#mallek week day 2

[kaioken16]

Sacrificing your Freedom

Mallek Week 2021 - Day 2

Day 2: Sacrifice  Word count: 3020 Rating: Teens and Up Character(s): Mallek Adalov, original background characters

AO3 link

A/N: Set in a canon divergent AU as the previous entry but follows are darker route to rebel fighter Mallek. This will be a angst filled piece, mentions of brief torture, pain, and being enslaved.

Summary: Rebel Hacker codenamed ‘Scorist’ is captured and is then brought before a high ranking Imperial general who reveals his secret and he is forced to sacrifice the most important thing to him for his loved ones.

Mallek is led down the hallway of this vessel, a pair of heavily armored guards on each side of him, each carrying a long spear, the blades were teeming with energy which allowed them to discharge very painful bolts of energy. His head hung down, his face was bruised, with dry blood staining his lip and forehead. His uniform was torn all over, cuts and dirt, stained with his own blood. His arms are tightly restrained behind his back, and his ankles were shackled together. He made no attempt to try and fight the chains as any attempt would result in a swift, merciless reprimand from the guards, as evident by the old scorch marks on his clothing and his skin.

He had been careless, an error on his part. During a mission his role was to disable the alarm system as not to alert the imperial guards at a weapon’s warehouse that they were planning to steal supplies from for the rebels, however, he missed a secondary alert system that had recently been installed after the initial intel that had on the facility. From there, it all went downhill, and they didn't have enough time, and he had to think quickly so he provided cover, transferring a copy of the new weapon data and sending it to his friend, but in the end, only half of his team managed to get away, while the other half was caught.

They had been to a detention station located in some random quadrant of this galaxy that was Empire controlled. There he endured the usual torture and interrogation, he held out but his captured friends…

They weren’t so fortunate.

And now, after weeks of this shit, he had brought onto this ship by order of some high-ranking imperial. What did they want? Was it more questioning? If so, why take him off the detention facility? Many questions raced through Mallek’s head, he wasn’t sure what to expect. And his imagination didn’t help, he knew from first hand experience and from the stories of others just how cruel some of these highbloods officers could be. But what could they possibly do to him that was worse than the treatment he had been enduring…

A grimace look spreads on his beaten face, he didn’t wanna entertain those thoughts.

Finally, they arrive before a giant pair of metallic doors. It was decorated and given gold trimming, very expensive. In fact, everything about this ship was expensive, it was an imperial-class Devastator, part of the X-series which were the latest models and these were the next best ships after the Empress’s personal battleship. Owning a vessel like this could only be someone very high up on the imperial chain of command.

One of the guards approaches the set of doors, he then removes his glove, he had his back to Mallek, so he was unable to the symbol that had been tattooed into his palm, he presses it against the security panel, it scans the logo and then a green light pops on the panel. The doors open, slowly pulling away from each other. The guard places his glove back on and takes a seat back, Mallek’s eyes narrow as a means to get a better look at what was awaiting him on the other side.

The other guard shoves Mallek forward as he’s forced to resume walking, they enter the room. Inside was a long table that could seat 10 people, on the left side of the room was a shelf filled with books, data cards, files, and a set of strange look trinkets. On the right was a set of statues each depicting some kind of troll each carrying an actual weapon, it seemed like the statues were made for the sole purpose of advertising the object they were holding rather than the figures who inspired them.

Mallek’s eyes shifted around the room, scanning everything he could see, no escape routes of any kind except for the doors they entered through. But his eyes did stop at the far end of the room, was a massive view of the vast region of space, and admiring the view was a very tall figure, even taller than the guards who were at least 6ft each. The guards stand to attention, taps their spears on the metal floor, and salutes the figure, clearly, this was the big shot in charge of this vessel. “General Ioktex. We’ve brought the prisoner as you instructed.” One of the guards addresses him by his surname. Mallek’s right twitched, that name was familiar to him.

“Very good… You may leave us, wait outside.” Her voice is disguised but Mallek can tell that it’s a woman. The guards do as they are told and exit the room leaving Mallek alone with her.

“Welcome aboard the Devastator.” She raises her arms out gesturing towards the room, clearly referring to this ship as a whole. She turns to face him, still too far away for Mallek to get a better view but a single red glow catches his attention where one of her eyes should be.

“I must say, it is rather thrilling to meet a male blue caste. Such a rarity.”

She approaches him, her figure coming into his line of vision. He can see another troll, much older than him possibly in her mid-to-late 30s, waist-length black hair that is noticeably curled at the ends despite being otherwise relatively straight with parts of her hair covering her right eye, her left eye was completely red, as if blood and seeped through her pupil and iris, but it wasn’t blind, she could see through it.

Her mouth was covered by a mask that was the source of her altered voice. Her outfit was a long blue dress, but the shoulders were fitted with armor and a chest plate which had a pattern in the shape of crisscross with four points at each end. She wore boots that made a heavy sound each time she took a step on the floor. A high-powered blaster was strapped to her hip. From the colors that donned her attire and her previous statement, it was clear by the colors her outfit adorned, that she purple caste.

“Allow me to introduce myself properly, my name is-”

“Adrani Ioktex. General of the 20th division. Conqueror of the Andrax and Nova systems. Also known as ‘The Empress’s Spear’. I know who and what you are…” Mallek spat out in disgust knowing who she was, remembering the name and her unique features.

“Ah, I see my reputation precedes me.” Her voice is filled with glee that Mallek was aware of who she was. Though Mallek doesn’t react, his face remaining blank and neutral not wanting to show any emotion.

“The same can be said for you, the mysterious hacker and rebel operative responsible for the destruction, theft, and reprogramming of many of our imperial drones for your own cause, the genius who is known simply as the ‘SCORIST’.”

She refers to Mallek by his codename, the alias he went by after joining the rebellion, the handle he used when hacking into the systems and stealing from various targets. He had made a name for himself and used it to hide his name for safety and personal reasons as he had secrets and people to protect associated with his real name. Only his close friends and those he trusted knew his real name, he had made sure to erase any and all records of his name he could find.

“Congratulations, you’ve done your homework…” He responds to her conclusion with a sarcastic tone.

She grins at him. “But of course.  I’ve done my research and know full well about your past… Adalov.”

Mallek’s face showed a look of shock, and he immediately returned to a neutral look. How did she know his last name? That wasn’t possible. But unfortunately, the general had noticed the brief change of his expression. “Oh yes, I know your real name… Mallek Adalov.”

“Truly you were quite careful in erasing yourself from the records when you betrayed the Empire and defected. A young information spy killed in a crossfire on a mission, just another body to add to the pile of the dead… Another random troll who no one would miss or consider.”

“But you survived the skirmish, and then used your hacking abilities to erase your records… And then found yourself among the rebels. It was a brilliant move. However, you left footprints and breadcrumbs that most would overlook… So I began my investigation into you, studying your trail, your mark left on the servers and drones.” She starts to walk around Mallek.

“You kept your face hidden, rarely coming out in the open and providing support to your team. So I created a scenario that would bring you out in the open.”

Mallek looks at her, realizing that the factory mission had been a trap for him, she had orchestrated it to lure him out. Which meant his captured teammates deaths were, even more, his fault. Mallek couldn’t hide his anger, gritting his teeth, hands balled into fists.

“The final part was identifying you. You were able to remove yourself from most of the off-world servers and you were still fairly new, and you even stopped wearing your sign which would be an obvious tell.”

“But you can’t access any of the homeworld data after being shipped off… Records of you back home still exist after all.”

His eyes widened, he knew that any trace of him that still existed would still remain on Alternia but no adults could return there, it was heavily guarded and the Empress or her heiress would be alerted if an adult troll was spotted on the planet.

“Once you were captured, got a photo of you and then crossed references across the homeworld data, found your sign and then your real name.”

“What do you want?” He says in a slow, angry tone. He hated this, he hated when he wasn’t in control of a situation but she had all the cards.

“To make you a deal.” Her statement caught him off guard, confused by that.

“It must be hard having to follow the noble traditions of your people. A blue caste such as yourself serving as a mere soldier or spy within Her Imperious Condescension’s army. You would’ve preferred to be an information specialist, but your talents and skill as a genius hacker would never be utilized by her the Empress… It’s no wonder you feel so at home with traitors and rebels, allowing you to express your talents freely.”

“But even I must admit that your talents were wasted as a spy. I admire your work, it’s taken 3 years but you developed into a true specialist. So far from the timid anxious boy who feared being shipped off-world 5 years ago…”

“Shut up.” He demands, not wanting to listen to her words. He didn’t need a reminder, and she didn’t know him. She knew nothing about his struggles or his life.

“So I’m offering you an alternative.”

“You can spend the rest of your days rotting away in my detention facility. Dying in some dark, small cell or being beaten to death by some random prisoner… Or you can work for me, become my personal specialist and gather information on my enemies.” She states her offer to him which makes Mallek look at her with a confused look.

“What? Why would I work for someone like you?” Mallek snaps back, he would rather rot in that prison than work for her. Of course, she was expecting that response from him, which makes her chuckle.

“Your rebel friends. The rest of your group that escaped, and the ones you're protecting. And the reason you chose to use an alias and remove your name from the records…” She leans in close and whispers something into Mallek’s ear.

All the color fades from his face, a genuine look of fear and surprise as she pulls away smirking at him. “Your fate is in my hands Mallek Adalov, and if you want their safety to be ensured along with the safety of your own rebel cell, you will take my offer. I have no interest in small fry like your team, the rebel cells are divided, unorganized and there are more major threats, larger groups, and more important matters to deal with.”

“I will overlook your friends, and keep what’s most precious to you safe.” She informs him as a ringing noise begins to fill his ears, this wasn’t happening? This couldn’t be real? How? How could she have known about them, and how could he have been so careless…

What choice does he have now?

Mallek, with a defeated look in his eyes. Looks down, biting his lower lip.

“Good. Your silence is a reassurance that you’ve chosen wisely.” She smirks before taking the nearest seat at the table. “From this moment on, you belong to me. You are a tool and item, and a piece on my board to help me reach higher and eliminate my enemies and rivals. You will never see your comrades again, you have sacrificed your freedom in exchange for the ones you love, and for them…”

“Yes…” Mallek responds, his voice broken with acceptance.

