoulders relax for the first time in days.

And then he kissed you so gently. You wondered for a moment if you’d imagined it. He pulled you in and deepened the kiss, holding onto you like you might be torn away at any moment. You gradually backed up until your back was pressed against the wall. His touch addicting, your deprived heart drew his in.

“We probably shouldn’t do this here,” he hummed. You paused to listen to his reasoning, but Hunter continued to leave long kisses along your neck, making it difficult to focus on anything else.

“I think you’re right,”

Hunter sighed and stood straight, peering longingly down at you. His voice was velvet to your ears. “I missed you, meshla,”

“Yes, but this isn’t the best place… Later?”

He grinned, tilting your chin up between his finger and thumb. He lowered his tone and said, “Anything for you, cyare.”

“Hmm, I bet they’re wondering what’s taking so long.”

“Frankly, if any of them don’t know at this point, I’d be shocked.”

You took his hand and left a final lingering kiss on his lips. “We still don’t want one of your bored brothers coming back here and seeing something he shouldn’t.”

“Maybe I don’t mind,” he slinked his arms back around you. As if on queue the cockpit’s door hissed open and Hunter jolted back, eyes wide as his face of horror donned. Wrecker froze, staring at him. Crosshair’s face melted into that of a sly cat.

You burst out laughing.

Famous last words.

//~//~//

Thanks so much for reading! Don’t forget to comment and reblog to show support for the artists of tumblr!

Masterlist

[ladylooch]

I have thots….

Mile high club

Timo is an obvi choice but may I present to you Barzy? Or MILES

And obvi if we’re talking OC’s for sure lio and con

Mmkay back to my bevies

😘🍻

I am having tequila high noons tonight… so it’s gonna be lit 🔥

The way you are making me choose about who to write this about.. what a predicament. 

But… my Woody girls are thirsty…. So let’s go with Miles MF Wood.

“Surprise!!!!” Miles yells as your sneakers hit the tarmac. The last fifteen minutes have been very confusing to you. You had arrived at the airport in Boston, ready for your new adventure together in Colorado. But everything took an unexpected turn when the car continued onto the tarmac of the airport. You were shuttled to a specific hanger that holds a private security area and the nicest airport lounge you have ever seen.

“We are flying private.” He wiggles his thick eyebrows at you.

“Baby, what…. This is… so…”

“Free!” He grins. “Paid for by our new team as a welcome to the Mile High City.” His arms stretch out to the side. The gap in his teeth is extra pronounced with his excitement. 

“Oh my god. I’m finally dating a real superstar.” You snort as you poke his stomach. His smile falls off. 

“Hey.”

“Sorry, you tee’d it up for me.”

You both get settled on the plane quickly taking off before you even register what is happening. Your take off drink of choices was mimosas due to the late morning time. 

“Cheers to our next adventure.” Miles clinks your glasses together. You take a sip, then his tongue chases the bubbles in your mouth, stretching out his seatbelt to maximum length.

“Babe.” You laugh at his aggressive kissing. Your plane is just hitting ten thousand feet and you feel a bit anxious as you always do during the first part of any flight. Something about being in a smaller plane isn’t very comforting to you.

“We are fucking before this plane ride is over.” Your boyfriend’s words snap you out of your anxious thoughts.

“What?”

“There is no way you’re getting off this plane without me being inside of you.”

“Babe!” You smack his huge thigh, glancing back at the flight attendant gathering together your cheese board appetizer. “No way.” You look at the lack of door between the cabin and the pilots as well as the openness of everything. Plus, you’re way too anxious of a flyer. “It would be so obvious.”

“I do not care.”

“Well, you’re not the only one participating.”

“You owe me. A bet is a bet.” Your face goes white. Shit. He is not actually making you pay up for your drunken bet that he wouldn’t go three years without getting replacement teeth. “You’re too vain.” You had giggled at him. Miles never “got around” to getting new teeth… and you didn’t really think anything of it because you love him and he’s so cute and sexy either way that whatever. Who needs teeth?

Damn, when did teeth get so negotiable to you.

Only Miles Wood could do that to you. And only he could make you unbuckle your seatbelt to straddle his lap. His prize for winning the bet was naming a time and place of his choice for you two to have sex. Apparently, this is the time and place. 

He reaches around your body to grab the inflight blanket provided. He folds it around your back. You have a full view of the flight attendant who has the cheese board in her hands, ready to walk it out to you. You make eye contact with her. You purse your lips. She immediately knows and turns around, closing the curtains.

“Oh my god. She closed the curtains.” You put your forehead on Miles’ shoulder in shame.

“Baby, they definitely deal with this all the time. With way grosser people than us. Let’s give them a show.”

“Miles, you fucker.” You whine as you reach for his belt. You cannot believe you are doing this. He is rigid beneath your fingers already panting at what you’re about to do. His blue eyes are wild with excitement as he grins at you. You take him out of his pants, unable to make eye contact with him as you stroke along his taut skin. He chuckles. 

“Baby, we don’t have to.” Him giving you the out makes you want it so much more. Your eyes meet his and he grins wider. “Yesssss, I knew you wanted to.”

“I see why you told me to wear the dress.” You had been debating between leggings and a dress, but he insisted on this.

“I’ve had this planned since I found out we were flying private.” He leans forward, sucking along your collarbone. “Fuck that feels good.” He moans as your fingers wrap tighter around him, stroking his length. “Oh.” He moans. 

“Okay you need to be quiet.” You say pointedly. He’s the loud one in this relationship. 

With his help, you shift your panties to the side. Miles leans his chair back, then guides your hips as you put him at your entrance. Your head falls back as you slide all the way down onto him. His thickness is intoxicating while stretching you to capacity. You roll your head forward again, watching the way his eyes flicker with waves of desire. His lips are pursed to keep his groans to himself.

Miles bucks into you. It’s a little awkward with not being able to move, but you find your rhythm quickly, wanting release.

“Ohhhmygod.” Miles’ head falls forward to your breasts, shoving between them as you squeeze his face between the mounds. “Baby.” He moans into your right breast, leaving a kiss there afterwards. 

Neither of you last long. It feels too good and so public and honestly, you needed this to relax and enjoy the rest of the flight. You rut into him with slow movements to bring you both down gently. Miles comes out from your breasts, puckering his lips for a kiss.

“I’m glad this is how we started our life in Colorado.”

“Me too.” You admit, brushing his curls off his forehead.

[princess-of-thebes-1995]

Damn it. You tried to sleep but couldn't. You felt lazy. You didn't do shit all day yet felt tired.

You wondered if this was normal. And your feet ached like hell. 

You were happy that you will get babies. Judging by your beautiful face and the handsome qualities of Quaritch, you know your babies will be exceptionally beautiful. 

But you just hated the bad side effects of being pregnant. You liked how your sexual libido increased. Your hair thickened and skin was glowing as hell. 

But the rest of the symptoms were bad.

Lyle was again assigned to look after you. While you were wallowing in self pity, he couldn't take it anymore. 

"Do you need a foot massage, buttercup?"

You looked over your shoulder. You were laying down on your back on your bed. You politely refused. 

"I can help. You look as if you're in pain."

You didn't see the desperation in his eyes. So you gave in. 

Lyle sat on the edge of your bed and began to stroke your swollen hobbit feet.

You let out a breath. It felt nice. Lyle felt his cock awakening as he touched you. Fuck. Screw this shit. He grabbed your face and kissed you hard. 

You tried to push him away but he held your face firm.

"Lyle wh-"

"I love you."

"Lyle…" you whispered. He bowed his head in shame.

"I know I shouldn't love the boss's fiance but I can't help it." 

Then an idea hatched up. 

"I want to run away to earth. I want to escape the base."

Lyle looked at you.

You told him to hack into the cameras in the room and give him a helicopter and in return you will sleep with him

Lyle immediately agreed. He turned off the cameras and deleted the part of where he kissed you. 

And so it happened. You awkwardly laid still as Lyle fucked you. He was more energetic than Quaritch. Well he was younger maybe that is why. He then would squeeze your big breasts and he then anally had sex with you. What a weirdo. How long was he waiting for you?

After he was out of breath, he gave you a small helicopter key. He will put an address and it will automatically land there. He then left and put the cameras back on. 

After cleaning yourself and the room. Quaritch came and of course he was horny. You decided to be sweet. 

You offered him wine and he drank it. But before he could fuck you, he collapsed on the floor. 

