#atlas jack plate

[april-is]

April 30, 2024: A Valentine for Ernest Mann, Naomi Shihab Nye

A Valentine for Ernest Mann Naomi Shihab Nye

You can't order a poem like you order a taco. Walk up to the counter, say, "I'll take two" and expect it to be handed back to you on a shiny plate.

Still, I like your spirit. Anyone who says, "Here's my address, write me a poem," deserves something in reply. So I'll tell you a secret instead: poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes, they are sleeping. They are the shadows drifting across our ceilings the moment before we wake up. What we have to do is live in a way that lets us find them.

Once I knew a man who gave his wife two skunks for a valentine. He couldn't understand why she was crying. "I thought they had such beautiful eyes." And he was serious. He was a serious man who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly just because the world said so. He really liked those skunks. So, he reinvented them as valentines and they became beautiful. At least, to him. And the poems that had been hiding in the eyes of the skunks for centuries crawled out and curled up at his feet.

Maybe if we reinvent whatever our lives give us we find poems. Check your garage, the odd sock in your drawer, the person you almost like, but not quite. And let me know.

--

Today in:

2023: Oral History of Insatiability, Jason Myers 2022: Try to Praise the Mutilated World, Adam Zagajewski 2021: In Defense of a Long Engagement, Mairead Small Staid 2020: Lines Written in the Days of Growing Darkness, Mary Oliver 2019: Starlings in Winter, Mary Oliver 2018: Born Yesterday, Philip Larkin 2017: Thus, He Spoke His Quietus, Thomas Lux 2016: Trees, W.S. Merwin 2015: Today and Two Thousand Years from Now, Philip Levine 2014: from For a Long Time I Have Wanted to Write a Happy Poem, Richard Jackson 2013: Tear It Down, Jack Gilbert 2012:from An Atlas of the Difficult World, Adrienne Rich 2011: Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal, Naomi Shihab Nye 2010: from Pioneers! O Pioneers!, Walt Whitman 2009: from The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot 2008: from Five-Finger Exercises, T.S. Eliot 2007: Journey of the Magi, T.S. Eliot 2006: Preludes, T.S. Eliot 2005: A Song for Simeon, T.S. Eliot

Aaaaand that's a wrap on year 20 (!?!) of our NaPoMo celebration. Thank you for the input & sweet comments about the future of this project. For now, we'll be sticking with the current format -- daily poems for one month out of the year -- so stay tuned for next April.

Until then, you can: + Visit a random poem from the archives. + Browse poems by topic / theme.

Thanks for all your enthusiasm, poetry posse! See you in 2025.

<3, Martha

[lets-try-some-writing]

I love the sparkling children au but like maybe with a twist, where the kids are also combiners and can form a gestalt together? Or at least show signs of it? Image the headache of trying to find the sparklings and finding a larger incredibly frightened gestalt sparkling that just formed for the first time.

Love this concept so much. Don't mind me as I take it and run with it.

Gestalt Trio

After everything, the team were near certain there was nothing the sparklings could do to throw them for a loop. However they were sorely mistaken.

Ratchet had spent some of his time messing with the artifact that changed the sparklings in the first place, but it had revealed nothing at had not acted every since the initial transformation. All they gathered from the thing was that it could obviously make an organic Cybertronian and vice versa. They didn't know if the children all being changed at once into sparklings had any effects... until an incident in base confirmed once theory that had been floating about in Ratchet's files.

The sparklings had all been playing together with Optimus watching over them like a hawk. The Prime had been hesitant to take his optics off his young at all after the numerous incidents revolving around them. As such when all three seemed to freeze up at they came into contact with each other, Optimus noticed immediately. He wasn't concerned at first as his sparklings didn't seem to be in any pain. But then he watched in complete shock as they seemed to begin joining. The three began to combine, their frames working slowly to adjust and compensate for differences in frame type.

The rest of the team gathered around in awe as over the course of an hour, the trio of sparklings changed, their frames slowly melding into one another, taking time to click together like a puzzle before the new combiner came online. The combiner sparkling immediately began screaming in terror, the melding of three young minds unable to fully comprehend their shared body.

The team were on them in an instant. Optimus collected the combiner sparkling who despite being made of three different frames still ended up only coming up to Arcee's hip at best. He sang to the sparkling, reaching across his bonds to all three of his little ones to soothe the newly formed combiner. Ratchet took scans at rapid fire speed, quickly compiling a basic file for the combiner sparkling and seeing where the three merged into one. Bee and Smokescreen joined the song, trying to add familiar voices to the tune for their sibling to hear. Arcee, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Ultra Magnus mainly did their best to not be in the way as the rest of the team worked.

Eventually the combiner sparkling calmed enough for the team to get a good look at them.

The combiner had Miko's wings, Jack's active T-cog, and Rafael's data cables, although every part of the combiner's frame was heavily armored, likely due to Jack's influence. The combiner had sensory panels on their helm which could have come from Miko or Rafael and was largely covered by thick plating. Their coloration was a mix of bronze, purple, and blue, somehow managing to look pleasing to the optics despite being a rather clashing set of colors in the shade the sparklings had them.

When asked for their designation, the team discovered that the combiner sparkling had access to Jack's knowledge, allowing them to speak and understand in a way that little Rafael and Miko couldn't. It took a little longer for the combiner to understand and process everything due to the age differences between the combiners different components, but soon enough they answered.

Bumblebee: What is your designation?

The Combiner Sparkling: We are... we are Atlas

Optimus: A fine designation for a fine bot.

Atlas: We feel strange.

Ratchet: You should. You just combined for the first time. It will feel strange for a while until your systems settle into your new form.

Atlas: Are we stuck like this? We don't want to be together forever.

Wheeljack: Nah! Don't you worry kiddo! Combiners can come undone whenever they want!

Altas: We can?

Arcee: Absolutely. From what I have heard, you just need to let go.

Atlas nodded at this but did not disengage from their form, instead opting to get a feel for their shared frame. The team quickly found that Atlas had a completely unique personality forged from the personalities of the sparkling trio.

Atlas was a very easy sparkling, never needing to be waited on to be content. But Atlas was very clingy, always wanting to be near an older bot even if they weren't actively being interacted with. Atlas was generally very calm and controlled, but did have bursts of energy when something of interest happened or they felt the urge to interact with others. They could also be rather protective, often trying to stand in front of Optimus as if their small frame could keep any harm from coming to him. This behavior also extended to the rest of the team, but when they could, Atlas stayed with their Sire.

