#lieutenant Simmons

[packet-of-staples]

It is an absolute CRIME that there are not more episodes with Lieutenant Simmons. She is the sweetest funniest little gal and I want to know more about her!!!

Like, just look at her!!

Shes like if a bunny was a person!! It should be illegal to be that adorable and silly and not get more screen time, ILLEGAL I SAY!!

[gardens-light]

Stowaway

Under the guidance of a former Decepticon, Sam Witwicky and his friends traveled across the plains of Egypt with Bumblebee and the Autobot twins. In search for a mysterious Cybertronian artifact- The Matrix of Leadership. Their plan? To reach the artifact before the Decepticons do, and bring back Optimus. Yet back at N.E.S.T, your heartbeat pulsed within your eardrums and thoughts swirled around in your mind. Struggling to make sense of everything, as your world begun to cave in from all corners. All the while, Director Galloway's grip tightened as the events slowly begun to unfold. Could your stubbornness and determine attitude, work alongside with N.E.S.T and their allies in achieving the impossible odds? Or... have the Decepticons cunning finally outsmarted the Autobots?

Context: Events takes place in 'Transformers- Revenge of the Fallen'. Major film spoilers. Reader Insert. Mild Coarse Language. Autobot Ratchet x F/Human Reader.

Inspired Song: Stay- Ari Abdul

Series- The Intern: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 5 (Coming soon)

Word Count: 4,900

Diego Garcia. 5:30pm.

With your military duffle bag slung over your shoulder, your heart sunk deeper as your saddened gaze watched Director Galloway's men escort the Autobot's to the nearby C-17 plane. A frown forming upon your lips, as the Autobot's were confined to their altmodes.

"You... can't let Galloway do this." Concern filled your tone, as you approached Lennox and Lieutenant Smith. "This is a mistake and you know it."

"You think I don't know that?" Lennox sighed, lowly shaking his head. "Believe me, I've tried talking him out of this. But the Director is stuck so far up his own ass, that he just won't listen. And I... don't know what else to do-"

"Something! We have to do something! Surely, you have a plan? An idea? You always do in times like this!-"

"I-I've got nothing, Valkyrie..." a nervous knot twisted the major's stomach, running a hand through his short brunette locks. "I've talked to every contact, every politician, and every military official that I know... and every one of them don't have enough clearance to override Galloway's orders." Lennox's hand ran down his tired features. "Honestly, I don't know what to do... and that's never happened before..."

"I'm not leaving till you tell me you have something!-"

Lieutenant Smith's brows knitted together, a frown forming upon his lips. His gaze stern but filled with concern and understanding. "Listen, we know you want to help the Autobots, hell, I do too... but don't go thinking you can just defy a Director's orders and stay. We can't lose you on top of everything else-"

"Major Lennox!" a nearby soldier interrupted. Standing outside of the main hangar. "Phone call, sir."

The major raised an eyebrow, looking over his shoulder. Now what?

A heavy sigh escaped him. "I... should probably take this..." taking a step away from you, his unamused expression briefly fell upon you. "And please... don't go and do anything stupid."

I know you wouldn't just step aside and allow this to happen, Lennox.

Your gaze softened slightly, while you discreetly eyed the nearby C-17 plane in your peripheral vision. And you should know that I won't either...

Lieutenant Smith cocked his head to the side, giving you a puzzled expression. As tender smile replaced your frown, your words coming out in an almost sickly, sweet tone. "Of course not..."

A fellow soldier silently gestured to an unhooked landline phone, which sat upon the desk within the communications area of the main hangar.

The major took a deep breath, before speaking into the receiver. "This is Lennox. Who am I speaking to?"

"Lennox. I'm with the kid. The kid. Y'know, the one with the attitude, right?"

Agent Simmons? Briefly pulling the phone away from his ear, staring down at the receiver in confusion. "What?-"

"Listen. We need the truck. The truck." Despite his casual tone, Lennox could hear the nervous waver within his old friend's hinted yet decrypted words. "We've got a possible resurrection going on over here- you're not gonna believe where we are. Code Tut, as in King Tutankhamun. Coordinates for airdrop, 29.5 North, 34.88 East. Write it down! Write it!- Shit! Shit! The heat's on! Gotta go! Gotta-"

Lennox puzzled gaze looked back down at the receiver, as Agent Simmons' sentence was abruptly ended with a harsh 'click.' Slowly placing the phone back onto its holder, taking a moment of pause as Lieutenant Smith approached.

"More shit to add on our plate?"

The major's eyes flickered towards his comrade, "um... actually I've received a tip from an old friend... Sam might be able to bring Prime back-"

"Coordinates, 29.5 North, 34.88 East." A fellow N.E.S.T soldier interrupted, sliding a map across the table towards Lennox that had the location circled in red marker. "Tip of the Red Sea. Gulf of Aqaba."

"Egypt?" Smith scoffed, his tone dripping in sarcasm. "Are you serious?"

"The Autobots has done alot for us during these past few years, Lieutenant." Lennox muttered. "What kind of allies would we be, if we didn't do this one thing for them?"

"Look... even if we could figure out a way to get Big Man over there. How's this little kid supposed to bring him back to life?"

"I don't know... But we gotta trust him." Hang on... something's... missing... "Where's Valkyrie?"

"She left while you were on the phone." Smith sighed, kicking the ground and shoving his hands into his pockets.

Well... it was nice having her around while it lasted. "Did she... say anything?"

"Only that... 'it was great seeing you again.' And that, 'the Autobots would be an experience she'll never forget.' Oh... and that she's sorry."

She'd... apologized? A small frown came to Lennox's lips. That doesn't sound like her. Not when she's been firm and opinionated with her actions, like she has been recently.

Raising an eyebrow, his voice became tenser. "What do you mean, she apologized?"

But his comrade simply shrugged, "she... didn't specify..."

A heavy sigh escaped Lennox, while rubbing his temples. Your vague apology just didn't sit right with him. Something was definitely off.

"I... don't worry about it. Just... prepare to follow my lead, when I give the signal." Lennox's gaze met Smith's amused expression. "I have a plan." And... I'd really want to know what Valkyrie is up to.

---

The C-17's engines roared through the turbulent skies, the aircraft pushing hard against the heavy winds. Optimus' still form laid in the centre of the dimly lit cargo hold, as the tension within the air was palpable. Only punctured by the occasional rattle of equipment strapped down nearby.

Tucked in an impossibly cramped space beneath a row of seats, which hugged right side of the plane. Attempting to keep your breathes even, while hugging your knees tightly. Feeling every bone rattling jolt and turn of the plane's ascent, as the metal flooring pressed uncomfortably into your back. Occasionally shifting your weight slightly, keeping yourself as inconspicuous as possible.

"We've had an engine malfunction." Your eyes snapped open, staring at Lennox's seat above you in fear, as the pilots calm tone spoke over the P.A. "We're gonna have to divert to SOCCENT-"

"What?" Lennox groaned. Looking around the cargo hold, pretending to awaken from a nap.

"Flight Master, let's lighten the load and prepare to bailout-"

"All right, team. Grab your chutes!" the major directed. "Remember the standard safety procedure! Check your gear, before assisting others. Let's get ready to bailout!-"

"Oh fuck!" you breathed. Eyes nervously darting around your hiding space, witnessing Lennox and the rest of his N.E.S.T team grabbing their parachutes and preparing to skydive. You're alright. You're alright-

"Bailout? Like bailout?!" Galloway panicked, his head snapping from one direction to another.

"You familiar with the standard MC-4?-"

"Of course not!" Galloway snapped at Lennox. His nervous expression betraying his usual high-standard, professional bravado. As his gaze studied the major, as he fitted a parachute upon his back, "I've never jumped out of a perfectly good airplane before!- Wait a minute! Is this really happening?-"

Lieutenant Smith hid his mischievous smile, as he purposely bumped into Director Galloway, while adjusting the straps to his own parachute.

"Wait a minute. Wait a minute." Galloway looked over his shoulder, trying to study the lieutenant behind him. Attempting to regain balance, once his narrow gaze returned to Lennox. "You're behind this, aren't you?"

Of course. You continued to try and keep your breathing even and steady. You knew Lennox would come up with a plan, and he did. He's got everything under control-

"What are you talking about?" Lennox confused yet concerned expression met Galloways glare. "You heard the pilot. These guys don't mess around. This is just standard procedure. I'm just following orders to the latter. Isn't that what you said?"

"You just signed a death warrant on your career, Major!-"

A thunderous groan echoed throughout the aircraft, sending a violent vibration throughout the C-17's shuddering frame.

Your pounding heart begun to pick up it's peace. W-What... was that...?

"That's... not good." Lennox low tone muttered, nervously looking around the cargo hold. "Quickly! Come on!"

As the plane suddenly dipped to the left, your stomach lurched as the metal hull let out a groaning creak, reverberating through the cargo hold. The wind howled past your ears, as the large cargo doors fully opened. Allowing Lennox to drag Director Galloway close to the edge, as the government director continuously protested.

Lieutenant Smith quickly grabbed onto the nearest support, steadying himself, when he saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. His surprised gaze widening as you slipped out from under the row of seats in front of him.

Instincts kicking in, the world slowed to a razor-focused clarity. Smith lunged forward, one hand reaching out for you as you rolled across the metal floor. Your fingers desperately scrambling for something to hold on to. Just as you were almost out of reach, the lieutenant's hand grasped your arm in a tight, unyielding grip.

Eyes locked. Yours wide with panic. His jaw clenched as he held onto you with everything he had, anchoring you in place. The plane shuddered around the pair of you. Smith tucked you close against his chest, shielding you from the gusts of wind that rattled the plane.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He demanded, though a hint of relief softened his tone as he met your gaze.

But you simply gave him a weak smile. "Didn't expect to have a bumpy flight-"

Lieutenant Smith shook his head, while allowing you to take a small step away from him. Gently placing a hand upon your shoulder to steady you for a moment, "do you know how reckless and insane of an idea this is? Lennox is gonna lose his shit!-"

"Thought you said I was among family now." You held out a relaxed fist, meeting Smith's eyes with a soft gaze. "Nobody goes through things alone when you're among family. Right?"

A small, lighthearted scoff escaped the lieutenant, his fist softly bumping against yours. "You're lucky I was here to catch you, kid. Grab a spare chute and stay close. We're not losing anyone today." Now I know why you vaguely apologized before...

The wind roared through Lennox's ears, as he pulled Galloway closer to the opening. Ignoring the director's continuous protesting, as Galloway clung onto the major. His nervous gaze flickering towards the ground miles below, seeing the hazy outline of the earth through the clouds. A vast expanse stretching out beneath them.

"Why aren't you wearing your chute?-"

"Because I have to secure the VIPs first." Lennox shouted over the roaring wind. Knowing fair well that the director could barely hear, "okay, I want you to listen very carefully and memorize everything that I say. Each chute has a GPS tracker so you can be found by Search and Rescue. Right next to that's a fabric webbing called a bridle, which holds the pin that keeps the main container closed."

Galloway looked down at himself, as Lennox pointed to various sections of the parachute and its straps. The director's confused expression growing more puzzled by the minute. Only catching small sections of the major's explanation.

"When the pilot chute inflates into the air, it pulls the pin and opens the main. Red's your backup. Blue's your primary. I want you to pull the blue! I need you to pull it really hard!" Lennox rolled his eyes, as Galloway prematurely followed his instructions. "Not now, we're still on the plane, you dumb-ass!"

The parachute opened and immedictly filled up with air, causing Galloway to harshly be blown off the plane and gradually float towards the ground below.

"He didn't even say goodbye." Lennox chuckled, approaching Lieutenant Smith. As the plane leveled out, the groaning and creaking of it's frame easing slightly. "That's one problem taken care of."

"Only for us to gain another." Smith gave his major a disbelieving smile. "We pick picked up a stowaway."

