#ask: lola cortez

[askpsf]

☆ welcome to the toystore!

before we begin, here's some basic things you should know:

this account, like the comic itself, is 15+!

the cast will respond to asks 100% in character! this means that while you're free to ask risky questions, you should expect realistic responses!

do not send asks if they are bigoted, political, or nsfw in nature!

if you have any questions about lore, please redirect them to @dexalyys!

some responses may include references to or implied substance use; these will be tagged with #cw :: substances , so make sure to mute that if you’re sensitive to those topics!

this post will be updated as needed, so be sure to check again every so often!

☆ available cast list & emoji key!

main cast , 🧸 :: Theodore Cortez (he/him) 🐇 :: Cassidy Treacher (she/sea) 🐍 :: Willow Briggs (he/she/lune) 🦈 :: Sharkie Jackson (they/star) 🐄 :: Vivian Treacher (she/bell) 🦇 :: Ashton Song (any)

other cast ,

🐈 :: Nathan Bradshaw (he/him) 🎭 :: Toymaker (it/its) ⛵️ :: Ezekiel (he/him) 📼 :: VHS Collective (any) -> 💽 :: Dean Campbell (he/they) -> ⚡️ :: Anton (he/him) -> 🏀 :: Lola (she/her) -> 🌩️ :: Lucy (they/she) 🌺 :: Ophelia Hanson (she/her)

[crisp-sweet-pink-lady]

I was thinking about Dew Drop Diaries today, and realized I never posted my thoughts on season two, which were mostly that I don't think it improved much on season one. I did like the addition of Basil in theory, especially since I recognized his voice actor as being in Mira, Royal Detective right away (even if I forgot exactly who his character was), but in practice he didn't tend to add anything to the episodes he was in.

The main thing season two gave us over season one was LORE. In one episode it's revealed that the Willow used to be Cassie's dew drop, back when she lived in a different apartment building. Which brings me to two conclusions: 1. Willow asked to be the glitter guide for Eden, Athena, and Phoebe because of this connection, and 2. I had assumed that Cassie, Dylan, and Lola were biological siblings, but now it seems more likely that they're stepsiblings (the marriage being why the Cortezes moved). I'm not sure whether Lola was born after the Cortez-Chang wedding, but either way this answers some questions I had.

One question it doesn't answer, and still isn't addressed in season two, is the mystery of the missing parents. There is still no sign of Mr. and Mrs. Cortez-Chang, just a token mention in one episode. And the fact that we know both parents exist raises the question about the other parents we don't see. Are we meant to assume that the other two main kids have two-parent households, with Harper's dad and Marcus' mom just being conveniently out whenever there's an episode focused on their apartment? For Marcus, the answer appears to be no, since in an episode focused on Mother's Day he makes a card for his Grandma (also never seen, but mentioned from time to time), and not his mom. But for Harper, it's less clear. Maybe season three will drop some hints.

[pizzaandfilteredwateratyourtable]

I wanted to use this site for the nostalgia value and for perspective. But mainly because it’s convenient as heck and I couldn’t fit all of this onto the leftover parchment paper in the Antimo’s pizza box lol. Anyways…

3 kids, 2 houses, and 1 billion hours of streaming movies, tv shows, and horrid child-targeted YouTube videos later, here we all are! A lot has changed, even more has stayed the same. Death, taxes, and Cocomelon, amiright?

Through it all, your House has always been an anchoring destination in every season. None greater than during Christmas time 🎄

Even back in Towaco when e v e r y o n e was still alive, [Town]House Cortez was the place to be! Gifts opened, grandma gossip exchanged, gung ho Doggo, and gang photos at morning’s end was peak holiday form. All of which was housed at your House. We’ve lost a few folks since then… but also gained some new blood with time 😊

And here we are back at it again at Casa Quarterz 😎

I don’t have much to add from the the previous Tumblr post. Although a few modifications seem to be in order:

Thank you for always allowing me a place by your hearth TV and meat pizza and mead filtered water at your table. Y’all have stayed true and never asked a service of me that might bring me into dishonor. 

No matter what anyone says or what others might see, I am most proud to be the sitter of your babies. I’ve clocked in more hours as Nanny Nonong than I have as a professional registered nurse. And I don’t have any reservations or regrets about it. From when it was only ParsiCarsi to now overseeing three of your tiny humans, it is always my distinct honor being The Manny to the kiddos.

Thanks for giving me work, putting money in my pocket, and allowing me to be your children’s guardian. I don’t take any of it for granted. Along with all the aforementioned things, this role is giving me time to breathe, rest, and plan for what I will make of myself in the years to come. I’m well aware not many people get a chance to take a step back, assess themself, and plan for their pivot towards building their livelihood. So I promise not to waste this reprieve you guys have afforded me. You also have my word that I will proudly fulfill my duty in taking care of the trio until my role is completed and/or taken over by their Wowa. 

I swear it by the old gods and the new 8lb 6oz newborn infant Jesus, who don’t even know a word yet… just a little infant so cuddly but still omnipotent.

Now that that spiel is over with, we can get to the superficial, materialistic part of this holiday! Inside the brown McDo baggy is the control to your new “hearth”. Sorry to give Tyler one more thing to do 😅 But your kids don’t get to hoard all the fun. Also, it was hard work eating all that food to use this box and baggy. But someone had to do the heaving lifting (or in this case, heavy eating) to keep Lola Pat’s Christmas tradition alive 👵🏽 🎁

We’ve come a long way from watching on that wee-sized plasma TV in y’all’s room at Hillcrest Terrace. Though the Towaco tube played its part well, the Casa on Calais was long overdue for an upgrade.

Welcome to the 4K experience homies 📺

And a Happy Birthday Baby Jesus to you both 🍻

 — Ya bois,

🐾 Porkchop & Mr. Doubtfire 🙃

[amalthea-fictions]

Commander Shepard's Nickname

I had this idea after James and Garrus get that banter dialogue on the Normandy in ME3! Summary: everyone is trolling poor James...

---

He doesn’t believe it at first. Thinks he must be misreading things. But slowly, the pieces all start fitting together.

His first hint is when she immediately rejects his nickname. But, not because of duty or rules against fraternization, no. But out of a sheer lack of interest.

“You sure know how to fight, Lola.”

“Lola?” She snorts.

He shrugs.

She crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow. “You’re calling me Lola because…?”

“I like giving people nicknames.” He lets his gaze wander over her, wondering if she’ll play his game.

But it backfires.

“Let’s not, Vega,” she says, her tone strict with all the practiced sternness of a commanding officer. “Just ‘Commander Shepard’ is fine for you.”

“Alright, but it’s your loss.” He straightens when she scowls at him and adds, “ma’am.”

Then they meet up with the turian on Palaven’s moon. James had known that Shepard was close with a turian --after all, the crew that helped her defeat Sovereign and blow up the Collector base included everything from turian to krogan.

But something is… different about the way she speaks to this turian.

“We need to find General Victus immediately, then,” Shepard says to the commanding turian officer who had just informed them that this Victus guy is the next in the line of succession to become the primarch.

The flanging voice of another turian approaches behind them. “Don’t worry. I’m on it.”

Shepard spins around a little too hastily. “Garrus!”

The turian, Garrus, smiles ---well, flicks his mandibles-- looking genuinely happy to see her. “Amalthea,” he says, and there’s pure relief and joy in his voice. She’s beaming back at him as they take each other’s hands. It could have been a friendly handshake, but James doesn’t fail to notice the way he takes her hand in both of his, all tender-like.

After the mission, he begins to notice more clues. Especially how Garrus keeps calling her--

“Amalthea.”

