#also i gave up on armor. it’s a work in progress ok

[lavender-rroses]

these two characters i made for a french project a few years ago suddenly popped up in my mind again recently

the project if you’re curious + the ogs

[sakiaii]

Armored x Magic girls 'title forever work in progress' series 1

ok just imagine dust falling in the middle of the night like snow in a neighborhood. people who watched Den-O can just remember the first episode and the sand falling from the sky. now this is a weird kinda dust that can enter closed windows. next day a girl wakes up not feeling well but her mom is like yeah nice try go to school. she goes to school but while everyone is still waiting outside her friends tell her to go home instead. at home in the hallway she's attacked and grabed upon entering by PR like monsters.

now what i didn't mention is that a flying drone saw all this(og there was no drone but it makes for a good explanation how this character knew all this) from the dust to stalking her and her friends and this scene now i never gave this scene much thought until nowadays but i don't remember there ever being extracurricular activities before school... anyways as the other girls are outside and telling their friend to go home in the school gym we see karate lessons. now one girl the lone wolf of our story is just doing basic stuff when her sparring partner hits the ground and she accuses her of doing this intentionally but the girl claims she didn't use any strength at all with no one believing her she just calmly leaves saying she quits karate.

now the person who knew all this some scientist garthers other girls telling them they've all been infected by some matter released by aliens and how their goal now is kidnaping people showing signs and exposing them to the bigger dose of that matter (think KR Build). he doesn't have a cure but can stop the infection from progressing. their goal is to create a super soldier but the actual boss of this aliens that we're not going to see until the end of the 1st era put a minion in charge but she lacks patience, she was instructed to wait and see but by kidnaping people with signs of being affected and giving them a bigger dose to speed up the process she's creating mindless monsters and effin up the project. now this scientist actually has a secret but at the start he wasn't yet fleshed out and his story was revealed to me as my fantasies went along.

needless to say the first battles were kinda bad as no one was ready for this. the lone wolf girl would avoid fighting unless everyone else was on the ground then acting like a tank she would put herself in danger until everyone else gets up then going back to being reserved. this professor guy realised that and asked one of the outgoing girls to befriend her. he also told them there was another girl that could help them that was trained for this but can't arrive just yet (remember this guy actually has secrets). instead using what i call Dragon armor another new member soon joined but.. this armor used a weird cristal that this professor stole from this aliens a long time ago it's a crystal that they never found a way to use as it so powerful meaning that our Dragon armor girl almost killed herself when she showed up for the first time. She had a special attack like a dragon shaped bolt of lightning yes it's the same as this attack (me and hoyo devs thinking the same way)

the professor had to teleport her immediately away before anyone else noticed and save her as she she was frantically twitching in pain. he knew that was going to happen but that's who he really is a morally dubious person and the girl he gave the armor also had a death wish. She has a different disease that he promised to try to find a cure for but the crystal just refuses to be tamed so professor will lock the crystals power but leave her with a way to unlock it if the situation calls for it telling her that she will surely die then. And that will happen very soon, when she dies he will leave her near a hospital for people to find her and then he will bury that crystal together with her. Later the announced girl arrives and she's an orphan who sees professor as father figure unaware that he is actually an alien, wolf in disguise, someone who betrayed those other aliens when he stole the crystal and has been preparing her the day they come looking for him so she could protect him. Her naive trust in him ends up having an influence on this professor that he really despises as he's starting to actually care.

ehem remember the lone wolf and the girl asked to befriend her well they're going to develop a cool team work. attacking together at the same time forcing the enemy to put a block while one of them slows or pauses her movements before block to switch and attack now exposed area but something will start happening with the lone wolf girl. she will start having weird episodes where she will start getting really angry at her friend like she's addicted to that friendship and when she's not getting enough she's having drawbacks always blaming herself saying "no its not her i'm the problem". She will start losing herself in fights and fight with more aggression until she realises and goes back to being reserved. then one day the aliens... oh wait! before that the big boss sent one more person to oversee the project and the other overseer as she was effing it up. now the aliens are going to abduct a group of girls with our lone wolf among them, they only want one but our lone wolf is not having it and as that girl is willing to go with them in exchange that they don't hurt others our lone wolf snaps and attacks this girl first and then aliens at that time someone unlocks all the doors releasing all the monsters with the 2 overseers arguing who did it as the code had high clearance.. almost like... it was the big boss himself.

finding out from girls that escaped what happened our girls come to conclusion that the infection in our lone wolf did progress and that she's beyond help now with her friend going alone to put her down.

umm my other characters in series don't have names but this 2 actually have xD so friend is Rebecca while lone wolf is Sarah

well there's going to be a verbal confrontation after which Sarah will join the bad guys.. spoiler there was also someone in Sarah's head at this point but not the confrontation pushing her on the path of destruction using her depression saying we are the same these aliens don't know i actually want to destroy everything as living in this world is bad, at the time i believed it was the big boss (should i say it now? this is 11th story revelation. it was actually rival who wanted the project to create super soldier to fail)

anyway wanna know what the inspiration for confrontation was and for names xD just look at facial expressions here I want Sarah to have to same during confrontation

with Sarah now being that super soldier the project was trying to create she's a problem for our girls who believe the infection messed up her mind but they find out why she was such a lone wolf. Her younger brother had an accident where he died when she was a child herself the mother however blamed her and treated her as if she was the one that killed him. one girl now starts suspecting that Sarah was evil this whole time and with her being such a problem she wants to kill her in the past.

which brings me to how do they know about time travel well long before all this i had a fantasy where Rebecca was alone in professors lab and touched something which sent her to the future. now i had no idea what future was this, alien minions had different outfits i had no idea what this was, was it earth did it get invaded. Sarah showed up and defeated them without armor and stared until she said you're from the past and we need to take you back. After she send her back aliens get hit by a strong fire attack and we don't see who's walking to Sarah but then we hear Rebecca's voice saying "you could have killed me just now" and with a evil smirk she replies "oh! i was tempted"

well the professor forbade the use of time travel said it's to dangerous back then but this girl will use it and find out Sarah was not an evil child and that really was an accident she will then remember how Sarah tanked and risked her life in the beginning to protect them and they will come to conclusion that they need to find a way to help her.

the voice in Sarah's head will tell her he has a bomb for her which can destroy all life on earth our girls will show up and Rebecca will have a one on one with Sarah who is too strong so Rebecca will trick her pretending she can't get back up and attack Sarah from the back as she turns to the activation mechanism for the bomb. But Sarah doesn't want to listen and she's still trying to crawl her way to activate the bomb.. it's because she doesn't want to live anymore. She will ask Rebecca to kill her, it's the only way to stop her but Rebecca will say i can't so we will die together as she puts a difrent explosive device on the ground and gives her a hug.

well that's it and i really wasn't expecting it to be such a wall of text wtf lol OMG i can't even proof read this what the.. hopefully i didn't forget anything.. also profesor had a AI just think Zordon and Alpha

i got few surprises for you in story 2 *wink*

for now professor revealed that the bomb was fake and would have killed only Sarah if she activated it which raised the question why would the big boss want to kill the super soldier it wanted to create. the professor who now started to care about this girls leaves on his spaceship so that they never find out about his wolf in disguise side.

[super-lad]

indulging myself on talking about my bg3 party (spoilers below):

Silas - Wood Elf - Assassin

Went for Dark Urge since its the only origin character you can customize, but Silas is actually my Skyrim OC whose been inexplicably transported to the Forgotten Realms. Won't get into specifics since the Dark Urge gives him amnesia, but it's fun to play an evil character trying and failing to resist their impulses. The Dark Urge storyline is actually a bit similar to Silas's actual backstory, but, alas, he doesn't remember it and probably never will. He does still have PTSD with bows (he's not sure why), so dual swords and throwing knives are his go-to.

Gameplay-wise, he lacks in raw power and depends on Advantage while staying invisible. Basically, he needs to one-shot people each turn to not die, which is pretty in character for a compulsive murderer. He is quite squishy, however. Well, the whole team is. I'm thinking of multiclassing him with Fighter or Barbarian to get a higher Armor Class (which is also a shoutout to his Skyrim storyline).

Romance-wise, I'm going for a main love triangle with Astarion and Wyll. Hopefully, the two characters are OK with polyamory in the end. Plus, the two have a great dichotomy; think Kara Danvers vs Livewire. And trying to keep approval from two opposite sides of the moral alignment chart has been... slow. Silas got no action in Act 1 besides a chaste kiss with Wyll and Astarion is just beginning to tolerate him. To speed things up, I gave Astarion an open tab on Silas's blood. This diagnoses Silas with acute anemia. Symptoms? An almost constant penalty in his Ability Checks. Worth it? It better be!

Astarion - Arcane Trickster

Astarion is someone I didn't care much about and planned to replace for a better party member. Alas, I got annoyed with his constant disapproval of my character, which made me determined to see him like Silas in the end. His jaded personality is clearly a result of his traumatic past, so I'm interested to see how much he changes when given a (comparatively) healthier dynamic. I like that Silas and Astarion have similarly evil tendencies, so I'm curious to see whether they make each other worse or better.

Gameplay-wise, he works similar to Silas. Squishy and needs Advantage to be good. He's our main archer, which keeps him off the frontlines, so he doesn't die as much. Doesn't use magic much in combat either, but he does have all the utility spells helpful in non-combat situations i.e. Feather Fall.

Wyll - Warlock

Wyll is the Kara Danvers of BG3. He's a superhero with a seemingly unattainable level of altruism. As you can imagine, I was obsessed. And like Supergirl, he has a hidden dark streak, which is interesting to see play out. Being good is a choice. He always chooses good despite the cost. Silas definitely idealized Wyll when he first met him hoping to become a better person by osmosis. However, after discovering the Warlock's powers come from a Fiend contract, Silas became disillusioned. I think its clear that our resident superhero could change the Dark Urge, but Silas isn't sure if he's ready to let go of that. And I'm curious to see how how stagnant Wyll's morality remains as the story progresses.

Gameplay-wise, he's our biggest damage-dealer. His spells can hit and debuff multiple enemies HARD. Still squishy, but he makes up for it by killing before they can get to him. Plus, it helps to have Silas and Shadowheart keep them distracted.

Shadowheart - Cleric

Shadowheart was someone I, too, planned to replace at the first opportunity. And I did. Once we got Karlach, a buff giantess devil-lady with a heart of gold, it was bye-bye healer, hello absolute unit with lethality that far outstrips anyone else in the party. And I love LOVE Karlach (I'm still going to pursue her and lae'zel's personal quests), but at that point, the main trio had been with Silas throughout 80% of Act 1, and I was surprised to find Shadowheart had grown on me. She's actually quite witty and complex once you get past the masochistic goddess she worships. We also come across her fellow fanatics a lot throughout the story, so its fun to see someone become conflicted with the religious dogma they were raised with. I also like that she's a twist on the typical healer archetype. She's not altruistic like Wyll. She worships darkness, but not because she's evil, but because it's all she ever knew. I'm most interested to see where she is with her faith in the end.

Gameplay-wise, a healer is indispensable as we all know. She actually has the highest strength stat in the group, so she's good utility i.e. moving heavy objects. Furthermore, to help mitigate the team's squishy problem, I gave her heavy armor proficiency so she's become pretty decent at soaking damage. Her spells are from the Trickery Domain, so she has a lot of buffs and debuffs, which has been critical in reducing how many hits the team takes. Essentially, since I don't like to change their original classes for roleplay reasons, I'm turning her into a pseudo-Paladin which has proven really fun to play around with. I'd say she's definitely grown the most in usefulness.

[tiara-thief]

holy shit. ok while your earlier comment on ao3 made me tear up, this one actually made start crying. you’re so sweet, and i feel so so lucky to know you and have you supporting me. the fact that you shared even more of your thoughts??? i’m a puddle on the floor, i swear

expanding on the world was a goal of mine! i love the show’s worldbuilding, it’s simple yet given a lot of thought and complexity. i always wish we had more of it, so i like to just run with my own ideas and headcanons when i write fanfic so we can see the characters interact with the universe beyond astoria. with seagate’s founding, i honestly have a whole bunch of lore for it (and the five kingdoms as a whole) but it became pretty unnecessary for the fic so i didn’t include it. if you would like to know, in my mind, there’s a lot of back and forth between the mermaids and the pirates (leading to the curse) before there’s eventually some bargaining - and maybe a pirate x mermaid romance but i won’t get into that - and that leads to seagate being founded. anyway, yes, it all comes back to seagate in this because i really wanted that full circle of ending ryker in the home he took from arc, while leaving hope for rebuilding.

i love that you picked up on the progression of the intensity, which really culminates in ryker’s defeat. ciara facing ryker was just a really hard scene to write, especially with the darker tone compared to the show, and i wondered whether i should even keep it in. but it felt necessary - it didn’t feel right to have arc be the only one playing a role in defeating ryker, and ciara needed to have her moment too, especially with how the entire thing with the armor went down and the guilt she carried for ryker finally being able to attack astoria. it also had a lot to do with her being the princess, and not only protecting her kingdom but thinking about seagate too. so the final victory is hers, but you’re also right, it definitely feels somewhat hollow at the end without arc. but it’s okay, i would not kill him off!

AND YESSS TO THE PROGRESSION OF THE KISSES. look. they’re absolute chaotic bi messes. they’re the type to be fully dating without realizing they’re dating. they would keep kissing but also coming up with excuses for why it wasn’t an actual kiss. and it might work the first few times, but at a certain point they are living in delusion. both of them are thinking to themselves “oh but they don’t have feelings for me, they just kissed me like that as a friend.” everyone around them is so tired of their bullshit and maybe 30 seconds away from locking them in a room so they can sort it out. anywayyyy, i’m so glad you thought i captured the other relationships so well! i tried writing the rest of phoenix squad in, but it kept disrupting the flow so much so i just gave up. but i couldn’t not shout them out, and same goes for the king and eliza.

and the ending!!! i am so ridiculously happy you liked it. the soft, pink vibes were everything i wanted, and i thought it might be too cheesy at first but i decided i don’t care, these two deserve it. i'm really happy it had a little mermaid/fairy tale vibe, too :)

anyways, NEVER apologize for a long and rambly post, this means everything to me and i guarantee i will be coming back multiple times just to reread this comment for the next few months 💕

z!!! this is shona, i just saw your comment on best laid plans, and i'll get around to responding on ao3 soon, but i just wanted to tell you it made me tear up. thank you so so much for not just reading but going the extra mile and writing such a wonderful comment AS YOU WERE READING. it actually made my night. you're the best and i am sending you so much love rn

Ah, I’m so glad! While I appreciate your thanks and saying all that, it isn’t really necessary. I think if anyone can understand your plight, of writing for the world’s tiniest fandom(s) which also happen to be dead, it’s me 😅 But, even if that weren’t the case, I’d still leave a comment anyway, because your fic is wonderful, and it deserves all the praise! I actually wish I could’ve given you much more, but I was basically just saying the same thing over and over again, and it got to the point where I was like “alright lemme stop myself before I give them the same paragraph ten times over”. 

But, while we’re here, I’d actually like to say a few more things if that’s okay!

