#but trying to link her music with intelligence is beyond fucking stupid

[jewishbarbies]

[bunnythemonsterlayer]

Failing Up - Chapter 1: Since You’ve Been Gone

Fandom: Mass Effect Pairing: Various Word Count: 2638 Status: Ongoing a03 link

Michelle is reunited with one of her old coworkers, a Salarian named Sylas, and learns that The Andromeda Mission has been anything but ideal.

Author’s Note: I run under the headcanon that Salarian aging is twice the amount of years old they are; 1 is 2, 5 is 10, 10 is 20, etc.

Jazz.

The music playing in the pod when Michelle awoke seconds later was jazz. Smooth jazz as far as she could tell through her haze. She had requested it, even gave them a playlist, though now the fact that even in her drug addled state she could recognize it was a smooth jazz cover of the Blasto theme killed some of the mood. The pod looked like twilight, dull and calm, that odd grayish purple color she could just barely remember from the scant years she had been on Earth. Part of her knew it was just the window tinting slowly undoing itself to let in the outside world, but part of her wanted to believe that it was actually natural light. Her memory was slowly shaping images to find where she was and why she was there when the pod opened with the hiss of a broken seal.

Where'sis? A...Und...Andromeda? Wait. We maydit?

Hands helped sit Michelle up, guided her out of the pod and onto a lobby couch in the next room over. A voice speaking her own language weaved in and out of earshot though it had to be no more than a few feet in front of her. She was handed something hot, probably coffee, and propped up with a pillow placed in the small of her back as the voice died out and a new foreign one came in. Which one she couldn't tell but from the speed it was probably Salarian. She wasn't sure but nonetheless it buzzed on from the eternal distance of three feet away. Michelle's head nodded down to stare into the slightly rippling surface of he coffee. She could see herself, fuzzy eyed and hung over, hardly able to keep herself from lulling her head back and forth with the motion her sedation was making her feel. It felt calm yet nauseating, as if she were underwater being rocked by a current. She could only hope not to throw up. Somehow, she managed to lift the mug and sipped at it. Had she had any feeling in her face or control of her muscles she would have recoiled from the severely bitter taste of raw six hundred year flash frozen black coffee. So, they had made it.

Wonderful.

There was no sarcasm in this thought, it was in fact genuinely wonderful. She looked at the walls and the artificial windows slowly transitioning to the different planets that she had been teased with to apply for the Andromeda Initiative, plus some new ones. One with snow, one with overgrown jungle and one that looked like what she could only describe as every generic city people hundreds of years ago seemed to portray cities of 'the future' to look like in movies. How long had she been asleep for? Was that The Initiative's doing? Had they actually be able to build something like that? She couldn't imagine any of the architects she had met before departure were that stale in their imagination. Certainly not Kesh, not by a long shot. No, it had to be alien. New aliens. New Aliens, with children? Maybe, she would have to check, but if it was true that would be a game changer. Nowhere in the hype of The Initiative's shilling had they mentioned any hint of other alien species in this new galaxy; which at the time, Michelle knew was far fetched. How do you not have aliens in a new galaxy? Had they really been expected to believe that they had found the one galaxy with no other intelligent life in it? Someone at the party who had over heard the concern had thrown out the 'millions of galaxies, one has to be empty' excuse, but even that was met with halfhearted, uncomfortable fake laughter. Michelle wasn't stupid, and neither were any of them. They all thought it but it was just another thing about this mission that they buried down deep, next to the coffins labeled 'death' and 'failure'.

