#pathlit

[aranostra]

@pathlit // belatedly continued from here

Sheppard rubs at his chin--too scruffy, he needs a shave, but the texture of stubble is a needed distraction sometimes. There's a little flicker of defensiveness for his team. They aren't good because of him; they're just good. He's lucky to have them, not the other way around.

But she's not wrong, really. They aren't easy. That might be part of why they're good, but... Not easy.

So, he answers her question. Casual, like they're talking about changing shifts or something. "Teyla could take point on the team. She can handle Rodney; she just needs to get a little meaner with him to keep his ego in check. As far as the military leader on base--I know you. You'd find a way to make sure it's not Caldwell. He's got the tactical knowledge, but--no offense to him, you need someone a little quicker on his feet. And he doesn't have the kind of flight hours I have. He's gotten too used to barking orders from the chair. I've got a list of people I think would make a good replacement..."

So, he's thought about it a little. He doesn't exactly have a will, because he doesn't have much of anything, but he's thought about what's important to him.

He shrugs with a frown. "I'm expendable. I've got to be expendable or I'm everything I hate about the military. I've already had to replace one person on my team." He pauses then, because it takes a moment. He doesn't mention Ford often much anymore. It's too heavy to think about. "If somebody's got to do something they might not come back from... I've been lucky so far. Luckier than most."

[unascend]

@pathlit liked for a starter

"I know it's not exactly useful in the short term," Daniel says, preemptively rolling his eyes about what he knows Major Sheppard's reaction will be. Sometimes he misses all the bickering with Jack, because at least he knows Jack has a soft side. Sheppard, on the other hand? If he has one, Daniel has yet to discover it--although he's not really looking, either.

He trusts Elizabeth, though, even though he knows she has to juggle the civilian interests with the military ones. The eternal struggle of the Stargate program. "In the long term, though? If I'm right--I'm usually right--the whole complex is a school. Probably to prepare children to be sent through the Stargate to seed other planets. The data I've sorted through so far is foundational... not about blowing anything up or shields or anything. But I think it's the best chance we have to really understand them. It's a huge area, with a hell of a lot to extract and decode and..." A pause, because he knows what he's asking. "I'll need a bigger team."

[purpcse]

@pathlit // "I did not lie. I neglected to say anything."

Paul sets his jaw, stopping himself before he says anything. He knows the importance of being careful with his words, especially when the words he wants to say are based in emotion.

Especially when he's speaking to his mother.

His father's disapproval is oppressive; every sound of his father's disapproval is etched in Paul's thoughts to remind him before he makes the same mistakes again. Paul reins in his words with his father to avoid disapproval.

With his mother, it's something else. They are so entwined that sometimes her disapproval feels like his own, and he would remake himself until he can be what she wants.

"Because if you spoke," he says, slowly, "I would sense the lie, as you taught me."

[yes7erdays]

@pathlit certainly did not ask for this.

[nursc]

@pathlit asked: ❛ how do you organize a space party? you planet. ❜

fingers lift to press against her lips, hiding her expression, keeping the unwanted laughter at bay. it wasn’t funny. it was the worst joke she ever heard, cheesy and so in-theme that it was teetering dangerously close to tacky. but ellie was smiling. no, she was grinning, vibrating with a pure, incandescent energy that was impossible to resist. pink lips twitch. small at first, long-standing feud against puns keeping her smile at bay, only for a giggle to burst through. it ebbs out into a sunny, vibrant smile, the pale column of her neck exposed as she threw her head back and gave into the terrible joke, and just laughed.

❛⠀⠀ how long were you waiting to use that one? ⠀ ❜

&. 𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝: 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

[fateprotected]

@pathlit said: "are you trying to make trouble?"

"Beloved."

Her voice is all playful affront. She does faux-innocence with the best of them, especially when her smile goes that slight bit wicked. It's a late night, dragging on with all the minutae that come after the wild relief of hard-brokered peace.

She hadn't really waited up for him, when you consider how little she sleeps. Just waited.

"It's almost always unintentional."