(I’m going to put them under a read more so I don’t spoil anything for any of our mutual friends/followers that might not have had a chance to read yet) 

First, I really love how you expand on this world. Obviously I wish the show would’ve gotten more seasons so they could’ve explored places outside of Astoria, but I appreciate how you develop upon the scraps we were given, like explaining more of Arc’s mermaid side, while also putting limitations on it. Like, yeah, he can breathe underwater and provide Ciara with oxygen, but he’s human enough that it won’t last forever. Also, mentioning Arc being descended from pirates; like I know the show kinda touched on that, but I love how you took it a step further and made it pirates specifically because it just makes so much sense!!! (especially for a place like seagate, that has months like sharktober and crabuary. like, we know seagate was full of thieves but specifying that they were descended from pirates was PERFECT)

On that note, I also love you expanding on the mermaid treasure, and the trident and kinda tying the whole show together with bringing back Ryker. It felt like the perfect way to end that, having Arc and Ciara be a little older, and Arc being willing to sacrifice himself in order to finally put an end to Ryker and all the damage he’s caused. And like, bringing Arc’s goal full circle, with finally getting to avenge Seagate, except now there’s a new layer to it, because this also means protecting the Princess.

Also, like. I cannot even imagine the rage and anguish Ciara must’ve felt when she was desperately searching for Arc on the beach, but found Ryker instead. Like, I just can’t even imagine seemingly losing the love of your life, whom you didn’t even really get to experience “being” with because they didn’t really confess until that life or death moment, but now you’re coming face-to-face with the person that’s caused so much destruction and heartache. Like, the feeling she probably got from finally running Ryker through, but the victory is almost hollow because Arc is still gone. 

Also! I love how things start out kinda light-hearted, but get slowly more intense by the end. The first scene really feels like Arc and Ciara being fresh out of knight school, and still having that confidence that comes along with winning most, if not alI (can’t really remember, it’s been a while since I rewatched the show) of the battles you’ve fought. And the two of them keeping track/competing over how many people they’ve taken out. SO THEM

And!!! The progression of the kisses was so real. Like,I know I kinda said this in the comments, but the first one being an accident, the second one being out of necessity, the third one being a “proper” kiss but not really a kiss, because, yeah, they’re both super into it, but it’s for a mission it clearly means nothing. And then. AND THEN!!!! Arc is ready to sacrifice himself, and he has this calmness about him despite knowing he’s about to die because this is just. It’s the only option, and he’s going to do what’s necessary because that’s really who they both are at their cores, but he just HAS to tell Ciara how he feels before he goes, and her just. Kissing him, the two of them kissing as if this might be the very last time. I’M AN INCOHERENT MESS ALL OVER AGAIN.

ALSO!! I know this fic is basically just Tiara Thief, but you perfectly captured Ciara’s other relationships in that final scene. (like wishing warwick was there with healing spells, or prudy to carry him, or sage to snark that he’s just taking his time waking up, etc etc. It was so perfectly reflective of her relationship with each of them.) Really, the TALENT that you possess like. Can you save some for the rest of us, thanks 

And finally, I will reiterate that the final scene is PERFECT. Idk if it’s because childhood me was obsessed with the little mermaid alskdjf but Ciara getting Arc back and he wakes up and he’s alive!! And now they’ve finally confessed how they feel, and they’re exhausted from battle and all the emotions, but they’re together and the sun is rising and it’s all pink and pretty and AHHH!!! PERFECT MOMENT PERFECT MOMENT!!! 

anyway. sorry this was long and rambley, but I really needed you to know these things. 💖

[asukaskerian]

Wait so in the one shot abo does Hashirama get a letter about the Uchiha killing senju that attacked them and hostage of Tobirama just for months later getting a letter from Madara saying he’s marrying him and then even later finding out Tobirama and Madara already have a kid together? Bc one hand in reality that’s so stressful but as a reader it’s also very funny even if I hope Hashirama has mito and Touka to talk about it with lmao

probably madara wants good relations with his future brother in law, so he sends the official "we got attacked unjustly and killed the attackers and took your brother hostage, so there!" and then sneaks him a more complete report with a letter from tobirama (yes he's being treated well yes this is part of madara's scheme to eventually make peace and he's not super sure it'll work but he'll stay put for a while to see how it progresses and he's ok etc. then he probably does give the "real" report of what happened, which is that people from the anti hashirama faction went to kill madara's baby and tobi, of course, loving babies and wanting to support hashirama, intervened and madara understands that this didn't reflect on the senju as a whole but only part of it, but madara can't admit how he knows that because it'll make tobirama look like a traitor if people think he goes around telling their enemies everything about the senju's internal issues.)

(madara of course reads that letter before allowing tobi to send it but apart from ranting that it WILL work he allows the disrespect of criticizing his great idea and doesn't censor it XD)

hashirama is very stressed out. but also, he knows his brother, so this "i went and got myself involved because 1. i didn't trust madara to protect his own child and 2. i trust and respect your great plan so much, brother". it sounds... doubtful to him. like, if that were the case he'd have taken the time to go to hashirama and ask him what he wanted to do and THEN ONLY he would have maybe said "ok give me a squad loyal to you and i'll go and fix it". that's the regular way to handle war issues that are NOT super deeply personal and make you irrational!

also all of tobi's armor is still in his bedroom so wtf.

so he goes to touka and mito and they all three of them wtf and worry for a while. but letters keep coming, about reparations for that unfair attack, and non-agression agreements in certain areas (everybody ends up liking that they can all go to the market in Middle Town without getting into a fight every time), and tobirama doesn't say very much in his letters but sometimes he'll mention a new kimono madara got him because all he had was the clothes on his back and hand-me-downs from izuna, which are too short and generally suck, oh and madara's heir gave him a flower yesterday --

he's allowed to hang out with madara's heir!! gasp. madara really must trust him, what happened?! but this is a big relief to hashirama that his brother wasn't locked away and only sees a jailer twice a day or whatever.

like a week before madara finally makes his marriage request, tobirama sends his brother a super secret portrait of the uchiha ruling family he did, with tsurugi's white hair lock front and center and her chin up and eyes all narrowed in doubt.

hashirama: oh how nice. i guess the analysts will want to look at --

touka: *CHOKES* oh my fucking god this is a kawarama face under itama hair.

she's older! she remembers them so young better than hashi does. but once she has pointed it out. how the fuck. how the fuck?????

mito: :X so uh how old is that kid again

anyway it's CHAOS in the family for like a week and then the marriage offer comes which is chaos again for a brand new reason.

but also hashirama cries a lot because his little niece is alive and not stillborn after all and he could never feel like he'd managed to reach tobirama in his grief so he's very relieved in some way. like, very D: that he wasn't told what really happened but also very relieved that tobi gets to hang out with the daughter he had to give up after all.

also, niece. aaaa. ;__;

... he's very confused as to whether tobi and madara DID have a secret love affair that tobi sacrificed for love of his clan. because tobi having a random one night stand with madara doesn't really make sense but tobi falling in love with The Uchiha and letting that advance to having enough sex to get pregnant when his fertility is so bad doesn't make sense either. mito has to remind him that he probably doesn't want the gory details yet.

[calamity-aims]

“I’m fine… just a little dizzy.” With Jesse and Fen 🥺👉👈 I love them and desperately want more of their relationship

c'mere anon let me love you for loving Fen! and Jesse! You have my whole heart.

Have a little outtake from the end of their days are darker: (might not make a whole ton of sense unless you've read it? sorry)

The medbays on Coruscant were full to bursting with troopers, waiting their turn to get the chips out of their heads. The 501st had been taken care of in the medbay aboard their own Venator, but the Coruscant Guard's medical facilities had been deemed insufficient by Healer Che. And thus the Guard were being treated at the Temple.

Well. "Insufficient" was one of the many colorful and varied words Healer Che had used to describe the state of the Guard's medbay, and probably the most positive. Apparently it was understocked, understaffed, and full of Guard troopers in need of intensive care.

In any case, the rest of Coruscant Guard was at the Jedi Temple. So Jesse was also at the Jedi Temple, pushing through brothers and Jedi alike in his haste to reach the healing halls.

It looked like other vode had come up with the same idea; the Temple was full to bursting with clones in all different armor colors, all looking to make amends to their brothers in red.

A familiar face flashed by - Jesse grabbed Kix by the arm, stopping the medic's forward progress.

"What?" snapped Kix. "We're really busy, Jesse, I can't-"

"Fen," Jesse said, his voice hitting a pleading note that made him cringe. "Fen, where is he."

Kix didn't respond, but he brought his datapad up and started swiping. 

Jesse would count that as a win.

"He might not want to see you," Kix said without looking up. "A lot of them don't want to see outsiders."

"Outsiders? We're brothers."

Kix didn't even dignify that with a response; he just scoffed and kept swiping through his 'pad.

And that was fair. More than fair, really. Jesse thought back to the last words he'd said to Fen, the punch that replayed over and over in his head since he'd learned the truth about the Guard.

Maybe he shouldn't have called Commander Fox a bootlicking piece of shit. Maybe he shouldn't have said Fen was just as bad. But there was no changing the past now - there was only the future.

A future, Jesse hoped, where Fen would forgive him.

He rushed to the room number Kix gave him, stood outside the door impatiently until it slid open and a few Guards spilled out, all with matching bandages on their foreheads and led by a Jedi Healer. 

Even their quiet murmurs to each other dropped to silence as they passed by Jesse.

Jesse pretended he didn't notice or deserve that and kept scanning for his batchmate. There, at the end of the group - Fen's characteristic slouched walk and etched buzz cut.

There were still bruises on his face where Jesse had punched him, fading out to sickly greens and yellows across his cheekbones.

"Fen!"

His brother startled. Overbalanced, but Jesse was there, grabbing Fen around the shoulders and stabilizing him.

"You ok?" Jesse asked.

Fen didn't even look at him. "Fine. Just a little dizzy."

“Let me help you,” said Jesse, taking a firmer grip on Fen. 

“Why?” Fen’s tone was perfectly flat. Perfectly polite.

“Because--because it’s what I should’ve done from the beginning.”

“But you didn’t, Jesse, so it’s done,” Fen said, that perfectly bland voice cracking just a bit. He shoved at Jesse, but bounced off ARC-trained reflexes.

“It’s not done. Fen, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Jesse pleaded. Faint apologies from other troopers, other battalions, swirled through the hall in a haunting echo. It looked like every battalion currently on Triple Zero was represented, all trying to make amends with their neglected brothers in the Guard.

This had to work. Fen didn’t hold grudges, never had. 

“Hey!”

Some of the Corries ahead of them had turned around. “Fen, you alright?” said one of them, stepping forward.

“Yes, Commander Thire,” Fen said immediately. Thire’s gaze flicked from Fen to Jesse, lingering on Jesse’s tattoo, and he advanced with all the grace and danger of a nexu. 

“Jesse, isn’t it?” Thire said softly. Shit. It was never good when commanders outside your battalion knew your name.

“Yessir.”

“You’d best be moving on, trooper,” Thire said, and it wasn’t a suggestion, not with that much venom laced into Thire’s voice. Jesse hesitated, loath to let go of Fen, but the commander’s eyes were hard as durasteel.

His hands dropped. “I, uh. I’ll see you later, Fen?” he tried. 

“Um. Sure,” said Fen, and then he was gone, bracketed by Corries and absorbed back into their ranks, leaving Jesse standing, bereft. 

[kryptsune]

World Building Wednesday!~ Etherium

🌼 I decided to share one of my AU worlds that is not Fell based. Yes... I know... what is the world coming to? Etherium in essence is my stab at an Outertale based universe though the story and the designs are very different. I really enjoy this one though I don’t talk about it too much. Let’s get started! 

Etherium AU

Classification: Outertale Alternate “Nicknames” Info: 

Sans: Nova- Nova is the trickster though he is mostly associated with that of Loki. Loki is described specifically as “Playful, malicious ( ok maybe not that one), helpful, and nihilistic.” He helps others in a kind of goofy over the top way. He just doesn’t take much seriously. Nova is one of the youngest. He acts very childish at times coming to question how long he has been among the pantheon. Some argue his many centuries gave him a nihilistic outlook on life or that he is too young to understand the true ways of the world. 

Not to say that Nova can’t be serious but he is pretty laid back. It’s one of the reasons unlike the others he doesn’t really keep his cultural ties in his design. He should have more Norse in it but nah… varsity jackets are cozy right? I mean he is wearing star shorts for stars sake. When asked about his job he mentions, “Hey, there kiddo. Nice of ya to drop by. Been up to? Heh well got a “new” job which is pretty cool. Not as cool as Pollux but I help arrange stars. Ya know, like the ones you see in the sky you can make pictures out of? I think you humans call em… constellations. One time I made this giant whoopee cushion one. “Then I lost ma job. Got a second chance though. Andromeda's constantly watchin me. hehe no harm done though.”  Both Pollux and Nova refer to each other as brothers but it is unclear if they are biologically related. Their abilities and strengths are nearly opposite and their mythos even more so.

Papyrus: Pollux- The presumed older brother of Nova. Pollux is associated with Egyptology specifically wisdom. Pollux tends to be the opposite of Nova in that he takes his job very seriously. Once on earth he was known as Thoth gracing humanity with a mechanical and architectural knowledge that astounded the world. His mind and intellect put him at the forefront of innovation making him one of Capricorn's best and most trusted advisors. 

He enjoys testing the mental prowess of others using puzzles and riddles of his own design. Unlike canon Pap Pollux cares more about balance in life. Something his younger brother seems to lack. Not all work and not all play. He is kind, helpful, and willing to give advice to anyone that is looking for it. To the little human Frisk he is a good mentor and teacher. (Pollux has made it his pastime to create a series of challenges to prove a humans worth. If they pass then they are able to speak/ see them. No one has managed to prove themselves.)     

(more characters and info below the cut)

Undyne: Andromeda- Andromeda is not different from canon Undyne as she embodies the Mayan mythology. She is mostly closely associated with the feathered serpent Quetzalcóatl. A deity of wind and rain. Also known as the life giver. Though Andromeda tends to harken back to her more aggressive roots she has a deep respect for the King and acts as his guard. Just like Pollux she too acts as an advisor, though more on matters of security than strategy or mechanics. Such a position is where she first met Elara and to this day the two are inseparable sharing their very different cultures. Her favorite kind of anime to watch are mech based.

Alphys: Elara- Very similar to canon Alphys just as this version of Undyne is. Alphys is based off of Sukuna-Biko-Na (少名毘古那) or the shinto god of medicine and rain. Elara is still very much a scientist and one that has a unique fascination with living things. Everything from the planets, to humans, animals, and plant life. She particularly enjoys spending time in her private greenhouse creating and taking care of all of the plant life. Before the monsters were forced to leave their place among the humans she was able to collect all the DNA of the plants and animals on the planet. 

They are stored in a kind of ark in which to preserve them if anything threatens their existence. Elara is very traditional in her work as her medicines are derived from her magic as well as herbal substances. She is very curious however as she is not allowed to interact with the progress of humanity but rather watches from afar. This is where her love of anime takes hold. Her favorites are ones like Sailor Moon or any type of magical girl anime. She will sit with Andromeda and watch them for hours. Her demeanor is very shy at first but once she opens up she will be a friend for life.

Asgore: Capricorn- The head of the cosmic pantheon he is the King as he is in the original. He is associated with Celtic mythos though he has taken on many pantheon roles in his lifetime. Ambisagrus, a god of thunder and lightning, Ancestor God, Sky God, God of Wind, Rain & Hail is what he is based off of. One such role is that of Zeus who’s main symbol is that of lightning and thunder. Just like the Zeus of mythology Capricorn is constantly debating his involvement with humanity. 

Whether that be to stop their technological advances or aiding in their lives. A large portion of his time was spent with his subjects not so much his wife Aurora who is the jealous type. Capricorn is not a ruthless leader but he does know that sometimes hard decisions must be made. Just like UT Asgore he is kind and benevolent, however, he has a temper if you make him angry enough. His magical abilities lean more toward lighting then fire but he has that ability as well. He tasked Elara to watch over human development should a problem arise.  