The commander looks up from her datapad. The lot of them are sitting around the war table. Garrus says something about krogans, and Shepard doesn’t seem to mind when his hand brushes against hers as he points out things on her datapad. Not once does she scold him for using her first name.

The next day, he sees them eating together. He fixes his own plate at the mess counter and tries not to make it too obvious he’s straining to listen to their conversation. But-- yes-- there it is! He doesn’t call her Commander Shepard. Or even just Shepard:

“I’m sure Wrex will be more happy to see you than me, Malthie,” the turian says.

Malthie -- and that’s definitely a nickname if he ever heard one.

James quirks his eyebrow as he finishes his plate. So, no nicknames from Lieutenant Vega, but they’re acceptable from Garrus Vakarian?

He finds his gaze wandering over the commander’s body again one day when he’s had a few too many drinks in Purgatory. He’s in the middle of talking about EDI’s new body, and how now he’ll be even more distracted because the commander can also fill out a uniform like nobody’s business--

“Nice try, James,” she says, holding up her hand as if to physically shield herself from the drunken flirting. “But you’d best stop unless you want to get on the bad side of a certain turian.”

Right. Certain turian.

The worst part is, everyone else seems to know, too. It’s like an unspoken understanding, and James can’t get anyone to really admit that they’re together.

“Estefan,” he tries one day, protected from intruding ears by the loud sheering sound of Cortez’s drill. “What’s between the commander and the turian?”

Cortez shrugs, not stopping his work. “There’s something between them, obviously. In case you haven’t noticed, amigo, we have bigger things to worry about than who the Commander is dating.”

But James can’t just leave it at that. He needs to know.

“Hey, Joker,” he tries later. “You’ve known Shepard and Vakarian a long time, right?”

“Yeah, we’re SR1 originals,” he shrugs. “Why?”

“So have the commander and Garrus always…?”

Joker doesn’t look up from his flight controls.

“Always been badass? Hell yeah.”

James doesn’t get anywhere.

“EDI,” he even resorts to one day. “You have access to the ship’s surveillance, right?”

“That is correct, Lieutenant Vega.”

“Okay, so, you’d be able to see if anyone was… you know… right?”

“If you’re asking about the sexual activities of the crew, Lieutenant Vega,” EDI says, “then yes, I have logged each romantic relationship aboard the Normandy and linked them to each crew member’s individual health logs. Shepard says this is a breach of privacy, but Professor Solus notes that it is necessary to ensure crewmember health. Therefore the moral ambiguity of the action is justified by the potential benefits of preventing sexually transmitted infections and monitoring vitals aboard the ship…”

She goes on and on about crew vitals and moral justifications.

So, great. Even the AI is complicit in stonewalling him.

Is it just like… a weird fling? Sexual tension from saving the world together so many times? Or are they together together?

And then one day he and Garrus end up in the mess hall together, bantering. It’s a friendly conversation, at first, seeing who can out-brag the other: who’s done bigger and better things (a ‘who-has-the-bigger-quad competition,’ as Wrex says).

“I kind of tracked down this rogue Spectre named Saren and stopped a Reaper from destroying the Citadel,” Garrus says.

James rolls his eyes. “That doesn’t count. You were with Shepard.”

But then Garrus gives James a look: his eyes gleam the way a predator’s would when their prey is trapped in a corner.

“That’s right, Vega,” Garrus smirks, and speaks slowly, dragging out his next words. “I’ve always been with Shepard. Right from the very beginning.”

James blinks. Once. Twice.

Has-- has everyone been trolling him--

Just so Garrus can rub in the fact that they’re together??

“Wait a minute,” he says.

But before he can ask anything else, the commander herself enters the room.

“What’s going on here, boys?”

Garrus smiles at her. “Oh, don’t mind us,” he says, eyeing James. “Vega and I were just...comparing our adventures.”

Shepard quirks her eyebrows. “Uh-huh. Well. I’ll let you get back to it, then.”

But before going about her business, she crosses the mess hall to the turian. “I have some free time later,” she says to him, her voice low enough that James knows it’s only meant for Garrus but loud enough for him to hear. “Meet me in my cabin after?”

“You know I’ll be there.”

She stands on her toes and kisses him on the mandible.

And when she walks away, James swears the damn turian is smirking knowingly at him.

[ketumii]

gorillaz headcanons i’ve conjured up over the years

a little long, but i’m posting this as a ref for myself and future art/fics :) what are your headcanons?

- Murdoc quotes memes wrong all the time, unironically. This infuriates Noodle, and 2D usually has to calm her down afterwards.

- Russel competes in drag competitions in his spare time. The others like to buy him accessories for his birthday.

- Murdoc anonymously votes for Russel in these competitions whenever he can. Nobody knows about this.

- Russel and Murdoc have comforted each other during drunken stupors many, many times.

- Ace had trouble understanding 2D’s thick accent during his time in the band. It was super awkward.

- Noodle sat Ace down once and tried explaining the lore of Gorillaz to him. He didn’t understand any of it, and is still confused to this day.

- Murdoc used to be terrified of Russel, but now finds immense comfort in his company.

- Murdoc and 2D try to one-up each other all the time.

- Murdoc has always been self conscious about his eyebrows, but 2D convinces him to uncover them on occasion.

- Murdoc is also incredibly, INCREDIBLY self conscious about his height and envies 2D immensely over it. This is the reason he wears boots all the time.

- Noodle used to sneak into Murdoc’s Winnebago as a kid whenever there was a thunderstorm.

- Noodle is deathly afraid of fire, heights, and loud noises thanks to the events of Demon Days.

- Russel can list every band member’s favorite thing off the top of his head. Upon realizing this, Murdoc, 2D and Noodle came together in an effort to find out what all of Russel’s favorite things were.

- 2D is great with kids.

- Murdoc used to have to steal food and clothes out of the trash before the band was formed. He is now very possessive of these things.

- 2D hits his head on low hanging objects a lot.

- Russel and 2D like to stargaze and meditate together.

- Noodle once tried teaching 2D Japanese, but he was really bad at it.

- 2D then tried teaching himself French, but he was also really bad at that. 

- 2D’s mother has a habit of rambling, while his father is super awkward and hard to hear. 2D inherited a combination of both these traits.

- 2D has zero self awareness and will blast music and horror movies from his phone in public.

- Murdoc collects weird mugs.

- 2D collects expensive watches.

- Noodle collects creepy toys she finds at yard sales/thrift stores.

- Russel collects broken appliances.

- Noodle and 2D like to style each other’s hair. 

- 2D is a huge advocate for platonic kissing.

- 2D has tried helping Noodle go vegan, but she loves sushi and chicken nuggets too much to commit.

- Russel is a master of Monopoly, which infuriates Murdoc, who feels he should be a natural at it.

- Russel and Noodle perform an intense workout routine every week. 2D and Murdoc tried to join them once, but 2D promptly passed out and Murdoc broke his own foot with a dumbbell. 

- Murdoc took Noodle to a strip club as a birthday surprise one year. She ended up having to drive them home when Murdoc got shitfaced and threatened the bouncer.

- Murdoc still ruffles Noodle’s hair like he did when she was a kid, much to her annoyance. 

- Noodle simps for Lola Bunny.

- 2D is a monsterfucker.

- Murdoc can drive well irl but absolutely sucks at Mario Kart (and most video games, honestly).

- He really, REALLY enjoyed GTA 5 though. 2D and Noodle couldn’t pry him away from the game for a good month when he first played it.

- 2D loves moving things an inch away from their original position just to mess with Murdoc.

- 2D cracks his joints in the loudest, most obnoxious way possible, and can never seem to stop shaking his legs.

- 2D and Noodle send each other the raunchiest, most grotesque furry porn they can find. They are in an unspoken competition to find the worst of the worst.