Lennox's eyes widened as you came into view, adjusting the straps of your parachute. "Valkyrie?!"

You flashed him a weak smile, shoulders shrugging slightly. "We both know you wouldn't let me come. Even if I did ask nicely-"

"For fucks sake! You had direct orders!" his stern and disapproving glare narrowed onto you. "This is by far! The most stupid and insane thing you've ever done!"

"Actually... this is the second most stupid and insane thing I've ever done. The first was dragging your injured ass through a landmine back in Iraq."

Placing his hands on his hips, a heavy sigh escaped him. Lennox ran his fingers through his short locks. A disbelief expression flashing across his features, as you handed him his chute. Rolling his eyes, while you smiled at him, giving him a mocking salute and quickly following the lead of his team.

Lennox gave Smith a side glance, while the lieutenant chuckled. "Great medic and a loyal soldier... but by God, is she a pain in the fucking ass..."

---

Ratchet let out a muffled 'oof' as you accidentally land right on top of him, the parachute following shortly after covering the pair of you. A low groan escapes the Autobot, blinking multiple times attempting to clear his vision.

Valkyrie?!

Optics widening in surprise. His servo instinctively resting upon your hips, as you knelt against his chassis, detangling yourself from the chute's strings while removing the parachute from your back.

"Y-You're... You're not supposed to be here..." Ratchet's words came out quieter than he intended. Nerves and annoyance pulsed throughout his inner circuits, yet his gaze remained soft but filled with worry. The pad of his thumb slowly rubbing in slow, circular motion against your hip. "You can't-"

"I told you." His spark thumped against its chamber, sending subtle vibrations against you. As your feathered touch caressed his plating just above his spark chamber. "I'm not going anywhere. And you should know... that your intern is always careful."

A heavy sigh escapes him. The pad of his index digit upon his free servo, lightly brushing against your hand which rested upon his chassis. "You and I have very different definitions of 'careful.'"

For a moment, beneath the parachute which tented over the pair of you. Everything seemed to... slow to a more intimate pace. The soft sunlight creating a comfortable, warming glow. Your heartbeat fluttering as your eyes met Ratchet's studious gaze, the Autobot's soft optics roamed over your frame. Worry flickering within them, while confirming to himself that you wasn't injured.

His breath hitched slightly, as your free hand rest against his cheek. Feeling the subtle warmth that rose to the surface of his faceplates. Finally allowing himself to smile, Ratchet gently nuzzled into your palm, letting out a low hum before speaking, his voice low and almost tender. "You're... infuriating sometimes, you know that?"

A small tug teased the corner of your lips. "Y'know, you wouldn't want me any other way."

The yellow Autobot swallowed thickly, noticing the silent question which flickered within your eyes. He knew what you were thinking about, and he'd be lying if that moment between you two wasn't playing on repeat within his processor. How even now, his spark yearned to reach out and pulse against your heart, like before.

"Don't... look at me like that."

You softly bit your lip in thought. "Ratchet... I-I... I need to know-"

"Let's move it!" Lennox's voice interrupted, watching his N.E.S.T team and the remaining Autobots get into position. His gaze studying the nearby Egyptian temple, which the desert sands has claimed parts of the ruins long ago. "Remember to look out for Sam Witwicky! He's friendly!"

Ratchet lets out a slightly annoyed huff. Disappointment flickered within his optics, as you carefully climbed off him. Shoving the parachute aside, exposing the pair of you to the summer sun. Damnit, of all the times too...

You gave the Autobot one final look. If... only he'd just tell me...

Optimus' body slowly floated towards the centre of the temple. His still body stretching across the sands of the open courtyard.

"Cover Optimus!" a nearby soldier ordered, as his team mates used their parachutes to cover Prime. Obscuring anyone and anythings view from above.

"Secure the temple." Lennox shouted, pointing in various directions as his team fanned out. "Get those cases down here. I need snipers and Stingers up high!"

Taking position behind a stone wall, resting his assault-rifle upon the top. Lieutenant Smith's voice remained calm, but firm as he looked through his scope, scanning the surround area. "So, we just dropped off ten tons of dead robot in the middle of nowhere? I hope this kid knows what he's doing."

A heavy sigh left Lennox, his concerned gaze briefly falling on you as you took position next to Smith. Keeping your tactical medgear within arms reach, while mimicking the lieutenant's silhouette with your weapon of choice. "Yeah... me too..."

Snipers and Stingers casually roamed the high walls of the temple, while some scouts checked in through the radio every so often. Beads of sweat formed upon your brow, as the harsh sun beamed down.

"Got a visual!" one of the snipers declared. Finally killing the still, uncomfortable silence which stretched on for eternity. "Yellow team! Four clicks!"

"Pop flare!-"

The sound of a jets engine roared through the skies, cutting of Lennox and drawing the attention of him and his N.E.S.T team.

"That thing's got alien tattoos all over it." You warned, studying the mysterious jet through your binoculars. "Ain't Air Force, Lennox."

Static suddenly echoed throughout your coms and radios. Causing Lennox and his team to erupt in guesses and questions.

Your eyes widened behind the binocular lense, catching a glimpse of a familiar marking upon the aircraft. "It's Starscream-"

"Bastard used an EMP burst." Ironhide growled, keeping an watchful eye upon the Decepticon Seeker.

"I see how this day is going in this God-forsaken desert!" Frustration begun to build in Lieutenant Smith's words, as the desert heat slowly chipped away at his patience.

Half An Hour Later

"Nothing..."

"Right..." A heavy sigh escaped Lennox as he brushed the sweat off his brow. "Go burn a SOS. Let the eye in the sky know we need some help. Pop some more flares so the kid can find us."

Standing within the shade of the old ruins, yet the heat of the sun didn't ease as you gazed out at the desert horizon. A small knot twisted your stomach, strange tingles bounced in your fingers and toes. Like how one would experience pins and needles.

"We... should come up with a Plan B. What if your... 'old ally' is wrong? Or mistaken somehow?" You whispered to Lennox. "Plus, if we ignite anymore flares. There's a risk of exposing ourselves to the enemy-"

"We've got incoming!" one of the snipers warned. "We've got a whole lot of fight coming our way!"

The knot in your stomach took a sickening turn. All eyes widening as seven to eight meteors crashed into the sand-dunes roughly a mile away. Your breath catching in your throat, as multiple imposing Decepticons rolled out to their full height.

"How many?-"

"About thirteen of them-"

"And what did the girl just say?!" Lieutenant Smith's frustrated tone shouted. Following yours and Lennox's lead, as you took up positions closer the temple's entrance. "This ain't good... This ain't good. We're about to get our assess whooped!-"

"All right, those Decepticons are searching for Sam! Whatever he has, he thinks it'll bring Optimus back to life." Lennox's authoritative tone held more encouragement than his lieutenant's. "So our mission is to find him, and get him to Optimus! We're gonna draw fire from the left flank. I need a scout team-"

"I'm leading." Ironhide spoke with a cocky smile. Withdrawing and clocking his cannons as they whirled to life. "Locked and loaded."

"Ironhide's team! Go up through the middle of the temple's entrance! When you see the precious cargo, I want you to pop green smoke and and come back through those pillars!" Lennox pointed to a row of decorative pillars upon the right, perfectly lining up with an arched entrance of the court yard. "Valkyrie. Ratchet. I need you here to hold the fort, while Sideswipe and I set up the ambush. All right! Let's go! Move out!"

---

Gunfire filled the air, engulfing the temple and nearby Egyptian ruins in a thick blanket of chaos. The stone pillars, weathered by centuries yet proud in their standing, lined the ruined path, began to crack and crumble, sending clouds of dust spiraling into the air.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Sideswipe called out to the soldiers of his small quadrant. Using his body to shield them, as the rattle of gunfire intensified as bullets peppered the ruins and desert sands.

With every strike, pieces of sandstone and intricate carvings dislodged, tumbling down the sand-dunes below.

"Ironhide! Up the middle!" the major called out, running down the worn down sandstone path, which the decorative pillars lined upon each side. "Ironhide! Move it!-"

"Go! Go!" Lieutenant Smith lightly smacked the side of Ironhide's altmode. Climbing into the trailer with his comrades, just before the Autobot sped back up the sandstone path towards the main courtyard.

Several snipers and Stingers clung to the edges of the high walls, struggling to find cover as pieces of the carved arches and statues crumbled around them. Their shouts filled the air, blending with the roar of machine-guns and the desperate clanging of debris.

"Move to cover!" Lennox shouted. Providing his comrades cover-fire, as they huddled together behind walls and archways within the courtyard. Unfortunately offering no clear escape from the onslaught, or the harsh desert sun.

Dust and smoke billowed around you, thickening with each burst of gunfire, eyes wide as realization begun to sink in. You and N.E.S.T were trapped.

Pinned between the temple walls and the advancing Decepticon force that seemed relentless, unstoppable.

---

"Spotted Sam!" Lieutenant Smith called out. Alerting his team whom scouted the outskirts of the ruins. "Sam!"

Peering behind a carved statue, Sam scanned the area while Mikayla huddled behind him. A smile of relief lit up the young adult's features, as he caught glimpse of a faminular gun-metal pickup truck. "Ironhide!"

"Sam!" Smith held out his hand, as the couple ran towards him. While his comrades provided cover-fire. "Get in! We'll take you to Optimus!"

---

"Get these men into cover!" you firmly spoke. Assisting Ratchet's squadron pull their injured comrades out of enemy fire, while the Autobot medic provided cover fire. "Move them into the temple! It's our best shelter!"

Quickly kneeling beside a soldier whose leg was twisted at a harsh angle. Your hands moved with practiced precision, applying a tourniquet, flashing the injured soldier a comforting smile. "Stay with me, Corporal. We're going to get you out of here-"

"Sweet Spark! Move!" Ratchet quickly crouched over you, as a portion of the temple wall groaned in protest due to another explosion.

Meeting the Autobot's gaze, your heart fluttered in time with his spark as you both realized the words that escaped him. Ratchet...?

Another section of wall gave way, a torrent of sand and debris raining down upon Ratchet's back, forcing you and nearby N.E.S.T comrades to shield their faces.

Then, the ground trembled.

The heavy thud of tank treads pounded against the ground, a rhythmic, unstoppable force that reverberated through the ancient stones of the ruins.

Please tell me that's what I think it is-

"We have help!" one soldier called out. Silently ordering his comrades to take the corporal to shelter, as he turned his attention back onto you. "Alpha Team, flank left!"

Not far beyond the horizon behind you, a line of Egyptian Army tanks appeared, their heavy barrels gleaming under the midday sun. Rolling forward, the monstrous machines parted the desert sands with brutal precision.

"Go... Go help them-"

"Not without you, Ratchet."

The medic flashed you a weak smile, as he raised onto his pedes. A low groan escaping him, while shrugging the sand and debris off his frame. His cannon whirling to life as he clocked it, "I'll be alright. We need to help Sam get to Prime."

"Come back to me." Your words came out more as an order, rather than a promise.

Briefly giving each other a loving smile, you both went in opposite directions. Ratchet approached Lennox, Sideswipe and their squad just outside of the temple walls. Providing much needed assist with the onslaught attack.

"This way! Over here!" you shouted, waving at the tanks and the Egyptian soldiers following on foot. "Move it!-"

Wiping the sweat off his brow, a middle-aged commander approached you. Giving a quick yet polite salute, "where do you need us, ma'am?-"

"Protect those in the line of fire-"

"You heard the lady! Let's go! Let's go!"

The tanks unleashed their heavy cannon fire, every round slamming into each one of the Deceptions fortified positions with enough force to send clouds of dust, bits of alien metal and debris into the air.

Egyptian soldiers immediately positioned themselves alongside with Lennox and his team. The commander quickly pulled you behind a small wall as a stay missile reduced the nearby statue into a pile of rubble.