“Very good. Welcome abroad SCORIST.” She grins, before standing up, she presses a button built into the table, and the doors open once again revealing the guards who had been waiting patiently. “Please take him to his quarters, and get him some new clothes.”

Years later…

The location was a planet in a far-off galaxy, it was the next site for the Empire’s eyes. It was full of valuable resources, from rare minerals, being the center of this galaxy, to serve as another controlled planet, and its people as slaves to help build the new facilities. The first steps of the invasion plan, first a team would be sent to infiltrate and survey the world, and general Ioktex had been dispatched to oversee this mission, and she had sent her team to go in first. A small vessel arrives over the planet and begins to break through the atmosphere. Inside the small vessel. Were four trolls, each dressed in imperial uniforms with their caste colors and general Ioktex’s sign engraved on random spots of their uniform, symbolizing that allegiance to her.

Piloting the ship, was a tall tealblood, his eyes focusing dead ahead to their destination, checking all the system and making their cloaking device was functioning. A slim blueblood and hulking purpleblood armed to the teeth with weapons and armor, both were wearing helmets to cover most of their faces. And sitting in another seat, typing away and looking at the monitor was Mallek. His expression was cold and dead, his eyes barely moving as he shifted through data, and attached to his neck was a collar device that was blinking. He has several holographic screens around his face. He waits for the virus to download into the flash drive he has plugged in, and once the bar fills and 100% appears, he removes it from the port.

“Here.” He tosses the drive to the other blueblood, who catches it.

“Once you get to a server, insert the flash drive in and we’ll access the mainframe. The virus will be uploaded and we’ll have all the information we need.”

She examines the device in her hand “Huh? It’s that simple huh? What about firewalls and security systems or-”

Mallek cuts her off “Don’t worry about it. It’s a multiagent virus, it’ll be infecting too many systems at once to mask what we’re really doing. Just get in, stay hidden, and don’t let anything happen to the drive.”

“Alright, fair enough. You’re the expert. I’m sure you know what you’re doing.” She smiles trying to make small talk but Mallek doesn’t even look at her, not interested in her or any of them.

“We’ll be landing shortly.” The pilot says as he presses some buttons. “Boosting cloaking shield.”

Suddenly a pained groan is heard at the back of the ship. In the generator room, strapped and bound into the ship, by tendrils was a gold caste troll, colorful energy surges through his eyes and then around his body as it is absorbed through the tendrils, powering the ship up. This was the norm for goldblood, but in this one’s case, it was a punishment. He was a rebel agent who had been captured and as punishment, he had been bound to his vessel as a living battery.

The rebels had adapted to using ships powered by alternative means as opposed to the living batteries on gold castes. After all exhaustion and overuse would result in the gruesome, permanent damage or painful deaths of the psionic trolls. But the empire would just replace them with another. Of course like the rebels, the empire did have ships and vessels that were also powered by other non-living energy sources. Only the older models and generation still used living batteries, as a reward by the Empress as goldbloods could last longer than fuel.

Every groan or scream he made was ignored by the crew, the purpleblood, in particular, found it to be soothing and enjoyed the cries of pain. Mallek was forced to endure this, and do nothing. The device around his neck was a precaution that the general had used to further keep him in line. Containing a powerful explosion that would activate at the push of a button or he made any attempt to remove or hack the wiring.

He had sacrificed his freedom, in order to protect what was dearest to him…

And now he was once again a servant to the Empire, an unwilling servant and this would be his life for now until the end of his life. A slave who was no different than that poor soul in the generator, no different from the inhabitants on the planet below who would soon be enslaved and lose their freedom.

He sighs before returning his view to his screen. “Let’s begin…”

[theartisticapparition]

Good Morning and welcome to Mallek Week day 2! Crossover Au

I mixed 2 of my most favorite things ever which is HS and ATLA. Here’s a waterbender Mallek!

[lace-and-snowdrop]

day 2 of mallek week, it’s crossover/au so i went with a simple human au

[mallekweek]

MALLEK WEEK 2021!

[Writing and Drawing Prompt List]

@dailymallek we’ve decided to host a Mallek week again!

Thank you all for your support throughout this past year~~ [all mods]

March 8th - 14th

Day 1: Robot

Day 2: Sacrifice

Day 3: AU DAY [Bloodswap, humanstuck, trickster...)

Day 4: Fashion

Day 5: Love

Day 6: Sburbland

Day 7: Free day!

Tag as: #mallekweek or #mallekweek2021

[popcorn-kitten]

Mallek Week Day 2 - Sacrifice

Rating: T+ Warnings: melancholy, pailing mention, death mention Summary: Drabble - Nobody Knows Mallek's thoughts on drone season. @heuristicallyinclined Read on ao3

Drone season comes and goes each sweep like an obnoxious plague. The forced break from progress almost throws him into a fit each time as those on his ship are absorbed with quadrant mates. They come and go and others arrive on his deck only to make a mess before absconding.

If there was one thing Mallek truly felt hate towards it would be drone season.

Not to say Mallek was a prude by any means, he was more than happy to fill a pail when stressed like any other adult troll with such proclivities BUT when it came to collection time his mood soured.

Mallek didn’t think of himself as someone who had time to entertain a relationship. His last pale relationship was cut short due to distance and the difference in aging leading to the little rust passing several sweeps ago.

Mallek had done his best to keep Diemen safe but he couldn’t get a transfer approved and truly didn’t have the pull he wanted when it came to other ships. He would never know what happened to Diemen. Not really. The wiener-obsessed troll sometimes didn’t seem to understand when he was in a bad situation and even in the deepest of feelings jams he wouldn’t open up about the abuses he suffered.

Mallek hadn’t taken another diamond and had no plans to.

Besides, he was too busy.

He had a revolution to assist with and it wasn’t safe to be open about that work with anyone. It wasn’t fair to put that danger on another troll.

As for flush and pitch, there was no way Mallek could give the time and effort it would take to sustain that type of relationship. He wouldn’t be able to chat idly and his schedule didn’t allow for dates. Not that he needed it. Mallek didn’t need anyone and no one deserved the type of troll he’d become.

There was a time when someone had gotten close. They’d made him shiver and flush when they smiled at him. Showed him that they cared with a simple squeeze of his hand. But they left with no goodbye and he had to move on.

So, moved on he had.

He had gone off-planet, fought in battles, clawed his way to his position where he could work with what he loved, and was blessedly left alone.

Mallek’s musings were brought to a halt when his husktop dinged. Another troll in need of a pailing partner had matched with him.

Mallek glanced at the other’s pictures and information and shrugged to himself before accepting the match.

It’s not like it mattered much. They would meet up to awkwardly tangle themselves together enough to produce some slurry and never speak again.

That’s what Mallek wanted and what he liked. Something quick with no strings or commitment.

Mallek liked being alone.

Mallek was used to being alone.

Mallek deserved to be alone.

[clowndaydreams]

Angst! What if after fiddling with their rocket's stuff for wipes & wipes -& the stars fucking aligning- the human manages to lock in to a transmission of. their family. whether they're being interviewed by the press or what have you, they and their clowns can hear just how utterly /heartbroken/ they are. The human has been missing for months, they're worried sick, no one's gone that far out in space and lived, they miss them, how can they go on?- and the human is just. SOBBING their heart out.

It got a bit long, so it is under the cut! Enjoy!

It had been a while since you ended up on Alternia. 

Sweeps according to your friends. 

So much had happened and yet you felt nowhere closer to trying to find a way back home.

You discovered aliens, you managed to survive for longer than you thought you would have on their bloodthirsty planet and you even made friends with all types of aliens during your adventures here. 

You also found yourself adopted by a caste of murder clowns as one of them. 

Just the thought of it on paper was funny.

Then there also came the memories of all your weird adventures in trying to survive and make allies along the way. From surviving Ardata and her lusus to helping Barzum and Baizli to escape the mansion. You’d make millions off of just those stories alone if you published this back home. 

But none of it had ever let you forget that ache you felt for your home. 

As fun as it was teaching your make-shift family of friends about human food and culture, you sure missed not having to explain everything. To not have to remember another language’s worth of terms and sayings to just get your point across. 

Most of all you missed your family. They were probably worried sick about you.

Tonight was another night of working on your rocket and a makeshift transmitter that Mallek helped you build in case you could maybe get in touch with Earth.

Tonight was what you believed to be the day of your annual family reunion. So, you’d been down for the past week...and all of your friends seemed to notice. 

You assured them that it was nothing and that you were completely fine.

They had their own issues to sort out

They didn’t need your emotional ones to add to the pile, they weren’t even your moirails.

You had been trying to figure out what a notification meant when you heard someone barge into your small hideout. 

Well, multiple someones. 

“hey lil sis. how goes The rockeT?” 

Chahut was the first to enter. Oh, she must’ve stopped by on the way to mass. 

You were also tackled by a 3 small blurs as you caught sight of Marvus coming in behind her. 

You greeted the twins and Karako with hugs and a good squeeze.

What were they all doing here?

“u seemed a lil down. so me n ChaCha hear thought ud lik sum compani ufeelme?”

“we found The wrigglers on The way over.”

That was so sweet.

You explained that you were completely fine. Just a little homesick. Besides, it’d be a boring night with you just trying to fix some wiring. 

And, as if to thwart your words, your transmitter/receiver started to go crazy.

What? You’d just turned it on a few minutes ago!

The clownlets got off and let you start fiddling with the feed. 

Chahut also held the phone while you called Mallek to explain what was going on and how to get whatever message this seemed to be to play.

After some more fiddling around, you figured out it was a video.

 A few more minutes later, all 6 of you were huddled around the feed as the machine began to process the video to play. 

You went stiff and lost your breathe when the video turned on and you saw your mother. 

“whoa. dat ur ancestor?” 

“...yes.” Your voice cracked. They knew that humans had a different system with ‘ancestors’.

She was fiddling with the camera and took a deep breathe, seeming to be about to cry like you were. 

“(y/n)...it’s been 2 years since you accidentally launched into space...your aunt wants us to make this as a sort of last ditch effort to try and reach you...if...if you’re still out there.”

You tried your hardest to not ugly cry in front of your guests.

You broke when you felt Karako hug your side.

Your father entered the shot and they went on about how they and the rest of the family missed you terribly as well as a few updates on their lives.

