#even afterwards we see him running around and telling everyone in the colony about his new favorite curry!!!

[silverselfshippingchaos]

LOOK AT HOW CUTE HE IS!!

[brainicusrotticus]

“So, that’s my shitty parents. What about yours?” Vace asked, taking a quick swig from their stolen bottle of liquor before passing it off. “They even make it to the wormhole? Get eaten by some xeno during the first raids? Fuck off to nowhere important?”

Solane took the bottle, watching the liquid inside. He suddenly felt exhausted, weight tugging at his bones as his eyes lifted skyward, taking in the starry expanse before them. Quietly, he offered, “...You’ve already met them.”

Before Vace could respond, he took a heavy drink from the alcohol, coughing on the burn in his throat. He took a second, and tried for a third before a metallic hand snatched his wrist. “Fuckin’ greedy,” Vace growled, prying the bottle out of Solane’s grip. Sol glanced at him, seeing the tenseness in his shoulders, and laughed.

“Quit fuckin’ with me,” Vace muttered, taking another sip.

Solane sighed, gripping his knees tight to his chest. “...I’m not.” He could feel Vace’s eyes on him, but didn’t bother looking back. He didn’t look down, either, where he knew the fields of Geoponics would be visible from where they sat on the Heliopause.

“Geranium and… Fluorescent.”

“Oh fuck. The farm fugitives?” Vace asked incredulously.

Solane snorted, letting the laugh ease the tightness in his chest. “Yeah… Yeah. Those are the ones.”

“The fuck is that story?”

Vace’s inability to keep his mouth shut was a blessing, occasionally. Refreshing, at the very least. Everyone in the original colony knew who his parents were. Knew that, seemingly overnight, they went from being a close-knit, happy family unit to not speaking at all. They’d tracked every movement for a while, waiting to see who would be the first to break the silence, to finally bridge the gap. By the raid that destroyed the original colony, few still paid attention. Afterward? Well… There was too much else to do.

“A few weeks after my thirteenth, she sat me down first thing in the morning. Started going off about how she was watching me, and she didn’t like what she saw. About community, and needin’ to fit in. That it wasn’t some fucking holovid, this is real life, and I needed to get my shit together,” Solane stated, bitterness creeping into the words.

“Yeah? You not like the reality check?” Vace asked, and Solane could hear the derisiveness in his voice.

Solane waved a hand at the fields below them. “You know the Vertumna Carrtatos? Our staple food?” Vace nodded, opening his mouth to answer, but Sol didn’t give him the time. “I created that. I spent months in the xenobotany lab working on the math, on the DNA. Running simulations, and watching them fail, and tweaking them, and doing it again. Learning how to alter DNA. Not just theoretically, but how to actually do it. Because nothing else was working. Because my parents came home from the fields every fucking night, whispering back and forth like I couldn’t fucking hear them. About how our earth crops were failing, and we couldn’t domesticate native ones. About how our colony was going to slowly starve. Trying to figure out how much time they had to fix it before they had to tell Eudicot.”

He snatched the bottle from Vace, swirling what little remained before downing it all. “So I fixed it. I sacrificed time I could’ve used for school, or Sportsball, or making friends. I stopped going beyond the wall, stopped learning about what’s out there. So I could save them.” He stood up, wobbling for a moment as his feet settled into the slightly curved surface beneath him. Vace’s metal arm snaked around the back of his calf, around the inside of his knee to dig the fingers into the front of his lower thigh, stabilizing the doctor.

Solane drew his arm back, and hurled the bottle out towards the fields with a snarl. He tilted forward in the follow-through, but the counterpressure provided by Vace’s hand kept him from tumbling over. They both silently watched the glint of the starlight on the bottle as it dropped into darkness, before they heard the shattering of glass on dirt.

“...And a few days later, I turned thirteen.”

“Fuck,” Vace hissed under his breath, refusing to lax his bruising grip.

“I told her she had no fuckin’ clue what she was talking about. That if what I’d already done wasn’t good enough, then nothing I did ever would be. Then I shoved some shit in a bag and left. Haven’t… Haven’t talked to ‘er since,” Solane muttered, swaying gently side to side.

“Geranium tried, a couple times, but… He always said shit like she shouldn’t have said it so harshly, or we needed to talk it out, that she’s under a lot of pressure, or just trying to help me… But never once did he say she was wrong. Or sorry. Just kept trying to convince me with excuses covering her ass, until I stopped listening altogether.”

Solane shook his leg, easing Vace’s grip as he stumbled toward the overhang where they could climb down onto Command’s balcony. He hopped off, realizing a minute too late that he’d overestimated his ability to make a smooth landing, and lurched into the railing, lashing a white-knuckle grip on it as he steadied himself.

Vace’s footsteps approached the edge and a moment later, he dropped down beside Solane. The soldier seemed more steady on his feet. “We should get you back to your apartment,” he muttered, half-turning toward Solane and leaning just slightly into his space.

With a snort, Solane turned towards the stairs. “Walk me proper or stand there and look pretty, but don’t start that herding dog trick with me,” he cautioned as he took the first step down, clutching the railing as his feet shook.

Vace squeezed beside him on the staircase, wrapping his metallic arm around Solane’s waist at the same time his right arm slung the doctor’s own over his shoulders, letting Solane lean into his broader frame.

Walking down the steps took Solane’s full focus, but as they leveled out onto the dirt track, he murmured, “I think she’s been angry her whole life. Always had someone to fight. The adults who failed her, the world governments, the terrors of space… She was a soldier. But when we landed here, she wasn’t anymore, and… And I think maybe, she was still angry anyway. And she decided it was my fault.”

He realized Vace had stopped in front of the door to Dys’s quarters, and Solane wondered how long it had taken him to get that thought out. “It… It wasn’t fair,” he murmured into Vace’s shoulder.

He felt Vace’s words as he quietly murmured back, “It wasn’t.”

The door opened, and Solane beamed a smile at Dys, who seemed barely awake. The scout glanced at Sol’s face and his eyebrows narrowed before his accusatory eyes snapped to Vace, barely-hidden contempt in them. Vace muttered something, but Solane was too tired to hear it now, just swaying to the melody as his two friends conversed quietly, Dys’s posture easing at whatever Vace had to say.

Dys’s arm curled around him then, and Solane felt Vace’s leave. Glancing over his shoulder, he gave a soft smile to the soldier and whispered, “Goodnight, Vace.”

He wasn’t sure if the boy responded as the door shut quietly, and Dys guided Solane towards his bedroom. He was seated on the edge of his bed as Dys undid the laces of his boots just enough to slip them off. The dark-haired boy walked away for a moment and came back with a damp cloth.

“Let’s wipe off your cheeks, alright? Don’t want them crusting over while you sleep,” he said gently, smudging the cloth against Solane’s skin, tracing tear tracks.

“I was crying?” Solane asked, tiredness quickly beginning to sweep him away.

Dys looked up and gave one of his not-really-a-smile smiles. Solane felt a deep appreciation for those smiles in that moment. “I’m sure it was happy crying,” Dys whispered, helping Sol scooch up to the top of the bed.

“Yeah… Yeah, I think so too,” Solane murmured as the blanket covered him, and he drifted away.

[slyttherins]

Quidditch camp (part 2) | Fred Weasley x Reader

Summary: You and Fred attend quidditch camp like every summer, but, this year, there’s been a mistake in the cabin and rooming situations. In other words, they’re short of bed and you and Fred will have to share.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader

Word count: 1800

-

You hadn't talked to - or even looked at - Fred since the kiss.

Once you pulled away from the kiss, you had made a beeline for the bathroom, no longer caring that there was no hot water. A cold shower would do you good - and it was apparently very beneficial for the skin.

Anything to not be in the same room as him.

At supper, you sat with Angelina and Katie. You talked about the afternoon training session, which will cause your legs to ache in the morning and the latest gossip going around in the girls' cabin. Apparently, a girl had snuck into Cedric Diggory's cabin last night - according to Angelina the suspect was Cho Chang - and Madam Hooch was furious.

Most importantly, you didn't tell them what happened at the cabin.

Unconsciously, as Katie was telling you about a new broomstick trick she learned this afternoon, your eyes drifted to the redhead Beater - and the kiss you had shared. The same kiss that had left you wanting more.

Although Fred was three tables away from you, you could still feel his hands on you, strong and firm but not too rough, smell his woody soap and hear the soft sounds of appreciation leaving both your mouths as his warm tongue slipped past your lips and easily found yours. You couldn't believe you had let it escalate to that. At least no clothes had been removed - Fred was just in his shorts, but it still counted.

.

After supper, you left and went to your cabin, faking a headache. You'd usually follow the girls to their cabin and hang out until curfew, but not tonight. You needed time to think and, most importantly, get your mind off of Fred Weasley. Perhaps reading a book would help?

That didn't work for long because the twins walked in the cabin less than twenty minutes later, laughing about some prank they had pulled on one of the younger campers.

''It was brilliant, Freddie! Who knew Chambers could scream that high pitched,'' George said, talking about the prank.

''That image is forever engraved in my mind. Spiders! Spiders! They're gonna get in my pants!'' Fred mocked, imitating Chambers. ''It was hilarious.''

''How did you find so many spiders?''

''There's a whole colony behind Ron's cabin. I lured them into a cup and-'' Fred stopped himself when seeing you on the bed, his mood dropping and changing.

''Hey, Y/N,'' George greeted with a smile, going to his side of the cabin. ''You're here early.''

''I wasn't feeling good. I think it's the heat,'' you explained. If you were consistent with your lie and told everyone the same thing, no one would suspect it was a lie.

''Well, get some rest. Tomorrow's game day. We play against the Phoenixes.'' George fished for his toiletries and slung his towel on his shoulder. ''I'm gonna shower.'' He looked between you and Fred. ''Try to not kill each other while I'm in there, alright?''

Fred sat on his brother's bed and waited until the shower was running to speak. ''So...are we going to talk about it?''

''Talk about what?'' you asked, faking ignorance.

Fred gave you a stern look. ''Don't play that game, Y/L/N.''

You sighed. Forgetting it happened would've been so much simpler.

It's not like the kiss meant anything. It was just that, a kiss. There was no need to make a fuss about it.

''There's nothing to talk about.'' You closed your book and stood, slipping on your shoes and headed outside for a walk.

''Where are you going? I thought you had a headache.''

''I do, but hearing your voice makes it worse.''

.

The match against the Phoenixes was not going well.

McLaggen was sick, therefore he was sitting out this one, which left his keeper position to one of the younger - and less skilled, campers. Much to their bad luck, the young boy had let in five goals in a row. Five! He was probably nervous for his first time on the field, but five goals was a lot of points.

You were scheming the field, trying to spot the snitch, but, much to your luck, the only thing in your vision field was Fred's abs - which was distracting. To your defense, it was Fred's fault for bringing the bottom of his quidditch jersey up to his face to wipe away sweat. The little fucker also purposely flexed his abs a little every time he did it. You tried to look away, but those abs were difficult to look away from. Damn you, Fred Weasley!

Fred's exibitionist manners caused you to miss the snitch and, by the time you had snapped out of your staring, Cho had caught the snitch.

.

''Maybe McLaggen is right. Maybe we should fuck,'' Fred declared after the match, removing his protective gear.

You almost sputtered your water all over yourself. ''Excuse me?'' you asked, hoping you had heard wrong.

''You and me. We should fuck.''

A laugh left your lips. ''Did a bludger hit your head?''

''You were looking at me, weren't you? That's why you didn't see the snitch.'' A smug smile curled on his face. ''Do you have a crush on me, Y/L/N?''

''Wow, that bludger must've hit your head really hard, uh?''

''I'm not going to tell the team...if you accept to have sex with me.''

What?! You couldn't believe what you were hearing.

''Are you blackmailing me into having sex with you? You know that's sextortion, right?''

Fred shook his head. ''No. I'm saying, it's been proven that sex raises endorphins and other hormones that boost mood. Perhaps if we release those good hormones we won't be at each other's throat and picking fights during games...or staring at the other. It would be for the team's sake.''

You scoffed. ''The team's or your dick's sake?''

''I'm being serious, Y/N. Think about it.''

.

The time had been set. Friday, during the campfire, while everyone's attention would be occupied, you and Fred would slip to your shared cabin and...do it.

You didn't want to let it get to your mind, but it was all you could think about throughout the day. While the plan could work and ease the tension between you two, there was a possibility that the sex would go wrong - or be bad - and make things worse inside the team. You were also worried that it would be awkward afterward or that Fred would tell everyone.

During seeker training, you weren't flying your best. Madam Hooch had noticed that your mind was elsewhere and questioned you about it. You lied about not getting enough sleep the night prior and vowed to not stress yourself over tonight.

It was only a big deal if you made it one, right? To prove yourself, you didn't dress special - other than matching your underwear to your bra. It was just Fred, you didn't need to impress him. You didn't even put on lipgloss!

You started with kisses, slowly getting comfortable with each other, but quickly wanting more. His ginger hair smelled of smoke from the campfire and his lips tasted something sweet - roasted marshmallows. You hummed, slipping your hands under his shirt, feeling the curves of his abs and back. Merlin, you loved those.

''Did you lock the door?'' you asked, not wanting to be walked in on by any of your cabin buddies.

Fred hesitated and you sighed, going to lock it yourself.

When you returned to Fred, he had discarded his shirt, leaving him shirtless and you had to hold yourself back from biting your lip. Damn, that body.

Seeing as it was unfair that he was the only one who had taken off clothes, Fred helped you take off your top. You should've felt exposed, but it wasn't the first time he saw you in a bra and it wasn't much different than bikini tops, right? But, this bra was a little sexier than the sports bra you usually wore and, by the look Fred was giving you and your body, he didn't hate it.

''Ohh, I didn't know you owned other things than sports bras, Y/L/N,'' he teased, gliding the pad of his finger on the edge of the black lace.

You swatted him and he laughed.

His lips found their way back to yours, hands exploring each other's bodies. You felt the backs of your legs hit his bed and fell back onto it due to a not-so-gentle shove from Fred. You narrowed your eyes, but Fred joined you, crawling on top of you.

Small moans left your lips as he kissed the side of your neck and your hands went to his hair, keeping him there. He was probably going to give you a bruise and it could be a bitch to cover up, but you'll worry about that later.

No. No more kisses. You were running tight on time.

You snapped out of your bubble and pulled Fred off of your neck. If you wanted to be finished before anyone realized you two had vanished from the campfire, you needed to get straight to business and not fool around too much.

Sparing you both some time, you arched your back off of the mattress and unclasped your bra, throwing it somewhere in the room. You took a mental note to pick it up later to not give Oliver another reason to complain about sharing his cabin with a girl.

As you laid there, topless under Fred, the boy couldn't help but stare at your breasts, hunger in his eyes. He bit his lip and covered them both with his large hands, thumb brushing against one of your nipples, watching it harden.

''Weasley! Less ogling, more fucking. We don't have all night.''

.

''If you talk to anyone about this-'' you warned, pulling on your denim shorts and buttoning the button.

Fred emerged from the bathroom, having discarded the proof of your sexual intercouse at the bottom of the trash to cover your tracks. You couldn't let any of the boys see the used condom.

He scoffed. ''Don't flatter yourself, this was nice, but I'd rather no one knows.''

Was he embarrassed of having slept with you? It couldn't be. It was his idea - technically it was McLaggen's - to have sex.

''Because, you know, we'd get in trouble if Madam Hooch found out,'' he continued explaining, slipping on his shirt and running his hand through his hair to fix them.

Yeah, sure. That was the reason.

Everyone knew having sex on campsite was strictly forbidden and had great consequences - aka, sitting out matches - if Madam Hooch found out, but that didn't stop campers from sneaking around and doing it.

''I mean, it was fun, but you're not worth sitting out matches for.''

[vicarfelix]

Internal Suffering

Vicar Max x Fem! Captain

Warnings: Language.

Word Count: 2,756

“Captain. You’re better than this.”

“Is she okay?”

“Should we get SAM to break open the door?”

“Damn. No amount of alcohol in the world could drown out what she probably saw.”

“ERROR. Status of Captain’s door...LOCKED.”

Max finally held up a hand to silence the rest babbling crew that was expressing their concern for their Captain from where they sat around the kitchen table. They had known something was wrong the moment that Ellie, Max, and the Captain returned to the ship after they had been out for almost two days. She didn’t say much at all, only offering a brief hello before snatching a drink from the fridge and taking a shower before keeping herself buried away in her quarters. 

She was bruised and had minor injuries in various places. Not to mention that she hadn’t slept in almost 48 hours. But it was clear that was the least of things on her mind.

Max had managed to convince her to open the door long enough for him to check on her, which didn’t amount to much considering that she practically yelled at him to get out and leave her alone for a while. Max usually wouldn’t give up so easily, but he could tell that (despite her angry tone) she wasn’t mad. 

She was hurt.

She was completely rattled by what they had seen today. An ugly painting of horrific images and gruesome smells that not even the hottest of showers could wash away. It would haunt her for weeks to come, and on top of that, she was worried about how this was affecting her crew. 

Thankfully, she had taken Max and Ellie along today, which made her feel a bit better considering they were two of the more thicker skinned of the group. Still, she felt guilty for exposing them to that. 

Max and Ellie gave the crew a brief rundown of what had happened. While they were sickened by it, they were more worried about the Captain.

“Come on. We just want to know if she’s okay.” Felix pleaded.

“She’s just seen probably the worst that the colony has to offer,” Ellie huffed; “I’d be worried if she was okay.”

Max sighed heavily. He was beyond concerned. It wasn’t like you at all to shut out the crew like this. It wasn’t like you to shut him out. He was afraid that this had pushed you over the edge.

“She wishes to be by herself,” Max announced; “We should all give her some space and let her work it out.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Mr. Vicar.” Parvati replied.

“Yeah, I don’t think she ought to be alone after seeing something as traumatic as you’re saying it was.” Nyoka detested.

Max shook his head.

“I know. But she doesn’t want to talk to us. We don’t need to push her.” Max pointed out.

Felix looked stunned at that, his eyes widening.

“She must be really shaken up if she won’t even talk to Max.” He said, clearly alarmed.

While Felix’s statement had innocent intentions, it caused a sting in Max’s chest. It was true that the Captain always seemed to flock to Max when she needed to talk. It was a mixture of things really. He was a professional when it came to listening to confessions, but he was even more comforting being as he was her boyfriend. She never felt like she couldn’t go to him when she needed him until now. 

It was killing him that she was closing herself off to him.

“She’ll be alright. Give her a couple days...or weeks. She’ll feel better when we get this job done.” Ellie stated.

Max sure hoped that Ellie was right. He wasn’t going to be able to stand it if the Captain never got over this. For now, all he could do was keep his arms open to her for when she was ready. Or for when he knew she couldn’t take it anymore.

The crew dispersed reluctantly to finish out their chores to close out the day, the Captain weighing heavily on their minds. Max went to take a shower to wash off the blood (some his and some not his), dirt, and sweat from his body. He took a moment to reflect on what he had seen earlier, realizing that he hadn’t given himself a moment to process everything. He wasn’t quite like Ellie Fenhill who preferred to drink herself into oblivion until her mind was too foggy to remember much of it. He’d rather come to terms with it on his own time.