There had always been something nefarious in this push for assumption, one Michelle had tried to bury as well but always failed. While Jien had been, at least on the surface, genuinely well meaning in all of her plans and intentions for The Initiative, there was no way to deny that there was something, not only in human nature, but in the nature of all sentient species to put their own well being above that of even the most innocent of victims. No matter how you spun it, there was no way that a mission using so many resources, that had to go through so much red tape, that had sold millions of people of all species and types on a seemingly impossible pipe dream, was going to let a little thing like 'native inhabitants' fuck up their goal. There was no ignoring it now, not for Michelle at least. She would have to now face the possibility that the fruits of such labor were going to stare her in the face, either in the form of conquered, broken people, or the bitter and rage inducing casual reply of 'oh yeah, that's not a problem anymore' from one of her fellow Initiative members. There were of course other answers: that the aliens had been extinct for a long amount of time before they got there and this was just something left over. Or that everything had worked out perfectly peaceful and everyone was shitting rainbows and riding unicorns. However, that was too much to ask for, especially the unicorns. Holy shit, she was out of it. Regardless of the answer she would have to work around it, with it, through it. Make what ever situation she was about to be ushered into a little bit better for everyone involved. Especially for the children of whatever poor race The Initiative might have curb stomped all over. That was if they had in fact existed and or survived in the first place. Her Director, Kamela Lan, may have said that each employee's top priority was their own species but at this point...

“You'll need to issue statements to the other species about their specific situations. The Krogan specifically from what I hear...” The voice finally cut in clearly for the first time in what felt like hours; familiar but still echoing beyond the grasp of her lagging mind. “That's Kamela's job...” Michelle mumbled with what felt like all her might. There was a noticeable pause. “Kamela's dead, Shelly.”

That woke her up. All at once the muscles in Michelle's neck decided to finally work and yank her head up from staring at the floor, causing her to feel as if the floor had yanked itself from under her feet. She stumbled backwards and felt the sharp pain of her shoulder blades banging against something hard and uneven. She pulled away and turned to look out at the rapidly passing metal and sleepy lights of a tunnel they were traveling through; her back burning under her uniform from being pulled away from the cold glass. Where they on the Nexus monorail? When had that happened? How long had they been out of the recovery room? Had she just been ghost walking this whole time? When had she even finished her coffee? Six hundred years in cryo and yet this was the most impressive time travel she had ever done in her life. Trying to shake the last of her drug induced confusion out of her head with a physical toss of her head she turned to see a very confused but familiar face.

Sylas Tulok, the youngest member of the care giver team, even by Salarian standards was a mere fourteen years old but had been very enthusiastic to join The Initiative. He had babbled on endlessly about his passion and credentials at the meet and greet they had taken part in before the big going away party. He had never worked personally with children but was very eager and very well versed in Salarian biology and sociology. Loved seeing things grow and evolve. He also loved to talk. Lord almighty, did he love to talk. This was why they had probably stuck her with him. Who else would be able to fill her in on everything happening in record time?

“I'm sorry, what?” Sylas looked as if she had slapped him in the face. He was oddly dramatic for a Salarian, but only because he had apparently watched many vids in order to better relate and convey his emotions to his non-Salarian coworkers. That was his excuse at least, Michelle figured he was just eccentric which was probably the real reason he had wanted to leave the Milky Way in the first place. “Have you not heard a single thing I've said?” Sylas sputtered. “I'm dragging on a sedation injection, Sylas. Give me a break.” “You are?” His face went from confused to concerned, “There wasn't any note of that on your file...” So they hadn't even taken the time to add that in. Sloppy, very sloppy, and dangerous. Michelle wanted to make excuses for this to ease her own mind. Maybe they had been pressed for time and the assistant hadn't had time to enter it in before getting into their own pod? Maybe they had been a rookie and simply overlooked it? That one troubled her; a Cryogenisis assistant overlooking a critical note on someone coming out of long term sleep? Michelle was certain, told flat out in fact, that The Initiative had taken painstaking time to make sure to have on the best. You needed to have the best with so many lives in your hands. Alas, there was nothing that could be done about it now aside from maybe filing a complaint with Operations about the assistant. She hadn't gotten their name, only that they were Turian, but honestly why make waves? Michelle was coming out of the drag and slowly feeling like a person again anyway, it was time to stop dwelling on things that had happened and focus on the literal future. What was she thinking? Of course she had to dwell on things that had happened. Her boss was apparently dead! “Don't worry about it, tell me what happened again. I'm sure there are more things you probably wanted to add in that you didn't the first time, right? Go nuts.” Michelle watched the tight line of Sylas's mouth curl up into a little smile at this. He did love to talk after all.

