#retin piece (oc)

[somewhat-stressed]

CHARACTER SHEETS OF MY OCS FOR ARTFIGHT!!!

(the one in the middle is just me lolol)

aand the thumbnails! the first thumbnail doesnt have a corresponding sheet bc i already uploaded the sheet a while ago

[streetkid-named-desire]

Who else would ever stay?

In the Writers of Night City server we're doing weekly writing challenges based around songs from our various OC playlists. The first one was Marked for Death by Emma Ruth Rundle. (743 words, it's short so not linking just under the cut if you wanna read it)

<You're not doing this alone, V. Yeah, I wanted to be in my own body or at peace. But knowing I wasn't killing you anymore?> V swallowed hard and looked across at Johnny. <I don't wanna kill you again.>

"I'll give you a moment alone, V. Please, read it," Dr. Yamamoto squeezed V's shoulder once, an attempt at reassurance, before gently closing the office door behind him. V rolled the small shard across his knuckles. He didn't have the courage to slot it in.

<It's my fate too.> Johnny flickered into the chair across from V and kicked his feet up on the desk, stacks of paper files phasing through his body.

V let the shard rest on his thumb knuckle and looked down at it. The red and black piece of plastic held the whole world for V, his future, his happiness, his fate. Johnny's fate.

He had started getting Relic attacks again. He was able to ignore them and hide them from Bea. Until she woke up and he was half off the bed, unconscious, dried blood from his nose and mouth caked on his face and the floor. One hand outstretched like he was crawling, clawing at something.

<You're not doing this alone, V. Yeah, I wanted to be in my own body or at peace. But knowing I wasn't killing you anymore?>

V swallowed hard and looked across at Johnny.

<I don't wanna kill you again.>

V slotted in the shard and read the report that displayed on his retinal field.

And Johnny disappeared.

The waiting room was empty except for a receptionist typing away at a terminal and the woman he'd kill for, die for, and live for. Bea was bouncing her leg up and down, a nervous habit she picked up from V. She was the one that called Dr. Yamamoto and she was the one that convinced him to come back to his clinic. Her face brightened into a false optimism when she saw him walking towards her. They'd both been close to death before, but the way she looked down at him from the cold shower, both fully clothed, slapping his face to wake him up. The cold water masked the tears, but it didn't hide the puffiness around her eyes or the red across her nose and cheeks.

She stood up, but he motioned for her to sit back down. He crouched down in front of her at first before the weight of it all crashed into him and he sat on the floor and put his head in her lap. He wrapped his arms around her legs and she stroked his hair.

"My metabolism can't keep up with what amounts to both of our brains in one," V started.

Bea placed her other hand on his shoulder and continued stroking his hair back. Her nails lightly scratched his scalp as he liked, but his body couldn't muster the chemicals of comfort and pleasure that triggered goosebumps in response.

"I have to choose," V said and Bea's breath hitched.

"The doc can try to re-route it, make it eat Johnny's more than my own, but you remember what he said. They're all so packed in, ain't no brain surgery advanced enough to precisely…" he trailed off.

Johnny flickered to life in the chair next to Bea and rest his head on her shoulder. V looked up at him, realizing how soaked her pants were from his tears.

"Or we see how it plays out. Roll the dice and see whose neurons fry the most."

"Look at me," Bea said.

V got on his knees and she cradled his face in both of her hands. She wiped the tears from his cheeks with her thumbs. "What does he want?"

V looked over at Johnny. <Your call. I said it from the beginning, I don't want you to die.>

"Would you be upset if I said I wanted to roll the dice?" V's lower lip quivered.

Bea shook her head, "I'm here to the end, Eitan."

V's shoulders shook as he choked back a sob hearing his Hebrew name.

Bea held his hand as they checked out at the reception desk. A cold metal hand slithered its way into his empty one. V looked over at Johnny who gave a reassuring squeeze.

<Wanna bet on who wins?> Johnny flashed a grin, genuine mischief back in his eyes, and V hadn't felt more sure of a decision since he fell in love with Bea. Because he realized he loved Johnny, too. Never in a romantic sense, but something deeper, deeper than his love for Bea.

<Brothers in arms, V.>

V, Johnny, <and Bea>, against the world.