Max had killed more people that day than he had the entire time he had been traveling with you. The strung out marauders and the doped up test subjects were probably the most terrifying people he had ever encountered. They were basically soul ridden beings with no sense of purpose or morale. They were just blood thirsty, violent animals that were once loving people.

That was the scariest thing imaginable.

Max stood under the stream of water until it threatened to turn cold, prompting his exit. He changed into a pair of clean clothes before leaving the bathroom, debating on what he should do next. By the time he had freshened up, everyone else had turned in for the night. The only sounds were the humming and singing around the ship, as well as Felix’s beloved Tuesday night adventure serial coming from his cabin. 

Max eyed his own cabin, the only one with the door open and the lights turned on. Max chuckled to himself as he entered. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had actually spent an extended amount of time in his cabin. Ever since establishing a serious relationship with the Captain, he found himself staying in her room pretty much always. Her cabin was much larger than his, and despite the fact that her bed was exactly the same as his, he was convinced that it was comfier. 

Maybe because he always had someone he loved snuggled up to him at the end of every day.

He ran a hand through his damp hair to somewhat even it out. It always seemed to have a mind of its own when water dripped from his graying hair. She had always told him that she liked seeing his hair somewhat out of order, which was why she was likely the only person who had ever seen his hair unkempt.

He wasn’t too keen on the idea of sleeping alone, considering he had gotten so used to having her with him. But if she didn’t want him, then he would respect her desires. He bit the inside of his cheek in disapproval when he tried to stretch out onto his bunk. He sank into the mattress that hadn’t been used in quite some time, but it didn’t feel the same. 

His entire cabin just didn’t have the same comfort that hers did. Although, it wasn’t her cabin that he found comfort in. 

It was her.

Every other thought was occupied by his Captain. He wondered what she was doing as he lay there awake, worrying himself beyond measure. He was beginning to go against his own word, tempted to go to her even if she had pushed him away. She was struggling right now. She was suffering. 

He couldn’t just let the woman he loved be in pain like that.

He got up from his bed, quietly going down the stairs to the Captain’s door. The red light above her door indicated that it was still locked, and he couldn’t get in unless she opened it from inside or ADA unlocked it for him. It was awfully quiet from inside the Captain’s quarters, and he hoped that she was just asleep.

He traveled down to the ship’s computer asking ADA nicely to unlock the Captain’s bedroom. ADA, however, almost always gave Max a run for his money.

“I cannot take orders from anyone other than Captain Hawthorne.” ADA informed the vicar.

He groaned. 

“I know, ADA, but I’m worried about her. I just need to get into her room.” Max explained.

He always felt so stupid arguing with a machine. Although, ADA was likely light years smarter than he was.

“I can only take orders from Captain Hawthorne. You are not Captain Hawthorne.” ADA replied.

Max grumbled to himself. He’d have to take a different approach.

“Well...can you at least tell her I want to speak with her?” Max questioned.

“The Captain gave me direct instructions not to converse with her unless there was an emergency. Is this an emergency?” ADA acquired.

“No...” Max responded gruffly. He was a little surprised that the Captain had taken so many steps to avoid anyone from seeing her; “How would I go about unlocking her door myself?”

“Hypothetically, her door would automatically unlock if I entered a rest cycle. But that requires my restart button to be push-”

Suddenly, ADA’s screen went dark as Max put her into a manual rest cycle. The Captain usually ordered ADA to take a rest cycle overnight anyway unless something with the ship went wrong, so Max didn’t feel bad for shutting the computer up for a bit.

He commuted back to the Captain’s door, the doors whirring open to reveal what appeared to be an empty room. The Captain wasn’t sitting at her desk or laying in her bed, and she appeared to be nowhere to be found. Just as Max went to panic, he heard a sound. 

It was a soft noise that he would’ve missed if the room hadn’t been as quiet as it was. He followed the sound of sniffling over to the far corner of the room behind her bunk. 

The Captain was backed into the corner, knees huddled up to her chest with her head buried behind them. Her towel from her earlier shower was still wrapped around her naked body, indicating that she hadn’t even gotten dressed afterwards. Her skin was dry now, and her hair was just barely wet as if she had been there the entire time. She raised her head from her knees when she felt his presence, revealing her reddened, watery eyes and blotchy cheeks from her hours of crying. 

Max’s heart broke at the sight of his Captain falling to pieces like this. She was hands down the strongest, most confident person that he knew. He always reminded her how proud of her he was for always being the bigger person and doing what was right. Maybe that was his mistake. Perhaps he had made her feel like she had to be at her best all the time. 

She looked at him through bleary eyes, a fresh set of tears falling down her cheeks. Her voice cracked as she spoke, her tone thick with sobbing.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you.” She apologized, almost choking on her cries.

Immediately, Max was sitting at her side, her head falling onto his chest as she wailed. He eventually brought her into his lap to hold her close, rubbing her back up and down and kissing her temple. He hushed her, hating the feeling in his gut every time she sobbed out again. Her face was buried into the soft material of his shirt, her tears staining it. Her arms and legs were freezing from being exposed to the cold air of her quarters for so long without clothes, Max’s hands rubbing up and down to provide her some warmth.

“It’s alright, love. I’m here.” He hummed, holding the back of her neck in his hand.

“It was horrible. I’ve never seen anything like that,” She cried; “I don’t know how Spacer’s Choice could ever be capable of something like that.”

“Spacer’s Choice is arguably the most powerful corporation in the colony,” Max spoke; “The stronger the company, the more room there is for catastrophic events.”

The Captain sat up from his chest, leaning against Max’s leg that he had hiked up for her to lean on.

“I fucking hate the Board,” She hissed; “If I have to personally put a bullet in the skull of every single person involved then I swear to Law I’ll do it.”

Max was alarmed by her harsh words, his hands coming to her face to wipe away her tears.

“Captain. You’re better than this,” He remarked; “What’s the number one rule you always tell us? Try to talk it out before pulling the trigger.”

The Captain shook her head. Her tears had dried, but the anger coursing through her was giving her more energy than she had in days. 

“It’s becoming obvious that doesn’t always work. I don’t care if I have to wipe out every soul in Byzantium if it means overthrowing the Board.” She growled.

The last thing that Max ever wanted was for the Captain’s heart of gold to be hardened by all the things she had seen. In the beginning, the Captain had the most hope for the colony’s revival. Now though, her hope was diminishing with each new discovery she made.

He didn’t want her to become a lost soul the way that he had been for so long.

“What happened to my darling Captain? This isn’t you.” Max stated.

“I want the Board out of the system. Halcyon’s never going to make it with them around.” She replied in fury, ignoring his question.

“Captain, I-”

“I personally want to throw Sophia Akande out of an airlock.” She went on.

“Listen to me, this isn’t-”

“I’d like to throw her in a cell and pump her full of drugs just like-”

“Stop,” Max cut her off; “This isn’t how you do things. I know this isn’t how you want to do things.”

She finally let her tense shoulders relax for a second. Her eyes falling downward, her hands fiddling with the edge of her towel. 

“I know,” She whispered out; “I’m just tired of seeing so many people get hurt. Earth was never like this...not really.”

Max felt relief. Now she was beginning to sound like herself again. He pushed her hair behind her ear to reveal her pretty, but tired face. He caressed her face with his hand, her cheek resting in his palm. 

“If you keep doing things the way you have been, taking things day by day...then we’re going to be fine,” Max said; “I believe in you. I believe in us.”

She nodded, his hand falling to her waist and rubbing through her towel. 

“What do I do now?” She asked.

Max smiled softly.

“For now, let’s get you in bed. We can figure everything else out in the morning.” Max said, kissing the Captain’s knuckles in a gentle manner.

“Okay.” She replied.

She had to admit, it felt nice to have someone else giving orders for once.

Sleeping the rest of the night away was sounding really good to the Captain right about now. Without really giving it a second thought, the Captain let her towel fall so she could get dressed. She caught the way his eyes lit up at her naked frame, a blush evident on his face as he looked over her. She smirked a little, the first real positive emotion she’d had all day.

“You’re blushing, Vicar.” She teased,

His grin was blinding, as he pulled his leg in more to bring you in closer. 

“It’s hard not to,” He purred; “Beautiful...”

She kissed him like she meant it. His hands were warm on her exposed skin as he touched her the way he had dozens of times before. She ran her fingers through his hair, his smirk showing on her lips.

“I’m here for you. I love you.” He rumbled deeply.

“I love you.” She returned.

Max guided her up from the floor, wincing at the way her joints cracked from being uncomfortable for so long. He got her into a shirt to sleep in, bringing her over to her bed and getting her comfortable up against him. It didn’t take her long to fall asleep. The feel of Max next to her and the softness of the mattress under her was enough to send her straight to sleep. Max was tired too, but he wanted to make sure she was okay before he got any sleep. 

He knew she wasn’t totally back to normal. It’d be a while before she felt like herself fully again. But he didn’t care how long he had to wait.

He’d always be there for her.

[misslilli]

Felix Felicis

MSR. AU. PG-13. | tagging @today-in-fic | AO3

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10

Chapter 11 - Friday Night's Alright For Fighting

[ FM ]

On Friday, it’s Felix’s mother’s turn to pick him up from school since he’ll be spending the weekend at her place. I briefly wonder if he’ll tell her about his new-found admiration for the enigmatic Miss Scully and for just a little bit, the petty side of me wishes he would. It’s not that she’s a bad mother per se, but she never shared a strong connection with our son and ever since the divorce, it somehow got worse instead of better.

Felix took the divorce pretty hard, lashing out at me and the teacher and kids at kindergarten. There were times when I couldn’t even recognize my own kid. Because of my background in psychology, I tried to talk to him countless times but I finally had to admit that I was too emotionally involved to really help him. So we began to see a therapist back in Washington, D.C, him and I. His mother refused to participate because “He never acts out when he’s at my place, Fox, seems to me like that’s a you-problem.” That day, only the thought of what would become of my son if I went to jail had kept me from murdering her on the spot.

We don’t stay in contact much, except for negotiating pick-up and drop-off times for Felix, and that’s about all I can handle from her. The custody battle was a hot mess, not because she particularly wanted to keep Felix, but she used it to humiliate me, dragging my abilities as a father and caretaker through the mud in front of a judge and our lawyers. I tried to keep Felix out of the court hearings, putting my foot firmly down when her lawyer suggested that we could just ask the child where he wanted to live. He was three years old at the time, fat chance I was going to let that happen.

Thankfully, we were able to convince the judge that I was willing and more than capable of caring for our son and that me working from home was a more child-friendly environment than his mother’s job, which takes her out of the country several times a month.

I take off my reading glasses and close my laptop, this trip down memory lane has put me in a sour mood. After putting away everything work-related for the weekend, I stretch my arms over my head, contemplating what to do with my free time. I don’t have any friends here yet and since I can’t meet anyone at work, I decide to walk down the street to the harbor.

The streets are pretty busy with locals and tourists alike and as I walk past the crowd that stand around the rock that marks the place where the pilgrims debarked the Mayflower back in 1620, I think to myself ‘Guys it’s just a rock. In the ground. Walled in on all four sides.’ I was pretty disappointed, if you couldn’t already guess that.

I continue my walk and pass the dock where you can usually see the Mayflower II anchored, swaying with the waves of the Atlantic. She’s an accurate and beautiful reproduction of the original ship with which the pilgrims had sailed to America, founding Plymouth Colony after 10 gruesome weeks at sea.

Currently though, the dock is empty safe for a few seagulls harassing the tourists – they have taken the ship to a shipyard in Connecticut for restoration, much to Felix’s chagrin. When he heard that we were going to move here, he spent countless hours reading up on the history of Plymouth, the Pilgrims and everything that happened afterwards. He got a real kick out of imagining the American Protestors and the British Government officials dressed up in frilly dresses and huge feathered hats, actually having a fancy tea party instead of the Boston Tea Party, which escalated the American Revolution in 1773.

His special interest, though, had been captured by the Mayflower, which is not surprising because he loves anything that’s big and can transport people or cargo. Planes, helicopters, trains, you name it, but especially ships. On the first night in our new house, he insisted that we leave the boxes packed for now and head down to the harbor, right now.

At first, always the responsible adult, I refused, but he didn’t let up, resorting to pleading with me, then he practically begged me and when I still wouldn’t budge he went in for the kill with his puppy-dog look and a pronounced pout. I could see the tears welling up in his eyes. Damn, he was using my very own look against me!

The tears still came a little while after, when we reached the harbor and found the dock deserted. I wanted to kick myself for not checking if the ship was actually there or not and I had to carry a bawling, devastated Felix back to our house. He only stopped crying when I promised him that we’d go see the Mayflower II the very second she sailed back into the harbor.

After another, more pleasant, trip down memory lane, I had reached my destination: The Cabby Shack, a local bar and restaurant that is made up of an inside bar downstairs and two large decks, the lower one housing the outside bar, the upper one the restaurant.

Making my way through the crowded room, I spotted an empty seat at the bar and ordered a drink aptly named Islands of Misfits. I snorted out a laugh at how accurately it described my situation right now. Island of Misfits alright, inhabitant: 1.

I took a sip of my drink and twirled the tiny umbrella between my fingers when out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone take the seat next to me at the bar.

“Islands of Misfits, huh? Must be bad!” Looking up, I’m surprised to see that it’s Walter Skinner, my son’s principal.

“Yeah, sort of. Sorry, hello sir, it’s nice to see you!” He shakes my hand briefly and orders himself a whiskey on the rocks. Had I been a more insecure man I would’ve felt stupid for my drink choice, but as it was, if I like my drinks sweet and with a cutesy umbrella in it, then that’s what I’ll have. And don’t you dare forget the fucking umbrella!

“So Mr. Mulder, what is it, love troubles?” As a born and raised city boy I have yet to come to terms with small town frankness but I like Principal Skinner and his lack of beating around the bush.

But still, I couldn’t exactly tell him the whole truth, I don’t think he’d appreciate a Actually yes, sir, I’ve been staring at one of your teachers for every damn day of the week and when I’m not busy staring at her, I think about her all the time. I wonder if her kisses taste like strawberries and what her hair smells like. I’m driving myself slowly insane by imagining running my tongue over the spot where her neck meets her shoulder and let me tell you about the dreams I’ve been having real quick. Yeah that won’t fly.

First, he’d kick my ass into the sixth dimension and then he’d have me arrested for gross misconduct or worse, sexual harassment. Even though I’m not sure if that’s really applicable when it only takes place in your mind, it’s still inappropriate as all hell and I’m not going to test out my little theory. I don’t think I’d fare well in jail, to be honest.

So instead, I opt for a more appropriate half-version of the truth. “Yeah, sort of. I had a huge argument with my ex-wife over the phone when she was late picking our son up from school. If I had one, I think my swear jar would be able to buy me my own Island of Misfits. And what’s even worse is that I think my – our son was there to hear at least her end of the fight.” I take a miserable sip from my drink.

“I’m really sorry to hear that, Mr. Mulder. Your son’s name is Felix, right? He’s in Miss Anderson’s first grade?” Thankful for the slight change of topic, I nod.

“Yes, sir, that’s him. We got off to a rocky start but after the first week, he really loves going to school, Mr. Skinner.” The other man shakes his head and offers me his hand once again.

“Please, call me Walter. Outside of school only, of course, you understand.”

I grab his hand and give it a brief shake, smiling wryly. “Of course. I’m Fox but I make everyone call me Mulder. Even my parents. I hate my name.” He huffs out a laugh at that and I can tell that it’s a rare occasion.

“I get the feeling you’re in need of a friend on your island, Mulder not Fox.”

That I do, indeed.

Island of Maybe not such Misfits, inhabitants: 2.

Chapter 12 - A Rainbow In Its Natural Habitat

[graceslavenderhaze]

Hear the sirens, {connor stevens}

synopsis: After the shadow man was defeated their was no new supernatural anomalies in town, then you and your wayward family showed up. 

also this gif is lovethephantoms gif but I still can’t figure out why the handle won’t come up underneath the gif. 

another female requested reader however when referred to in the writing the pronouns are gender neutral.

This is part one of three!

The Midnight Society had finally settled back into life as it normally was. Gabby had passed her PSAT’s and gotten her permit, still working her way to get out of shadow bay. Hanna still heavily involved in her activism and getting more signatures than before hand on her petitions, making the world a better place even if it was one step, by herself, at a time. Luke back to focusing on school and wrestling, he was still benched for weekend meet for disciplinary due to being late to practice which gave him plenty of time to work on the science project he owed . Jai back to being the comic book nerd his friends loved him as, no longer feeling like he had to own up to any sort of standards when his friends loved him the way he was. Then there was Connor. Who found it harder than his friends to move on, it wasn’t that easy for him. His dad didn’t know what happened so he carried on with the fishing trips like usual. Luke and Hanna had started dating after the glow dance so he was adjusting to his best friend not always being available. While he knew that the shadow man was gone, something in him still felt dark. Like a part of him had been permanently darkened by what he’d been through. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up whenever he walked by cemeteries, or historic settlements of shadow bay. He pushed it all down and acted like nothing happened. But he still slept with the lights on. He still had nightmares most nights. 

The Amana family Coven had been around for centuries. It was one of the few that was a female centric coven throughout the dark ages in magic along side the golden ages. The eldest of the coven was Gaia Amana, whose daughter was Leticia Amana, they remain the only two witches in the coven. Leticia married Willow a human woman that had been orphaned in her childhood due to an magical accident claiming her parents. They had two children. Two daughters. One who was a Witch with the gift of clairvoyance. Another who was a Banshee with a generational blood curse. 

That Witch, with the clairvoyance? That was you. Your Sister was the Banshee. This was the story of your family and the magic deeply routed throughout your family and bloodline, biological and adoptive. Growing up with magic isn’t a fairytale. You never stayed in one town longer than four years, where there was witches there was hunters who never strayed far.

So anyone who had magic lived by three commandments for protections.

Thou shall not bear the knowledge of magic,

Thou shall not caress a practitioner of magic,

Thou shall not survive a witches love. 

By those three commandments your family was able to continue to practice their respective magic without worrying about witch hunts in town. But the times had changed from when your grandmother first took over the coven. It was the twenty first century and spirituality and supernatural abilities were somewhat mainstream, not the truth but the refraction of what was going on. It blurred the lines of what was actually going on. So when it was time for the quadrennial move, your mothers had chosen a small town in Canada. Shadow Bay. There was hardly any supernatural occurrence’s there. With the exceptional of a magic shop but witch hunters had standards so they’d never show up there anyways. 

You’d gotten used to the somewhat lonely routine of your life. The moving every four years, the secrets about your magic, while it wasn’t ideal. You loved your magic and you wouldn’t trade your abilities for anything else in the world. But having some solid friends would’ve been a nice start.  

The drive wasn’t the longest you’ve ever taken, it also wasn’t the shortest you’ve every taken either. The only difference was that due to getting your license recently your grandmother let you drive her car. You’d lived in a lot of placed over the years. Apartments, ranch, colonial, victorian. Now you were living in a cottage in the woods by a lighthouse. Pulling into the drive you passed a group of six people. Five teens who looked around your age and one who seemed to be younger possibly in middle school. 

“Keys are in the mail box.” Your grandmother said, you looked over. “That’s harsh.” You said unbuckling and opening the door to retrieve the keys from the mail box. If the group of teens weren’t staring before they definitely were now. “Can i help you ?” You asked turning around at the group of teens who were like you thought, were staring.