Toriel: Aurora- The Queen to Capricorn she is known to be easily jealous. It would explain why Zeus wife Hera also shares these traits. Her Gaelic deity tie is that of Arianrhod a goddess of the moon and stars. She creates life from the stars she creates sometimes causing them to take a form of their own. They are almost like living constellations. Some say that the Queen made such life to combat her own loneliness which her Son and Husband spent time away. In addition to the stars she is also known for being a loving mother and caregiver. In her time on earth she used to watch over and protect children and their families. Aurora though previously jealous of her simple in the universe has come to accept and embrace it. She is kind but rather over protective. Anyone that forsakes life will feel her wrath.  

Muffet: Umbra- Umbra is associated with Hindu mythology as a goddess of wealth and prosperity. Though earthly riches do not concern Umbra she still has a taste for the fine silks and gold that she once had on earth. A little about the goddess that she represents: Lakshmi's name comes from the Sanskrit word ​laksya, meaning an aim or goal. She is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual. Unlike UT Muffet, Umbra also focuses on a spiritual wealth. A peace of mind. 

She is ever the optimist even when things do not turn out to go her way. In times of need she is called those in the struggles of self worth trying to bring them into a different understanding. There have been many a time when Umbra calms Capricorns quick and rash judgements, much to Auroras displeasure. Just as with the rest of the pantheon she is kind and helpful even with her yearning to return to the people she so loved before they were forced to the outskirts of the galaxy.

Grillby: Helio- Helio derived from sun is my OT Grillby. He out of all the characters could care less about either being a deity or an observer. He is known to be at a middle ground. He would rather live his days running a social establishment but during his time on earth he was known for his magic. Originally he was the right hand of Capricorn being depicted as a war deity for his fiery nature. He was the general of grand armies. His armor is something he hung up long ago but if called into court he will wear it once again. It’s design is very reminiscent of Roman centurions.  

Though depictions of him are curious since his name back then was referred to as Merlin. He was best known for him magic and alchemy and the concoctions he made during a period of time far lacking in imagination. Just like Nova, Helio, tended to interfere far too often in the affairs of man though noble in purpose. He tends to be outcast among the pantheon for his past conduct but he is content in his lab mixing crazy concoctions. Everything from love potions to disguises. His forte is all about alchemy and magic.    

Asriel: Azicree (Azi)- Azicree or Azi for short is the Crown Prince. By monster standards Azi is still very young, however, he has lived for far longer than any human can fathom. His mother used to shelter him until he begged for his father to let him prove himself. He still acts like a child always curious and desiring some form of exploration. Much to Capricorns dismay Azi enjoys spending time with Nova and the two become pranksters in general. He tends to not do as he is told, which is why they are in this mess in the first place. His reckless behavior had him appearing to a human that begged for his salvation. 

The matters of life and death are ones that are not to be messed with. Those that do find their souls being tainted for all eternity turning them into something other than just a monster. 9X is an example of such tampering. Azi does learn his lesson and begins to try and shape up to be a worthy successor to his father if such a thing ever did come to pass. He studies off of all those he knows especially Pollux who is more than happy to share such knowledge. His associations are non existent since he was born after the times of gods. His abilities seem to be mimic based. 

He is able to learn about abilities and use them at will. It is rare that monsters have children and as such Azi is the little prodigy child even though there are many times he just wants to be a kid. He makes friends with Frisk very quickly and learn a lot from the human visitor.  

Gaster: Nero is the Gaster of this universe. He is Capricorns pantheon counterpart. In essence the Hades to his Zeus. He is the monster that everyone thinks about when darkness takes hold. He is the one that associates with apocalyptic events such as ragnarok. He is however not evil by any stretch of the imagination. He would be better suited to be called a god of chaos. He tends to reject the laws placed upon the rest of the pantheon regardless of repercussions. 

It’s speculated that both Pollux and Nova were a part of him and crafted into the monsters that are known today. Nova being his more devious side which Pollux is more his intellect and drive. He has been locked away for a very long time in a prison aptly named Tarturus. His abilities are space and time oriented very similar to Nova which makes him difficult to imprison. He of course has been in his cell for quite some time and it is unclear if he actually has had a change of heart or using it as a manipulation tactic. 

The only one he speaks with on occasion is Azi wanting to learn more about this planet they all used to call home. It is information that the others tend to not speak of. His father more so as he is afraid it will instill a yearning in his son. Nero’s genius is on par with his godly abilities such as creating artificial intelligence. Something that is not considered life. He uses Azi as a template for this new program...  

FLOWEY: 

F- Friendly

L- Life-like

O- Operating system 

W- With 

E- Earthbound

Y- Yearning

F.L.O.W.E.Y was created by 9x and Nova with Azi as a template. He is a charismatic AI who was originally created as a helper as well as to teach the Prince about their planet of origin. Unfortunately Flowey does not have the same reservations about disobeying his father as Azi does. Even going so far as to integrate with key and vital systems in The Capital. He even manages to intercept a human vessel that he finds exploring. Flowey is not evil he just is driven to be the best help he can without regards to any type of consequences. He helps Frisk meet and learn more about their existence. He acts as a companion. 

However when Frisk becomes friends with Azi Flowey's AI goes haywire. He begins to feel emotions he is not technically allowed to such as jealousy. This causes him to try and eliminate those threatening him which in this case would be all the monsters. Eventually Azi attempts to program himself into the interface changing it’s initial programming.  

Blookie: Nebula

Riverperson: Omni

Gerson: Quasar

The Ursas: Ursa Major/Minor

Greater Dog/ Lesser Dog: Canis Major/Minor

MTT: Gigabit

Character Origin/Mythos: 

Sans- Norse (Trickster) Papyrus- Egyptian  Undyne- Mayan Alphys- Japanese (shinto) Asgore- Celtic Toriel- Celtic  Muffet- Hindu Grillby- Medieval (Merlin)  Asriel- Celtic through lineage Gaster- Greek/Roman Blookie- Western Guard dogs- Constellations (Native American) Riverperson- Greek (Charon) Gerson- Chinese (Divination/ wisdom)

Background and Context: 

A long time ago there lived beings of great power. They could bend space and time with a simple thought and bring life to their creations. These were the gods. Ones of great benevolence but also great and terrifying power. Humanity, a primitive race just starting to understand life itself, became their focus. At first their interaction was very rare only occasionally appearing to help but as time went on those interactions became more drastic. Their assistance and knowledge was seen as godlike to this humans. 

They would bring gifts and offerings to their new deities in hopes that they would look favorably upon them. That they would impart their wisdom and magic if they were pleased. In time this became more and more tradition. A religion built upon pleasing these deities so that their lives would be far improved but this became a conundrum for the beings. Some remained benevolent and helpful while others becomes greedy and wrathful. The power began to go to their minds corrupting their souls. These instances were written down in variation by the humans making up grandiose stories of fiery chariots and jealous gods. Thus mythology came into being for humanity. A way to explain the things in which they did not understand. 

As with each religion and deity the monsters each became associated with a specific culture or mythos. Some being pinnacles of their pantheon and others being lesser deities molded to suit a specific task. These monsters rarely interacted with ones of their own kind but as power shifted some of them took on roles of others. One monster could have been the god of war in Greek mythos but end up also as the god of thunder in Norse. There were no limitations to their influence. One such “deity” was that of the trickster. A monster that tended to be rather childish in his ambitions jumping from pantheon to pantheon looking to lighten up his other “deities” stern demeanors. 

The monsters began to pull away leaving their presences in name only and occasional help but this was short lived. It caused problems, war, destruction, and feuding powers sadly began to use their civilizations as almost pawns. Their meddling almost destroyed that which they wanted to originally protect. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The “gods” faded from existence only being remembered in myths and legends. The great prophecy of the Norse. The architectural marvels of the Egyptians. Now they reside in the furthest reaches of the galaxy. They spread out among the stars but a group of them resided in a Capital of sorts. A station at the edge of the Universe. One which no human could ever reach.  

The Humans Impressions:

When the monsters left the humans to their own devices they worship continued long after. Eventually the magic and the miracles that had once been performed faded into history. The monsters were all but forgotten unless mentioned in mythology or scary stories. The humans never harbored any animosity toward them since they no longer believed in their existence in any form. They only understand what their ancestors depicted them as. The monsters as well don’t really have anything against humans either. All in all, they just go about their jobs and enjoy the universe, helping from time to time discreetly if need be but never showing their faces.

Main Plot Synop: 

The plot to Outertale is very simple as it is more based around the world than it is the actual plot. It is very similar to that of the regular UT timeline with some notable differences. Once the humans reach an age of technological advancement they begin to spread out and search the stars. Some of them encounter monsters which they mistake for aliens (hilarious enough. I mean Jerry looks like an alien.) They begin to build colonies living more and more outside the reach of their own galaxy. Humans however tend to turn on their own creating factions within the space colonies. Some more prosperous than others. 

Frisk’s colony was one such beast being cut off from the other colonies as a drifter. Unfortunately Frisk’s family was nearly non existent and being stuck on a space colony was little to be desired. After seeing a streak of fire slamming into the outskirts of the colony. Frisk decides to investigate. They have always been the curious type disobeying orders and questioning everything. The colonies outer and more dangerous regions became their playground finding old pieces of technology. Eventually they stumble upon a crashed ship. One that  It seems to damaged to be used but it’s nothing like they have ever seen before. Everyone else on the colony consider it to be cursed. 

The strange runic language is confusing but Frisk finds that there is one lone computer onboard that seems to still function. It flickers with a bright yellow light showing an almost pixelated Flower with a =) face on the screen. Over the next few days Frisk returns to decipher the runes with the help of their new friend which they find out is called Flowey. It is a project that the curious human enjoys and for once it is nice to have a friend. Eventually the runes are deciphered claiming some sort teleportation capability. Once Frisk is close enough the system fires up on its own sending the human straight to the monster Capital on the farthest reaches of the universe. A place that no human has ever been.   

The rest of the story is an exploration of this new environment. Frisk befriends the monsters who don’t attack first. They actually mostly want to engage with the human showing off their ability a little bit. A part of them misses the previous worship. Nova seems to take a particular interest in this new human especially when they befriend Azi. They work to help shut Flowey down only for Azi to impart his knowledge on the interface helping it understand. Frisk has nothing to return to so they stay with the monster and become Azi’s human tutor so that one day maybe the monsters can return and live side by side the humans once again. Both Azi and Frisk are almost like siblings coined the star children.  

[syuga-s]

As long as we are together, even the endless maze is paradise.

w.c 1.8k

pairing. Changkyun x gn!reader

genre. fluff, still dont know how to classify it but it’s my take on relationships in real life(?)

a/n. mention of svt members <3, this takes place on the universe(?) of the fic i have in progress, got excited and went for this lil scenario, i'll always try to make them as gender-neutral as possible, hope you enjoy (• ε •)

You finally had gotten off work. This shift had been unbelievably chaotic and you couldn’t wait any longer to get home. But of course, it’s raining, today of all days.

Adding the fact that Chloe’s been extremely unpleasant today. You’ve been on bad terms for a while now since she found out about you and Vernon.

You clocked out at the same time and she just wanted to get on your nerves. But you were past being this immature, especially when it came to a guy you haven’t seen since you graduated.

"Just go already, Chloe". 

With that, you went to exit the building and that's when you saw Minghao waiting for a cab –in the rain–.

You tried to get Minghao's attention, so he could get inside with you but you both just ended up at the door frame barely safe from the rain. You hugged even though he was soaking.

You didn’t mind because you haven't seen him in years, and you didn't know you missed the way you felt when you were with him. Strangely so, his hug felt like being 17 again. Can’t tell if it’s a good or bad thing.

You made some small talk about the weather and teased him for standing in the rain. “Are you shooting a music video or something?”

He laughed but quickly changed the subject, "I hope you've been good, I haven't seen you in years but you look really happy".

How can he still be this good at reading me? You could only smile to the ground and gave him a side hug. "I've really missed you Hao; hope you’re doing well too". 

Suddenly, his phone started to ring, and you caught a glimpse of the screen before he asked you "Mind if I answer?" Wonwoo was calling him. "Not at all, go ahead!" You told him with a smile.

Not to be nosy but you wanted to hear this conversation. "I've been waiting for you to pick me up for almost an hour dumbass, are you aware that it's fucking RAINING?"

And of course, you couldn't hear the other person on the line, but you knew perfectly he must've been making a hell of an excuse. "Right, yes, I'm still here, no I'm not alone… just hurry I'm freezing". 

Guess it was inevitable that you'll see Wonwoo in a few minutes.

You broke up more than three years ago and haven't seen him since then. You’re more than ready to rip the band-aid. You didn't exactly end on bad terms, but maybe some awkwardness is still laying in there. Actually, you haven't thought about him in a while. You started to wonder how has he been all this time.

"I thought you were waiting for a cab Hao!! I can still give you a ride if you want"

"Aw y/n no, don't worry about it, I'm going out with the guys, so I'll have to take you up on that offer another time"

"Alright then, you have to promise me we'll catch up soon, it’s been too long”.

It was as if the world was telling you to wrap it up because you saw a very familiar car approaching the street, and immediately your phone started ringing too.

You saw that it was almost 9:00 P.M. Changkyun hasn't got here? You signaled Minghao that you were going to answer your phone and got inside the building again.

"Hi my baby!!! I'm sorry for running late the guys got me caught up at work BUT I AM ALREADY ON THE WAY I'LL SEE YOU IN LITERALLY TWO MINUTES"

You could hear how worried your boyfriend was and it was so endearing that you couldn't help but laugh at the way he was screaming in the car.

"It's okay baby I ran into someone here at work too, I got distracted and didn't notice the time, but please DRIVE SAFE IT’S RAINING BUT ALSO hurry upppp” You ended up with a pout as if he could see your expression.

"I'm hurrying I swear!!! —YES — your man has arrived at the destination". “Ok, ‘my man’ needs to come get me please” he made you laugh at his words. “I'm here at the door BYE"

With that, you went outside again, and you couldn't have imagined that you would see all these guys in front of you EVER AGAIN. Nor that they would get out of the car just to say hello to you. But maybe that's your mistake cause they have always been friends, still after everything that happened.

So, there they were, Wonwoo, Jihoon, Chan, Jun, and Minghao. All eyes on you, all of them waiting for the other to talk to you first, but everyone noticed how your eyes immediately went to Wonwoo and you both smiled at each other. Jihoon was happy that you made eye contact with him, even though he noticed there was nothing for him behind your eyes.

You were the first one to talk. 

"Hey there you guys, Hao told me you were going out!" You said while looking at Chan. "Yeah, we're headed to the Lucky 94!!"

"Want to join us?" You heard Jun ask, and before you could say no, your knight in shining armor shouted your name. "BABYYYY!!" Yes, your official name is baby, what about it? 

All of you turned to the left side of the street where Changkyun was power walking to you. It came as a surprise to all of them, no one knew you were in a relationship at the moment, but after all these years they should've known, they knew how private you were about your entire life. 

When Changkyun got by your side he just wrapped his hand in yours and flashed all the guys in front of him one of his prettiest smiles. As if he didn't look threatening as fuck.

Your love for him was only growing by the second. "Guys this is my boyfriend Changkyun, unfortunately, I have to deny your offer tonight because we already have plans, but I hope we see each other again soon!”

"It's okay y/n we can plan something another time, you look really good by the way" Wonwoo finally spoke and Changkyun tightened his grip on you.

"Thank you Wonwoo, have fun tonight. It was nice to see all of you" Having said this, your eyes landed on Jihoon, who was now leaning against the car, ready to get away from there.