Atlas's interests also varied, swapping rather wildly for a while until it seemed to settle. Atlas's interest in medicine remained, but it was more subdued due to two of their components not caring for the craft. They remained interesting in the skies, but were not as compelled to feel the wind in their wings. To them their wings were a tool to be used to take care of their family, they were useful but not essential to their being. They did find it hard to focus on occasion, likely due to Rafael's influence, but beyond that they were fairly stable and participated in activities all their components enjoyed.

Atlas's interactions with Optimus remained stable, never wavering much. They followed him around to satisfy their various components desires to be near him while also remaining somewhat independent to keep Jack's part of their processors pleased. With Arcee they were quieter and tended to drag her into more games rather than just enjoy her company. With the wreckers Atlas played their games, but they were calmer and often ended up ending the game after one of their components got too stressed or stopped caring. With Bee and Smokescreen they behaved similarly, enjoying their elder siblings attention but losing interest rather quickly because of their components varying opinions. With Ratchet they merely watched him work before wandering off, growing bored far quicker than their eldest component would normally.

Soundwave was baffled but ultimately intrigued by Atlas when he dropped by later in the day to care for Rafael. He found it harder to connect with the combiner, but swiftly came to care for Atlas all the same. Atlas held a bit of Rafael and so Atlas was under Soundwave's protection. Starscream didn't even stutter when he saw Atlas and instead did his best to take the combiner flying to get them used to their frame. Optimus objected to this and Starscream had to steal Atlas for a bit and toss them from the rafters to get them to fly.

He got banned from base for a week afterward.

When Atlas finally did disengage, the sparkling trio were left a little disoriented but overall content. They were bound together and they were pleased, even Rafael who was hardly old enough to understand seemed to get the gist of their new bond. The team were still a bit concerned over the whole thing, but knowing that the sparklings could come together into a semi-competent form if needed brought them a degree of peace. Atlas was not grown by any means, but they were able to think clearly and come up with basic plans, a huge improvement from having two sparklings who could hardly function without supervision and one too small to really take care of the other two.

[jjaynze]

I really love your art and I especially love the Borderlands stuff. In particular the Hyperion Rebirth AU. I would love to see more or even just explore the idea. Like just how Athena took over, how she did it with Janey and Fiona, they're relationship, Janey's hand, their status in the Borderlands and much more.

If your open to it I do have certain ideas for it.

Like Hyperion falling into what amounts to a civil war with Jack's death, how badly he ran it, and all the money and resources he sunk into Pandora on top of Helios crashing Planetside. Athena and Janey are dragged into one side and Fiona by a another on the company planet of Theia. (The wife of Hyperion and Goddess of sight and brilliance along with gold, silver and gems with their brilliance and value). All three meet once again and start to work together to win control over Hyperion themselves.

oh my god hi!!!! tysm for the ask i never expected anyone to ask me about this old au <3

side note btw that i apparently decided to exclude Fiona from this au 🥲 she’ll likely have an appearance other places but won’t have any direct connections to Hyperion

under the cut is a very unorganized set of pictures + explanations of what i had in mind for Hyperion’s Rebirth:

—-—-—

ORIGINS

to start, i just want to mention how this au came to be.

it was mostly fun and games tbh, where i was in an era between playing BL3 and BLTPS constantly. although i never used them, i found it ironic that in BL3, the Hyperion weapons had shields extremely similar to Athena’s shield.

since i was SUPER disappointed that Athena didn’t even at least have a mention in an ECHO, and i was SUPER deprived of content of her, i decided to make a FUN, NON-CANON ALTHOUGH HEAVILY LORE-BASED, COMPLETELY SELF-INDULGENT AU where Athena had taken over Hyperion just bc she wanted to 😇 starting this project in 2021, i would work on this on and off for my own enjoyment

flashforward only one year later—

………..hashtag goals 🤟🏼. never worked on it for a while even before ntftbl was announced unfortunately 💔

HYPERION ITSELF

you were very spot on with the concept of Hyperion being on the planet Theia, i was super confused seeing it bc i never remembered sharing anything about this 😭😭

i wanted Hyperion to be SUPER heavily reinforced, because of how widely loathed the company is, its history, and because of the overall environment of Theia. every few hours, the surface shifts from entire slabs of the floor, taken from the idea of plate tectonics.

i was also gonna work on the unique fauna, just like how Pandora has skags and Eden-6 has jabbers !! i had only given it caracals since they’re my favorite animal :,3

blands LOVES their greek myth motifs so i wanted to apply that here also

a common trend with the corporations was that each tend to have some kind of second base. i used Selene and Eos, since they were also the children of Theia and Hyperion (Helios isn’t present since it crashed obv).

i never had any ideas for Selene, but an idea i had for EOS was that it was an underwater ship.

CHARACTERS

THIS I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE MOST!!!

a very specific headcanon i have for Athena is that it isn’t her real name. she was very young at the time she was taken into Atlas, where they had actually given the assassins different names. her real name is Gayle Alvarez, to which she rejects as symbolism to how she’s letting go over her past after all these years, accepting who she is now. (she gave herself that last name “Hoplite” tho LMAO)

^^ this all comes from that fact that i was VERY petty over the fact that her sister, Jess, should’ve been named Minerva. it makes more sense to me idk

ANYWAYS this just describes Athena and Janey’s positions in Hyperion just a little bit. Athena is obviously the CEO and Janey has taken position to where she had designed almost everything.

in terms of the third point, i had actually wanted to make the Voice of Hyperion to be a prominent character in here also!! i didn’t get too far with her unfortunately 💔

FUN FACT i was actually also gonna bring HoloJack as a character concept, although he’s just stuck in an ECHO device. i was thinking that in order to run Hyperion, Athena would need the advice of an ex-CEO. they both only agree to an exchange of management tips for a new body. Athena obviously flanks out after getting Hyperion into a suitable condition, then stuffing the ai into a submachine gun and launching it towards the furthest planet 🤔 it was a funny concept but i dropped it after a while

—

on to something more specific, i do wanna mention this art piece, which ties into another one of my headcanons.

Janey was born on Elpis, being present before and after the Crackening. as it occurred, she had been exposed to whatever unstable eridium had managed to leak through, all without her knowledge—she barely remembers anything of the sort happening

TO SUMMARIZE, Janey is like the Lost Legion Eternals, specifically, a Phasewalker!!!! from the game, the LLEs only ascend once reaching a near-death situation, which explains why Janey never figured it out. the closest she did was when she and her ex gf were mauled by Flamey, where her Phasewalking activated and she managed to get away.

