#okay i think this should be enough tags to hide the rest under the readmore but just in case ..........

[july-19th-club]

im trying i swear im trying SO hard not to be bitchy about legends and lattes getting finalized for the hugo but . okay the hugo is a prize for science fiction/speculative fiction/fantasy fiction. and words mean things and essentially this is putting a very plot-lite romance novel with a fantasy setting up against political spec fic and like, books being entered in a contest that the left hand of darkness once won. which isn't to say that the contest itself is like, sacred ground - starship troopers, 1960 - basically heinlen's treatise on why the military is necessary to whip the youths into shape - like, it's a seventy-year-old science fiction prize, there's gonna be a lot of unlikeable books on there, actually. and its not to say that lighter books or books riding a wave of hype haven't won it before (harry potter won it in 2001)...it's just. it's a weird collection this year, is all, and the contest has skewed wider in its interpretation of spec fic in the past ten-twenty years, which i'm not upset about! words mean things but im also a huge proponent of thee two-time hugo winner UKLG's thoughts on genre. genre is as mutable as the clouds. we call things 'spec fic' often because they're difficult to categorize. but, and i'm saying this huge long preface because i genuinely don't want to seem like a wet blanket, but it's just...it's the wrong contest for the book. there's been a lot of good sff this year. but that's a romance novel. and also its not hugo levels of good

[moved-to-void-kissed]

Secrets in the Springs

Document link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WDYCocrod_P7bcyH9DIaacjpIXv9I8r-UEkdmWANdxw/edit?usp=sharing

Sapphire, Pyra, Mythra, Nia and Poppi spend an evening relaxing together in Mor Ardain’s famous hot springs, where a couple of secrets begin to reveal themselves. In the process, Pyra makes an important decision. (1650 words) Replaces the XC2 cutscene “Secret in the Springs” from the start of Chapter 4. Content warning for some description of an old significant physical injury.

Tag list (use this to be added to it!): @softskiesahead | @dragonsmooch | @thatslikesometaldude | @lilacslovers | @insomniaships | @goldenworldsabound | @setzale | @candyforthebrain | @elf-and-a-heart

This is a piece I originally posted to my old blog, but I’ve updated it slightly to reflect some changes to the storyline and figured it would be good to post again! Don’t worry, it’s mostly much happier than the previous writing I posted here - especially once you get to the end, hehe~

Reblogs are appreciated, but by no means required! Comments should be on, and there’s also a transcript of the document under the readmore!

The sandstorms from earlier in the day had thankfully settled down - the evening was still very warm, but a soft wind drifting through Alba Cavanich made the heat much more pleasant. Behind the inn that rested on Smùide Mountain, the group had taken the opportunity to relax in the local hot springs - Rex and Tora had gone earlier in the evening and appeared much more refreshed for the experience, but now it was the ladies’ bathing slot, and all of them were eager to spend the evening enjoying a relaxing bath together.

Sapphire in particular was not used to the arid conditions on Mor Ardain’s Titan, given that her homeland within Uraya was a much more subdued and watery kingdom, so she also relished the opportunity to try out the hot springs. By the time she had gotten ready, Poppi was already happily playing about in the springs, while Nia had her back to the entrance and only her head was above the water. Finally, Sapphire tentatively poked her head around the corner of the changing room, so that it was all that could be seen from within the baths themselves.

“It’s just us here, right?”

“Yeah, don’t worry!” Nia turned her head to smile, though Sapphire did think she looked somewhat nervous. “The inn seemed pretty much empty when we first got here, so I don’t reckon anyone else’ll be coming in.”

Poppi nodded in agreement. “Probability of interruption from other people very small. Therefore, is perfect time for all to enjoy springs together. The water very nice temperature, even for Poppi!”

“Hang on.. Should you even be in the bath?” Nia had turned back to face the mechanical girl, and was now looking at her with a tilted head to show confusion. “Won’t you rust or something?”

In response, Poppi shook her head and kept smiling, eyes bright as ever. “There no problem. Poppi made from special alloy. No rust or need for oil!” The faint orange glow of her leg joints was visible even through the water, showing that she was kicking them back and forth in her usual manner.

Sapphire smiled at this, only to then jump when she realised Pyra was standing right behind her. Except it wasn’t Pyra - where she expected to see kind red eyes instead lay cold golden ones, and the familiar short bob of red hair was replaced by flowing blonde strands.

“Wh- Mythra?!”

“Yeah?” She looked unamused.