Maybe at another point in your life, you would've sensed something negative by seeing him in this circumstance. But all you could find inside you was a trace of the love you had for him when you were a teenager. 

You quickly decided that you wouldn’t give him this space in your head. Neither of you deserved to revisit those feelings that you already went through years ago. 

Especially now when you have this wonderful person by your side, it wasn't a coincidence that he got there at this exact moment. Making you appreciate the little things he does for you that say, “I’m here, and I care so deeply about you”. Your life with Changkyun has intertwined so profoundly that everything comes easy with him.

You all said your goodbyes, and you started walking to the parking lot. You got to your boyfriend’s car, but you didn’t get inside just yet, Changkyun stared at you and your eyes told him everything he needed to know. Your boyfriend swiftly wrapped you up in a much-needed hug.

Since he called you, he knew something was going on, he has gotten good at sensing the way you were feeling. In moments like this, you were happy to know that his heart was as invested in you as you were with him. He softly spoke in your ear “Let’s get inside baby, it’s cold as hell in here”.

He opened your door, and you waited for him to get inside. You searched for his embrace once again, his arms made you feel so at home that you were glad he came to get you tonight, and you had to let him know this. “Today was hard,” You said, still clinging to his arms, not minding the incredibly uncomfortable pose you got yourself into just so you could be hugged by your boyfriend for a few more minutes. “Thanks for picking me up tonight”

“You know that I would come for you every day if you just let me, you stubborn baby” You laughed against his chest and gave him a light punch at this arm. “Hey, hey let’s not get violent in here, I’m sensitive,” He told you while laughing and ended up with a tender kiss to the top of your head. 

You don’t know much, but you do know you love him. When he smiles like this, the world seems to fade away with all your problems, and he’s all you can see. Every time he’s singing in the car on your way home, the outside noise doesn’t even exist anymore. All you want to do is grab his face and kiss him, but that would mean he’d stop singing. And when he looks at you with those beautiful brown eyes, when he places his hand on yours, when he lets you rest your head in his chest, and listen to the beat of his heart, just his mere existence makes you believe that you found this little piece of heaven within him.

The love you were always searching for, you found it with him. No one else had been able to make you feel like you were bursting with love, and you always believed that that needed to happen for you to be in a relationship with someone. You always knew that love isn’t meant to be hard, nor it makes you lose the person that you are. For you, it was about sharing your souls, goals, and perspectives, cause when the time to be together would come, your lives would already be made, and you would just be together supporting each other, still maturing. And that this person would only make you feel safe, happy, and loved. Changkyun was your definition of love.

Your relationship with him made you further confirm this. You thought it would scare you to be vulnerable around him but opening your heart to him was one of the easiest things you’ve ever done. You’re aware you were complete without him. And he knew this. But being by his side, experiencing life with him, made you want to be so much better. You only wanted to support him every step of the way. It made you want to be stronger with him. You wanted both of you to grow together and help each other grow individually. And the fact that he was on the same page with you about this, knowing that you don’t need each other but you really fucking want to be together, makes you think you have a pretty great shot at this. 

You know, undoubtedly, you are in love with this man. And it feels a hundred times better to know he loves you too. 

[raindrops-and-tubestops]

Fluff: 3. “Have you seen my hoodie?” “Noo.” “You’re wearing it, aren’t you?” /Lin-Bumi/, please.

Oooooh this is a new pairing for me! Thank you for the prompt anon ! I did change the wording…I feel like Bumi would wear a sweater…

I hope you enjoy 💜

——————————————————

He had to be going crazy. He knows he tossed his sweater somewhere as he was tripping over his feet on the way to the door this morning. He glanced quickly around the entryway once again.

Where did it go?

Bumi was trying to get to the market before Lin came home. He wanted to make dinner for them, they both needed the quality time after how hectic the week had been. They had been literal ships passing in the night, only acknowledging each other with a chaste kiss on the cheek or a soft pat on the closest body part. He had been spending a bit of time on the Island, Tenzin had given Bumi several classes to tend to himself.

And Lin, well she was being her normal self, diving into each crisis thrown at her with gusto. She had a few officers who were one medical leave, they had gotten injured in a raid turned ambush by the Triads the previous week. She had been working all different hours, each day a different shift, just to offset the work load. He would tell her that she needed to take care of herself…she’d in turn roll eyes affectionately.

Being the Chief doesn’t stop just because I’m off the clock or a little run down.

He could hear her voice, low and gravely, sticky like warm honey, as the words floated through his mind. A small smile crinkled the corner of his eyes as a soft chuckled rumbled through his chest. If there was one person, aside from his mother, that he was hopelessly devoted to, it was Lin Beifong.

As he turned slowly, surveying the room and it’s contents, his grey eyes were drawn to the pile near the front door. It looked suspiciously like Lin’s armor.

How did I miss that?

‘Babe,’ Bumi called curiously, the statement more of a question.

The pet name was a work in progress, more often than not she’d roll her eyes and ask him not to use it. Other days she’d indulge him, trying out some of her own, ‘darling,’ was a favorite of hers.

No answer was forthcoming, but his gut told him that she was indeed somewhere in the apartment. As he continued looking he registered a trail of discarded clothes. A pair of black uniform pants next to the kitchen table. A white tank top carelessly thrown behind the couch. Bindings draped over the high back of Lin’s favorite reading chair. Metal hair pins in a nest pile on the coffee table.

He tried again, ‘Linny?’

He waited a few moments, still eyeing the mess his Chief had made. The bedroom door opened with a creak that cut through the silence like a knife. Soon enough he could hear the soft tread of her bare feet, but he wasn’t ready for what greeted him as she emerged at the end of the hallway.

Lin Beifong, in all her glory, was an admittedly gorgeous woman. Her steel grey hair and sharp green eyes cut quite a contrast against her pale skin. Her frame was lean and muscular, with just the right amount of curves that most people would consider ‘feminine.’ Her cheekbones sharp, giving her a stern appearance, until her lips would lift in a shy smile. Her lips, round but not overtly slow, a soft pink that darkened as she became more excited.

Normally these features, and others her airbender lover was able to catalogue, were hidden under the previously mentioned armor. It was rare, even at events and parties, for Lin to forgo her precious metal, and even when she did, she was noticeably uncomfortable.

Not because she wasn’t confident, because confidence in her body was something Lin had in spades. No…she wasn’t sure she could adequately protect the people she loved if she wasn’t in uniform. Which would put her on edge, even with the metal accents she would incorporate into her formal wear.

Bumi knew exactly how lucky he was., that he of all people, was able…no PERMITTED to see her so relaxed. To see the esteemed a Chief of Police as the woman under the armor, under the facade.

This vision of her, rumpled and clearly still sleepy, just waking from a nap, was for him and only him to see. Her hair was curling slightly at the ends, having been freed from the pins that normally held it. She hated those curls. She had confessed this to him after one of thier first night s together, after he had seen her bed head, her face buried in her pillow. Bumi had merely drawn her closer and placed a soft kiss on those curls, nuzzling the back of her head slightly.

Her long legs were also on display courtesy of the spandex work out shorts she favored for at home. The strong muscles under the smooth skin gave Lin a graceful yet powerful appearance. His fingers itched run up and down her calves, maybe even farther if she’d let him.

As he continued his perusal of her body, he jolted with a start. She was holding up one side of the garment on her torso, hand gingerly rubbing at her hip as she tried to make sense of the world.

The sweater, his FAVORITE sweater mind you, was flowing down her frame. It was a present from his mother, from however long ago, different shades of blue, green, and greys swirled together in a dizzying pattern. Lin had said so herself many times that the pattern made her crossed eyes.

Bumi smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, hip leant against the back of the chair.

‘Hello sleepy head,’ he teased, ‘you haven’t seen my sweater have you?’

Lin dropped her fist from her side as the other scrubbed across her face, desperately trying to clear the sleep from her mind. She didn’t even remember getting to the bed…

‘No,’ she responded sincerely confused.

Bumi chuckled which drew Lin’s attention finally. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her own arms, she didn’t understand what he was talking about.

‘What’s so funny?’ she asked, clearly more awake.

Bumi shook his head slightly, stepping around the chair and closing the distance between the . She tracked her lover with her eyes as he came closer, raising her chin in defiance. Stopping inches from Lin, her head barely reaching his shoulder, Bumi forcefully tugged on the material of sweater.

Taken by surprise and finding herself off balance, Lin fell gracelessly into his chest. The airbender grinned as he wrapped his arms around the metalbender tightly.

‘You sure?’ He asked again, her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink as she realized her mistake.

His chief mumbled something, burying her head in his chest.

‘What was that?’

She sighed as she leant back, ‘I forgot ok?’

His hand snaked up to the base of her neck, stroking the fine hair. Bumi drew Lin closer, his hand urging her to relax into him.

‘It’s ok babe, looks better on you anyway.’

The kiss placed on her forehead and the steady pressure on her waist caused a gasp to escape her lips. Breathy and soft and promising all at once.

‘I’m sorry,’ she mumbled again, ‘it’s soft…did you need it?’

Bumi could feel the steady beat of her heart, the fleeting pressure of her fingertips as they flexed on his own waist, and the puffs of warm air on his neck as she quietly spoke.

Overcome, he kissed her again, his breath ghosting across the delicate skin of her temple. He could feel her lips lift in a soft smile.

Prompts 💜

[razberryyum]

TGCF donghua Episode 11 Thoughts (SPOILERS for episode and novel!)

Ok I didn't think they were actually going to kiss, BUT for a heart-stopping second I thought they were gonna get close enough before cutting away. Just to tease us, if for no other reason. I actually held my breath. It was still a big tease nonetheless but I am still grateful for the scene because my God was it beautifully done. The focus on Dianxia's lips as he says Hua Cheng's name, the way his breath catches as HC leans closer, the world fading away around them, HC's ponytail gently falling forward just so, the way they just focus on his lips just as if from Dianxia's POV....all of it just screams romance. Once again, that was all the work of the donghua's team. In the book, this moment occurs when they're actually back at Puqi Shrine, and Xie Lian's actually in the middle of cleaning a table when he very nonchalantly addresses Hua Cheng by his name. It was cute because Dianxia did it so casually but hardly THIS romantic. So, really, hats off to the donghua team!

Actually other than that last scene, of course I am grateful to the donghua team for many other moments in this episode. To start, whenever they show San Lang protecting Dianxia.

We know Xie Lian can definitely take care of himself, but I appreciate that Hua Cheng's instinct is always to protect him anyway. I actually thought that's why he gave himself the name," Hua Cheng". The words translate to "Flower City", and in the olden days, a city had walls protecting the people in it, so I figured that Hua Cheng chose this name to represent how he will always protect Xie Lian, that his protection is all encompassing. Lol, I can't wait to find out how wrong I am.

Even though Hua Cheng's fight with Pei Su was mostly off screen and limited to quick flashes of swords clashing, what they did show of Hua Cheng in his "real" form was DELICIOUS.

I am grateful to the donghua team for Hua Cheng's adorable reaction to Dianxia being cheeky. Too precious!

Our General Hua looking like a god in armor...and the way he made bis appearance in that scene too, like a savior coming to rescue mankind...or in this case, Banyue.

This scene actually made me tear up. I don't remember thinking Pei Su was that attached to Banyue when reading the book, but that might've been my fault for not paying close enough attention when HuaLian weren't directly involved. I was actually wondering how they were going to conclude the Banyue arc in just one episode since it felt like they would have to pack a lot into just 20 mins or so, but I think they did a really good job of wrapping it up. Didn't feel rushed or that anything important was missing.

I love both of them already, but I want to especially commend the donghua team's character design for The Wind Master. I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't read the book, but trust me when I say THAT is a brilliant bit of character design. They will have to change two things about her next season but it's like she's mostly there already. 😂 I also love her voice and voice performance (by VA Qiu Qiu), so perfect for the character. I seriously cannot wait to see more of her next season, especially after hearing that news about the VA. 😁

I guffawed. This was a bit of brilliance too. Man, I just love the donghua team! They really did such a GREAT JOB bringing TGCF to life. I mean, is there really anyone who hates this adaptation?? I guess if you weren't into Xie Lian and Hua Cheng's relationship, the case of the week parts might be a bit underwhelming, but what I appreciate about them is that they inevitably link back to Dianxia and his past, or introduce us to new characters which then opens up the world. They always have a purpose, leading to bigger things. As a first season I think it was pretty strong, what they changed from the source material were usually positive alterations. I mean, I'm reading the book now because of this show, after putting it off for so long, so I'm definitely converted.

I do have to say though that the season did end on a rather odd note since it felt like there should have been just a few more beats before the end credits. It was a little abrupt imho, but it still is miles better than poor SVSSS's season finale, which ended on a freaking scene transition.

Of course there's still that special HuaLian episode on February 16th, so I guess technicallyyyyy this first season hasn't quite ended yet. The special looks to be picking up right where this episode leaves off: with Dianxia having a conversation with Hua Cheng back at Puqi Shrine about his role as Ghost King and other related topics. I'm not sure why it's airing a month and a half later, or why on February 16th instead of Valentine's Day, but I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. I'm just grateful we have more TGCF and HuaLian to look forward to. Second season is already in production, and apparently the theme song for it will drop tomorrow! A live action has been announced which they're still casting, and honestly some of those casting choices scare me so depending on who they end up deciding on, I might just gonna stay away from that completely and stick with the donghua and book.

Novel Reading Progress...about to finish Book 2... SPOILERS

MXTX-laoshi is a total sadist giving us THAT kind of sex pollen scene when nothing could be done cuz Hua Cheng's still a little bean sprout...I love Dianxia, love him more now knowing he was a pretty flawed human being, that he's absolutely not perfect...his heart is warm but his actions are sometimes quite cold...I blame his privileged upbringing and his youth and inexperience for some of his rash decisions...he means well but of course the road to hell is pathed with good intentions...wish he would stop forgetting about little Hua Cheng though, poor baby...the more I read about the human face disease the more I don't want to...just, overall, I feel this heavy weight on my heart now because I know things are going to go from worse to utter calamitous shit soon. I am SCARED, preparing my heart for breakage.

To read the TGCF novel: https://tgcfmxtx.carrd.co/

[fullymechanized-consoomer]

Most underrated game you’ve never heard of

Every so often I think back to MAG and shed a single tear

For those not in the know, it was one of the first multiplayer FPS titles to advertise itself based on its player count, which on certain maps could reach up to 256 players. It’s also the best.

What made it interesting from a gameplay perspective was that despite the average size of the games, the team who made it (Zipper Interactive of SOCOM fame) actually thought out how to organize such a clusterfuck into a cohesive battle without losing the sense of scale. 

At the start of the game players were asked to pick between 3 different factions:

Each of these factions played wildly differently and offered substantial differences in weapon loadouts, gear, etc. 

Raven, being based on NATO countries was all about high tech, sleek equipment. Their guns were accurate, low caliber, low recoil. Their gear was mainly focused on fucking up the enemy’s ability to communicate and fight

SVER - being based on all sorts of Commie-Block/Red China stereotypes was crude. Slow firing weapons that did tons of damage but lacked controllability and tended to have artificially poor accuracy. Their gear was almost completely focused on crude offense. 

Valor was the middle ground. Most of their weapons did ok damage and were alright in the accuracy department, but had the advantage of high-capacity magazines. Their gear was a mixture of pure offense and fuckery. 

Once you picked a side the uniqueness of the game began to show.