A tall blonde in a leather jacket and all black, A red head wearing an army jacket and docs, A brunnette with curly hair who had a denim jacket on, A tanned brunnette boy wearing street clothes, A pale brunette who had a skateboard not far from his grasp, and a little boy wearing a cap and a wand in his hand.

“Did you just move into the haunted house in the woods?” The brunnette in street clothes asked with zero hesitation. Haunted? “Jai!” The red head exclaimed slapping his arm. The blonde still was staring at you. Like there was this connection flowing between the two of you, you felt it too. “Sorry he has the social skills of a second grader. I’m Hanna Romero.” She said extending a hand towards you. “Y/n Amana.” 

“This is Gabby Lewis, that’s Jai Malyas, He’s Luke Mccoy, on the end is Connor Stevens,” So staring boy has a name. “And that’s my little brother Seth.” She said giving a full rollcall for you. “Sorry i just have to ask, the haunted house in the woods?” Jai said not putting his question down. Everyone turned to him and you laughed. 

“So you believe in the other side?” You said crossing your arms and raising your eyebrows. The group fell silent for a minute. “Well I mean is there really another side? Maybe all the funs having here.” Connor said smiling at you, lying. You didn’t need magic to know. You just knew the faces of people who’d experienced the supernatural and didn’t know how to explain it afterwards.

“All right then pretty boy.” You said slightly taken aback Connors eyes widened. “Are you going to shadow bay high once you get settled?” Gabby asked you. You nodded, “Yeah my sister and I are suppose to start next week.” Gabby looked at Connor and then back to you, “We could show you both around, give you the old razzle dazzle.” She said. You smiled, “Yeah i’d really appreciate that!” 

“No problem! Right Connor?” Gabby said, nudging him. You turned your eyes backed to him. “Yeah no problem at all.” He said running a hand through his hair. You nodded. “I should probably go but i’ll see you guys next week.” You said, each of the teens saying a goodbye to you and you got into the car where your grandmother was waiting, dropping the envelopes with the keys on the dash board. 

“Well that looked like a lot more than just getting the keys.” She noted as you started to drive up into the woods. “Just some local kids who offered to show me around when i start and also said our house is the local haunted house in the woods.” You said turning as the road winded. She nodded, “This town is going to be different, you can feel it can’t you?” You could and it gave you butterflies. 

That night after dinner you sat up decorating your room. You’d never had your own room before and now you had free creative decisions. You sister knocked on the door holding two cups of tea, “Tea time?” You nodded. You were older by two years, it wasn’t much but sometimes it still managed to wedge a gap between the two of you for certain subjects. She placed your mug down on your desk were you were placing posters up and she sat on your bed. “So Grams said that you were flirting with some outsiders type beat boy earlier.” 

You turned taking a sip, “I was not flirting. I might’ve called him pretty boy. But that’s the highest form of flattery rather than flirting if anything!” You said to your sister. “What if you date him? What if you fall in love and have cute babies?” She gushed. “I just met him!” You exclaimed to her turning around, “Oh come on, haven’t you ever wanted to date someone?” 

“I don’t date. We move too much besides there’d be too much lying. It would just be heartbreak for me and whoever i’m with.” You said turning your attention back to decorating rather than the conversation. Silence washed over and the question that had been on everyone’s minds was asked once again. “Is it gonna be different here?” 

You stalled, exhaling slowly. “You have the gift of clairvoyance, if anything you can tell out of all of us.” She said with excitement. “No i’m not doing it.” You said shutting her suggestion down. “Oh come on!” She persisted. 

“Astral projecting isn’t meant for figuring out if we’re going to live out our coming of age fantasies, it’s meant for real magic. I’m not doing it. If any clairvoyant dreams come to me, that’s one thing. I’m not chasing them.” You said breaking down the now empty box that once held pictures, posters and other wall hanging knick knacks. Your sister pouted, “Buzzkill.” She muttered under her breath, “Well were either of the girls cute and give gay vibes?” She asked as she finished her mug and placed it on the floor. 

“Ask them yourself. They offered to show us around on our first day. But no powers. If you want a relationship it has to be fully yourself no magic sire ties. Magic sometimes makes it messy.” You said unfortunately speaking from experience. Magic was beautiful but it doesn’t come from nothing, there is a give and a take. Like everything else in the universe. 

That night you found it hard to sleep, you usually had issues sleeping the first night in a new town. It was some sort of internal clock routine. You snuck out of the front door, for a house that had been around for as long as it had been it wasn’t the loudest. The floor boards didn’t creak every time you walked over them, the doors didn’t screech whenever you opened them an inch at a time, and the house didn’t settle several times a day. But for all you knew a spell could’ve been casted to prevent that. 

You found comfort being on your own. Having clairvoyance was overwhelming at times. You had no control over your powers, they never had a specific trigger, so naturally you just steered clear of people in general. You figured there was no way to be given unwanted visions of the future if you just didn’t have anything to do with anyone at all. Your own loneliness was your own fault. Walking through the woods you felt the feeling of dark magic, it was a distinct feeling that you hadn’t felt often but it was unforgettable when you did. It over takes you, like a wave but instead of being able to see through the water its ink. It’s heavy, and dark. It drags you under. 

You hear several snaps of twigs behind you and slightly startled you turn to see the animal or whatever that was behind you. Ready to cast a spell incase whatever followed was a foe and not a friend you gathered your hands in front of your body, “Either you come out or it’s going to be a bad night for you.” You called out into the darkness. Several more twigs snapped under what you assumed where footsteps as a dark shape came out from behind the tree. 

“I surrender!” The figured called out with slight fear in their voice. “My hands are up!” The voice sounded so familiar as they neared towards you. Once they were within eye sight you noticed it was one of the boys from earlier, Connor. “ Take it easy there cobra kai.” He said gesturing to your hands which could be assumed in a fighting position, which they were just not the fighting position he thought it would be. 

You took your hands away from the stance they were place in front of your body, “So, you enjoy taking walks in the dark and startling people pretty boy?” You asked crossing your arms. He lowered his flashlight so he wasn’t practically blinding you anymore. He laughed lowly for a second, “To be fair with the way i was snapping twigs, if you were startled that sounds like a you deal.” 

You smiled at him for second, “I’m Connor Stevens by the way, we met earlier but i don’t know you if remember me.” He said running a hand through his hair, a nervous habit probably. “Oh so you assume that you’re unforgettable. Not a chance pretty boy.” You said taking several steps closer. Slightly taken aback once again by your boldness for the second time in the one day. “I have a name you know.” 

“Oh so you don’t find pretty boy flattering?” You asked coyly, going silence after trying to create an argument. “Thought so.” You said smiling. His eyes stayed glued onto you, his dad has taught him better than to stare. 

“Sorry, i just keep getting this deja vu feeling but i would definitely remember meeting you.” He said unfiltered getting close enough for you to catch a vision, you back up slightly and he’s hurt by this. It’s written all over his face. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” He apologized quickly and sincerely.

“Oh no i just have this thing with physical touch, it’s nothing personal. You’d remember meeting me? Are you reading into my character?” You said with a slight cockiness mixed into the tone. He nodded, “No it’s just you’re literally one of the prettiest girls i’ve ever seen.” You dropped the flashlight that you’d brought with you. You rushed forward to pick it up as did Connor, both your fingertips grazed each other.

The images flooded through your head. You saw past images first, not older than a month or so. It was dark, he was in the woods running, then there was a book of spells it looked like ever other witches book, and then he was grabbed into the dark. Inside of something that looked like a lighthouse but rotted on the inside and there was absolutely no light. Then there was present, this moment right here right now. The future was the two of you in front of the high school, you guessed. Then it was just the two of you, your aura’s with a red string connecting them at the pinkies. But then it was him holding your hands as something tried to drag you. Then it was over. 

You blinked a few times before looking back up at Connor, “Are you okay? You looked like you saw a ghost.” He said with a slight laugh dropping the flashlight into your palm like it was burning him to touch. “Something like that.” You muttered lightly and standing back up. Silence washed over, “I should probably get back home before anyone notices i’m gone.” You said. He nodded, “See you around, cobra kai?” 

“See you pretty boy.” You confirmed turning around to walk back to your house for the night. Sneaking back in just as quietly as you left. You managed to fall asleep before the sun rose this time. Once you fell asleep, the visions still lingered on a loop. Despite how much you hated it on a deep level it was comforting compared to the nightmares that had a tendency to plague you from time to time. 

The next morning your family had gotten take out from the local diner for breakfast and during the morning conversation no one mentions anything that gives away your nightly adventure. Throughout the rest of the week you and your family continues to get settled into your house. You hadn’t seen Connor on any of your nightly walks through the woods throughout the rest of the week and as the day of starting school gets closer you just assume you’ll see him along with his friends. 

Your sister and you were sitting in the office after you’d gotten your schedules and other paperwork. “We have two student volunteers who offered to show you around.” The secretary said as she handed the two of you a peppermint, Slightly disappointed, going under the impression you’d get to hang out with Connor and his friends today. The door creeks open and you turn. Gabby and Hanna enter the office, you notice through the glass pane of the door Luke, Jai and Connor standing in the hallway waiting for them. 

“Ah, Hanna Romero and Gabby Lewis. This is Y/n Amana and Ramona Amana.” She said as the two of you stood up. “If you need anything during your next few days don’t hesitate to reach out.” She said sincerely, offering a comforting smile. Your sister and you both exchanged thanks before leaving the office. 

You saw Luke nudge Connor to which he muttered a shut up, you smiled. “Nice to see you again pretty boy.” You said smirkingly, Jai looked up from his phone. “Again, you went into the haunted woods?” He said looking at Connor, who blank faced. “Thanks for ratting me out. Besides, there wasn’t anything out there other than Y/n and their fists of fury almost giving me a black eye.” He said punching you lightly in the shoulder, laughing with you. 

“What’s the deal with those woods anyway? It seems like everyone has some story about them.” Ramona asked no one specific just wanting a general answer after hearing the endless week of comments. The group went silent, “Okay so like did someone get murdered there. Some true crime type beat?” You asked as you leaned against the wall next to Connor. Leaning your head on his shoulder, he leaned his head on yours after a few moments of hesitation. 

“It’s an unbelievable story.” Jai said as he looked at the comic in his hand with a confused look and then closed it, Ramona smirked. “Oh we know a lot about those type of stories.” She said standing next to Gabby. Both were stealing looks when the other wasn’t. “Where are you guy’s from?” Hanna asked with confusion and a slight laugh. “Where aren’t we from.” You said under your breath catching the attraction of the group. 

“We’re military, we move a lot.” Ramona said. The cover story that had been engrained into you both from elementary school. “Damn that must suck.” Luke said getting elbowed by Hanna, “I mean thank you for your service.” He corrected himself. You laughed a little as Luke tried to awkwardly save himself. You saluted him, causing Connor to smile. 

“Nice bracelets.” Gabby said to Ramona, she looked down at them before looking back up. “Thanks.” She said slightly flustered and blushing. “Mo you should see if you and Gabby have any classes together.” You suggested slightly trying to wing woman. “What? Oh yeah!” She said handing over her schedule eagerly to Gabby. Soon enough the two walked off. 

“So, Hanna do you have the list for morning announcements?” Jai said, Hanna met him with a confused look as did Luke. “Announcements? Oh yeah! We’ll see you guys after home room!” As they left Connor and you in the hallway. “Your friends really lack subtly.” You said as you watched them go down the hallway, Hanna arguing with Jai while Luke occasionally looked back.

“Oh you have no idea.” He said turning back to you, “Oh! How do you feel about horror movies?” He asked reaching into his backpack. “Top three movie genre. Why?” You asked, he pulled out a small “slashers rule” pin and handed it you. “A formal apology for scaring you in the woods the other night, and you seemed like you’d like it.” He said gesturing to your backpack decorated with pins and patches, you smiled. “I love it.” His nervousness seemed to fade with those three words. “I’ve never really had friends or anyone give me something like this so, thank you.” 

“That must’ve been lonely.” He said as you shrugged, it was lonely but it was also complicated. “Yeah but i’m not lonely anymore.” You said as you subconsciously ran your thumb over the pin and looked up at him. He blushed, you’d learned he did that a lot and quite easily none the less. 

“So you ready for the shadow bay tour?” He said pushing off the wall, rubbing his hands together. Students had started to clear out of the halls paying absolutely no attention to Connor and yours’ affair in the corner. “Oh definitely. Just so you know i’ve been to four schools over the past eleven years, so you’re competing with that.” 

“Oh it’s a competition?” He said with fake outburst laced onto his voice, you nodded with a sarcastic smile that turned genuine. “I think i can handle that.” He said as you two began descending down the halls of Shadow Bay high. Despite your own personal barriers and everything you’d ever been taught in your life, you were falling for Connor. Your better judgement knew that you’d pay for that at some point in your life. Sooner or later, you always did. 

--

hello my loves! This is part one of three and i’m currently working on the other parts! 

[mleprae]

Gather around story time

@archeologistlion , @dreamingsweetin-c​ and I went to play creatures of sonaria on roblox together, we struggled alot to find each other on the map but ended together on the swamp, from there we went forward on a lesbian odyssey to find a perfect place to start a pack.

We were all starving when we began travelling towards the oasis, crossing a big river of water which could probably kill us because of stamina, we managed to survive and as soon we get to the other side a meteor shower begins, we rush to a cave nearby and wait, unfortunately Louie dies of starvation afterwards and we promise her that we will carry her corpse to our personal paradise and have a funeral there, we waited by a nearby lake recovering from our travels while Nick spots a kendyll coming towards us and tell me to bolt, I grabbed my friend’s corpse and ran while being joined by said friend after she respawned and found us, sadly I had to drop her body and keep running as it was already rotten and getting the attention of carnivores.

We managed to get to the Oasis and it was all fine and dandy, a buukon and a gramoss joins us afterwards and we begin building nests, hatching eggs..y’know.. stuff, until a magnarothus comes in, tell us that he’s the ruler of the desert (nearby biome) and says that he’s here to propose a diplomacy and we must join his pack or else in which I say no obviously, he did not like that.

He comes back as an exterri, tells us to follow his orders again, our gramoss has enough and attacks him, he wins unfortunately and has the AUDACITY of saying “Hold on let me heal” after he kills one of our members, Nick quickly beats the shit out of him and he dies in which makes him EVEN MORE PISSED, at this point our colony is going well, we have 2 saukuryns with us, a gramoss, a Qurogusk and a few small critters and I have my very first newborn child, and the dude comes back for revenge, the qurogosk (Who btw, I love him dearly 😭) grabs the weaker ones and hides them and comes back, everyone is just rounding this dude until he literally tells everyone to sit down and I lost my shit at him and tell him to fuck off, he offers us his “diplomacy” for the last time and just when he was about to kill me he saw how many people were around him and LEFT THE GAMEEEEEEEEE.

unfortunately I can’t provide all screenshots or it would be too big for a post but here’s a pic of him introducing to ourselves, you can see our gramoss here and our buukon here. (Nick is the Nyndirl)

[derangedhyena-zoids]

I guess now that I featured The Kids in something I can elaborate on them and everything related slightly without seeming completely insane.  BIG HEADCANON BLATHER TIME: Raven and Ryss had 2 kids, both boys. 

Ryss wasn’t a terribly good mother. She loved her kids but was a little panicked about them at all times, and didn’t really like the distraction they were. Specula was a good mother and did the majority of keeping them out of trouble. 

They were also psychic as fuck, but that didn’t show up until they were hitting puberty. I’m sure that was an entire Time.  

Ryss literally didn’t think she could get pregnant by Raven. She based this off of both what she’d been taught by Hiltz (humans=/=Zoidians) and the fact that Fiona had never been pregnant despite sleeping with Van for years*.  So, once Ryss figured out she was pregnant**, telling Raven was a bit of an event because Raven was under the impression that such a thing wasn’t possible. He also had little interest in being a parent. Ryss also had no idea what pregnancy even entailed for a Zoidian, and neither did Fiona. Again, all she knew was what she’d learned from Hiltz, and it wasn’t as if he went out of his way to teach her the finer points of anything. (Knowledge is power after all, and he wanted wanted to hold as much power over her as possible. What she didn’t know to begin with, she couldn’t know was being withheld. All she knew from Hiltz on the topic was Zoidian pregnancies are of a greater duration than human pregnancies - mainly because he’d irritably snapped about how ‘the vermin’ reproduce faster.)  Raven’s main reluctance about parenting had to do with... you know, his massive unresolved parental trauma. Which after some extreme stress he and Ryss managed to work through, largely because they had a lot in common in this department. Afterwards Raven warmed up to the idea of being a father, and was... well, Okay.jpg at it. Let’s just say he had Shadow helping Specula with the kids a lot. ...the kids were raised by Organoids. SO.

An attempt was made to keep track of Ryss and her offspring, especially after Raven’s death and she began to make herself scarce. But nobody expected the kids to be psychic af, and they quickly sussed out that something was up and followed their mom’s lead, making themselves and their families impossible to find.  ....

The Guardian Force pretty quickly lost tabs on them, but did know what to “look for”, so to speak. 

However, this attempt was never linked up with the information the Empire had on Ryss, mainly because too much time had passed and no one knew to bridge the info.

Anyways. All three Zoidians were aware there were differences between themselves and humans, Hiltz more than most. Hiltz was the only one of them that had an adult level of knowledge from Zoidian times. Fiona and Ryss were literal children and were only ever, at best, taught the very basics about things. Part and parcel of subscribing wholesale to the we’re-the-best group’s newsletter, Hiltz also a keen interest in biology/related, obviously interested in scholars of that group’s discussion on what amounted to Zoidian eugenics. ‘we’re the best, and here’s why.’ Hiltz didn’t even remotely consider that humans and Zoidians could hybridize, nor was he interested in finding out. (though he had well-established to Prozen and the Imperial scientists his “ownership” of Ryss and the fact she was not to be messed with, I’m sure he had to mindfuck and/or sic Ambient on a swath of folks to get them to stop bothering him about jizzing in a cup.)***

Joke’s on him because he fathered *at least* these three: 

while living in the small colony with the scholar. 

because he, Hiltz, the weird guy, was hot, amazing in bed, and quite DTF.   scholar: ...   Hiltz:  (ツ) scholar: ... Hiltz:  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  scholar: ...sure, whatever, what could it hurt anyways ^^^THESE FOLKS HAD A TIME. Unlike with Ryss’s kids, who at least had a slight understanding they were different and some guidance on the situation, any and all of Hiltz’s offspring HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON. And not that any of the fertility restrictions were enacted at this point in time (there’s wars, you live in the wild west, please have kids), but the addition of Zoidian into the mix fucks the inbuilt population-control-genetic-engineering-bullshit straight up, which resulted later in a lot of confusing surprises for people annnnnd is part of why miscarriages became common later down the line. 

Nobody expected the spanish inquisition weird side-species fuckery. Nobody even knows to look! By NC0 times there’s just starting to be coherent, unified inquiry into the various vanilla-human mutations running around.