You then left 

True to his word, the helicopter landed to Grace's school and you decided to stay there. Grace was there to your surprise. Quaritch shot her in the arm and she was saved by the tribe.

Now she is healing and doing well. 

She saw your pregnancy and you told her your plans on going back to earth 

She agreed to help since she was the one who begged you to sleep with Quaritch to get on his good side. 

The months were long…. You wanted to quickly give birth so the small shuttle will take you back to your parents house. 

Luckily, your water broke. And Grace with the help of Jake and Norm transferred you to the abandoned container with medical machines. 

Jake and Norm had to leave and Grace stayed. She held your hand as you pushed out your three babies. 

They were so cute.

They all had bloody red lips, blue eyes and blonde hair. Well, your daughter's hair almost looked white. 

Nonetheless, they were exotically beautiful.

But suddenly you two heard a chopper land.

Soldiers slammed the door open and Quaritch stormed in. He looked so fuckin pissed. Scared you more than possible 

Grace threw a lamp at him but he ducked. She was detained and dragged away. The commotion caused your babies to cry. You held all three close in fear. Now what? You saw Lyle behind Quaritch but couldn't meet your eyes.

The Colonel ordered to be left alone and now you  what will happen. 

He was breathing heavy. He stared at your lovely face and then turned his attention to the wailing babies. You tried to hush them. 

The Colonel walked to you and grabbed your chin and made you look up at him.

"You successfully escaped me. If it wasn't for the radio signal of the computer Grace used. I wouldn't have found this container and you would have left for Earth."

"You tried to take my kids away from me." He squeezed your cheeks making your already fat plump lips more pouty.

"My babies from their father." He hissed with hate.

Your babies luckily stopped crying and were staring at Quaritch with blue eyes.

You gulped in nervousness. 

Quaritch sighed in exhaustion. "Hold on them tight."

The Colonel picked you up bridal style and you held on your babies as he walked to the chopper. 

You once again broke his heart.

When he came back from his shift to his shared room with you the night you ran away, he was for once happy. 

You smiled at him. He thought you finally loved him back. You offered him that homemade wine and he drank it. He suddenly felt sleepy and sluggish. He felt how he fell on his back. You didn't bother to care for his safety, the hard floor gave him a bruise on the head. You left him on the floor and didn't bother helping him to lay on the bed. Did you ever care for him a little? 

You ran away. You almost did once and this time you made it. 

He wasn't there to hold your hand as you pushed out his kids. He wasn't there when you were in your last semester of pregnancy. While you were gone, he searched the whole base. Then he found out how one old ass helicopter was missing and then he realized you were with the savages 

A traitor

And he saw the ticket you made online. You wanted to leave for Earth after giving birth.

You hated him that much? You hurt his feelings. Now he will have to hurt you. At least he will name his kids to the names he wants. 

[hugmekenobi]

S2: The Bad Batch (4)

Chapter Four: Faster

GIF by @azertyrobaz

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: Some time has passed since everything that happened at Kamino and you and the Batch are trying to figure out your place in the rapidly changing Imperial galaxy. And you're having to do all this whilst figuring out where your relationship with Hunter fits into it.

Chapter Summary: Two different missions with two different approaches but that end with the same realisation.

Masterlist for S1

<Previous Chapter

Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers (we're in the lovers stage now)

Chapter Warnings: Swearing, my own interpretation of the nerf nugget mission, chaos in the form of discovering human decency still exists, mild angst in the form of unhealthy eating habits (only for this chapter)/mentions of food, Cid being Cid, fluff, mild hurt/comfort, canon-typical risks and mentioned droid death, mentions of gambling

Word Count: 4.9K

Author's notes: Back on following the episode plots again :), only added a little bit of my own spin on things this time! Excited to get to work on Ch5 now. Hope y'all enjoy!!

Wrecker studied the Dejarik board carefully before he made his move. He chuckled smugly as his pieces knocked out some of Omega’s. “I got ya this time.”

Omega just gave him a somewhat pitying look before she programmed in her move and her player swiftly wiped out all of Wrecker’s.

Wrecker let out an aggrieved shout. “What-” He broke off with a groan.

Omega laughed gleefully. “Now you owe me two cartons of Mantell Mix.”

Well, he couldn’t have that. “Not so fast. One more game. Double or nothing.” Wrecker offered.

“Hey! Quit running up the power bill.” Cid snapped as she emerged from her office. “It’s time to get to work. I got another job for you.” She turned off the game.

“But the other three aren’t back from their mission yet.” Omega reminded her.

“I would not call transporting 50 cases of nerf nuggets a “mission”.” Tech interjected from the bar. “Nor is it a proper use of our skill set.” He added pointedly.

“Yeah, well, your skill set will come in real useful on this one.” Cid replied. “Especially you, Muscles. You’re gonna be my security crew.” She walked towards the exit.

“We will require a more detailed briefing than that.” Tech called after her.

“No time. The shuttle’s waiting.” Cid said dismissively.

“Maybe it’ll be fun.” Omega said optimistically as Wrecker chucked her bow and hat.

“Works for me.” Wrecker grunted.

Tech sighed. It looked like without the presence of you three, it was his turn to be the assigned sensible crew member.

--

“Hey, Hunter. Do you know there’s a whole row of nuggets missing from this crate?” Echo called over to the cockpit.

Shit, shit, shit. You thought anxiously. You had forgotten all about that. You kept your gaze focused on the blue hyperspace swirls in the space outside the window.

“No.” Hunter replied quizzically. He got out his chair and manoeuvred his way around the many boxes to where Echo was standing and sure enough, there was indeed a section that was nuggetless. “Huh. That’s weird.”

Echo let out a frustrated groan. “I bet Wrecker just helped himself before we left. He will eat anything.”

“Yeah, I’ll talk to him when we’re back.”

Well, you couldn’t allow that to happen. “It wasn’t Wrecker.” You called over to them as you shimmied past a crate.

“And how do you know?” Echo queried.

You hesitated a moment before you mumbled, “It was me.” Your eyes focused on the floor in shame.

“You thought you’d just help yourself when you knew they were for a mission?” Echo said with a frown.

“I spotted the crates in her office yesterday. There was no sign, no indication that they were for anything other than her personal use, so I took some.” You said defensively, crossing your arms.

“But why? I’d expect that sorta behaviour from Wrecker but not you.”

“It just happened, okay. Leave it.” You snapped. You regretted your tone immediately. You didn’t want them to bear the brunt of the frustration and anger that you were actually feeling towards yourself.

“No. That’s not an answer.” Echo retorted.

Hunter could tell by the way your feet shifted and the way you kept adjusting your gloves that there was more to this than a simple lack of willpower for something other than rations. “What is it you’re not telling us?”

“It’s nothing.” You said dismissively.

“(Y/N).” Hunter pressed.

“Yeah, you kinda owe us an explanation. You’ve put our credits at risk.” Echo added crossly.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.” You said sincerely. “I didn’t mean to. I-” You stopped and ran a hand across your face. “Before I tell you both, I want you to know that it wasn’t a big deal, I know what I can handle, and I am fine.” You looked at Hunter when you said that last part.

“Okay…” Echo said, his eyes narrowing slightly, unsure as to what you were going to say.

Hunter found himself getting nervous. Why wouldn’t you be fine?

You took a deep breath. “So, you know how the recent jobs from Cid have had a bit more of a divide and conquer approach? And for the past few I’ve been on the delivering and credit receiving end of things?”

“Uh huh.” They both said. The start of this elongated explanation you were providing wasn’t doing much in the way of diffusing the tense atmosphere. Clearly, you felt it necessary to soften the blow of whatever it was.

“And we usually get a cut from Cid after each mission and it’s always in her favour, but we still have enough to, you know, eat?” You watched them both nod. “Well, in the recent days, that cut has been growing more and more in her favour and when I argued with her about it, she claimed with the Empire growing by the day, she needed the bigger cut to keep her operation covert and it was either this or nothing and uh, that kinda hit our finances hard, particularly in the food department.”

Hunter’s jaw clenched; he didn’t like where this was going.  

Knowing that this next bit wasn’t going to be met well, you found yourself pulling your vibroblade in and out of your vambrace. “And um I figured you all would need the regular amounts of stuff and I didn’t want to raise unnecessary concern, so I made the decision to cut back on mine. For the most part, it was fine, I only caved yesterday when I saw them sitting there. It kinda all hit at once and I couldn’t help it and I took some.”

They were both silent for a moment before Hunter broke the quiet. “How many missions?”