This was your standard conquest map, and what really separated the game from the likes of franchises like Planetside. Though big, the maps were tightly packed and carefully designed. Every game essentially worked like a big Rush game mode, with one side defending their base from an assault on all corners of the map by the attacking team. Each team was subdivided into platoons who were commanded by platoon leaders and given a general sector to accomplish objectives in, with further subdivision happening at the Squad level. The whole thing was overseen by a single commander on each team, who broadly coordinated the attack, set objectives, and gave out abilities. Notably, only they could see the full extent of the map and all of the objectives in real time. Platoon leaders were given the ability to call in airstrikes, EMPs, call in vehicles, etc, while squad leaders could call in smaller mortar strikes and set goals for the squad. Every ability was limited to cooldowns, so it was up to each teams Commander to actually decide whether or not those calls for abilities would be approved or ignored if they thought it was a waste. 

The on the ground gameplay was ingeniously designed. By giving each platoon a general sector to focus on players were encouraged to work together on a map and do something useful, while their squad leaders generally set the smaller objectives inside their sectors. When the situation called for it a platoon leader could call up a few squads and allow them to mark objectives in other sectors, meaning players weren’t locked down to a map. 

Playing objectives was also extremely important as they actually did things beyond progressing the round. Each sector had their own “main” objective and a bunch of optional side objectives that could drastically change the outcome of the battle on the map. Knock out the AA and suddenly the attacking team gets to call in more airstrikes. Knock out the radar and the enemy is blind. Send out and secure a vehicle spawn and suddenly the defenders have a new bunker, etc. All of this occurring real time on a single map.  Along the way players were given generous XP bonuses and status buffs for fighting near the objective their squad mates - something that was very important for the games’ downright decadent character customization and loadout-system, which allowed you to practically build your own guns from the ground up, customize your armor, apply different clothes, etc. 

MAG’s robust ping, leadership, and reward system meant that team play wasn’t reliant on direct coordination between individual players so much as a careful directing of group-think. Give the grunts a goal and the means of communicating simple ideas and you’d be surprised how spontaneously organization and problem solving occur among the mass of humanity. 

Unlike so many other multiplayer games which offered the feeling of participating in a big battle, MAG was the only one that seemed to accomplish it. 

Unfortunately the game was too ambitious for the hardware, and there were some cracks in the general game design. MAG launched on the PS3, and despite having some fun art direction looked like, well, a heavily optimized PS3 game:

. 

The devs made the conscious (and correct) decision to heavily downgrade the game’s textures and effects for the sake of ensuring good performance, and to their credit they pulled it off. The game ran remarkably well for a 256 player PS3 game, but its looks were not a selling point. Many took it to be some kind of cheap shovelware and wrote it off. 

Secondly, the game had a critical balance problem. For whatever reason the game had an obnoxiously long time to kill. It was not uncommon for a player with heavy body armor to tank an entire magazine’s worth of ammunition and still have 2/3rds of their health. This was further compounded by the fact that player characters were not limited to classes, meaning anyone could carry heavy body armor, an assault rifle, and a medic kit due to the absurdly generous weight limits. After a certain level you could even unlock perks in your skill tree that eliminated movement penalties due to over encumbrance, meaning everyone was a damage eating, machine gun toting, rocket launcher using medic. In short, it was hard to die. 

RAVEN disappeared almost overnight due to everyone figuring out their guns amounted to super accurate airsoft guns, and only those with deity-like tracking skills could manage to pull off enough headshots with their super-soakers to justify their accuracy-over-damage philosophy. Valor performed decently well, and their higher magazine capacities over all could roughly compensate for the TTK imbalance. However, only SVER had the offense oriented gear and high-damage guns to do meaningful damage. Yes, you had difficulty hitting stuff, but in a game like MAG where accuracy is compensated with via the sheer volume of fire from a maxed out server it didn’t matter. About 2 years into the game the vast majority of players migrated to SVER, and it became harder and harder to play the large games that made MAG so exceptional. 

Unfortunately a poor marketing campaign and its exclusivity on the infamously underappreciated PS3 had already capped the playerbase to a dedicated few thousand. There simply weren’t that many players to hemorrhage. Zipper Interactive went under in 2014, and with it MAGs’ long abandoned servers shut down.

So why am I and others who played it so obsessed with the failed title? Because it was perhaps the only game to live up to the promise of what a multiplayer shooter could deliver. Looking past the rather mundane balancing flaws, MAG’s comprehensive approach to organized chaos, detailed level design, objective play, free-form character customization, and simple communication tools are still second to none. In many ways the game was way ahead of its time, and so forward thinking with its solutions to certain problems faced in large multiplayer game that it feels like other devs are just now figuring out some of the tricks that Zipper already had. I constantly find myself playing other games and thinking “MAG did that better.” 

TLDR: now is the time for MAG 2

[chaptersofnow]

the royal kiddos of Chrysalis, Cadance and Shining armor

Flurry Heart, Skyla, Instar Pale and Crimson Sweet

Bios under the cut

Name: Flurry Heart Nickname(s): Age: 26 Pronouns: She/her, They/Them Identity: Nonbinary Lesbian crush/relationship: Dating Pumpkin Cake Parents: Cadance, Shining Armor, Chrysalis Sibling: Skyla, Crimson Sweet, Instar Pale Special Talent: Magical blacksmith, Love magic Occupation: Princess Location: Crystal Kingdom Likes: Heavy metal, wrist bands, doing make up, teddy bears Dislikes: annoying men, people who think she isnt working hard as a princess Bio: Flurry Heart, oldest child to Shining armor and Cadance and heir to the crystal empire. she was an absolute sweet heart,  curly pigtails absolutely beloved by the kingdom. However when she entered her teen years she went into a hard goth phase and never got out of it. a real 180 on her personality. none the less she still works hard to work on her hobbies often, keeping up with her princess duties and making her family proud. At the end of the day she happily cuddles up with her girlfriend Pumpkin as they show each other funny pictures on their phones and watch stupid movies until they pass out. Growing up Flurry heart and Cozy Glow were good friends,when Cozy Glow had to come along with Celestia and Luna for trips to the empire for Flurry heart to cantorlot the two got to spend time together. it took a bit of warming up as Cozy glow was a few years older than the royal princes, but when the two started hanging out they were best friends. Cozy glow would often sneak her to cool places, steal snacks from the royal kitchen and so on. Cozy also was the one who introduce her to heavy metal saying quote "I don't know if you'll like this you seem like the type to like classy music like the nutcracker of sumthin'" the next visit  Flurry heart had dyed her whole mane black and had on the messiest smudgiest make up. it was a real kicker to watch this 15 year old walk is like she was hot shit. Cozy glow gave her more CD, taught her to style her hair, put on makeup and the whole thing. When they got older Flurry returned favor by custom making Cozy Glow her armor when she was officially made a guard of cantorlot. Flurry heart tries to not let the comments of the citizens and visiting dignitaries get to her, and it helps to have her parents supporting her . She met her girlfriend Pumpkin Cake when the mare began to take on Sugarcube corner deliveries herself, like Flurry heart recalls knowing her when they were real little, and seeing her at gatherings where pinkie brings the cake twins to come have fun. but they never really got to talk. but with the constant deliveries and Flurry Hearts development for a sweet tooth Pumpkin cake was around often. at some point the two started dating and Pumpkin moved to the Crystal empire and lives with flurry heart. Pumpkin works in the royal kitchen and Flurry heart is a black smith specializing is creating magic infused armor. 

🌨️🌨️🌨️🌨️🌨️🌨️🌨️🌨️🌨️

Name: Skyla Nickname(s): Age: 24 Pronouns: She/her Identity: Agender Bi pony crush/relationship: Parents: Cadance, Shining Armor, Chrysalis Sibling: Flurry Heart, Crimson Sweet, Instar Pale Special Talent: Love Magic Occupation: Princess Location: Crystal Kingdom Likes: keeping on schedual, looking good, being looked up to, tradition Dislikes: not receiving recognition for her work, physical labor Bio: Second born to the empire, Skyla is defiantly the most cookie cutter princess of the four crystal heirs. She takes after her mother but is a lot of uptight in keeping tradition, making sure everything is set to be on scheduled and so forth. she may have picked this up from her aunt twilight more or less. while her family around her tries to keep her grounded and calm she can't help but get in a big tilly over not having control over things. its gone from not being able to control her pretend play dates as a filly to making sure the daily happening don't get off course. Her older sister Flurry Heart, while working hard and still making sure to get her work done, is a lot more laze in things and is ok with letting things slide if they don't go according to plan. Which tends to lead Skyla to try and follow after her and fix these things even if they don't need to be fixed. Skyla puts on a nice happy face for the people but all her siblings know she holds quite the temper when no one is looking, especially when Flurry tries to tell her to calm down. Flurry was originally the one being trained to take over Cadance's spot as queen of the empire one day, training in the use of her magic. However when Flurry found her true calling as a black smith the honor was passed down to Skyla who has happily worked hard to catch up. Skyla see's herself as bearing a torch for the future of the empire and that she has to be perfect and so must everything else around her. Fearing things to be able to fall apart at any moment. after the big war against darkness Skyla had begun to realize for a few years, realizing no great danger would ruining the kingdom. But after the Queen Erroria incident where her and her family had been captured she has brought back up her walls and has become more uptight then before. 

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

Name: Crimson Sweet Nickname(s): Stripes Age: 11 Pronouns: They/Them Identity: Nonbinary Girl crush/relationship: Parents: Cadance, Shining Armor, Chrysalis Sibling: Flurry Heart, Skyla, Instar Pale Special Talent: helping  people make friends Occupation: Princess, student Location: Crystal Kingdom Likes: friends, beetles, small notebooks, the beach Dislikes: Mirrors, thunder, rotten food Bio: Oldest of the two kids born after the marriage of Chrysalis to the crystal family. a marriage made out of many years of apologies, forgiveness and new found friendship. After Chrysalis accepted the friendship of twilight and equestria she spent many years making up for what she did, so her people and everyone else. She was blinded by anger and sadness, when she ruled she truly believed the only way to feed her people was to take their love, and when shown a new way she felt foolish for never realizing and having let her people starve that she denied the change at all. After the Hive came to accept her as their own again she led beside Thorax and his council. Thorax had always been too young to rule all by himself so with a queen with years of experience around to help him things in the Hive improved in new ways. now with her relationship with the Hive repaired Chrysalis slowly made progress to apologize for what she did to Candace and Shining armor. it took awhile to move past the day she invaded and tried to ruin their wedding, but in time over years of forming bonds they had a new wedding. introducing Chrysalis to their family. Chrysalis still lived in the Hive and though their wedding was official for the time it more stood for political alliance between the two, as chrysalis wasn't ready to let thorax stand alone as leader yet. Her staying ended up being what saved the colony, when the war of darkness arose through equestria the entity tried to reclaim the changlings once again as is minons. Had chrysalis not been there to protect them they would have surely been corrupted once again. After the war ended Chrysalis felt safe leaving Thorax as ruler, chrysalis now lives in the crystal empire with Cadance and Shining armor. over the years they have had two children, Crimson Sweet and later Instar Pale. Crimson sweet is still of the younger royal kids, they are quite rambunctious and love to run around with all the other kids in the kingdom. they love to eat and their favorite thing to do is make picnics, they take outings with their school friends almost every week. Bringing along cute snacks that Pumpkin Cake has made for them. 

🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉

Name: Instar Pale Nickname(s): Age: 10 Pronouns: He/him, Any Identity: Genderfuild bi pony crush/relationship: Parents: Cadance, Shining Armor, Chrysalis Sibling: Flurry Heart, Crimson Sweet, Skyla Special Talent: Studying Occupation: Royality, student Location: Crystal Kingdom Likes: cool weapons, books with cool covers, drawings, collecting things Dislikes: loud noises, making decisions, strangers Bio: Youngest of four, Instar is the quiet baby of the family. Growing up in a family as big as his everyone around him babied him, saying he was always so sweet and cuddly. Which led to an amount of coddling that turned him into a very antisocial pony. he struggles to talk to new people and wont go anywhere unless he is with someone he knows so he can duck behind them to avoid conversations. hes a total hypochondriac, believing to be constantly sick and feeling weak all the time dispute his health being fine. Instar likes to spend time with Flurry heart and shining armor the most, Flurry heart because she is quite and they get to just sit around listening to music and reading. and his father because he gets to sit on the side line and watch him work. Instar doesn't think they'd make much for a guard but they love to read all about the different weapons, armors and Technics taught through history and the country. watching his father display these things, or Flurry heart MAKE them is right up his ally. If you do manage to get him to talk to you he is an info dumping machine and will talk your ear off about some obscure history thing he's learned recently.

[flightlessangelwings]

The Gift

Part of the Equal Partners series

The Mandalorian x Reader

Word count: 2k

It had been six months since the Mandalorian came into your life and offered you a place on his ship, and it was the best six months of your life. Before him, the only thing you had known was a slave life on a distant outer rim planet until you burned off your mark and lived in the slums. A bounty hunter’s life was nowhere easy, but it was worlds better than the one you left behind, and you had no regrets whatsoever.

Plus, it made it easier how well you and Mando got along. Neither of you could explain it, but when you went with him it was as if you two had known each other for years. Even the time spent in silence felt comfortable. The trust was almost instant, which was rare for both you and Mando, but it was a welcome surprise. 

You already had fighting skills, but Mando helped you to perfect those skills. Whenever he wasn’t out on a bounty hunt, he spent his time training you. At first, you would quickly find yourself knocked flat on your back, but as you trained and practiced more, you were soon almost equal in your fighting skills. Mando was definitely proud of your quick progress. 

After six months of practice, the Mandalorian decided to let you come along for your first bounty hunt with him. Because you picked up skills so fast, he could have taken you sooner, but for reasons Mando couldn’t explain, he held off as long as he could. He knew how dangerous the job was, and he was determined to keep you safe on the ship for as long as possible, even though you were more than capable of holding your own. 

But he knew that wouldn’t last forever, and you were getting more and more anxious to join him on a hunt. 

That was how the pair of you ended up crouched down at the top of a hill that overlooked a small compound. Mando had met with the client earlier, and the bounty owed him an obscene amount of money and had evaded all other bounty hunters ain’t after him. The client gave instructions to bring the bounty alive for a bigger pay, but would accept him dead as well.

“Take a look,” Mando handed you the scanner after he already looked over the area. The compound wasn’t big, just three small buildings, and it was in the middle of nowhere. He counted only about 6 guards throughout the entire place. And since it was so remote, there was a low chance of them getting backup in time.

“Doesn’t look like too many, we can take em,” you said with confidence once you finished your scan.

“Keep your guard up,” Mando reminded you, “And get your blaster ready,” he added as he pulled his own weapon out. 

You obeyed without a word and you stayed behind him as he swiftly moved closer to the compound. Mando worked fast and before you even registered his movements, he already shot down two guards. You had seen him fight before, of course, but to see him in bounty hunter mode was something else, and you hoped that you could do well enough to impress him.

Your chance soon came as another guard rushed up towards you, and you aimed and fired right at him. The blast hit him right in his head, which killed him instantly.

“Nice shot,” you heard Mando say and you couldn’t help but smile, “Let’s keep going,” he said as he led you further into the small complex.

The last three guards rushed out at you and the Mandalorian and you both pulled out your vibroblades and fought them off. You weren’t sure if it was because the guards were lousy or if your skills improved that much from your training, but it was almost too easy for you to take out those guards.

Once all the threats were taken out, Mando scanned the area again to find where the bounty was hiding, “There,” he pointed to a locked doorway. You gave him a nod and stayed behind him as he strode over and kicked the door down.