WHOOPS THO: Backdraft & Co have been at this shit for a while and already know a lot about this. Because they have a hard-on for the Empire and a lot of OG Backdraft are basically really rich, bitter offspring from Imperial families who think they’re better in just about every way. Including genetically. When Backdraft became predominantly a moneymaking, black-market, illegal-battling underground enterprise, a rift began and never stopped growing. Backdraft has a strong preference for recruiting folks of Guylos descent (hi, Bit), but in recent memory had stopped turning people away for not being so. Because money.  It did kinda...  go in peoples’ file though.  In the game of historical telephone, Ryss (and Raven’s) bloodline were more or less demoted to the same: ‘from Guylos.’  Alteil was in range of figuring a few important things out. Unfortunately, HE DED. His successor with this information is Layon.  Surely nothing can go wrong there. ANYWAYS. A massive and valid concern Ryss had was what would happen with hybrid offspring, since to her knowledge her kid would be the first. Hiltz’s were already adults, they were fine. They were better than fine, they just needed a lot more water and salt than everyone else. So, as we all know, Hiltz uh, actually succeeded in removing a sizable chunk of the human population on Zi. Once everyone had scraped semi-functional society back together, the powers that-were-to-be basically prioritized secure settlements and making everyone feel safe so... you know, they’d have kids. Important for the whole rebuilding society thing.   The Zoidian offspring became slightly more statistically relevant during this time, because them and potentially even their kids had all been scared shitless and fled into the hills from the Death Stinger bullshit long before anyone else had. Once there they were good at Not Dying In General, because they had a variety of inexplicable abilities and were just WELL I’M A FREAK BUT I’M ALIVE SO, YOU KNOW, WE’RE COOL. 

Greater than zero chance that someone started a cult. Very, very obviously: these folks knew to keep to themselves. Though the original offspring and their mother had NO idea what was going on, over time any kids at least had fair warning, and knew to keep oddity to themselves. When the most blatant expressions of things were bred out, only the subtle but strongly expressed items remained, discussion of familial strangeness subsided.  Then you’re left with people like Brad who can basically see in the dark, but thinks everyone can see in the dark, it’s no big deal right?    RELATED, BUT NOT: This is technically a spoiler, but not really, because I’m not sure this actually “plays into the plot” so much as it is just “a fact of the plot” annnnnd I sort of want/need to explain this a little because it’s related to all of this.  In this hc, the Zoid Eve is a metaphorical hyper-simplification of ‘resources.’

Back in Zoidian times, some scholars - namely those aligned with the group(s) Hiltz was eventually born into - theorized that the Zoid Eve’s power was not an infinite resource as many believed, but actually an incredibly finite one. Not in the sense of it being used up, but the sense of “there are only ‘100′ of these, there will only ever be ‘100′ of these, we cannot add to or take away from this”  (sidenote: I subscribe to the idea that the Zoid Eve was some kind of supernaturally-occurring power source that the Zoidians shaped into what everyone now calls the Zoid Eve. They did this so long ago that its origins became unclear; beliefs from various groups ran the gamut from “LITERALLY GOD” to “it was built by us”)   The power of it gave life and longevity not only to all Zoids but them too. And it seemed that the more individuals there were, the smaller the “slice of the pie” they received. They began to project apocalyptic futures in which the “slices” were so small that death ran rampant, and Big War would be inevitable. Obviously, nobody wanted this. But unfortunately the group who theorized this also started a huge, lengthy campaign to reduce the population, which - after many years, a lot of societal sabotage and and many smaller conflicts between groups - eventually culminated in ongoing, wholesale slaughter, which led to the big Zoidian-apocalypse nonsense that we’re all familiar with. Cool story bro, right? Well, y’see, those ancient scholars weren’t wrong, though. To an extent that’s actually what led to the hyper-concentration of strength in the DSaurer/DScorpion battle, and why Zero and One are functionally god-tier Organoids. But what this means in modern times, is that the remaining Zoidians - and to a proportionately-relevant extent, the hybrid offspring - are the only remaining folks (besides the Organoids and Zoids) benefiting from the pie anymore. Ryss is the last Zoidian; she’s basically non-aging at this point. 

First-gen hybrids? Aging at a complete snail’s pace.  Second gen? Still having a very strange time. So on and so forth... Can they die? Absolutely, but it’s pretty hard to kill them.  Basically only complete destruction of vital parts works. Does this also apply to Organoids and Zoids? Absolutely. “then why’s Fiona dead” Because the double-bond with Zeke seriously fucked her up. Van dragged her down, hard. “but-”  Zeke could’ve pulled away from her at any time and she would’ve lived. Been a nutcase probably, but lived. She suspected it, Zeke was outright in denial; she never called him on it because she cared about him too much and didn’t want him blaming himself for whatever happened. This is what Ryss suspected/understood as well, and likewise didn’t want to break Zeke. “wait, what about zeke?” HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM IN CLOSING: I don’t have names for any of the offspring discussed here, but I have thought about the appearances/other stuff. Obviously. I’ve never specified how many original offspring(s) were running around. But it couldn’t have been too many. So anyone in NC0 times related to either Ryss or Hiltz can trace back to ^^^the folks pictured above, most likely.  I actually have no idea how to properly calculate the amount of population vs how much impact a handful of reproducing individuals would have over x generations. So please excuse vagueness there, as I’m both open to adjusting that number when/if it becomes feasible to do so, and also don’t think it’s terribly necessary to have this information nailed down because let’s be real nobody cares and that’s a lot of work. Also as I’ve mentioned before, there’s several serious confounding factors here: -these people can LIVE A LONG TIME. The original hybrids and their kids ARE POTENTIALLY STILL ALIVE. They mature relatively rapidly, but then coast into a very slow aging process. That means that - especially the males - could still technically be producing offspring.  -that makes my head hurt and makes figuring out lineages stupid nightmare mode. so don’t expect me to actually do that because I’m not sure how to. The main Facts(tm) you need are:  Sara is 4th gen. Vega is 5th gen x2. Brad is 5th gen. Stoller is 7th gen.

that’s the important part, okay.  (*’s from earlier: )  *tl;dr the bizarre situation they’d inadvertently created with Zeke wreaked havoc on Fiona’s ability to reproduce. Conversely, Raven and Ryss *almost* had a ‘proper’ setup, so Ryss was fine. Nobody knew this. **Ryss figured this out with Fiona’s help - and who did they both go to, to ask in confidence?

Yep. ”isn��t he-” YEP. ***The Empire knows next to nothing about Hiltz. The Republic, however has AN OBSCENE AMOUNT of information about him. Difficulty level? The data was both classified, and never really tied back to him. Because Hiltz murdered the scholar and burned down his house/lab, the connecting information was all lost. The scholar had moved the material to his house in secret, due to fears of an Imperial spy in their research facility - he was telling Hiltz the truth.   The most that the Empire ever learned at that time was that the Republic had “captured” a Zoidian (Hiltz), and that was about it. This drove the fervor which led to them grabbing at the Republic’s continued excavations - eg what happened with Shadow, and presumably them attacking (and IMO, overpowering) the Republic group that’d also seized Ryss.   Before Hiltz became involved, Imperial scientists gleaned a lot about Ryss, but as I’ve mentioned before, she wasn’t treated anywhere nearly as poorly as Hiltz had been. She also had Specula, which helped a lot.  So, the Empire knew nothing of Hiltz, but a lot about Ryss.  Thanks to Alteil and his predecessor’s longstanding obsession with the Imperial military, Backdraft has almost all of the Imperial military’s data from the past few centuries.  Ergo...

[carewyncromwell]

POTC AU go time! Pictured above are fresh-faced pirate Charlie Weasley, the mystical witch of Tortuga Chiara Dalma, and so-called “Pirate Dragon” Samantha O’Connell @samshogwarts! Looks like these three are a bit over their heads...let’s see if they can get out of it!

For those of you who appreciate my mini-history lectures surrounding real Caribbean pirates of the 17th and 18th century (please let me know if you do, I will happily geek TF out if it’s something you all like XD) -- Tortuga is an island in modern-day Haiti. It was originally a Spanish colony, settled in the 15th century not long after Mr. Despicable himself Christopher Columbus “discovered” the New World. Despite this, and despite the, er...tempestuous relationship between Spain and its neighboring countries, Tortuga ended up also hosting both English and French settlements, largely made up of buccaneers, in the 17th century. Buccaneers were an ancestor of the more classic “pirates” we think of today -- the biggest differences were that they were privateers, meaning they worked on behalf of a country and only attacked ships from other countries (i.e. a British privateer like Sir Francis Drake would only attack Spanish or French ships), and that buccaneers specifically congregated in that area of the Caribbean (namely, Tortuga and the island of Hispaniola) alone. Historically, however, Tortuga stopped being a great place for buccaneers to gather before the end of the 17th century -- specifically when treaties were passed officially banning those old privateers from attacking foreign vessels during times of peace, circa 1680. This also effectively killed off the buccaneer as a profession, until the War of Spanish Succession turned a lot more privateers who had fought during the War into the more classic 18th century pirates we think of today. During the most famous period of the Golden Age of Piracy -- namely, the third and final wave after the War of Spanish Succession ended in 1714, which hosted all of the best known pirates like Blackbeard and which both the Pirates films and this AU is set in -- it would’ve been far more common to find actual historical pirates in places like St. Mary’s Island off the coast of Madagascar or (I’m not kidding) Port Royal, Jamaica, which was quite frankly NOT the beautiful, upstanding city we see in the films. In truth, it actually prospered under piracy, until Port Royal’s leadership finally decided to crack down hard on pirates circa 1720. In this project, though, for the sake of iconography, I will treat Tortuga very much the way Port Royal would’ve really been historically -- a pirate island which, in this time period, was suddenly barraged by the pirates’ enemies and was immediately no longer a safe place for pirates to hide in. (Of course, historical pirates were much less likable or sympathetic than the pirate characters in this AU are, regardless of how objectively hard their existence was and how frankly horrid the world was in general for anyone who wasn’t upper-class, white, and male back then.)

The so-called “seven seas” have gone through a lot of “shuffling around” over the centuries, as our understanding of the world has grown. The phrase was first used by the Ancient Greeks, but back then of course, they didn’t know about the existence of bodies of water like the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. In the Pirates films, there are nine Pirate lords for the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, as well as the South China, Caspian, Adriatic, Black, Mediterranean, and Caribbean Seas. I’ve slimmed down the number to just seven for the sake of referencing the so-called “seven seas,” and also because with the Pirate King, that would then give us eight pieces of eight, which seems like a much more logical number than nine pieces of eight. (Plus, to me, the Caspian and Black Seas are kind of weird choices to have Lords for as the Caspian is land-locked and the Black Sea can only be sailed into through a narrow channel in the Mediterranean...and from what I can tell, there wasn’t much 17th-18th century piracy specifically centered around those two seas either.)

Previous part of the AU is here -- whole tag is here -- and of course Jules Farrier-Weasley belongs to @cursebreakerfarrier and Finn McGarry / Davy Jones belongs to @theguythatdraws. <3

x~x~x~x

In the nearly three weeks since Jules, Bill, and Charlie said goodbye to Carewyn, the three had practically been thrown head-first into what piracy truly meant. Sailing aboard the Artemis hadn’t been as glamorous as the stories Jules grew up with, but trying to steer the Revolution with only three people aboard without enough food or drink to go around, all the while knowing that just about no ships they might come across and very few islands they might land on would be friendly to them, was something that didn’t sink in until one was left sitting up all night thinking it over. Everything the three owned now -- everything they were -- was either on their person or on this ship...and if anything happened to the ship, they wouldn’t just lose the belongings they had on board, but also the only way they could transport themselves out of danger and the only “home” they still had. No one would likely even know anything had happened to them until days, weeks, or even months afterwards. It was like nothing tethered them to the Earth at all -- like they had no gravity and could just fly up into the air at any time, disappearing forever without a trace.

There was a freedom to it, of course, knowing that you didn’t have to be defined by how you were born or what arbitrary value society placed on you...and yet, the freedom came at a cost.

The three Weasleys arrived on the island of Tortuga within four days. Truthfully it wasn’t really a place a lot of people would enjoy visiting -- it was loud, filthy, seedy, and treacherous, and yet, it was a safe place for them to fill their bellies and get their ship repaired and outfitted with new crew members.

There were a few pirates who initially balked at the idea of joining the crew of a ship captained by a woman, but before long, Jules made a name for herself in Tortuga after she was able to out-maneuver two drunken men twice her size in a fight, the first by ducking under his arm and then smashing a bottle of rum over his head to knock him out and the second by stealing his own pistol out of his belt and pointing it right between his eyes until he backed off. 

Charlie couldn’t help but grin as the pirate rather cowardly slunk off like a dog with his tail between his legs.

“Bloody hell, Jules!” he laughed. “Reckon you scared him so bad he’ll be running off crying to Mummy...”

Jules crossed her arms, the man’s pistol still in her hand. “Well, he had it coming. Not wanting to be on our crew I can accept, but I am not a thing he can pay for.”

“You can’t be bought, period,” agreed Bill lowly, shooting a rather dirty look at the man’s back as he secured an arm around his wife’s waist. “Least of all by a disgusting cur like him.”

Charlie gave a low whistle.

“Blimey, Bill, a man of the Church, swearing like that?” he teased. “Whatever happened to turning the other cheek?”

“Ecclesiastes 3:8 -- ‘there is a time to love and a time to hate,’” said Bill coolly. “This is not a time to love.”

Jules smiled wryly up at Bill.

“I might have to disagree,” she said amusedly, as she tilted his head down enough to ensnare his lips with her own.

Not long after they arrived, Orion and the crew of Artemis met the Weasleys in Tortuga, as planned. It was good to see some familiar and friendly faces, in a sea of insincere smiles and shady looks. Orion immediately introduced the crew of the Revolution to a few of his “friends” on the island -- Andre Egwu, a rather fashionable pirate who had once been both a tailor and a French privateer; Erika Rath, the rough-and-tough owner of the Faithful Bride tavern, who had been a pirate herself before settling in Tortuga to offer a safe place to those who were too ill, young, old, or otherwise unable to sail anymore; Ethan Parkin, Skye’s father and a retired pirate himself, who, despite being a rather egotistical sort that disdained Orion quite a bit, still was always willing to do the crew of the Artemis and their associates a favor, for the sake of his daughter; and a pirate solely called “Face Paint” who was known on the island for being a master of disguise that could not only look like anyone they wanted, but also make other people look like just about anyone else too.

Andre and Face Paint were able to help out all three Weasleys with their wardrobes, so that they “fit” a bit more with the pirates of the island. Bill picked out a new belt that could better fit a scabbard for his sword, and Jules finally got a hat worthy of a captain -- a forest green tricorn hat trimmed with silver embroidery. Charlie was even able to snatch up a pair of boots made of a black scaly material that reminded him of the pictures of dragons he’d see in books as a kid. Charlie had expected Andre to encourage him to shave too, since both he and Bill were already getting a bit stubbly since they hadn’t shaved since they left Port Royal, but Andre actually discouraged this.

“If people know you better without a beard, then you should grow one,” he advised. “The more different you can look from how you did before, the better the chances you’ll have of not immediately being recognized, if you collide with the wrong person. In general, my advice is to change your look up every four to six months, just to throw off the authorities.”

Bill, Jules, and Charlie also accompanied Orion on his visit to the far corner of Tortuga, over a small lake to an eerie-looking worn-down shack on stilts in the middle of the water, which was the home to the resident “witch” of Tortuga.

“Have you ever met a witch before?” Jules asked Bill and Charlie.

Both Weasley brothers shook their heads, looking a little disconcerted.

“She’s truly not as terrifying as everyone makes her out to be,” said McNully reassuringly. “I’d say there’s only a 63% chance she’ll curse you if you make a wrong move.”

Charlie shot him a flabbergasted look. “Oh, that’s encouraging.”

Skye gave a light “hmph!”

“My best piece of advice? Try not to make eye contact and let Orion do the talking,” she said under her breath. “The witch can do favors for you, if you somehow get on her good side and give her proper payment...but she doesn’t trust easily.”

“And likes anyone even more rarely,” added McNully, though he sounded more thoughtful than Skye. “Orion’s one of the few people I’d say she does favor a bit...though I reckon that’s because they go back a ways, and Orion’s not really like most pirates...”

“It’s pirates especially she doesn’t like,” said Skye. 

Charlie frowned. “If she doesn’t like pirates, then why is she here, on an island owned by pirates?”

“I reckon witches probably don’t have a lot of safe places they can live as it is, Charlie,” Bill pointed out somberly. “Even the Bible says you should not suffer a witch to live. She probably lives here because she doesn’t have much choice.”

When they reached the dock under the shack, they tied up their boat, McNully staying behind to watch it while Orion, Skye, Jules, Bill, and Charlie climbed the ladder up into the shack itself. It was a bizarre place with various bottles, model planets, and other such trinkets dangling from the ceiling, and toward the back of the single large room was a table covered in a dirty grayish white tablecloth covered in spots and stains.

The witch called Chia Dalma was almost ethereal in appearance, from her long, flowing white hair to her sea-blue eyes to her bloodless, porcelain skin. She wore a rather worn, clearly second-hand dark red dress and a full-moon-shaped locket around her neck. She also considered all of Orion’s party with considerable distrust in her eyes -- Charlie felt like he was being X-rayed. Orion, however, acted as though he didn’t even notice the scrutiny the others were getting and spoke to Chia very pleasantly after giving her some incense and a jar of candied pineapple.

“How are the stars sounding, to you?” he asked. “From what I’ve seen, Venus is particularly bright, right now -- I would think you’ve heard a lot about love, in your conversations with the night sky.”

Chia finally tore her critical eye off of Charlie to turn to Orion, her posture still noticeably guarded.

“Yes,” she said, “though I believe there’s a reason you noticed Venus’s brightness in particular, as opposed to the rest of the planets’ movements.”

Her voice was very soft and understated, enough to make you freeze where you stood and hold your breath in a subconscious attempt to hear her better. Despite this, her discerning look on Orion was considerably less suspicious: if anything, it looked almost curious.

A flicker of a smile teased at the corners of Orion’s mouth. 

“...I suppose I may have.”

Bill and Charlie both shot Orion looks out the side of their eye. They had a feeling they knew exactly why that was.

Bill and Jules had talked to Charlie about their suspicions about Orion and Carewyn, and although Jules had been very supportive of it and even Bill acknowledged that Orion did seem to feel genuine affection for Carewyn, Charlie himself still felt a bit uncomfortable about it. To him, Carewyn was his twin -- although in a lot of ways, she was more like Bill personality-wise and Bill and she were clearly the best of friends, Charlie and Carewyn had still been two peas in a pod for a lot of the War. Because they were seen as twin brothers by the Navy, they were often positioned together and ended up supporting each other whenever Bill -- the person they both loved and trusted more than anyone else -- wasn’t around. This whole experience was the first time he’d really been apart from Carewyn since he’d first joined the Navy...and with Bill now married to Jules and the whole world suddenly being against them...Charlie found himself missing his “twin” more than ever.

‘Orion’s not a bad bloke,’ Charlie thought to himself. ‘If Carey really likes him, I’d understand, but...I just don’t want things to change anymore than they already have...’

Becoming estranged from Percy had been hard enough. Knowing that Bill and he would drift apart as his older brother made a life of his own with Jules, and thinking of Carewyn making a life of her own with Orion, while he himself was left on the sidelines...it was a thought Charlie didn’t like wallowing in.