They even included smaller videos of your other family members’ last messages after your parents’ message. 

You were full out sobbing when everyone congregated together with your parents at the end. 

They shot this at the family reunion. Of course they would. It was the only time you all managed to get together.

“We love you, (y/n)! We hope to see you soon.” The feed cut off shortly after that.

You curled up into a sobbing ball and felt the others try and hug you in comfort. 

What if you couldn’t go back? What if they thought you were dead?

“I have to go back. I miss them.” You managed to say between sobbing fits.

“PlEaSe DoN’t CrY.” The twins tried to comfort, before you noticed some purple tears starting to drip on you.

All 3 of them were crying. I really only served to make you cry more but try to comfort them while they tried to comfort you.

You almost forgot about Chahut and Marvus until you heard Marvus grunt.

“all ‘m sayin iz dat gramps dont kno (y/n) lik dat.”

“we can sTill ask. he didn’t kill her aT church when she firsT came.”

“What?”

Chahut ends up explaining that they may have a way to at the very least send a message back without Her Imperial Condesce or her Heiress knowing. 

Marvus cuts in to explain that while GHB may have a means of doing so, he may not be able to or want to help out what he may see as a rando rustie.

Both assure you that no matter what though, they would help you out in getting home.

You’re extremely glad you managed to befriend them. 

[heuristicallyinclined]

Mallek Week 2021 Day 2: Sacrifice

800 Words | AO3

You can’t feel your fingers anymore, but that’s not even close to your biggest problem at the moment.

You stopped looking at the feeds. You know drones are in here and they clearly know about you and watching them advance on your position isn’t going to help you finish faster.

It was supposed to be a quick job. Get in, get whatever information you could, and get the fuck out so you could see if it was actually worth the effort. You weren’t actually expecting to find something this good.

You weren’t expecting to see a security patch that hadn’t gone live yet.

Fuck, it even had patch notes. The exploits you found that let you reroute drones were nothing compared to this. It meant changing preexisting commands instead of just their parameters and could change the fucking game.

It would at least, if you could just finish.

Everything is taking longer than it should. Firewall was more of a bitch to deal with than you thought it would be. But they can’t stop you, just slow you down. You can feel the walls vibrating as they approach. You managed to buy yourself some time by turning on the site’s security system, but you’re just stalling them and you know it.

You could have just left when shit started popping off and maybe you should have. But you didn’t. You were curious and fucked around and found out and this is going to blow up in your face very soon.

It won’t be for nothing. You’re going to make sure of that.

Somewhere in the distance, you hear the sound of metal crunching.

It doesn’t matter if you can’t do shit with it. You don’t have the tools on you or even the time to do it. But you knew a few people who do, other people in the rebellion. You just need to crack into this and do this fucking baton pass so someone who is less of an idiot than you can make use of it.

You’re in.

It’s probably the last time you’re ever going to get to make that joke to yourself. Your fingers fly across the keyboard as you start the secure upload process. You wonder who is going to be the one to use it. Would they get how big it was? What it meant? They better if you died over it.

They would. You knew they would because they were a part of your team.

Working with other hackers was something you had given up on for a long time until you joined the rebellion. You actually really liked it, between the work and not being around people constantly jacking it to the empire and the importance of working together for its glory. You never really bought the whole “being a part of something greater than yourself” bullshit from the empire and it was more of a passing thought in the rebellion. It was something you knew but didn’t really feel.

You think you get it now. It sucks that you had to just about be a corpse to actually get it.

You not having time to miss it is probably a good thing. You don’t want to go out moping. You don’t think you’d even have the head space to with how the shaking is getting louder as drones approach, on the same floor as you now. You have never been more pissed off at a loading bar. Its slow crawl towards one hundred contrasts wildly with the beat of your pusher. It’s almost mocking, like it knows how stressed you are and how much this means to you and is determined to spite you before you go.

You hate this. You’re tense. You’re tense and can’t do shit about it other than wait it out with time you don’t have. You glance at the feed and swallow when you see the remains of the security system you activated. They tore through it. They had to work for it sure, but in the same way you had to deal with the firewall. It was a temporary inconvenience and they’re coming for your ass and you can’t even say for sure that you’ll have accomplished what you came here for.

It’s at 97%. You are going to have a fucking conniption if this is the project you leave undone.

There is a heavy thud at the door and you start glancing around rapidly. The room is small and you don’t know if it’s worth it to see if you can draw their attention to the other side of it to make sure it’s done or buy a few extra seconds. It doesn’t end up mattering.

It reaches 100%. It’s complete. You fucking did it.

Your shoulders relax and you give a soft laugh of relief.

You can’t hear it over the deafening sound of the door being blown open.

Notes: Not going to lie, I really dislike writing action, but I am pretty happy with how this turned out.

[meraki-sunset]

The game begins with reader finishing reading the epilogues, so we know that they read all homestuck (but not homestuck2) and finally understands everything that is happening around them.

When they go to confront doc scratch they find the place full of photos on the floor and that doc is fighting with slick spades.

That means I was right in my previous theory! And Reader escapes in the middle of the altercation.

But unlike what I thought would happen, reader does not just cross the portal and warns his friends about the arrival of the meteorites that lead to the 12 trolls.

In fact at first I did not understand what happened, but giving it a little more time to think, it is kind of obvious to me what happened.

Reader got into the fenestrated window while it was turned off. So they fell into the void that exists between the windows and got themselves inside a dream bubble.

just like Roxi did when her window got disconected, she landed on Meena’s dream bubble

And within this bubble, they find the retcom juju

The dream bubbles if you remember, they generate a mixture of memories of who is inside, and the bubble where the juju was kept was a convination of places from vriska’s and caliborn’s memories (from their lands during the game)

But being alone in the bubble, arriving long before anyone else to the juju, all that reader found were smooth walls and the juju itself, not in the caliborn’s denizen box, but on the floor.

Reader recognizes the juju and puts their hand in it, but not being a character of the web comic, but from a side story the power is too much for them, and they’re sent to the beginning of homestuck, outside of John’s house on the day of apocalypse.

Later Reader says they probably found the juju by accident, making this the point in wich this timeline divides from the canon alpha timeline. We’ll have to wait and see what results from this separated reality in wich nobody ever plays the game.

We realize now by how they describe everything so vaguely and calmly, by how he does not recognize John and that he is looking to make friends again, that reader now has amnesia, and not only do they don’t remember reading homestuck (which I originaly thought would be their motivation to change the history during this game) but also does not remember their experiences in alternia during Friendsim.

So basically we are at Zero again. Reader is delighted and eager to make friends again, with the added advantage that they can travel between time and space.

This gives them the ability to alter the timeline in the process of making friends. So without even trying, they destroy the homestuck’s narrative from it’s very core, which is,  they prevent the children from playing Sburb.

I always assumed that there was no escape from the game and that if the children did not play it, the meteorites would fall anyway annihilating the earth, and that the game was the only way for someone to be saved. It turns out that it’s not the case. The apocalypse can be avoided only if none of the children created in sburb starts the countdown.  (because other people on earth tried to start the game but never worked)

As an extra fact John mentions that the mailmen are unstoppable when delivering mail, which reminds me of mendicant. And in addition to the theory that pawns can not go back and therefore reader can not stop or withdraw from any encounter and if they do it, that timeline is doomed (reinforcing my carapace theory)

But back to reader, they seems to have vague memories of having been elsewhere and having read homestuck, because the encounter with John seems familiar to them although they do not remember his name

they refer to the first pages of homestuck when they try to remember.

And they think they remember making many friends and having died several times, although they have no memories of anyone or anything specific. The oldest memory they can recal is right after they finished reading homestuck before leaving Doc scratch mansion.

In a timeline, reader teaches John their powers and teleports him to a week in the past, where they accidentally intercept Epilog-John doing the same, and stopping in the backyard of his old home a week before the apocalypse to regroup everyone and choose the Plan of action on Lord English.

Maybe reader knew within himself that this would happen due to their incomplete memories in which they read the epilogue, but they guided themselves by following John's suggestions so it might just be a matter of luck for them to have found Epilog-John.

When they return John has a vague existential crisis after seeing himself from the future for a moment, similar to his extensive existential crisis after winning the game and moving to the Earth c.

Maybe John is not made for this heroic future (even tho he was created for it) and will always end up having crisis, no matter to how little of his magical destiny he is exposed to.

 In another timeline reader never shows their powers to John and they both just hang out in his room.

John implies that he does not have a good time with his father's cake madness, which reader worries that could be an abusive situation, but then he clarifies that everything is really fine and that he should not worry. Thing that calms reader down but still they still feel that they would be able to help someone in an abusive situation if the case ever presented to them (wich have actually done multiple times)

(Ironically, of the 4 children, John is the only one who is not in an abusive situation, contrary to the popular trope of stories involving teenagers, where the protagonist is the one in the most compromising situation which drives them to move the story forward, John actually was the only one from the group who had a loving family and stable home and lost it all on the game while the other three kids gained character development, friends, family and partners. Sad.)

Speaking with Dave, John tells him that the reader doesn't even look like a person, just something humanoid.

He mentioned that before even

So it’s finally confirmed by the kids that Reader is in fact not a human, like we all kind of suspected. (reader themselves seems to believe they are tho)

He also mentions that they are not wearing pants :/ (all this time I assumed that they did, and that Mallek had given them a pair as he had promised and that we as players simply did not notice due to the type of art in which reader is represented but, oh well. No pants. In addition, if it is a carapace, then they are a piece of chess created by cloning, no pants are needed, there is nothing to hide)

In addition Dave seems to be much less gullible than John and immediately understands that reader is not a mailman and that it’s probably their fault that John did not receive his game.

During the conversation reader scatters the things in John's treasure chest on the floor, like in homestuck (I still think they unconsciously mimic homestuck when they encounters scenarios they previously saw)

  And in the end they make a tower of cakes on John's bed and it should be noted that reader is wrapped in John's sheet in the same way that the mayor did with the same sheet and in the same way that all renegade carapaces do. (which only throws more fuel on my carapace theory, with y’all probably sick of hearing by now but i stand by it o:< )

That’s all i have for John’s chapter!