[sunflowerryvol6]

Pigments

Warnings : angst, mentions of blood

WC : 2k

Hey! so I've got all these angsty prompts anywho, hope you like this. This the first time I've had an OC, so let me know if you like that? This came together, quite quickly, so the edit might be a little choppy. Feedback and ideas are always welcome!

Masterlist

happy reading!

"Lovie! You can't be knocking things in your wake, gotta be a little more careful y'know?" He said.

Nylah froze. "I'm sorry, H. I guessed I misjudged the distance?" she nervously giggled.

"S'okay, you good? You don't sound all too convinced about that?"

"Nope. All good, I guess it was a little foggy, nothing too serious."

"Okay, if you say so." That response didn't convince him, though. Ever since the patio incident, he'd been keeping a close eye on you. He had a feeling she'd been hiding something. But he wasn't sure enough to call her out on it. He was waiting to see if she'd come to him first. Even if she was the stubborn one between the two, he would let it go for today, and no one wants to argue on the weekend, right?

He wishes he'd had that argument and taken one for the team because maybe then he could have avoided this phone call altogether. Or that's what he tells himself.

Nylah had taken a significant fall at work, slipped down the stairs and hurt her head, and they said she was bleeding. That's all he heard before he made a mad dash to his car to get to his fiance. His heart was racing; he couldn't piece any information together. He remembered to make a quick call to his mother; asked her to call Nylah's mum and meet him at the hospital. As far as any information went, Nylah was still unconscious, so that they wouldn't allow him in with her.

"Well, I'm her husband. You've got to let me stay with her. What if she wakes up and there's no one beside her? Please, let me go see her."

"I'm so sorry sir; She's getting her stitches now. You can wait outside the procedure room, and they'll let you in as soon as it's completed." the nurse says.

Amid this argument, Anne comes rushing through. "What's going on? have you been in to see her yet? have they given you any update?"

"No. we're waiting on them to finish stitching her up. After that the doctor will come and speak with us, I suppose. I don't know why I didn't pay more attention, maybe she was sick and didn't tell me? I mean, I should have noticed, right?" Harry was finding it hard to not tear up with anxiety.

"Harry, what's happened has happened. You just need to make sure she's okay now", and on that cue, the doctor walked in to greet them.

"Are you with Ms Jones?" The doctor asks

"Yeah, I'm her husband. Is she okay? How bad was the fall?"

"It's not too bad, but my concern is more to how she fell. Do you know if your wife has a history of fainting spells? or balance issues? could be one of the reasons she could have taken the tumble."

"None that I'm aware of. Nylah does have low blood sugar, but she is good at keeping that in check and, as far as I recall, she hasn't fainted from a low sugar spell in a few months. But why is that a concern? I mean, it could have just been that she tripped, right?"

"We're just trying cover our bases, Mr.-" He looks at Harry as if to ask your name

"Styles." He responds.

"Okay, well, Mr Styles, you may go keep your wife company now. The nurses will let us know when's she awake, and we can have a chat then."

"Thank you." and He turns to what he assumes Nylah's room is and walks in to see her still unconscious.

"Hey kid, I'm so happy to see you; gave us a proper scare. I'm going to be right here beside you when you wake up." He coos. Harry sits down beside her bed and reaches for her hand. He's too fidgety from anxiety to stop his knees from bobbing up and down. Still thinking about what the doctor said. Could it not have been a trip up? Could she have fainted, and no one was there to help her break the fall?

She was doing so well with keeping her sugar levels in check, and maybe she slipped up? All these questions were running amuck in his mind, and he couldn't make sense of it.

In his anxiety spiral, he had utterly missed that Nylah was coming to it. She was slowly peeking through her lids as if the lights were too much for her. Harry quickly stands up. "Baby! Are you okay? Does your head hurt? I'm going to call the nurse for you, okay?"

"Woah, slow down, H, I'm okay. Can you please ask them to dim the lights? It's too much for my head right now." She winces.

"Yes, let me call the nurse for you."

"hey! Did you press the call button? Good to see you're awake, Ms Jones."

"Yeah, she just about woke up. Could we please dim down the lights in here a bit? She's finding it a little difficult to open her eyes because of it."

"Okay, sure, let me inform the doctor, and I'll see about the lights."

"Thank you."