- If Murdoc doesn’t make a conscious effort not to, he will always touch or lean on whoever is near him.

- Russel can recall animal facts on the fly.

- Russel used to be really into making taxidermy. 2D thinks this is the coolest thing ever, but would never have the heart or stomach to do it himself. 

- Russel is jealous that 2D is so good at crocheting and wishes he had the nimble fingers required to do it. 

- Russel was honestly hurt when Noodle got her first tattoo. Not that he didn’t like it, he just didn’t want to acknowledge that she was growing up.

- Murdoc and 2D have each other’s faces tattooed somewhere on their body. This was the result of a drunken bet lost on both parts.

- Russel was the first person Noodle came out to. He was also the first person Murdoc came out to.

- Murdoc tries getting Noodle a girlfriend every time they go out together. This has only ever ended horribly. 

- Murdoc got 2D hooked on chewing toothpicks instead of his nails.

- Noodle thought Murdoc’s raven Cortez was so cool she tried catching her own pet bird, a vulture she found eating the corpse of a zombie in the yard of Kong Studios. It failed horribly and she almost got dragged off the cliff. Russel got her Katsu instead.

- Noodle once tried stealing Murdoc’s porn magazines as a prank, but accidentally stumbled upon his collection of nudes and raunchy fanmail. The memory still haunts her. 

- 2D is interested in tons of things and has considered becoming a dentist, a model, a lawyer, a camp counselor, a filmmaker, a zookeeper and a teacher.

- 2D often speaks without thinking and has lost many potential romantic partners because of it.

- Noodle is a little jealous that 2D can lick his elbows.

- Russel has the most charm out of all of them, no questions asked.

- Murdoc likes to appear as if he knows a lot about cars, but Russel is always the one who fixes them.

- 2D and Murdoc have tased each other. 

- Murdoc taught Noodle how to dance. 2D and Russel have walked in on this several times, much to Murdoc’s embarrassment. 

- Murdoc unapologetically wears makeup and scoffs at anyone who calls it “girly”.

- Branching off of this, Murdoc does everyone’s makeup.

- Russel is plagued with nightmares, which is why he’s always tired.

- Russel and Noodle have had too many offscreen adventures to count, many of which involving them nearly dying or being sued (don’t even get Russel started on the time Noodle climbed into the tiger pen at the zoo and single-handedly fought them all off).

- Russel likes going to odd conventions (washing machine con, vacuum con, etc.) The others are always surprised and extremely confused whenever he mentions he’s going to one, and it’s never the same one twice.

- Murdoc has misophonia.

- 2D has dyspraxia.

- Noodle has tons of secret social media accounts she uses to mess with fans.

- Murdoc is scared of apes.

- 2D isn’t one for confrontation, but god help you if you get a horror movie fact wrong.

- 2D and Noodle stay up late and watch true crime/conspiracy documentaries together.

- Russel once sat Noodle down to give her ‘The Talk’ about drugs and alcohol, but was surprised to discover that Murdoc already had.

[shadoedseptmbr]

@iberiandoctor asked me to elaborate a little more on the Esteban and Lola story and i did here While the idea is pretty simple, Aedan doing rounds the night before the final push and starting in the cargo bay, here’s another snippet: 

“Shepard, if you don’t make it, what makes you think that any of us will?”  

“You will.  I’m not planning on dying down there.  I’m not.  Damn it, I’m gonna walk away from this if it ki…well.  I am.  But he…he’s got to go on.  Just in case.  If I think he can’t go on, Steve, it’s gonna break me.  I’m …I need to know someone’s gonna look out for him.  And…and you know.  Better than anyone else I can think of.  You know what it takes to…go on.” She looks up at him, as if pleading with him to get where she’s coming from. 

“Yeah.  Yeah.  I guess I do.”  Steve’s quiet for a moment, looking at his commander’s earnest, sweetly freckled face and those big grey eyes.  Damn, no wonder Alenko couldn’t tell her no for anything.  “Okay, Shep.  I’ll…do my best.  I promise.  I owe you.  But you’ve gotta promise me…”

“I plan on being there to buy the drinks, Cortez.  Don’t worry.”

[miniature-space-hamster]

Fictober Day 7: “This is It, Isn’t It?”

Mass Effect Fanfiction

Tw: Loss, Death

Description: Things fall about after the fall of Thessia.

It’s not over yet. It can’t be..

Shepard repeated in her mind, trying to convince herself, as she once again hit the punching bag. It’s been a long time since she last asked James to borrow his equipment, despite his open invitation. Between watching one of the council superpowers fall so quickly to Cerberus and the Reapers and settling a fight between Javik and Liara, she wasn’t sure how much more she could take.

Earth... Mordin... Thane… Thessia…

Like some twisted mantra, it echoed in her mind with each blow to the punching bag. She long since stopped worrying about form once she could no longer see the bag through eyes flooded with tears. It felt like everywhere she went there was a new loss. She spent so much time on the ground while the council treated it like a game of chess while the reapers were snatching up pieces one by one. How much longer until there was nothing left?

Kaidan entered the shuttle bay, looking everywhere for Shepard. He noticed James wasn’t in his usual spot, but besides Cortez. They both tried their best not to watch the spectacle.

James noticed Kaidan’s approach and tilted his head towards his workout equipment. “Better warn you L2, Lola’s gone loca. Been going at it for about an hour.” There was concern in his voice, but it was clear that he wasn’t too sure how to handle situations like this, especially when the situation involved his commanding officer.

Cortez kept his hands busy, fixing damage to the shuttle caused on Thessia, but shot Kaidan an equally concerned look. They all knew Kaidan had to be the one to talk to her.

Kaidan made his approach, but stopped himself before getting too close. It was strange to watch. Anger was something he rarely saw in Shepard. The only time he could remember anger from her was when the council impounded the Normandy before their trip to Ilos. He expected to hear a string of explicatives in Spanish, like last time. She was instead deathly silent besides her labored breathing.

“Hey.” He kept his voice as light as he could manage, given the circumstances. “You wanna take a break?”

Karina stopped suddenly, his voice ripped her from her fugue. She hadn’t even given herself a moment to rest after Thessia. She just changed into workout clothes and immediately made her way down here. Her body felt heavy as it ached from the sudden lack of motion.

She turned towards him and Kaidan saw red, puffy eyes with heavy lids. Her voice was hoarse, as she tried to catch her breath. “This is it, isn’t it?”

He sized her up, trying to figure out where to even begin. He took a deep breath. “Let’s start with the little things. The world always seems less dark after you’ve had something to eat.” He extended a hand for her to take. He tried his best to offer her an inviting smile. “I’ll make pasta.”

Before Kaidan knew it his hand was pushed to the side as Karina pulled herself into his arms.

[theoriginalladya]

Destiny’s Fate (update)(main story)

Chapter: Pieces and Parts

Word Count: approximately 4600

Characters:  Jane Shepard, Kaidan Alenko, Jack, Kahlee Sanders, Steve Cortez, John Shepard, Ashley Williams

Excerpt:

Jane has the shuttle land mid-Cargo Bay for lack of ‘parking’ space, and though a tight fit, there is enough room to exit without issue.  Jack and Kahlee Sanders exit first, acting like mother hens gathering her chicks to their sides.  It’s quite endearing, though she doubts Jack would appreciate the observation. Instead, Jane hollers over to Jack, “Why don’t you take them up to the Crew Deck?  Mess is fully stocked, and they look like they could use something after that adventure.”

Some things never change, and Jack snorts, an almost derisive sound, but as Kahlee continues on to the lift with the kids, the younger woman backtracks a few steps.  “What about you?”

