#major coats

[keriweird]

Happy N7 Day!

Well, maybe not so happy for Major Coats in the fight for earth.

This year I've been thinking about the untold stories of those that held the line on Earth. And my love for a very under utilized character, Major Coats. Man, the terror of seeing your comrades fall and knowing every husk you take down might very well be one of your own, nevermind one of those you're sworn to protect...? Someone you ate with, lived with, and fought alongside through this nightmare? Oof. Thanks @threewhiskeylunch for the inspiration. And thanks to my friends for cheering me on to get this piece done in time.

Coloured pencil on 160g mixed media paper

Based on the Mass Effect 3 trailer version of Coats, of course.

[rotschopf-thedrow]

ooh tell me about Crimson Thunder please?

*g* Crimson Thunder is set on Earth after the war. I always found it fascinating that everyone and their sheep got picked up by the Normandy and not left behind.

This is about James Vega who got left behind on Earth and finds himself in the center of attention of one particular major who has heard all about James: He’s a hulk of a man. He’s an officer who prefers to sleep in the barracks over the more comfortable officer quarters. He’s a card shark and a favourite uncle for most kids around. He’s also a shameless flirt who doesn’t follow through with any insinuations that might make their way into conversation, and that is enough to pique Coats’ interest.

[depressed-sock]

Here are the fics I did for Spec Recs! :D

A shot of whiskey before the bar fight starts

Coats/ Nonbinary Shepard

There are a lot of reasons he should just stay out of it. He's on shore leave, he's had a few drinks in him already, the kid looks like they can handle themself just fine. The list goes on and on. And yet somehow that doesn't stop him as he slides up to the bar right between the kid and the asshole bothering them. Signaling the bartender for another drink. 

Patch me up, Kiss me better   

Karin Chakwas/Zaeed Massani

Doctor Chakwas helps patch up Zaeed after he takes a hit from a mission.

A few moments before

Kasumi Goto/Keiji Okuda Greybox

A small moment spent just before the Normandy goes through the Omega 4 relay.

A place to rest    

Falere & Samara (Mass Effect)

Falere rebuilds a little bit at a time.

I'm sure I put the fleet somewhere    

Kaidan Alenko/Jack | Subject Zero/Male Shepard

The galaxy becomes lawless after the Reapers are defeated. Somehow that just means Shepard gets himself into trouble more often then before.

Losing the Soul

Akksul/Evfra de Tershaav

Evfra cannot be angry at him. He can feel his own anger blistering and festering under his skin.

[mtreebeardiles]

Stardew Effect, Summer, Year 1, pt 17

An update! Hey! Another chapter I had partially written and finally did something about!

Full chapter over on AO3!

"So you're having these dreams every night, now?"

The question was quiet, for all the bar wasn't overly crowded at this time of day. Not entirely empty, a few regulars seated in the booths on the other side of the main room for lunch, but Kaidan didn't want to risk drawing unwanted attention. 

Bad enough Everett looked asleep on his feet.

The other man fought back a yawn as Kaidan watched, largely failing, and rubbed at an eye. 

"Pretty much, yeah," Evvy replied, blinking down at the glass in his hand as if needing a moment to remember how it had gotten there and why. "S'not quite like the other ones, though."

"Yeah?"

Everett's brow furrowed and he resumed cleaning the glass. "Keeps taking me somewhere I don't recognize." He glanced up, catching Kaidan's eye, and added, "all the others are places around here, in the Valley. I mean I guess this place could be, too, but not any part of the Valley I'm familiar with."

Kaidan hummed, leaving off on any follow-up as another customer wandered over to place an order. Everett managed a smile, a little tired around the edges, and excused himself to drop the ticket off to the kitchen. 

Kaidan resettled on his bar stool, absently tapping his fingers against the side of his glass of lemonade, puzzling over the details Everett had shared with him so far. The dreams in and of themselves weren't anything new; Evvy had told him about them once it became clear they were a recurring thing. Some tie or other with whatever forest spirits resided in the abandoned Community Center, and he didn't think it was a coincidence that the dreams had started taking on a different tone when Liara had vanished. Some kind of warning, he figured, though to what end he couldn't begin to guess. Liara was gone, the circumstances as uncertain now as they had been before, and they already knew about mines. 

"What'd this place look like?" Kaidan found himself asking once Evvy had returned. The other man sighed, leaning a hip against the bar as he considered. 