"So, what happened? Did you feel lightheaded? missed lunch or something?"

"Okay, so I mean, my vision has been getting kinda blurry of late? I don't know what that's about like I can't see things that might be in my surrounding that well." Harry looked like he wanted to cut her off but let her continue.

"Before you say anything, I didn't want to worry you, and I wasn't worried either until today. I thought I would take the stairs today, and they were white? And I couldn't place my feet. Because I couldn't tell them apart" She was tearing up.

"Hey, it's okay, we'll figure it out, okay? It's probably nothing. Don't worry about it. You're fine, and that's more than enough for now." Harry soothed her. But he really didn't know if it was going to be okay.

When the doctor came, they relayed the same information to him. he suggested getting some tests done to check her diabetes and vision. She's only 25, so it's highly unlikely it's anything major, or at least that's what they thought.

---

Everything will be okay, is what Nyah kept telling herself, but who was she kidding? She had been hiding the blurriness in her vision for quite some time now. Why didn't she want to get it checked and find out what's wrong with her? She can't tell you for the life of her.

On the other hand, Harry had always known, but he thought she would address it sooner or later. He'd noticed she'd totally missed the butter sitting right in front of them at breakfast, and he had to get it for her. She would often take a second to adjust to light early in the morning.

You can't really do anything if you're missing big and obvious things sitting right in front of you, right? But he was wrong, Nylah was stubborn as hell, and she wasn't going to admit herself that she needed help, so it was up to him to figure it out and advocate for her. Had he done this sooner, they wouldn't be in a position like this, right?

---

The white walls of this hospital felt like it was caving in on Nylah. She didn't want to be here, neither did she want to get tested, and she didn't know anything point. This nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach just wouldn't go away. Harry was trying to be as supportive but to be honest, he was scared shitless too, neither of them of any help to each other. So they sat, quietly taking the eerie atmosphere of the hospital, holding each other's hands, hoping that warmth would enough to get through this cold tunnel of uncertainty.

--

After a whole week of a myriad of tests, they were sitting in front of their eye surgeon, who just gave them the news. They call it retinitis pigmentosa, and there isn't a concrete treatment that's shown to work yet.

That's all she heard before Nylah stormed out of the office.

She couldn't sit and hear another word. When the doctor told her about how her children, children who weren't even born yet, would be carriers or sufferers of the same illness. How could she succumb to this fate?

Harry and she were to still get married. They were going to travel the world. They'd been saving up for it, right? And babies? Oh, her babies with Harry, would that even be possible right now? Would he even want to continue this engagement?

She was sitting on the stairs outside the hospital. Crying into her hands, she didn't know what the hell to do anymore. So she would do what she thought was the best for her and Harry.

Harry came running after her. "My! what's wrong? Please come back? The doctor wasn't even finished giving us options on what we could do about this. Petal, you've got to hear him out. Please. " He looks like he's about to cry too, wouldn't you? If you found out the love of your life wasn't going to be able to see anymore? That she would miss arguably the best years of your lives together? He couldn't break down in front of her, though. So he would be the calm, reassuring voice of reason for her right now. Breaking down is for later when she is resting.

Nylah wouldn't budge, so eventually, they drove back home. She jumped out of the car before he could even be done parking. She hadn't said a word throughout the ride, and he didn't know what was on her mind. So he parked the car and walked in.

He slowly approached their room, only to find her packing all her belongings. He was a little puzzled, "Ny, darling? What are you doing? why are you packing?"

She turns around to look at him. That's when he notices her red-rimmed eyes, pooling with tears. She walks over to the dresser, takes off her ring and places it on the table. It was as if she was saying; This is it, you know?

He finally placed what was going on. "Oh no. No. You're not doing that, this is stupid, you're ending our engagement over this? Absolutely not. Please, baby, you've calm down. There's a long way to go still, and we don't even know all our options yet."

"I am going blind, Harry. I won't be able to see your face when I kiss you anymore. I won't give you children that might not be addled with the same disease as me. Hear yourself when you make this commitment, Harry." and go. I'm to packing her stuff. She was furiously wiping tears away. How were you supposed to keep a straight face when the love of your life is not going to be a part of your life anymore.

"I do, I'm in it for the long haul, aren't I? We'll break our savings and go to all the places you want to go to. We'll make audio vlogs, we'll document everything that we encounter, for you to remember. I'll do anything!"