Chia regarded Orion with a more solemn look as she took a seat at her table.

“It would behoove you to take a more complete look at the planets,” she said lowly. “There’s friction growing between Saturn and Uranus.”

Orion’s eyes narrowed, though his expression remained typically serene. Charlie glanced from Orion to Chia.

“...What does that mean?” he asked.

Skye shot him a look as if to warn him to be quiet -- Chia turned her attention to Charlie, her blue eyes boring into him with such intensity that Charlie flinched back a bit despite himself.

“Saturn represents Law -- a rigid structure,” she answered lowly. “Uranus, his father, represents Disorder -- Unpredictability -- Rebellion and Reformation. It suggests that there is to be great upheaval, very soon -- a large shift, the likes of which none of you have seen in your lifetimes.”

Charlie’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Bigger than the War?”

Chia’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“That was a War fought solely for the advancement of a few,” she said, her voice noticeably cool. “However big it felt to you, Charles Weasley, it merely reinforced what was already there, and so it will ultimately be forgotten. Only the ripples of that War -- the ones we feel, in this moment -- will leave any real impact.”

Charlie wanted to ask how Chia knew his name, but Orion spoke before he could.

“Can you tell which planet is rising, of the two?”

Chia glanced up at the model planets over her head pensively. “Right now, no. They’re on a collision course in the night sky, set to eclipse each other...but I can’t say which will fall first...and what will fall here on Earth, in response.”

Chia’s eyes drifted from Orion to Charlie to Jules, narrowing a bit more critically as she considered each of them in turn.

“One thing is for sure, though -- when two such powerful planets meet, it signals the end of an age. Whatever’s born from the ashes of that end may be up to whomever is fortunate enough to survive.”

The group left Chia Dalma’s feeling considerably less comfortable than when they arrived. Despite this, and despite how weirded out he was that she’d known who he was before he’d even told her his name, Charlie had to admit to himself that she didn’t seem as scary as Skye or McNully had made her out to be. She kind of reminded him of the ocean in a way -- mysterious and intimidating, sure, but ultimately something worthy of respect. Even just the way she spoke seemed to hint to her being much older than her face would suggest.

No one in the group had any idea what Chia Dalma could’ve meant when she discussed “an great upheaval” until over a week later. That was the day that the Flying Dutchman arrived on the shores of Tortuga and, without any warning, opened fire.

It was Hell the likes of which even Bill or Charlie had never seen. Cannonballs blasted through buildings, smashing windows and shattering walls. Before long, whole buildings were coming down and crushing people as they fled. Then the Flying Dutchman’s crew came ashore, undead and rotten and crusted over with barnacles and sea-life, as if they’d been swallowed up and spat back out of the sea itself -- and they killed and captured by the hundreds, with both swords and nets.

Then the Captain of the Dutchman himself, his octopus-like face visibly furious as his lobster-like claw clutched at the front of his chest where his heart should be, turned his ire on the settlement itself.

Cutler Beckett wanted him to send the pirates a message, did he? Well, then...he’d send them a message they’d see for miles.

With a click of his claw, Jones conjured up a large, flaming cinder, which he then chucked at the Faithful Bride. In an instant, it was set ablaze...and all of the pirates trying to hide inside the tavern were soon forced to flee and be captured, or burn to death. The fire spread from roof to roof, and soon all of Tortuga was in flames.

In the midst of the chaos, the crews of the Artemis and the Revolution hurried back to their ships, preparing to retreat. As Charlie ran behind Jules and Bill, however, he stopped abruptly when he caught sight of a white-haired figure being shoved around inside the crowd. It was Chia Dalma. She looked like she was trying to push through, but the horde was quickly devolving around her, trapping her in once spot.

Making up his mind very quickly, Charlie darted back the way he came.

“CHARLIE!” cried Bill.

“SET SAIL!” Charlie bellowed back. “I’LL CATCH UP!”

“CHARLIE!” Jules shouted too.

“Wait -- !” 

Was that Orion’s voice? Charlie had never heard him sound tense like that before. Nevertheless, he couldn’t stop. He pressed on, unsheathing his sword as he pushed and shoved the other pirates aside.

“Move! Bugger off!”

Finally he was able to make his way over to Chia Dalma, just in time to block a block a blow from a shark-headed sailor’s sword.

“Oi!” he said angrily. “Leave the lady alone, you toothy maggot!”

The two immediately started to fight, until Charlie managed to get the upper hand by slashing at his flipper-like leg and then shoving him back off his feet through the window of a house.

He turned to Chia Dalma.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

The witch’s gaze was just as piercing and guarded as it had been before as she analyzed Charlie’s face.

“Yes,” she said softly.

Charlie offered her a smile, even as more sailors charged at them.

“Stick close to me, all right?” he told her.

“You can’t win against the crew of the Flying Dutchman,” said Chia very gravely.

“Not with that attitude!” said Charlie almost cheekily. Seeing the severe look on her face, he said a little more seriously, “Look, I get that you don’t trust me -- I don’t know you at all either -- but I’m not just going to sit back and watch someone die if I can help it. And if this is the crew of Davy Jones, you’ll die if you stay here.”

The sentiment seemed to cause Chia visible pain. Her eyes abruptly hardened.

“Do not speak with such certainty about Davy Jones,” she said very sharply. “He may be a heartless being now, but that doesn’t make him devoid of conscience, or of feeling.”

Charlie frowned deeply and was prepared to ask Chia what she meant, but before he could, he soon found himself faced with another crew member from the Dutchman with a face covered in barnacles and starfish and had to immediately go on the attack again.

Charlie fought off three other fishy sailors, beating them back as best he could as she tried to steer himself and Chia back toward the docks. But as more time passed, the flames engulfing the nearby buildings only grew. Soot and ash rained from the air, making it harder to breathe by the second.

Charlie struggled to breathe normally as he fought the sailors away from Chia Dalma, but there were just too many of them, and just like with the cursed crew of the Revenge, they didn’t go down easily. Somehow, he managed to steer Chia to the dock, where the Revolution was still floating close by, their anchor already weighed and a ladder dangling off the edge.

“COME ON, CHARLIE!” cried Bill.

Coughing hard, Charlie brought an arm around Chia Dalma, pushing her slightly forward.

“Go on, climb up -- ”

BAM.

All of a sudden, Chia whirled on Charlie, grabbing hold of him and shoving him backward and to the ground just in time to avoid a giant explosion of flames that collided with the dock. The force of the explosion made the ocean water around the island crash, shoving the Revolution back with the force.

“CHARLIE!”

“CHARLIE!”

Charlie could hear both Bill and Jules’s voices as the ship was thrown backward away from the island by a massive, torrential wave. His heart gave a spasm of terror as he stared at the red-hulled ship being tossed like a bath toy in the chaos.

“BILL! JULES!”

Within moments, Charlie and Chia Dalma were surrounded by the Flying Dutchman’s crew. Charlie immediately stood in front of Chia protectively as they were encircled. The witch, for her part, looked disconcerted by the Dutchman’s crew’s appearance, but not in the way that she looked afraid -- if anything, she almost looked deeply troubled.

“There’s reluctance, in their eyes,” she murmured.

Charlie glanced back at her. “Huh?”

Chia’s lips came together seriously. “You know the purpose of the Flying Dutchman?”

“Yeah -- it’s supposed to ferry the dead.”

As Charlie considered this, he realized that this was strange. Why would a crew that was supposed to ferry those lost at sea into the next life be attacking Tortuga?

Chia nodded solemnly. “They’re not here of their own free will. Neither they nor Davy Jones...have come here because they wish to.”

Charlie felt his jaw clench as he stared down the circle of sailors holding up nets and pointing their swords at them as they prepared to capture them.

“Maybe they haven’t, but that doesn’t make them our mates,” he muttered.

Just as it seemed that Charlie was out-numbered, there was a loud rumbling down the street. A whole cart full of barrels were rolling right down the street, right at them.

Chia abruptly grabbed hold of the back of Charlie’s shirt and in an instant, the two had levitated about four feet off the ground, just in time to avoid the throng of barrels knocking over the Dutchman’s crew like nine pins.

As Chia and Charlie slowly returned to the ground, they were joined by another pirate -- a rather striking blonde with emerald-colored eyes. She held a pistol in one hand and her sword in the other as she rolled down the street on one of the barrels, jumping off of it to land on Chia’s other side.

“You both all right?” she asked, as she lifted her leg just enough that she could catch the barrel she’d arrived on with her foot.

“...Aye,” said Charlie after a moment, still a bit in awe about having just been floating in the air like a cloud. “Thanks, uh...?”

“Samantha O’Connell,” she introduced herself quickly.

Charlie blinked. “The Pirate Dragon?”

Both Samantha and he immediately had to duck to avoid a grenade being chucked over at them. It seemed some of the Dutchman’s sailors had recovered from the “barrel attack” and were coming back.

“Look, I’m all for introductions and ‘how-do-you-do’s,’” said Samantha with a wry smile, “but right now, we’d better move!”

Urging Chia in front of her, she then ran down the street away from the dock, Charlie at her heels.

It seemed that the infamous “Pirate Dragon” and Charlie also had a mutual friend in Orion Amari. Despite persuading both crews to “keep to the Pirate Code” (namely, that whoever falls behind is left behind), Samantha nonetheless had enough honor to -- upon seeing Charlie and Chia had been separated from the others -- backtrack enough to make sure they got away too, even if it couldn’t be on the Artemis or Revolution.

“I have my own ketch here at the eastern dock, which I’ll be taking back to my ship,” she explained as they ran. “There are a few others you can choose from, to steer yourself and Ms. Dalma here to Shipwreck Cove -- you’ll be safe there...”

“Shipwreck Cove?” repeated Charlie.

Chia Dalma’s eyes flashed at the name.

“The home of the Brethren Court,” she murmured very icily.

Samantha shot Chia a frown.

“Look, I get it if you don’t like going to another pirate haven, but it’s really the safest place, now. I doubt even Jones himself knows how to get there -- and once all the Pirate Lords assemble, we can come up with a plan to deal with this.”

Samantha immediately boarded the small blue-painted boat, preparing to cast off. Charlie was frowning more deeply than ever in confusion as he jumped aboard a neighboring red-painted ketch.

“There are Pirate Lords?” he asked.

“Of course -- the owners of the seven Pieces of Eight, representing each of the seven seas,” Samantha said logically, as if it were common knowledge. “Or at least six out of the seven -- the Piece of Eight representing the Pacific Ocean was lost after its Lord, Bartholomew Sharp, died...anyway, Orion’s one of the Lords too, so he’ll be able to show your sister-in-law the way and you can meet the rest of your crew there -- ”

Charlie could hear a lot of shouting and pillaging growing louder in the distance. Soon the Flying Dutchman’s crew would be on top of them again --

He quickly threw out a hand, offering it to Chia Dalma. “Come on -- we’d better hurry.”

Chia glanced back in the direction of the flaming city, her blue eyes narrowing. It almost seemed like she was conflicted.

“Listen, Ms. Dalma,” said Samantha sharply, “Jones is under the control of the East India Trading Company and the British Navy.”

Both Charlie and Chia Dalma straightened up abruptly, visibly shocked.

“I overheard Jones say that Beckett’s orders had been to ‘send a message to all pirates.’ That can only mean that Beckett has some leverage over Jones and has impressed him into service. We can’t hope to deal with Jones until we deal with Beckett’s leverage first, and to do that, we have to deal with Beckett.”

Chia once again looked at the flaming buildings, her eyes rippling with emotions Charlie couldn’t read. Then, at last, she closed her eyes, swallowed, and turned to Charlie, taking his hand and boarding the boat.

“See you in Shipwreck Cove!” said Samantha, shooting a bright smile over her shoulder at Charlie. “Good luck!”

Charlie watched her go, before weighing anchor and immediately setting sail with Chia Dalma himself.

The crew of the Flying Dutchman only arrived just in time to see the two ketches already floating off into the distance and out of sight. Chia herself stood at the railing of the boat long after Tortuga had disappeared over the horizon, holding the moon-shaped locket around her neck in her hand. Charlie pulled on the rigging to pull the sail toward the starboard side, glancing over at her with some sympathy.

“You knew Jones...didn’t you?”

Chia glanced back at Charlie, her eyes very unreadable. Then she returned her gaze to the horizon.

Charlie secured the rigging, knotting it tightly.

“...I understand how hard it is, to have to leave someone behind. There’s someone I’ve left behind too -- two people, in fact...who are also probably having to bow to the whims of Cutler Beckett, even if I’m sure they don’t want to...”

The memory of Percy’s pleading face and Carewyn’s stoicism in the face of her heartbreak both rippled over his mind.

“Charlie – don’t do this – think of Mum – think of us – ”

“I want you on a vessel so strong and so fast…that I can never catch up to you again.”

Charlie closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling heavily.

“...Sometimes, though...the only way you can really help them is by leaving them...however hard it is.”

There was a silence. Charlie opened his eyes and headed up to the helm, turning the wheel to help steer the boat through the waves.

While he was piloting the boat, however, he was interrupted by the soft clink. Chia Dalma had placed something on the edge of the deck within Charlie’s reach.

“This is for you, Charles Weasley,” she said.

Charlie blinked and picked it up. It was an old pewter button encrusted with gold and decorated with the icon of an anchor and an intricate cursive “S.”

“Oh, ah...thank you,” said Charlie awkwardly. He turned the button over in his hand. “...What’s the ‘S’ stand for?”

“Sharp,” Chia responded. “Bartholomew Sharp.”

Charlie straightened up. “The Pirate Lord Samantha mentioned?”

Chia inclined her head in a nod. “That is his Piece of Eight. Sharp abandoned his duties as Pirate Lord of the Pacific Ocean long before dying in prison in disgrace, and since then, it has been largely forgotten, by both pirates and honest explorers alike. It’s the last untamed sea, of the seven...”

Her blue eyes bore into Charlie’s face.

“...And now...it will be your responsibility...Pirate Lord Charles Weasley.”

[theoriginalladya]

THAT SCENE for Destiny's Fate (any of the stories therein)?

Okay, as much as I would like to answer this for Destiny’s Fate, I have not gotten to that part of the story yet, so I cannot share.  I’m so sorry!

HOWEVER, I’ll give you the two from the two prior stories instead.  How’s that?

From Destiny’s Road, (their ME1 story) it’s the scene right after Jane & Co. come out from talking to Vigil on Ilos.  She, Kaidan, Ashley, and Garrus get separated from everyone else, so they’re the only ones who can head down to the conduit.  Jane steps aside just before getting back into the Mako and contacts John who is back on the Normandy.

The elevator ride back up from speaking with Vigil was an unusually quiet one.  Only once they exited the shaft and were heading back to the Mako did the silence finally break.

Pausing outside the vehicle, Jane pressed her comm.  “John, are you there?”

“Right here, Jane,” he returned immediately.  “What do you need from us?”

Having him aboard ship already was probably the best thing to happen so far on a mission as messed up as this one had become.  Though she wanted to take the time to explain the conversation she’d just had and the mandate the prothean VI clearly wanted her to fulfill, she knew there was no time.  “Short version: The Citadel is a backdoor for the Reapers.  You’ve got to take the Normandy and get back there -- Saren’s already on his way!”

“Wait -- Jane, how --?”

Joker’s voice broke across the line.  “Commander, its Sovereign -- look at it!  That’s like that move I told you about on Virmire!”  Habit had Jane glancing upwards even though she couldn’t see anything but the walls of the building.

There was a moment of silence from the other end before John returned.  “Jane, what’s going on?”

Taking a deep breath, she instructed, “Follow Sovereign, John!  It’s heading to the Citadel!  The Citadel is a doorway for other Reapers to enter the galaxy from dark space where they’re waiting!”

There was a scratch of static before John’s voice asked, “How are WE going to stop it?”

Jane bit her lower lip.  The others were inside the Mako now and she needed to join them.  “Contact Hackett -- Anderson -- Alliance Command -- Udina -- the Citadel Fleet!  Get a hold of whoever you can – anyone -- just get them!  This thing is bigger than us.  We’re going to need all the help we can get!”

She started climbing into the Mako and was taking her seat when he replied, “But what about you?  We can’t just leave you here --!”

She glanced over at Alenko who was in his usual navigation seat and nodded that all was good to go.  Shifting the Mako into gear, she said, “There’s an access point here.  We’re taking that.  We’ll meet you there, front and center on the Presidium, got that?  Don’t be late or you’re buying the drinks afterwards.”  She tried to interject a little bit of humor into her tone, but she wasn’t sure it communicated in the moment.

“Jane …”

Biting her lower lip, her voice dropped nearly an octave as she pleaded with him.  “John, GO!  Please, don’t make me pull rank on you -- you know I wouldn’t tell you this if I didn’t believe it.”

Another long pause, and she could almost see his face in front of her as he debated.  She was about to call out to him again, to yell at him with all it took, to pull rank and then some, when he finally spoke.  “Fair winds, baby.”

Startled at the reference dating back to the early years of their marriage, Jane nearly choked on a sob.  “And following seas, love,” she whispered back.  Thankfully, none of the rest of her squad made comment and the drive continued in silence.

From Destiny’s Hand, (ME2 story), you might think it’s when Jane and John encounter one another on Horizon.  Actually, it isn’t.  It’s the scene on Arcturus after Jane’s death, where Kaidan and Ashley go with him back to the Shepard apartment there to help John clean out all of his and Jane’s belongings.  It’s a bit rough on John, as you might imagine, but both Kaidan and Ashley are there in their own ways to offer support.  Plus, I needed Kaidan to find the thing hidden away inside Jane’s Star of Terra for use later on.

“Skipper …?”

John either didn’t hear Williams or he chose to ignore her for the time being.  Alenko’s gaze drifted to look around the room, searching for some way, any way he could help his friend through what was no doubt the most devastating time of his life.  His eyes came to rest on a small frame resting on a small shelf on the wall above the vid screen.  It looked to be one of those old fashioned shadow box frames.  He caught a hint of color inside, a flashing glint of polished metal, and clarity followed a moment later.  Jane Shepard’s Star of Terra.  That might be a start.

Crossing the room, Alenko reached for the frame.  But before his fingers connected, a bellowing roar from behind him rumbled throughout the room.

“Skipper, wait!”

It was the only warning Alenko received, but it was enough.  Instinct triggered his biotic barrier in the same motion that he slid sideways a couple steps just as John’s hands reached out towards Alenko.  There was a wildness in the man’s action fueled by grief and anger as he snatched the frame from the lieutenant’s grasp.  Though startled, Alenko understood what was happening and why well enough that he didn’t try to stop the commander or defend himself.

Williams hurried over.  She paused beside Alenko, her hand touching his shoulder and tightening briefly in question.  He nodded, waving her off in assurance that he was okay.  Turning, she then took a tentative step towards Shepard.

John’s eyes locked onto the medal inside of the case, memories washing over and through him.  The day he and Jane met so many years before when he barrelled into her aboard the SSV Einstein.  Her brilliant smile when they graduated basic training together.  Abject terror mixed with intense pain and pride on Elysium while on their honeymoon as he watched her run off to finish the job they’d started together defending the colony against batarian slavers.  Jane’s embarrassment (she always hated being the center of attention) and irritation at the pomp and ceremony because of those actions and the resultant awarding of the Star of Terra.  The pure unadulterated joy in her eyes the day she achieved her rank of N7, proudly displaying her new colors to him afterward.  There were other moments bombarding him as well, but it was this last that stuck with him longest.  With another roar of grief, this one fueled by weeks of denial, he launched the frame across the room.