Jane grins as she heads over toward Cortez.  “I’ll be there in a few.  Make yourselves at home.”  When Jack still hesitates, Jane reaches out, pats her shoulder.  There is a half second where they stare at one another, where Jane can see through the other woman’s heightened defenses for just a second, but it’s broken when Jack scowls, makes a dismissive sound and turns toward the elevator, hopping on at the last second.  The moment the door shuts, Jane breathes a sigh of relief.  

“Sounds like you have your hands full there, commander,” Cortez murmurs as he starts to collect her gear.

Jane sighs as Kaidan and Vega join her.  “That’s one way to put it.”  Stepping out of the way, she moves to the lockers and changes out of her armor. Side glancing Cortez, she asks, “You okay?  That was a hairy mission.”

Cortez’ response is immediate.  “I’m sorry I had to leave you like that, but –.”

“No.  I’d much rather have you here, safe and ready should we have needed you in any other capacity,” she insists as she tugs on her boots and ties them off before reaching for her hoodie.  A smile curves at her lips.  “I’m not about to lose my shuttle pilot to Cerberus.  They can get their own elsewhere!”

Cortez chuckles agreeably.  “If you say so, ma’am.”  He nods in the direction of the Cerberus shuttle.  “Speaking of Cerberus; what do you want me to do with that?”

Walking back over beside him, Jane taps her chin with her finger thoughtfully as she stares at the shuttle.  “Scrap it for parts?  I mean, I know we’re still looking to fix the one Vega smashed up.”

“Hey, I heard that, Lola!” Vega shouts back as he enters the lift.

Cortez tilts his head to the side, considering.  “I’ll see what I can do,” he promises.  “There may be a few parts that are compatible with ours.  What do I do with the rest of it?”

Kaidan waves at her to hurry up, and as she starts in that direction, calling back over her shoulder with a shrug, “Sell it for scrap?  I’ll leave that to your discretion!” ...

Read the rest here // Read from the beginning here

[ljandersen]

Very Aboveboard

Pairing:  FemShep/Kaidan Alenko, ME-3 Word Count: 1500 Summary:  Shepard and Kaidan get caught doing something inside the shuttle.  The something is up for debate.

___________________________________________

Kaidan threw the shuttle door open to the cargo bay.  They tumbled out flushed and laughing.  Kaidan broke mid-laugh and stopped dead in his tracks.  Cortez glared at them with crossed arms and a sour expression.

“Lieutenant Cortez.”  Kaidan gave a strained smile.  “How long have you …”

“Long enough.”

“Long enough for what?” Shepard said unperturbed.  “I thought you were at Vega’s poker thing.”

“Hey, Lola.”

Kaidan craned his neck to see around Cortez.  James stood at his workbench polishing armor with a rag and an alarmingly wide grin.

“Get this,” James said, “Buggie, who I didn’t invite but came anyway, guess what he did?  Apparently – don’t know how I never knew – but aces are low cards.  That’s what I’m being told anyway.  Everyone agrees with me, he throws the table over.  Chip hits Doctor Blue right between the eyes.  And she was only there to watch him.”

“So, he says aces are low, huh?” Shepard said.

“Says in his cycle, ace is low.  Since his cycle came first … I’m like, ‘Whoa, whoa, hold on.  Ace has always been high.  Right, Doc?’  But she’s vamoosed.  Then it’s just he said, he said, you know?  Just called it a night.  Don’t know why I never thought of inviting him.”

Shepard chuckled and tugged the zipper up higher on her hoodie.  “You know Javik’s messing with you, right?  Don’t need Liara to know the Protheans never had poker.”

“How should I know?  Hard to argue with a Prothean about Protheans.”

Kaidan edged toward the elevator, but he couldn’t catch Shepard’s eyes.  Cortez was still giving them a dark look.  James dumped the armor on the bench and came over.

“So, Lola and L2 in the shuttle.”  James whistled through his smile.  “Guess we shoulda picked the card table back up, huh, Esteban?  Kept playing.  This is gonna stick with you a long time.”  James patted Cortez's back.

Shepard sighed and put a hand on her hip.  “Uh huh.  What’s all this whistling and winking going on, Vega?  Everything’s very aboveboard here.”

“Sure, ha.  Whatever you say,” James said.

Cortez face scrunched.  “Respectfully, I’d sooner believe Protheans play poker.”

“Eh.  Fine.  Believe whatever you want.”  Shepard shrugged.  She tugged on Kaidan’s arm.  “We should go.”

James laughed and his grin deepened.  “Ha, Lola.  Look at L2’s face.  Knew I was right!  That’s what I’m believing.”

“What?”  Shepard spun to Kaidan.  “Hey, don’t look so shifty there, Kaidan.  You're giving James an ego and Cortez an aneurysm.” 

Kaidan tried to smooth whatever it was playing in his expression.

“So,” James said wolfishly, “what sort of aboveboard thing were you two doing in there?”

“Well,” Shepard said.  She adjusted her hoodie and put her hands on her hips.  “My hamster got loose.  We were looking for him.”

“In the shuttle?”  James cocked his head with a serious expression.  “Huh, weird.  How’d he get all the way down here?  Long ways from your cabin, right?”

Shepard shifted on her feet and threw Kaidan a sideways look.  She focused back on James.

“Funny story,” she said.  “Forgot to close the cage.  Damn critter’s more athletic than I gave him credit for.  Escaped.  He likes to run around the ship.  Making my rounds, I saw his cheeky, little hind end crawling into the shuttle.”

“And L2?”  James waved at him.  “Where’s he come in?”

“Hamster crawled under the floor panels.  Needed someone dexterous in biotics to, you know, pluck the hamster out.”

“Why close the door?”  Cortez asked with a hardened stare.

“Couldn’t let the hamster escape.  Obviously,” Shepard said.

“That the right story, Major?”  James smirked.

Kaidan cleared his throat.  “Yep.  That’s about it.”

“Uh huh.  Sure, sure.”  James shared a look with Cortez.  “Oh, yeah.  Just one thing.  Where’s that hamster now?  You shut the door so he couldn’t escapar, right?  L2 not as, uh, dexterous as you thought?”

Kaidan frowned.  “Not appreciating the air quotes on that, Vega.”

“Major Alenko is plenty dexterous.”

“Not appreciating the air quotes from you either, Shepard.”

“What?  Don't worry.”  Shepard laughed and elbowed him.  “You did a good job.”

Cortez buried his face in his hands.  “Oh.  My shuttle.”

“Why're you crying, Cortez?” Shepard said.  "He was out before he could make a mess." 

“Still talking about the hamster, right?”  James leaned a palm on the shuttle.  His molars showed his smile was so wide.  His eyes shifted to Kaidan.  “Ow, Man.  Hamster-diving’s got some mean restrictions.” 

“My shuttle,” Cortez moaned.  “Do I need to clean it?”

“Not much.”  Shepard shrugged.  “Did kind of get exciting at the end though.  May have missed some things.  There was a lot of writhing and screaming in Kaidan’s hands.  Kaidan’s dexterity in finest form.”

James’s palm slipped.  He stumbled against the shuttle.  Cortez only moaned louder.

“Shepard!” Kaidan hissed.

“What?”  Shepard lifted her shoulders.  “Deny any of that’s true.”

Kaidan stared at her a long moment.  He reached for her sweatshirt.  “Just give me … Hey!  Don’t fight me on this.”  She slapped him away and stumbled out of his grab.

“What’s happening?”  James’s eyes widened.  “Yo, L2, you trying to get her clothes off?  Lola’s got a private room.  You know that, right?”

Kaidan snared her hood.  She shoved him away with both hands.

“Shepard, just show—”

“Don’t show anythin’.”  James put his hands up.  “Difference between real and joking around.”