The bounty was ready, and immediately jumped on the Mandalorian. They fought each other off for a short time until he was able to knock Mando off balance before he turned his attention to you. You were ready, though, and you had your vibroblade raised and ready for his strike. He was a much tougher opponent than his guards, and it was harder for you to overpower him. Meanwhile Mando had gotten himself up and was ready to jump in wherever you needed him.

At one point, the bounty was able to get the upper hand on you and he slashed right at your arm. You yelped in pain as the blade cut through the fabric of your sleeve and down to your arm. He pushed you back while you were caught off guard, but you raised your arms to hold him off. And that was when he saw the large scar on your arm.

“Ohhh,” he snarled with a wicked smile, “I’ve seen scars like that before. Wouldn’t your bounty be higher than mine?”

Anger completely took you over and you became reckless with your movements. The bounty was able to get the upper hand and used a hidden knife to slash at your side and kick you back. You fell back and hit the floor hard, which knocked your breath completely out of you.

Mando immediately reacted, his own rage also boiled over. He lashed out at the bounty without mercy and in no time had him on the floor, completely beaten to a pulp. As the Mandalorian stood over the half conscious bounty, he used his blaster to snack him across his face to completely knock him out. He was so close to killing him, higher payout be damned, but your voice stopped him.

“Mando,” you whispered.

He rushed over to you and inspected the slash on your side, “You ok?”

“Fine,” you grunted as you tried to sit up, “Just a scratch,” you tried to sound reassuring, but he could tell there was something on your mind.

Mando said your name to call your attention, and he waited for you to meet his visor before he continued, “You don’t have to worry,” he started in a soft voice, “I’m not going to turn you in, even if you get a bounty.”

You smiled for a second but your expression quickly shifted into a scowl, “Because you feel like you owe me, right? Because I saved your life back when you met me?”

He stayed steady, “No.”

Your eyes opened wide in surprise, you hadn’t expected that. 

“I decided to let you travel with me before you saved my life,” he said plainly but compassionately.

You exhaled sharply, “Oh…” you didn’t know how to respond to that, and you took a few moments to let his statement sit in your head before you gave him a bright smile.

“Now, let's get you patched up,” he said before he helped you to your feet. 

You accepted his hand and let him pull you up. Mando didn’t pull away right away, and he held onto you until he was sure that you were steady on your legs. Even though you couldn’t see his face, you could feel his gaze on you as he waited for your nod to let him know you were ok to stand on your own. When you did give him a nod and he finally broke away, you immediately found that you missed his touch. You found yourself wondering how someone so ruthless in a fight could also be so soft and tender.

It was a quiet walk back to the ship. Mando carried the unconscious bounty as you walked behind him. So many words were on the tip of your tongue, but none of them made it out. As you studied the bounty’s beaten face, you realized that Mando definitely went overboard when he attacked him. Was that because of what he said to you? You tried to keep yourself level, since you didn’t want your racing heart to push more blood out of your wound than you already had lost.

Once you reached the Razer Crest, you immediately went into the main chamber to get to work to fix your injury while the Mandalorian stayed down in the hull and threw the bounty into carbonite. As soon as the hiss of the freeze dissipated, Mando finally let himself relax. He didn’t even realize how much tension he held in his body until he finally let his breath go. He had never gotten that angry over someone’s words before, and they weren’t even directed at him.

Mando had been pushing his feelings down, but he had to admit to himself that something had awoken within him when he first met you. The way you risked everything to help him when he was a complete stranger really spoke to him, and the more time he spent with you, the more fond of you he grew. 

He let out a heavy sigh as he buried his feelings again. Mando turned to make his way into the room where you sat, ready to help you. But, you were already finished with healing yourself, and you were just setting the bacta patch on your side when he walked in.

“I could have helped you with that,” Mando said as he tried to ignore his rise in heart rate at the sight of you with your shirt lifted up.

“I got it,” you replied softly, “Thanks though.”

Mando nodded in response and took a step towards the cockpit before he paused for a moment. You watched him with a confused look as you wondered what went through his mind. You didn’t have to wonder long, however, and he moved back towards you and pulled something out from his pocket.

“Here,” he handed you two large silver arm braces, “This is for you.”

You stared at the braces for a moment before your face slowly lit up. Not only were they beautiful, but they looked like armored arm bands so they also provided some extra protection. 

“Thank you,” you breathed out before you took them from him and wasted no time in putting them on your forearms. They covered most of your lower arms, and they hid your large scar completely. 

Mando felt his heart skip a beat when you gave him a bigger smile than you ever had before. He didn’t even know his heart could do that, and he was extra grateful that his face was covered or else he would have completely given himself away.

“They’re beautiful,” your voice broke him out of his thoughts. A tear formed in your eye as your emotions bubbled over.

Before his brain caught up to his body, Mando stepped closer to you and wiped away the single tear that fell down your cheek. Your breath hitched on your throat as you stared up into his visor as your heart pounded in your chest.

“Sorry,” Mando mumbled as he shuffled back to give you some space.

“No,” you replied immediately, “It’s not you. It’s just I never had someone give me a gift this thoughtful before,” you explained as your expression softened. You reached out for his hand and gave it a single squeeze before you let go. As much as you wanted to, you knew that if you held on any longer, you knew your feelings would resurface. And for now, you decided to keep them to yourself.

He let out a shaky breath, “Let’s get this asshole to the client so we can get paid,” Mando said, not knowing how to respond to you. After you gave him a soft smile and a single nod, he turned towards the cockpit and started up the engines. Once he was seated, he stared at his hand and felt such longing for yours again. But, he shook himself out of those thoughts and refocused himself towards his job. If only he knew that you were down in the cargo area doing the exact same thing.

~

Notes: So much pining!!!! I have plans to make a whole little series using the reader character from Equal Partners because I really like that character and her dynamic with Mando. As always, my taglist is always open so just let me know if you’d like to be added :)

Mando taglist: @ugly-wall-flower​ @spottedlekkudancer @smolashie @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @soapjay @ispilledmyink​ @bva14​ @iamakindprincess @pascalisthepunkest  @astronomyturtle @amazingiam00 @sinnamon-bunn @weirdowithnobeardo @sylvanas-lover @spaghetti-666 @hollandhiddles @lustriix @suuuckonmyballs @bi-readytobakepie-cry-and-die @catsandbats13   @benakenalove  @tintinwrites​ @thesefleshfailures​ @thirsty-flygirl​

[cloudsrust]

Do you have any thoughts on what NSR characters would fit & combinate well with any of the abnormalities from Lobotomy Corporation?

*Cracks knuckles* Aw heck, here we go again- (Think I had gotten a similar ask but with lm3 boss ghostes- welp at least this time there are less characters fgdjs) (Spoilers for both Lobotomy Corp and No Straight Roads under read more!)

Mayday and Zuke (But more May-) -Punishing Bird Breaches whenever it thinks there’s danger to help- does the absolute contrary of help. Attacking/Pestering someone that was just trying to work. Just like May thought the best way to fix the energy problem and bring back rock was to destroy the power sources-... yeah the recklesness of these two is about right sdhsdj.  ... also I dare to say- both May and lil’ bird? Both got.. quite the big mouth eh oh- this was bad sorry dsudhs. -Big Bird Mostly same reasoning. Just as Big Bird goes “Well, if I kill the creatures the monster will not kill them” they went “Well, if we create enough energy the others don’t have to create energy!” and went on the Hijack spree.  Also Big Bird, as we can kinda guess in their legacy final observation, reacts especially well with calm people- who don’t get scared easily and look over the appearence of something-.. I think they would do well with Zuke. Plus they only break out after a second trumpet/many fatalities- so they are lowkey more reflecting than like.. Punishing Bird- so it’s a nice pair for May and Zuke. DJSS: -Der Freischütz Both of them met their “demise” because of their pride (Frei lost his soul to the devil by becoming a monster, DJ was sent out of the orbit by a pair of simpletons-.. think the burns are comparable yep)-  thinking they could beat someone just because they were playing on their field. Plus they object head buds. -Child of the Galaxy  ...Yes it’s because of the Galaxy theme;; It does also follow my headcanon that DJ is not completely from Earth tho- so like-.. the sensation of not belonging and the search of a “friend” (Like minded individual in case of DJ) is also there. The rest tho-... mhhh- doesn’t fit much but ye;; -Notes from a Crazed Researcher The last line of its observation made me think of DJ and their Galaxy Brain idk djsgdjs. 

Guess I just see them as someone that would persue knowledge that they’re interested in no matter the lenghts they’d have to go for it. Sayu -Opened can of WellCheers The crew and Sayu would just vibe with them shrip lads ngl dshdjs.  Oke for real- mostly thought about how her “video introduction” is her promoting some kind of sea themed snack- and these guys came to mind.  There is also the fact that in the legacy version, if they were in a bad mood, a wave would sweep away the employee working on them- and also! In their Final Observation, no matter what you choose, you will consume the drink they offer and get sweeped away by the sea-... sounds like you can’t fight the currents uh?  -Queen of Hatred I mean- both are kawaii animu girls that become cool looking “monsters” once enraged and beat you up.. perfect match ohohoh. -Porcubus I mean- Porcubus makes your head explode with happyness- Sayu? WIth her absolute banger of a theme (seriously I had that tune as a earworm for at least a month- not that I minded ohoh) and also because of her cuteness ngl- It’s also the fact that they both just want to live their life and make others happy- what they bring is something bigger than them (Sayu’s crew helping EDM take over while just following their dreams- and Porcubus who just cannot control their ecstasy inducing venom.) -Would also say Dreaming Current because of the ocean aesthetic and rainbow bubbles- and especially because both were just about the dreams of some children-... but it’s such a sad story about sickness and drugs;; don’t have the heart. -Fun fact! In the Lob Corp Artbook (I’m that much of a nerd for that game) there are sketches of an abnormality that would’ve been based off “The Little Mermaid”. I think it would’ve been perfect for Sayu.. but it was discarded like many other cool ideas;; Yinu & Mama -Ppodae Looks harmless until angered/breached- kinda like how Yinu looks like an easy boss being a simple kid- but then Mama comes in with all of rage.  -Dream of a Black Swan The story of a sister that went as far as she could to save her brothers from a mysterious sickness that took over her city. When it breaches it’s the sister that you have to defeat- she also has an attacks reflecting umbrella. She reminds me of Mama because of the fact that she has two forms (One shows two heads while just wondering, the other has them concealed as a swan head when she attacks) and because of her prtective nature and how she shields Yinu during the fight. There is also the whole sickness thing that “torn both of these families apart”- one just less tragic than the other. -Would also put in Burrowing Heaven because of this part of its “story”:

The first lines reminds me of how as the battle progresses the stage is elevated more and more off the eart beneath. The middle I feel summarizes Mama’s rage and Yinu’s despair close to the end. Mama was blinded by rage, she was caring more about her child to keep up her performance (what SHE thought was important to her) rather than what Yinu was actually feeling. She only comes back to herself when she hears their music- when she “opens” her eyes again and directs her attention to what is really important- not the piano or her performance, but their bond as a family. The last line- well that just me crying at the ending scene of their battle :,D 1010 & Neon J -Army in Pink Just soldiers trying to help- but that might get overwhelmed in their duty if fatalities happen or if you’re putting too much work onto them. Lowkey fits them- -Crumbling Armor I feel it’s perfect as a rappresentation of maybe Neon’s former self- a reckless shell left behind but that still calls to him when the situation gets drastic.  -The Silent Orchestra Beating you senseless with beams while still performing- yeah sounds familiar. There is also the fact that in total are five members but in contaiment only the conductor appears- kinda like how 1010 is the enemy on the field- but it’s Neon who is behind it all. Also both got Style- -All-Around Helper ...Listen I can’t even see this lil’ guy as an abnormality;; it just happened to have a factory defect that made it a killing machine instead of a romba of sort- poor thing,, I just like to think of Neon trying to fix them up- or keep them as a killing machine pet lmao. Eve -Fragment of the Universe Both their main thing is being misunderstood and having to communicate through an artistic field- The way the body also looks like a child scribble- it has a lot of expression just like in  Eve’s case. -Snow White’s Apple Wondering when will your story have a happy ending or a true love kiss- I feel it fits Eve’s past spent searching for her other half- for someone that would make her happy. -Child of the Galaxy -Once again- attachment issues. Many of them;; Loving and thinking about someone so much that you end up hurting them involountarly while lost in the joy and inspiration they brought in your life (Nadia and Zuke’s past). The fact that they both get particularly dangerous when divided/refused from the one they love or when they fall into despair is also a good match. -Mirror of Adjustment is also a good one for her. A mirror that changes you to be the best in your own way- fits with how by changing how she perceived herself she finally accepted herself. Tatiana - Fiery Bird Kinda self explainatory ngl- the way the burnt looking bird ignites once breached reminded me of her Boss Fight. -Price of Silence This is a legacy only abnormality- but I thought it fit more with her time powers more than Backward Clock did. There is this thing about being unable to escape a certain present (time) that makes me think of her trying to escape from her rock past but ending right back into it in the end. -Judgement Bird A blind bird that decided that justice would only come from their broken scale- that only gave the “guilty” result.  The way Tatiana just wanted to ban rock to yes- get back to MayDay- but also in fear that the chaos that she had brought with the Goolings would repeat itself (just like the Judgment Bird was deeming innocents gulity in case they were the monster). In the legacy version also- if you pass the Final Observation and put the bird regrets to rest- they will simbolically give you their scale. Kinda like how in the end Tatiana leaves her guitar to May- to let her continue her past legacy.. just in a better way. Phew- I’m done;;; A bit rushed especially towards the end but my mind was rushing so much with the possibilities;; had to cut some because it was getting waaaay too long whoops-

[detroitbydark]

Crossed Connections: Part VI

Pairing: Tech x Togruta!Reader, Wrecker/OC

Characters: Echo, Ik'aad, Tech

Warnings: None

Summary: Sometimes awkward is cute and sometimes it's just not

Previous Parts and Extended Universe can be found here

------

Y/N glances over at the ARC Trooper perched carefully at the edge of the examination table. He sits stock still, skin as pale as Durosian marble. It is only the near silent whir of the drives in his right arm that let her know he’s more than a statue. Even then, the Techno Union’s wizardry with his prosthetic is so good that she doubts a human ear would pick it up. 

She wants to spit every time someone mentions Wat Tambor’s name.  The socket arm and it’s connections are a marvel of Techno Union know how but it rips at her heart. They’d created such a device, a prosthetic that could offer quality of life to those in need,  only to use it to further progress the Separatist agenda. 

“You’re quiet today” she notes leaning her hip against the counter behind her as she takes him in. Echo is pale still, unnaturally so, but his cheeks aren’t nearly as sallow or as sunken as when he’d first arrived on base. His eyes are brighter, if not guarded. He’s stopped twitching when she touches him.  

Being away from Skako Minor was doing well for him but he needed time and that wasn’t something the GAR was likely to allow. She’d heard whispers of him joining a mission with Clone Force 99 very soon.

 On Coruscant she’d not been immune to talk of clone rights and she was quick to agree with those who spoke out for them. It made her uncomfortable that all her work was only to prepare a newly liberated prisoner of war to be forced right back into the field. Wrecker had tried to explain that this was the life they were, quite literally,  made for. The life they trained for from creation. It didn’t sit right still.

“They refer to you as Ik’aad.”

She cocks her head at the question.  It’s the first thing Echo has said since arriving in her part of the bay for his daily once over.  They’ve been doing this song and dance for nearly a week now. Like any good clone, the healing process was progressing remarkably quick and his injuries were already fading.  Granted those were ones Y/N could see. 