As the commander positioned himself behind the wall, opening fire upon the enemy. You quickly pulled out your radio, yelling into the receiver. "Right now, we need air support. ASAP!-"

"Sam! Spotted Sam!"

Your heart immediately dropped to the pit of your stomach, fear shining in your eyes, as your wide eyed gaze spotted a waving individual in the distance. Bruises and cuts littered Sam's features, his throat sore and dry, as he yelled at the top of his lungs. His tiered and battered body attempting to shield his frightened girlfriend, Mikayla, and a heavily wounded Lieutenant Smith. As they ducked for cover behind a small, crumbling wall.

"Cover me! I need to get out there!" your words came out harsher than intended, raising your voice over the chaos. Gaining the commander's attention, "two civilians and a wounded officer is out in the open!-"

"Copy that! Two-Two covering fire! Two civilians. Twelve o'clock!"

The tanks advanced relentlessly, their turrets rotating with mechanical precision as they fired on the remaining Decepticons positions, each shot punching through the air like a battering ram. Each attack kicked up enough sand and dust to cover your moving position, quickly rolling and ducking your way to Sam.

"Look who showed up." Smith smiled through his pain, as blood trickled down the corner of his mouth. His breaths rapid and uneven as Mikayla's shaky hands applied pressure to his wounded thigh.

"You better have a good reason for us to be here!" you snapped at Sam. Immedictly approaching the lieutenant's side, studying the depth of his wound.

"The fuck?! You're supposed to stay with Ratchet!" Lennox called out to you. Quickly ducking behind the wall, avoiding gunfire from the nearby enemy. "And where's Ironhide?-"

"Holding off Megatron and his goons- ah!" Although Smith spoke through his teeth, you could see a small hint of a appreciative smile tugging his lips.

"Where's Optimus?" you could hear the panic within Sam's words.

"He's right over there, across the courtyard." Lennox briefly pointed. His studious gaze flickering over Sam and Mikayla for any injuries.

"I need to get to him-"

"Not with an air strike coming." You corrected. Ripping a section off the lieutenant's jacket and dowsting it in disinfectant, before wrapping it around Smith's wound. A subtle sigh of relief escaped you, as the bleeding upon his thigh slowed down. Thankfully all he needs is a few stitches-

"I have to get to him right now!-"

"Shut up, you two! Shut up!" Lennox hissed. Quickly placing a hand over your mouth.

A low animalistic growl, with the hint of an mechanical edge rumbled through the air. Making every hair on your body stand upon end, as every bone and muscle in your body screamed one word.

Run.

The sand barely muffled the heavy footsteps that approached your hiding spot. As Lennox, Sam and Mikayla pulled you and Smith closer to the wall, you saw fear flash across their eyes. Holding their breaths as a familiar warlord edged closer-

"Incoming!"

That's... not what I expected him to sound like.

Excitement and eagerness lined the unusually calm yet deep tone. Centuries of hidden wisdom softened the voice's words.

Who the hell? Lennox's curious gaze peered over the crumbling wall. His hand slipping from your mouth, as scoff escaped his lips. I don't believe it-

"Stick the landing- oof!"

Clumsily rolling out of their, Cold War 'Blackbird' fighter jet. Clashing into a nearby Decepticon and knocking them away from your hiding spot. Raising to his full height, the elderly Transformer smirked, as his optics flickered towards his bewildered comrade beneath his ped.

"Behold the glory of Jetfire!"

You and the others quickly covered your ears, as a deep resonant sound like a low, metallic moan of protest joined the chaotic air. The metal surface of the Decepticon's arm buckled under pressure, forming ridges and ripples where the smooth finish once gleamed.

A victorious smile framed Jetfire's face plate, his pressure upon his foe's limb deliberate and relentless, forcing the Decepticon's frame and inner circuits to yield in unnatural ways.

"Now let me show you how we brought the pain in my day!"

As he twisted further, the metal let out a sharp, piercing creaks, each sound echoing like a cry of defiance, while his former comrade screamed in pain.

"Jet! Look out!" Lennox called out.

Heeding the major's warning, Jetfire quickly grabbed his opponent's free arm. Almost stopping their drill from running him completely through, while he stomped upon their helm. The satisfying sound of crunching metal and sparked wires coming to his audio receptors.

"I'm too old for this crap!"

Tag List

@junebugessentials @genarf @overlyexcitedoutlaw @glamrock-kitten

[amanitaphalloides]

what is the jopkey manifesto. if you can share it for those of us not in the gc 🥺

anon thank you for asking this question i have been trying and trying to bait someone into asking. here is it copy and pasted

Jopkey: A Manifesto

Jopkey in Brief

Jopkey refers to the romantic/erotic pairing of Thomas Jopson and Cornelius Hickey, a couple of guys who actually existed in real life and have been twisted into something beyond recognition by Dan Simmons, AMC, and now random people online such as us. Jopkey is commonly referred to as “the thinking person’s Terror ship” due to it kinda making you think.

Arguments For Jopkey

Let us review the nuanced and delicate appeal of Jopkey.

Potential Dynamics

Two tops fight to the death. In this formulation, Jopson and Hickey fight (mentally or physically) for dominance until one of them is (mentally or physically) dead. And they’re both tops. Credit Hannah @groundwater for being insistent about this final point.

Daddy’s candy babies. A popular (loose definition of the word) dynamic in which Jopson and Hickey are equally devoted to pursuing Francis Crozier’s attentions. But in doing so they find themselves irrevocably drawn to their freakass competitor…

Realizing potential. Jopson and Hickey recognize, in each other, great untapped potential—perhaps to be annoying and evil, but perhaps also to be intriguing, exciting, and to live life to the fullest. Whether intentionally or otherwise, they spur each other to explore all life has to offer them. Which given the circumstances isn’t that much.

Situations in Which Jopkey Could Happen

Hatefucking at any time.

Everyone else dies and they have to repopulate the ships.

Angry grief sex after Crozier dies. Perhaps over his casket?

Hickey happens upon Jopson’s half-dead form and attempts to eat him. Jopson simply responds, eat this.

Pertinent Jopkey Moments

“I’ll be there in a minute, Jopson.” Hickey refuses to call him lieutenant. Hot!

Jopson’s mouth twitches while watching Hickey be punished as a boy. Glee, eroticism, or simply an expression of sympathetic pain? Perhaps all three. 

When Hickey picks up Neptune's turd he says "Sorry sir the dog relieved himself before I could call Mr Jopson." This implies he has watched Jopson pick up dog shit before and would feel comfortable calling Jopson for help. Hickey doing a task that he thinks should be Jopson's = they have so much in common.

This is also an early indication of their dynamic wherein they see their respective relationships to Crozier overlap. See "Daddy's candy babies" under Potential Dynamics above.

Jopson guards Hickey while he’s on tent arrest. Hickey teases Jopson about his shooting abilities with his hand down his pants, Jopson brags about all the critters he used to kill and eat and says “My aim’s just fine Mr. Hickey” sexily. Implies Hickey is also a critter to be skinned and devoured! Okay!

During this scene Hickey is touching his own penis and Jopson puts his hand in his own mouth. Through the transference property this means that they have had oral sex.

They appear next to one another in the list of Terror crew members in a published book in the gift shop of the National Maritime Museum as pictured here (ie they are cuddling):

Arguments Against Jopkey

Despite the cold hard facts/group delusion depending on your perspective, some people are anti-Jopkey. Let’s take a look at the common reasons behind this unfortunate sentiment and resolve them one by one.

Anti-Jopkey Arguments and Resolutions

"Jopson simply does not think of Hickey."

Fortunately this is easily disputed. Jopson is constantly looking at Hickey like ARGH. Also we use our little imaginations. Sooooo.

The anti-Jopkey contingency argues "that’s just Liam Garrigan’s face" (re. point 2 in the above).

A typical argument and quite a simple one to dispel! We only need apply the “say yes to the text” ethos—by which we understand that everything present in the text is there to be explored and enjoyed, quite separate from the circumstances of its creation. Jopkey is not so weak as to be dependent upon the actors’ intentions. Regardless of whether or not AMC’s The Terror was filmed with the specific and singular intention of breathing life into Jopkey (which it was), all that truly matters is the effect. And ultimately the effect of Liam Garrigan’s face is eroticism, glee, intrigue, sympathy, and perhaps even romance.

The truth is there will never be consensus in the group chat or in the world, and Jopkey will never be true or untrue. It will remain Schrodinger’s Jopkey, and by offering insight into our psyches and groupthink dynamics, it is actually a vital and beautiful step towards world peace.

Jopkey Bangers

I Fucking Hate You - Godsmack

Since You’ve Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson

I Knew You Were Trouble - Taylor Swift

Jopkey Mood Board

Affirmations for Jopkeyers

I am so smart for shipping Jopkey.

My phone knows the word Jopkey. It knows that I am not typing about Jockey.

I understand British accents perfectly. Every word Jopkey says is comprehensible to me.

My words and actions honor Jopkey and my Jopkeyer compatriots.

I can think completely secret erotic Jopkey thoughts on this bus; my brain is closed to psychic attacks from the bus driver and other passengers.

I know who these characters are; I can tell them apart from other light-haired and dark-haired men who appear onscreen together. I can recognize their interactions as unequivocally Jopkey.

The Jopkey Anthem

O Jopkey Jopkey! Of thee I sing!

With Jopkey I can do anything!

Jopkey helps me laugh and play

So I ship Jopkey every day! 

Thomas Jopson — You always wow!

I know who you are by now

When first I watched I couldn't see

But you're not just Muttonchops #3

And Hickey lad with your sly grin

Reminiscent of delicious sin

Could you really be so wrong?

Not according to my Jopkey song!

[alternate hickey apologist verse] And Hickey — the perfect man!

Through thick and thin we’ll always stan

You’ve never done nothin’ wrong

And so to you we sing this song !

I pray this ship will never sink

Lest we approach the mental brink

May Jopkey sail forevermore

And far outlive Lieutenant Gore.

[radiantrookie]

VA's in both Red vs Blue and RWBY

Lindsay Jones:

RWBY:

Ruby Rose

Red vs Blue:

Vanessa Kimball

Chain Girl

Female Simmons

Apovos

Arryn Zech:

RWBY:

Blake Belladonna

Red vs Blue:

Dr Emily Grey

Barbara Dunkelman:

RWBY:

Yang Xiao Long

Red vs Blue:

Katie Jensen

Caboose's mental image of Donut (Season 14)

Bonus: Mama Boomstick (Death battle)

Miles Luna:

RWBY:

Jaune Arc

Red vs Blue:

Felix (Isaac Gates)

Johnson MacGruff

Hutch

Cronut

Sigma (Restoration)

Lavernius Tucker (Save the Date PSA and Season 12 Teaser Trailer)

Franklin Delano Donut (Season 11: S.O.S.)