“Uhhh only like the um past… five.” You winced out. He sounded too calm about this, and it unnerved you.

Echo didn’t quite know what to say. He hadn’t expected that.

Hunter had to take a moment to compose himself before he spoke. The fact that Cid had forced you into a situation like that in the first place almost had him turning the ship around. And the fact you had gone through it alone wasn’t helping. “You haven’t been eating for five days?” His voice wavering slightly as he struggled to keep his emotions at bay.

Sensing his growing feelings of upset and stress, you spoke quickly, “Not quite. Remember we had that day where we had two missions for the price of one.”

Hunter shook his head and his hands fell to his waist. Your attempts to downplay things weren’t helping to alleviate his concerns. “(Y/N)-”

“And I had scraps but sure I guess technically I haven’t had a proper meal or set of rations for four days.” You continued nonchalantly.

“And you didn’t tell us? Tell me?” Hunter asked. He couldn’t hide the hurt or mild frustration in his voice at the thought of you putting yourself through that and not telling any of them.

“Are you asking me as my Sergeant or as my partner?” You deflected.

“Both.”

“Should I leave and pretend not to hear this from the cockpit?” Echo interrupted quickly. You two, for the most part, were completely professional when on missions but he could feel some tension rising and he did not want to be in the middle of a couple’s argument with the two of you.

“No, it’s fine, Echo.” You responded. “Right, Hunter?”

Hunter took a deep breath and reminded himself that the main person who deserved his anger was back on Ord Mantell. He wasn’t mad at you. Irritated at your suffer in silence, laid back attitude maybe but there wasn’t anything to fight over here. “Yeah, it’s fine.”

You began your explanation. “I didn’t want to add any extra stress and I knew if it were up to the rest of you to do something with the amount we had, you wouldn’t get enough. Omega needs a proper meal and Wrecker too. Tech is too busy looking at his datapad or whatever new project takes his fancy that he’d forget to feed himself if someone wasn’t putting the food in front of his face and he was recovering from a severe injury so I knew he couldn’t go without.” You sheathed your vibroblade and faced them both again. “Echo, I care about you, but you are a very picky eater, and I didn’t want to deviate from anything and run the risk of you not being able to find something you liked. And Hunter, I knew if I said anything to you, you’d immediately make sure we’d all be provided for, and you would be the one to suffer for it. You have enough going on, you deserved to eat properly and not worry about something for a change. So, I decided to pull rank. Afterall, I was a general back in the day and decided the food situation was simply a need-to-know basis.” You glanced back down at the floor.

Hunter released an exasperate sigh, but he found himself giving you a small smile to lighten the mood slightly. The only person who deserved his anger was Cid and you were being unnecessarily hard enough on yourself already. “Well, first of all, I think you lost your rank when you chose to leave.”

You couldn’t really disagree with him on that one. It had been a rather weak defence. “Fair enough.” You conceded with the corner of your mouth twitching into a slight grin.

“Second of all, and I can speak for everyone here when I say that that is both incredibly kind and generous but idiotic of you to do. We need you at full strength too and I’m sure we can find ways around this. We can all sacrifice a bit; it doesn’t need to all be on you.”

“But-”

“I’ll talk to Cid. See if we can sort something out. In the meantime, we can still make do but we will all take less and continue to make sure Omega has full meals.” Hunter said. “She keeps pulling stuff like that now, it’s getting to be more of a problem.” He said, a hint of anger rising in his voice. Things had always been unequal with Cid, but they hadn’t really been any worse off, now that was changing, and it wouldn’t be sustainable or fair to keep going like that. It had already started to affect you and he didn’t want that for you or his squad. “Think the boys’ll agree to that?” He asked his brother.

“Definitely.” Echo agreed. “Although Wrecker might take some convincing.” He joked.

“Thank you.” You said quietly.

“We’re a squad. We look out for each other. The self-sacrifice isn’t a requirement.” Hunter reassured you as he laid a hand on your shoulder.

“I hate to bring it up though but what about the client?” Echo asked.

“Hope he doesn’t look too closely at every box.” Hunter said simply. “It’s all we can do.”

“I’m sorry, guys.” You mumbled guiltily. Of course, you found a way to complicate the simplest mission.

“It’s okay. You didn’t know and if anything, I should be thanking you for looking out for us like that.” Echo appeased. “We’ll find a way out. We always do.”

“Exactly.” Hunter agreed, pulling you into his chest. “Although, next time, please just tell me. Share the load, remember?” He muttered into your hair.

You hummed out a short laugh. “Guess I gotta work on that too.”

--

“Well, everything appears to be in order.” The client said with a clap of his hands. “You all were very efficient, I’m impressed.”

“It’s what we do, sir.” You said cheerily as you laid the last crate down. The rather unsophisticated strategy had been to be as accommodating and as friendly as possible in the hopes that whoever you were going to be dealing with would let you all away with the money without feeling the need to double check the delivery. What had greeted had caught you off guard. Your client was waiting with a tray of beverages and immediately, very politely, asked for your names and enquired about your wellbeing. So, in the end, he’d made it quite an easy feat. You weren’t used to dealing with many pleasant people on Cid’s missions, but this man was a breath of fresh air. A simple diner owner who seemed to be perfectly content with his place in the galaxy.

“Now, I just need to check that each one has the correct amount. I’ve been scammed before, so I’ve learned to be cautious.” He said lightly.

The three of you shared a panicked look.

“We can just get paid and get out of your hair.” Hunter said, barely concealing the uneasiness in his tone as he saw him begin to go through each crate.

“You must understand that I can’t be too careful these days. Business is tough enough as it is with how the Empire is running things. I need certain assurances.”

Hunter. Let me try something.

Hunter half turned to face you and nodded.

You called on the Force and subtly waved your hand in his direction. It was a longshot since he seemed pretty sharp, but it was your last card to play. “You don’t need to check every box.”

The client gave you a puzzled look. “Yes, I do, I just explained why I had to.”

You bit back your frustrated groan and the three of you could only watch as he continued investigating each box before he finally arrived at the sight of your mistake.

“Now, I believe I wanted 50 full crates of nuggets or there wouldn’t be a payment. Care to explain what happened here?” He asked the three of you coolly.

You felt Hunter and Echo beside you both go to speak, and you knew they would try to cover for you, but you needed to own your error and you took this man for someone appreciated honesty.

“I ate some.” You admitted shamefacedly. There was no sense in lying to him.

“Oh dear oh dear, that won’t do.” He said, giving the three of you a disappointed look. “You were attempting to get away with it.”

“We needed the money.” You attempted to explain.

“We all need money, that doesn’t make deceit okay.” He scolded. “Why should I pay you for this?”

“I understand why you’re upset sir, but when my team is struggling to eat, I have to do what I can to change it. A mistake was made but we need that money.” Hunter answered.

“What can I do?” You asked. “Please don’t punish them for something I did.”

“What can we do?” Hunter corrected, giving you a pointed look.

Right, no self-sacrifice. You said giving him a slight smile.

“You ever get tired of being a third wheel?” The client asked Echo, gesturing at you and Hunter. He wasn’t a fool. The automatic defence Hunter had provided you and the way the two of you had looked at each other both now and when the crates were being unloaded, it was like there was an understanding, an unspoken language between you that only you two were in on. He’d had that. Once. A long time ago.

Echo merely grunted, neither in agreement nor disagreement.

Your attention turned back to the client. “We’re a capable bunch, there has to be some way we can all get what we want.”

The client pondered for a few moments before he looked to Echo. “You know your way around machinery?”

Echo’s back straightened. “Yes, sir.”

He released a low hum before he faced you and Hunter. “And do you two think you could handle waiting some tables? Two of my staff called in sick and I haven’t found covers.”

“Definitely.” You said swiftly whilst Hunter nodded.

He hummed in thought again. “Echo, my dishwasher has been acting up and I haven’t had enough finances to cover the cost of a new one. If you can fix it, and if you two are servers for the length of time it takes you to fix it, I’ll still pay you in full.”

“You’d- you’d what?” You questioned, utterly taken aback. There was no way this was real.

“I’d still pay you in full if you’d do a bit of additional work.” He maintained.

“That’s it?” Hunter double checked.

“That’s it. You seem like nice people stuck in an unfortunate position. I’ve had dealings with Cid before and I believe that she hasn’t made things easy for you. Do these things for me, and we can go our separate ways without any unpleasantries.” He replied merrily before he waved you all inside.

“With all due respect, sir, how have you survived this long?” You couldn’t help but ask as you followed him in. “Decent people tend not to succeed in this galaxy.”