He was sober, quiet, speaking little most days and then without end on others, as if the words had built up during his time in stasis and they had to spill out or risk causing him to implode with the weight of them. 

While he hadn’t offered her many smiles he also didn’t seem to dislike her company. She could work with that. 

His observation though is curious. Of course, she knew who they were. For better or worse she’d earned more than a few looks as information about the Bad Batch had trickled through the base's ranks, and with it her name attached to the unit.

She spent more than enough time with Wrecker for a very specific set of rumors to begin circulating. The thought of the whispers she’d heard the other day in the mess made her cheeks burn. It hadn’t done much for her socially. Her new roommate seemed immune to them though and that was a comfort she was glad to take. The ARC trooper didn’t seem to mind much either, though he had his own bits of gossip that followed him. 

“I suppose they do”

Y/N glances at the bleak reminders of his time under corporate control. The cold, alloy of Techno Union metal sticking out starkly against Echo’s skin.

The neural access ports, unfortunately, had been woven so tightly into the neural pathways of the Arc Troopers brain that there was no way to seperate the two. The ones that had connected his lungs and diaphragm while in stasis were no better. They were to be permanent fixtures. While Echo had joked just the day before that some of his vode would be jealous of the look she had a feeling he was not fond of the modifications.

Rex had been a frequent visitor during his first few days in the medbay, almost constant in his devotion to his vod. Surprisingly, so had some of her other charges. Hunter had stopped by a handful of times and both Wrecker and Crosshair had frequently sat with him to distract while she worked. Today was actually the first day he’d shown up for his treatment and not had an escort. The ARC Trooper had left an impression amongst the Bad Batch and only time would tell if that was a good thing or not. 

Y/N moves slowly to start his vitals. 2-1B, the medical droid was kept on standby when Echo was under her care. She’d discovered early on that too much time under the droids watchful eye and its inability to take things at the troopers pace had a tendency to exacerbate the former POWs anxiety. Y/N was ok working without Too-bee’s assistance and taking a more languid pace if it made her patient comfortable.

“Do you know what it means?”

Y/N glances up at the trooper. “I’ve never thought about it really” she says, turning to gather supplies to clean and redress the few deeper lacerations the ARC trooper still had, places where there had not been enough skin to pull together to suture. 

She makes a small gesture with her fingers and Echo begins peeling his shirt off. It gets hung on the edge of his prosthetic and he struggles for a moment, frustration evident before he takes a deep breath and slowly uncouples it from the alloy. He folds the black shirt neatly and places it atop his armor as Y/N finishes laying out supplies on her work table and rolls it next to his perch. Slipping on gloves, she begins peeling spent bacta patches off, holding the skin taught as she does to ease the tug on his skin. “So, are you going to leave me in suspense or are you going to tell me?”

Echo likes the way she smiles at him. It makes what she does easier. He tries not to flinch as she removes the last patch. 

The engineers, the doctors, Tambor those who’d performed his modifications had looked at him like anything other than a science experiment, a tool, a profit margin. Y/N sees him as a person. She accommodates him. She’s learned quickly his ins and outs and she doesn’t push. She treats him like an individual. And she smiles. She smiles so bright and full that she lights the room, like star shine on a dark night. Her presence soothed him. She made him feel like he had choices and the power to make them.

���Baby. They call you Baby” the first time he’d heard the words slip from Wrecker’s mouth he’d done a double take.  Then he’d heard it from Hunter, and finally, Crosshair. It was a term of endearment he hadn’t heard from a clone before. The way they treated her was soft, even Crosshair who was rough and callous to the other troopers, the Regs, seemed to thaw, if only slightly,  for the little Togruta.

Y/N shrugs, “Hmm?” She hums plopping onto a stool and spinning around a few times before she rolls in front of him and offers him a shining smile, pearly incisiors peeking out. “That’s cute. You gonna call me baby too?” She teases.

Echo feels his cheeks heating. “Could I? Would that be... strange?”

Y/N shrugs again, “I don’t think so” she says motioning toward his bare chest. She takes a piece of bacta soaked gauze and waits for his nod before she begins cleansing the minor lacs and scrapes. Her touch is light as she moves. Echo’s eyes drift shut. Touch was still… touch was something novel and when he was given a bit of softness he was going to soak up every bit he could.

“Ik’aad” he tests the name out. He’s spoken so little Mando’a since his capture that it feels foreign on his tongue, not unpleasant, more like a long forgotten friend he needed to become reacquainted with.

When his eyes open back he’s greeted by an impish grin. “See that’s not so bad.”

He’s not sure if she is talking about the wound care or the nickname. He nods anyway as she pats the areas dry and applies fresh bacta patches, fewer than the day before.

“You know what I’ve got to do now?” She questions softly. 

This he did know and he feels his shoulders tense at the thought. The metal ports implanted along his skull and back had been placed prior to going into stasis. They allowed the Techno Union access to his memory’s as well as a means to keep his respiratory system functional. The skin surrounding the ports had healed but had never had a chance to callous or grow accustomed to the push and pull that movement caused. His freedom and sudden increase in activity had caused sores to develop around the ports themselves, the skin raw and chaffing. The doctors had all been in agreement that with time the skin would toughen and the sores would heal but in the interim it left him uncomfortable and required daily tending.

Y/N- Ik’aad, he corrects mentally, rolls her stool slowly around the exam table, letting her feet flop in front of her and pull herself around. He’s tense but he can’t help the weak tug at the corner of his mouth at her antics, she looks up and catches his eye with a knowing grin.

She stands, forgetting the stool in lieu of a more upright position. “Why do you think they call me Ik’aad?” She asks conversationally, trying out the word for herself,  as one hand falls to his shoulder Her movements allow him to telegraph where here next touch would land.  She did it the same way each time. Top to bottom. Left to right. It bred a sense of familiarity and, on the worst days, gave him points of reference for how long it would take. In the beginning she’d talked him through each step of the process until he’d asked her to stop. Since then she’d tried to distract him. They both knew what she was doing but neither found fault in it so she continued her chit chat and he continued to listen. 

Y/N begins moving a fresh piece of bacta moistened gauze around one port, cleaning the crust and debris that clung to the wound away. Echo tries to focus on her question and not the sting of the antiseptic as the gauze washes away the dried flakes of drainage.

“You’re small” he starts “like, you-could-fit-in-my-pocket-and-go-on-missions tiny”

Y/N giggles as she continues to work, “is that so?”

Echo shrugs, “you’re  kind of adorable too-“

“Not you too! You sound like Wrecker.” she growls playfully, “If you start telling me you want to pinch my cheeks I swear, Echo...” she threatens without any real threat.

“Nothing like that. You’re like- like- “ he looks for a word. He knows there’s one that fits but it eludes him. “I think you just have a way about you that makes them feel...” he shrugs.

“Well if you don’t know what they’re thinking what do you think? How do I make you feel?” It’s an honest question, born of genuine curiosity. Like the clones in the Bad Batch, he kept coming back to see her when any medic, clone or civvie, could do what she was doing.

“You make me feel warm.” He says without hesitation. “For so long everything was so cold, distant and you’re-“ he snaps his fingers and Y/N startles fingers pressing into the flesh where she was beginning to work at the next row of ports. “Vod’ika” he says firmly flinching at the press.

“Translation Echo?”

“Uhh, little sibling. Sister or brother. It’s interchangeable.” He explains. A smile splits his face knowing he’s finally placed the feeling she drew out of him and what he assumed the other as well-

“Y/N?” The question is followed by a sharp knock to the wall nearest the thick curtain that separates the room from the rest of the med bay. 

Echo and Y/N turn toward the familiar voice. Y/N gives him a questioning look and he nods.

“Come on in Tech? Is everything ok?” Y/N places a hand to Echo’s bare shoulder as she tosses the used gauze in a nearby bin. The clone watches curiously as Tech’s helmet, visor flipped up,  flicks ever so slightly from Y/N to where her hand rested than back again.

“I- I didn’t know you were busy. Everything’s fine.” He clarifies quickly. Even modulated, his voice is just a touch higher than Echo is used to. “I just wanted to see- I just thought I’d swing by”

“We were just finishing up” she turns back to Echo and motions to his shirt. “You good to gear back up”. He pulls the blacks on silently as he watches the two.

Tech doesn’t call the medic Ik’aad. It’s the first time Echo’s noticed. He also realizes Tech is rarely around when she is. Echo watches the engineer take a step into the room and again his narrowed eyes flick back to where Echo is seated.

“What can I do for you?” She questions peeling away gloves and turning toward the sink to wash her hands.   Echo notices for the first time something different in the tone of her voice, almost shy.

“Wrecker said” he hesitates “you were getting ready for your FAS cert test?  I came across a study guide that might help, if you want to use it that is?” He asks holding a pocket drive between gloved fingers.

Though he’s the one supposed to be here, Echo suddenly feels as if he’s intruding on something. It’s like watching one of the shinies back in the day at 79’s approach a woman for the first time. It’s a dance with no music and Tech has two left feet. 

Y/N reaches up and toys with the end of a lek as she turns around. “That’s really thoughtful of you.”

Y/N is more quiet, far less verbose than Echo has become accustomed to.

“It really would be helpful. Maybe-“ she pauses. Glancing down, she seems to steal herself before her eyes travel back back up to the other clone “maybe you could help me study?”

The ARC trooper finds himself silently rooting for the other clone. She’d baited the hook and thrown it out there.  The way Tech’s eyes widen behind his goggles and the near panic that flares up is not lost on Echo.

“I’m- I’m really busy actually” Tech spits out quickly. 

Echo cringes as they both seem to deflate. He wonders how neither sees it in the other.

“Oh, ok. That’s- that’s really thoughtful of you.” Color flares in the togrutas cheeks “Again. I already said that didn’t I?” Her hip bumps against her tray table as she moves and she makes a small disgruntled noise as bacta splashes across her tac pants. “Kriff” she curses silently as she looks down and wipes uselessly at the spreading patch of wetness.

There’s towels on a rack along the wall and Echo watches Tech look at them but when he doesn’t move Echo does.

“Here, Ik’aad.” He grabs two and hands her one. Her face is flushed when she looks up. Embarrassed. She gives him a weak smile.

She presses the towel against the wetness soaking into her pants. “Have I told you you’re my favorite patient?”

“No. But I’m glad to hear it” 

Behind him he can hear Tech shift from foot to foot. Echo had given him a chance to come to her aide and he’d dropped the ball. When he glances back he catches Tech’s narrowed eyes. Was that…? No, it couldn’t be-. 

Echo can see the look in the other clones eyes and it isn’t particularly generous. He arches a brow back as Tech drops his visor.

“I’m going to leave this here for you, Y/N” Tech announces looking past Echo and setting the pocket drive down. 

Y/N waves him off. Avoiding eye contact as she balls the towel up and throws it in the hamper.

“Thanks. I’m sure it’ll come in handy.” She says puffing out a frustrated breath through pursed lips. Her attention goes back to Echo. 

“So now that my uniform is soaked, do you have plans for lunch?”

The ARC trooper shrugs, “I hadn’t planned anything. I’ve got to get some range time scheduled in later but I’m free for a bit.”

“Good. I’ve just gotta run by my room and change and then you can take me to the mess. You can keep telling me about how amazing I am.” She teases weakly. Her eyes widen as she looks past him and notices Tech still standing in the doorway.

“You can come too if you want but I understand if you’re busy”

He hesitates for half a second and Echo is sure he’s going to take her up on the offer. He can see it in the way he leans forward, the way his left hand clenches and unclenches that he wants to. 

“Maybe another time?”

Y/N barely manages a halfhearted “yeah, sounds good” before the engineer is turning on his heels and making his escape.

“I don’t think he likes me much,” she notes quietly after he’s gone.

Taglist: @skdubbs @pastelbunny1501 @my-own-oracle @underworldqueen13​ @obiorbenkenobi​ @adritozier @dafodddil @daniellajocelyn

[rocksandrobots]

Of Rocks and Robots Ch. 16 - Fallout

Hiro felt the strong wind batter his helmet as he scanned the skyline. He and Baymax were perched on top of the San Fansokyo bridge. The robot's sensors were also searching the cityscape before them, looking for Varian. 

Hiro of course wouldn't be able to spot the teen in a crowd from this height, but still he kept on looking anyway, hoping against hope that he might catch a glimpse of the familiar goggles and blue streaked hair. His friend had been missing for over twelve hours and he was really starting to worry. 

Just then his eyes did pick out something bounding across the rooftops. It was Fred carrying Wasabi, and they were followed close behind by Gogo and Honey Lemon. 

They quickly joined him on top of the pier. 

"Any luck?" He asked. 

"No." Honey Lemon sadly answered. 

"Fred and I didn't find anything either." Wasabi despaired.

"And he's still not answering his phone." Gogo added. 

"How about you and Baymax?" Fred asked hopefully. 

Hiro gave a weary sigh. "Nothin'. Baymax must've scanned the whole city by now. Either he's not in San Fransokyo anymore or…." He trailed off, unable to finish. 

"Or what?" Fred pressed.

"Or he...he may not be... alive." Hiro felt a lump in his throat starting to rise and blinked back tears.

"Don't … don't say that." Honey Lemon protested, her voice shaking with fear. She couldn't bear the thought of losing another friend so soon. Not when they were just starting to get to know him well. 

"Maybe Baymax's scanners missed something?" Wasabi suggested optimistically. "The city is a large place and we are talking about millions of people here." 

Hiro shook his head. "No. According to Baymax's memory files, Varian has a unique biosignature from everyone else because he's from another world. He should be easy to find in a crowd." 

"You mean he is an alien?" Fred asked, trying to make sense of what Hiro was saying. 

"Oh no, he's human, just like us, but he gives off a low level electromagnetic radiation reading; probably due to travelling through the portal unprotected. Either way Baymax would be able to pick it up easily unless... unless Varian just isn't emitting any vital signs at all." 

A suffocating silence fell upon the group as they shared worried looks. No one wanted to assume the worst but they were running out of options. 

"Then he must have left the city. That's all." Gogo said, the calm assurance in her voice putting everyone at ease, even herself. "He does have a bus pass. He may have rode out to the suburbs or the beach, or something." 

"Unless he got his portal working and left the planet altogether." Fred countered.

"What!? And leave without taking his pet raccoon with him!? Nope. Nuh-uh. No way am I keeping that thing!" Wasabi fumed. Though really, his annoyance was more about distracting himself from his own despair rather than focusing on the possibility of losing someone he had come to care about. 

Just then Baymax interrupted. "I have found something." 

Everyone looked at the robot hopefully. "Where? Is it Varian?" Hiro asked. 

"A faint energy reading coming from Muirahara Woods." Baymax replied. "But it keeps fluctuating, I can not tell if it is Varian or not." 

Hiro and his friends shared a look amongst each other. Muirahara Woods was well known to interfere with electronic devices. There really was no telling if what Baymax was picking up was their friend or not. Nor if the signal fading in and out was a byproduct of the interference or if Varian's vital signs were actually low. 

"Well so far it's the best lead we've had." Hiro said. "Let's move out."

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

Varian sat huddled underneath the giant tree. He’d woken up early in the morning sore, hungry, and cold, his jacket having been soaked through from the damp ground. Now the sun was nearing midday and he was becoming hot and thirsty instead. However, he still didn’t move from his perch. He wasn't ready yet to face his disgrace. 

“Man, what have I told you about sleeping outside?” An annoyed voice broke through his worrisome thoughts and Varian looked up to see Wasabi standing before him, dressed in his full armor, quickly followed by the rest of their friends.

Hiro hopped off of Baymax’s back and angrily strode towards him. 