STORY

there is no story, sorry. 😓🤕

the closest i have are unofficial concepts, since i had literally almost zero experience and knowledge in world building.

the main idea i had focused on was something to do with Athena’s old Atlas squad, the Omega Assassins. from some, currently undecided decision, Vulcana, Hera, Minerva, Ceresia, and Helicon found themselves alive, even after supposed elimination from the BL1 Vault Hunters. despite her betrayal, they wanted Athena back, and would do anything to prevent her from settling away.

ALSO, another idea was that after the Omega Assassins found out that Athena was married/engaged, they had cut off her ring finger. this explains why i drew her wearing her rings on a chain near her chest.

below is an extra character development attempt which i had named “scene where janey plays the guitar”

this takes place moments after the assassins kidnap Athena and destroy their home for, again, some undecided reason 😭 i wanted to study Janey’s devotion towards a happy life, since i would also think of her having extreme attachment issues. she’s typically the optimistic character that sees the good through any situation, so i wanted to try to see how she would face against her everything being taken away from her again.

i also gave Janey a resentment of anything that resembles a kraggon, no matter how friendly☝🏼

—-—-—

i wish i had worked on this au so much more than what i shared. i was extremely passionate about it and i kinda still am!! even with how half-assed most of the lore is with blands, i still absolutely DEVOUR any little bit of canon Athena content available.

a COMPLETE story of Hyperion’s Rebirth is unfortunately unlikely now, especially with how it’s heavily implied to be. CANON now 😰😰. i would love to work on it again, but i just don’t really see a reason to 💔

tysmm for the ask again, i appreciate it a lot!! i rambled a bit too much but i wouldn’t mind talking much more about the little ideas i have ^_^ 💐

[breadboylovin]

i have animals to show off: fish edition

tenches (tinca tinca) are cutie little awkward guys

but they have fucked up looking pharyngeal plates

(via university of nottingham)

these european sturgeon (acipenser sturio) are autism creatures

crevalle jacks (caranx hippos) are also just Guys

monkey-face pricklebacks (cebidichthys violaceus) are silly in name and face

surf smelts (hypomesus pretiosus) are equally goofy

bonus: i just like that this man-of-war fish / nomeus gronovii parasphenoid looks like a sword

(via UF's fish atlas)

YEAHHHHH LETS GO FISH TIME!!!!

the tench looks so O___O its very funny also i love any animal with a stupid repeating binomial name (gorilla gorilla....). i wont lie i dont know what a pharyngeal plate is (i HAVE heard of pharyngeal jaws tho) and i fr thought that was a slug or something before i noticed the teeth

those sturgeons are soooooo silly i love when animals have mustaches

the crevalle jack looks like he swims fast as fuck he looks right at home on a salt life t shirt or something

the monkeyface prickleback looks like a mudskipper but even sadder somehow. maybe hes sad that he doesnt even get to walk on land like they do

sadly the surf smelt is not my favorite because it just looks like a sardine or anchovy and i think those guys both taste bad and look too normal. i do still respect small schooling fish tho they look pretty all together like that. do you know if these guys are cleaner fish at all?

i didnt even know there was a man of war FISH thats fucked up. i watched this video of the dudes from hivemind (my fav youtube channel rn) learning about weird sea creatures and god SO MANY of them are just named after land animals we dont need to start naming them after other sea creatures too 😭

[productworldusa]

T-H Marine ATLAS™ Jack Plate Replacement Rocker Switch http://dlvr.it/TFbNDt

[dood1e-bug]

By 'agenda', I mostly meant Rani Nagi's whole 'get control of Kur, jack up humanity & any fellow cryptids that get in our way' thing. I mean, weaponizing plate tectonics with that Atlas Pin stunt is pretty damn hostile even compared to, well, 'our' general aggro level against each other & the natural world. Guess in part I'd hope the nagas could be negotiated with eventually.

OOOOOH

yeah jeez they go pretty far for what to get their silly kur detector stick back! I hope they dont do any crazy crap like that again.

*sweats*

[nvnmarine]

[judgedarts]

5ds doodle page comm i did for a friend ❤

[getaprop-blog]

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[shitpostingkats]

“Doesn’t look so tough to me. Of course, how could you, with that dated haircut?”

I AM SCREAMING.

There are three possibilities here:

1) Yugi’s hair style/aesthetic was more common in the nineties, hence why no one in the og series ever really questioned it. It was just a fad at the time.

2) Yugi became such an icon as the King Of Games that he started a trend and duelists rushed to copy his look. The craze eventually died out, but the context of it originally being inspired by Yugi Moto himself has been lost.

3) Jack Atlas, bleached blond mullet boy with beaded bangs, whose brothers are Orange Afro and Gold Plated Bedhead, has the self awareness of a guinea pig.

[scoutdoesstuff]

i have been tagged in a thing!! thank you @casenergies​ for the tag!!

rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it. and then tag as many people as you have WIPs

(i will probaby definitely break the rules on this one so apologizing for that ahead of time)

1. Dean Bean and Jack Attack (working title) (supernatural)- this was supposed to be a super short, super cute timestamp set during the begining of season 13 in the time between Cas' death and his return that has turned into a 10k fic that won't stop growing!!

2. bloodied feet across the hollowed ground (supernatural)- season sixteen fix it fic based around the chuck won premise. darker than my usual stuff tbh but i'm kind of into it

3. three's company (ted lasso) -- smutty, season two adjacent get together fic between keeley and roy and jamie

4. a dragon's den in rock (atla) -- that post about how lu ten was secretly an earth bender and didn't die at bai sing se but instead went into hiding in the city gave me brainworms of the political thriller season two AU variety.

also because i owe rosa a sneaky peak for my sort of kidfic (Dean Bean and Jack Attack), have some words upfront:

Jack appears next to Dean. “Daddy!” he says again, more insistently, and grabs Dean’s hand. “Daddy! I have clothes now! That means we have to make pancakes.”

Dean looks back over to Sam, wide eyed.

Daddy? Dean’s Daddy?

Sam pulls an answer out of the kid while Dean lets Jack “help” with making pancakes. (Jack is adorable, but not actually helpful in any way, for the record. Though he does demonstrate good enough aim to get the sprinkles in the pancake batter, so it could be worse).

“Ok, so get this, Jack,” Sam says, while Dean wrangles both Jack and pancakes. “Dads are ….” Sam pauses, and Dean can almost hear the old dial up whine that his brother’s brain is emitting right now. “Ok, so,” Sam starts again. Dean has to admire his brother’s tenacity. Trying to convince a six year old to change their mind is not for the weak willed.

Jack gives Sam an unimpressed stare from where he’s stationed next to Dean on a stepping stool deliberately placed to keep Jack from being able to actually touch the range.

“Sammy, you’re being weird again,” Jack says, brutally matter of fact in a way that only six year olds can be.