Williams lurched forward, catching Shepard beneath his shoulders with her shoulder and murmuring quiet words of comfort as he fell to his knees.  It was early days still, much too early for her words to serve as more than a reminder he wasn’t alone in his pain and loss.  He crumpled, crouching over and curling in on himself in the process.  After his outburst, he stayed silent, though the violent shaking of his shoulders indicated the level of his distress.

Alenko, feeling rather extraneous at this point, quietly crossed the room to examine the damage.  Though not a biotic, Shepard was strong and the frame had shattered upon impact with the wall.  It now lay on the carpet in a tangled mass of metal, glass and fabric.  The frame itself was bent out of shape and beyond repair.  The glass that had covered the front was broken into several larger pieces and multiple smaller ones.  In the middle of the mess was tangled a disheveled blue silk ribbon which, when traced around, looped through the actual Star of Terra.  Gingerly, he pulled this free, tucking it into his pocket for safe keeping before he started cleaning up the remaining debris.

Thank you so much for asking!  I promise, I’ll do my best to remember to mention when I hit that part of Destiny’s Fate, but for now I need to keep it quiet! :)

[ohblackdiamond]

but there’s room for you and me (paul/ace) (unfinished) (pg-13)

While digging around on Ace’s birthday, I found an unfinished Stehley one-shot from probably over a year ago. I don’t think it’d take much clean up, but in case I don’t ever put it anywhere official, or finish it, I figured I’d post it here. Inevitable mentions of Ace/Peter and your general blanket list of rockstar warnings. Stehley always gets me feeling some kind of way.

“but there’s room for you and me”

by Ruriruri

“You got your ear fixed.”

“It’s just cosmetic. Still can’t hear out of it, but it looks better.”

“Could’ve told me.”

“We weren’t touring.”

“We weren’t touring? Fuck, Paul.”

“So fucking tense. You didn’t fix what’s wrong with you any better than I did.”

“Let’s eat.”

He realized, dimly, that Paul wasn’t even bothering with sunglasses or a scarf these days in public. He wondered when that had happened, when the mystique and interest had faded so much that even Paul, the vainest man he’d ever known in his life, realized there was no point in hiding a face no one cared about anymore.

No point.

Ace shoved a five at the girl at the counter and didn’t bother retrieving the change. Carried the red plastic tray stacked with the Styrofoam to-go box and the throwaway cup of Sprite to the dingy table Paul was already sitting at. God. As a kid he wouldn’t have ever imagined this. Would’ve thought they’d set up all sorts of colonies on the Moon first like Von Braun used to talk about on ABC. Instead everyone had just dug their heels all the deeper into Earth, filling it with more skyscrapers, more crap, inventing microwaves, cellular phones, malls. Making everything easier but the living.

Paul raised his head when Ace sat down, scooping up a crouton from his grilled chicken salad and pushing it over to one corner of the box. He was lining up the croutons like sunburned soldiers in formation. Hadn’t taken a bite yet. Ace wondered if he was still on that workout kick he’d started a few years ago. Wondered if that wasn’t so much an attempt to beat the clock as it was another effort at winning back a crowd that didn’t give a fuck. Look better, feel better, be better, as if KISS had ever sold a single album via the attractiveness of its members.

He could see it, and he guessed Paul could, too. The change in the air. It wasn’t just KISS hitting rock bottom now; it was everything their entire fucking generation ever said they wanted going south. The hippies with their free love bullshit and flowers in their hair, the hippies he’d fallen in with back in high school, they’d all run off in droves to Wall Street. They’d wanted to tear down the establishment and instead they’d built it up all the higher. A tower of babel hanging up high above their heads.

Ace waited for Paul to start in, say something, anything. Talk about the contract. Fifteen million on the line. You can buy a lot of therapy with fifteen million, Ace’s lawyer had said, and Ace had closed his eyes and asked if he could buy his life back, too.

His lawyer hadn’t answered. Ace didn’t figure he’d keep him much longer.

 “You’re real good at cutting people up, you know?” Conversational. “Always have been. Used to wonder where it came from.”

Paul reached over for his drink, fingers on the straw.

“Did you ever figure it out?”

“I figured it out the first time we fucked.” Ace opened up the container. The smell of teriyaki chicken and steamed vegetables and noodles was almost overpowering, but he grabbed a plastic fork anyway and started to eat, waiting to see if Paul would argue or change the subject again. But he didn’t do either. Maybe he was so self-absorbed he wanted to hear it. Wanted to hear anything about himself, no matter how unflattering. “You’re scared, Paulie. You’ve always been scared as hell.”

Ace closed his eyes. The pressure was right there, directly between them. He’d blame a hangover, but he’d been clean for three days now.

“You any better, Ace?”

“At least I’m not shoving everyone away with both hands and crying about it afterwards.”

Paul didn’t say anything, just scraped at the salad. He hadn’t bothered with dressing.

“You shouldn’t have done Peter like that. You and Gene.”

“You voted him out, too. Don’t make out like you didn’t.” Paul’s voice was deceptively even and public-ready. Ace could feel the claws just beneath.

“It’s the way you did it.” The oily noodles were already a little cold by the time they reached his tongue. Ace forced them down anyway. “Just put on goddamn suits and took him into the office like he was a fucking—a fucking employee, like he wasn’t your friend—”

“He—”

“You cut him out, Paul. You had to. But not ugly like that.”

“You didn’t even show. You were too busy getting fucked-up—”

“You’re damn right I was.” Ace swallowed. “I wasn’t gonna face him like that.”

“Didn’t have the guts to watch a guy you used to fuck get fired?”

“Would you?”

Paul didn’t answer.

***

“Paul, we’re losing it. We’re losing it.”

“You’re right. We’re losing it and you’re jumping ship. Find the nearest lifeboat and just paddle out, huh?”

“Is that what you think this is?”

“You’re gonna tell me it isn’t? Fuck, Ace. Fuck. Don’t you dare call me scared when you can’t handle one bad album.”

“It isn’t the album.” Ace lifted his head. “You don’t get it. You can’t—we can’t keep it up. We can’t even tour in our own country. They don’t want us anymore, you know?”

“Then we’ll tour Europe again. We’ll go back to Australia. Whatever. I didn’t know the audience was so damn important to you.”

“You’re a hell of a guy to tell me that, Paulie.”

“And you’re a hell of a guy to lie to me, Ace.”

He didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. Paul reached out, hand resting on top of his. No rings or anything. Not even the customary Rolex on his wrist. Ace wondered, dully, if Paul’d still have it in another three years.

“Why do you want out? Why do you really want out? Just tell me. Just tell me, all right?”

“Paul, please, Jesus—”

Paul hadn’t moved his hand yet. Ace could feel the calluses on it, the sweat on it. A case of nerves that fifteen fucking years of spilling his guts to a shrink hadn’t gotten rid of. Paul couldn’t ever calm down. Couldn’t ever calm down because he didn’t want to. That anxiety hung all over him like an old lover. Ace’s fingers curled up beneath Paul’s hand, but that was all.

“Ace.”

“I’m gonna die if I stay in this band. I’m gonna kill myself.”

“You what?” And now Paul was clutching his fingers, clamping onto them. Actually trying to lace their fingers together, Christ, he was, he was and Ace was letting him do it. “What do you mean? You can’t—you have a daughter, Ace, you can’t—”

“Not like that. I don’t—I don’t wanna die—”

“What do you need? Do you need a doctor? I can get you somebody, I can get you anybody, anybody you want, name it, I’ll—”

“I said I don’t wanna die, Paul.” An exhale. “I wouldn’t do it on purpose.”

“You’d overdose?” Paul was staring at him. Big brown eyes locked on his face. Ace wanted to see some coldness there, some indifference, some—some calculation, just to make this easier, but there wasn’t any. Paul’s nails dug into his knuckles. “You think we couldn’t keep the coke away from you?”

“No. I know you couldn’t.” A smirk, false and hollow, was trying to pull at his face. He didn’t let it. “Christ, Paulie, everyone’s on it. Everyone’s done it. Everyone I know but you and Gene and poor little Eric.”

Paul went silent.

 “And don’t you get all high and mighty on me when you used to keep a fucking drawer of speed on hand—when you still got prescriptions for shit you don’t even have—”

“I didn’t say anything! Ace, listen, you think it’ll get better if you’re out of the band? You think the band’s what’s keeping you coked up? The hell it is. You—you wouldn’t have anything to distract you from them without KISS. No tours you gotta get ready for. No concerts. Nothing. Y-you’d just be an even bigger fucking mess.”

Two guys messing around in the backseat of a Cadillac. It could’ve been ’68, Paul melting and smoothing out into Jeanette in his mind, pale, pretty Jeanette who’d been his girl, stayed his girl long enough to add one more ring to his finger. Was still his girl, somehow. It could’ve been ’73, Paul himself in all his painful shyness, too nerved-out to initiate much more than a kiss even in Ace’s bedroom; it could’ve been ’78, Paul a little less fragile and a little less frayed. There’d still been a softness to his face then, a sort of gentility that five years of touring hadn’t yet obliterated. That was gone now. That was all gone now.

He could wish it back. He could try. God knew Paul was trying, his mouth on Ace’s, tongue desperate for an entrance, his hands roaming down Ace’s chest like he was feeling for bitemarks he hadn’t left there in years.

“Say it, Ace. Say it.”

“No—”

“You’ll get clean, you’ll do it, whatever it takes, just please—”

“I can’t, Paul.”

The silhouette of Ace’s house looked like a sailor’s leviathan, all mass and tyranny, before the winds broke it down into drunken dreams.

[ramblinganthropologist]

n7 challenge month - 9 (Respite)

Summary: It’s hard, being the guy trying to save the universe from the collectors. Thankfully, Alistair has a safe place and a little friend to turn to when he’s lost hope and things seem dark. The universe owes Saren Shepard a favor, let’s just say that.

---

That was another colony taken by the Collectors...

“Shepard, the Illusive Man-”

Alistair shut the line off before Miranda could tell him anything else. Right then his head was spinning as he finished removing his armor and getting back into his clothes. The numbers were stark, and he could see them even with his eyes shut.

They'd lost the whole colony. And judging by the reports streaming in, the planet they were going to next was lost as well.

He took up position in the CIC, plotting out the next jump. Everyone around him was quiet, focused on their duties. From where he was standing, he could see their worried faces and nervous glances. They knew what they were going to find once they got there – a whole lot of nothing.

Fuck... why were they always two steps behind?

“Commander, Miranda wishes to speak with you when you're done.”

Kelly was checking messages next to him, but he knew she was doing her actual job the entire time. Enough time around therapists had taught him when they were reading into his behavior. So he nodded, dully, and stepped down from the pedestal.

“I'll go see her then.”

He found her in observation, thankfully with the window closed. She looked right through him when their gazes met, but he was too tired to respond. Instead, he just sat down and let his tired bones rest for a minute.

“Sorry... guess my omni-tool cut out.”

It was a lie, but he didn't care. And he knew she didn't believe him either, based on the look on her face. At least she didn't call him out on it. Instead, she tapped at her omni-tool to transfer some files over to him. From the looks of things, they were reports.

“The Illusive Man found a few more people you might find helpful.” Another tap. “Illium would be a good place to start.”

Basic details flooded his memory – asari controlled, no regulations. Looked pretty, actually wasn't. They had two possible people there, both of whom could prove useful. Still, it was hard to feel excited as he looked them over.

Unless they were trackers who could figure out where the Collectors were striking next, it wasn't a lot of help.

“We'll go there after we check the colony. Maybe this time...” he shook his head as he stood. “I'm going to go get some work done while we're in FTL. My omni-tool will be on if you or the Illusive Man have any info about what we're walking into.”

Judging by the look on her face, Miranda was just about as confident as he was about finding any survivors this time. Still, she didn't argue with him in that regard. Alistair was thankful for that as he stood.

And then his vision swam.

“Shepard, your CGM is beeping.”

Ah, so it was.

“Really wished you could've fixed that for me while I was dead.” He shook his head, frowning. “Uh, sorry.”

No, he wasn't. But he had to work with her, so he needed to be polite. So instead of biting the hand that brought him back from the dead, he retreated. After all, sometimes he lost his filter when his sugar was low.

It wouldn't be good if she knew he hated her and her boss.

At least it was quiet in his quarters as he stumbled in, tongue already feeling numb. Alistair made a grab for the box on his desk and freed a few pixie sticks from inside. Down the hatch they went as he all but fell into his chair, sweating a little.

Forget the Reapers, biotic-induced hypoglycemia was his real nemesis.

“Fuck.”

The words hissed from between his teeth as he laid his head on the desk to keep it from spinning. Frustration was bubbling underneath his skin, trying to escape from the still open wounds of his healing implants. They had been so close... but they had lost.

Again.

At least his blood sugar was going up. He could already start to feel his tongue and lips again, though his mood was still dark. It was hard not to be annoyed with the data staring him in the face. Even with early info, the Collectors had gotten the drop on them.

“I am getting real fucking tired of losing to them.”

His potty mouth was answered by the furious scratching of bedding. Alistair picked up his head, glancing to the other side of the room. From the looks of things, his hamster had come out for his nightly explorative trip around his terrain. For once, he was sitting on top of the bedding instead of tunneling into it. Two beady eyes were staring right him, almost daring him to come over.

And he did. Alistair wasn't sure why, but he crossed the room and opened the side wall to the cage. Then he held out both his hands, waiting. They had been working on this, but he had never tried it without a snack. At least if he got bit, it wouldn't hurt too badly...

“Hey, Saren. Good to see you up, buddy. The FTL bothering you?”

Saren the space hamster sniffed at his finger. A few tense moments later, and he placed a paw on the tip. Alistair forgot how to breathe as he watched, waiting. After a few more moments, the hamster was on his hands, chewing away at a seed.

His heart pounded as he cupped his hands around his pet and drew him into the room. Saren didn't try to scamper away, but just kept chewing away at his seed like it was the best thing in the universe. If the FTL was bothering him, he was handling it well.

“Good boy...” A small smile stretched across his face as he stroked the hamster's small white head. “See, I'm not so bad.”

Alistair returned to his desk, Saren still cupped in his hands. The hamster seemed content to gnaw away at his seeds and not be bothered by the large mammal currently holding him. Just seeing it made his heart skip a beat as the smile refused to leave his face.

It was the first time he had managed to hold him without getting bit or Saren scampering off. Chalk that up to a win for the good guys.

“Now if only the Collectors would play so nicely.” He sighed and stroked the hamster's head again with a finger. “Maybe we'd find more living colonists.”

None of that meant anything to Saren of course – he wasn't sentient. Even the smartest space hamster was still a space hamster. Still, the way the hamster looked at him when he mentioned the Collectors could've melted steel.

Maybe everyone hated them.

“Yeah, they're pretty awful. We found another empty colony and we're probably going to another one. Not sure how I'm supposed to be fine on Illium after all that, but the Illusive Asshole wants me to go there afterwards to pick up an assassin and a justicar.”

Saren stopped chewing on his seed for a brief moment, and Alistair swore that he gave the stink eye at the mention of the man who brought him back to life. That got the Spectre laughing as he carefully pet the small creature.

Yep, he had the right name alright. The real Saren would've been proud at that look.

“Aren't you a fierce little thing? I bet you'd bite a Collector if they tried to mess with you.” He chuckled as he watched Saren continue to shove food into his cheeks. “Too bad you're so small. If you were Grunt's size those teeth could really put a hurting on someone.”

Not that it was all sunshine and daisies whenever he got bit, of course. Even for a little guy, the hamster could make it hurt. Alistair had learned to respect those little teeth and the jaw strength behind them the hard way. Honestly, he was lucky he didn't have scars.

Wouldn't that be a fun story... scarred from a space hamster bite.

He was still smiling as he watched the hamster finish tucking everything away. “Get everything in alight?”

Saren answered with another point blank look as he turned around a few times. Just from watching, Alistair was certain it was time to put him back in his home. For a first time out of the cage, they had done pretty well. Nobody got peed on, nobody got bit – that was practically a perfect encounter.

Talk about hope for the future. His hamster had practically been wild the first time they had interacted with each other.

“Time to go back in, buddy. I promised Miranda I would do some work and I don't think we're at the free run point yet.”

Carefully, he returned his hamster to the tank and closed the opening. Soon, Saren was back to digging into his bedding, heading to wherever he stored his food. Once he was out of sight, Alistair returned to his desk. There were plenty of reports to read over during the jump to the next colony, and he had a million emails to check.

“Shepard, did you see the latest report?”

Miranda's voice came through his omni-tool. The Spectre grimaced as he returned to his desk and turned the system on. Just like he thought, the report was already downloaded. To say the numbers were grim was putting it mildly.

This colony was even bigger.

“Looking at it now, Miranda.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “How much longer until we get there, Joker?”

The helmsman answered almost immediately, like he had been queued up for the moment. “About 3 hours, Commander.”

3 hours. A lot could happen in that much time.

“We might make it in time.”

Alistair doubted it, but he didn't say that because why put that into the universe. Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose again, long enough that he probably left a red mark, and nodded as he went back to the report reading.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Saren peeking at him from a gap in the bedding. One of his little paws was pressed against the glass in such a display of hamster toe beans that it was hard to keep from smiling. And he did, as he temporarily forgot the reports.

Some days, everything sucked. Other days... well, he was glad he had the little guy.

“Shepard?”

Back to work. Alistair snapped back into Spectre mode as he turned away from his hamster and returned to the reports at hand. They were moving into the planning phase now as he figured out who to take with him when they went into the colony.

Maybe it was the adrenaline rush from getting to hold his hamster, but there was a little hope there that they might find someone alive this time.

“Yeah, so I'm thinking that we're going to need Mordin to come with me...”

And then he was lost in the planning details as the Normandy sailed through space towards their destination. Whatever they were going to find, he wasn't sure. But he was going to hold on to that tiny piece of hope as he looked over specs of the colony on his computer.  Maybe it would do him some good for once.  

[jokerfan99]

Insult to Injury (RWBY/RVB) by Necroceph

*RVB Opening Theme*

On the Blue Base's roof

Church: The fuck are they doing over there?

He's right, what on Earth are the Red's doing. Through his rifle's scope, he sees the Reds building something on their roof what appears to be, a signboard?! First the stink formula, now this? Who's giving them these stupid ideas anyway? Hey don't look at me, I'm just the narrator!

Caboose: Hello!

Out of the blue, no pun intended, Caboose pops up into Church's view.

Church: Aaaaah! Goddammit, don't scare me like that! Caboose: Sorry. Whatcha watching? Church: Check this out.

Church gives Caboose a peak through the scope.

Church: I don't know what they're building, but it looks like a signboard. Caboose: Signboard? Aww, not another highway advertisement! Church: Who knows what they're using it for. My guess is Sarge just wanted to write something to mock us, that's for sure. Caboose: Or maybe they're planning to advertise their products so that they can earn a quick profit. Church: What? Who the fuck would be buying their junk? Not us of course. Caboose: Maybe Sangheili's passing by in the atmosphere? Church: Guess we'll have to find out ourselves. By the way, what are you doing up here? Caboose: Oh right! I'm here to tell you that Weiss is awake! Hooray! Church: It's about time that Ice Queen wakes up. Here take the rifle, I'm going to have word with her. Caboose: Uhm, Church, what about me? Church: I don't know just... spy on the Red's construction I guess. Call me out if anything new comes up.