“Sorry, mate, you really startled me there!”

Wanting to give Mythra some space, Sapphire stepped out from behind the entrance to the changing room into the proper springs area, prompting Poppi to look surprised and Nia to turn around because of that. Although she still had a towel around her body, the other girls could now all see several swathes of what looked like very old grazes on Sapphire’s arms and the backs of her legs. They seemed to have healed, yet still appeared somewhat serious.

“Wait, what happened to you?!” Mythra was first to speak up, sounding more worried than she ever really had. Her usual short temper still shone through, however - she seemed almost annoyed for not noticing the injuries beforehand.

“Oh, these?” Sapphire raised her arms halfheartedly, looking somewhat embarrassed. “Don’t worry. These are just left over from.. how I got to Uraya. Don’t worry, most of it’s all healed up by now. So nothing’s going to mess up the water or anything, I promise.”

There was a silence.

“..I guess I never told you guys about that, huh.”

“No, you didn’t. Not that I was awake for, anyway.” said Mythra.

“You don’t ‘ave to tell us if you don’t want to, though.” Nia added. “Only share what you’re comfortable with.”

Sapphire nodded. “Thanks, Nia. Um.. this isn’t exactly the place to go all in-depth about that kind of thing, so, ah.. I’ll just say that, from what I know, my parents and I were on a ship crossing the Cloud Sea when it capsized and got washed into Uraya’s Titan. A bit like you guys did, I guess, though there was.. a lot more of an impact. Honestly, I don’t even know how I managed to stick around long enough for Dad and his mercs to find me on one of their checkups.”

“Oh.. Are you sure you’re okay? That must have been hard..” continued Mythra, still looking worried. There was a flash of glowing energy, and suddenly Pyra was stood in her place, looking even more concerned.

“I’m so sorry for what happened to you, Sapphire! Nobody should have to go through such a horrible thing..”

“Pyra, please, I’m fine! It’s okay!” Sapphire said, a little too suddenly - quickly realising her mistake, she hastily tried to recover: “I- I really appreciate that you care so much, but, I promise I’m fine. Come on, let’s just enjoy the springs together.”

As she turned around to put her towel on the rocks behind her before lowering herself into the blissfully warm water, the true extent of Sapphire’s injuries became clearer - the old grazes were nothing in comparison to the massive streak of half-healed scar tissue covering most of her back and shoulders. Parts of it seemed to somehow reflect the low light from the torches and the glow of Poppi and Pyra’s Core Crystals, as if there were tiny specks of something shiny in there.

Nia’s worried expression had returned. “Saph, that really doesn’t look good.. You sure you’re alright?”

“Yes!” She still seemed slightly on-edge, but being in the water was clearly very relaxing for her. “I already said, it doesn’t really hurt. I’ve had all this for as long as I can remember; it’s just how I am. Trust me, it was a lot worse when I was little.”

“Poppi worried about Sapphire..” said Poppi, sounding sad. The stillness of the water and the glowing lights visible under its surface showed that she wasn’t playing about anymore.

“Aww, it’s okay, Poppi!” Sapphire turned and smiled at her again. “I’m fine, honestly!”

Pyra still wasn’t convinced. “You’d tell us if you weren’t, though, right..?” She crouched down at the side of the water and reached over to take Sapphire’s hand in her own.

“Of course I would, silly. Come on in, the water is amazing..”

This made Pyra feel more at ease, and she happily took the chance to sit next to Sapphire, who in turn was all the more grateful to be able to enjoy Pyra’s natural warmth in close proximity. Another silence then settled, though this one was much more natural, and the girls were able to take the time to properly enjoy the heat of the water and relax in the hot springs.

Eventually, never the quiet one, Poppi had something to say.

“Poppi has question for Nia.”

“Huh?”

“Why does Nia have-?” The artificial Blade’s inquisitive tone was quickly interrupted by none other than Nia herself, who at this point was almost entirely submerged in the water.

“Oh, I know what you’re gonna say, I think. Don’t- don’t worry about it.”

At this point, Mythra returned, automatically shifting away from Sapphire as she turned to face Nia herself. “I had noticed, too. It’s true, then, that you’re..?” She trailed off, not knowing how to properly word her own question.

“Mmm.. yeah.”

Mythra nodded. “Do you want us to keep it a secret?”

“I was.. a little bit embarrassed about all this, but.. Yeah, if you could, that’d be grand. Not like I could hide it here when it’s this dark, anyway. As long as you guys are all okay with me being here, then-”

“Of course, mate!” “Poppi is fine!” “Why wouldn’t we?”