He sighed. “A question I ask myself every day.”

--

“So, we got a mild reprimand and then had to do an hour’s worth of extra labour to leave with the amount of money we were promised? Plus, he gave us some food and let us keep our servers’ tips?” You felt the need to say out loud as you held the small container of food in front of you. It was the first mission in Force knows how long that hadn’t ended with your blasters drawn and barely getting away alive and you weren’t really sure that it had actually happened. It just didn’t feel natural.

“I’m just as confused as you are.” Hunter responded, staring at the extra credits in his hand as you all walked back to the ship.

“I’ve been thinking it over in my head and I still don’t know how this was a success.” Echo agreed. “He must’ve really needed that dishwasher fixed.”

“Or he’s just really that good a guy and it hasn’t gotten him killed yet.” You added as an alternative.

The three of you walked in comfortable silence until you spoke again as the ship came into view. “The others aren’t going to believe it. A mission like that just doesn’t happen for us.” You said with a laugh.

“I wonder how they’re getting on without us there to supervise.” Echo mused.

“I dread to think.” Hunter said as he opened the ship’s ramp.

“We’ve left them alone. Without a job. In Cid’s parlour. Omega will just be playing Dejarik with them the whole time. How much trouble could they possibly get into?” You said as you boarded the ship.

--

“I will be the racer.” Tech volunteered confidently. Being the sensible one had promptly disappeared from his head. In his defence, he had tried in the beginning but the chaos of the environment they had found themselves in had called upon a more relaxed approach. Being responsible wouldn’t get them very far here, although Cid had probably swayed too far in the irresponsible direction. A rather problematic problem that had been increasing by the day.

Safa Toma was indeed a ‘little rough around the edges’ as Cid described it, if not more so. And now they were having to bail Cid out of trouble with an old partner. His name was Millegi and he was calling in the bet money Cid owed him. With her way out of the situation- her riot racer droid Tay-O- being destroyed, not once but twice- both times by Millegi’s racers- Tech found himself listening to Omega’s pleas and offered to take TAY-O’s place. He reckoned it would be simple enough. He’d studied the track and the other racers, and he had no doubts about his abilities. TAY-O’s strategy had been flawed anyway; he’d have lost regardless. Tech knew he wouldn’t.

Wrecker started to laugh, thinking this was one of his brother’s attempts at humour but one look at Tech’s face told him this was anything but. “He’s not joking.” He said, his laugh rapidly disappearing to be replaced with concern.

“You heard him. The bet’s still on.” Cid told Millegi firmly.

Tech held the gangster’s stare.

“I never stop a fool from giving his life to make me rich.” Millegi said in response.

--

Tech entered the pod and examined the controls. Things looked relatively straightforward. He listened to the announcer list the names of his fellow competitors, including Jet Venim, Millegi’s champ and the one who had caused TAY-O to wipe out in the first place. The only brief moment of awkwardness he felt was when the commentator and the crowd seemed confused as to the simplicity of his name. He couldn’t dwell on it though; the race was about to begin. He watched the lights change and the race began.

--

Tech found himself at the back of the line but that was okay for now. He’d rather get a gauge of the driving strategies and abilities of his competitors and understand the layout of the track more before diving in search of getting that first place.

--

“What place is he in?” Wrecker asked Omega as they waited in the pitstop.

“Last, but he’s catching up.” Omega said positively as she looked up from her viewing pad.

Wrecker took out his comm, that wouldn’t do at all. “Tech, you gotta be in front to win!” He felt the need to remind him of that crucial detail.

“I know what I am doing. It’s called strategy.” Tech replied breezily.

“No, it’s called losing.” Wrecker retorted.

--

Tech paid his brother’s words little attention. Contrary to Wrecker’s beliefs, what he was doing was going to ensure his victory. He came out onto the part of the course where there was a choice of three tunnels. It was then he heard Omega’s voice through the comms.

“Tech, don’t take the left tunnel. Cid said it’s a death trap!”

That very idea intrigued him, but he went through the centre tunnel first. “Transfer the schematics of the left tunnel to my display.”

“On it.” Omega replied.

This worried Wrecker though. “Right now? Shouldn’t you just focus on not getting blown up?”

“I can do both.” Tech replied self-assuredly.

--

He was finally making some headway in the race but the racer behind him was hitting him with some rapid fire.

“Your shields are overheating!” Omega commed in.

This wasn’t an issue though. “Yes. I am allowing for adequate energy to be distributed from weapons to shields.” He explained.

“Tech, they’re all over you.” Omega replied back anxiously.

“I need more speed.” Tech muttered to himself as he studied his monitor. He emerged from the tunnel and pulled off into the pit stop.

“Tech’s coming in.” Omega said.

“Well, what’s he doing?” Wrecker asked as he turned away from the box of tools he was looking at.

Tech didn’t really need to stop though. He released his weapons and kept going.

“Your weapons.” Omega said into her comm.

“They were slowing me down.” Tech responded quickly before he started playing catch up once more. He weaved around the obstacles in the first tunnel and found it a much smoother feat. “That worked. I now have increased speed and manoeuvrability.” He told Omega and Wrecker as a means of reassurance.

“Yeah, that’s great, but you’re still in last place.” Wrecker griped.

“The tunnel’s coming up again.” Omega said before she studied her pad. “Wait. A large part of the track is missing. That’s why the racers avoid it.”

Upon hearing her, Tech glanced down at his dashboard. “It is also the shortest tunnel. I can use it to my advantage.”

“It’s too dangerous. The speeder can’t make that jump!” Omega warned him.

“It will if I’m going fast enough.” Tech hypothesized and when the choice came, he went into the left tunnel.

Wrecker and Omega could only watch on, their nerves increasing each second Tech was in that tunnel.

--

As the gap in the track approached, Tech veered up one way to gather enough speed and momentum to swing across to the other side and make his driving across the roof of the tunnels an easier task. An easy task for him, but not for the opponent behind him who fell victim to the gaping hole in the track.

He came out of the tunnel to find that he was narrowing in on the lead.

“It worked. You’re closing in!” Omega informed in in relief.

Tech managed to weave his way into runner up and he was closing in on Jet by the second. His shields were being put to the test however as Jet Venim fired on him and he was starting to be boxed in by the racer behind him.

“You’re losing shields.” Omega commed in worriedly.

“Don’t let ‘em box you in!” Wrecker added uneasily as both he and Omega watched the big screen in front of them.

Tech saw on his scope that his two rivals were attempting the same move that had seen them beat TAY-O in the first race, but he wouldn’t be caught out by it. He waited until the last moment before he swerved out of the way of the grappling hook that was aiming to grab the back of his pod. He pulled back and watched as the hook snagged onto Jet’s pod instead and the jagged, circular saw that had been intended for the front of Tech’s vehicle, found a new target instead.

The two pods crashed into each other as all three emerged into the final straight.

“Here they come. It’s going to be close!” The announcer shouted excitedly as clouds of dust erupted from the crash. “And the winner is…”

--

Wrecker and Omega watched restlessly as they waited for Tech to come through unscathed and as the winner. They let out a collective cheer when they heard Tech’s name come from the announcer and saw his pod come whizzing through the finish line.

Tech left his pod and took his helmet off to greet a rather ecstatic Omega and Wrecker.

“You did it!” Omega yelled happily.

“You sound surprised.” Tech replied plainly. He’d never doubted the outcome of this for a second.

“Yeah!” Wrecker said with a hearty laugh. “I thought you were a goner.”

 “Tech! Tech! Tech! Tech! Tech!”

Tech turned back to face the crowd of people that were chanting and cheering his name. Not quite sure how to handle such adoration, he simply gave a small smile and a casual salute of his fingers in acknowledgment.

--

The three of them walked into Millegi’s bar.

“We’re here for Cid!” Wrecker said firmly as he cracked his neck and knuckles to intimidate the goons around them.

“A deal’s a deal. We’re square.” Millegi pacified.

“That was some racing, Goggles.” Cid said appreciatively. “I, uh, I-I- Well, I guess I owe ya one.” She stumbled over the words clumsily.

“Yes. I would agree.” Tech replied coolly.

“I’ll make it up to ya.” Cid snipped before she pushed Tech’s shoulder. “Come on. We’re outta here.”

As they made their way to follow her out, movement caught Millegi’s attention, and he stopped the Nosaurian from reaching for his blaster.  “Hey, you three.”

Tech, Wrecker and Omega turned back to face Millegi.