Jen Brown:

RWBY:

Pyrrha Nikos

Lisa Lavender

Red vs Blue:

Agent Carolina

Malcom's Mom

Samantha Ireland:

RWBY:

Nora Valkyrie

Red vs Blue:

CT (Connie)

Burnie Burns:

RWBY:

Taiyang Xiao Long

Red vs Blue:

Leonard Church (Alpha/Epsilon)

Lopez the Heavy

VIC

The Warthog

Red Zealot

Yellow Church

Omega AI

Theta AI

Lorenzo

Shannon McCormick:

RWBY:

Ozpin

Red vs Blue:

Agent Washington (David)

Lopez 2.0 (Dos.O)

Agent Iowa (Mike)

Kathleen Zuelch:

RWBY:

Glynda Goodwitch

Red vs Blue:

Agent Texas (Tex/Allison)

Joel Heyman:

RWBY:

Bartholomew Oobleck

Red vs Blue:

Michael J Caboose

Gray G. Haddock:

RWBY:

Roman Torchwick

Red vs Blue:

Locus (Samuel Ortez)

Donald Doyle

Ryan Haywood:

RWBY:

Peter Port

Red vs Blue:

John Elizabeth Andersmith

Marlowe

Diesel (Originally)

Kerry Shawcross:

RWBY:

Neptune Vasilias

Floyd the Geist

Pyke Rite

Red vs Blue:

Charles Palomo

Agent Utah

Agent Georgia

Michael Jones:

RWBY:

Sun Wukong

Red vs Blue:

Chain Guy

B.B. Ghanoush

Ashley Burns:

RWBY:

Coco Adel

Red vs Blue:

Female Lopez

Female Church

Elizabeth Maxwell:

RWBY:

Winter Schnee

Little Weiss'

Red vs Blue:

Agent Ohio (Vera)

Anna Hullum:

RWBY:

Raven Branwen

Red vs Blue:

Female Sarge

Dylan Andrews (Restoration)

Shane Newville:

RWBY:

Russel Thrush

Atlesian Knight-130

Red vs Blue:

Freckles

Gavin Free:

RWBY:

Scarlet David

Red vs Blue:

Jones

Pounder McJones

Maggie Tominey:

RWBY:

Melanie Malachite

Miltia Malachite

Red vs Blue:

Female Donut

Jessica Nigiri:

RWBY:

Cinder Fall

Red vs Blue:

Simmons's Pink Lieutenant

Katie Newville:

RWBY:

Emerald Sustrai

Red vs Blue:

Cyclops/CC

Bonus:

Jen Taylor:

RWBY:

Salem

Halo:

Cortana

Edit: Thanks to @joltning for telling me about Agent Utah and Agent Georgia

[leonardalphachurch]

the lieutenants can also be high schoolers… i guess jensen and bitters are. grif and simmons children? that doesn’t seem correct… i don’t think smith is cabooses son. palomo is not tuckers child but he is on juniors basketball team and has reverse adopted tucker. tucker can’t stand this kid but once he starts staying over for weeks at a time with zero concerned calls from any parents asking where he is tucker starts reluctantly buying extra snacks

[websurfshark]

season 19 was a let down 😭😭

spoilers below!

i’m sure that over a year of hype doesn’t help my case here but i really was expecting something a little better 😭

i don’t mean to be too much of a critic in this post and sorry if i seem like i’m complaining but man 🧍‍♂️ full review here we go

sarges death was expected and the character arc that simmons got from it was pretty well done , he was cool — sarges death did just seem kind of rushed but that’s probably also time constraints , nobody seemed super affected by it tho and that kinda put me off ☹️ sure the reds were like Sad right after he died , and grif + simmons had the moment at his grave, but it’s literally not brought up again ? simmons just gets to be a leader kinda and tucker doesn’t get told he killed sarge, nobody else brings it up after the climax?? not even during the climax as they fight meta again ?

^ although sarges final moments were done very nicely and the va’s had a ton of emotion ❤️

along with that, wash’s acting was amazing as always

grif was characterized really weirdly throughout the first half of the season - i’m guessing they tried to make him the “straight man” of the group but it kinda fell flat because he just seemed irrationally angry every single time he spoke 😭 he kinda evened out as it went on tho so that’s better than nothing

Simmons was very kind this season that was interesting and cool He didn’t have a care in the world

animation was wonky at times but it was there - fight scenes weren’t monty oum style of crazy but they were creative with them and ill give them that! good callbacks during the fight

character callbacks were cool! i’m glad we got a little bit of kai (no reunion with grif tho so that sucks), dylan was there but she was kinda characterized weird, grey there, agent one (???) for some reason, 479er!!!!! she was well done and she fit really well into the plot!, no checkup on chorus life which was kinda sad (no lieutenants boohoohoo) some of the callbacks felt out of place tho

i don’t like how they handled tex cause even though it was cool she was back , i feel like we’ve done this dance a thousand times

also carolina quite literally came out of nowhere ?? how did she just ? drop from the sky what ??? LOL

absolutely no donut at all ? there was like one mention of him that i can remember ? lopez is just forgotten about back at the bases ??? i don’t know if the donut thing was something behind the scenes but Uhh

music wasnt up to par - they just reused old songs basically , the weird song that played during the “Memories” sequence wasn’t good

i’m not the hugest fan of the ais in general so i don’t think about them too much but i feel like sigma wasn’t characterized in the same way he was in the freelancer seasons — in pfl he kind of subtly manipulated maine into becoming meta etc etc but for tucker , he basically just like😭 tortured him WHICH IS PROBABLY CAUSE LIKE tucker knows This guy is evil Ahhhh!!! but still that was a little weird

no grimmons sad day for the rvb fandom - some scenes could be read as grimmons, like grif basically inviting simmons to go with him , i’m confused on why simmons stayed because simmons himself literally said One last mission ? so idk what he’s doing bro idk if he’s staying in blood gulch or what — grif just straight up leaves and like ? are they gonna see eachother again orrr ? what’s happening

the ending felt rushed and kinda weird - just vibes , i think i’m biased because i now realize that not a lot can beat the s13 ending , but even so , grif just kinda leaves and that’s the end 😭

i feel like we didn’t get a whole lot of conclusions for all the characters even tho that’s what was promised

overall i’m probably giving this a solid 5-6/10 , the season was overall very hit or miss in some aspects and scenes

ANWYAYS😭 don’t let my opinions take away from your experience with season 19! this is just how i felt about it after my first watchthrough and my opinions might/will change!

[readersmagnet]

In this compelling story of an abandoned baby, Sergeant Craig Donnelly discovers an hours-old infant on Fort Bragg's Sicily Drop Zone, left by a hopeless young mother. With the unwavering determination of his brother Rick and Lieutenant Debra Simmons, Craig rushes the baby to an Army hospital, determined to adopt Baby Jane and win Simmons' heart. As they navigate military rules and the risk of losing the baby to adoption agencies, the tale culminates in Janey's reflections on her journey, inspiring the readers with the characters' determination.

To explore this touching story further, visit https://www.gregbruorton.com/book/ and get your copy today!

[joltning]

rvb aus

when I said I had a lot brewing I meant a LOT brewing…! god I need motivation

I’ll be splitting these into 3 sections: one offs/fic ideas, less expanded on ideas, and then my main aus/ones I have more ideas on

one offs/jokey aus/fic ideas:

feel free to take these ideas as your own, im not too attached to them

• grimmons fic where kai lives on iris and simmons is super nervous around her. grif thinks it’s because he has a crush on her but actually it’s because she keeps teasing him about his crush on grif

• teen beach rvb au. think about it man.

• au where lopez and felix betray locus before he can betray felix. and they kiss or something I don’t know

• freelancer donut au…!!! one of my firsts. not very good. has no substance. but it exists. tex donut beef goes CRAZY

• trivia murder party rvb au. i have no clue what this would entail

• slipspace (the grifball miniseries guys) team up with fh57 from s14. this was before I learned that fh57 was just funhouse. womp womp

• shis tril writer mentions that locus now “owns a food truck on Fiji” or something. someone write that Please im begging

• fast food au focusing on the lieutenants. + Frank from s15. i know him and bitters gonna be oomfs or whatever

• au where church stays in the s3 time loop and experiences generation loss, feeding bits of himself into the other soldiers in order to save them

• au where the s5 ending where they all die is canon and they all go to hell

less expanded ideas

• so basic but I’m putting it in this tier anyway. A song fic battle of the bands au, but MY WAY…!!!! I have a vision. Don’t know what it is yet but I have it

• campy horror movie rvb au, where they all claim to see different things in the woods, but it turns out literally every single person is the horror. they all embody horror tropes and are, of course, alone in the woods in a summer camp.

• started as an everything everywhere all at once au but turned into something more Evil. Anyway regular domestic au but then the ai from the “alpha universe” jump into people in the main universe when they’re “compatible.” GRIMMONS JUMPSCARE….!!!!! Simmons is gonna be the one to end the world and the ai are either helping or hindering that process. he becomes a literal monster. originally this au was made so I could experiment with purple prose + text art etc but I guess not anymore what the hell

• rvbz au…! Viper and shatter squad are two organizations, viper being a splinter group from the AOD. When they start fighting on chorus, the reds and blues take sides, splitting off into two groups, some staying neutral. both are somewhat regarded as terrorist groups, viper being victims of starlight labs and shatter being a sort of vigilante group that. isn’t very good at it.

• “split ends” au…!! I really hope to bring this one up to the top tier at some point! geotah focus because im ill but it’s mostly balanced as i wanna get all dynamics in. project freelancer, instead of having ai, has units run using a partner. Only one can use it at a time, and the other has to focus on running it, leaving them vulnerable on the battlefield. This goes for enhancements, but it also goes for other things, such as calculations, enemy tracking, etc. they can switch whenever they want. each pair has one unit. god i wish I could write the unseen freelancers because all those silly powers would be chaos. Oh, also, you can steal the armor enhancements like you would ai. Hmm.

more expanded ideas

these are in order from least important to me to most

• trailer au! one of my first aus, and the ONLY au I’ve written a full outline for. (it’s not very good now that I look back on it.) it asks the question: what if the s15 trailer was EXACTLY what it was eluding to? featuring…Frank staying on the film team and making a trio with jax and dylan, insane murder party reds and blues, spencer plot relevance (somewhat) omalley coming back, the reds and blues failing to beat Hargrove, tucker shooting wash, and one armor enhanced, cobalt colored Tucker.

• s15 rewrite au. after disliking the trailer au I made this one! the blues and reds, instead of being mirrors or even reflections of the main cast, is reflections of what they could have become if they hadn’t changed their old ways, if things had gotten worse. this is basically my snider cut i reorder a shit ton of things etc. also very important carolina was not there when biff died it was just Tex and she didn’t kill biff, she just refused to help him (that kill goes to our friend loco!) anyway it’s more centric of the idea of comparisons between people who have distinguishing differences. Also kuane exists

• interstate au! honestly I have so little in terms of plot but idea wise I have Everyhting. I cannot stop thinking about it sooo..that’s why it’s so high up. Okay I’ll be real this is honestly like a glorified swap au but it’s MY swap au. Basically everything after s5 (also the miniseries) is noncanon and it diverges from there. ft…wash getting sigmapilled by eta, red team maine, red and blue road trip, the quest to find kai (she’s kissing women) and the run from DEAD CAROLINA..!! DEAD..!! oh and church and tex are literally just ghosts. Instead of the director trying to bring back allison and fragmenting one full ai into attributes, he is trying to pair FULL AI with freelancers in an attempt to boil them down to one trait, to harvest them and combine them into a Super Dead Daughter Carolina. wash and eta, or Data (see what I did there) are the collectors which is why they’re the main antags or whatever

• TRIPLETS TRILOGY. OHHHH MY GOOODDDD. I can’t say much because I intend to actually show this one to the world, but WOW. love this one. Basically, the triplets and sherry’s squad are alive. After an alien crash lands on their planet years later, they’re left to explore and find out what they’ve missed while they were gone. It’s split into 3 ‘seasons,’ (with one scrapped mini series), takes place during the recollections, and is looking to be way shorter than I intended it to be, but oh well. It’s where my obsession with the green guy and the white fuck and sherryvera insanity comes from. why did I have to fixate on these random ass mfers what the hell. It’s canon plausible….!! It would never happen!!! But it could!!

now the rant’s done, here’s some older images. oh god ray’s hair is So wrong

[snowyaika]

Hi! Can i have prompt 21 from fluff/humor category? I have this idea about Grif being jealous of fem!RedTeam!reader friendship with Bitters. Like they get on very well and Bitters might even have some crush on reader, but Grif have unspoken feelings for her too and that is making him jealous and upset.

Gosh, I hope it doesnt sound weird.