(yes i know reader is confirmed not a carapace, this theory it’s old)

i already have 3 word documents with Rose, Dave and Jade’s analysis i just need to organize them. i’m planing to post all the 8 kids first and then explain the trolls for convinience here you have a link to my 3 part theory for the oncoming hiveswap game!

Part 1 of Hiveswap theory

Part 2 of Hiveswap theory

Part 3 of Hiveswap theory

Link to the HomestuckTheory hashtag on my blog where you can find more stuff

[solemncadaver]

Friendsim Trolls According to my Girlfriend who hasn’t played Friendsim

Ardata (Cobalt): w... who took bites out of her horns? Can and will kill you in your sleep. Plotting evil plans 23/7 (the 24th hour is for drinking coffee with LOTS of milk and sugar)

Diemen (Rust): Always eating food (why is that hot dog bun GREEN-), will never call you by your name, only nicknames like bro, dude, man etc, probably owns a skateboard but can't drive it

Cirava (Gold): Oo funky! Has a horrible backstory and doesn't talk about it EVER, is chill all the time, likes 70s-80s fashion and actually wears it with style! Is as extra as the fact they've got 4 horns

Amisia (Indigo): definitely an artist! The "weird kid", has not slept in 5 days because she just HAD to finish that one painting, cuts her own hair with scissors not meant for cutting hair yet it looks amazingly good! Probably either super pure and nice or will kill you if you breathe in her direction

Bronya (Jade): The cool big sister, helps you do your makeup and dye your hair, if you hurt one of her friends those boots will land in your face, probably has a tumblr with aesthetic images

Skylla (Bronze): Yeehaw howdy pardner! Isn't only from a ranch, she OWNS one! Can and will punch you for no reason, makes you do her chores if you wanna stay at her place, has never seen a hairbrush in her life

Tagora (Teal): Tries his best to be edgy and frightening, sometimes almost fails at that, could be in one of those "barber: say no more fam" memes, thinks he's an evil overlord but is actually just a delinquent, probably doesn't get a redemption arc and only like 2 people are mad about that

Vikare (Bronze): Wants to be a pilot/is a pilot but DON'T TRUST THEM WITH AN AIRPLANE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, pretends wearing that pilot hat is a fashion choice when in reality they can't take it off again with those horns, nobody has ever seen them sleep and people are concerned

Polypa (Olive): The most feral being (or she fell down the stairs and is mad about it), problems balancing with only one eye able to see, could claw out your heart and not bat an eye, the hole in her horn is from when someone tried to take her out, nobody has ever seen that person afterwards

Zebruh (Indigo): Looks like an ASSHOLE. What are his horns doing they're not pointed that's not how horns should work, very smug! Has a shitty job and is pretentious about it to people w/o a job, looks like the cryptic bartender in a stereotypical drama thriller that the detective has to interview to know who killed the rich guy's wife

Elwurd (Cobalt): Look at those extra af horns! Def owns a motorcycle, flirty but has never received actual affection, has a mental breakdown every 2 days but pretends EVERYTHING'S FINE, makes 5 puns a minute

Folykl & Kuprum (Gold): What a goal: Carry your bud around in your giant ass backpack! I......don't know who is who tbh but! They both have cool spider looking horns! The best evidence for 'opposites attract', the only friends they have are each other, secretly planning to overthrow the government

Remele (Cobalt): The x on her left eye symbolizes that she has found her next victim. It's you. Run. Could probably use her horn as a climbing hook, v passive aggressive, makes her own clothes, works out a lot and is stronger than she looks

Konyyl (Olive): My fight, flight or flirt instincts have been activated. Could snap you in half by looking at you yet can be super soft if she wants to (you gotta be REAL close to her though), likes matcha ice cream and yells at it when it melts, is NOT tidy

Chixie (Bronze): Shy babey. Will probably be interrupted 3 times when trying to speak because she's just so quiet, has been left on her own and now has no idea how to survive yet is too shy to ask for the way. Someone come help her please.

Tyzias (Teal): Bored college student. Will NOT help you in an emergency so don't even ask. Secretly likes cryptids, is Done (tm), nobody has ever seen her outside of campus, roasts people in the most monotone voice ever

Chahut (Purple): F-... fear ':)? Eh, that's probably just paint! Right? Right???... Is probably being forced to do horrible things, can't remember their childhood, looks scary but only unintentionally, I'd still smooch tbh

Azdaja (Gold): Reminds me of that ching prince from FMA:B tbh, has a weird aesthetic going on, has the upper hand everywhere without trying, probably has 3 fake names, is always cool but can slip up and make goofy remarks

Zebede (Gold): Smol round boi! Probably played soccer in 5th grade, now makes v interesting and functional machines from Lego, probably owned a pet hamster at some point, has no sense of danger

Tegiri (Teal): Is that a KATANA-.... Still not out of his weeb phase, is VERY devoted to his aesthetic, talks either in one word sentences or dramatic quotes from a show nobody has seen, shop owner who sells you weapons

Mallek (Cobalt): Oh look it your hubby! He looks like a trickster tbh yet all the fanart looks sweet and pure!? (Also how do you pierce horns-) how many piercings has he though? Is there fanart- 👀... anyways he kinda looks like the popular kid and the emo kid combined, but like in a good way!?! Probably has a secret key for the whole town that he shouldn't have, can store everything in that hoodie pocket (it's like Hermione's bag :3!)

Lynera (Jade): Looks like the weird art/music teacher, v nice though! Has a lot of weird hobbies that her friends politely decline to join, likes to bake for everyone, likes children or absolutely loathes them

Galekh (Indigo): Is this Roman from Sanders Sides? Jdhdkd he looks like the strict angry teacher, will absolutely refuse giving help and does not allow any flaws (both in you and in himself) can spot someone doing illegal things from a mile away, is not afraid to call people out

Tirona (Teal): Look at that spider hair! Looks good 👉👉, is probs v shy and awkward but tries to talk to everyone anyways, has some exotic pets that she doesn't tell anyone about bc someone once said it's weird, just wants to be accepted, clumsy af

Boldir (Olive): Hiding ..... something ...., private but not stealthy investigator, is distracted way too easily, is the detective I mentioned back at Zebruh's, v loyal, will absolutely get you arrested if you're *in the way*

Stelsa (Teal): Looks like a cool but bitchy mom, probably gets a manicure every week, she looks just like my mom which is scary wth, will not hesitate to roast Karen at the school bake sale, those lemon bars are horrible KAREN, why didn't you let your third husband help K A R E N

Karako (Purple): What- ?

I-.... I'm confused! But okay!

Never makes sense, nobody has ever seen them eat or sleep, appears in your room at 2 am when you have sleep paralysis

Marsti (Rust): Probably is like the classic mechanic, can weld 👌👏👉👉👍, is done with everyone's bullshit but will still try to help (occasionally), drinks too many energy drinks and not enough water, everyone asks her for favors and she is having none of it

Charun (Olive): Peaceful gardener, don't stand in their sun and they won't bother whatever you do, just wants a little farm house near a small town with his pet cat, don't walk on their vegetables or they'll chase you with a rake

Wanshi (Jade): Just a nice person. A total sweetheart. Just wants to have fun, very optimistic, the most functional person you'll ever meet, drinks a lot of green tea and hot chocolate

Fozzer (Rust): Nice person but not very bright, doesn't know how electronics work, has a flip phone from like 2006 and that's enough for him, has a lot of houseplants but can't really keep them alive

Marvus (Purple): 👀👀👀 You know how I think about him (😭🍀😏😎🍀💖🌾❤ 11/10 best ti🅱🅱y window would allow him to stab me)

Daraya (Jade): Smol but will fight you. Is super done and will not help you, but also won't stop you. Probably has 2-4 knifes somewhere on her body at all time.

Nihkee (Indigo): Looks like a pirate captain + professional wrestler in one, like! Probably drinks their coffee black just so people respect them more, will show off every trophy they have (a lot) if someone decides to listen to them

Lanque (Jade): 👀👀👀👍 the most dramatic and salty being alive, v stylish, takes 2 hours a day just to get ready, probably has 16 meetings a day, could work as a model, will cut anyone and everyone that says he should change something about him

Soleil (Purple): Ah yes, the obligatory twins. Probably cursed by a spiteful witch at birth, have never been seen seperate, occasionally like to scare people by pretending to be the twins from shining

I’m crying

[yourfriendsimf-o]

au where u and ur f/os work at troll arbys

GALEKH

;; is the general manager who really is trying his best. he is a stickler for protocol and the rules and will harp on you if you’re not following them

;; he also really cares about his staff and lets you sneak in breaks or lets you go home early if he can tell you’re under the weather. just don’t break his trust

MALLEK

;; would be the one who always comes into work high or hungover because no one cares/he won’t get punished because he’s one of the only people who doesn’t call in three days out of the week.

;; works in the drive thru and front counter and all the customers love him, he’s constantly getting positive feedback and is extremely pleasant to be around and to talk to

KONYYL

;; works on backline (which is where you prepare the food) and she is the best that the store has, she can handle 1-2 hour dinner rushes by herself and she is super fast and efficent. never makes an incorrect sandwich and always gets praise.

;; loudly expresses distastes towards staff who call in and how the store never fucking hires people to work on backline! like give her a break!

TAGORA

;; is the shift manager that doesn’t care if you take a sandwich that’s been sitting in the chutes for more than 10 minutes or if you have a large fry for lunch and don’t pay for it. tries to keep up with rules and regulation but is always very laid back with them.

;; while he does have a resting bitch face and can come off as intimidating, he’s actually really sweet. he fucking hates arby’s and the corporation that owns it, which is why he’s so chill about giving staff free food and what not, even if he’s not supposed to

[kaioken16]

Mallek Week Day 2: Dreamer or Hobbies

@mallekweek Drew this quick sketch of several Malleks in their Prospit dreamer outfit, the bottom two are Mallek’s first reaction to waking up on Prospit. 🌙

[kaioken16]

Welcome to the golden City (Mallek Week Day 2)

Day 2 fic prompt for @mallekweek, featuring an OC guiding Mallek through his first awakening on Prospit. Like the previous entry, there is a google doc link with certain text written like a pesterlog chat, the link is here. Please enjoy the read!