“You could have walked away. That loyalty is admirable, but with Cid, it doesn’t always go both ways. Watch your backs.”

They said nothing in reply, instead they just walked out with Tech laying a reassuring hand on Omega’s shoulder and Wrecker doing the same to Tech’s. All of them quite happy to leave Safa Toma behind them and in silent agreement that you, Hunter and Echo wouldn’t need to hear about this once you were back from your rather easy mission.

--

“Cid. I need to talk to you about-”

“Not now, Bandana.” Cid replied grumpily as she walked through to her office.

Hunter sighed but quickly concealed his grimace when he saw Omega and his brothers coming through the door.

“You’re back!” Omega exclaimed happily as she bounded up to where you were sitting.

“Yeah, we’ve been back for a while. Was wondering where you all had gotten too.” You said as you embraced the young girl.

“Where were you?” Hunter asked as Wrecker and Tech came in.

“Oh… uh… we were just helping Cid out with something.” Wrecker stammered awkwardly and ill-prepared to see the three of you back waiting for them.

“What something?” Echo questioned suspiciously.

“Nothing too dangero-”

“Tech became a riot race to pay of Cid’s debt and it was awesome!! He beat everyone and the crowd went crazy!!” Omega revealed excitedly and immediately forgetting that that fact was supposed to be left unsaid. It just seemed too cool a thing to not share.

“You did what?!” The three of you shouted in Tech’s direction.

“It was a relatively simple challenge.” Tech said with a shrug.

“Tech…” You said with a sigh.

“We really cannot leave you three alone.” Echo grumbled with a shake of his head as his hand came across his eyes.

“Low profile. We’re supposed to be keeping a low profile.” Hunter muttered tiredly as he pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

You took Hunter’s free hand and rubbed your thumb across the back of it in comfort. At least you won, I guess but don’t go making a habit of it please. I’m worried about his blood pressure.

Tech gave you a quick smile before he addressed the group. “We have bigger things to be concerned about.” He wasn’t feeling the need to debate the course of action he’d taken. The end result was a success, that was all that mattered to him at the moment and there were more important things to discuss. “We need to talk about Cid.”

“Hmph funny you mention that.” You mumbled.

Wrecker, Tech, and Omega looked at the three of you in curiosity.

“We need to talk about Cid too.” Hunter said. “And uh there’s going to be some changes to our rations.”

Next Chapter>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @tpwkcalli, @fuckoffthanos, @arctrooper69, @graciexmarvel, @flyingkangaroo, @nightmonkeysstuff, @brujaporfavor, @sunkissedclones, @ladytano420, @dragonrider9905, @keep-calm-and-drink-caf, @yyourmotherr, @xxeiraxx

[catcucumber-salad]

IMMORTAL HEART Season 1: The Executor

Chapter 1…

Warnings: Character Death, graphic description of body, graphic description of wounds, blood and injury, ANGST, Amputation.

No they don’t, they don’t want to…

Not one soul they won’t go through…

Can’t heal pain or my wounds…

No they don’t they don’t want to…

The wind was quiet on Eriadu, a stark difference to the blaster fire and explosions that wrought havoc through the skies earlier. The forest was quiet as the squads of clone commandoes searched the area, the line of soldiers slowly approaching where a tramcar had fallen from a thousand feet above.

“Sir, we’re approaching the wreckage.” The lead commando spoke into his helmet comm. After a moment, RC-1262, formerly known to his previous squad as Scorch, nodded in response to an order given to him via the shielded comm inside his helmet.

“All squads, weapons at the ready, we’re approaching the site.”

The ram car was a mangled mess, the figure that was seen falling with the thing could not have survived the impact, it just wasn’t possible…

The wreckage was so damaged, the electronics weren’t even sparking. The soldiers moved around the tram car until it was surrounded and Scorch signaled for one squad to move in and search the wreckage.

The soldiers moved carefully out of habit, searching the near flattened tramcar for any signs of the member of Clone Force 99 that was seen to have fallen with it. Scorch waited outside the ring of soldiers until Hemlock walked up behind him, the scientist having followed the search party from a distance.

“Anything?” Hemlock inquired,

“No sir, my men are still searching the wreckage.” Scorch spoke.

Hemlock took a moment, looking down as he caressed his gloved hand in the other in front of him, “If the clone is alive, have him immediately tended to. Be a shame to let something so valuable go to waste.”

Scorch nodded in acknowledgment, “and if he’s dead sir?”

Hemlock pressed his lips into a thin line, “Bring him anyway, there may still be something of use to the project.”

At that moment, one of the commandoes exits the wreckage, “Sir, we have found the defective clone.” He reported and Scorch reached a hand up to his helmet to signal for medical help when the soldier spoke again. “We checked for a pulse and went as far as a scan sir but…”

Hemlock sighed, “Unfortunate, but not unforeseen.” He spoke, walking past the line of soldiers towards the remains of the tramcar. “No one could have survived that fall, not with this hulk of metal plummeting with you.” The scientist mused as he entered the dark remains of metal. “Such a shame that so much potential was wasted on rebellion.” Hemlock shook his head, standing above the body. “Bring it with, there will still be use for this one…”

Dark and wild dreams come back when I lay down…

Drowning inside this sea of empty love…

Inside my soul I feel things won’t end this lifetime…

Maybe my fate, it’s out of time… (out of time…)

Soldiers entered the wreckage carrying a stretcher, two of them walking over to the corpse and lifting it onto the device, the commando who had held Tech’s bloody shoulders stepping back with a barely audible ‘I’m sorry’ that was processed as a soft feed of static from his helmet vocabulator. The stretcher was then hauled up and carried out as none of the Commandoes paid any mind to dripping trail of blood.

They group proceeded through the forest back to where the shuttle Hemlock had been in landed. “Make sure to clean that up as soon as you’re done” he clipped as he walked to the cockpit as Scorch had the soldiers to place Tech’s body in an empty heavy ammunitions crate. Scorch stood over it for a moment longer before walking away and shaking a few intrusive memories out of his head.

“Sir?” he asked as he walked into the cockpit.

“Set a course for Weyland immediately.” Hemlock spoke. Scorch nodded and looked at the pilot who then began to start up the ship and fly it out of atmosphere.

“A shame, but not a loss” Hemlock muttered to himself before the ship’s comms started beeping. The scientist’s eyebrows furrowed as he slowly turned his head towards it. It was beeping in a particular tone, unknown ID. “merely an opportunity…” He whispered as she strode over and took the comm call before one of the commandoes could answer it themselves. The ship was a few moments from clearing atmosphere when Hemlock pressed the ‘receive’ button. “This is a private military channel. Who is this?”

“Why a potential buyer, Doctor… Royce… Hemlock…” A gravelly scratchy voice spoke.

“Buyer of what May I ask? And how did you get this channel?” Hemlock demanded.

“Why a buyer of rare “genetic materials”,” The voice responded.

“You failed to answer my other question, stranger” Hemlock hissed as the blue atmosphere of Eriadu faded away to reveal the stars.

“Perhaps this would ring a bell for you,” the voice spoke again, a smirk very, very audible through the feedback, “The Hyper Ring project, the Empire requires a new type of hyperdrive to stay well ahead of its growing opposition after all.”

“What does a mechanical engineer need with “genetic material”?” Hemlock snapped.

“What every scientist is desperate for these days. Security.” The voice spoke.

“Why not commission a clone squadron?” Hemlock asked before adding, “Why bother me?”

“Because I am looking for an ideal specimen Royce.” They spoke, and the usage of his first name made Hemlock’s right eye twitch. The stars-forsaken AUDACITY-

“I do not care what you give me Doctor, I don’t even care if it’s dead, in fact! It would be very, very preferable.”

Hemlock furrowed his eyebrows, “and what do I receive in return?” he asked.

“The whereabouts of many clone deserters all across the galaxy.” The voice spoke, “Trust me they are good at hiding, but I know where many of them are.”

Hemlock grit his teeth. He didn’t need much from the defective clone’s corpse sitting in the shuttle’s hold for his project, and he would end up disposing of the cadaver afterwards anyways. “Where do we meet?” Hemlock asked.

“A seedy backwater planet of sand.” The voice spoke, “Ord’ Mantel”

Hemlock thought for a moment, the amount of genetic material he would really need for his project was blood, some muscle tissue and bone marrow samples. Each one easily acquired in an arm or leg. “Deal.” Hemlock spoke and after a moment the caller shut off their commlink. Hemlock stroked his chin for a moment before turning to Scorch, “Change of plans, set course for Ord’ Mantel.” He spoke as he walked to the hold.