The chorus of reassuring voices brought her an incredible comfort.

“Thanks, guys.”

==========

Later that evening, once everyone had retired to their rooms for the night, Mythra noticed within herself that Pyra seemed nervous.

“Something wrong?”

“What? No! I mean.. We share memories, so you’d know if something was wrong, surely?”

“I guess that’s true. But, you seemed like you were coming to a decision of some kind. And I mean, I don’t really wanna pry if I don’t have to.”

“Haha, thank you for that.. And, you’re right about the decision. So, um, Mythra - what do you think about Sapphire?”

“Uh.. she seems pretty nice? But she isn’t someone you want to make angry, given how mad she was at Malos and Akhos. I wasn’t awake yet for all that time you two spent journeying through Uraya, so this was kind of the first time I’ve gotten to interact with her properly. I can’t say I was expecting you to get into a relationship, but.. You two make a good fit for each other, even if she is a little more energetic than you tend to be.”

“You really think so?”

“Wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.”

“Ah, I suppose you’re right.. Sorry!”

“Why’d you ask that, anyway?”

“Well, it’s just, um.. It was so great for me to know that she’d be able to come with us after we left Uraya. I know she’s probably still worried about Vandham, but.. if his injuries have really been patched up as well as they seemed to, then he should recover without too much of a problem, right?”

“Yeah, Nia said Dromarch was able to get him stable once I took Obrona out and the ether came back.”

“Right, that was it. And, um.. Since we’ve been here in Mor Ardain, I’ve been thinking about something, and.. after that time we all spent together tonight, and being around her like that, I think I’ve figured it out. Sapphire is the person I really want to be with, for the rest of my life. ..However much longer that even ends up being.

I have no idea how I’m going to go about it, but..

I think I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

[birdiethebibliophile]

{fic} That Old Sweet Feeling (part 9)

Fandom:  The Adventure Zone:  Commitment Rating:  M Chapter Warnings:  General injury Relationship:  Nadiya Jones/Mary Word Count:  1,210

Here on AO3.

Read the rest: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Tagging @someone-called-f1nch, @voidfishkid, and @mellowstarscape! Sorry for the cliffhanger, I promise I will not leave this fic for dead for nearly a MONTH this time. (Also, I think the readmore thing is still a little wonky, so it might be higher than it usually is.)

Chapter Summary:  

Nadiya makes some observations. Mary Sage needs a new vest. Remy uses his powers for good.

__________________

As it turned out, Nadiya and Kardala only made it past the seventh floor. It was lucky that Kardala was leading the way, because even she, goddess though she was, was almost knocked down the stairs by a sudden blast of energy. But instead of roaring with anger as Nadiya expected, she burst into laughter. “Good shot, little man!” she boomed. “Erm, Remy. Were I not divine and all-powerful, it surely would have harmed me terribly!”

Nadiya came up beside Kardala in time to see Remy throw his arms around her neck. Behind him, leaning against the wall, and looking decidedly worse for wear, was Mary Sage.

She looked tired, Nadiya thought, even though it had only been about twelve hours. More than tired – wrung-out. Her skin was pasty (well, pastier than usual) between her freckles, and her hair was floating slightly with static electricity. There were heavy circles under her eyes, which looked a little unfocused. However, when she caught Nadiya’s stare, she cracked a smile. “Reed Richards to the rescue, huh?”

Remy bounced back to the ground, and Nadiya noticed he didn’t look too hot either. There was something a little trembling about his smile, and there was a too-dark line around his left wrist. Nadiya realized the darkness was blood, and it was still dripping onto the floor.

“Remy, your wrist,” she blurted out.

Remy studied it with the expression of a man who’d hoped he wouldn’t have to explain himself. “Uh, they cuffed us to the hospital beds? It wasn’t super good. We felt you guys get here, and I used my kinetic energy to break our cuffs. We also had to rip out our IVs, which deffo looks way easier in the movies. Like, ow.”

“We have to get out of here,” Nadiya cut in urgently. “Listen, there’s a – don’t laugh – there’s a sewer entrance in the basement of this building, nobody ever uses it, don’t ask how I know.”

Mary Sage, of course, immediately started snickering, and said, “You can’t just say that and not tell us. Why does a professional genius academic or whatever know about a fucking sewer entrance? Gotta tell us now, Nad, you gotta.”