“My shuttle,” Cortez said mournfully.

“Shepard!”  Kaidan lunged at her.  She slipped under his reach, but he hooked her hood.  His hand closed around a furry ball nestled inside.  It squirmed in his fist with a shrill squeal.

“What the …”  James’s eyes bulged.  “You really—That the—Damn.  There really was a … Whoa.  Did not see that coming.”

Kaidan waved the beady-eyed fur in front of James’s face.  He thrust it into Cortez’s face next.

“Then …”  Cortez’s face brightened.  Kaidan’s towed him to the shuttle and flicked on his Omni-Tool light.  It illuminated the inside of the shuttle.  Panels gaped open in the floor with the covers stacked in the corner.

“Sorry about the panels,” Shepard said in a deflated tone.  She crossed her arms with a huff and gave Kaidan a sideways frown.  “We could have taken this much further.”

“I didn’t want it taken anywhere.”  Kaidan pet the fuzzy head with the pad of his thumb.  “Keep leaving the cage cover off, he'll be on your next ground mission.”

Shepard shoved Kaidan lightly and flashed him a smile.  “Come on.  I know you'll still help me find him again, despite me giving ‘dexterous’ air quotes.”

“So you really …” James’s mouth hung open.  “Looking for a hamster.  Damn, kind of feel disappointed in you two now.  Horrified to bored.  That fast.”

“Thank all species’ gods and spirits,” Cortez mumbled and crawled into his shuttle.  “It was only a hamster.  Only a hamster.”

“Come on, Alenko.  Let’s put him back behind bars.”  Shepard tugged his arm and tilted her head toward the elevator.

Kaidan followed her inside.  She turned her hood to him, and he plopped the wiggling fur back inside.  The elevator doors slid shut.

“See,” Shepard turned to him, “got away with the hamster-rescue celebration after all.”

“Yeah, but then I had to catch him a second time,” Kaidan said.  He grinned despite the heat stinging his face.  “I’m not following you alone into a shuttle again.”

“Hey.  I can’t help if hamster-hunting heats my blood.  Your ass was in the air rooting around in the floor.  I had to start undressing.  Couldn’t orphan my hamster dying from hyperthermia.”

Kaidan rolled his eyes and laughed.

“So,” Shepard sidled up next to him.  “You did save him a second time.  Second hamster-rescue celebration?”

The elevator door opened to the landing.  Kaidan pressed her against the cabin door.

“You look hyperthermic.”  He zipped her hoodie down, fingers grazing her skin.  With his other hand, he reached for the hood in back.

“Hey!" Shepard said.  "You’re worried about putting the hamster away, aren’t you?”

Kaidan laughed.  “I draw the line at three times in one day.”

“Really?”  Shepard adjusted his collar.  “That’s too bad.”

“Three hamster rescues.  Three hamster rescue celebrations, different.” 

The cabin door opened at her back, and he peeled off her hoodie as she stepped into her room. 

Shepard patted the lump in her hood.  “Back to the block, Little Guy.  Then just crank the TV the up and plug your igloo door with plenty of woodchips.”  

Shepard sprang down her steps and dove on the bed.  She rolled onto her back.  

“Hey, Kaidan.  Don’t forget to snap the cage shut.  You forget every damn time.”  

He gave her a flat look through the glass case.  Shepard only grinned.

From “About Mars:”  AO3 and FF

[ameliasnormandy]

Broken Joker

The three of them went on their way. Shepard watched the people that watched her. It was hard watching them watch her. Their faces weren’t right. They were angry at her. She couldn’t understand if it was that they were angry that she was wearing a helmet, or if there was something hidden in their argument. The three of them walked outside and that is when Shepard saw the beacon, but she refused to think about it, no there was Joker to worry about. Joker was something she could fix, and right now there weren’t a lot of things that she could fix. The world felt wrong, again. It felt like it had moved on, and she had stayed the same as she was. Nothing about her had changed, but everything and everyone had changed, but she didn’t want to think about that. No, she wanted to focus. Focus on Joker.

              There were no words that were spoken until they got to the arena. “Have they put VI into the system?” she asked.

              “No, not yet,” Miranda said, looking around. “We are working on getting VI’s up.”

              “Is that the best decision?” Shepard asked, looking over them, and taking a deep breath in.

              Vega stopped for a second. “Why would that not be the best decision?”

              “For the reason that the Reapers were built in the first place,” Commander Shepard said, looking at Vega. She didn’t know what they knew, and she wasn’t sure what she needed to tell them to make sure that the same thing didn’t happen again, but without ruining everyone either.

              Miranda looked at Shepard. “How much did you learn while you were there?”

              Shepard walked away for a few seconds, and then stopped herself. “What did you learn about my time up there?”

              Miranda shook her head. “I asked you first.”

              “I want to know what you know. I don’t know how much information got back to you. I can’t imagine a lot of information got back to you, but I guess it is possible.”

              “We barely know anything about what happened up there,” Miranda stated.

              “You have to know something,” Shepard said. She walked a little further from them, was about to say something, but decided against it until they were closer to her again. “You knew that Captain Anderson was shot by the Elusive Man, and I don’t remember telling anyone that during the fire fight, and the after math, so what happened? How did you know that?”

              “It’s a hard question to answer.”

              “It shouldn’t be. I mean there are only a few ways you could have done it, so just tell me how you did it,” Shepard said.

              “Please, not now,” Miranda said.

              “Alright,” Shepard said, and looked away from her. “You are right. I have to go fix Joker. Vega, will you inform both the rest of my team, and Admiral Hackett that I will be a little late to our meeting. Apologize for me and do your best to make sure that it is sincere.”

              “I am the king of sincere, Lola,” Vega said.

              “I would have pegged you for the king of crashes,” Shepard said, laughing.

              “You crash one shuttle,” Vega said, shaking his head.

              “That is all that you need to crash,” Commander Shepard said, walking into the arena. Miranda followed right behind her.

              “I will see you guys there,” Vega said, walking away. “Unless you think that you need my help.”

              “I think we can handle a guy with vroliks syndrome,” Shepard said, walking into the building. “Do you know where he might be?”

“No, but he shouldn’t be that hard to find, right? Look for a guy with crutches or limping around making bad jokes.”

“His jokes weren’t that bad,” Shepard said, with a smile on her face.

“You enjoy his jokes?”

“They brightened up the ship, and he made it feel like things weren’t as bad as they were,” Commander Shepard said, looking around the room. “Do you see him?”

“No, but I’m thinking he won’t be too hard to find soon.”

“Why?” Commander Shepard asked, looking around to see if Miranda had seen Joker, but Commander Shepard still couldn’t see him. She didn’t know if Miranda was seeing something that she couldn’t or if Miranda just knew something that Commander Shepard didn’t.

              “Because the main reason he got kicked out was because of you,” Miranda said, looking at all the people that were looking at her companion.

              “Me? What did I do?”

              “You died,” Miranda said flatly. “He didn’t take your death well.”

              “And without EDI I am sure that it made him harder.”

              “Some of us have debated that one,” Miranda said, looking around the room. “If he still would have had the breakdown he did if EDI was alive.”

              “And?”

              “Kaidan believes that he still would have. He said that he saw Joker after the first time that you died and that this was worse than that, and he was grounded the first time it happened. Vega believes he still would have, but it wouldn’t have been so bad.”

              “And you?” Commander Shepard asked, taking a few steps further into the room. “What do you believe?”

              “I don’t think he would have. I don’t think EDI would have let him.”

              “He really cared about her.”

              “He really cares about you.”

              “He was a good man, and a better friend, though I could say that about a lot of the men that I served with in my time as Commander Shepard.”