Michelle actually had to turn on her translator to keep up with version two of Sylas' history lesson as he rattled through all the old parts, excitedly chattering out new frivolous details. He spoke as if going down a list: Something called the Scourge that had been the cause of Kamela's death, an Upraising of some sort, something about vaults in the middle of planets, a very seemingly simplistic explanation about problems with the Arks, new Pathfinders, new colonies, new Directors all across the board. Even with the amount of information pouring from Sylas, it felt like everything she was being told was half the story. She figured she could ask him to go into more detail about things, but she trusted that if it had been a bigger deal he would tell her. “Where are we going?” She finally asked when a beep on the overhead intercom sounded with a voice saying something about maintenance in Hydroponics. “Operations. You'll need to talk to the new Director.” “I see. So, Jien's gone too, huh?” “Mmhmm, she was one of the first killed when the Nexus hit the Scourge, her and the six commanding officers below her.” Sylas was finally speaking at a speed that allowed Michelle to turn off her translator again. A different voice over the radio announced they would soon be arriving in Operations. Everything was becoming more and more bleak. In all this time and confusion Jien had been the link holding everything together. Maybe there would have been more of a chance for a smoother transition from devastation to regrouping and problem solving had perhaps the second or third in command had survived, but that wasn't an option. Seven superior officers gone in one fatal swoop. How does that even happen? It was unsurprising that tensions had run high enough for an Uprising to go down. Though from how Sylas had described it, it hadn't seemed to have gone too poorly. “How long has it been since we arrived?” “Two years and a couple months. It was a shit show.” “Must have been, since we're only being woken up now. So who's the Director in charge?” Sylas let out a long sigh and made an annoyed suction sound with the corner of his mouth, as if saying the name was the result of having a gun pointed at his head. “Jarun Tann.” Michelle's entire upper body jolted back in sincere disbelief. “The Accountant?” Sylas didn't look at her, just made the suction sound again and stared out the window of the rail car door.

Michelle remembered Jarun Tann, though barely. She had seen him in a cluster of people over the heads of her own group at the party, nursing a drink more melted ice than liquor and trying to act social despite his obvious discomfort. Typical Salarian, strong intelligence and perfect professional posture coupled with a healthy enough dose of antisocial behavior. Under the dim, ever changing lights of the meeting hall the party was in, his complexion had caught her eye. Common gray coloring with hot points of light, bright ice blue around his mouth, palms of his hands and neck, and a flourishing blush of dusty rose pink around his eyes. He looked bitchin' when the black light came on. In her later drunken haze that night, Michelle had gotten the great, borderline brilliant idea to take her hot mess of a self over and thank him for 'approving all the great shit she had asked for'. Having had a walk through of the best nursery and care labs The Initiatives constrained budget would allow earlier that day, it seemed to be the only logical and down right polite thing to do. She had gotten only so far, scaring him half to death by introducing herself with a, what she thought had been, gentle pat on the shoulder. She vaguely remembered asking him some random question before the lights came and Jien got everyone's attention for her big grandstanding speech. By the end of it, Michelle had spots in her eyes and Jarun Tann had vanished. It was probably for the best, she had been, after all, extremely drunk. She was surprised he hadn't had a heart attack already. Being the director of a finance department was very different from managing an entire mission and judging by Sylas's reaction, it wasn't going very well.

“Wow,” Michelle chuckled sympathetically, “that poor man.” “Poor you.” Sylas said in a correcting tone, prompting Michelle to look up at him questioningly, “You're about to be, what is the old human saying, 'in the same ship'?” The car stopped with a smooth press of unseen breaks and everything finally dawned on her. Jesus Christ, she was about to be in the same... “Boat. 'In the same boat', Sylas.” “Ah, good. Your memory is working well then. Maybe you can use that time in said boat to...get us some pull.” 'Time in said boat', huh?, Michelle thought. Up Shit Creek without a paddle. The doors swished open with a graceful, metallic 'whoosh' and the two stepped out of the car. The bright sign reading OPERATIONS greeting Michelle like the gateway to Hell.

[tricksheart]

Ask my muse extremely personal questions. Does he ever regret becoming a Phantom Thief?