He walked over to where the crate holding Tech’s body lay, one of the clone’s arms hanging over the edge, his bloody hand just visible under the gray tarp one of the clones laid over him. One of the nearby clone commandoes was sharpening his knife, “You,” Hemlock spoke and the clone snapped to attention. “Come, I require your assistance…”

No one loved my heart, baby no one loved my pain!

They been watching all my tears, I went under…

No one loved my heart, baby no one loved my pain!

Never even got no peace, just some nightmares…

The air on Ord’ mantel was arid and dry, Hemlock had to wonder why anyone in their sane mind would choose this planet as a meeting place. Soon another imperial shuttle came into view, landing right across from Hemlock’s shuttle. The landing ramp was opened and a blonde clone wearing something that looked like a cross between the standard Imperial laboratory attire and a business suit. As the clone approached, a datapad in his hand, Hemlock noticed this clone had… red irises.

“Doctor Hemlock I believe?” he spoke and Hemlock nodded. The clone extended his hand with the datapad, “This contains all the information on 45 clone deserters across the galaxy. If you move fast enough, you can catch all of them. I assume you have the subject discussed with the one over comms?”

Hemlock nodded and gestured for two commandoes behind him to carry out the ammunitions crate holding the defective clone’s body now wrapped up in a more dignified manner and deposited it at the blonde clone’s feet.

“I see all is in order then!” The blonde Clone smiled and handed the datapad over to Hemlock. Two Stormtroopers then ran out of the other imperial shuttle and carried the crate back. “Pleasure doing business with you.” The clone spoke with a twisted smile as he turned and walked back to his shuttle.

At that moment, Scorch ran out of their shuttle up to Hemlock, “Sir, we’ve just received the whereabouts of the female clone you had put up a search for-” he spoke but stopped midsentence as Hemlock put up his hand to silence him. The scientist was scrolling the datapad in his other hand, his eyes searching the screen before stopping at one line:

Female Clone Omega, whereabouts, Ord’ Mantel.

              /figured you’d like this one ;)

Hemlock was torn between irritation and relief. Perhaps there was something to be gained from this after all. “Make for the city. Our next target is there.” Hemlock ordered as strode back to the shuttle, ignoring the long bloody cloth sitting on one of the nearby weapon crates, and walked right into the cockpit. Scorch, followed soon after, noticing one of the other commandoes holding a bloody knife in a quivering bloody hand as he used his clean hand to move the cloth on the crate to hide the hand of the severed arm.

Till the day we’re gone, till all life are gonna fall,

Maybe I’m to face it all, I’m stranded…

I’ve been looking for a place, Imma need to hide my face,

Am I ever gonna?

Scorch turned around and watched as the other shuttle take off, a long lost part of him deep inside wondering what was going to happen to the clone’s body, if it was going to be defiled by the wrongness of experimentation or worse. The commando shook his head and ordered his men to shut the ramp door.

They had other fish to fry…

Mo’Je Mo’Re…

------ @aesira-of-orion @locitapurplepink @chaioticcoffee @clownery-and-fuckery @superciput @emerie-karr @zaya-mo

Song is Dzanum by Teya Dora, English translation remix is by Mazin Fashi on YouTube

[locking-the-tomb]

Third Read Notes & Soundtrack

I wallowed for about 14 hours after finishing my Nona reread and decided to start over again and write myself some summaries during The Wait.

Gideon the Ninth Chapter 1

In which we learn Gideon is a goob but we love her.

Gideon is escaping. She stole a security cuff key but left the cuff on until the morning of. She's taking her sword, her "shoes" - later called steel toed boots- , and her smut mags. Her clothes are all synthetics. She has enough hair to brush. She knows about chocolates and fancy hotels, somehow ... from mags? From Wake/mom's niche is 22 flights of stairs up to the landing field, which is still at the bottom of a deep tunnel. There are lamps on but they're low. She's kicking apart lumps of "rubble" but that's not further described. She eats porridge from a plastic bag then throws the bag over a rail somewhere. There's a balcony area. Skeletons with red eyes go to pick snow leeks.

There are white castle doors at the bottom, "three bodies wide and six bodies tall". She talks about the figures carved into the area above the doors and remembers screaming as a kid about them creeping her out. I wonder what they are, maybe related to the killed generation? How much trauma from a two year old survivor of all the kids dying?

Muster call (20 Bells) calls back the skeletons.

That's when the Marshall/Crux stomps in to accuse her. Gideon says, "say my shuttle exploded, I died and it was such a shame". 😳 (Crux thinks great idea, will do) Introduces Frontline Titties of the Fifth. He calls her chattel. He wears a big knife over a shoulder.

He gives an impressive number of threats. Gideon wasn't bothered by Crux's threats. But then he invoked Harrow and her "palms prickled". He leaves and Aiglamene enters. Gideon says she's tried to enlist 33 times. Aiglamene has a badly repaired missing leg and a scarred face.

Gideon lists what's happened when she's tried to leave before: jammed in lift, turned off heat frostbite in three toes, poisoned. She clarifies that she's indentured not a slave and claims she's not of fiscal use there. She says she will "you can quote me 'do my duty to the ninth' ". Gideon goes on a rant about "your lady" with a host of great insults, then gets slapped.

"Nobody had ever loved her in the ninth". Aiglamene was the reason she got to have a sword and training. "I'm naturally demeaning". Aiglamene walks away and Gideon falters a bit but sticks.

"Nav was a Niner name". Mentions the prison as a bubble halfway up in the atmosphere. At the end of the chapter we get the limited story of day-old Gideon being in a bio container plugged into the suit of a braindead woman who had fallen in a suit down the shaft 18 years ago. None of the Ninth necromancers could get her ghost to do more than scream Gideon three times then she fled.

"They chipped her, surnamed her, and put her in the nursery". I don't think they mention the chips again, interesting. She was kid #201. Where did the kids come from? Had they been harvesting gametes and growing them? Because the "old" people going into the doors were heavily outnumbered by skeletons. Then two years later it was just her, Harrow (who still hasn't been directly introduced as other then Lady), and Ortus. By 10 she "knew too much and that she could never be allowed to go". Of course. Because that's when Harrow had opened the tomb and her parents had died. She had started trying to escape when she was 4.

Thoughts. What's up with all the plastic? Isn't plastic from petroleum? How would Pluto have petroleum?

[badwryter]

Chapter 2: Trail Blazing

Delphi sat with her back leaned against her bed. Her armor was strewn about the floor in front of her as she inspected every single piece. Her hands deftly turned them over while her eyes scanned every nook and cranny.

"I don't see any tracking devices." She muttered aloud while stretching her legs.

"Shame."

"We don't even know if we could have followed the signal back."

"My current limitations can be solved."

"I'm not breaking into the city's central computers just because you don't like living in my head."

She grabbed a packet of instant coffee and filled a mug with water. Setting the mug in the microwave she pressed the minute button while tearing the packet open with her teeth. The hum of the microwave filled the air as her fingers tappes idly against the counter top.

"I think we're going to have to check the maintenance records." She braced herself for the reply.

"You mean breaking into a government building?"

"It's the only lead we have. We don't even know why he was..." A loud beeping disrupted her thoughts.

She grabbed the mug and poured her packet in, idly stirring the concoction until it fully dissolved. The warmth spread through her hands as she drank. Each sip contorted her face a little more than the last.

"Can you order some real coffee?"

"I will add it to the list." Cerberus paused.

Delphi pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "You know. I'm not mad at you, I'm just mad in general."

"I will add it to the list."

She finished the poor excuse for coffee and placed her glass in the sink. Grabbing her armor, she stuffed it in a bag and casually walked out her door. The shuttle quickly took her straight to the outskirts of the landing pads.

Stepping into the open her eyes scanned each alley. Surveillance followed her every move as she nudged pedestrians out of her way. The crowds thinned the further she moved away until she was standing alone in a dilapidated alley taking in the scenery.

The walls were stone and metal and covered in thick dark moss. Puddles soaked the ground despite the lack of rain the past few days. Wires crisscrossed overhead between buildings before looping back and heading upwards.

Dense air mugged her skin as she quickly changed into her armor. The helmet slipped over her head and immediately began to cycle air. Breathing in deeply, she stashed her bag of clothes behind the driest trashcan she could find.

"Are you going to scale the wall?"