Thanks for your works!!!

prompt: “are you jealous? want me all to yourself, do you?”

pairing: grif x redteam!reader, slight bitters x reader

summary: ever since you’ve been recruited into the new republic to save the rest of your team, you’ve gotten awfully close to bitters. grif doesn’t approve of the new friendship you two have made.

warnings: fem!reader, swearing, mutual pinning, tucker not being able to read the room, terrible communication skills!!!, all lowercase

word count: 1.2k (short but sweet!)

notes: thank you so much for the request!! it really means a lot <3 not my best work but i enjoyed making it nonetheless! let me know what you guys think :)

-

“simmons, i’m telling you, she’s basically in love with him! she hasn’t left his side since he treated her to the dining hall!”

“grif, the food is free here. he wasn’t paying for anything.”

“maybe she likes cheap guys! i’m cheap! i could take her to the dining hall and we’d have a great time!”

“i think we need to re-evaluate your idea of a good time with a woman…”

the sound of their conversation travels through the cave as they make their way to the training grounds, supposedly to give their ‘orders’ to the new team they had to look after.

tucker, caboose, and the other lieutenants are already there once they arrive.

you and bitters arrive shortly after, walking side by side. you’re laughing at something he’s saying, and grif’s scowl deepens.

“see simmons? in love.”

you see grif as you walk closer to the group and brighten instantly. “grif! god, do i have a story for you! you wouldn’t believe what bitters just told me!”

simmons cringes inwardly when he sees grif tense.

maybe this was a bigger issue than he thought.

-

“–and then wash came in! you should’ve seen his reaction!”

“uh huh.”

“god it was so funny!”

“i bet.”

“and then bitters–”

“yeah okay, i get it. he’s funny. is that all?”

you give him a confused smile. “uh..what?”

“i just don’t see why you have to talk about him all the time! it’s not like we see him every day!” you’re left shocked as he continues, “if he’s so funny, just go hang out with him instead!”

“grif wait-”

before you can even get another word in, he’s storming out of the building to god knows where.

probably the mess hall.

“…the fuck is his problem?”

-

“and then he just stormed out! can you believe it?” you’re seated on the floor of the training ground, having just finished an intense drill led by wash.

“what’s up with him?” bitter replies, seated next to you.

“i wonder if i did anything to make him mad? we’ve always been on good terms… what could’ve set him off?” you lean back on your hands, looking up at the ceiling, “i did eat some of his food at the mess hall a few days ago.. maybe that’s it?”

“could be,” he feeds, sounding uninterested in the topic.

“but we always share, that can’t be it!”

“does it really matter?”

you turn to him, a small frown on your face, “what do you mean? of course it matters!”

“i mean, do you really think he’s going to stay mad at you? he’s too lazy to hold a grudge.” bitters looks at you with a small smirk, “plus, you have me. isn’t that enough?” he sounds a bit nervous.

“yeah… i guess you’re right. hopefully he gets over whatever he’s mad at soon.”

-

“dude, what the fuck is his problem?” tucker is sitting next to simmons, watching grif stare daggers into the back of bitters head as you and him laugh at another table in the mess hall.

“he thinks she likes bitters. i’m trying to tell him he’s imagining things.” simmons sighs and takes another scoop of food. he's been dealing with this all weak, he needs a break.

“what? no way, she does not have the hots for bitters, of all people.”

grif perks up, looking at tucker, “why? did she say something?”

“what? no, it’s obvious. come on guys, it’s bitters. he’s lazy, boring, and never does anything he’s asked!”

“…”

“…”

“w-what? why are you guys staring at me like that? am i wrong?” all grif does is groan, turning his head to stare at you again.

“nice job, idiot.” simmons mutters.

“okay, not my fault,” tucker puts his hands up defensively, “but still, she totally doesn’t like him. i know when a chick likes a guy, trust me.”

“how can you even tell?”

tucker starts to list examples off on his hand, “if she likes him, she’ll spend all her time with him, find everything he says funny, and probably share intimate details about herself with him.” as he speaks, your laugh is heard again.

grif abruptly stands up, walking over to where you’re seated.

“…”

“…”

“i’m glad i’ve never had to ask you for any advice.”

“shut up.”

-

your gaze has secretly been set on grif the whole time, perking up when he stands and walks over to you. he stops on the opposite side of the table, a look of determination in his eyes.

“grif! what’s up? everything okay?”

“can we talk?” he pushes out, his fingers twitching slightly.

“uh yeah! of course!” when you make no move to get up, he narrows his eyes at bitters.

“alone.”

bitters lets out a small scoff, frowning. you’re confused as you stand up, following grif out of the mess hall, waving to tucker and simmons on the way out.

tucker gives a mock salute and simmons mouths ‘good luck’.

what’s their deal?

you follow grif out as he leads you to the side of the building, turning on his heel and facing you. it’s silent for a moment.

he takes a deep breath, before talking, “i’m sorry i’ve been… avoiding you lately. i’ve had a lot of stuff on my mind and i haven’t been the best… friend to you.”

you smile, just happy that he’s talking to you again. “it’s okay. did anything happen? i was worried i did something.”

he gulps before continuing, “seeing you hanging out with bitters all of the time, doing stuff we always do, made me a bit upset, i guess. i didn’t–don’t– like seeing you with him.”

your head tilts, not picking up on the cue he was giving you. you chuckle softly, “what, are you jealous? want me all to yourself, do you?”

“yes.”

“i–oh– what?” your tongue twists, you feel the tips of your ears burn.

“i’m saying i like you, and i hate seeing you with bitters. he’s trying to take you away from me.”

your mouth gapes open, completely shocked from the turn of events, “you… like me?”

“since the first time we convinced simmons his non-existent cat died.”

you’re left standing there speechless, your mouth twitching before it breaks out into a huge smile, “seriously?”

“look, if you like bitters, i won’t get mad. i just need to have a long talk with hi– oomph!” he’s cut off when your arms wrap tightly around his shoulders, crushing him in a hug.

“you have no idea how long i’ve been waiting to hear that!”

“i-what?” he’s the one left speechless now as you let go, staring deeply into his eyes.

“i like you too! i have for a while.”

grif freezes, staring at you in shock, “r-really? you aren’t messing with me?”

you give a confused smile, “messing with you? are you kidding? i was so scared that i was being too obvious around you! don’t even get me started on tucker’s advice–”

his lips smash against yours, hands coming up to rest on your jaw. your eyes widen, but you get over your shock quickly as you kiss him back slowly. it’s clumsy and awkward, teeth clashing and accidental nose bumping. it’s the best kiss you’ve ever had.

slowly, as if not wanting to, your lips part from each other. his eyes flutter to yours, a nervous smile stretching on his face.

“to make up for lost time… how about we skip training and head back to your room? i found out where these guys store their emergency rations.”

you press your lips against his, smiling through the kiss. you pull away, winking, “i’ll go distract kimball.”

[id-be-home-with-you]

Irving and Hickey act as foils in the book

Listen. Those if us who have read The Terror (2007) by Mr. Simmons know it has its issues. I have read some of the most horrid sentences written about women I’ve ever seen in that book. The show significantly improved on many aspects of the story especially in terms of an anti-colonial narrative which I think is vital to how the story should be told.

But honestly there are some amazingly written scenes and character dynamics that the show lacks.

I’ve finished reading the book a second time and I was taken aback by how Hickey and Irving are such direct foils to each other.

Hickey in the book verses the show is pretty similar. They fleshed him out a bit more in terms of his relationships and made him more sympathetic. Primary example is instead of taking advantage of Magnus in a romantic relationship like he was in the book he has one with Gibson which is/was more genuine.

Irving’s character in the show is a shell of who he is in the book. He is much more fleshed out and has a lot of chapters in his pov (much more then even James if memory serves). Also he has more of a relationship with Silna instead of Goodsir. Although Irving was more obsessed with Silna in a way that wasn’t clearly reciprocated in my interpretation. I think changing that plotline to Goodsir was a much better idea.

Hickey and Irving are at odds right from the get go with him discovering Hickey and Gibson/Magnus in the show/book. However in the show after the initial confrontation and Irving’s eventual death, that’s kind of where their interactions and narrative connections end.

In the book this is very different. Both Hickey and Irving are POV characters. Though they may not speak much afterwards often their chapters would follow each other and even mirror each other in some way. A few examples:

Hickey mentioning going to a whorehouse without a sponsor as a figure of speech but Irving mentioning his very positive experience with a sex worker that his dad brought him to

Both have some kind of sexual subplot to their povs. Irving’s desire for Silna, Hickey’s relationship with Magnus

My personal favorite which could have been a great transition in the show is is Hickey emerging from the tunnel to help Blanky after his chase scene with Tuunbaq followed by Irving going into an ice tunnel they found Silna had made to the outside

The prominence of knives is there too with Irving mentioning only having his knife when going out after Silna, using his knife to cut the blubber given to him by the Inuit. Hickey then kills him with a knife (likely a choice by Simmons because Hickeys knife is one of the identifiable artifacts recovered from the expedition)

Irving’s fear of Tuunbaq (amplified by a scene where he actually saw Silna partake in a ritual with Tunbaaq when he was searching for her) while Hickey is intrigued by it shown by him wearing charms of Tuunbaq

So there’s this contrast between the two that could be boiled down to morality. Irving the “good guy” Hickey the “villain.” Simmons is using the Good Christian Lieutenant to contrast with the Mutinous Deviant Caulkers Mate.

But kind of an odd choice to make the main villain of your book’s a foil to a side character right? Arguably he should have made more effort to have Crozier be Hickey’s foil. I’d say Crozier and Hickey are foils to a certain degree in the book and they definitely are in the show. But the contrasts between Hickey and Irving are much clearer. So why?

If you take the constrasts between the two a step farther (because of course I am, I’m this deep already) there is also this really interesting relation of the importance of religion to Irving and Hickey’s death.

For those unaware Hickey’s death is completely different in the book (and in my opinion more satisfying). There is not a lot on what goes down in the mutineer camp because crozier never gets captured and the book focuses on him for the last chunk. The last Hickey chapter finds him in a sledge with him being the only one alive and Magnus’ corpse near him. He believes he has become God. Not like A god like capital G GOD. He has this really well written internal monologue that I think everyone should read. Like he is unbothered by Magnus death because he believes he can bring him back to life at any moment. He’s then humbled when Tuunbaq comes by to eat his soul but then SPITS HIS SOUL OUT AND LEAVES HIM TO FREEZE TO DEATH.

But I digress. Hickey sincerely believes that this whole journey was the story of his personal creation myth.

And I argue Irving’s death is the classic elimination of a heretic/nonbeliever.

I don’t think Hickey had this delusional god complex until after the mutineers left. But I do think Hickey thought Irving was the only thing standing in his way due to him having blackmail if he needed it. And when Irving met the Inuit he knew his power with the mutineers would threatened if there was another group that could offer salvation. So he made the decision to kill Irving.

Both in the show and book I believe this is Hickey’s point of no return. It is an unjustifiable murder that fucks over EVERYONE not just his enemies. He murdered Irving solely for his own personal gain and power.

So I think Irving and Hickey are foils in a way that solidified Hickeys descent into becoming the villain of the story in our perspective and the hero in his own.

And if I dare continue with the religious imagery and further contrast: Hickey may have made himself out to be God, but he made Irving a martyr.

[sunlightdances]

Lost In Time | Dean x OFC | Chapter Three

Pairing: Dean Winchester x OFC Series Summary: Sam and Dean answer Jody’s call about a ghost wandering in the woods, calling for help, wearing period clothing. Thinking they’re taking a break from the end of the world and handling a run of the mill haunting, they hit the road, unaware their world is about to be turned upside down. Genre: Time travel AU, WW2, Romance, Angst Warnings: None for this part. Disclaimer: I don’t own Supernatural, or Sam and Dean. Eva is an original character, and mine. The depictions of members of Easy Company in this story are based on the actor’s interpretation in the HBO series Band of Brothers, which I also don’t own.  A/N: *Taps mic* Is this thing still on? Uh, hey. Hi. It's me. I have not been here in ages. But I re-read this the other day and got the itch again. So here we are - another chapter. *SNL Stefon voice* This chapter has EVERYTHING. An Outlander reference. More Band of Brothers references. Dean having an emotional ~*crisis*~ … enjoy!