Word count: 1957 Rating: For everyone Characters: Mallek Adalov, OC 

Mallek burst into a nearby room, immediately shutting the metal door behind him and entering the lock code on the controls. His clothing was torn apart, bleeding from his forehead, his mouth and his arm which had the sleeve of his hoodie completely shredded off. Catching his breath as he had been running for a while, he leaned up against the door, and let out a sigh of relief. It was short-lived. All of a sudden, the sound heavy pounding on the door filled the room, along with the snarls and roars of a creature.

Mallek’s face was filled with panic, grabbing a small device out of his pocket, frantically pressing buttons before he stuck it to the door like a magnet. His gadget started beeping and then he quickly got away from the door watching the device emit a large electric shockwave. A roar of pain came from the other side, the device had now electrified the door. Whatever was on the other side, kept pounding but each time it was electrocuted, soon it attempts to enter the room became slower. Mallek braced himself in case it didn’t work, but fortunately for him, the heavy footsteps of the beast began to move away in another direction.

His heart was beating out his chest. Once he could no longer hear the creature, he just collapsed to the ground. Sitting there, he slowly laid back down, the adrenaline was going away. He hadn’t felt fear like, what was that thing? The cerulean then remembered he was talking to Zack before he was attacked. Slowly sitting up, he grabbed his palmhusk, opening his trollian, his thumbs tapping away on his screen.

--snakeBytes [SB] began trolling GallantLuminescent [GL]-- SB: hey; SB: i’m back; SB: sorry about; GL: What happened?? You said someone was watching you and then you went silent. SB: no need to worry; it’s not a problem anymore; SB: turns out that someone was a something; SB: but i managed to get away from it; tested out the electrifying mechanism on the device; GL: What something?! Are you okay? Where are you now? SB: hey; hey; don’t worry about it; SB: i’m okay; all safe and sound; whatever it was = gone; SB: it didn’t like getting shocked so it gave up; GL: Okay, if you're sure then. But please stay safe okay, I’m glad that the defence system works, but don’t take any unnecessary risks dude. SB: likewise; you keep safe too; SB: anyway; changing the subject while i hide out here; go back to the discussion we we’re talking about; about that place called prospit; and that we could meet there?; GL: Yeah since we’re at different points across the universe and all that, I figured out that your lunar sway in the game is prospit like mine. GL: So, we can meet there in person. I’ll be waiting for you when you get there. SB: hold on; how exactly am i supposed to get there?; SB: you haven’t exactly explained the intrigue details of i’m supposed to prospit?; or what this place is exactly; GL: Since I have no idea when I’ll be able to visit Alternia. I thought that we could meet at Prospit. GL: As for how to get there… Don’t worry about it ;D GL: It’s a special place, I’ve already cleared your entry. GL: Just rest up, and I’ll see you okay. SB: this doesn’t make any sense; but you’re the kind to make up stuff like this; so, i guess i’ll see you later; SB: i’m gonna rest on the floor for a bit and make my way back to my hive later; GL: Alright. See ya soon.

Yawning, Mallek wiped some of the blood off his mouth. Turning his palmhusk off, the troll laid there. Zack wasn’t the type to not make sense about something. Granted he was an alien with a culture completely different to his own, but it seemed more like he was hiding something about this ‘Prospit’ place. But at this moment, all Mallek wanted to do was sleep. First things first, he needed to clean his injuries, he didn’t wanna bleed out in his sleep. It wasn’t a serious wound but he couldn’t be too careful.

Looking around this old storage room he was able to find a cloth, wiping the rest of the blood off his face and his arm. Mallek then wrapped the cloth around his injured arm nice and tight. He slumped against the wall, pulling his hood over his head and shut his eyes. Hopefully he wouldn’t wake up to the sight of that unknown creature midway through eating him.

As Mallek began to drift off into a slumber he thought more about Zack, and more about Prospit. His lunar sway? What did that even mean? Something to do the moon obviously. But it couldn’t be about Alternia’s own moons. So many questions, one was answered and five more popped up. He was gonna have to ask Zack again about Prospit, and how he was gonna get there exactly.

There was nothing but pitch-black darkness for the moment. There was no sound, and no light at first. But then through the dark, something was peeking through. A light. It started out small and in the distance. Then it got closer, moving towards him, and bigger. It was so bright, he had to cover his eyes.

Soon he was now surrounded by light, he couldn’t stare into it, the intensity was too much. Mallek’s eyes shot wide open, immediately he grunted in pain, shutting them back due to the bright light. What was going on? Did the lights in this room suddenly turn on? Slowly, he opened his eyes again, his vision adjusting to the brightened area.

Then he realized something was different. Why was everything yellow? This was a different room. No. he was outside now, but this wasn’t anywhere he had ever been before. Getting to his feet, Mallek stared around in disbelief at his new surroundings, looking down at his feet the floor was gold, tapping at it with his shoe. That’s when he noticed his pants, then the rest of his clothes, they weren’t the same things he had worn earlier. Bright yellow clothing, with a large crescent moon symbol on his chest instead of his sign. The only thing that hadn’t been altered was his shoes.

Looking around to see if he could spot someone, anyone at all to explain where he was. He ran further into this golden city, running up a set of stairs turning into another street. Mallek looked up, his confusion turned to awe and wonder. Instead of the purple night sky and twin moons of his home, it was pitch black, but in the center was a massive blue planet where the sun should be. Swaying his head to the sides, this couldn’t be real.

“Hey, stranger!” A voice, a familiar one called out to Mallek, his eyes scanning around to find the source of it. Turning around he saw Zack?! Floating down like a balloon before the troll.

“What? What? Zack. What’s going on?” Mallek was surprised to say the least, seeing his human friend in the flesh before, slowly approaching the other, his hands reaching out grabbed Zack’s face, squeezing his cheeks. He was real.

“Hey, hey, knock it off. I’m real. This is real. Sort of.” He said, chuckling to himself. Zack could see that Mallek still didn’t understand, he then took the troll’s hand.

“Come on, I’ll give you the full details of this place. But first and foremost… Welcome to Prospit.” Zack guided the other in a new direction, his last words made Mallek look around again in realization.

“Prospit? This… This is prospit.” The cerulean asked Zack who nodded to re-confirm. This strange city was the place the other had been telling him about.

The pair were now in one of the tall towers throughout Prospit. Inside was an exact copy of Zack’s room, or what he had described to Mallek during their many pesterlogs. Mallek was sitting on the window edge, looking out to the rather beautiful view on the city of gold. Zack was looking out of the window next to him, he had explained everything to the troll as best he could. He understood at least where he was.

“So basically… I’m dreaming right now. This isn’t my real body, but an avatar of sorts. My real body is still in that storage room, sleeping. This is one of the two kingdoms that are dream moons that players can visit with their dream bodies. But unlike a dream everything is real here.”

“Pretty much. There are only a few ways a person could get to prospit… Get a ship and travel here for an unknown length of time. Or be a player and awaken on your dream moon.” Zack stated with the latter being the easier method to get to prospit.

“And this is the kingdom of light… Prospit. And it’s opposite is the kingdom of darkness… Derse.” Mallek asked the other who nodded.

“You end up on either moon depending on your lunar sway. Yours like mine sway to the light, so we’re prospit dreamers.” Zack said as Mallek was still in a state of amazement at all this.

“So my mind and my soul have changed locations. This is beyond anything I could imagine.” Mallek was now examining his hand with his eyes.

“This way, no matter what part of the universe we’re in. Whether the cold vast region of space or the dark skies of alternia, were just a sleep away from each other now.” Zack smiled to himself, the faintest hint of blush over his face.

“This is awesome… So tell me what can I do here? Can I float around like you could earlier?” Mallek was excited to learn more about Prospit and what his dream self could do here.

“You can fly around the place, and you pretty much will some things into existence here. You can be what you’ve always desired for yourself on Prospit.” Zack explaining further to the other.

“For example, if your real body was crippled or damaged in any way like a lost limb. On prospit your dream body is free of those restrictions if that’s what you wish.” Zack said.

“Someone blind could see… A person confined to a chair can walk.” Zack gave examples of the benefits of the dream moon. Mallek could understand more why this place was special and why it was a place where a person’s potential dream could be a reality. To an extent.

“But time here moves the same as the real world, and if your sleep is disturbed somehow you’ll be pulled from here and wake up back in your original body.” Zack told the other, so eventually if his body was ready to awaken his consciousness would return to it.

“Well then. If our time is limited, let’s go!” Mallek, not being afraid jumped out of the window, imagining himself flying, his body became lighter as he now was hovering in the air.

“Whoa. This is fucking amazing.” Mallek spun around in the air. Zack grinning at the other dived out of the window, taking flight as he zoomed past Mallek.

“Race ya to the main tower!” Zack pointed to the tower in the distance. Mallek smirk readied himself, visioning it, and shot off as fast as a bullet with Zack playing catch up.

Back in reality, Mallek was fast asleep in the storage room, perfectly still. A big smile on his face, grumbling in his slumber. His mind millions of miles away at the kingdom of light with his friend.

[kaioken16]

L.O.R.A.S

Mallek Week 2021 Day 6

Day 6: Sburbland Word count: 1187 Character(s): Mallek Adalov, MSPA Reader

AO3 Link

AN: LORAS ‘the Land of Relics and Season’ is Mallek’s planet that I thought of, and was inspired by elements of the planet Mortis from Clone Wars, and Hidden Land/Temporal Tower from PKMD Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky.

Summary: The Rogue of Time arrives on his planet: Land of Relics and Season to rest and recharge after a long series of missions.

The setting is a strange planet, the sky was an unnatural vision, vibrant blue energy almost fire-like burns across the sky, like waves racing around the entire planet, from the view of space it appears like a current of water that swirls around the atmosphere. The landmass was a vivid looking scene, truly something out of a dream. On one side A series of vast lush fields, dense forest and green mountains, with stunning vistas. To the other side was a desert that seemed to cover half of the planet, the sands were a dark golden shade, littered by many several stone pillars, some still standing and others crumbling or in ruin.

And in between the two regions was a series of floating masses of land, mountains, they had been suspended in the air, frozen in time. And within the epicentre of the floating mountains was a structure, a tower, the stone tiling was identical to the pillars scattered throughout the desert, and had vines and plants from the forests growing in between them. Each stone in this tower was glowing a symbol that was the same blue as the energy looping around the world. Engraved over the tower’s entrance was the gear symbol.