“Well, it’s just that most people only have two parents — a mommy and a daddy,” Sam says. He’s dug in at this point and Dean’s learned in his thirty plus years around his brother that sometimes it’s just easier to let Sam have his argument. Except, well.

“Sometimes they have two mommies or two daddies, though,” Dean says, pointedly not looking up from the pancakes on the stove.

“Well, yes, of course,” Sam says, hasty to correct himself and keep that good ally card he likes to hold in his back pocket. Sometimes, Dean wonders if Sam knows about Dean’s alternative tastes. Sam doesn’t ask about so much it’s hard to tell what he’s letting lie and what he just doesn’t know.

“Some people only have two parents?” Jack wails, slapping his hands down on the counter and leaning in closer to Sam in outrage. “They should have more, Sammy! I have three!”

Dean makes sure that Jack is steady on his stool and then laughs quietly to himself as he scoops pancakes onto a plate. He sneaks a glace over at Sam as subtly as he can. Sam’s mouth works a few times as he tries to come up with a response to Jack.

“Sammy,” Jack says, eyes going dewey and lower lip wobbling dangerously, “Sammy, do I have to give up a parent because other people don’t have as many?”

Dean meets Sam’s eyes over the kid’s head and shakes his head.

“Of — of course not” Sam says, eyes a little wild now that he’s been confronted with a crying child. “You had, um, three?” Jack nods. “You have three dads! A Daddy and a Papa and a um,” Sam stutters, visibly gathering himself, “and a Sammy.”

Jack sniffs, mollified, and nods to himself. “I have three daddies.”

"Yeah, dude," Sam says softly, it finally sinking in for him that Jack's also chosen him as a parent, too. "You have three daddies."

So, that’s settled then.

Jack loves the pancakes, even if they have to sit him on top of several magazines and newspapers in order for him to reach the table.

Dean quietly watches his child hoover the leftover sprinkles off his plate, marveling at the fact that the kid chose him and Sam as parents alongside Cas. Dean fluffs Jack’s hair away from his face when the kid smashes his plate against his face to lick it clean and lets himself love the kid as his own.

[katagawajr]

did you have any other headcanons for Gladstone in your Atlas au? It's so nice seeing new art of him, he was my favorite character from bltps (づ ◕‿◕ )づ!!

aa sorry for the late response!! i got so excited to answer and then i forgot LMAO 😳 but yes!!! i absolutely adored him in bltps too :’) i have a few headcanons for him, and a lot are in collaboration with @ewbie (who’s putting out a fic soon that you might wanna check out *wink wink*)

this might be long, so HCs under the cut! (art here).

-so for starters, i hc him as mixed polynesian! i think i said this in the tags, but “gladstone” is a scottish name, and “katoa” is a polynesian surname (from wallis and futuna specifically). he also has a sort of australian/new zealand accent so it fits in my eyes lmao :)

-i also hc him as autistic (the way he calls the constructor prototype his “life’s work” or special interest, and clearly he’s extremely talented in that field. also his demeanor in general read that way to me), and trans (that one bltps line where jack goes “all brains, no balls, doctor?” and he goes “hah… something like that.” LMAO)

-i hc him as around rhys and vaughn’s age (so during atlas AU he’d be around 32)- this would also make him 25 in bltps, but he already has a doctorate so basically he’s just one of those smart gifted kids :’) often leads to him being a lil defensive or very sure of himself

-he doesn’t die in bltps (obviously). jack sticks him in the airlock as well, but gladstone manages to find a little something to hang on to while pleading with jack, and survives- probably dislocates his shoulders or something, poor guy. but jack takes note of his crazy intelligence as well as his apparent will to live

-so that being said, jack basically forces gladstone to work on the Angel Project and be his little personal scientist, under threat of death torture etc etc…. gladstone hates it more than anything, especially having to see another innocent woman (who should have been protected) be used and killed by jack. but gladstone sees himself as a coward, so he does what he’s told.

-during the helios battle, gladstone managed to copy felicity’s (broken) code onto a flashdrive. so then during the time when jack was overseeing timothy’s departure to the Casino, gladstone snuck the flashdrive to timothy in hopes that one day timothy would be able to find a way to rescue her, since gladstone couldn’t.

-eventually jack dies, gladstone falls with helios, and he ends up being hired to Atlas by rhys (just like a lot of helios employees). rhys knows nothing about gladstone since all his files were top secret and basically didn’t exist.

-he works in Bioengineering, since mechanical engineering is still a point of trauma for him. he does it occasionally, but he carries a lot of guilt for what happened to felicity, which he still sees as his fault.

-he lives by himself in the city, and he has a kitty! a fluffy white cat named Moonpie :)

-because of everything that happened, he definitely has a lot of anxiety and trauma (between felicity, the airlock, working on the angel project under jack, etc.) so he definitely sees a therapist. he also stims a lot and prefers to work by himself

-i hc him as mlm, and also he’s a virgo. idk.

-his favorite color is green :)

-in atlas au he tends to be a bit more pessimistic, and he definitely keeps a distance with rhys (unlike almost everyone else), but it’s really just a response to everything awful that happened to him when he used to be an optimist. there’s still a sweet young guy underneath…

-when felicity makes it to atlas, he’s so happy and they quickly become basically inseparable LMAO- i don’t think i personally see their relationship as romantic, especially because of felicity’s past and the fact that she’s an AI, but they are the closest friends that two people could possibly be. he is the first man felicity’s ever trusted, and she loves to sit and watch him do work and ramble :)

-that metal plate on his forehead was something that got installed at hyperion, when the company had a long history of implants and body modification to employees. it helps keep his goggles in place while he’s working, and also it’s able to do random little scientific functions like give temperature and misc. readings on things he touches to it lmao

-his favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate chip cookie dough.

-he doesn’t go out very much because of his anxiety, but he does like to play video games! he likes to speedrun games for fun :)

[snappedsky]

Borderlands: Skies the Bodyguard 4

Skies is trying to live a peaceful life in Old Haven.

*Links to previous and next chapters in reblog*

--

Chapter 1

           Skies’ eyes blink open. For a second, she wonders why she’s not in her Helios penthouse. Then she remembers everything: she’s living in Old Haven on Pandora now. And Jack’s dead.

           She sits up, rubbing her tired eyes. She thought sleep was supposed to help her feel healthier, but she has yet to feel rested and refreshed.    

           A smell suddenly reaches her nostrils and she smiles weakly. Something’s cooking, and it smells good.

           She opens her locker to grab her trench coat, pausing briefly when she spots Handsome Jack’s mask hanging up in the back. She stares at it as she remembers the dream she just had, before closing the locker.