Masterlist / Prologue / Chapter One / Chapter Two

1944

“Anything?” Lieutenant Dick Winters asks as Nixon walks into the mess hall in the early morning, rubbing his eyes.

“Nothing.” Nixon replies, gratefully taking the warm cup of coffee shoved in his direction.

“Did you ask Harry?” Dick asks, referring to their latest transfer, another Lieutenant from the 82nd. “He’s good at knowing things he isn’t supposed to.” 

Nixon offers a wry smile. “This one might be a little harder to figure out.”

The truth is, Nixon doesn’t really trust anyone outside of Easy Company to care about what might have happened to Eva Simmons. Lt. Welsh is a new transfer, and Nixon likes him well enough, but he’s not sure who to trust when it comes to finding her.

Simmons made friends in Easy, despite all the odds, and even in her short time training with them, she proved herself smart and capable. She reminded them all of their sisters, he supposes, and he knows the men have a soft spot for her. Deep down, Dick is as worried as Nixon is - Lewis can see it in the furrow between the man’s brow, the tight set of his jaw.

Later, Nixon sits down behind his desk and puts his head in his hands. A dozen or so coded messages came through overnight, but nothing from Simmons. 

“Where are you?” He whispers, looking at the maps in front of him. They’ve only got two more days before the weather is meant to clear.

Two more days before they have no choice to drop on Normandy, whether they know what they’ll be facing there or not.

.

Present Day

Eva has nightmares. 

Dean could hear her, all the way down the hall in his own bedroom. At first, he thought something had happened to her, but when he tried to check, Jody was already there, leaning on the wall outside Eva’s room. 

She shook her head, telling him not to worry, and that he should go back to sleep. 

Fat chance of that happening. 

He has no idea how to help her, and it’s frustrating. He and Sam have faced nearly every scenario in hunting - ghosts, vampires, angels… but this? She’s not a spirit with unfinished business. She’s a time traveler. An important one, from what he can gather.

In the morning, he goes straight to the library where Sam is waiting, a cup of coffee steaming on the table. He’s frowning.

“What?”

Sam glances up. “I’m– having a hard time finding anything out about Eva.”

Dean takes a sip of the coffee. “So? It was a long time ago. Technically.” 

Sam shakes his head. “No, like– I can’t even find a record of her. Her family, her ancestry… I can’t even find any record of her enlistment.”

Dean frowns, leaning over Sam’s shoulder so he can see the screen. 

“There should be some record of this - it’s a public database.” 

Right away, Dean’s spidey senses start tingling. “I knew it.” Dean says, voice pitched low. “This hasn’t been right from the start.” 

“Before you jump to conclusions–” 

“Already jumped.”

“Dean–” Sam stands, trying to ward off his brother’s temper.

“She’s in our home, Sam. We drove for hours to help her.” 

“Dean, you’re overreacting. We didn’t even think she was real. We had no idea any of this was going to happen, and she didn’t either.”

“Or that’s what she wants us to think.” 

Sam shakes his head, but he doesn’t reply.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Dean knows he’s being reactive. It’s in his DNA. He has this fierce, innate need to protect his brother, to protect anyone who is important to him. But – this is all too convenient. The entire thing is batshit crazy to begin with. They’re so quick to believe a story after everything they’ve seen, but what if she’s lying?

Sam basically reads his mind. “What reason would she have to pretend she’s from the 1940s?”

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.”

Sam sighs, but doesn’t bother to stop Dean. He knows that there’s nothing he can say to change his brother’s mind.

Almost as if on cue, Eva comes in, looking tired and wary.

“Sorry…” she says hesitantly, “I was looking for the kitchen.” 

“I can show you–” Sam says, standing.

“Sam, wait.” Dean says firmly, hands on his hips. “We need to talk to you, Eva.”

She looks like a deer in the headlights, and Dean feels his protective instinct kick in, though not for her, for his brother. For Jody, for anyone in his orbit that this woman might have it out for. 

“Who are you?” Dean cuts right to the chase, his voice hard. “Really. Who are you really?”

Sam looks down, jaw clenched, but he doesn’t try to stop the interrogation this time. 

Eva looks shell-shocked. “I’ve told you–” 

“You’ve told us some bullshit story that isn’t adding up. So unless you want to figure out the hard way what it really is my brother and I do, you need to start talking.” 

“I told you who I am. I told you my story, and I know it’s insane, but it’s the truth.” Her voice cracks, and Dean feels a small shred of empathy. A tiny part of him wants to back down, but he doesn’t think he can, not now.

“We’ve been doing research–”

“I’ve been researching.” Sam interrupts, muttering. 

Dean glares at him. “Sam did some research, and he can’t find any record of you. It’s like you don’t exist.” 

He expects her face to harden. He expects something – some kind of maniacal, evil laughter. Something to prove that he’s right, that she’s really a demon out to get them. It doesn’t happen. Her face goes blank. Carefully blank. Practiced.

Something clicks in his brain. “It’s not your real name.” 

Just there - a small tick on the left side of her jaw.

Understanding dawns on Sam’s face. “You’re– undercover?” 

“Intelligence.” She says quietly. 

Dean scrubs a hand over his face. “You have to tell us who you really are or we can’t help you.” 

She straightens. “Do you know how many times I’ve heard that before?” 

Dean looks at her, mouth falling open in anger. “It’s not 1940 anymore! We can’t help you if we can’t figure out where you’re supposed to be–”

“It’s not happening.” Her voice is firm and sharp. “Do you have any idea what I’ve given up–” She stops herself, arms banded tight around her middle, as though she’s trying to keep herself together. “I have given up everything the last few years, my name being one of the things I threw away when I enlisted. It’s not for you to know.” 

Something in her eyes has Dean reeling. She’s serious, deadly serious. He can only imagine how it felt to be told you couldn’t see anyone, talk to anyone, even use your own name. All for the sake of your life and your country. 

There’s something else Dean feels that he didn’t expect. He wants to know her real name. He wants to know her. 

“You can trust us,” Sam says. 

“You say that, but I don’t know that for sure.” She says, shrugging. “I’m Eva. To you, I’m Eva, and to them–” She gestures broadly, “To my unit, to my friends… I’m Eva Simmons. And Eva Simmons has to find her way back. I’m going to do that without being compromised.” 

Dean shakes his head. “We don’t even know where to begin.”

“I’ll tell you as much as I can remember before I was here.”

Sam shrugs. “That’s a good enough place to start.”

Hours go by. Eva feels like she’s being debriefed. She paces, Dean paces, and Sam takes a turn pacing. Jody pops in and offers to help, but Sam and Dean instead offer to drive her home. 

Eva is relieved that she’ll have some time alone. She can’t make sense of this, and she desperately wants some rest.

She finds the kitchen, and begins to help herself, all the while wondering if she’s doing the right thing. Does it matter anymore? If she tells them who she is, who she really is, will that help? Or will it make everything worse? 

She’s in the middle of an unfinished sci-fi novel, and she has no idea how to get her life back on track. 

Keeping secrets and hiding things has become so ingrained in who she is, she’s not sure she remembers how to be herself anymore. She told herself a long time ago that it didn’t matter what she lost, as long as she helped win the war.

She doesn’t know how to let people in, not anymore. 

1942

She does her best not to fidget in her uncomfortable chair in front of the Director, but it’s no use. Her left hand tightens around her right hand in her lap, idly spinning the ring on her right hand around and around. 

The man in front of her hasn’t said a word, not even when she was introduced. He had gestured wordlessly for her to sit down as he read through her file, and that was nearly five minutes ago. 

“Why did you enlist?” He asks, blunt. He doesn’t use her name, he doesn’t use her rank, he doesn’t do anything except stare at her, face blank.

She’s prepared for this. “My brother was at Pearl Harbor.” 

Again, his face gives nothing away. “Dead?” 

“Wounded, sir. I wanted to do my bit.”

He stares at her again, not breaking his gaze even a little. “Are you married?” 

She feels herself flush. “No, sir.”

He closes her file with an audible snap, “Good.” He says. He leans forward on his elbows. “You’re certainly qualified.”

“Sir–” She stops herself, unsure. “I beg your pardon, but qualified for what?” 

“What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this room. You can’t tell anyone, not even your parents, not your best friend, not a boyfriend.”

She wants to scowl, but she doesn’t. “Understood, sir.” 

“The United States is launching a special operation that will specialize in intelligence, espionage, and code breaking. You were recommended to me after you enlisted and took your aptitude tests. We’re looking for someone with experience in languages, and high scores in math and science. But we also need someone who can keep cool under pressure.” 

She doesn’t know what to say, so she stays silent. 

“Your work here would be invaluable to the war effort. Anything you do here could have far-reaching consequences, for us, and for the enemy.” 

“I accept.” She says quickly. In the end, there was no choice. She would do what she could to help.

“This would mean you’re giving up life as you know it.” He says, leaning forward again to make his point. “You’ll get a series of aliases to use in case of trouble, and you’re going to have to lie to everyone you know about what you’re working on. And if it comes to it, there’s a chance you’ll be sent overseas.” 

“I’m ready.” She says, her words ringing clear and true in the quiet room. 

.

Present Day

Eva looks exhausted. She’s cross legged in the chair across from Dean, rifling through a set of record books they dug up from the archive. 

She’s in a pair of borrowed sweats and a t-shirt, and for a minute, he can almost pretend that she’s a normal girl that they met working on any other case. But it’s almost June 6th, and Dean’s not an idiot. 

Nothing happens randomly. He’s learned that the hard way. There’s a reason Eva Simmons is here, days before the anniversary of D-Day. 

“Tell me again,” he says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What you were doing the day you– left.” 

She sighs. 

“I know–” He sits forward, elbows on his knees. “I just… there’s got to be something we’re missing.” 

“I dropped with the Pathfinders. My objective was to make contact with a member of the French Resistance. I landed fine, alone. I don’t remember anything–” She stops. 

“What?” Dean leans forward. “What?” 

“I ran into some trouble on my way. Nothing I couldn’t handle, but I– I was trying to stick to the woods and only move around at night. I was almost made, and I ran. I fell.” 

Dean makes a face. “And?” 

“I hit my head, I think.” 

Dean sits up, rifling through the book in front of him. “Any chance you remember where you were? Any landmarks…”

Her eyes light up. “A church. I was supposed to meet my contact at this church–”

Dean shoves the book under her nose. He’s pointing to a grainy photo of a church and steeple. The roof looks nearly blown off, and there’s rubble surrounding the grounds. 

“This place was a key resistance hideout during the early days of the war, before America even joined the fight,” he says, shifting so he’s facing her. “The nuns hid people and helped downed airmen. They were bombed right around the time you may have been there.”

Something flashes through her mind, a memory of a distant rumble, and then an explosion. A bright light.

“Jesus Christ.” 

“What?” Dean is leaning forward, eyes focused on her. “Did you remember something?” 

“I know where I was.” 

They stay up all night. Sam finally skids into the room in sock-clad feet, a book that looks like it’s a hundred years old. “I have something.” 

“Wait–” Dean says, holding up his hand. He wants Eva to continue, wants her to get that look on her face that he’s beginning to recognize means she’s putting puzzle pieces together in her mind. 

“Let me see.” She demands, thrusting her hand towards Sam. He comes closer, handing her the book, the pages yellowed and spine soft with age. “That’s it.” She breathes. “Look.” 

She turns the pages towards Dean. There, a description in French, and one in English underneath. “These churches. They’re sister parishes.” She reads aloud the name of the church in French, her accent impeccable. “This one here, it’s in Virginia. Isn’t that near where you found me?” 

Dean feels the breath whoosh out of him when he recognizes the smaller, less clear photo of a church steeple through the trees. It’s not far from where they had parked the Impala the night they found Eva.