              “You still are her.”

              “For now.” Commander Shepard didn’t say anything for a few moments, and instead kept looking around the room. She looked toward the bar and that is when she saw him. “There,” she said, pointing to someone leaning against the bar. “That’s him.”

              Miranda didn’t question Commander Shepard, she knew that if Commander Shepard was sure than it was probably the truth, it was probably Joker. The two of them walked over to the bar. Commander Shepard leaned against the bar. “So, who finished that sludge of a drink?” Joker didn’t say a word. “Was it Cortez?” There was still no response. “Garrius? Wrex?” Still no response from Joker. “Come on Joker. I know it would have had to have been one of them. Unless, was it Javik? If it was Javik I will have to tell him that he should have laid off you.”

              Joker finally spoke, but he didn’t look over at Commander Shepard. “I don’t know who you are, but leave me alone or…”

              “Or you’ll what?” Miranda asked, rolling her eyes. “You’ll break a bone on us.”

              “No, he’ll just tell you jokes until you roll your eyes so far back you die,” Commander Shepard said, laughing. “You know one of my favorite jokes he told?”

              “No, what?”

              “How many humans does it take to fix a dormant Mass Relay?”

              “I don’t know how many?”

              “602. 600 to vote on it. 1 to ask an asri for help, and one to ask for a seat on the council when it’s done.” Miranda rolled her eyes. There was a slight drunken chuckle from the silent Joker. “There was one that Garrius told Joker that insulted most of the people on the ship, and the best part was Joker was the punchline.”

              “I was not the punchline, I was the set up,” Joker finally said, turning around. Joker froze when he saw who was leaning against the bar beside him.

              “My mistake,” Shepard said, leaning back just a little further. “Good to see you Joker.”

              “Who are you?”

              “You tell corny jokes to all the pretty girls,” Shepard asked, pretending to be upset.

              “I’m not looking for a hooker,” Joker said, and then leaned in to look at Miranda. “What are you doing with a hooker?”

              “She’s not a hooker,” Miranda said.

              “Do hookers wear helmets now?” Shepard asked.

              “What does she mean by now?”

              “Thank you, Joker. Thank you for everything. Thank you for being there for me when Thesia got destroyed and thank you for being with me during Cerberus thank you for it all,” Shepard said, looking down at him.

              “What new game is this?” Joker asked, glaring at Miranda.

              “No game this time,” Miranda said.

              “Stop fooling around.”

              “I still owe you dinner,” Shepard said, leaning just a touch into Joker. “I mean after all I did use you as bait.”

              “It can’t be.”

              “It is.”

“Commander Amelia Sheperd,” Joker said, breathlessly.

“You know I was sure no one knew my first name. No one ever uses it. Actually, I had a conversation with Doctor Chakwas about this exact thing and she said it was because she had too much respect for me.”

“It can’t be you…”

“I’m not a clone,” Commander Shepard said, probably a bit too loud. It seemed to loud to her. “Clones don’t have the same handprint or memories for that matter.”

“We saw it explode,” Joker said.

“I know, but I survived.”

“I can’t believe it. We left you.”

“I would have been upset if you wouldn’t have. You did everything right.”

“We left you,” Joker said again. “You were alive we should have saved you.”

              “You couldn’t have known that I was alive. You did the right thing, but this, this isn’t you, and this isn’t right.”

              “You’ve seen me drink,” Joker stated, looking at Commander Shepard.

              “I’m not talking about the drinks. I am talking about you, and this place. The last time that I heard you talking about a place like this, you said that you would never need it, and yet here you are, and more than that you are actually shooting things. What got into you?”

              “Your death. EDI’s death. All of the people that I thought would protect me and I would be with forever, just died.”

              “I used you as bait once.”

              “Yes, but you made sure that I wasn’t actually shot.”

              “Maybe, but I still used you as bait.”

              “You were doing it to protect…”

              “Myself.”

              “Everyone. You needed to use me as a distraction.”

              Commander Shepard shook her head. “This is the last thing that I wanted. I never wanted people to think so highly of me they forgot that I was just a person.”

              “A person that has saved the galaxy three times.”

              “And you have saved my life that many times and more. There is no reason for you to think that I am anything, but a person.” Commander Shepard looked toward the door of the arena. “Take a look Miranda I think we found their missing person before they did.”

              “What are you talking about?” Joker asked, also looking toward the door. He then saw what Commander Shepard had seen. “What do they want?”

              Commander Shepard looked at the Alliance soldiers and then at Joker. “They want you.”

              “Why? They grounded me almost a year ago today, I was discharged soon after that.”

              “What did they discharge you for?”

              “The better question is what didn’t they discharge me for. They wrote me up for about everything in the book, but they refused to call it a dishonorable discharge because of my service with you.”

              “I’m glad that I was able to help,” Commander Shepard said, looking away from Joker. “They should never have taken your ability to fly away. It is the one thing that you live for, and no one should have taken that away from you.”

              “It wasn’t your fault,” Joker said. “But I don’t know what they want they have been following me for days.”

              “I might have some ideas about that,” Commander Shepard said.

              “Jeff Moreau,” one of the alliance soldiers asked, looking at Joker.

              “No, she is,” Joker said, pointing toward Miranda.

“What am I not funny enough to be Joker?” Commander Shepard asked, giving Joker the softest of nudges. “Do you think you can fly me around the galaxy again?” Commander Shepard asked, looking toward Miranda.

“Hell, yes, Commander,” Joker said, already standing up from the table and nearly stumbling.

              “I wasn’t talking to you,” Commander Shepard said, looking at Joker and then turning her attention to Miranda. “I was talking to her. She is after all Joker, the best pilot about to be reinstated into the Alliance Navy.”

              “I’m getting reinstated into the Alliance Navy?” Joker asked with the giddiness of a small child.

              “No, I’m sorry Miranda, you will probably be allowed to work with the Alliance, but you were never actually part of the Alliance.”

              “They are getting everyone back together?” Joker asked.

              “Most likely it will just be the humans, since it is an Alliance mission, but who knows who we might find on the way. So, what do you say Joker, ready for another adventure with me?” Commander Shepard asked, looking at Joker. Joker seemed a little upset about this, but decided that he wasn’t going to tell Commander Shepard about it until later. “But there are a few that haven’t agreed to it yet.”

              “Who hasn’t agreed yet?”

              “Well you were one of them, but I assume that you’re coming with me and Miranda…”

              “And the soldiers,” Miranda added.

              “Yes, and the soldiers that this is your way of accepting your new position. Miranda and Jacob are two more, and that leaves one, and I am not sure who that is.”

              “I know, and it’s not you were hoping it would be Joker,” Miranda stated, looking at Shepard.

[mrscullensrutherford]

Last Line Meme

Thank you for the tag @crackinglamb !!!

Sorry, I got behind on the tag games because I have taken a moment to breathe through this quarantine. Had to give myself a bit of a mental break.

This is the last line from the next chapter of Wrong Side of Heaven, to be posted Sunday.

****************************************************

Cortez hid his smile behind steepled fingers but couldn’t help asking, “Lola?”

****************************************************

Tagging: @pikapeppa @mythicaitt @oops-gingermoment @obvidalous @rpgwarrior4824 @cdrkateshepard @natsora @kittleskittle and anyone else who wants to play or share what they are working on.