"It was… dark? Seemed like a swamp, maybe? Not really the climate or environment for that sort of thing around here, but I guess stranger shit has happened."

"And is this coming from our, uh… Community Center friends, too?"

"Yes and no?" Everett grabbed a rag, absently scrubbing at the bar top. "It feels different, somehow, but they're there, still. But kinda like they're along for the ride, and I have no idea who's driving." He chewed on his lower lip a moment before glancing up at Kaidan again. "And… you don't have weird dreams, right? Or visions or…whatever this is?"

Kaidan shook his head, reaching out to cover Evvy's hand with his own. The other man looked exhausted in more ways than one. Maybe they weren't going through the same thing, but he remembered what it had felt like, to have something going on that he couldn't easily share with anyone else. Remembered how isolating it had been, how isolating it still could be, and the irony of finally finding some sense of common ground in this place so tucked away from the rest of the world he'd known wasn't lost on him. 

He just wished he could do more to help Everett.

Maybe I can… He drew a fingertip along the exposed line of Evvy's wrist, following the trail of his tattoo. Maybe there were things he could do, things he just didn't know about yet. 

Maybe it was time he headed back to Liara's tower to see if he could dig up any other answers. 

He stopped at home after his lunch with Everett before making his way to the tower, following the main trails down into the grassy stretch of land immediately to the south of his farm. A ranch was situated off to the east, owners he still hadn't properly met yet, and farther down from there was a cottage settled near the edge of the river. Some loner lived there according to Everett, a woman largely uninterested in socializing with the rest of the townsfolk, and Kaidan supposed he could appreciate that. 

Wonder if she's seen anything though… Doubtful, though he had to wonder if Everett knew everyone in the Valley who was…aware… of the sort of oddities they'd encountered so far. Monsters in the mines clear on the other side of town were one thing, but it wasn't entirely outside the realm of possibility that someone living in the shadow of an honest-to-god wizard's tower might've seen a thing or two. 

He just doubted they'd know enough to understand what they were seeing, if they'd seen anything at all. 

Absolute last resort, he thought, angling for the path that would take him past the lake and to the tower in the distance. And not without Evvy. Someone keen on maintaining their privacy probably wouldn't like some strange new neighbor appearing on their doorstep asking weird questions. 

The tower didn’t look any different as Kaidan drew closer -- no change in the air, no change in general atmosphere, just as empty and dark and dreary as it'd been the last time he'd come here. He pushed open the heavy door and stepped inside, setting the portable lamp he'd snagged from his cabin on the table to help brighten the darker corners natural sunlight couldn't quite reach. 

If he'd been hoping for some evidence that someone may have come and gone, he was sorely disappointed. A fine layer of dust lay over every surface, kicking up as he shuffled around to investigate. He sneezed rapidly in succession, eyes watering, and made a mental note to come back with a broom and duster to clean the place up a little. 

Least I can do for her, he thought, stubbornly refusing to accept the possibility that she may not come back at all. 

He made his way towards the far side of the main room, hefting the lantern closer so he could read over the spines of the books she had arranged on the shelves back there. Plenty didn't bear titles at all, and of the ones that did, many were in a language he couldn't read, or written in characters he didn't recognize. Several of them bore evidence of heavy use -- dog-eared pages in some that he took off the shelf and flipped through, notes scribbled in the margins of dense text or complicated diagrams. Whatever sort of power Liara had, Kaidan already knew it was a fair amount more complicated than what he himself could do -- if his was more a manipulation of physical properties (mass, if Liara was correct, and so far as he could tell that definitely tracked), then hers was something more akin to the sort of magic you'd hear about in fantasy novels. Spells and shit, components and wands and potions, things that required some measure of care in order to elicit certain results. 

Kaidan carefully shut the book again and slipped it back into its place with a sigh, glancing around with a frown. Some of the books struck him as…guides, almost. Textbooks, like the sort you'd expect to see in a school or library. He never had asked Liara where she'd learned, and if she were making her own notes in these books it stood to reason someone else had written them. 

But who? And where would they have come from? Could they even be contacted?

Or maybe she has something laying around, some diary or…or…wizard's address book? 

He felt stupid even thinking it, but he couldn't exactly picture Liara making do with something like a phone. Her home was hardly the epitome of modern technology or comfort, the tower something so out of step with the times he wondered if it'd been here long before she'd come to live in it. 