Akira takes a deep breath and thinks about the question. It’s a question that he’s been trying to mull over for several months. But thinking about this is exactly how he actually became a phantom thief. There was the self doubt about saving the woman from Shido. It was those ‘what ifs’ that made him fail to recognize the virus app installed on his phone. Being lost in thought is what guided him to Kamoshida’s palace by mistake, along with Ryuji. Maybe if he wasn’t such a scatterbrain or a hot-headed hero wannabe then none of this would had happen.

But if there wasn’t the opportunity for him, Akira wouldn’t have met Ryuji, Morgana ( even if the damn cat wouldn’t let him stay up past 9 in the evening), and everyone else ( even Goro Akechi to an extent ). He wouldn’t have the strength of bonds or even true friendship. Or find that special someone since he quickly accepted the fact that no one could return his feelings of love. Akira felt the feeling of being swallowed up by the universe, not finding a purpose in life. There’s also the creeping fact that he could had easily ended up on the wrong path and actually have his life ruined beyond repair or redemption. Akira was at one point spiraling out of control with hidden anger and disgust on how society had become so warped. Not being able to do anything. Powerlessness. Despair. The cold hard TRUTH of reality. Many things plagued his mind.That no matter what you do, you can’t help or save them.

Ironically, to him, becoming a phantom thief helped save HIM, him of all people. Did becoming a thief hurt him? Sure it did and it still does. Doing the right thing all the time doesn’t always mean that you still can avoid making huge mistakes and get hated for it. After all, no good deed goes unpunished. Sometimes you got to take risks. If you don’t then nothing will change because you fail to do something about it. Akira had his answer. Deep down he knew becoming a phantom thief was the right choice.

“I’ve had time to think this through and my answer is this. Without a doubt, no. I do not regret becoming a phantom thief”.  

Hobbies

Even before being forcibly relocated to Tokyo, Akira has always been a video game type of person. Not that he didn’t do any types of sports in Sumaru City but it was more comfortable just to chill in his room playing an adventure game ( Legend of Link ) or any type of genre the games had to offer. Ironically, the mystery games were one area Akira didn’t spend too much time into. Sometimes he wishes that he spent more involvement with those ones but that’s in the past.

Actually, it’s the racing games that he’s played that saves him when asked to drive the Morgana bus. But he gets backlashed by his friends for admitting this. Ann downright says ‘seriously’ followed by ‘I guess it’s better than nothing’. Which hurts him a lot because to Akira, those racing games are hella realistic. You can even die or dive off a cliff if you aren’t watching what you are doing. It’s like a simulator or practice for the real thing. He’s better at driving than Makoto who drives like a crazy person or a mom trying to get to fast food place in a hurry for her kids.

Akira also likes stealth/rhythm games that tests your patience. This is a double edge sword because he tends to become impatient as the time moves along. This can be seen while in the dungeons when a shadow takes a long ass time going down the hallway. That majority of all danger situations comes from is Akira’s lack of patience. Those games he plays that make him quite impulsive sometimes.

Music

Akira has a wide range of music taste. Mainly because he doesn’t like to be tied down to just one genre. There are a few that test his patience; like SCREAMO ( Akira wants to at least understand what the words are actually saying. He hates gibberish with a passion) and Opera ( because in his mind, only super high intelligent bad guys have Opera playing at their house/lair ).

He listens to music that moves him on that part of the day. If he’s in a low mood, he listens to some alternative rock or pop ( society teases him because most of these are labeled as being ‘emo’). If he feels calm, he picks a more low-key beat and chorus. Of course, if he’s in Joker mode, he tends to pick songs that are a little more cocky/assertive. Everything involves his mood as he’s very emotional on the inside despite his loner-cat outside.

Akira’s really fond of parody songs. Not only does he think they are very creative and funny but he’s seen how much effort has been put into the lyrics and music videos. That people sat down and put a lot of love and sarcasm into making light of another song. The wanted people to smile and laugh at something so ridiculous that they forgot to be sad, even for a split second. That being said, he’s a big fan of American parody singer/video maker Weird Al. It’s thanks to him that he’s even able to speak a few words in English. 