Delphi nodded and placed her gauntlet covered hands against the bricks. She focused and anchored her gravity to the building. Her body jerked forward, the wall becoming the ground for her alone.

Pulling herself to her feet she began to walk, then to sprint, until she reached the top of the building. She grabbed the ledge and eased the pull of gravity off of her body just as she pulled herself onto the roof.

She scanned the horizon until she saw the roof of the maintenance building. It was dark as could be expected with the position of the sun never changing. Her eyes searched desperately for a way across.

"You're not about to do something dangerous are you?"

"When have you known me to do something dangerous?"

"Second day of you getting your implant and most days afterwards if I am remembering correctly."

Delphi was already sprinting towards towards the gap between the buildings when Cerberus finished speaking. She reached out with her hands and felt for the pull of gravity coming off the closest building. Latching it to her own she charged her suit to max till the buildings rooftop pulled her the rest of the way to it.

"You could have warned me."

"I survived. Bit of a rough landing."

"Well you were pushing the limits on the distance. I'm surprised you managed to get close enough."

She passed over the roof till she reached the edge and paused. "This one looks like I could make it easily."

She walked back some distance from the edge and lined herself up with where she remembered the next rooftop to be. Her legs bent at the knee as she dropped low and readied herself. The gravel crunched under her foot, her body accelerated, her muscles strained against her bones, her heart beat harshly in her throat, she lurched forward and leapt over the edge.

Weightlessness overtook her for a moment before she began to plummet. Her distanced fall landed her just over the edge of the other building. It jarred her shoulder, but otherwise left her unscathed.

"Just a couple more to go."

"I should have picked someone less enthusiastic about death."

The words of her A.I. fell on deaf ears as she leaped, ran, and used gravity to propel her to her destination. The maintenance building stood slightly shorter than those nearest it, with cameras pointing down into the empty streets. The single door with its shallow light illuminated nearly nothing of the roof, but her suits built in night vision covered what her eyes could not.

Landing with a harsh thud, she plopped down and attempted to catch her breath. She sat for a couple minutes before pulling herself up to her feet. Her breathing had slowed to its usual measured pace.

"We should do that again." She mused while checking her surroundings.

"When you fall to your death don't come crying to me."

"If I fall to my death I don't think I'd be doing much of anything. You know, because of the death part."

Delphi marched to the door and checked the analog lock. The door stuck fast in place, unmoving to her tugging. She glanced around the roof for any way to enter before checking the edges of the building.

"I see a fire escape that passes by some windows. Do you think you could check their network and unlock one?"

"That should be possible."

She walked towards the buildings ledge and dropped down to the fire escape. Using her legs to cushion her fall, her boots clanged against the rusted metal. She peered through the window. The dark corners of the room slowly became visible as her helmets night vision kicked on.

Cerberus made a clicking noise, mimicking the lock. "Whenever you're ready."

She gripped the bottom of the window and slowly began to lift it up. "I should have brought some actual tools with me."

"Next time we break in somewhere I'll be sure to remind you."

Climbing through she stepped carefully on the floor and took stock of her meager surroundings. A handful of old computers lined the walls, their digital displays still rendering if only just. The door hung back against the wall with a sheen of dust coating its peeling paint.

She walked over and gripped the handle, giving it a half turn before the mechanism unlocked and she cracked the door. The thin slit left just enough room for her to peer into the rounding hallway with its empty surfaces and blinking cameras. Her heart pounded in her chest as she slid the door closed once more.

"You haven't disabled the cameras yet?"

"Too much tampering and their system will know something is happening. I can bypass a few cameras or we can stand here for an hour and I can disable their system monitoring programs."

"Do we actually have to get into their server room or can we do it from here?"

"These computers are on an entirely separate network. Camera is now on loop, the server room is two floors down."

Delphi pulled the door open and crept into the hallway. The quick walk down two flights of stairs melded into the back of her mind as she stared up at the metal door. The solid metal hinges were bolted into the wall and anchored through blocks of cement.

"How good do you think their alarm is?" She asked while drawing her Proctor bow from her waist. The sleek metal reflected the light cast by the dim emergency lights in the abandoned hallway.

"I can suppress their security for a short while, but then you'll be on your own in getting the information."

She took a few steps back from the door and pulled back on the bow string. Light gathered just below the sight window near where her hand laid. The smell of ion filled the air as she poured energy into the bow and let it gather into a mass.

"Any cameras inside?"

"Probably. I'll disable footage before we leave. You'll have a few minutes at most to get in and back out of the window."

Steadying her aim she released. Faster then her eyes could follow the arrow fried the electronic door lock, leaving no visible damage, and causing the mechanism to swing inward. She quickly moved into the server room and pushed the door closed just enough make it appear shut.

The rows of wires cobbled together with bricks of copper and fiberglass left aisles leading to a large computer. She sat in the musty chair and began digging into the system after following the bypass left in by Cerberus. Admin privileges smoothed her search of their files and in quick order, with a thank you to the silent A.I., she plugged a small drive into the port and began the download. The loading bar ticked away slowly with no distractions except the pounding in her ears and the flickering of the lights.

"Delphi, hide."

Without thinking she activated the power saving screen and leapt to the back of one of the servers. The door swung open just as she pulled herself into cover inside a ventilation hatch. Heavy footsteps soon plodded down the path she had walked a mere minutes before.

She pulled the cover back into place carefully to minimize the noise. She could hear tapping at the keyboard as muffled voices carried over a walkie. A few more minutes passed with her shallow breathing only being covered by the near constant chatter. Legs passed in front of where she hid and briefly stopped only to continue some time afterwards.

"Server room clear." A feminine voice called as her footsteps retreated through the array of wires and back through the door.

Delphi counted to ten before gently removing the hatch and climbing out. Tapping furiously on the keyboard she cleared the screen and snatched the drive. The adrenaline in her system kept her senses heightened as she slipped out of the door.

The hallway was empty, but chatter could be heard coming from the stairwell leading down. She moved as quickly as she could while maintaining silence. Her feet rapidly padded across the thin carpet, only coming to a stop when a flashlight reflected off of a nearby picture. She darted across the hallway and slid into an unlocked room moments before the flashlight rounded a corner.

"Thanks." She whispered while peaking under the door.

A large pair of boots walked across her field of vision and disappeared back towards where she had just left. They were followed shortly after by another pair, albeit smaller ones. She counted to ten before unlatching the door and braving the hallways once more.

"Intruder found, sixth floor!" Someone shouted from behind her.

Delphi shattered into a heavy sprint and felt something clank off of the back of her armor as she rounded up the stairs. The burning in her legs fed anguish to her lungs. A cold sweat spilled against her skin and carried chills with it despite her temperature controlled coverings.

"Stuntags are ineffective! Repeat stuntags are ineffective!" She heard as she scrambled through the door, barely closing it before someone crashed hard into the wood.

"And I'm a known criminal." Delphi said as she leapt through the window. "Any chance they can't get out of the rooftop door before I get away?"

"Twenty-four percent chance."

She checked her surroundings for an alternative. The short climb up the fire escape left little in the way of wonder as no other means of escape was visible. Grabbing the ledge and pulling herself till she could peak overtop, she spotted two guards standing with their backs to the door.

She dropped back to the fire escape and pushed herself against the wall. "Did you stop them from calling the police?"

"I did what I could. We have some time, but it is not unlimited."

"Did you delete our presents from their systems?"

"I did. Why are you asking?"

"I, uh, have a stupid idea."

Peering over the side she could see people gathering near the bottom and looking up at her. The faces of uniformed security guards glared back up at her. No call from from their walkies carried to her, but she could nearly feel their anger.

"Can you cut the power on my mark?"

"Ready."

Delphi changed her gravity to match the wall, but clung to the railing of the fire escape. Her eyes marked the path downward as her heart stammered in her chest. Adrenaline built and bullied her body into readying itself to spring into action at a moments notice.

She took a deep breath. "Now."

She flung herself over the edge of the railing and landed on the side of the building. With no time to lose she began to sprint the length of the wall. Her night vision barely responded in time for her to see the railing blocking her path. The disarray below reached her ears just as she leapt over the last obstacle and released her control on gravity.

Landing hard on her feet she ran towards the nearest alley. The guards shouting was unintelligible from the beating of her heart in her ears. Alarms on her suit were flaring to life as her blood pressure skyrocketed. Still her legs carried her to the alley and over the nearest fence before they began to wobble and lock up.

"Give me something abandoned that's a decent distance away." She breathed and hobbled in the general direction that Cerberus led her.