He stepped back from the shelves, looking up towards the ceiling, then towards the curtained off area near the back. 

Well, she clearly doesn’t sleep on this level, he thought, taking a deep breath and stepping forward. He pulled the curtain back, revealing a wooden door with an ornate handle -- a handle that turned, much to his relief, allowing the door to slide open. The air beyond wasn't as fresh, not helped by the stone cut of the spiraling staircase beyond, and he figured it'd be in his best interest to open some of the windows on his way up. 

Please don't let this be a mistake.

[theoriginalladya]

WIP Wednesday

(and it's actually Wednesday this time! lol)

So, new day, new muse talking to me. Poking at the next chapter for A Beacon of Hope, the modern AU of mine set on Normandy Island. Last updated....oh. Oh wow. 2.5 years ago. Ooops!

Anyway, John's talking, Kaidan's scowling, and a familiar face shows up to help...

~~

“There is someone at the nurses’ station asking for you, sir.”  John follows the nurse out of the room with a jaw-cracking yawn.  As he turns the corner, he finds Kaidan standing at the desk as well, and next to him, another very familiar face.  One John summoned, in fact.  For the first time since hearing about the accident, his mother’s death, and the severity of his sister’s injuries, John smiles.  “Coats.” Ethan Coats, former major in the marines, stands barely an inch shorter than John.  Dark hair, sharp grey eyes, and a winsome smile nod back at him.  He extends a hand, pulling back just as quickly when John slowly lifts his casted arm between them instead of taking it.  “What the hell happened to you?” “The wall offended him,” Kaidan murmurs dryly.  John scowls at his fiancé in response. “That famous Shepard temper getting the best of you, mate?” Coats asks, sardonic grin pulling at his lips.  “Glad I’m on your good side.” John forces a smile as he gestures down the hall to the same area where he, Kaidan, and Bailey spoke earlier that day.  Kaidan follows.  Once they are alone, John explains the situation.  “Someone tried to kill my sister.  Not sure who or why, but there you have it.” "Well...shit."

[mossypidder]

So because every Howl’s Moving Castle book cover that isn’t sixty five dollars is in that sort of- gaudy, super saturated, 80s-90s style, I’m making my own. I still need to order the book (cuz I only own the audiobook), get the proper color of fabric, and find some decent gold paint, and once I have obtained all of the proper components, I’m gonna give it the hardcover it deserves. >:3

[nichiperi]

Happy ZADR-day~! Have some more of these guys liking each other a normal amount. :)

[loisfreakinglane]

so many buffyverse characters were written to be oneoffs but became vital characters for many years to come. it feels organic and helps the worldbuilding so much.

but not kendra. not kendra!!!!!!!!!! who is IMMEDIATELY so vibrant and fascinating, bubbly and headstrong and proud and judgmental, a huge bookworm who laughs about excessive footnotes, who stammers in front of boys, who loves crop tops and makeup and heavy jewelry. kendra who trades insults with buffy, then softly asks for her help. calls buffy weird for dating a vampire, mocks her for dying, then tells her she learned so much just from their short time together. kendra who was taken from her parents so young she doesn't remember them, who's never had friends, who isn't allowed to speak to boys or go to school or have a life.

of all characters who deserved to be written into the narrative, or be resurrected after they died, she makes the top of the list

[waywardsalt]

refused to let myself rest until i finished making this

[ltwilliammowett]

Royal Marine's Dress Coat, Pattern 1782

This Royal Marines dress coat of a Major General Arthur Tooker Collins (1718-93), is constructed of red wool with cuffs and lapels faced with blue.

[skunkes]

[keriweird]

For anyone interested, this was my process for creating my coloured pencil N7 day piece of Major Coats and his old squaddie.

I like sketching in procreate for ease of adjustments and edits. Then I print and copy it over to better paper with then old school improvised light box (taping the paper to a window during daylight hours and tracing that shit). I was feeling inspired to start the husk first, then I expanded from there. Once I had the majority of my colour laid down, I went in blending with mineral spirits and qtips. Then I decided to force myself to do a background and I still don't love it but I was ready to be done hehe. Then I finally stopped putting off doing the rifle and slapped that in. Touched up the white in procreate because I didn't feel like rushing out last minute to pick up a white gel pen.