[crisp-sweet-pink-lady]

More thoughts on Dew Drop Diaries

As I've mentioned, I recently rewatched both seasons of Dew Drop Diaries, mostly the catalogue who was the main focus kid in the most episodes, since in my initial watch of season one, it felt like Harper got significantly more episodes. But after tallying it up, over the course of both seasons, Harper and Marcus have the same amount of focus episodes, 14. This isn't including episodes where there was no focus kid or where all of the households were included equally, of which there were 13. And if you combine Dylan and Lola-focused episodes, then the Cortez-Changs also got 14 focus episodes, but that kind of feels like a cop-out, since Lola episodes and Dylan episodes have pretty distinct problems. Taking them as their own, Dylan fared the worst, getting only four that focus on him, and most of those are in season one. I guess it's because, unlike Harper and Marcus, he doesn't really have a "thing" to build an episode around, but that didn't stop Lola from getting ten episodes.

I also made note of what each episode's problem was and how it was solved, and found that there were a few different ways the episodes went about it. Most commonly, solving one problem lead to another and another before reaching the final solution, but there were plenty of episodes with one solution that took multiple failed attempts to reach. And while I maintain that the best episodes are the ones that focused on the dew drops just living their lives, the episodes where there is one solution to the problem that just takes some time to accomplish are a close second (probably because there's less "What do we do now?" stuff).

A lot of the season two eps were better on second viewing, but Where's the Party still annoyed me. There's no excuse, none, for Marcus' dad not reaching out to Diego's parents to find out where the party was, or asking Harper's mom, since we saw her at the party. I get that the plot had to happen the way it did otherwise there'd be no episode, and it was one of Reed's better episodes, but still. They could have written it in a way that made sense, like maybe Marcus' dad was out and was going to take Marcus to the party when he got back, and Marcus was freaking out about the invitation being missing because he's a kid and wouldn't think about getting the info from someone else. Or something.

[ao3feed-mcufemslash]

SILVER SHADOW

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3c17I7i

by beckysue_bonner

AU, and some AU that follows 'canon'; most won't, and won't always be chronologically compliant.

 Plenty of VICLEY, SULLYVANDY, LEMILY, MackElena, QUAKERIDER, and other ships (🚢s)...we're happy 2 add any 🚢 requests that you have-just ask in the comments

Words: 673, Chapters: 2/2, Language: English

Fandoms: Station 19 (TV), S.W.A.T. (TV 2017), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Rosewood (TV), All Rise (TV 2019), vicley (fandom), Phillinda (fandom), Mackelena (fandom), SULLYVANDY (fandom), LEMiILY (fandom)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, Gen, F/F

Characters: Andrea "Andy" Herrera, Andy Herrera, Robert Sullivan, Victoria Hughes, Victoria Ripley, Lucas Ripley, Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, Jessica Cortez, Jim Street, Molly Sims, Commander Robert Sims, Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, Framework Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, Elena "Yoyo" Rodriguez, Deke Shaw, Snowflake (Marvel), Robbie Reyes, Daisy Johnson, Annalise Villa, Beaumont Rosewood Jr, Tara Milly Izikoff, Phillipa "Pippy" Rosewood, Lola Carmichael, Robyn Taylor (All Rise)

Relationships: Andrea "Andy" Herrera/Robert Sullivan, Victoria Ripley/Lucas Ripley, Jessica Cortez/Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, Andrew Garner/Melinda May, Phil Coulson/Melinda May, Elena "YoYo" Rodriguez/Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie, Deke Shaw/Snowflake, Daisy Johnson/Robbie Reyes - Relationship, Annalise Villa/Beaumont Rosewood Jr, Tara Milly Izikoff/Phillipa "Pippy" Rosewood, Emily Lopez/Luke Watkins (All RIse), Lola Carmichael/Robin Taylor (All Rise)

Additional Tags: Washington State Cougars, Humor, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Oral Sex, Police Procedural, AU, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Character of Color, LGBTQ Female Character, Love, Love Confessions, Sexual Content, Rough Sex, Rough Kissing, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Interracial Relationship

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3c17I7i

[shadoedseptmbr]

esteban and lola for the WIP meme!

This is basically Shepard doing a round around the Normandy, the night before they hit Earth.  She’s got a couple of favors to ask along the way.  

Cortez might be asleep, but Shepard doubts it.  He tended to obsess over the workings of the shuttle even before the most routine of missions, much less something like this.  But she still steps quietly as she exits the elevator that brought her down to the bay.  Across the room, Vega is snoring, collapsed in exhaustion on the cot next to their weaponry.  She blinks, wondering suddenly what Vega would have thought of Ash.  And what the gunny would have thought of Mr. Vega.  She and Ash had never had a chance to go out and ogle the boys.  Shepard thinks Ash would have liked Jimmy’s…dedication, though.

It surprises her to find Steve knocked out, sleeping in the hammock he’d rigged up for cat naps between missions.  Hesitating, she turns to go.  If he’s asleep he needed that more than she needed to…well.

“Shep?”  She’s almost back at the bench when she hears his sleepy whisper.  “Uh.  I mean, Commander?”

“You can call me Shep, Cortez.  I’d be honored.”

“Alright.  You need something, ma’am?  Or are you just making the rounds?”  It hadn’t escaped her crew, the way she checks in on them while ostensibly burning tension and energy with her jogs around the decks. 

“Just wanted to talk, Steve.  Go on back to sleep, though.  You’ll need it.”

“Nah.  I’m awake, need to check on the couplings again.” He swung out of the hammock to drop quietly down to the deck.  Across the way, Vega huffs in his sleep, rolling over.

“Kid could sleep through a tornado.” Steve shakes his head fondly.

“I’m glad he can.  Shows that he’s still put together pretty well.”   But that brings Steve’s head around to look at her sharply. 

“You having trouble sleeping, Shep?” 

“No more than usual.”  She assures him.  “And I can usually find something to distract me, these days, if I can’t.”  He snorts a soft laugh at her wicked grin.

“Good to know, ma’am.”  But he’s eyeing her patiently and she better get on with it.  This isn’t her only stop tonight.

“About that…”

“Please don’t come to me for relationship advice, Shep.”  Steve looks relieved when she laughs softly.

[soldiermom1973]

1,000 Years, Chapter 11

The end draws nigh!  Chapter 11 is ready for your perusal.  Here’s a snippet to get you started - . . . . . . “It's all good, Lola.  No one's on board except the security detail and they'll change out every twelve hours.  I reviewed the protocols with them, too.”  He held his hands up when Allie's mouth opened to ask that very question and she laughed when he pre-emptively answered it.  “So now all you have to do is grab your things and head home, right?” “Right.”  Allie stood and slung her bag over her shoulder.  “Quarters, things, home.  Promise,” she swore when James frowned. “I'm holding you to that.  Better yet,”  he craned his neck up just a bit.  “Hey, EDI?” “Yes, Commander?” “Please make sure our illustrious leader gets out of here at a reasonable hour.” “I will do my best.” “Snitch,” Allie laughed. “I've known you for almost a decade, Shepard.  I know how you are,” he grinned and stepped around her. “And if you aren't out of here soon, EDI will let me know and Cortez and I will come back and physically remove you from the ship and we'll bring Kaidan to help.  Comprendé?” “Yes, yes, I said I would and I will,” Allie was still laughing when she stepped on the elevator, a vision of Kaidan tossing her over his shoulder to get her off the ship running through her head.  “Have fun.  See you in a week.” The doors hissed shut and Allie sighed again.  Her crew would be enjoying their downtime and she'd be working.  Sure, she didn't have to, but she owed it to Talitha – and every other innocent who died – to find out what the fuck went wrong. The smell of food hit her as soon as she stepped into her quarters.  “What the...” she muttered under her breath.  “Who's here?” she called. . . . Read the rest on AO3.