At the Blue Base, Weiss' Room

I'm never going near another trash bin for a week. Weiss thought to herself as she takes another sip of her coffee, specially prepared by none other than Kaikaina. Weiss gotta hand it to the Grif, this is one hell of a caffeine.

Kaikaina: You want Dr. Kai to get you some meds? Weiss: No no, I'm perfectly fine. No need to concern yourselves over me. I've been through worse situations before. Tucker: Schnee, you passed out since yesterday! I doubt you're still fine. Kaikaina: Yeah. Plus you even puke while you slept. Weiss: I beg your pardon? Kaikaina: Nothing!

The door opens as Church enter to see Weiss fully recovered from her sixteen hour coma.

Church: Good to see the Snow White has awaken from her deathly slumber. Tell me, did the 'Prince of the Holy Sword' kiss you? Tucker: Wha-? No way I wouldn't do that while a chick's old cold! Though I would if she wants to... do you, baby?

SMASH!!!

Weiss hits Tucker with her mug, shattering it in the process. Even with his helmet on, he somehow felt the pain in the side of his head.

Tucker: OW! I was just saying! Weiss: At least learn how to shut that perverted mouth of yours, Lavernius! Hmph. Church: Not as perverted as suggesting a tight bikini wrestling match yesterday. Weiss: *shiver* Don't bring up that idea again. Tucker: So, Church. I'm guessing this isn't just to check up on her, is it? Church: Nope. In fact I'm here to talk about her fight with the Red yesterday. Tucker: Oh that one. Man it was awesome! Church: I'm not talking about that! From what I saw, she and that Red seem know each other. Is that right, Schnee?

Everybody turn their heads to Weiss.

Weiss: I don't want to talk about it. Church: Well too bad, we are going to talk about it whether you like it or not. So what were you two before, best friends? Tucker: Rivals? Kaikaina: Lovers?

Everybody looks at Kai.

Kaikaina: What, was I really the only one thinking that when they were fighting? Tucker: Speaking of lovers, were you two bisexu- Church: Shut the fuck up Tucker! Look just explain from the beginning, don't care how long, just say it. Weiss: ... Fine if that's to prevent you guys from asking me again and again in the future, so be it. Did I told you guys about the a military academy I studied at before I came to Blood Gulch? Everyone: No. Weiss: Of course. Anyways, me and... that girl, were for a lack for a better word, partners. Kaikaina: Hell yeah, I knew you guys were lovers! Church: She's not referring to that kind of 'partnership'! Weiss: Our relationship was somewhat great if you could say that. Not the brightest girls I know, but she was alright once you get to know her more. Kaikaina: Kinda reminds me of this girl I knew before coming here. Tucker: She a friend? Kaikaina: Nah we fucked, literally. Tucker: Woo baby! Weiss: Would you mind? Tucker: Sorry. Church: So how did your relationship go downhill? Weiss: Oh you would not believe what I've been through. One day, we were posted at this base on a planetoid as part of our final assignment. I think it's called Amity. Anyways the job was simple, follow your superior's orders and make sure no unathorized personal gets in. Everything was fine for the first week. Soldiers talking around, complaining about the weather, you name it. Tucker: Is it me, or does this story sounded familiar? Church: Shh! Weiss: Me and my partner weren't together most of the time there cause we were given two different orders. She patrols around the base while I sit in the server room, keeping away not only unauthorized intruders but 'undisciplined' hands as well. I mean who would be watching porn in a state of the art archive machine? Not only are they disgusting like Tucker,- Tucker: Hey! Weiss: -but they have arrogantly ignore their duties and- Church: Schnee? Hate to remind you but, this isn't a therapy session. Weiss: Sorry. Anyway, I kept away undisciplined hands from the server room.

Transition fade to flashback

Amity guard 01: Oh come on honey, just one download. Pleeeeaaaassee! Weiss: No. Amity guard 02: Look kid. There's nothing to do but standing around here and talk all day. Some of us have already died of boredom! Weiss: And since when did that happen, 'sir'? Amity guard 02: Uhm... last Tuesday. Weiss: That incident? He didn't die of boredom! He just slipped and broke his neck upon impact. Plus he's still alive! I can't believe you all here. You're supposed to be soldiers fighting for your government and still you act like conscripts from the past! Amity guard 01: Hey don't blame us, blame human nature.

And that's when the base shooked. Space pirates. One of the guards I talked to started panicking.

Amity guard 02: OH MY GOD, WE'RE BEING ATTACKED! WE'RE DOOMED!!!

Every guard in the room rushed out until the commander called me. He ordered me to collect all the data to prevent them from falling into enemy hands, so I did what I was told. Once I got the data, I was to rendezvous at the landing bays to be evacuated. On the way to the bay, I came across my partner along with some guy she's carrying over he shoulders.

Weiss: Ruby, what's going on? Ruby: I don't know! Some guys just came out of nowhere and start blowing up the place. Command ordered us to fight back before reinforcements arrive. Weiss: Well go and stop them. Ruby: We can't! These guys are heavily armed and we're loosing a lot of men! Our top priority now is getting everybody out of here! Weiss: Command's new orders? Ruby: Nope. Weiss: Then who's order is that? Ruby: Uhm... mine? Weiss: WHAT?! Ruby: Look just help us out and we'll explain to command later. Weiss: I can't, I have to get out of here! I'm carrying the base's data and is highly important that I evacuate immediately. Ruby: What?! What about everyone here? We can't just leave them to die here!

That's when I got shot in the arm. My partner started fighting the intruders back while I run off to the landing bays to keep the data safe. It was miracle the landing bay wasn't attacked yet and so I manage to escape safely. The data was secured but the base, not so much. We've lost half our men that day and everything stored there was either looted or destroyed.

Transition slide out of flashback

Tucker: So... what happened afterwards? Did you get a medal? Weiss: I did. They gave me a Colonial Cross for my bravery. But after what happenedback there... sigh... I didn't manage to get the scores I needed. THANKS TO HER THAT IS! Church: Is that why you're pissed at her? The scores? Weiss: You have no idea how important it was to get those scores and our pride! If she hadn't just followed her orders and stop those pirates. Things would've gone smoothly! But nooooooooooooo! She just had to disobey her orders and started evacuating people as many as possible. If she had rally them to fight instead, everything would've gone different! DAMN HER! I'M GLAD SHE DIDN'T GET A MEDAL OF HONOR! AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S WORST? SHE CALLED ME A DESERTER. DESERTER! I WAS ONLY DOING MY DUTY! ARRRGH! I'm sorry I got carried away again. Once I recovered my wounds, she renounced our partnership right at my face! Well that's good for me. Hmph! Church: *whistle* This is a lot like my relationship with Tex. So what will you do now that you and her saw one another? Weiss: Something I've should have done long after we split. DESTROY HER!

Weiss pulls off her most angry face, but not as fierce Ruby's demonic anger but still... *Suspenseful stinger music*

Weiss: Nonono, that method is just too simple. Hmmmmm... or maybe!... nonono, torture's too barbaric. Tucker: Wow she really is pissed with that Red. Church, if you're still pissed at Tex, would you guys try to forgive each other? Church: Yeah right! That bitch isn't the type of girl to say 'sorry' to anyone, even me! Kaikaina: Plus she's a Red. Tucker: And your brother? Kaikaina: Wha? I won't kill him. Weiss: But he's a Red. Caboose: Psst! Church?

Church hears Caboose's voice as everyone else were busy talking to each other. He turns to see the private peeking behind the door. Wonder why he isn't coming inside, no matter at least he may have some update on the Red's construction. He leaves the room and hears what Caboose has got to say.

Church: What's the update on the Reds? Caboose: Oh it's fine, but it's just... let's not let Weiss see it. Church: Why? Caboose: Well the thing is... do you know those times when teenagers drew something about their teacher just to mock them? Church: Yeah kids have become total assholes these days. Wait what does this got to do with the sign... Caboose:... Church: ...You're not saying what I think you're saying? Caboose: Weiss won't like it! She'll cry if she sees it! Church: Why would she cry... look wait here and give me back my sniper rifle. I'm going to take a look at it myself.

Church leaves Caboose and heads straight to the roof. With him gone, it's time for our beloved Caboose to check on Weiss.

Caboose: Hi, Weiss! Weiss: Hey, Michael. Where's Church? Caboose: Oh he just needed to take a potty. A potty! Hehehe. Weiss: At least he should tell before he left... so you're saying you won't kill your brother? Kaikaina: Duh we're family! If Mom finds out I shot him, I'd be in serious trouble. Tucker: How is she gonna find out? It's not like she's can hear her son's scream light years away, that's physically impossible. Kaikaina: Actually she can. Tucker: Wait she can- Caboose, you okay buddy? Caboose: What? Tucker: Dude, you're staring at the ceiling. Is there something wrong? Caboose: Nothing! Nothing involving the Reds and Weiss won't have to be devastated. Church from the roof: Pfft-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Caboose: Uh oh. Kaikaina: Holy shit! What is that?! Tucker: Giant hyenas? Weiss: As if! Get out, I need to change immediately!

On the Blue Base's roof

The Blues arrived to the scene to see Church collapsed on the floor. He is laughing uncontrollably like a madman from an asylum, why is he laughing? This put a lot of confusion to the Blues, except Caboose who knows what Church has seen at the Red Base.

Weiss: Church, what are you laughing at? Church: Oh Schnee, you're here. Hehehe... nothing to worry about, there's totally nothing to see... pfft! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! HOHOHOHAHAAAAA!!! Tucker: Is Church alright? Caboose: Oh yes, he's alright! He's... uh... infected with laughing disease. Very contagious but not lethal. Tucker: Laughing disease? I've never heard of it before. Caboose: That's cause you're dumb!

Weiss, curious to see what's on the enemy base, take out her binos and see this signboard. To her disgust, the first thing she sees through the binos was a familiar red colored rifle and brunette hair look straight at her. Ruby is looking back at her. She lowers her gun to reveal her angry expression before pointing at something out of the bino's vision. Weiss zooms out and finally sees the 'so-called' signboard and something drawn on it. The first sight of it widened her eyes. It was a drawing her except... it doesn't match her beautiful petite physique. The drawing of her is an ugly round doodle with the writing, 'BIG FAT MEANIE' next atop. As if she really looks like that! Then there's another drawing of three stickmen with stink-lines above them, still being drawn by Donut, with the title friends is added above them. This must be represent Ruby, and her two other teammates. Oh my she's gone too far.

Caboose: Oh no. Weiss seen it. Tucker: Seen what? Church: Hahaha! Take a look.

Tucker looks through the sniper's scope and starts to instantly laughing upon seeing the signboard.

Tucker: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Big fat meanie! HAHAHAHAHA, that's priceless! Kaikaina: Big fat meanie? Let me see.

Kaikaina gets the same results.

Kaikaina: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Tucker: I know right? HAHAHAHA! Caboose: Uhm, guys? Weiss is still here. Church: HAHAHA- Son of a bitch. Tucker: HA- Oh fuck me. Kaikaina: HAHA- Whoops.

Weiss was standing still. She may have heard the commotion behind. The first thing that came in the Blues' head is Weiss screaming at them like the banshee she is till their ears popped and bleed. However to their relief she still keeps her composure.

Caboose: Weiss? Are you okay? Weiss: Get the rocket launcher. Caboose: Okay. Church: Hold on, what are you doing? Weiss: Giving her an example not to mess with me.

At the Red Base

Grif: Will you hurry up? This isn't Ancient Renaissance! Donut: Patience. Art need to be clean and refine, so you can't rush it. Grif: I doubt that's art. Sarge: This ought to give that psychological attack to that Blue. Once she sees this, the guilt will force into her and break her from the inside. Ruby: Thanks, Sarge. You didn't have to do this for me. Sarge: Ah don't mention it. And besides, what that Blue did is UNACCEPTABLE! Hehehe, I wonder what kind of reaction that Blue's going to get when she see this. Simmons: Sir. I think you take a look a this. Sarge: Looks like she's pissed off already.

Ruby and Sarge approached Simmons who had been looking at the Blue base. Simmons hand the rifle to Sarge and the rough Sargeant looks through the scope to see the results of the deserter. To his disappointment, Weiss hasn't gone barmy and it looks like she just fired a rocket... A ROCKET?!

Sarge: CRAZY COWBOY ON A NUCLEAR BOMB, GET DOWN!!!

Everybody ducked following a loud WHOOSH passing them by. That was close! Had that rocket hit the concrete, it would've cause a lot of dama- never mind. The drawing, which Donut had worked so much on, is now a large ripped hole!

Donut: NOOOOOOO!!! I haven't painted it yet! Ruby: GGRRRR... WEISSSS!!! Sarge: Dagnabbit, you destructive vandals! You may have spared the signboard but you should never have taken out the drawing!

Back at the Blue Base

That shot put a smile on Weiss. Sure the rocket didn't exploded as predicted, but at least the rocket got rid of the tarp.

Weiss: That's what you get, Rose. Okay so who's up for breakfast? Everyone but Church: Me!

Caboose, Tucker and Kaikaina rush down the stairs, leaving Weiss and Church alone on the roof.

Weiss: Did I just provoked the Reds and caused another attack? Church: Kind of, though I doubt most of them have the mood to attack today. Heh, you know you sure kinda remind me of Tex. Weiss: Who? Church: My girlfriend. The way you acted and talked is somewhat like her, except she more of a crazy bitch than you. Weiss: Girlfriend huh? I don't hear you talking to anyone through the lines. Church: That's cause she's dead. Weiss: Oh... I'm... sorry. I didn't mean to. Church: Nah it's alright. We broke up a long time ago. Sigh, I still miss our arguments. But enough of that, let's get some grub. So you can cook? Weiss: A bit. My butler back home taught me a thing or two about making steak. If you got the meat of course. Church: Well hate to break it you, but we only have canned food. Wait you're rich?! Weiss: Yeah but not the life you'd expect.

A/N: That's the end of this story arc, now that you know why Ruby and Weiss now hate each other. Sorry it couldn't be longer.

[iknikblackstonevarrick]

TYE/Descendants AU

I recently pirated Descendants three like Uma would have wanted and it very much solidified in my mind the headcanons for a Young Elites AU that i’ve had since the second movie. Now I’ll preface the rest of this with the fact that you could make a very decent Enzolina AU with Adelina as Mal and Enzo as Ben, but I ask you this: does anyone still stan Enzolina in the year 2019?

Raffaele<->Mal (stay with me)

Enzo<->Ben

Violetta<->Evie

Gemma<->Carlos

Lucent<->Jay

Maeve<->Lonnie

Michel<->Jane

Daphne<->Audrey

Dante<-> Chad Charming

You might think it’s unfair to peg Daphne as Audrey but we know literally nothing about Daphne so everything’s fair, also I like Audrey and I like Daphne(as a concept) it’s not meant as a slight

SO here’s the gist of the AU cause I always have to justify my AUs: 

Giulietta caught the fever instead of Enzo and she was too old to survive, so she’s dead and Enzo isn’t an Elite

Instead Enzo’s father remained King

So this king, another character we know nothing about, decides that the Young Elites are a potential public danger and judges them based on their power. The ones he deems relatively benign (Michel, Dante) are allowed to remain unhindered while the dangerous ones (Gemma, Lucent, Adelina, Raffaele [The power to make most people fall head-over-heels in love with you is very dangerous on all levels except for physical, and even then a little bit]) and their families are moved to a Isle of the Lost-style penal colony to live in isolation

fast forward five years, Enzo comes of age and it’s time for him to become king. He was never a fan of this system and decides he’s going to bring four of these ‘dangerous’ Elites at a time to live with him in the palace so he can judge them himself

There aren’t really evil parents in this one (except for Adelina and Violetta but we’ll get there), the plan on the Dagger/VKs part was for Raffaele to spell Enzo with his powers and make him release everyone. There’s gotta be some kind of wand-object that can release all the Young Elites for plot’s sake, maybe Michel made something magic for the king?

Anyway the problem with that plan is woops Raffaele actually falls for Enzo! And starts to feel really bad about using his powers on him!

He asks Violetta to use her power on Enzo which I’m deciding once again for plot contrivance would destroy the effect of his power; this takes the place of the anti-love potion brownie

Violetta accidentally deploys her power too early (in the carriage like in the movie) but Enzo’s like lol I figured but I genuinely like you? I can say that for a fact now that the magic’s gone

Idk how we’d manage to have a dragon fight in this one I think Jane!Michel still grabs the wand because of low self-esteem and Raffaele grabs it away from him and everyone gasps in panic like they do in the movie, he ALMOST DOES IT but the other three convene together and they have a Moment like the VKs do at the end of D1 before they decide to give the wand back

And then, y’know, they have a dance party

SO that’s the first movie I know what you’re thinking “Why isn’t Adelina Mal?” Because: the Roses are the pirates

Adelina<->Uma

Magiano<->Harry Hook

Sergio<->Gil

I was really tempted to make Magiano Uma and Adelina Harry because their personalities line up so much better, but role-wise this works a lot better

Watch the boat scene at the end of Descendants 2 and tell me it could not be a g-rated version of the boat scene at the end of The Rose Society, with Adelina/Uma controlling Enzo/Ben for her own gain and Raffaele/Mal snapping him out of it

That said in It’s Goin’ Down (a different boat scene from the boat scene i just mentioned) Magiano sings Uma’s part and Adelina sing’s Harry’s part because the part where Harry goes on about how he CAN and WILL kill Ben is very Adelina and not Magiano at all. Also the rest of the song i think just fits better that way. this song was one of my biggest points of contention for almost making Magiano Uma and Adelina Harry 

You KNOW pirate Adelina has a cool eyepatch too no question

Now you might be thinking ‘Raffaele is very good at fitting in and being polite in court where does the insecurity about not being right for Enzo and dragging him down politically and socially that Mal gets at the beginning of D2 come from?” Homosexuality 

Raffaele thinks he’s gonna jeopardize Enzo’s claim to the throne if they stay together so he runs back to the Isle and Enzo and the gang go get him, y’know, like the plot of Descendants 2

So some Rose Pirate backstory: Adelina ran away from her father in the chaos of their relocation to the Isle. Violetta didn’t follow her in order to quell their father’s wrath and try and stop him from going after Adelina, but Adelina sees it as her choosing him over her

Adelina makes it on her own for a while until she meets Magiano, recently trapped here by the Inquisition and VERY chagrined about it

They try to use their powers to escape several times to no avail, but they bond during the experience and decide to go it together

Shortly afterward they meet Sergio, who owns the fish-and-chip shop that becomes their base of operations. at this point theyre like 14 and he’s seventeen, he grows fond of these kids who keep making a ruckus in his dumb shop and offers to let them stay there for permanents if they’ll help out around the place

Martino Amouteru locates Adelina after she sets down roots and tries to drag her ‘home’. When Sergio sees him try to lay hands on her he pins him to a wall, gives him a gash on his arm, and threatens to cut his whole hand off if he ever tries to touch her again. Martino turns and runs and Adelina never encounters him again