Assuming Akira doesn’t hang out with somebody or go to Mementos, what is his usual routine when he gets home from school?

THIS WILL HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH MY OWN GAME-PLAY, JUST A FAIR WARNING.

Usually in the afternoon, Akira visits either two places, instead of wandering around aimlessly as he did when he first moved to Tokyo. The arcade because the boy sure does loves the vidya gaimes and button mashing. He’s quite good at the rhythm games like ‘Finished Diva Bland’ ( Project Diva Tone ) and of course the shooter game the ‘King’ taught him how to play. And Akira likes and enjoys being there. Sure it’s noisy but no one really gives him a second look while being focused on playing games. Their eyes are more prone to not give him dirty looks, unlike school where it’s undeniably crushing. He feels safe here.

Akira also goes to the batting cages. Not as frequent as the arcade because using the facility costs more than the games and he’s really frugal on money because of the things he has to purchase for palace and dungeon explorations. Hitting the targets with a metal bat oddly feel quite calming, unlike when Akira’s in the palaces when he’s cutting demons up with his knife. Maybe the loud ‘kawack’ sound when he hits the baseball is so aesthetically pleasing that he stops being so wound up all the time. It’s the case even when in battles that he has to constantly remind himself to calm down. That he’s on edge. Seeing the progress he has made when all five targets are hit really feels satisfying. Plus, the one baseball that goes through the metal roof and into the day’s sky is really hilarious to him. Although, Akira has to apologize profusely when that happens. He doesn’t know his own strength at times.

At night before returning to Leblanc, he visits the local bathhouse down the road. Soaking in the tub is really relaxing for him and once again, he really doesn’t get a lot of looks. Of course, there’s his small tattoo located just in the inside of his hip that gives him a little trouble because tattoos are still frowned upon in Japan, especially the older generation which frequent the bathhouse a lot. But Akira usually just goes look for an opportunity to make sure no one really sees it. Being discreet about it is key. He usually doesn’t stay in the tub too long but the rainy days that he visits makes him more rebellious than on non-rainy days. This results in him either getting his ass kicked from the intense steam and dehydration or him getting really refreshed looking from all of the good minerals found in the water. The boy does need to keep up his handsome features. His debonair charm max stat came from spending a lot of days here. Even though the real objective has been completed, he still can breathe deeply and melt all the stress away. Plus, Morgana actually compliments him and worries that he might catch a cold. Much better than being told to ‘go the fuck to sleep mr. krabs’ any day.  

💗 HAS MY MUSE EVER BEEN IN LOVE?

Going to say no before the whole incident with getting arrested. But a lot of things have changed for Akira during his time spent in the city. After that cutscene with Ann, there’s been a lot of incidents that suggest he going through being in love. I think in the past, Akira didn’t see the point of being in love. Probably thought the idea was stupid as hell. He has been called ‘that punk’ by Sojiro so I can base his attitude on subjects based on that alone. It’s really escalated by the time he meets Haru, being in love that is. The line he shouted during the school festival wasn’t just something he said without meaning behind it. He feels like he’s always loved her even though he only met her a few weeks prior in the Hawaii trip. 

💯 WHAT IS MY MUSE’S IDEAL DATE?

Inviting them to a heist. lol. His ideal date would probably be where is significant other wants to go. If they want to go to a library, away he goes. He’s not picky with the location. It’s the bonds and memories that are more important to him. If the other person is having fun and really enjoying themselves, well, that’s all he really needs. Akira’s pretty adaptable to situations.

❤: does my muse consider themselves a romantic?          

Akira’s emotional range is quite wide so answering that question, is a big yes. But that part of him is kept locked up very well. He’s seen what anger and passion to do the right thing has done to his life so he keeps everything under lock and key. But you can see his emotions fly through the roof when Akira first sees the plane fly over towards Hawaii.

How he’s swept up by intense emotion. You can see in the eyes how much romanticism there is. There’s times where he’s glad that people interrupt him during these moments. To put the mask back on that they will never know just how he feels with overwhelming situations.