Her legs burned, her lungs burned, she could hear the faint sound of sirens behind her getting closer. All of the energy she had been holding washed away as her adrenaline slipped between her fingers. Still her legs plodded along, carrying her closer to some warehouse she had never seen.

"Here."

She grabbed the door handle and gave it a hopeful twist. The sirens came crawling closer behind her as she heard the faint click of the bolt releasing and the door swung out towards her. She stepped inside, locking the door immediately, before sliding down to the floor and trying to remember how it felt to breathe.

Her vision slowly began to clear. It was slight at first, but then all at once. Her body recovered within minutes, allowing her to pull herself to her feet. The shaking in her hands had ensconced until it too dissipated.

"I've recovered what I think is Gemini's recorded address. Apparently he worked there under the alias Andromeda Manning for at least a year."

"The bastard took moms name? Where's the address?"

Rejuvenated, she put her ear to the door before shuffling outside. The quick walk to the alley containing her clothes and an even quicker change left her to ponder her next steps even as the shuttle came to a stop outside a dilapidated segment of universal housing. What few places still in use were hardly in better repair than the rest of the wore down and bedraggled dwellings.

Old cement pockmarked with an endless array of puddles zigzagged all throughout the neighborhood. The striking lack of cameras and scarcity of people swept an eerie calm over an otherwise ethereally scenic view. Vines, debris, and the occasional wildlife added to the overall ambiance as Delphi stood at the gate. On its broken hinges lay a cast iron barrier quickly discarded.

She stepped through and passed into the walkway that surrounded the area. Other than the striking of her feet against the pavement and the chittering of things best left in the dark, no sound disturbed the stillness. A sickly sweat fueled by the last vestiges of her adrenaline breached her skin as she saw the address Cerberus had mentioned.

Pushing open the rotted door carefully, she walked into the fetid dwelling. A strange mix of mildew and gunpowder assaulted her nose, causing a crinkle to appear on her otherwise blank face. The room was empty except for a small mattress and a dingy blanket sitting in the corner. A slip of neatly folded paper sat atop the blanket.

"Something doesn't feel right." Cerberus stated flatly.

"You could say that..." Delphi began just as the cocking of a gun clicked behind her and a metal barrel was pressed against the back of her head.

[primus-why]

TFP OC Idea

A librarian/fellow archivist who once worked with Orion back in the day, having a friendly work relationship. Recalls how fondly Orion would speak of his friend, the gladiator, and how he eagerly sought recommendations from this OC coworker on various works said friend might enjoy...

Fast forward to present day. The librarian never formerly joined a faction-- Primus, they had barely held it together back then, there was no way they could throw themselves into a war. But, by some miracle, they stumble upon Earth and Team Prime. Seeing Optimus after all this time brings up old memories; the Prime is different in many ways-- obviously the conflict has reshaped them all-- but in many ways he's still the same.

They soon fall into an easy, friendly conversation. OC can't remember the last time they've felt this close to normal. They lightly joke that Orion still has overdue datapads in his name, and the Prime wordlessly fishes the very same pads out of his subspace. Any further conversation dies shortly therafter-- all they can do is stare at the lost literary works.

OC wonders, in awe, how these could have survived so long. What if they've become corrupted? Are they even charged? No, Orion-- the Prime-- would know how to maintain them. It's just a wonder that he even bothered. The Archives are gone, razed long ago, leaving only a pile of debris scattered with broken, unrecoverable works. No one had cared enough to protect the building or what was inside, it was too late for that, they simply ran for their lives. It was only after the dust had settled and OC found themself on a shuttle packed with NAILs did the profound loss sink in.

Never again would they walk those grand halls. They would no longer help visitors discover new works that might interest them, much like solving a personalized puzzle. Gone are the days when they could even hold a datapad other than the one they had brought in from home on the day they left.

It was a stark reminder that they could not go home-- there was no home to even return to, and one of the mechs responsible for their situation was right here in front of them. And yet, somehow, seeing the delinquent datapads, the tiniest bit of hope sparked for a fleeting moment.

'We are still here,' OC realized, 'cracked and scuffed and worn around the edges, but we are still here...'

OC didn't know when they had started to tear up, but swiftly they recomposed themself and apologized. "It's nothing, I was simply... startled." The Prime apologized too, though for what specifically was left up to interpretation.

After a beat, OC smirks and gathers the guts to ask, "... Did he at least like my suggestions?"

Optimus lets out a soft, sad laugh, "I didn't get a chance to show him."

"Mm... what a shame."

"Indeed."

[kylieguess]

Cargo - 06/06/24

I started this shift as a cargo tech. I'm pretty new to the role, but a lot of the things you do in cargo, I'd either been subjected to by cargo techs coming up and bugging me for stuff, or had to do to even do ANYTHING at all on the frontier.

I take a bounty from the machine for three soap, and let the rest of cargo know i was going to quote, "harass the janitor" for his soap. Someone kindly asked me to "please not harass them", to which I replied "Um! I wasn't actually going to, I was just going to ask them. It's a figure of speech." Anyway, I go to bug them, knocking on their door and trying to open it to no response. We don't have a janitor at the moment, which is a shame because ordinarily 6 grand for 3 bars of soap is a crazy good, and crazy easy bounty.

Defeated, I return to cargo to pick up another one, for some cyborg modules. Also a dud, they don't have enough steel. Back to cargo I go, to see even the quartermaster saying "Wow, all of these suck". We get knives, which at the time I believed you had to empty out the chef of all their knives in their vending machine. It turns out, as pointed out by a wonderfully helpful mime, who pantomimed the process of making one for me. That was a fairly tidy sum, and enough for cargo to actually start getting stuff, so I prep the bounty for delivery and await the cargo shuttle's return.

The person who steps off the cargo shuttle after one of the runs is the kindly person who was named "Adelgunde Fett" (Calling her Adel from now on). She seems a bit... Confused, and acts older than she is, and is pretty nervous. But she was very kind. We loaded the bounties we had onto the shuttle, and Adel took off with them. I was also able to finish the soap bounty just by walking around maintenance and getting lucky!

Anyway, after some meandering around, I decide to fly the shuttle to the automated trade station. Right as I say "Undocking" however, someone yells "WAIT!". In a panic, i re-dock and had thankfully not spaced, nor flattened anyone (it was from a completely separate area). Adel then comes up to me and asks if I was okay. I said "I think I so...". They replied "That's good!". Anyway, she decided to come with me on the shuttle, we offload the completed bounties, load up on our orders, take our money and return to cargo.

Nanotrasen had provisioned us FAR too many extra janitor supplies, so we wound up selling half of them off later in the round. Adel winds up excusing herself, seeming very antsy the whole time. Saying she has "business to attend to."

I met her again in the canteen, I had put in an order for cargo with the chef, and her food was delayed because of it. They were REALLY nervous.

Anyway, we move cargo, take and do bounties, fulfil requests. It's a little uneventful for a while, just normal cargo stuff. There's people goofing off with gravity guns outside of our department, moving stuff around inside, Nanotrasen provisioned us a pizza party. It's a good bit of fun.

Anyway, during one of the cargo runs, a crate mysteriously doesn't sell. When I open it up to check out why, a skeleton jumps out! Thankfully they weren't hostile, and in fact were in a pretty similar situation to me! darn student debts... I took them back to the station and sent them on their way, presumably to either cause havoc or become a part of the crew.

Anyway, when letting the skeleton out, a paramedic sneaks his way into cargo just before I can close the door. I don't think much of it - paramedics usually are there to help people in danger. And they were saying that a salvager had gone missing.

He distracted the quartermaster, saying that security wasn't taking him seriously because his department had a murderer in it, prompting him to go get an official document so security can begin an investigation.

Suddenly, he pulled out a silenced pistol and gunned me down. Out like a light.

I woke up in medical, the chief medical officer tending to me, and Adel sobbing over me. She dragged me to medical, after being chased down by the bastard. He was already in cuffs by the time I'd woken up. Hell, by the time I'd recovered enough to leave, they'd already patched the hole in cargo that he'd bombed.

Adel didn't leave my side for the rest of the round. She rushed into the spaced trade station to get me a nitrogen tank, though she couldn't do it again.

The evac shuttle was called while I was unconscious, a normal shift-change one, funnily enough. We got aboard the shuttle and I stared down the paramed in cuffs, as he was in the brig of the escape shuttle.

Though I did get real hurt, I made it out alive! Thank god for modern medicine.