Just then the symbol begins to glow, but rather than the calming blue, a blood red glow fills the symbol. Suddenly the great stone doors slowly opened outwards, someone was exiting the tower.

Mallek steps outside, he is dressed in his god tier robes, the red complimenting his usual blue features. Clinging to his shoulder was a slightly large gecko, its scales were a purple hue, with yellow stripes running the top of his body from its head to the end of its tail.

Along with them as a few fireflies slowly hover out the darkness of the tower they lazily fly around Mallek before flying off in various directions. The troll leaves out a short sigh, before releasing his dark blue wings, he then takes a few steps forward before stepping off the edge and taking flight.

He felt re-energized after making it back to his planet, the Land of Relics and Seasons. The tower had a healing effect on his body, like the safe point in a video game. His powers as a Rogue of Time were stronger than normal on this planet, the ability to steal time and manipulate it. He would often come here to check on the status of its consorts and after he ascended it was a way for him to recharge.

When he first arrived on his planet it was all so surreal to him, between the strange dream-like setting, that the seasons seemed to go by the time of day, during the day it beautiful green forests on the side and scorching deserts on the other, and by nightfall, those vibrant forests would be blanketed by what he can to learn as frozen water otherwise known as ‘snow’ according to his human friend. And the desert would also be a frigid wasteland, below sub-zero temperature.

The tower was the only area here on LORAS that was unaffected by the strange weather pattern. Though finding a way via the floating rocks was rather difficult pre-god tier without the convenient method of flight, with help from the lizards and fireflies he managed to find a way to safely navigate to the ancient structure.

He arrives at the forest region, zooming over the area until he comes across a structure in a large clearing. At the four corners of the building were a series of robots that were designed in Mallek’s likeness, they seem to be patrolling the area, a tall pylon that was storing electricity, which was connected to the building, which was responsible for giving it power, and of course hovering above the building was a red gate linked to the other gate located at the top of the atmosphere.

This was his hive, it had been transported here when he began his session, the exterior was a little damaged, with vines that were beginning to overgrow, despite the short time of his session LORAS’s time moves much quicker though it only affected the land rather than the living beings.

Immediately when he touches the ground, his robots’ attention is alerted to him, their blue eyes blink various colours before stopping on green and then returning to blue. An indication that they recognized him, any intruders would be met with severe punishment as he had programmed them to guard his hive against unwanted visitors. And of course, the consorts were deemed as non-threatening so they could come and go as they pleased when Mallek was off-world.

Mallek retracts his wings back and enters his hive. It was the usual mess, the same smell that he had been used to, entering his home, the gecko consort hops off Mallek’s shoulder and begins exploring, it makes several clicking noises and then several more gecko appear to have been hiding among the clutter and computer parts, they then gather forming a circle, each is a different colour, they march in a circle making noises, as they appeared to be communicating with each other.

Mallek smiles faintly at the creatures, which then spreads further when he hears a hissing noise. Slithering through a stack of clothes is a pure white snake, with blue slit eyes, Mallek crouches down and holds his arm out to his lusus, allowing to coil up his arm and wrap around his neck and shoulder. After getting more comfortable, he gets his laptop and sits on his couch. Opening his trollian, and begins to type…

-- snakeBytes [SB] began trolling AlienInvasionofOne [AIOO] --

SB: hey AIOO: Hey bro, what’s up? SB: nothing, i'm on loras right now; SB: i was feeling a little drained; SB: used too much energy during that last battle; AIOO: I can imagine… AIOO: Diemen said that you were on fire. AIOO: Metahropically I mean. AIOO: It was like you were in the zone when you’re coding or hacking. SB:ha! SB: = that so huh; SB: to be honest, yeah; SB: i guess i went a little overboard; AIOO: Yeah… You did. AIOO: You should really take it easy you know. AIOO: You’ve been god tier for a few months now but still… AIOO: It is a lot to take in, your powers are much stronger now. AIOO: Still it’s not like you to be careless. SB: yeah; SB: time != always on my side;;; SB: despite being a time player; AIOO: That was clever! AIOO: But yeah, don’t overexert yourself too much. SB: my thoughts exactly; SB: so i'm gonna take a few hours to just rest; AIOO: Okay. No worries we can talk later, try and rest up!

-- snakeBytes [SB] ceased trolling AlienInvasionofOne [AIOO] --

Mallek checks a few more things on his laptop, running a quick diagnostic before logging off. He finds his phone and lays back on his couch, playing some game on his device, checking his messages. Ignoring the noises of the consorts as they began their regular ritual, making a rhythmic noise, while his lusus curled up on his chest.

[kaioken16]

A Trap

Mallek Week 2021 - Day 1 

Day 1: Robot Word count: 2008 Rating: Teens and Up Character(s): Mallek Adalov, minor background characters

AO3 link

A/N: Hey everyone! I’m very excited to begin this year’s @mallekweek event! 

This first piece will be a canon divergent AU set years after Mallek is shipped off planet, now part of a wide scale rebellion fighting the Empire in a civil war across the galaxy. The prompt for this day focuses on "Robots" I hope you enjoy reading this piece. 

Feedback is greatly appreciated!

A figure is crawling through a long stretching vent, he was dressed in completely black attire, covering everything but his eyes, a series of gadgets and weapons attached on his uniform, armed to teeth with various items. All of this made for an uncomfortable fit but you manage to make it through, this was the only way to infiltrate the facility undetected by the drones or the guards. The smell was a mix of dusty, dampness, rodent shit, and metal, so you know the typical smells you find in a ventilation system.

It was just one of the many things you were used to as part of the job he thinks to himself, he turns into another, it begins to expand, giving him more room so it wasn’t too tight. He then pulls out a small device, pressing the button as a holographic project pops out the screen. Here was a full layout of the facility, along with details of all the levels. The indicator that represented him was a flashing red blip, and he was en route to a green blip that was approximately another level ahead of him. It was left and then straight ahead. He was so close that he could almost taste it. Placing the device back into one of the pockets.

He was an assassin, a hired killer who took high-paying contracts and was one of the best in the business, but he was always interested in the challenge of the kill and how much it was worth to the client. Right now, his target was an Alternian captain in a rebel cell, he had been hired by a high-ranking official within the Alternian empire. His target was one of many rebels against their empire, causing a small civil conflict between the trolls. It didn’t concern him after all, he wasn’t a troll, and wars and conflict across the galaxy just meant more clients for him. In fact, he had been previously hired by the alternian rebels to kill an empire spy and retrieve all the intel they gathered on them.

His allegiance was to the highest bidder…

And this job in particular was worth 50,000 credits. Easy money.

The assassin finally makes his way to his destination. He is directly above the chambers of this captain, he carefully grabs a small metallic tube and presses it against the grate underneath him, a small focused beam of heat shoots from the tip and he uses it to cut the grate open, pushing across and gracefully landing into the hallway, standing before a large automatic door with a security system beside it, a combination of a code sequencer, hand recognition, and retinal scan. His eyes shift around the hall, before taking out his device, pressing a few buttons on before he attaches it to the security panel. There is a jolt of electricity and then a beeping noise as his tool begins to hack the security panel, bypassing the checks.

Reaching for his blaster, fingers itching to wrap around the handle, and squeeze the trigger and fire. He had already mapped out his escape route, so he had to enter the room, and shoot. A green indicator appears on his device and slowly the doors open, he unholsters his weapon. Rushing inside he wastes no time, his gun charges up energy and discharges several rounds of particle beams. He got a little trigger happy, but his shots had pierced through the large chair that was turned back to him, followed by the sound of someone falling over with a heavy thud. Perfect shot.

It wouldn’t be long before his presence would become known, but he needed confirmation for his target. He creeps over to the desk, maneuvering around to the other side, expecting to see a bloody corpse with five holes but to his confusion laying there on the ground was a robot?!

“What the…” He didn’t understand, staring at the destroyed robot, leaking a dark oil substance, sparks flying from the damage he impacted on it. “What is this?” He says aloud, looking around the room, double checking the room, but there was no one else inside.

‘Sorry. Not the person you were expecting in that seat I take it?’

A voice booms on an intercom that catches the assassin's attention. Holding his weapon up, but he was all alone in the room. Just then the doors to the room seal shut by themselves, the sound of the locking mechanism. A secondary system? He rushes to the door, taking out his device to hack open the door again. Sticking on the panel again as the process begins.

‘Oh, quite the cute gadget you got there. No wonder you were able to breach the security and get undetected…’

Suddenly his handheld system begins to short, then a logo appears on the screen a blue zigzag that ends with an arrow pointing up. He attempts to remove his gadget off the panel but is electrocuted, pulling his hand back in pain. He watches as his tool for helping him escape short circuits and fries, a tiny explosion as he shields his face, the device now scorched beyond recognition.

‘Sorry about that. Did I break your toy?’ ‘Here, let me replace it with some of mine...’

A loud buzzer noise fills the room, and then the sound of pressurized air. A set of four panels open up on the wall release a group of mechanized drones, that looked like the standard Empire drones however these were painted with a blue metallic chrome, the previous logo he saw on his gadget was engraved into these ones, and their LED eyes were glowing green, they surround him and before he can even fight back, each one draws a long metal bow staff, the tips charged with electricity. He is struck by one of the rods, and then another, each one sending several volts through his body, trembling he collapses to the floor. They continue to strike him, the blows are hard and each one delivers a painful shock that fills a dozen stings all over his body.

‘That’s enough. Stop.’

The voice commands and the drones respond, one of the machines makes a techno-based noise as if some kind of unique language as it looks up in the corner of the room, where a camera is watching everything. They stop striking the now unconscious assassin. They await further instructions from the voice, the alien’s body twitches a few times as a sign that he was still alive but he was unable to move.

Elsewhere in a completely different location, in another facility, in a small dark control room, the only source of light coming from the large holographic screen, and neon buttons, a figure was still alone in the room. On the screen was the scene that just transpired. He stands up from his leather seat and reaches for a button in front of him, holding down with his finger.

“Now take him to the holding cells.” He orders his machines as one makes a saluting gesture to the camera lenses.