           After throwing on her coat and boots, she exits her room and heads over to the kitchen. Timothy is at the stove, frying up some skag bacon, while Loader Bot and Gortys are sitting at the table. Neither of them eat, but they still like to join the humans at meals.

           “Morning, Skies!” Gortys chimes.

           “Morning,” Skies smiles at her as she approaches Timothy. “Smells good.”

           “Thanks,” Timothy replies, “it’s almost ready.”

           She glances around curiously. “Where’s Rhys?”

           “Probably still in his office.”

           “I’ll go get him.”            She leaves the kitchen and heads for the stairs.

           After receiving their prizes for opening the Vault of the Traveler, most of the group went their separate ways. Fiona, Sasha, August, and Athena and Janey all left Pandora using their Eridium money. Vaughn decided to rough it out in the Pandoran wilds. Rhys went back to the Atlas facility in Old Haven to work on rebuilding Atlas and Loader Bot and Gortys went with him, wanting to help. Skies and Timothy also went with him, mostly because they have nowhere else to go.

           Skies reaches the lower floor of the facility where the offices are. Rhys claimed the largest one to work in and that’s where he spends almost all of his time.

           Skies knocks on the door and Rhys answers after a couple seconds. His hair is messy and his clothes are disheveled.

           “Oh, hey, Skies,” he smiles, “what’s up?”

           “It’s breakfast time,” she replies.

           “Oh, okay, I’ll be right there,” he nods as he goes back into the office.

           “Did you sleep last night?” Skies asks, watching him sort through his papers on the desk.

           “A little,” Rhys replies, “I was doing a lot of research, trying to find investors. Marcus Kincaid is the only viable one on Pandora, but I don’t think he believes I can actually rebuild Atlas.”

           “Ah, screw that greedy, money-grubber,” Skies scoffs.

           Rhys chuckles. “I’m also really close to figuring out the tech for my ‘Smart-Bullets’. I can’t wait until I can build a prototype.”            Skies smiles warmly. “Okay, just make sure you eat something, Jack.”            “What?”

           Skies blanches as she realizes what she just said and she looks at Rhys, who stares at her with surprise.

           “I-I said m-mac. Make sure you eat something, mac. It-it’s like bud, you know? That-that’s what I said.”

           She quickly turns and walks away before she can further embarrass herself.

           When she gets back to the kitchen, Skies collapses on a chair at the table, sighing heavily.

           “What’s wrong?” Timothy asks.

           “Nothing. Something. I dunno,” she replies exhaustedly.

           “Here, eat,” he demands, resting a plate of skag bacon and rakk eggs in front of her. “You’ll feel better.”

           Skies smiles weakly as he sits beside her with his own plate. “It’s nice having you around to cook. You’re better at it than me.”

           “It’s all practice. I’ve been cooking for myself for a long time,” Timothy says as he takes a bite of his eggs. “But yeah, I’m pretty good.”            She chuckles and rolls her eyes. “Alright, settle down, Jack.”

           Timothy and the robots look at her with surprise. “Ja-?”

           “No, not Jack!” she exclaims, throwing up her hands. “I didn’t say Jack!”

           Timothy looks at her with concern. “Are you okay?”

           “I’m fine!” Skies insists as she shoves a fistful of bacon into her mouth. “I’m gonna go take out some of the spiderant nests around town.”

           Without another word, she leaves the kitchen, passing by Rhys who stares after her worriedly.

           “Something’s wrong with her,” Timothy says as Rhys sits down. “Maybe one of us should talk to her.”            “We need to be careful though,” Rhys points out, “she’s gotten better with human connections, but if we push too much she might run away.”            “I’ll talk to her!” Gortys declares happily before rolling away.

           Rhys, Timothy, and Loader Bot look at each other before shrugging. What’s the worst that can happen?

[amadeus-draws]

have you ever just looked at Zane’s design and his overall characterization beyond being the goofy drunk irishman? the things he DOESN’T say are almost as interesting as the zany things (ahem) that come out of our favorite operative’s mouth:

his jacket's probably something of his own design, and has what looks to be armor plating lining it (especially around the neck and upper chest; gotta protect your vital areas!) and mesh lining for ventilation around his arms--just a cool detail

the little digistructor (at least I think it is?) mounted on his shoulder for the drone is also armored and heavily padded, because this guy takes good care of his little bud 

wouldn't be surprised if that bodysuit he wears under his shirt is something he kept from his black-op days or stole when he was an active operative

said bodysuit also looks reinforced behind the neck and on the shoulders 

between the armor in his jacket collar and the armor on the bodysuit, his neck is stupidly well-protected from things like attacks and explosions from behind, because he needs to be prepared for anything at any time

the bodysuit design actually reminds me a lot of the various sneaking suits in the Metal Gear series, where some provide physical augmentation (ie, synthetic muscle tissue), exert pressure to control bleeding from injuries, etc on top of just acting as armor

let's not forget those dope trigger-finger gloves, with the textured tips on the fingers for extra grip, the thinner perforated material over most of the palm for ease of flexing the hand (which also looks well-worn and even has cracking in the texture if you look closely), and the padding on the lower part of the palm because having a very secure grip on a gun is nice 

so I'm REALLY reaching a bit here, but you ever wonder about that gun holster on his hip? I mean everyone and their mother has a holster for their shit, but Zane has that nifty high-tech looking one that rivals that of Jack and Lorelei... AND they're all connected to high-tech companies (Hyperion and Atlas respectively). kind of makes you wonder where and how he acquired his gear in general; did he steal these things? keep them from his jobs? get designs for them and/or make them himself otherwise? maybe buy them with the decent amount of money he probably has?

have you SEEN this guy's reflexes, perception, and PHYSICAL STRENGTH? he's obviously not young anymore and past his physical prime--WHEW geEEeeEz and all--but he friggin manhandles a bandit and throws him clean out a window in the opening cinematic, effortlessly tosses a guy into a dumpster in his character trailer, manages to get a guy that’s twice his size and bulk off the edge of the cliff in the same trailer, doesn't even turn around to acknowledge the big mofos coming behind him in the Let's Make Some Mayhem and We Are Mayhem trailers before swapping places with his clone, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY... 

in the E3 We Are Mayhem trailer, he manages to deploy his drone, quickly swap between two guns, deploy/trade places with his clone, AND kill 5 mechs ALL in the span of FIVE SECONDS (with an extra backstab on the last guy to boot), with extremely precise and controlled movements; i personally think this is probably one of the best demonstrations of the fact that this is a guy who had black-ops/military training on top of having just killed countless people over the last few decades

and sure, maybe that earpiece might enhance his hearing or some crap and you can probably hear those big guys coming from a mile away but STILL!