[rotschopf-thedrow]

Six Sentence Sunday

From my upcoming story "The loneliest Hour":

Kaidan nodded, feeling guilty. He had been completely focused on Shepard and Coats, but Garrus and Javik had been with Shepard as well, and the churning in his gut intensified. “They went off the grid together with Shepard. If we’re lucky, they managed to reactivate their transponders.” “If we should be so lucky.” [Liara] put a hand on his shoulder, looking up at him with her huge eyes. “How are you, Kaidan, really?”

[mtreebeardiles]

Discoveries, pt 7

And the final installment to this Shawn x Leigh-centric mini series! Thanks to all who enjoyed reading about these two :)

Also on AO3!

There was a myriad of memories that Shawn held close to his heart, experiences new, terrifying, wonderful. Learning, in his own flawed and determined way, the things that made him him, Shawn Shepard, a copy come to life, expanding, impossibly, impossibly, beyond the expectations of his existence. A puppet to a real man and the wonder if maybe he'd never been a puppet after all, if he'd always been the man, his own man, sensations and discoveries pressed into his skin as he learned the limits of his own body, seeing it less and less like a prison and more like a home. 

His first taste of coffee, acrid splash on his tongue and subtle buzz in his veins. His first sunset. How he hated storms but loved the rain, cool air breezing through an open window and how the world felt heavy with a liminal kind of promise. His first kiss -- as a boyfriend, as a husband.

As a father. 

Experiences imprinted in his mind and smattered against the walls and gathered on the shelves of their home. Fingerpainted masterpieces on the fridge, long nights spent holding, soothing, assuring, soft murmurs and softer music and was it any wonder, really, that their daughters would love that hum of jazz from Leigh's record player as surely as their fathers did? Dances with his husband cut by dances with their girls, feet balanced on feet and hands held for balance, and was there anything better than the laughter, the joy beaming up at him? 

Joy multiplied and extrapolated, a series of choices made in an enthusiastic repetition of yes, yes, yes. 

Yes to getting coffee with Leigh, back when Shawn was so full of uncertainty. 

Yes to that first kiss. 

Yes to marriage, to building a life together, to their home and their children and all the wonderfully complicated ways things could get messy. Learning curves, always something new, but Shawn was nothing if not a devoted student. Yes to the hand Leigh offered him, again and again, from the very start, a journey they'd taken together and continued to take, encapsulated in moments like this one:

Waking up to sunlight streaming through their window, the house quiet as the girls spent the long weekend with their uncles. Watching as those beams of light glinted against blond hair, grown out since Leigh retired from active service, streaks of white like starlight caught in threads of honey gold. Crow's feet at the corners of his eyes smoothed somewhat in sleep, eyelashes fluttering against some dream, and it was so easy to rest there a while, soothed by the easy rise and fall of his partner's chest. 

A moment weighted, heavy with the words Shawn held inside, waiting, waiting, for those blue eyes to open, for those lips to curve into their familiar smile, for the affection Leigh would aim his way that rendered him helpless in the best way possible even after all these years of marriage. These days were a gift, fragile for how easily they could have been taken away, the odds having not always been stacked in their favor. 

Shawn lowered his head to Leigh's, sweeping light kisses along his cheek, his jaw, down to the bend between neck and shoulder. A shift in his breathing but Shawn didn't stop, smiling against sleep-warmed skin. 

"You up before me?" 

Voice husky, the tease evident even as Shawn kept his attention on the next inch of skin to be kissed, and his grin widened. 

"Got impatient." 

A deep laugh, a rumble Shawn felt against his own chest where Leigh's back was pressed snug against it, and he tightened the arm he had wrapped around his husband to draw him even closer. 

"Glad I make the list of things you're willing to get up early for."

"Love, you are the only thing worth waking up early for."

Another laugh and this time Shawn glanced up, feeling that familiar flood of warmth in his veins at the look Leigh was giving him. Soft adoration, a glint of loving amusement, sunlight catching on the white-gold of his wedding band as Leigh ran his fingers through his own hair. Shawn reached for his hand, pressing kisses to the ring, to his fingers, his palm, his wrist, smirking at the goosebumps that erupted along his partner's body. 

"Is that right?" Leigh whispered, and there was a growing heat in those summer blue eyes, a heat Shawn felt echoed low in his belly. 

"It is," he agreed softly, holding his gaze as he kissed up his arm to the sensitive bend of his inner elbow. 