He watches as one of them picks the alien up and throws him over its shoulder and they march out of the room. His trap had worked, and the intel that the rebels received was reliable. The Empire was targeting rebel cell leaders, and Mallek was on their hit list, considering that was responsible for the theft of hundreds of drones that he and his squad personally reprogrammed and shipped to help their other allies, or resend back within the Empire’s factories and like a virus infect the stock. It was certainly becoming a nuisance for the Empire, so much so they sent assassins and bounty hunters after the rebel. But to say he wasn’t prepared would be an insult, setting that trap for the assassin, and always on the move, using misinformation as his current location was one of his many safehouses located in this part of the galaxy. Mallek presses another button on his panel, bringing up a new screen as another troll appears on his screen.

“Yes sir?” The troll addresses Mallek as he’s the commanding officer.

“We have a guest in the western facility, my personal drones have escorted him to the holding cells. Make sure he’s taken care of.” He instructs him, as he would have questions for the assassin later.

“Of course sir, right away.” He bows his head before Mallek makes a gesture before cutting off communications.

…

He sighs, finally turning in for the night. Leaving the control room, he is now alone in a cluttered workshop filled with robotic parts, appliances, wires, and broken drones, or brand new drones in the process of being reprogrammed by him.

This was how he unwinds. He had a small team that did this whole process for him, but he started this role within the rebellion before he was promoted to a captain’s role. He wasn’t above getting his hands dirty, and as a matter of fact, he enjoyed it. Setting up his laptop on a clean bench, he gets to work, pressing the button on his playlist as his favorite tracks start playing, he begins typing entering his codes, and then uploading to the new stolen shipment of drones that arrived, freshly painted with his color and his logo printed on them.

A notification noise catches his ear, followed by a small vibrating sensation in his left pocket. Another sigh. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red communication device. It’s a message from an unknown contact, he rolls his eyes knowing full well who this was, a light chuckle as he presses a button and puts the device on a loudspeaker.

“Yo.” He answers as he continues to type away on his laptop.

“Hey, stranger… So how’d my intel turned out? Did someone come to kill you today?”

“Oh yeah, your information was spot on, for once…” His tone is sarcastic as he hears a burst of muffled laughter on the other end of the device.

“Hey! I’ll have you know that information is highly valuable and always reliable! I’m your eyes and ears in this area of the universe…” The other voice says which makes Mallek snort and laugh.

“Yeah, I’m so sure...Don’t worry, I’m working on your custom job right now and it’ll be shipped out soon.” He adds as this particular job was a favor to his old friend who had provided the intel regarding this assassin.

“You’re a lifesaver Adalov!” He yells to Mallek, very grateful to him for working so late on this.

“Anything else you need from me, just gimme a message directly or one of my boys.” He adds as Mallek rolls his eyes, knowing full well that the other didn’t do anything without something in return.

...

It had been a few years into the civil war. The small-scale rebellion that seemed inconsequential had grown into multiple cells throughout the galaxies which then unified into a union against the Empire. It consisted of trolls who felt the injustice inflicted on both their people and other races at the hands of the Empire, banding together to cause distributions, stop their invasion across the universe and end this war.

Mallek’s entire life had been thrown upside the moment he was shipped off-world, if he had been told back when he was a teen that he would one of the many captains of the multiple cells fighting against the oppressive empress and the tyrannical royal family, he would tell that person “yeah right.”

But here he was, years later an adult fighting to ensure his comrades and friends would survive, fighting so his world could begin a new era so that no one else would have to suffer, there would be no more bloodshed, no more pain. And once this was all over he could finally stop being a warrior, a commander, he could put the conflict behind him and just have the life had envisioned. The life he wanted to have.

[kaioken16]

Next to You

Mallek Week 2021 - Day 5

Day 5: Love Word count: 1356 Rating: Teens and Up Character(s): Mallek Adalov, Original Character

AO3 Link

A/N: This was a very short piece, and another self-indulgent fic with Mallek and my OC, Zack. Set in on an Earth C setting with Mallek and Zack being in a relationship and sneak peek into their regular lives. 

Summary: A soft piece of Mallek and Zack in their shared life together...

Mallek was typing away, working on some new coding, and subsequently uploading it to another server that was attached to his computer. He would occasionally have to adjust his glasses by pushing the bridge back up, his eyes beginning to strain. That’s it, time for a break. No point in continuing until if you pass out or make a mistake he thinks to himself. Mallek saves the progress he’s made to the coding. Leaning back into his seat, with a sigh of relief, he takes off his glasses, rubbing his sore eyes. He gets up from his chair and leaves his study room, heading to his room, a yawn slips out of his mouth. He had been working on this for the last five hours undisturbed.

It was time to rest and recharge.

And with that, he shuts down his computer, gets up from his seat, and leaves the room. Closing the door behind him, he makes his way to his bedroom. A yawn slips out of his mouth but he covers his mouth, already his eyes were struggling to stay open as they were no longer focused on a bright screen with hundreds of numbers passing through it. He reaches his bedroom door and opens it quietly, pushing it ever so slightly. If he was alone that he wouldn’t bother but Mallek didn’t want to disturb his sleep…

He was able to see him due to the lamp that was still left on, which slightly lit the room. Your shared room consisted only of a large bed, a small dresser, a wardrobe to one side, various human and alternian memorabilia from posters, devices, and other items. Facing away from him, in deep sleep was Zack. He’s almost completely still, each breath he took in and exhale is the only movement he makes. Mallek smiles at the human.

His boyfriend probably fell asleep waiting for him to come back, but decided to let Mallek be as it was almost impossible to pull the troll away from his work unless he was so exhausted and unable to resist that Zack could just effortlessly drag him away from his computer and put him to bed. Mallek would often neglect many things including his sleep, which led to Zack having to pick up the slack, from reminding him, making sure he ate, and took breaks from staring at his monitor.

He had learned to take better care of himself, and not pushing himself to overexertion as that wouldn’t help with his work, he wouldn’t be getting 100% but rather some half-assed, sleep deprived nonsense.

Self-care is important...

Pausing for a moment, he then starts to undress, peeling off his blue shirt and tossing it aside on the floor. Then taking off his glasses and placing them on the dresser beside their bed. He then climbs into bed, immediately a wave of comfort rushes over him, the soft feeling of his pillow, and the thick blanket. Looking over to Zack, another smile spread on his face, as he reached out and began to stroke the ends of his dreadlocks.

A soft sigh is heard from Zack, reacting to Mallek’s touch. Instinctively his body reacts further as he turns over to face the troll, Mallek pulls him closer, wrapping his arm around Zack. A small smile appears on Zack’s face, a sense of relaxation fills both of them, Mallek presses his lips against Zack’s forehead, following with several more kisses. Zack hugs Mallek in his sleep, just being able to feel the troll next to him in his deep slumber. Mallek nuzzles softly against him, the troll feels his eyes becoming heavy, before slowly closing them.

They had been friends for over four years and had been dating for over two. Despite their opposite personalities from Zack’s outgoing, bright, friendly nature to Mallek’s shut in, aloof, introverted nature. And also being different species, they found a deep bond and a desire to be near each other, being content and safe in each other’s presence. This was proof in the fact that even being asleep, Zack was so used to Mallek being next to him.

They made each other whole in a sense. Mallek being a surviving refugee from Alternia, and Zack being an orphan without a family. They got to learn about each other in the time they spent together, between the difference of their cultures, terminology, and doing things differently. Being in a relationship with an alien was a complicated but interesting experience, as Mallek put it. But they made it work and were happy together.

…

Time passed, it was now the morning, daylight was breaking through the curtains, lighting the entire room up. Mallek and Zack were still asleep in each other's arms, but they would be waking up soon from either one of their alarms or the sunlight getting bright enough to shine on their eyes. Zack begins to move, but he is limited as Mallek is tightly hugging him. Just then, right on time, a vibrating noise is heard followed by a song playing, on the dresser on Zack’s side, his phone screen lights up.

A grumble is heard from the human, he manages to free himself from Mallek’s hold, and turns over, scrambling around for his phone, his arm feels around on his dresser until he manages to get a grip on it. He pressed down on the side button which turns off the alarm, but he’s more or less awake now. His golden eyes slowly open, his vision was blurry for a moment before adjusting to his surroundings.

He checks the time on his phone, it was a little after 7. But still a bit early, but lucky for him it was the weekend now, and he didn’t have work today so there would be no need to get up yet. He locks his phone and puts it back on his dresser. Zack then turns back to look at Mallek, just then noticing that the troll still had a grip on his wrist. Which makes him smile, pulling away from his grip he then nestles back next to him.

Laying his head back on Mallek’s chest, he listens to the soothing rhythm of the troll’s heartbeat, it was different from a human’s heartbeat but he had been accustomed to the sound. His gaze is fixed on the intrigue and beautiful tattoo design that began on the right pec and continued onto his right arm, a series of circuit lines in a honeycomb pattern outlined by gears in dark blue ink, it honestly gave Mallek an almost robotic appearance on his arm. He loves his tattoos, his left arm had a series of snakes that were also shared like circuits.

He runs his hand over Mallek’s chest, fingers scanning and moving against the ink of his design, following the pattern. Zack always thinks how cool Mallek is from his tattoos and piercings and just his personality, how smart he is with his computers and coding, it was rare for the troll to show a softer side that Zack was privileged to see if he woke up before him, how peaceful he looks in his sense as opposed to the times where he been pulling an all-nighter and looks like a literal zombie. They both had their own unique habits when it came to one another. From Mallek playing with Zack’s hair, and Zack examining and touching his tattoos.

“Having fun.” Zack almost flinches when he hears Mallek's sarcastic teasing tone, he looks up to a big grin on the troll’s face, his eyes were still closed but he was clearly awake. He peeks open one of his eyes.

“Hey, good morning.” Zack smiles brightly at his partner, he feels Mallek's arm wrap around him once again as he moves up to reach his face, and their lips meet for a tender kiss.

“Morning…” Mallek replies to him, and then without warning, he pulls Zack on top of him completely, a content sigh leaves his lips, another kiss is shared between them, more passionate, Mallek’s hand locked around Zack’s waist, and Zack’s hands around the troll’s neck.