Nadiya flushed. “If you must know, I may have stored some stuff down there for when I’ve had to stay overnight for an experiment. It’s just, like, power bars and extra coffee and stuff.”

“In a sewer?” Mary Sage said, her grin widening.

“It’s not in use,” Nadiya argued. “It’s dry. There’s a nice little ladder down to the bottom. I’m only allowed to work twenty-five hours a week, so sometimes they try to kick me out, and I’d never get anything done like that. Anyways, I had a little too much time on my hands one weekend –” she had planned to spend the weekend with her dad, but he cancelled last-minute for a military gala she wasn’t invited to (sorry, Nadiya, unavoidable, but I know you’ll be glad for the extra lab time – you said you were close on that one patent, right?) “– and I explored a little, there’s miles down there, all closed off. I think I’m the only one who knows about it, so we should be able to hide down there for a while until they’re off our scent.”

Mary Sage squinted and shoved her glasses up her nose. “Yeah, well, that’s what we said last time, and they found us in that cabin, didn’t they? They’re gonna find us wherever we go. Doesn’t really matter. What’s the – the point?” Her hands clenched.

Remy turned quickly to Mary Sage and grabbed her hand. She twitched, then seemed to slump slightly. “Yeah, sewer, whatever,” she mumbled. “Sounds fuckin’ fantastic, let’s go. Leave Remy’s phone, though, I bet that’s how they tracked us.”

“Could be,” Remy said, shrugging jerkily. “Actually, hey, do you guys have my bag? That’s – I’d like that back, please.”

“Oh. Sure.” Nadiya pulled Remy’s bag out of her own and handed it over. “Anyways. Basement. Now. Yeah? How have we not even run into any guards, did they even –”

It was at that moment when the side of the stairwell exploded.

Nadiya’s vision whited out for a second as she felt herself fly horizontal, smash through something, and hit the floor. She groaned, wiggling her fingers, trying to figure out if anything was broken. This was the second time she’d been in an explosion in two days, and she was getting a little sick of it – even with stimplant skin, that was going to leave some bruises the next day. Shit. If she was feeling bruised, what had happened to the others? Kardala would be fine (goddess), and Remy probably had righted himself before hitting anything, but Mary Sage…

“Space Cadet,” Nadiya mumbled, sitting up. Then, when that didn’t get any response, she said, in a louder and more urgent voice. “Space Cadet? Mary Sage. Mary!”

Nothing.

Nadiya staggered to her feet, and then felt her stomach drop as she looked around. There was rubble everywhere, and the explosion had – she looked up.

The ceiling above her was also decimated. Her lab. Her lab. Fuck.

“Nadiya?” a weak voice said. Remy.

Nadiya jerked around and strode over to wear the voice was, under a fallen beam. “I’m here, hold on a second.” She changed her arms into levers and wedged them under the beam, managing to shove it upwards. “Can you get out?”

“Lemme see.” There were sounds of shifting. “Yeah, I think so. Mary’s in here with me, I think she’s a little knocked out from getting hit? I’ll push her out first and then come out, okay?”

“Hurry,” Nadiya groaned. “This thing’s heavy.”

Carefully, Remy pushed an unconscious Mary Sage out from the rubble. Her glasses were covered with dust and scratches, but somehow still on her face, and she had a cut on her cheek. Otherwise, she looked relatively undamaged.

“Managed to like, shield her with my real good jumps,” Remy said, wiggling out from under the rubble as well. “I think she’s okay?”

Sure enough, just as he said that, she began stirring. “What…”

“I don’t know,” Nadiya said, panting as she lowered the beam back to the ground. “Has anyone seen Kardala?”

“Kardala is present and intact!” The huge form of Kardala climbed over a pile of drywall and masonry, her hair now grey throughout rather than just as the roots. “How is Mary Sage of the robot angels?”

“Mary’s good,” Mary Sage mumbled, but she didn’t look good. Neither did Remy – they both looked worse than before, glassy-eyed and shaking, and Remy was favoring his left leg.

“Basement,” Nadiya said. “Whatever’s going on, I don’t want to know, I don’t want to be here when shit goes down. This is bad enough.”

“Pretty sure shit’s already going down,” Remy said quietly, and nudged Nadiya to turn around.

In the hole blown in the side of the biochem building stood a silhouetted figure, their identity concealed by a masked helmet. They took two deliberate steps forward into the room, clapped their hands together, and the air around them began to vibrate, a low, almost painful sound emanating from them.

“Well, shit,” Nadiya said, and the figure ran forward directly towards Mary Sage.