Magiano and Adelina do similar light teasing on Sergio to how Uma and Harry tease Gil but Sergio’s not dumb he knows theyre just like that sometimes

so the roses start gaining ‘territory’ on the Isle and eventually butt heads with Raffaele and the Daggers, especially when they see he’s recruited Violetta

she wants them all to be friends but no one else does, so the two societies become rivals instead. Violetta sticks with the Daggers, if only because Adelina doesn’t make it seem like she’s very welcome in the Roses (she’s still mad)

so flash forward back to the second movie, Sergio sees Enzo there with Violetta Gemma and Lucent and reports back to Adelina immediately

the Roses kidnap Enzo and Magiano taunts the Daggers about it. If Magiano’s a little more willing to get his hands dirty in this AU it’s because he is VERY stir crazy in here on this island for four years

Adelina strikes the deal with Raffaele that Enzo gets to live if Raffaele brings her the wand so she can get everyone off this island

Raffaele reluctantly agrees with no real choice in the matter. All the Daggers go back to Estenzia and get Michel to make them a fake wand so they can get Enzo back without handing the Roses all that power

Meanwhile the Roses expect foul play. Adelina and Enzo have the same kinda conversation Uma and Ben have in the movie, but it ends when Magiano can sense the Daggers powers in range again. He copies Raffaele's power and makes Enzo fall in love with Adelina as a contingency plan

We already discussed the it’s goin’ down scene, I love it

They basically just have to grab Enzo and run after they bring him over cause they realize the wand’s fake pretty quick. There’s no talking dog scene

When we get to the boat scene, Violetta figures out that Magiano and Adelina spelled Enzo pretty soon after Adelina comes out, and she has to hard reset Raffaele’s power to free Enzo again but they do the true love’s kiss thing too and it’s great and gay

Oh and y’know how Lumiere’s there at the end? Like just hanging out? That’s Teren. In case you were wondering about him he’s not important in this one he’s just hanging around not being awful because Giulietta doesn’t exist anymore

Adelina still gets away and teases the third movie while the Daggers have another dance party

I’ve spent far too much time on this tonight but I can and will come back with the AU summary of D3. I’ll tell you this right now Magiano and Adelina DO kiss and the D3 writers are cowards for not letting Huma do so

[darksiderssin]

Post Apocalyptic Slowburn feat. Horsemen

WOW THIS TOOK ME LONG ENOUGH. Super long post, so I’ll stick it under a cut so you don’t have to scroll forever XD

War: The fact that you've survived despite your planet being dead for the good part of a century has impressed the guy right off the bat. Not so much the Watcher, but War is adamant you stay with him- initially to prove to the Council that humanity isn't extinct and strengthen his case. Then you start having each other's back- you are vicious with that machete and Chaoseater is never too far from neatly bifurcating whatever's out to eat you. He's blunt when he tells you why your world ended, and you admit that it's not cool that this was pinned on him just because he was the closest person at the time, and War comes to treasure your loyalty like you treasure having him for a companion. You have a solid friendship already going on here. 

By the time the Chosen are dealt with, War doesn't expect you to blindly follow him into the Black Tower for his rematch with Straga and grudge match with the Destroyer, but you do. Your bond is only strengthened by Azrael's confession that the Apocalypse was a mistake, so you are 100% down to help him fight Abaddon. Afterwards, it's just kinda natural that you stay together- you have work to do. 

If your first kiss as a couple took a while, then you'll have to wait for one of your more calmer moments to get it on. No Watcher to taunt him now, no Council out to vindicate him- War knows what's coming next. You sit beside him, leaning on his shoulder and holding his arm gently as he admits that despite everything, despite the fact that he's ready for whatever comes next, he is terrified of losing you. That night is spent with your bodies intertwined in a way you know the Horseman just needs, but he's so scared that he might break you in half that you have to talk him through it the whole time, reassuring him and giving him praise. The look in those eyes as he takes you is a mix of feral lust and deep devotion that makes your loins twinge in just the right way, and the growled curses in Abyssal against your ear is enough to send you over the edge. You spend the rest of the night sleeping in an exhausted pile of tangled limbs, but it's a moment of peace you both deserve. 

Fury: She absolutely didn't want you around at first. Why you didn't just go to Haven was beyond the Black Rider's comprehension, but you don't get in the way, you're smarter than you look, and you're not a bad shot with a bow and arrow- if you're lucky, you might catch Fury musing aloud how archery is a dying art among other races and that it's refreshing to see it still practiced by humans. ("What was that?" "Shut it and keep walking.") It becomes nice to have you around, though; your reassurance against the taunts of the Seven is strangely comforting, almost, especially when you say you don't know why they call her the dumb one and mention that it's pretty rude. 

Speaking of the Seven, hearing them say awful things about how they want to eat you or something along those lines pisses Fury off to no end. Like no, that's her emotional support human, get fucked. Especially when Pride has the nerve to insult her further for "cavorting with the dustborn mongrels"- at least you have a clapback for it that takes Fury by surprise. It definitely knocks Pride's ego down more than a few notches when she's lying defeated with your arrows sticking out of her, But when the masks fall away, you tried to save Fury from Envy, and Envy took you away as a result as the Horseman fell. Fury's mega pissed when she sees that Envy has you chained like her brother was as she assaults the Council.

After it's over, and Fury has ferried the last of the humans at Haven away to safety, she admits that she was terrified of losing you. Now that you both have a moment alone, she's holding you to her chest and making sure Envy didn't hurt you. She finds a few marks and grumbles about it, even when you insist that it's not that bad and it'll heal. "She took what was mine," Fury growls, then captures your lips in a kiss. If you thought Envy left a mark, you're in for a ride, my friend; there's no real method, none of her usual dominatrix posturing, this is her boasting to her deceased enemy that she tried to take away her cherished human, the one who made her want to change, and failed. She's not giving you a moment to breathe, and you get sucked into the frenzied, feral, "holy-shit-we-survived" sex that leaves you both covered in hickeys, and you're pretty sure you passed out at some point. Sure, you've got a temporary colony to set up in the morning, but you crazy kids earned this. 

Strife: You know him as Jones, the mild-mannered man of few words that you ran into on your way to the big-ass tree in the middle of Manhattan. He asked if you were alone, and when you explained that it was just you and where you were heading, he asked if he could tag along, since a giant tree isn't something you see every day. You talked about yourselves on the way, but you didn't glean much from his brief answers; middle child, two brothers and a sister, not a local by any standards. You brushed it off as him being a tourist when things literally went to hell in a hand basket and let it go. Ulthane and the other two Makers welcomed you both warmly, and you settled in with the others, finding your place to sleep. You noticed that Jones looked amazed that there were still so many humans alive after everything- you joked about needing a bigger tree, considering a tree this big would draw way more people, given time, and you might run out of room. With time, though, you'd started to pick up on things that he said that gave you the impression that he was a total fish out of water; not knowing about Chuck Norris jokes, or any of the TV shows that had been on before the world ended, and it seemed like he'd never picked up a book, either. You guessed that he was just raised a certain way and left it at that- you just didn't have the heart to ask. 

It was one day while you were out hunting together, when you got jumped by a pack of Stalkers. Just your luck, your gun jammed, and you had no idea how to fix it. But just as you'd resigned yourself to the fate of being a lesser demon's chew toy, you heard gunshots ring out next to you- you had no clue where they came from, but Jones was holding two ornate pistols that blasted huge holes in the heads of the Stalkers and didn't seem to run out of bullets. When the smoke cleared, you didn't let it go- he was going to tell you what happened right now. Jones tried to tell you that you didn't want to know, but you were his friend, and he knew you wouldn't stop until you knew the truth. So he showed you. You were sworn to secrecy, but you felt you could trust him more now that you knew who he really was under the mask of a grizzled man in his late thirties, and it showed. Everyone joked about how close you two were getting and you nearly spat your stew across the room when someone asked when the wedding was one night over dinner. Jones took it in good jest, though- but wow, if you two weren't thinking about it later.

He did sleep with you, but it wasn't at Haven. You two were out on a run for supplies and any other things that could be useful to Ulthane or the others when you found what was left of one of the big hotels in town. There had to be stuff in the old safes here that the rich folk left behind when the End came, one being one of the mattresses in the suites that could fit like three people on it, and it was in pretty good nick. Maybe out of some childish impulse or lack of thought, you thought it'd be hilarious to tackle him onto the mattress. After he got over the initial shock and realised you were playing around, you both had a friendly wrestle on the mattress, laughing and rolling around until he let the facade fall away, pinning you down. You could feel his smirk under his mask before he took it off and tossed it aside, capturing your lips as your play-wrestling took a more intimate turn. I mean, no better way to break in a mattress, right?

Death: He was surprised, but elated to find you after stopping some of the Phantom Guard from pulling you out of your hidey hole. Gently as he could manage, he coaxed you into coming out to talk. You were alone, no clue where your friends had gone, and moreover, you were lost. You offered to help the Horseman look for the pieces of the Rod of Arafel, but you weren't sure where you would go after that. Begrudgingly, Death offered to take you with him (a poorly worded statement either way from someone named Death) so he could take you somewhere where you would be safe and protected- and most importantly, you wouldn't be lonely. At this point, anywhere sounded better than Earth, so you went with him. Then, the Pale Rider noticed something with you- not so much on your part as it was his, but...what was this old, familiar feeling? He thought he was being protective because he'd promised to get you to safety, but now he had these thoughts of staying with you. But War...

The more you convinced Death to tell you more of his family, you came to see another side of him- a side that was selfless and wholly prepared to sacrifice for his siblings. You found that quite endearing, that he seemed so human beneath the mask. He made you swear not to repeat any of what was said, but you knew that was a good thing. He was starting to trust you more, enough so that he'd started to take your perspective into consideration when you two were presented with obstacles or challenges, or listen to any random tidbit of trivia or a memory with interest. You wondered if it was love or if you were reading too much into it, and secretly Death wondered the same thing. He was beating around the bush when it came to figuring it out, but it wasn't like he was doubting it, gently brushing his knuckles against your arm as you slept next to him.

Death has to admit it- away from prying eyes. Really, it's the last thing he does, and he knows it's going to be cruel when he has to leave you behind, but he really wants to get back to you someday- time progresses differently depending on the realm you're in, after all. That's why he has to come clean to you. You're not sure how it happened, but you're so close, your body pressed against his chest. You reach up to remove the mask barring access to his lips, but his hands catch yours. "No." It's not said to scorn you, it's a request that shows his vulnerability- you're not sure where it comes from, but with his hands so attentive to your body's aching need, you can forgive him. Lying in the afterglow of your completion, Death feels an ache in his chest. He feels the crushing weight of his duty to War, to his siblings. One day, he hopes, you can forgive him for having to put you second.

[thebestpartofwakingup]

Cool MGS finale idea

I’m just spitting out ideas

-like 2024 or 2028. Sunny has grown into a brilliant young woman and has advanced well in her engineering career, now the CEO of a large organization that’s partnering with the UN and successfully sponsored the moon habitizatoon project

-yeah this game takes place primarily on the moon in like a cool solar punk lunar city and yes Sunny is the protagonist/player character

-I want the intro/tutorial to be SUPER life is strange-y. Meet Sunny’s friends. Her totally not evil buisness partner. Annoying man You have to save later who is like a doomsday MRA and like parrots a lot of Kaz and Big Boss from PW and TPP but it’s played as like a joke. Like who would ever listen to such a maniac lol

-something something happens and sunny realizes she has like powers maybe? Or she sees something weird. A little while later in her day she runs into an ocelot. Must have escaped from the zoo

-oh fuck it’s talking. Wait. What the fuck is a spirit medium. Huh???? I thought witches got black cats not ocelots???

-“WE ARENT WITCHES”

-anyways this ocelot wants to help you investigate a cult that like is into ghosts and black magic and just got their hands on a gun that has a high spirit value

-ocelot tells you it’s because mortals can’t really hurt ghosts but that gun can kill ghosts by like vaporizing them

-people in cults aren’t in their right mind and who knows what they’re doing you should investigate

-first espionage level/mission yeah! Get inside the base. Fun mechanic where sunny can control ocelot like a missle because she like ours a camera on him or can possess him or something. Can sneak into smaller areas and stuff

-cult mini bosses are like the stages of grief. Acceptance is like you literally letting Sunny die. But now she’s even more powerful and like can talk to ghosts and stuff.

-you get the gun and uh oh Ocelot takes his true form and monologues for a bit about his plan to descend the world into total war or something. Sunny unloads all 6 bullets into him as he walks slowly towards her and calmly takes it from her

-“b-but you said this gun can shoot ghosts!” “I lied. I’m just rather fond of it is all”

-uh oh

-sunny runs back to her lab to like see if she has ANY notes or anything to like try and fight this or even identify who that WAS she has NO idea what’s going on!

-turns the lights on an a woman she doesn’t recognize is standing of the middle of the room scowling “what the fuck have you done��

-sunny gets shaken a bit (just like Huey in MGS) before the boss calms down and listens to her frantically explain that she has NO idea what’s going on. “You’ve assisted a great evil, one I hoped was qualmed a long time ago” “but the gun isn’t even magic! I-I didn’t even do anything!” And some explanation about how because of his connection to it Ocelot needs his revolver to like. Be at full power or have his regular form and not have to possess animals.

-sunny insists she’s not evil and the boss snaps at her about how nobody with such wealth, especially someone who fronts such a powerful company, while people back on earth go without, can not possibly be good people. But she sees that sunny is shaken and lets her go, saying to meet her at a map coordinate later if she really wants to prove herself. Otherwise the boss will deal with these matters alone

-sunny calls/visits Hal and like tells him everything and he like sighs and says they hoped she’d never get involved and they talk about snake a little and he takes her to their secret like. War office. With all these photos and news clippings in the events from the last 5 games and like tapes and discs and stuff. Sunny is able to pick both revolver ocelot and the woman she saw out in old newspaper pictures

-“that man and woman were very close to your grandfather—the one we don’t talk about” “you mean Dr—“ “—No your OTHER grandfather we never talk about” “...I have another grandfather?” “Exactly”

-brief (and maybe not entirely accurate) recap on MGS3, MGS4 and MGS5

-sunny goes to like an abandoned Kmart or something to meet the boss. The boss explains CQC and there’s a tutorial fight and you learn like the controls and the difference between punching a ghost and a non ghost (it’s like you have to hold R or something)

-sunny realizes she’s gonna be late to big buisness talk and the boss gives you this game’s codec. Called ‘dead air’ this is how you contact her and other ghosts. Sunny has like a regular phone or something for non ghosts. Dead air has a function where you can tune it to the channels of characters from other games who we can presume are now dead and like. Hear one of their codec lines and it’s all spooky. 666.66 is just Huey screaming in pain.

-buisness partner talks about how they’re working on a tourist thing to take people to Jupiter. Afterwards sunny is approached by her friends, another engineer/astrophysicist names like Luna or Nova or something, and an Android who is like really into history and like fanboys over the boss when sunny introduces her

-something something ocelot needs to kill people to gain power. Raiden has a sword that can injure ghosts/make them leave. Learn to banish ghosts back to ghost world. Talk about how you might be able to build a mech or metal gear that could destroy ghosts completely but you need ghost energy

-get ghost energy by replaying levels from older MGS games in the ghost zone. The levels are shorter and emptier and you’re just running through to like. Fight the metal gears.

-boss explains that one could kill ghosts for soul energy but that seems unethical but sometimes things that aren’t alive have souls of like. Their memory or whatever so you can get soul energy from metal gears

-mechanic where sunny can find momentous from the other games, ocelots bullet necklace, snakes bandana, Liquids dog tags, etc, and she can equip them on missions and get a little bonus in a stat

-plot twist where sunny finds out that the boss lied. The souls energy from metal gears is the souls of the lives they took.

-ocelot shows up at the lunar Olympics cause it’s a way to stay conflict between nations. Espionage your way into the field and then fight a bunch of classic metal gears by getting them to target eachother. Confront ocelot and he kills one of your friends and flees.

-subplot about space pirates trying to usurp Sunny’s company.

-subplot about like. Werewolves who are worried about how the moon becoming a cultural and political and economic super power will fuck them over

-learn ocelot is gonna crash the space tour bus to Jupiter so everyone dies and blame it on sunny so he’s free to do his shit and she loses everything in an act of revenge

-oops buisness man intended for everyone to die the whole time. The ship is called the titanic or something

-espionage onto the ship and stuff and save everyone and confront ocelot. Mini bosses are ocelot from different games. Big dramatic entrance for ghost ocelot. It’s a stalemate. You regenerate health as he attacks you and as a ghost he just revives endlessly. Dialogue about like the endless nature of war and fighting and this is the whole point and he’s never going to stop fighting if it’s what will impose big boss’s vision on the world

-“i think that’s enough now” a form kind of blacked out by the light slowly walks towards you from the end of the hall, morphing through the different models of big boss through the games and ending with naked snake. “You don’t have to fight anymore” even the boss gasps.

-he and ocelot argue “no boss don’t you see we are so close, the endless cycle of war! I promised I’d never stop fighting for you” “I shouldn’t have asked that from you it was too much, I’m sorry” “tHE REAL JOHN WOULD NEVER APOLOGIZE HE WOULD NEVER BACK DOWN HE WOULD NEVER SAY–“ “I’m sorry for that too,” ocelot steps back slightly, clearly crying softly now in disbelief. Sunny steps forwards to try and break them up. The boss stops her

-“no no....how could it be?!” “Wise woman once said the spirit of a legend can live long after they’re gone”

-“b-but i thought this is what you–“ “I thought so too. But our time has passed and so is the time to fight. But you fought for me longer than I expected, longer than I did, I’m proud of you”

-did a split second with the change in camera angle ocelot isn’t himself. He isn’t liquid ocelot or old man ocelot or DD ocelot or Major ocelot, hes even younger than that. For an instance. Just a boy. Nobody’s ever said they were proud of him before. Throws his arms around snake and is warmly welcomed, camera cuts and when it cuts back and they pull away slightly he’s major ocelot. They sit together for a moment, cooling off, John comments on how tiny the earth looks. How even he feels small. Before standing and offering ocelot a hand, an invitation back to the afterlife. This time together.

-ocelot grasps it but their hands aren’t touching. They’re melding. Ocelot seems puzzled but John chuckles and mentions how this time they’re definitely sticking together no matter what. Before they walk away and fade into nothing, leaving the boss and sunny alone in the dark hall as the ship begins to approach Jupiter

-they don’t comment on what just transpired. Boss only jokes lightly about how she was technically the first woman in space. Sunny catches her up on space news. Jokes about how unfortunately ghosts don’t count as first or else the boss would be the first woman to also gravitate around Jupiter. Boss mentions that makes Sunny the first to, since everyone else already left.

-sunny gives a speech to the UN about history and the truth and the importance of personal responsibility and not repeating cycles so the moon and future space colonies cannot be built on oppressive economic models and everyone claps

-game ends on a cut scene with her and Otacon at a graveyard visiting solid snake. Otacon comments how he likes to think that the spirits appreciate their visits. Sunny spots a grey eyed pale cat and they both tilt their heads at eachother and sunny comments back that she thinks so to.

-game ends with a time paradox: cycle of war has been ended that fades into solid snake’s spirit congratulating the player/sunny for doing so.

-credits