I’m not gonna touch the Happy Together trailer because that is clearly an acid trip, but if he actually IS shooting guys without even looking at them WHILE DANCING........ I mean jesus christ, no wonder he’s so deadly

"flamboyant spy man" SHOULD be one of his middle names, given his dramatic hands-behind-his-back pose in the opening movie, his chin-on-hand main menu pose, and that James Bond-y pose he has in the character selection menu

now I'm not saying bandits are thirsty for Zane, but I find it hilarious that they're constantly babbling about how THE GEEZER is good-looking (pretty boy!) to the point of even asking what the hell he uses to look so good (the answer is NOTHING of course, he just looks that good), and most of the lower-tier bandits are probably in their 20s and up or something lmao

as far as family resemblances go, Zane and Baron share pretty similar hairlines (AND SIDEBURNS MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL), facial structure (them cheekbones), the squinty-eye deal, and that default stern, perma-grump facial expression (or “sour disposition” as Zane’s in-game description calls it)

AND BONUS SHIT: he has the wildest little ECHO animation of the VHs when you use the Quick Change station, with him swapping to a full length cloak and his wanderer head (the rice hat with a full gas mask) while everyone else gets slightly less dramatic clothing swaps. because even the friggin little pixel animations for him have to be fun! 

Bit of a digression, but I always found it funny how his enemies poke fun at him for being old--I personally imagine him to be probably in his 40s at the youngest--when he isn’t super old by most measures (ffs, full head of hair, not a hint of a receding hairline, and still has color in his hair... friggin Wainwright looks comparatively ancient), BUT! 

we know he’s 1) a guy who’s probably been in active combat most of his life and we know life tends not to be long for people like him, and 2) actively being hunted down with at least 36 bounties on his head based off his on-down dialogue

the probability of him managing to live long isn’t all that great, and it’s kind of interesting to think about why bandits call him an old guy: he IS an old guy by virtue of life being short in the galaxy, especially for someone still in the fight

I mean most of the older people we see in the BL universe are usually either civilians or people who’ve been out of combat for a while, like Mr. Blake, Dr. Zed, Crazy Earl, etc

Zane’s pretty much a unicorn in the BL universe, and i for one think his longevity is a testament to his skills and ability to survive (with help from Lady Luck of course); even he’s not sure how he’s managed to live as long as he has in another of his cripple quotes

just so you get an idea of how long this guy has stayed alive, he’s outlived older brothers Baron and Captain by 12 (5 years between BL1 /BL2 plus 7 years between BL2/BL3) and and 7 years (from BL2/BL3) respectively

ANYWAYS YEAH, Zane is just a really interesting character both upfront and when you read between the lines, I dunno how you guys feel hahah

in other news, i’m actually going back in for my second playthrough to collect all them tasty Zane deets i missed the first time around and making my way through the DLC... stay tuned for more Zane ramblings!

[aricazorel]

In honor of the fact I’m on my second play through of the Legendary Edition, here is a excerpt from chapter 6 of “Broken Road”featuring Kaidan Alenko and Kori Reese (my OC).

Read here from the beginning on AO3

[This scene occurred during one of the ME3’s N7 missions where Hackett asks Shepard to deal with a Cerberus lab. During this Kaidan discovers Kori still acts impulsively during missions.]

Having made her way around, she noticed the number of support troops for the mech was much less than a few minutes ago. Shepard, she thought with a smile. Now all she had to do was hack the reaper-enhanced Atlas and overload it without getting killed. Simple…Riiiight…

Her special training was definitely going to come in handy now. But unknown to Kaidan, he was the reason she had agreed to the program Anderson recommended her for. She just hadn’t found a good way to tell him yet, especially with all that was going on and all Kaidan seemed to be worrying about.

But the Lt. Cmdr. couldn’t think about that at the moment as she studied the back of the mech. She ramped up her barrier and took several deep breaths. Only one chance and she had to make it count. Kaidan is going to kill me…

“Now, Shepard,” was all she said as she used her biotics to launch herself on to the back of the Atlas.

“Copy that. Cortez, now,” the Commander. replied.

Using a biotically enhanced punched her broke through the one vulnerable spot right above the power core and behind the canopy. Once the plating was out of the way, Reese used her Omni-tool to jack into the internal computer system. Suddenly she felt the mech swing around trying to shake her off. She held on for dear life as she flared her biotics to help maintain balance. As the giant mech swung around, she caught a glance of more Cerberus troops and a couple of combat engineers making their way to her.

She cursed and then heard Shepard call out to her over the comm, “Reese, in coming!”

Her eyes went wide as she realized exactly what he had instructed Cortez to do. “Oh shit!”

Reese hunkered down closer to the armor of the Atlas as the Alliance shuttle let loose a barrage of support fire at the approaching troopers. The blasts effectively eliminated the Cerberus soldiers much to Reese’s relief. As she returned her attention to the mech, she watched as the improvised hack program breached the internal firewall and began taking control of the thing. Concentrating on the hack and maintaining her awkward perch on its shoulders, she suddenly heard Shepard’s voice again but couldn’t make anything out but her name.

“Repeat, Shepard. I didn’t copy. I’m almost done with—“

“I said watch your six. A combat engineer made it out of the blast. He’s right— “

As she realized what was going on, she turned to see a second wave of troops moving in on Shepard position and heard a weapon charging behind her. Her Omni-tool beeped, saying that the hack had been completed. She grinned and hit the ‘execute’ button on her tool. Glancing behind her, she saw the rogue combat engineer taking aim at her.

Quickly she yelled into the comm, “Shepard, in coming.”

Sending the reprogramed Atlas on its way, she used her biotics to flip off its shoulders and activated her omni-blade. As she sailed through the air, she sliced the engineer’s weapon in half. The explosion threw the soldier off balance as Reese landed behind him. Using that to her advantage she ran him through with her blade as the Atlas let loose another round of fire. This time it was aimed at the remaining Cerberus troops and then self-destructed. The blast knocked Reese off balance despite her barrier and threw her over the railing of the landing pad. Using the last of her strength she grabbed onto a support beam and hung.

Over the comm, she heard Shepard give the all clear followed by Kaidan’s panicked voice. She sighed and concentrated on hanging on. She didn’t have the strength to do anymore biotic acrobatics. The fight with the mech had taken everything she’d had. A lecture and threats from Kaidan were sure to be the result. But what choice had they had?

Over the comm she heard Liara request Dr. Chakwas stand by and Cortez inform Joker they would be returning after retrieving a wayward tech. Reese smirked as she heard movement above her.