Sam frowns. “So…. what? It’s a wormhole or something?” 

She lets out a hysterical laugh. “Or something.” She stands, raking her fingers through her hair. “It’s the best we’ve got, though.”

“We’ll go in the morning.” Sam says, “We don’t have much time.”

The day is spent preparing - Dean has no idea what they’re in for, and yet again, he feels the weight of the world on their shoulders. Why is it always them? He feels a calling to help people, but he wishes sometimes that the burden wasn’t always on him and his brother. 

He’s tired.

“Want some company?” Eva asks from the doorway, and Dean jumps, startled. “Sorry - I’ve gotten used to moving around without making much noise.”

Dean smiles. “I guess you have.” He waves her closer. “Come here for a second, let me show you this stuff.” 

He surprises himself by telling her what he feels he can about hunting. He’s not sure if telling her any of this is going to change things in the present day, but at this point he’s too tired to care. 

Hell, she might not even survive the war, he thinks, and the thought makes his blood feel cold in his veins. He watches her as she runs her fingers over the various weapons - mostly the guns are what catch her attention - and feels a pang deep in his chest at the thought that in a few days they’ll never see her again. 

Not like this, anyway. He shakes the thought away, feeling foolish and sentimental. “Can you tell me anything about what you do? Why’d you enlist?” 

She pauses, meeting his gaze quickly before she takes one of his pistols from the case and begins the familiar motions of stripping it and cleaning it. “My brother was at Pearl Harbor.”

Dean frowns, but doesn’t interrupt. He watches her hands work with careful, precise motions. 

“He was pretty badly wounded, and I was… I was so furious. I wanted to do something to help. Truthfully… I wanted revenge.” She meets his eyes, and though he expected to see regret in her face, it’s not there. Her eyes are clear.

“I went to every women’s recruitment event I could get to in a day’s train ride. Nursing was out of the question - I’d only end up making it worse–” She says, her nose scrunching up when Dean laughs. “I had half a mind to join the Red Cross and become a Clubmobile girl.” 

When he shakes his head, she explains.

“A lot of them are attached to the field hospitals and air bases. They’re going to do a lot of good work - it’s not just coffee and donuts, no matter what men back home say.” She looks up, meeting his gaze once more. “I just don’t have the temperament for it… I was– am– too angry.” 

“That sounds like a normal reaction.” Dean muses. 

He’s fascinated by the way she’s going about her work with the gun, her hands sure and steady as they move over the pieces and clean each one thoroughly. He pictures her a few years younger and wonders if it always came so easily. 

“I was recruited, basically. I still hadn’t found a unit and I was telling someone at a party about it. Two days later, I got a letter telling me to show up to this building in Washington DC – no name, no office name, just an address.”

“The spooks.” Dean jokes.

She laughs. “Yes. Apparently the guy I talked to at the party was actually some junior agent with the OSS–” she stops, “do you still have that?”

Dean shrugs. “Not sure.”

“Well – it was a completely new, secret organization. Focused on espionage and intelligence. I was athletic, spoke French and German, and could do math. That’s really all it took. Whatever else I didn’t know, they taught me.”

“And you ended up in Europe.”

Dean can’t really fathom what she’s telling him. He can’t imagine setting off to do something so monumental at her age. He pauses, wondering if he’s going to get smacked for it. 

“How old are you? I’m not– I just wonder, how old were you when you–”

She grins. “Relax. I’m twenty-seven.”

He whistles. “I– I just can’t believe you had the guts, really.” He stops, watches as she looks at him questioningly. “I’m sorry I was so… I’m used to people lying to me.” He doesn’t quite know why he’s telling her this, but something about her makes him trust her. He feels like he can tell her things he hasn’t told anyone in a long time.

“In your defense, it must seem insane. It still seems that way, to me.” She finishes her task, and hands him his pistol. “For your inspection.” Her voice is light, teasing.

Dean takes it, their hands brushing lightly. “Looks good to me, Private.” His voice is nearly a croak, the quiet moment feeling too soft, too intimate.

“That’s Lieutenant to you, Winchester.” 

Dean’s eyebrows rise, a surprised laugh escaping him. “No shit?”

Eva chuckles. “My college degree had some perks, after all.”

Dean grins.

[skwistokwarrior]

i had a long talk with my brother about the blues and reds awhile back and i thought i'd share some ideas we brainstormed for a better season (because s15 has so potential gone down the shitter) so uhh scroll while you still can. professional yapping under cut

ok so thinking about it now i don't exactly know how this would work about we had an idea that some of the reds and blues stayed back on chorus (i know, i know, this is already creating plotholes.) we decided on tucker, simmons, and sarge. we also thought itd be cool if tucker was like a cooler version of felix and wash combined. i think he'd train lieutenants☝️ maybe some simmons jensen bonding time i need those nerds to be friends!!! they can geek together. i also think simmons would like to observe chorus and help them recover from the war. and sarge would just stay idk

nooowww let's get into some ideas we had to improve the b&rs

surge, now being a sort of opposite of sarge, gained his rank from deception and tricks and he's actually quite cowardly, he'd risk a whole platoon to save his own ass (but oh no, they fought well and died in honor..) he doesn't really care for command and order, but follows temple because he has to. we came back to this a few months later and also had another idea that he was an odst like sarge but was very traumatized after the war and was very apathetic to life.

genes more street smart than book smart, also a massive trickster. he only pretends to think surge is in charge, he really hates surge (plus i had an idea that sarge DID save surge, but he left surge on his own and gene pushed him in the lava mwahahaha) but despite that he actually sort of idolizes temple, seeing him as the leader surge never was. my guy turned down his leader just to immediately cling onto the first authority figure he views as "different from the others" (different as in worse. so much worse) or he's just the same. cause that joke was pretty funny

i think it'd be interesting if cronut acted more like s1 donut (because the difference is INSANE 😭) not much further explanation on this but also added a point that he's using the b&rs just for the time machine (what for? we didn't exactly get that far.) OH ALSO MAYBE NAMED BAGEL LMAO

so we had two ideas for buckey. he's either huge creepazoid turned up to 11 or a huge religious freak that DESPISES tucker for his sexual nature. swears its gods words telling him to persevere and help the b&rs on their plan. to add onto the first idea, i think he'd have all of tuckers worst traits amplified by like, a lot. the only reason they keep him around is cause he's a sniper (also had a little idea that he was the one who shot wash)

lorenzo is silent. cant speak LOL we had some ideas about him being given freelancer equipment. alsssooooo added onto this with the possibility of the suit being ran by the greed ai (and that the armor was georgia's suit colored brown cause of the georgia & greed theory) plus they had an emp bomb installed as a backup. maybe this ones a stretch

nothing much for loco. i guess i liked his whole "hes not REALLY evil thing" but i wouldve liked to see an evil side of loco, even just a little. oh we had an alternative idea for the machine he was builing, somewhat of a slipspace bomb to lure in unsc ships to boom boom them

i don't really know what to add to biff 😭 i actually liked his character as he was. uuuuuhhhhh i wouldve liked more georgina. pls. i love heryou dont understamd.

OHHH ALSO ALSO we had an idea that when tucker finally gets to temple he pulls out fucking yellow church as an ai fragment. he threatens to destroy it and does his little rant about how the ai fragments were also the cause of all this. to add onto the slipspace bomb idea, the bomb is destroyed at the unfortunate cost of yellow church. bye bye buddy. I KNOW THIS ONES A STRETCH ITS JUST FUNNY

ok guys make sure to like and subscribe and smash that notification bell!!!!!!

[fishfingersalad]

Rvb skating hcs, bc I miss skating but I can’t figure out how to put the brake back on my blades, and where I live is rlly hilly so I need it or else I'm trapped in the cul-de-sac.

Putting a break cause its a real long list lol

Skateboards:

Alpha Church (Can’t actually skateboard, swears he can but he's sooo wobbly) Tex (Can actually skateboard, makes fun of church) Tucker (Between Church and Tex’s levels, hes decent at it) Wash (Don’t think I need to explain this one) Niner (I’ve seen a lot of wheelchair niner hcs, shed totally do wheelchair skateboarding) Palomo (Falls over a lot, but hey he just keeps on going.) Bitters (Absolutely holds it over Palomos head that he’s better at skateboarding) Theta (canon)

Rollerskates:

Kai (Dunno if this one needs an explanation, she might like derby ngl) Donut (He seems like he’d use them as transportation, just skatin around) South (She’d do roller derby and get so competitive about it) CT (Seen some videos of people doing sweet flips and tricks w skates) Ohio (She gives me the vibe of someone who’s got cool iridescent pink roller skates) Andersmith (Picked up skating cause the younger lieutenants were into it) Matthews (He’s a bit unbalanced, but he’s determined)

Rollerblades:

Carolina (Speed, blades are faster than skates) Simmons (He is shaky as hell, but he is trying. Won’t skate anywhere that’s not flat.) Kimball (Lina taught her, they race) Dr Grey (Dunno, just vibes) Jensen (Much like Simmons but with more uneven terrain) Epsilon Church (Picked blades so he could skate w Lina, and to be different from Wash n Alpha) Omega/O’malley (I'm just picturing him chasing people around at high speeds, cackling) Eta (Wanted to try something new, and to spend time w Theta)

Iceskates:

Florida (Specifically figure skating) Felix (Honestly idk, he’s cold and sharp like an ice skate) Delta (He’d ramble about why it’s an intellectual sport, but actually just thinks its fun) Sigma (He’d be rlly pretentious about it)

Scooter:

York (Guy has no balance but still wants to be included) Iota (Cheers on Eta and Theta, does sick scooter tricks)

Other:

Grif (I think he’d have a longboard that he rides around) Sarge (Quad bike) Doc (Also a longboarder) Idaho (I think he’d prefer dirt bike racing) Iowa (Quad bike, it’s like a mongoose) Caboose (Mountain bike, no real explanation, just vibes)

Doesn’t skate (or bike or anything):

Lopez (He prefers cars, might've made an electric skateboard at some point but doesn't rlly use it) Wyoming (Can’t see him skating at all ngl) North (Cheers everyone else on and records videos) Maine (First aid) Locus (Tried to skate once and fell over. Now he just broods from the benches.) Doyle (Too nervous, prefers to just watch) Gamma (I don’t think he’d go outside much ngl)

[erandri]

AUgust Day 1- Sightless

Steve's ears are ringing. No, not just his ears, his whole head is ringing,  drowning out the noise around him. He shakes his head but that just makes it worse, and now there's a throbbing in his head beating in time with each pulse.

Just under the throbbing he can feel pain but it's dulled. It feels like the sun shining on him and for the briefest moment he gets a pang of homesickness, for just a moment he remembers the heat of the Hawaiian sun as it beat down on him. Just as soon as the memory comes its gone and just as suddenly comes the full brunt of pain. He screams out against his will. The shock is wearing off now and with it the nice dulling sensation. The warmth he felt seconds ago is now a raging fire, consuming him.

Steve reaches up to his forehead trying to do anything to get rid of the pain. He's not on fire but his hands come away slick with blood. It runs down his hands as a feels around, trying to find where he's wounded but there's blood and pain everywhere and the more he touches his face the worse it gets.

He startles when hands grab him, tearing his hands away from his face and pushing them down and out of the way. Someone is yelling but Steve can't hear them over someone screaming. It's only after some time that he realizes the screaming is coming from him.

When he finally starts to calm himself down he hears the voice still talking to him and zeroes in on it. After a second he realizes that it's Trevor, the teams medic.

"Lieutenant, Steve, can you hear me?" Trevor asks. His voice is firm and calm, it's a voice Steve has heard him use many times as he's patched up other members of their unit. Steve finds himself drawn to it, the even tone calming his breathing.

"I can hear you," he finally rasps out. He's not sure if his voice is raw from the accident or screaming or both but he barely manages to force the words out.