But not tonight. She'd known exactly what she was doing in asking an old friend to advance her suggestion for personnel assignments. That the Admiralty feels they have to listen isn't her fault. And realistically--it's only a suggestion. A wild one, at that. They have every reason to ignore it. And Chris has more right than anyone to object.

But she has a feeling he won't deny her this, either.

[uncertainlogic]

@pathlit ;; ash tyler starter for gabriel lorca

Two hundred and twenty-seven. That's the goal. Kill two hundred and twenty-seven of them before they kill him. He got to sixty-three the first time. Eighty-seven the second time. Ninety-five this time.

He's not good enough. Not yet.

Ash steps out of the holographic simulation room, exhausted. He wants to try again, but his hands are shaking and his legs feel like they might give out from under him. He hasn't slept in... a while. In fact, he's so out of it he doesn't see Captain Lorca right away.

And when he does, it takes a moment just staring at him before he remember to speak. "Captain. I, uh. Just getting some target practice in, sir."

[starstcff]

❛⠀ donn- ⠀❜ ⠀her nickname is barely out of his mouth ( spoken a few decibels too high for an office space, but, hey, who is going to complain? they all report to him ) when she appears in front of him, the folder he was going to ask for in her hand. ⠀❛⠀ one of these days you are going to have to explain how you do that, ⠀❜ ⠀he says, motioning for her to walk with him. ⠀❛⠀ going to the hill. grab our coats. ⠀❜

west wing sc. — @pathlit

[lessluck]

@pathlit // semi-plotted teddy && alana

Teddy's got something scratching in the back of his mind that's been there for weeks now. It's not uncommon for his brain to be a little buzzy after he's finished a more complicated than usual hack job, but it's never lasted this long.

And it's getting worse. More than once, he's found himself somewhere, and he doesn't know how he got there or what he was planning to do there. Except he does know. Kind of. In the back of his head where the scratching is.

So, he gets to this coffee shop he's never been to, and recognizes a person he's never met, and sits across from her. He leans forward, squinting, trying to find something about her that might tell him why he's here to meet her. She definitely doesn't look like somebody who'd meet with him, but here she is.

"I think," he says, conspiratorially, "We have something to talk about... Right?" There's real uncertainty in that last word.

[doctordonovan]

❝ maybe we're all getting a little carried away with this. ❞ | uhura

she's better off as an observer:   or,  at very least,  maeve prefers to keep herself that way.  it's easier after all -   to dance on the outskirts of other's visions,  on the very edges of what they're aware of.   and,  if she's only lying to herself about it being easier,  it's at the very least simpler.  human enthusiasm is nothing she's ever faulted crew for all the same:  amusement subtle yet evident even when brown eyes flicker to @pathlit if only to study her for a moment or two longer.

❝ it's sweet. ❞   not exactly a vulcan sentiment,  but maeve rarely puts the effort in to belong purely to vulcan or earth.  no matter what she does...  she will surely be a disappointment to both,  so she might as well exist in own quiet way.  ❝ I admit I don't grasp the finer intricacies of birthdays or why they matter so much.  but the sentiment seems to be genuine,  which is all that will matter in the long term. ❞   they're doing this because they care  -   what more is there to understand? 

[sadnessruns]

[ @pathlit liked for P. Stamets ]

One foot, two foot. Stop. A heavy breath escaped his lips. "You know, Hugh's gonna kill you," Paul huffed, fist pressed against the wall. He was exhausted and overworked. Looking up at the captain, Stamets' notably pale face was far paler than usual. "Can we stop?" He furrowed his brows as he felt his legs collapse under him, face pressed on the cold floor of the ship. "Fuck."