[theoriginalladya]

25 for F!Shenko.

from this list

On AO3 here

Thank you for this!  The fShenko is implied here ... I started off writing it with my canon Serafina Shepard in mind, but it quickly morphed into a generic Colonist FemShep.  Definitely FShekno though. And wow .. this one snuck up on me.  Because hey, what mission doesn’t immediately go FUBAR when Shepard lands, right?  lol  Under cut because it got long.

~~~

Standing at her private terminal in the CIC, Shepard stares at the latest message that flits across the screen.  It’s from Alliance Command, or Hackett; she’s too distracted by the contents of the message to care, and in the end it doesn’t really matter.  It’s a mission and she is nothing if not a dutiful soldier.  It’s for the war effort.  Alliance personnel on the ground will assist.  The climb up the steps to the Galaxy Map is like slogging through molasses.  When she gets there, she inputs the destination then turns away.

“Commander?”

Halfway to the lift, Shepard stops, waits. Traynor has learned to question when necessary.  

“Are you certain …?”

“Yes, Specialist,” she replies, her voice brooking no argument.  The lift arrives; she boards.  The conversation ends with the closing door.  Traynor’s, “Yes, ma’am,” gets cut off.  

Shepard stares at the console.  She needs a place to think.  Someplace quiet.  This mission … this is going to be difficult and she needs to get into the proper headspace for it.  

~

The Normandy arrives in system fifteen hours later. Shepard is ready and waiting on the shuttle when Kaidan, Liara, James, Tali and Garrus arrive.  “Let’s go, Cortez,” she tells the pilot, securing the hatch behind them.

Unlike usual ground missions, she doesn’t give them a brief on the descent.  In fact, this journey she says absolutely nothing.  She stands behind Cortez, staring out the virtual windows as he takes them down, but her mind races.  The colony is technically in Reaper controlled space, but as they slip below atmo, her gaze searches the skies, the landscape, the familiar-yet-not plan of the colony.  There is no indication of any reaper presence here.  Yet.  

Turning away as Cortez lands, she looks over at her companions.  Her voice is tight, crisp and brooks no argument or discussion.  “Let’s go.  Intel says no reaper presence, but we all know how that goes.  We have five Alliance depots to check out.”  She nods at Garrus and Tali.  “Grab the first two transports you find and we’ll split into teams. Cortez,” she calls back over her shoulder, “stay here.  If by some chance things turn hot, get out and let me know.”

“Understood, commander.”

She pounds the hatch’s release and leads the way out of the vehicle.  The others follow.

Almost from the moment her feet hit the ground, she knows something isn’t right.  Her hand reaches for the comfort of her Hurricane, pulling it free while she scans the vicinity. “Base is to the east,” she tells the rest as she starts walking forward, toward the colony center.  “We’ll head there first, find the locations of the depots.”

Kaidan moves up next to her.  “Where are all the colonists?” he asks, putting to voice the one question everyone has.

Shepard checks that her weapon is loaded and ready to fire.  “I don’t know.”

Transport is limited to one truck that Garrus gets running for them with Tali’s assistance, and with that adjustment the plan moves forward.  Shepard drives, much to the dismay of the rest, and they head east.  The grumbling stops once they’re underway.  She knows the way; they are on alert.  

Thirty minutes later, Shepard slows at the entrance. She idles the vehicle, but there are no guards in sight to let them through. Shepard leans out the window and calls up, “Kaidan?  Vega? Anybody?”

“Not that I can see, Lola,” Vega calls back. Kaidan shakes his head.

Damn.  Slowly, she backs up a few hundred feet.  “Everyone hold on.”  The words are barely out of her mouth before she guns the engines and speeds forward. The gate breaks with the vehicle’s impact and by the time she slows, they are well on the base proper.  

Like the colony proper, the base appears empty. There is no one around when there should be a hive of activity.  Even with the current state of the war, there should be something. Shepard pulls to a stop near the central admin building.  She leads the way inside, her hand at her hip again ready to pull the Hurricane in a heartbeat.  

The building is empty.  From the lobby to the interior halls and offices, there is no sign that anyone is present.  Shepard sends Liara to check the terminal at the main desk; Kaidan, Garrus, and even Tali pick other terminals to check.  Shepard paces.  Something isn’t right …

“Shepard, I’ve found something.”

Her breath catches in her chest as she hurries over to Liara.  Reading through the information presented, she tries to decipher what exactly it is. It makes no sense.  “What …?”

Liara shakes her head and Kaidan steps in to join them.  He scans through the gibberish on the screen before looking over at Shepard.  “This … isn’t right.”

“No kidding?” It comes out far too sharp to be ‘usual,’ but all of them sense there is something more at play here for her now.  

Shepard stalks back around the desk and heads for the main door.  “Load up!” she orders.  “We’ll go find them ourselves.”  So much for assistance.

She slides behind the wheel again.  This time, Kaidan takes the passenger seat and everyone else climbs into the back.  They start off in silence.

Five miles out, Kaidan finally speaks.  “You going to tell me what’s going on?”  He keeps his voice low though there isn’t really a chance anyone will hear.  He knows she’s a private person.  He also knows their presence is more than just a mission to her.  

Her jaw tightens, teeth grinding almost painfully. “Something isn’t right,” she insists, “but I can’t explain it.  Something is just … off.”

He nods.  “Yeah, we all sense it too,” he assures her.  “What did Hackett tell you to expect?”

She shrugs.  “Alliance personnel should have been there.  Someone was to give us the access points.  They know we are coming …”

They know …

The vehicle tops a rise.  Below them, the road winds down the side of the hills through the patchwork fields.  In the distance is a small clearing, fenced and closed off.  The road leads straight to it.  Like a moth to a flame …

Shepard slams on the brakes halfway down the hill. She hears shouts, complaints from the back, and even Kaidan’s hand slams on the dash.  “What is it?” he asks, looking over at her in concern.

“Fuck!  How could I have been so stupid!”

“What?”

She scans the landscape, hoping she’s wrong, but past history is too much to ignore.  “It’s a trap,” she replies as she shifts the gears and starts backing the truck to a point where she can turn around.

“How do you know?”

“No one is here – either they’ve been taken, or they’re lying in wait for us to hit those depots.”  Frustration eats at her as she maneuvers the vehicle.  

Kaidan frowns.  “That’s a bit of a jump, isn’t it?  Weren’t you the one to tell me when they rebuilt the colony after the attack in 2170 they added panic rooms to every building?  Maybe they’re safe and secure down there?”

She slams her fingers to her comms connection. “Cortez, fire up.  Mission is scrubbed and I want off this planet ASAP.”

“Understood, commander.”

“Shepard, we can’t just leave!” Kaidan argues.  “Don’t you want to help?  We need those supplies and … and this is your home!”

She guns the engines, panic driving her now. Something is wrong … something is wrong … something is very, very, VERY wrong …  As she skirts the outer edges of the colony proper, the first hint of movement flicks out of Kaidan’s side of the vehicle.  

“Shepard!” Vega shouts.  “Husks!”

“FUCK!”  

The LZ is still a mile or two ahead of them.  “Open fire!” she shouts out the window.  Ahead of her, she notices more filtering out from the fields on the sides of the road.  She grabs her Hurricane and fires out her window as Kaidan starts to do the same on his side.  

The LZ comes into sight mere moments later. Shepard slides the truck to a stop some fifty yards from the shuttle.  Thankfully, there don’t appear to be any reapers attacking their exit route. “Cortez!”

The hatch lifts and everyone scrambles inside. Garrus and James provide covering fire until Shepard boards.  “Go! Go! Go!” she shouts to Cortez.  She triggers the hatch and it slams shut as she sinks to the floor; the Hurricane clatters next to her.  She buries her face in her hands for a long minute, lowering them when the weight of a hand slides around her shoulders.  Looking up, she meets Kaidan’s concerned gaze.  “This isn’t my home,” she rasps.  “This will never be my home …”