"That's good Steve," Trevor says, still using that even tone. Now that he has something new to focus on Steve can feel him wrapping his head in gauze, the pressure of the compacts helping with some of the pain in his head. "Can you tell me what hurts?"

"Everything. My whole head. What happened?"

Trevor hums and finishes wrapping his head. Steve is pretty sure half his head is covered with bandages, including both of his eyes, and he can feel the fuzziness of painkillers creeping in around the edges of his consciousness. "The convoy was hit by an IED, Lieutenant. Your rig took the full brunt of it."

"Everyone else?"

"The truck flipped, Simmons and Wainwright have some broken bones but they'll be fine. You took the worst of it.

"How bad?" He's almost afraid to ask but he has to know.

"Glass shrapnel to your whole face." As soon as he finishes speaking Steve can hear the far away thumping of helicopter blades. "Looks like your ride is here."

He's trying to sound upbeat but Steve can hear the underling worry starting to seep through his voice. "How bad is it?" He asks again.

There's a long pause before Trevor finally responds with "It's bad."

—

"Steven!" His father calls up the stairs to him and he winces, knowing what's coming next, "Did you track sand all through the house!"

It's a rhetorical question so Steve doesn't even bother to try and answer before his dad continues, yelling at him about how they are having company in less than an hour and he had the house all clean and now he has to clean it again.

"I'll take care of it in a second," he calls downstairs when his dad has finished. There's no response so Steve continues to the bathroom to take his shower.

Twenty minutes later he's downstairs, dressed for company and trying to find the broom.

"I cleaned it up already." His dad says from behind him and Steve sighs.

"I said I would do it."

"I know but," his dad doesn't say anything more but Steve can fill in the blank.

But it's faster for him. But he doesn't want to inconvenience Steve. But it's easier for him to clean it when Steve can't even see the mess he's made.

"Dad, I'm blind, not an invalid." He snaps. He knows his dad means well, but constantly getting picked up after just makes him feel like a child.

The doorbell rings, cutting off any response his dad might have had. He sighs, knowing the conversation won't be continued, and listens as his dad moves to the door to answer it. They're having dinner with his dads new partner, some mainland transplant and his family and Steve is less than enthused about it.

As soon as his dad answers the door Steve's quiet world is filled with a barrage of sound. His dad's partner starts talking immediately, complaining about everything from the afternoon traffic to the sand. In the lulls of the complaints Steve can hear the sounds of small feet walking around the living room. His dad had mentioned that his new partner had a child, a daughter he thinks. Now he wishes that he had paid better attention when his dad was talking about them, he can't even remember his partners name.

Steve takes a breath, savoring his last seconds of alone time in the hall before he goes to go greet their guests.

—

Danny- that's his dad's partners name, Danny Williams- is not what Steve expected. Not that he really had any expectations but if he did, they never would have come close to what Danny is. He's loud, and he takes up so much space, he's constantly reaching out to touch Steve. It was surprising to him at first, the constant little grazes from Danny's hand, but now he expects them. If he's honest with himself he might say that he even likes Danny's little touches.

Most of all though Danny is warm. Every time he talks, every time he touches Steve, he feels that warmth settle over him like a blanket. It's nice. And he's not afraid to say, at least in his own head, that wants more of it.

Grace is amazing too. They've met three times now and every time she has regaled him with things she learned in school, things she did with her mom and Step Stan, or old stories of things they used to do in New Jersey. He is absolutely wrapped around her little finger.

"She calls you her Uncle Steve," Danny says one afternoon. They're out behind his father's house, relaxing after another cook out. His dad has taken Grace down to the waters edge to look for shells, leaving him and Danny alone back at the table.

"Really?" He doesn't even try to stop his smile. It's only been a little over a month since they met and he's been elevated to uncle status. He feels honored.

"Yeah, she loves coming over here. We both do." 

Steve tamps down the little flutter in his heart when he hears that. So maybe there are other things that he likes about Danny than his warmth. And maybe there are other places that he imagines Danny touches him other than his arms. But those are thoughts better left for when he's alone.

"Well we like having you both here." He wonders if Danny can hear the unsaid words. That Steve loves having them there. Not for the first time he wishes that he could see Danny, to see the emotions play across his face. To see if Danny looks at him the same way that he's sure he looks at Danny.

—

"I have to go into the office," his dad says, coming into the dining room where he and Danny are finishing their dessert, waiting for his return. It's just the three of them tonight, thanks to Rachel and Step Stan taking Grace on a trip to Denver for Stan's job.

"Anything I need to do?" Danny asks. His chair scrapes against the floor and Steve imagines it's because he's stood up, ready to get back to work.

"No, no," his dad protests, "just some paperwork I forgot to sign to close the Kekoa case. You stay here and finish dinner with Steve."

His dad has a tone as he encourages Danny to stay but he doesn't think much of it. It is odd however that he forgot to sign some paperwork. He doesn't think he can remember any other time his dad got called back into the office to sign anything. He doesn't question it though, not if it means getting to spend some time alone with Danny.

"Are you sure?" Danny asks but they can all hear in his tone that he's only asking because he's supposed to.

"I'm sure," his dad says, "I might be a while so don't wait up."

"Okay," Steve says, waving in the direction of his dad's voice. Seconds later he hears the door open and close and then he and Danny are alone.

—

It's the first time that he and Danny have been by themselves since they met and Steve feels a jolt of nerves at the idea. He doesn't know what to say now that it's just the two of them so he shoves a fork full of the cake in his mouth to pass time until he thinks of something.

"I think this is my fault," Danny says, breaking the silence for him.

"How is my dad forgetting to sign paperwork your fault?" He asks, genuinely confused.

"I don't think there is paperwork. I think he just wanted to give us some alone time."

Steve freezes. His dad wanted to give them alone time? Why? Did his dad know about his feeling for Danny? He's been trying for months to keep his feelings hidden.

"I may have asked your dad if you were seeing anyone." Danny continues before Steve can spiral too much and now he's frozen for a whole new reason.

"You wanted to know if I was seeing anyone? Why?" He asks, his pulse racing. He wonders if Danny can hear his heart beating. It sounds like a drum beat to his own ears, counting time until Danny answers him.

"I wanted to know if there might be any chance for me to ask you out." Danny says it so non chalantly that Steve almost misses the vibration of his leg shaking under the table. It settles something in him, knowing that Danny is just as nervous as he is.

"I'm not… and there is." He says and the vibration from Danny's leg stops.

"So next Friday?"

"I'm available," he says maybe a little too fast.

"Okay. Great," Danny breathes, Steve can hear the joy and relief in his voice. A second later he hears Danny's chair push back and him step around the table. Steve can sense Danny come to a stop just in front of him. And turns his body so that they're face to face. "Can I?"

Steve doesn't know what Danny is asking for but he nods his consent anyway. A second later he feels Danny's hand on his shoulder, the heat from him scorching him through his shirt. Steve's heart races as Danny's hand runs higher, moving up his neck until his fingers can curl in Steve hair. Steve pushes his head into it but Danny moves his head, tilting his chin upward.

"Can I kiss you?" He can feel Danny's breath as he speaks and knows that he must be just inches away. Steve is already moving as he says "Yes," and crashes their lips together.

---

I don't really know where I was going with this. There was more I wanted to add but it would have taken too long and I wanted to keep this a quick prompt. It's also the first time I've written anything in well over a year and I'm rusty. Anyway, let me know what you think?

[saints-who-never-existed]

Rereading The Terror

Chapter Forty-Eight: Goodsir

And so on to the aftermath...

Seven hours pass when Little's lead-scouting party should've been back within four, so the remaining exhausted men launch the boats and follow them.

There's mention here of Des Voeux commanding the last boat in the procession, and of him being "third in command of our overall Expedition now behind Captain Crozier and Lieutenant Little". Not sure if that's an error on Simmons' part or an implication that poor Hodgson has been removed from the chain of command entirely and remains a Lieutenant in name only?

As they make their way along the lead, there's talk of what might've befallen Little's party ("There ain't no way that Lieutenant Edward Little got himself Lost" shot back Charles Best. "He may be Stuck, but not lost.") Soon, however, when they emerge into that huge open lake, all becomes clearer... "The water was Red here." :(((

Initially, Crozier and the other senior seamen commanding the boats try to calm the men, explaining that all the gore on the ice is simply the sign of seals hunted and killed by polar bears. It doesn't take long for them to realise that that's not the case though, as they spot the bow of Little's whaleboat floating vertically in the water, the rest smashed to pieces. The whaleboat is named The Lady J. Franklin...

They continue their passage cautiously across the crimson lake, taking in more grisly sights. First, they find Mr Reid's headless corpse floating in the water, his fingers half-nibbled away by fish, then more nightmarish bloody streaks at the water's edge ("Oh, damn... You can see the bloody grooves of the man's Fingers and Nails in the Snow. The Thing must've dragged him backwards into the Water") Then, they find the remains of a body almost entirely consumed, unidentifiable because all that's left are a few ribs, torn scraps of clothing, and a fucking pelvis.

Then, they find Harry Peglar... :'''((( There's not a scratch on him - it appears that he's managed to climb out of the water and frozen to death on the ice without Tuunbaq ever touching him - yet the sight of him is as disturbing as every bit of gore that's gone before: "It was Harry Peglar lying there almost naked - his few remaining Clothes mere Underthings - Curled up on the Ice, Knee Raised almost to his Chin, Legs crossed at the Ankle as if his last energy had been spent trying to keep warm by pressing his body Tighter and Tighter, his Hands tucked under his Arms while he Hugged himself in what must have been an End in Violent Shivers." "His blue eyes were open and frozen. His flesh was also Blue and as Hard to the Touch as Carrera Marble." (That last line gets me most of all, and strikes me as an interesting reference, slightly Classical perhaps? Putting one in mind of Ancient Rome and Greece, Xenophon etc.?)

But even if there's no sign that Tuunbaq touched Peglar directly, that's not to say that it wasn't involved in his death... All around his body on the ice are Tuunbaq's gigantic footprints, circling again and again and again... "The thing had Circled Harry many times. Watching as poor Mr Peglar lay Shivering and Dying? Enjoying itself? Had Harry Peglar's last shivering Image on this Earth been of that White Monstrosity looming over him, its black, unblinking Eyes watching? Why had the thing not eaten our friend?" "The Beast was on two legs the entire time it was on the floe" was all that Captain Crozier said."

If ever they had any hope left, Goodsir feels it well and truly extinguished after the hasty funeral held for Peglar, Reid, and all the other body parts they've managed to cobble together. "All of us, I believe, were Thinking that these words were a Eulogy and Farewell for each one of us. Up until this Day...I suspect that many of us still thought that we might Live. Now we knew that the odds of that had all but Disappeared..." "The Ice will not give us up.""And the creature from the ice will not allow us to leave."

Nevertheless, they carry on. Later, Goodsir goes through the dead men's remaining personal items. Bridgens approaches him specifically requesting Peglar's comb and his famous Papers ("...just a Remembrance of the man.") which Goodsir hands over, despite his own confusion. The rest is left behind on the ice as they move on, "a sad little Cairn of Mortality".

The chapter ends with Tozer and the other four remaining Marines perishing in dramatic fashion as the ice opens up beneath them in the night and closes right behind them again with a deafening crash as they're swallowed up by "the Wine Dark Sea", another delicious Classical reference to end on. :(((

[leonardalphachurch]

In one of my favorite fanfics ever, Finding Washington on ao3, it is a known thing to all Chorusians that there is a booming underground fanfic trade. Smith, Jensen, and Matthews are some of the biggest contributors. (Seriously it has such great characterization and has so many named Feds and Rebels)

that’s soooo funny. so real. are the lieutenants problematic for writing rpf of their captains. yes but it’s okay because simmons is canonically writing erotic friendfiction so he doesn’t have a leg to stand on