"Even above waffles?"

"Even above waffles."

"Even above waffles with strawberries?"

"Above those," he agreed and he shifted, easing Leigh onto his back before settling between his legs. The blankets slid down off his shoulders, pooling at his waist, largely ignored as he leaned in to capture Leigh's lips. "Above coffee, above sunrises." Another kiss, then another, deep and unhurried. 

"The only thing, huh?"

"Certainly one of the most important things." 

A quiet laugh easing into a soft sigh the lower Shawn kissed, and he savored every sound, every gasp, every murmur of breathless encouragement as he mapped out areas he'd long since become familiar with. Leigh's fingers in his hair, the quickening of his breath and the roll of his hips as he took him deep, deep, the length of him a welcome weight on his tongue. And still there was no rush, no sense of urgency, glancing up to watch the expressions flit across his husband's face and reflect, not for the first time and not for the last, at how perfect this moment was. To learn and grow and become alongside this incredible man, to see that Shawn wasn't the only one with questions and curiosities and discoveries to make. To witness Leigh open up, to laugh louder, smile wider, love deeper, to shake free of self-imposed ideas of himself and make room for who he wanted to be against the expectations of who he'd been. 

Color high in his cheeks, eyes dark, lips reddened from the kisses bitten into them. Faint marks along his collarbones where Shawn had sucked them into his skin the night before, more dotting along his torso, the insides of his thighs. Marks echoed on Shawn's own skin, reminders and promises both, less possessive than a declaration, an acknowledgement of two men sharing this journey together. 

"Shawn…" 

The bob of his Adam's apple, a lick of his lips, and Leigh's fingers tightened in Shawn's hair. "Not yet," he breathed. "Not yet." Muscles shook with the effort of stilling his hips, a tension Shawn could feel where Leigh's thighs pressed against him. 

"What do you need, love?" Voice a touch hoarse as he pulled off, trailing kisses along his swollen length. 

"You." Leigh's palm cupped his cheek and he leaned into the touch. "You. Make love to me?"

He repositioned Leigh on his side, spooning up behind him. Took his time opening him back up, ensuring he was comfortable after last night's excursions, and he pressed reassuring kisses to his shoulders as he shivered with the cold contact of lube. Kissed his neck when he pressed inside him at last, humming his approval when Leigh's hand reached up and back, tangling in Shawn's hair. 

"God…"

As unhurried as the rest of their morning, and Shawn took his time. An easy rhythm, a firm rolling of his hips, his hand trailing down Leigh's side to cup the back of his knee and adjust his leg just so, letting him thrust into him deeper, deeper, losing himself in the tight heat of Leigh's body. Admired his movement, the ripple of muscle beneath sun-kissed skin, the way he worked to match Shawn's pace, head thrown back and giving Shawn ample room to kiss, to nip, to put into practice all the things he'd learned, all the things they'd discovered together, all the ways they knew how to love each other. 

"Shawn…"

A plea, quiet and breathy, and Shawn moved his hand to gather more lube before wrapping around him, a firm grip just the way Leigh liked it. 

"Come with me, love," he murmured in his ear. "Come with me."

Hips snapping to a harder rhythm as they chased their pleasure together, tumbling headlong over the edge, and if a freshly woken Leigh was a sight to behold, it paled in comparison to the image of him now, sated and satisfied, boneless in Shawn's grip. Golden in the sunlight, as breathtaking as he'd been the first time Shawn had noticed him over two cups of spilled coffee. 

"I love you," he murmured against his lips. "I love you."

"I love you," Leigh echoed. "Happy anniversary, love."

Shawn smiled, kissing him again, and again, the words pressed from his lips to Leigh's.

And here's to many more.

[never-say-neverwhore]

what is your pluto jacket? Like what I'd it called?

I'm not sure if it's exactly the right type, but with a little modification a "notch lapel double breasted peacoat" worked well for me! The only thing for mine was that I got a trenchcoat 👇

Buuut with a little bit of modification it was easy to get to the right length

(I also added new buttons, and I still need to do the white trim + the back embroidery, but the coat itself is a good base!)

I've found Pluto's jacket is kind of shorter than most costs that style are (especially for the time period), buuut that just means that it calls for a bit of modification usually :]

Sorry if this is all over the place-- I hope it helps some though!!

[crispinkiss]

quick doodles of the og crew! plus eris because i got sad about her again