[prcfuse]

╰   ––––––– ✧   @pathlit :      liked      ❨      ❛ for a starter from sasha. ❜      ❩

･ .  ✶ ━━ ❛ it's just a scratch. ❜ brown eyes narrow as they stare at the small wound that was in the center of cam's shoulder , that was in her expert opinion. pulling the gloves off , sasha moved around the colonel - to stand in front of him. ❛ you'll live. ❜

[arc-starstcff]

“who reads an introduction?” ( for delenn & sheridan @pathlit )

❛⠀⠀is that unusual?⠀ ❜⠀ she asks, brows furrowed, sneaking in a glance between her lashes at him. from the tone of his voice, she already knew all she needed to know, but the visual of it is striking: lips white as crystal, crinkled eyes. he is testy, and tired, and she'll bet anything that he hasn't seen the inside of his own quarters in a day.

biting the inside of her cheek, she focuses back on the words of the page, willing her laughter away.

poor john. already so stressed, it would be wrong to laugh at him.

❛⠀⠀i’ve read many earth novels. i read machiavelli, sun tzu, and shakespeare before i arrived at the station, as i wanted to understand your culture. once, i came across a quote which said that only someone of unusual and unnatural leisure would read an introduction; that they’d have to be so bored to reach the point of desperation and recklessness to subject themselves to such a text.⠀ ❜⠀ a pause. delenn finally properly lifts her gaze, catching his with an upturned brow. ⠀ ❛⠀⠀so, i have to ask, do you read introductions, john?⠀ ❜

[purpcse]

@pathlit // "I can handle my own problems!" (alia)

There are times he sees Alia as a reflection of himself--and then times like these, when he has difficulty imagining that they could be of the same blood. Although she carries the memories of their father, he cannot deny that she behaves in a way that makes it clear she was not raised by him.

Clear, too, that Jessica raised her differently than she raised him, although he can't quite clarify how, and he would not ask her to explain. Perhaps she'd simply felt closer to her daughter.

"You make a claim, but where is the evidence?" Paul says, and finds that he's attempting the sternness of his father. It doesn't sound the same. "Besides, it's my proper role to help you with problems."

[nursc]

"What do I tell him?" ( from ellie )

the west wing, seventeen people, sentence starter meme.

❛⠀⠀you're asking for my opinion? ⠀ ❜ ⠀ there is something 'oh so coy' about her tone. it is rife with amusement, pink lips stretched from ear to ear as she leans forward to give ellie her full attention, eyebrows rising as her chin perches on her knuckles.

christine is never shy about her opinions. she is never shy about anything, why should she make a distinction about her thoughts? even... even though her track record with break-ups is... checkered, to say the least. but she's been silent so far, feeling that what the other needed right now was a willing ear, and someone to hum in the appropriate places.

and she had been doing that job spectacularly well. listening to ellie. humming with shock, despair and understanding at the right lulls, and, most importantly, biting her tongue to avoid saying something stupid. no, no, no. she's done this way too many times before to know that you only shit-talk your friend's ex after six months. anything before that, is too dangerous. the possibility of a relapse is high, and she doesn't want to look the guy in the face after telling his girlfriend what a massive doofus she thinks he is.

❛⠀⠀you sure? ⠀ ❜ ⠀

[nursc]

⠀❛⠀it is, but it is also necessary.⠀ ❜⠀ people lie. they misremember. and sometimes, they are so kind, that they put little white lies in people's files, smudging the truth so no one peers in too closely; and as she was guilty of the latter more often than not, she knew better than to trust records that she didn't put to paper.⠀ ❛⠀ better to waste your time with something tedious, than chasing after a lie.⠀ ❜⠀

and if the artificial intelligence is half-as smart as alana claims it is, what is stopping it from taking all of humanity's bad traits and cloaking itself in plain sight?

❛⠀ don't tell me the great doctor maxwell is too good for grunt-work?⠀ ❜⠀

alana almost misses jacobi's droll wit, the scathing remark he'd offer as counterbalance to the utter nonsense that she had just offered up as likely possibility and that some part of her was far more invested in than it had any right to be. there was something to the dispute that drove her on.

since christine has agreed with her, she'll just have to make her own point of dissension. ❛ the convenience of medical records. or, you know, coding annotations. ❜ she raised her voice pointedly once more to their imaginary elusive artificial intelligence. ❛ I'm not sure that recreating an entire medical history from scratch is a good use of anyone's time. ❜ alana wrinkles her nose. ❛ that just sounds tedious. ❜