[kaioken16]

Just a One time thing

Mallek Week 2021 - Day 4

Day 4: Fashion  Word count: 2130 Rating: Teens and Up Character(s): Mallek Adalov, MSPA Reader, Original character, Bronya Ursama, Remele Namaaq, Lanque Bombyx, Dammek

AO3 link

A/N: It was hard to figure out what to write, as this prompt would better for a drawn piece. But I managed to come up with something. This was inspired by many offices and fashion company-themed AUs. 

sidenote: MSPA Reader will be referred to as 'Sam' as I have a few headcanon names for them that are nonbinary. 

Summary: A day in the office turns upside down by a series of events, Mallek Adalov, graphic designer and production assistant at a fashion company finds himself temporary modeling for a day.

Mallek was working at his computer, he was roaming through many documents, his eyes were beginning to feel heavy as he had to occasionally remove his glasses to rub his eyes. He had been at this for hours, but nothing he couldn’t help. He worked in the marketing and production department for one of the most successful fashion companies all over Prospit city. Not the kind of place that Mallek would work initially, if you had told him back when he was a teenager that he would be working in a company like this, he would’ve laughed and said that was a funny joke.

But that several years ago and he was now fresh out of university and needed a way to pay the bills for his home, his equipment, and his hobbies. So after a few applications and phone calls and a quick interview, he found himself working here. It was new territory, but the work mostly entailed computer-related stuff, from ordering products and material, going over the programs that the designers used, making sure there were no issues. But it paid really well, the hours were agreeable and the people he worked with were nice.

Mallek had been working in the department for over two months now. And today started off as a normal day, a quiet morning there only a few of them in the office, so he could relax while he worked, as he types away an email for the head office, an empty coffee Starbucks cup was on his right side, along with a half-eaten cinnamon raisin bagel.

Suddenly he hears a loud bang which disrupts the silence, making him stand up from his desk, he then hears wails and a loud voice screaming. Was someone hurt?

He rushes over to the location of the screams to find the scene, four people, pieces of paper all over the place, some just hitting the ground. Your good friend Sam, who was carrying the paperwork, and was probably overlooked due to his short height. Remele, one of the designers who was the one screaming, and Bronya who had an annoyed look on her face, Lanque was also on the ground too, rubbing the back of his head.

“Is everything okay?” Mallek speaks, as it was clearly not okay.

“This is a disaster! Oh no, no, no.”  Remele proclaims.

Lanque chuckles awkwardly “Oh no, it’s okay, I think I’m okay-”

“Not you, you piece of meat! My outfit, it’s been stained.” her gaze is fixed on the stains on the suit he was wearing, as it had been stained with either coffee or water.

Sam immediately goes to try and help Lanque. “I am SO sorry about that, I didn’t see you and I was losing my grip on the papers…”

“NO! Don’t touch my creation before you ruin even more!” Remele shouts which make the tiny individual flinch. She was only a few inches taller than them but still very scary.

“Hey, they’re just to help, and you need to chill.” Bronya snaps back, her tone was firm but not yelling as she goes to help Lanque.

“Here lemme help ya their buddy.” Mallek helps Sam gather up their papers.

Just as Lanque is helped back to his feet when he suddenly hisses out in pain. “Ah!”

“What’s wrong?” Bronya asks him, concerned as she can see the pained look on his face.

“I think... I twisted my ankle.” He says as the pressure on his leg sends pain through his limb.

“What?!” Remele’s eyes widened with shock, she then glared at Sam. “So you damaged my outfit and my model?!” She balls her fists, gritting her teeth causing Sam to hide behind Mallek.

“Whoa, take it easy.” Mallek holds his hands up attempting to diffuse the situation.

“Remele, you need to calm down. We will sort this out, I’ll let Rhakei know what’s happened and we’ll deal with it.” Broyna adds.

“Are you kidding me?! She’ll flip and if he can’t walk, how’s gonna do the shoot? We don’t have to get another model here in time.” Remele argues back as their head designer and studio manager ‘Rhakei Nadzas’ was in charge of the shows and was a no-nonsense woman.

“She’ll understand. We have a spare for this outfit, and we’ll get this one cleaned, but first things first we need to get him some first aid.” Broyna’s first priority was to make sure their model was okay.

Remele was still losing it, putting her hands in her hair. “But where are we gonna find someone 6 foot, and can fit into this outfit within the hour…”

Sam’s eyes were shifting between everyone as they argued, it’s then their eyes shifted up to Mallek. He was over 6ft, and his build was similar to Lanque, and without his glasses and a bit of touch up…

“Uh…” They raise their hands to get everyone’s attention. “Bit of a long shot but Mallek here could do it.”

“What?” Mallek, Broyna, and Remele say in unison at this suggestion.

Mallek chuckles nervously. “Oh no, no… I’m not a model I couldn’t possibly-”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Lanque says which was even more surprising to hear.

“Seriously? I just work here in the office, I don’t think I could-” Mallek is cut off as Remele suddenly approaches him, and pulls off his glasses, he blinks a few times adjusting, she then examines him cupping his chin and moving his head around.

“Long shot, but we don’t have much time.” Remele says. “Okay, I’ll take him to hair and makeup and get him fitted.” she says without letting Mallek get a word in, she pulls him along out of the office.

The next thing Mallek knew he was brought before Ms. Nadzas by Remele who gives her the rundown and after being ‘examined’ by her as well she gives it all clear. Mallek felt like he can’t say no in this situation and wanted to lend a hand since he could tell that Remele was both desperate and would want Sam’s head on a platter, and he wasn’t mad at his friend for suggesting him. He just wanted to be helpful and do whatever he could to make the situation easier for the company. They needed to get these photos done for the shoot by the end of the day, and only had an hour to get ready as other departments would need the camera and get to the photo ready. Plus it was just gonna be a one time thing after all...

…

How on earth did you feel yourself in this situation? That was the thought that was racing through your head. What chain of events led to you here. One minute you came into work, to handle some server issues, and sort out some files and orders for an upcoming show. Now here you are dressed in an all black suit, tight-fitted like you could see everything more or less. You had been given a touch up on makeup, and your hair had been slicked back. You were standing backstage, waiting for the shoot to begin. Yes, a fashion shoot.

You had to keep reminding yourself of that as this was really happening right now. To say that you were nervous would be a major understatement. This was a very extroverted activity you were about to engage in, which didn’t match with your introverted tendencies.

But it wasn’t like you had much of a choice.

Just then you hear footsteps approaching from behind, you look behind you to see Rhakei, the tall jadeblood wearing a simple long dress, high heeled shoes, on her right arm was a wristband which flowers sewed into, and under her left arm was a clipboard with a bunch of documents, her hair is tied back into a ponytail. Before you can say anything she invades your personal space, and reaches up to your hair, fixing something by the expression on her.

Then she walks around you, you can feel her touch on your clothing, followed by the sound of her pen writing short notes on her clipboard. “Hmm. Very nice.” She says but you weren’t so sure if she was complimenting you or the material of the outfit, there was no in-between with her.

“You also clean up very well.” Okay, now you know that she was talking about the suit earlier.

“Thanks…”

“Alright, nothing too serious just a few photos in our three outfits along with the other model and that’s it.” She explains to you in a quick tone, as this was the first of three new outfits that you would be modeling for.

“O-okay. I understand…”

She must’ve caught the nervous tone in your voice because she looked at you directly but only for a moment her eyes returned to her clipboard. “Deep breaths, relax, this is just an only time thing. And no pressure we would be jumping down your throat or being hostile. You’re doing us a favor on the short notice and we appreciate it.” That was a very kind thing to come from her, considering that you had heard on many occasions her arguing with the head designer in his office, between raised voices and literal objects being thrown around.

Guess you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

“You’ll be fine Mallek, just relax, and if you feel stuck or uncomfortable just let or the others know. And you won’t be alone out there either.” She reminds you as there would another model right beside you, and it was only gonna be a handful of people so it wouldn’t be too embarrassing.

“You ready?” Rhakei asks as you just nod.

She smiles faintly and leads out to the photoshoot. They're waiting for you was another troll, a bronze with antler horns, his eyes were shielded by sunglasses, he was wearing a completely different outfit. While you were in a suit, he was wearing a leather jacket, a long sleeved shirt, jeans and boots, and a pair of spiked cuffs.

“Alright boys, we’ll be doing a few photos for each outfit, a few poses, shouldn’t take too long.”

“Dammek, this is Mallek, he works in one of our offices and will be filling in for Lanque just for today. There was an incident earlier.” Rhakei casually explains to the other model, naming him ‘Dammek’.

“Alright, that’s fine. I’m cool with this.” Dammek responds in a nonchalant manner, it didn’t seem to bother him.

“Great, then let’s get started.” She says as the camera and lighting team sets up for the shoot…

“Okay, here we go…” You whisper to yourself under your breath.

…

Later on, after the photoshoot, Mallek is back in his normal clothes back at the office, he was a little exhausted leaning back into his chair. That was… Something. Miss Nadzas said that he was a real natural, he did well and even Dammek complimented him, it really boosted his confidence, and he ended up having fun with it too. It was very straightforward, the only hectic part was sudden outfit changes and his questions regarding how he should pose, and many other questions. But other than that, it went really well, Remele was happy that the outfit looked good in the photos, Lanque was grateful for his help, and both Broyna and Sam said he did a great job.

“Hey, dude!” He looks over to see Sam smiling, holding what was probably a peace offering, some fresh coffee, and something that smells really good.

“Just thought I would drop these off.” They place the items at your desk.

“Thanks.” Mallek smiles as he was in need of some fuel, opening the bag to see the contents, some slices of pizza.

“Sorry again for throwing ya under the bus like that, I hope you didn’t mind plus the photos looked really great.” Sam rubs the back of their head, it just happened.

“Don’t worry about it. At least this way you wouldn’t get murdered by Remele for the accident.” Mallek jokes at his friend’s expense as this would be a new thing to joke about.

Sam chuckles. “Y-yeah, she said that we’re even so that means I’m off her kill list. Just gotta be more careful in the future.”

“So whaddya think, you could definitely be a model on a regular basis, maybe do a fashion show.” Sam retorts as they had a new topic to tease Mallek with as well.

Mallek laughs. “Ha! Nope. My modeling career began and ended today, this was a one-time thing so Remele wouldn’t murder you and they could get the photos for the designs ready for the magazine.”

“If you say so dude, but you did look great out there.” Sam adds which does make Mallek smile.