“What were you thinking, running away like that!? Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been? Chief Cruz has the whole police force looking for you and Aunt Cass hasn’t stopped crying since you…”

Hiro was interrupted by Gogo, who placed a hand on his chest to halt his progress. “Calm down. Yelling won’t help.”

Varian’s only response though was to duck his head and hug his knees, as if he could hide his shame so long as he could hide his face from them. 

“Are you ok?” He heard Honey Lemon ask and Varian felt a gentle hand rest upon his shoulder, but he still didn’t move or say anything. 

“I have done a full body scan and he appears to have suffered no injuries.” Baymax’s clipped voice filled the air. “However I do detect low levels of serotonin, which can be linked to anxiety, depression, panic attacks, insomnia..”

“We get it, Baymax. Thank you.” Wasabi interrupted, presumably to spare everyone the long and unnecessary details.

"Are you embarrassed about being arrested?" That was Fred talking. "Don't worry, you're not the only one to get busted for bot fighting, just look at Hiro here!" 

"Hey!" Hiro protested, annoyed.

Next Varian heard footsteps coming nearer and felt the presence of someone squatting down next to him. 

“Varian?” came Gogo’s voice, “what’s wrong?” 

No response.

“We want to help you but we can’t if you won't talk to us.” She pressed. 

Still no response. 

“Varian, we know something is wrong, and it’s not about bot fighting or the arrest.” She sighed. “The panic attacks, the angry outbursts, and now this….” 

She paused again, hoping he’d offer something up as a way of explanation but he didn’t. So instead she steeled herself and asked the question she had been wanting to ask since their argument last week, but had been afraid to do so until now. 

“Why were you left alone? Where’s your dad?” 

This did get a response. Varian inhaled sharply and squeezed his arms tighter around his legs, as if he had been stabbed by those questions. He still didn’t answer though. 

“What... what do you mean by ‘left alone”?” Hiro asked, all of his anger now replaced with concern.

“He said he's been on his own since he was fourteen.” Gogo replied. 

“And he also said that his pet raccoon was all he had left.” Wasabi added with horror as a new context for Varian’s angry outburst during his first night in San Fansokyo took shape. 

"You really did lose your family?" Fred gasped. "Is that why you became a super villain?" 

Wasabi gave his friend a disbelieving look, "For the last time he's not a super villain, Fred." He then took a swat at him for being so tactless, not that Fred felt it through his armor. "Stop saying that ya dummy!" 

"But I am." 

Varian's confession was muffled from where he still held his head in his lap, but there was no mistaking the tears in his voice. As one, all of his friends looked at him in surprise. 

"What do you mean?" Honey Lemon gently asked when Varian offered no further explanation.

"I... I've been in jail before." Was all he could say. 

"For what?" Hiro asked, almost fearful of the answer. 

Varian paused, unsure how best to explain his extensive list of crimes. Finally he settled on the one that pretty much covered all the rest. 

"Tre...Treason." He choked. 

He couldn't see it, but he was sure everyone was exchanging shocked looks with one another and he braced himself for the rejection that would undoubtedly follow. 

"You sold out your country's military secrets in a time of war?" Wasabi asked, confused. 

He hadn't expected that. Varian looked up to see everyone staring at him with worry and confusion. He could only look at them with equal confusion. What was Wasabi talking about? 

"We don't know what 'treason' means in your world." Gogo explained. "We only have our definition and it's pretty narrow." 

Varian's breath hitched and he ducked his head back down. Just even saying the word had been hard enough. He wasn't sure he could recount everything without breaking down again. His mind whirled as he tried to even pick out a starting point. 

"It means… lots of things…." He heaved through sobs. "I guess, the first… crime...was stealing the sundrop…" 

"The what?" Fred asked. 

"A… flower…it's supposed to heal people." 

"You mean medicine?" Hiro said, trying to put Varian's words into terms they all understood. "You… you got tried for treason just for stealing medicine?" His voice was now incredulous, as if he couldn't believe it.

Varian hugged himself tighter and snuggled his face deeper in his arms, trying to make himself as small as possible. There was more besides the theft but he couldn't bring himself to admit it out loud. 

"Varian," Honey Lemon coaxed, "why did you need the medicine?" 

"My… my dad… he's hurt." Was all Varian could say. 

"And this happened when you were just fourteen?" Gogo said, piecing together the puzzle. "You've been on your own taking care of your dad and no one helped you?" 

Varian finally looked up, tears running down his eyes, and nodded. All of his friends looked back at him sadly, unsure of what to say or do. 

"And that's why you ran away when Aunt Cass mentioned your dad." Hiro said, coming to a realization. 

Varian's stomach turned with guilt as he thought about the trouble he had caused for the kind woman. She had only been trying to help him. 

"What's wrong with him?" Hiro continued. 

How could Varian explain? What could he say that would even make sense to these people who came from a world without magic? Hell, he barely understood it himself and he had lived through it. 

"There… There was an accident. He's… he's unconscious…. And hasn't been able to move for over a year now." 

"What you have described is a coma." Baymax said. "A coma is a state of deep unconsciousness that lasts for a prolonged or indefinite period, caused especially by severe injury or illness. There are many causes for a coma and treatments vary on a case by case instance. I would have to see the person in order to diagnose further." 

Varian very much doubted that the robot could find a cure for the amber but he declined to state so out loud. Instead he straightened himself up a little and with new found determination said, "I have to get back. I got to save him. No one else will help him." 

"We'll help." Hiro replied. 

"Yeah," Wasabi pitched in, "We can bring him back here. With all our advanced medical knowledge; if there's a way to cure him then surely we'd have it."

Gogo rest a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes reassuringly. "Hey, you're not alone any more." 

Fresh tears began to well up in Varian's eyes for a whole new reason, but before he could respond Honey Lemon was throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. "That's right, and until you get your portal working, you got us!" She squeezed him and nuzzled her head against his other shoulder. 

Soon Gogo joined in on the hug, followed by Hiro and the Wasabi. 

"Yeah, we don't mind that you're a former super villain." Fred said as he also joined in on the group hug. 

"Fred." Everyone else groaned, but Varian could only laugh. 

He'd spent years alone. No one had given a damn about him or his dad. No one had offered to help, many had outright attacked him when he tried to ask, and yet here he was now surrounded by people who really did care. Who had looked for him when he was lost. Who didn't turn on him for messing up. Who now were offering to help his father and vowing to stick beside him. 

There weren't enough words in the universe to describe his joy as they all surrounded him to offer love and support. The hard plastic of their armor wasn't particularly cuddly and with Baymax adding himself to the hug their collective weight was now crushing down upon him, but he didn't care. He wanted to hold on to this moment for as long as he could. 

He had friends now, real friends, and he wasn't going to lose them like he had lost everyone else.

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

Aunt Cass paced back and forth frantically inside the café, alternating between nervously biting her nails and biting into pastries she snagged from behind the counter. 

She hated waiting. She wanted to be out there, hunting for the missing teen, but Officer Cruz had insisted it'd be best if she stayed here at the Lucky Cat in case Varian showed up. 

She had made a beeline back to the police station last night, in hysterics, as she told the chief of police about Varian running away. Cruz had put several of his men on the case and had called the college as well to let them know he was missing. The next morning, after a fitful night with no news, Hiro and his friends had left to join the search. 

How could this happen? How could she just lose a child like that? It had to have been something she had said or did that made Varian run off like that, but she didn't know what. The car ride from the police station replayed in her mind over and over again as she tried to figure out what she had done wrong. All she knew though was that if anything happened to the boy she would never forgive herself. 

She was halfway through her sixth donut that day when she heard the bell ring indicating that someone had entered the café. 

"We're closed." Cass yelled with her mouth full, before turning around to face the customer who clearly couldn't read. She hadn't opened the coffee shop this morning, much to the annoyance of her regulars, but she just couldn't deal with the stress, not right now. 

"So I see." Professor Granville said as she read the 'close' sign. 

"Oh, Professor Granville." Cass sighed in relief. Hopefully the schoolmaster would have some good news. Maybe Varian had made it back to the dorms on his own. "Have you heard from Varian?"

"No, but I've informed both the faculty and the residential advisors about the situation. If Varian shows back up at the college we'll know it as soon as he does." 

Granville closed the door and walked over to join Cass at the counter. "I came over to find out from you what had happened." 

Cass gave a shaky sob and tried as best she could to recount yesterday's events through her tears. Granville waited patiently until she was done, letting Cass vent, not showing any judgement on her part. When finished, Aunt Cass broke down completely and Granville laid a calming hand upon her shoulder. 

"It's not your fault." The older woman reassured her. "Being arrested again must have re-traumatized him." 

"A...again?" Cass choked back sobs, confused as to what Granville meant, but before the professor could explain Chief Cruz walked in. 

'Diego!" Cass rushed to him. "Did you find him?" 

"No, but I got my best men looking, we'll find him. I actually came to check up on you." He placed a hand upon her shoulder. "How are you holding up?" 

"Holding up?" Aunt Cass echoed and then she gave a bitter laugh. "You mean how am I, after losing a child in less than half an hour of receiving custody of him?" 

"Cass." Cruz gently chided. He hated to see her beat herself up. 

"Or how about how my nephew got in trouble for 'bot fighting for, what, the eighth time now?" 

"Cass." 

"Or the fact that I wasn't there? That I couldn't stop...Tadashi…" Now she could barely talk through the tears. She felt like a failure. She had never intended to become a parent and yet somehow the cruel universe had decided that she would have to raise her nephews herself only to then take one of them away. Now it seemed to have stolen another child from her. 

"Cassidy." Cruz gently urged, using her full name to snap her back to the present. "Don't worry. He'll turn up fine. I'm sure of it."  That was when he noticed Professor Granville standing off to the side. "Hello." 

"Hello, Chief Officer Cruz, I'd take it?" The woman coolly eyed him up and down, clearly not impressed by his rank.

"Yes, and you are?" He asked, growing annoyed.  

"Oh, Diego, meet Professor Granville. She's the head of the Science Institute. Miss Granville, this is Chief Cruz." Cass hastily introduced them as she wiped the tears from her eyes and tried her best to compose herself. However neither of them were paying much attention to her anymore. 

"Miss Granville..." He acknowledged curtly. 

"I prefer 'Professor', if you please." Granville returned, equally terse. 

"Okay, professor," he spat, "I've got a bone to pick with you." 

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow but showed no other sign of emotion. 

"Where do you get off admitting a sixteen year old into your school, knowing full well he doesn't have any legal guardians or other adults to watch over him while he's in the states?" 

"The same way I 'get off' admitting any other student. Varian is one of the smartest kids I've ever come across and he earned his scholarship the same as Hiro, or Karmi, or any of the other exceptional young teens who prove themselves capable of handling the challenge." 

"Un-huh, and do any of these young teens have parents who live on the other side of the world?" Cruz retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. 

"If this is about Varian being an immigrant, then I have all of his papers in order and you'll find everything perfectly legal." 

"It's not about that." He snapped. "A sixteen year old can't live in the dorms without an adult that he can contact in case of emergencies. So unless you are that adult, then he needs someone to foster him and no, a roommate doesn't count." 

"And just who do you think, pray tell, could or would be able to foster him that just so happens to live within commuting distance of the school? Especially since he isn't a citizen and not subject to the usual system." 

Cruz slid his hand across his face in frustration. "And that's why we don't admit foreign students who are underaged in the first place." 

Granville looked sadly at him. "That wasn't an option." She said quietly. 

"Come again?" 

Granville sighed with worry. What could she say? He wouldn't believe the whole truth, but she had to tell him something. As chief of police, Cruz had the power and connections to take Varian away if he thought the boy wasn't properly being taken care of. 

"He's a refugee." She hesitantly admitted, choosing a half truth. 

"What do you mean?" Cass interjected, confused now. Hiro had told her that Varian was an exchange student, but a refugee implied something else entirely. 

"Varian was already here in the states when I met him." She paused as she recalled all of the clues and hints Varian had dropped to her about his past and then tried to contextualize them to a modern setting as best she could. "His home is in the middle of a civil war. His whole village was destroyed, his father is missing, possibly injured or imprisoned or both, and he himself had just escaped from prison. And we're not talking about those nice clean cells down at your station, officer, he was held in a jail that's a little more advanced than a medieval dungeon."

Cruz looked at her aghast and Cass put a hand to her mouth as silent horror filled her. 

"I thought he was from Russia?" Cruz said, wondering what other lies the professor had forged. 

"A colony of Russia, a hold over from the USSR" She clarified. "He fought alongside a group who are trying to reclaim their land back." 

This last part was at least true. Varian had mentioned being associated with a people called the Saporians, who really were fighting to regain their homeland. He of course had tried to walk this back whenever he let it slip but Granville could piece it together. The fact that Corona just so happened to coincide with a less than always stable part of the world was mere coincidence, but was proving useful to explain his past without giving away Big Hero Six or the portals. 

"How did he escape and get here?" Cruz asked, still unsure what to think about all this. 

Well so much for keeping the portals a secret. Still, no reason to claim he's from another world entirely. 

"The boy built a working spatial portal. He's a genius, a prodigy, but he's never had the opportunity to even attend basic grade school. What else was I supposed to do? Turn him away? So I helped him to obtain a student visa, one that is perfectly valid, and provided him with room and board." 

"And it never occurred to you that maybe that wasn't the best idea?" Cruz pressed on, still not willing to concede yet. "That maybe there are other options, like, I don't know, social services or something. Surely they have the means to take care of him." 

Granville rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Oh, of course, let's just throw the boy who's been on the run for his life into foster care, where he'll be shuffled around from house to house, until he ages out of the system in two years anyways, where he'll then wind up on the streets without an education or be deported right back to the hell he just escaped from." Granville's voice dripped with sardonic venom. She was getting really fed up with this police officer who acted like he knew everything. "I've worked in social services for years, Officer Cruz, and while they can be potentially life saving, they aren't always the solution. The boy needs stability and a future." 

"The boy needs a home and adult supervision." Cruz pushed back. "He can't get that living in a college dormitory." 

"Then what do you suggest?" Granville challenged. She'd be damned before she let this policeman drag Varian out of school, head sergeant or no. Hell, she'd adopt the boy herself if need be, though she'd have to get a new apartment first. Her one bedroom penthouse was actually very nice but it wouldn't hold both of them.  

"I'll take him." 

Both Granville and Cruz stopped and looked at Aunt Cass in surprise. She had been silent for most of the argument but now her plaintive voice interrupted their battle of wills. She had listened to Granville's explanation of Varian's past with growing terror and her kind soul could hardly bear the thought of that sweet boy alone in the world, facing all of those horrors at such a young age. 

"He can stay here." Her voice became more steady as she continued. "I have plenty of room, and he could still go to school. That way he gets both; a home and a future."  

"Cass…are you sure?" Cruz asked her. 

"You mean am I sure I can handle taking in a teenaged boy genius and raising him as my own?" She gently teased her friend. They all knew that that was precisely what she had been doing for the past several years. 

"I'll take him." She softly reiterated, more sure this time. However her new found confidence gave away when she remembered their current problem. "Th-that is if we can find him." Her voice cracked and she collapsed in on herself now with fresh tears. Cruz cradled her in his arms and gently led her over to a nearby stool next to the counter where she then laid her head upon the countertop and cried. 

She only looked up when she heard the bell to the café door ring again. 

"Look what we found?" Came a cheerful call.

There, standing in the doorway was Hiro and his friends. They had ditched their armor and superhero gear inside the garage and were now dressed in civilian clothes. Not that Aunt Cass knew nor cared at the moment; for standing in front, looking very small and sheepish, but very much alive and unharmed, was Varian.