“Hey, you still down there?” Shepard called as his head appeared over the edge.

“Where else am I going to be, sir?” she replied feeling her hands getting more fatigued.

“You know, three years ago you wouldn’t have addressed your CO in that manner,” he said as he leaned over the edge and extended his hand to her.

“Yeah, well three years ago I actually cared,” she admitted as she took his outstretched hand.

“Maybe you still should,” another voice chimed in as second hand reached down to help.

Kaidan. And he was pissed. His tone was quiet and his expression blank. For him he was pissed. It didn’t surprise her, but she had hoped he would have at least given her a chance to explain before he started in on her. But alas she was not that fortunate and didn’t feel like getting into it at the moment.

The two men pulled the ops officer up back onto the landing pad. Shepard left Reese with Alenko as he checked the damaged pad. He shook his head and called over his shoulder, “Better let the Major see to you, Reese.”

Not wanting to look at Kaidan or give him any more ammunition, Reese simply nodded. As she stood to go to the shuttle, the L2 shadowed her movements closely. She rolled her eyes but said nothing as she attempted to take several steps forward. Instead she began to fall to the ground, only Kaidan’s strong hands kept her upright. She sighed at needing help but said nothing. She didn’t have to; he already knew what she would have said.

“You overdid it this time, Reese,” the Major said simply as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

Guiding her to the shuttle, he said nothing else but once again he really didn’t need to. She was definitely in trouble with the Major. Once aboard, Kaidan made sure she was secure in a seat and began running a med scan on her. She was too tired to protest as the shuttle took off. At least the mission had been successful and she had some more data to analyze on possible Reaper tech integration or hacking/reprogramming. Maybe the ass chewing she was sure to get from Kaidan later would be worth it.

She could hope…

[fandom-collective-writers]

In Defense of You (Zero x Reader)

Fandom: Ikemen Revolution

Pairing: Zero x Reader

Prompt: “I don’t care what anyone thinks.”

Warning: None!

Intended Audience: Female Audience

Word Count: 2,227

Requested by: Anonymous

Written by: @lordsister​

Disclaimer: I do not own Ikemen Revolution or any of its characters. All that goodness is the property of Cybird. I do, however, own the plot of this fanfic. Please do not repost or reblog this on any other website.

Additional Notes: Zero is good boy and he must be protected and loved at all costs. I loved his route and I adore him so much.

       For a moment he actually thought it would stop, the rumors, the whispering that followed wherever he went. After the events that ended the 500 year feud between the Red and Black armies, he’d even forgotten about it, happy as he was to have you at his side. But no. Weeks later it was like his actions had meant nothing, particularly to Red territory’s high society. 

       “Alice the Second?!” Your hands were ripped away from his arm by an overexcited Clemence cousin with an excessive amount of blush on her cheeks. “Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you! I’ve heard so much about you! I must say the rumors don’t do you justice. However I’m quite surprised.” Her eyes glimmered with blatant disgust as she shot a glance at Zero. “You’re with...the Ace?” She said the word “Ace” like she’d just stepped in dog poop or bitten into a rotten apple. 

       Zero saw your shoulders go rigid, the tips of your ears turning red. “I’m afraid I don’t understand,” you said through teeth clenched in a tight smile. “The Ace of Hearts is the most honorable, admirable officer in the Red Army. Why wouldn’t I be with him?”

       The woman chuckled uncomfortably and released your hands. “Sure, but-”

       “(Y/n), I think there’s cake over there. Do you want to go get some?”

       Smiling brilliantly at him, your hands returned to his arm, accepting his offered elbow. “Yes, I would like that very much.”

       Zero could tell you were still bothered by what the noblewoman had said, your grip on his arm a little tighter than necessary, but he didn’t remark on it. Honestly, he shouldn’t have been surprised some people would still hold prejudices against him. Maybe he should have accepted guard duty instead of joining you as your partner at this party. The last thing he wanted to do was upset you when you should have been having fun, but it was too late to take it back now.

       “Oh, you’re Alice aren’t you?” 

       He groaned internally as the next opponent appeared and your smile stiffened. This time it was a young man in a high-necked suit, his dark hair slicked back. 

       “Yes, I am,” you responded politely, allowing the man to grasp your hand in greeting while the other maintained a tight grip on your plate of cake.

       “I’ve heard about your part in the recent conflict between the Red and Black armies and the Magic Tower. You were quite courageous.”

       “Thank you,” you returned, “but I really couldn’t have done any of it without help.”

       “No need to be humble,” he waved you off, and Zero saw your brow twitch. “Anyway, you. Ace of Hearts.” The young nobleman’s voice had lost it’s cordial edge, turning arrogant and flippant as his lips curled in a sneer. “You must be grateful for the opportunity so graciously bestowed upon you by King Lancelot. All of us were rather astounded to hear that Mousse was stepping down and being replaced with someone outside the Atlas family. It’s extraordinary, especially for someone of your...background.”

       He was used to this. He’d heard the same words a million different times, said a million different ways. It would always hurt somewhere deep down inside, but he was used to it. You weren’t however. You never would be.

       “Zero’s just that amazing. You don’t know him so you wouldn’t understand. In my opinion, your ignorance and short-sightedness is especially amazing.” He snorted at that, lips twitching as he tried not to smile. The look on the young man’s face was ridiculous, his jaw hanging open and his face turning redder as he spluttered in embarrassment and rage. 

       Turning back to Zero, you smiled cheerfully and asked, “Want to get some of that chocolate over there?”

       “Yes.” Grabbing your hand, he gave it a soft squeeze, silently thanking you.

       “You know you didn’t have to do that for me,” he murmured, smiling as you tugged him away. 

       “Yes I did,” you replied and squeezed his hand back. “I love you. No one gets to talk about you like that while I’m around.”

       The third and final opponent approached when you and he were talking to Edgar. The same young man from before was back with a friend, lurking at the edge of Zero’s vision as he tried to forget the rudeness from before and enjoy the rest of the night with the two most important people in his life, his lover and his mentor. 

       “Excuse me,” the young man’s friend interjected with a tap on your shoulder. Zero saw a muscle twitch in your jaw as you turned, gearing up for a fight, but the other man only offered his hand. “May I have this dance, Miss Alice?”

       Three sets of eyes blinked in surprise and you looked between the young man and your lover. 

       “I, um…” you trailed off and he could tell you didn’t want to, but didn’t want to be impolite either when the guy had done nothing wrong...so far.

       Looking up, Zero realized that the other young man from before was gone. Odd. Maybe you had scared him away.

       “Zero?”

       Turning back to you, his blue gaze met your silently pleading one. He smiled. “Go ahead.”

       “But-” Before you could finish, you were swept away into the dancing, the pale yellow and orange of your dress blending in with the swirl of colors. 

       “Letting your lady get whisked away by another man?” Edgar gasped comically, a teasing smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

       Zero rolled his eyes and said, “Don’t be ridiculous.” He’d never been the jealous type and he knew you loved him...but he’d be lying if he said it didn’t bother him to see another man’s hands on you, even if the two of you were only dancing.

       “I think you’re lying, Zero.”

       “I think you’re full of it, Edgar.”

       The other man laughed and tipped back his champagne glass. “Honestly though, I’m surprised you decided to join us instead of taking guard duty again. It can’t be easy for you.”

       “I’m used to it. Besides.” His eyes found you in the crowd, the dress he’d had made for you flared around you mid-spin. Your gaze caught his and a beautiful smile just for him graced your face. An ‘I love you’ in a smile. “I don’t care as long as she’s enjoying herself.”

       Edgar reached out and hit him lightly on the shoulder. “Good for you. I’m happy for you. Both of you.” 

       Zero smiled softly. “Thanks.”

       The happy peace of the moment was spoiled by a sudden commotion from the dancefloor and Zero pushed himself off the wall, immediately looking for you.

       “How many times can Alice be pissed off tonight before she snaps?” Edgar chuckled, green eyes sparkling with mirth. “Three apparently.” 

       Leaving his mentor, Zero waded through the crowd. He found you at the center of the dance floor, your arm crossed over your body and your hand splayed post-slap. The young man you had been dancing with stood shocked, his head snapped to the side and his cheek bright red. It was obvious what had happened. And Zero could guess why.

       “Don’t you dare talk about him like that,” he heard you actually growl. He’d never heard you growl before. Your face was red with anger, your jaw clenched.

       “(Y/n)?” he called your name softly, brow furrowed in concern. 

       The anger immediately drained from your expression when you saw him, your eyes widening in realization at what you had just done. “Zero,” you whispered, turning to him. He half expected you to burst into tears. His Alice hated hurting anyone no matter what they did or said. To his surprise, your mouth twisted as if you were biting your lip instead, trying to hold in laughter. You gave him a smile that was helplessly affectionate.

       Taking his hand, you grabbed your skirts with the other and ran, pulling him out the door and down the hall with you. Despite the unapproving looks you got from other party-goers, your laughter and smile were contagious and he found himself joining in as the two of you made your escape. It felt freeing to run, to get away from the stuffiness and sideways glances and disapproving sneers hidden behind fans and champagne flutes. This was the most fun he’d had all evening.

       Back in the ballroom the Jack of Hearts approached his king, amused smiles on both men’s faces. “What say you, King Lancelot?” Edgar asked.

       “I say thank goodness. This party was boring until Alice spiced it up. It’s rather amusing to see all these vultures with their feathers ruffled, don’t you think?”

       “I couldn’t agree more.”

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

       “I can’t believe I did that!” you gasped, the two of you slowing to a halt in the garden. 

       Rubbing his hand in circles across your back, Zero remarked, “They’re probably going to be talking about that for years.”

       You blinked at him owlishly. “You think so?”

       He was still smiling as he said, “Probably.”

       “Oh well!” You laughed as you spun in a circle, taking his hands. “I don’t regret it. I’m glad I did it, actually.”

       “Why did you do it?” he asked curiously. He knew it had something to do with him. You wouldn’t have reacted so strongly otherwise.

       Your expression turned serious and you leaned forward into his arms, seeking his warmth and comfort. “He insulted you, right to my face, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I can only take so many people mocking the love of my life, especially when they don’t know a thing about you.” You looked up, resting your chin on his chest. “I couldn’t just do nothing.”

       His fingers ran through your hair, playing with the styled curls. “I understand. I would’ve done the same thing in your position.”

       Your head tilted to the side just slightly. “But?”

       Zero sighed, his smile wry. “I don’t like it when you’re so upset you want to punch someone.”

       “I slapped him,” you corrected, raising a brow.

       “Doesn’t matter. I don’t like it when you’re upset.”

       Pouting, you stepped back and let him lead you over to a fountain. Sitting you down on the stone rim, he sat next to you and brought your hands to his lips, kissing your knuckles. “Thank you for doing that for me. I love that you care about me enough to get so angry for me, but I wish you hadn’t let it get to you. I’m used to the things people say about me and I don’t care.”

       “I care though! Imagine if it had been me they’d been talking so badly about! What would you have done if you had been in my position?”

       His grip tightened on your hands as the scenario crossed his mind. “I would have drawn my sword on them.” You gave him an ‘I told you so’ look and he chuckled, his shoulders slumping in surrender. “Okay, okay, I understand.”

       “Good,” you said, kissing his nose softly and pressing your forehead to his. 

       Both you and he jumped and gasped as a second later the fountain lit up, tiny magic crystals embedded in the stone flaring to life to illuminate the rest of the garden. The soft blue glow bathed the area in seconds, mixing with the moonlight. Crickets chirped in the grass and the occasional pinpoint brightness of a firefly broke the otherwise silvery-blue scene as the faint sound of the orchestra echoed from the open windows beyond the garden.

       Your eyes widened in delight, a beautiful smile breaking out across your face, and Zero couldn’t tear his gaze away from you. It was the happiest you had looked all evening and a weight lifted from his heart as he watched you. Still, after all of the drama that had occurred there was one more question he meant to ask you.

       “(Y/n),” he called softly, bringing you attention back to him. 

       He nearly forgot how to breathe as you turned your smile on him and answered, “Yes?”

       “Do you ever feel embarrassed about being seen with me?” he asked quietly, dropping his gaze to your hands. He wanted you to say no, hoped that you would say no, but he wanted you to be honest too. 

       “Zero.” Your gloved hands cupped his cheeks and tilted his face up to meet your serious, yet gentle expression as your thumb brushed over his cheekbone. “I have never once been embarrassed about being seen with you. I love you. So, so much. I don’t care what anyone thinks. I just care about you.”

       Blue eyes closed and he leaned into you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you into his chest. Your arms looped around his neck as you leaned up to kiss him, loving and lingering. “Thank you. I know I said I don’t care about what people say about me, but that’s only true so long as you’re here with me, giving me this warmth.”

       You giggled, squirming out of his arms and pulling him to his feet. “Then you don’t have to care for forever if you don’t want to. Now, will you dance with me?”

       Zero took your hand and wrapped his other arm around your waist, smiling into your hair. “I’d like that very much.”