Harry was panicking now. He's desperately trying to get her attention, to get her to see that he'll bring her the moon if that's what she desires. But this silence was too much for him. He could'n;t keep up with her. She was just throwing things into her bag. Finally, it felt like he snapped back into his reality, and he rushed behind her to keep those items back into her part of the closet. Because he wasn't going to let her go that easily. She'd have to fight him for it.

As he was putting things back, she was putting more stuff into her suitcase, and it was this weird limbo of aggressively shoving things here and there.

"Stop putting things back! I have to leave. I'm not going to put you through this, I'm not waiting around for you to decide when you're done with me, when it gets too tiring, No. I'm not sticking around to witness us and our love going sour. " She's screaming now.

He doesn't bother replying to her. He knows she'll ride out this tantrum.

He's crying too, heaving heavy breaths. He doesn't know if this is enough. If just letting her be angry is enough. He's just quietly putting her clothes back. That's when he hears something shatter against the wall. He frantically looks up to see their dresser lamp broken into million pieces on the floor. She goes for the jug of water next and throws it at the wall with as much strength as possible. The cup goes next.

He's screaming at her to stop, but she can't hear anything over her wailing and things breaking. She grabbed a vase from their windowsill and broke that too, it's mad fury, and she's so angry she can't breathe.

She's snapped out of her reverie when she hears him shout in pain. She looks at him and sees that he's stepped on some broken glass, but that's not what he's shouting about; he's screaming to get her attention to make her see that she's, in fact, hurt herself.

The carpet has got blood all over it, and there's broken glass everywhere. He strides across the room to reach her, only for her knees to buckle and take both of them down, she sinks on the floor with loud sobs, and he can't bring himself to stop crying either.

He rocks her gently, and whispers "We'll be alright", over and over again.

[augmented-beauty]

Deus Ex OC profile 2.0

I found myself being extremely creative lately, and here we are. Here follows a long, more detailed profile of my dear baby, Alexandra. And yet, it still scratches the surface of her story, as I don’t want to spoil too much. 

Art by the amazing @mrs-chief​ yes, I’m still spamming it because I’m just too in love with this piece, no matter how many months have passed already.

Full name: Alexandra Maribel Montgomery Rivera

Date and place of birth: July 14, 1999, Detroit

Augmentations: eyes (Smart vision with Fine Transmitter Tuning, flash suppressant, retinal HUD), right arm (instant take-down, recoil compensation (full level), optimized musculature, punch through Wall, aim stabilizer, nanoblade, Tesla system, custom-made emergency button to rapidly release her ammo), Info Link.

Moral Alignment: Neutral good. Extremely loyal, Alexandra respects the authorities and she does not consider herself above law, but she believes that protocols and orders sometimes have to be ignored to do what is right. She usually doesn’t kill her enemies or opponents, but she won’t hesitate to pull the trigger to protect loved ones and when there’s no other way out.  

Alex is extremely loyal and devoted to her loved ones. Empathetic, extrovert, joyful, supportive, respectful and kind, it’s extremely easy to get on at least decently with her, but it’s still quite difficult to gain her trust. Open-minded and strong principled. Realistic, but she always tries to see the brighter side. She never gets too influenced by others, but she has some role models and people that admires deeply. Sometimes anger takes advantage of her, and she can be aggressive at times. Usually, her disappointment is expressed by sassy remarks.

Hobbies: singing and songwriting, videomaking, dancing

Family and life events

Her mother is Cuban, born in Havana, and moved to the USA to study and work. Her father, Koa, is a half Samoan-American (hapa) SWAT agent, born and raised in Detroit, but always visits Hawaii regularly. Her Hawaiian grandfather, Keoni, moved in Detroit in search of more job opportunities, while her grandmother is a white woman born in Detroit, disowned because of her will to marry a black man. They later moved back to Hawaii after retirement. Alex also has a younger sister, Isabelle Ignacia, former member of a Sarif’s research team. She has an excellent relationship with her family. Her parents, grandparents and sister are extremely supportive.

The two sisters suffer from Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a genetic, degenerative disease that slowly drags the patient into blindness. Luckily, both of them were able to access the needed augmentations as this technology started to become more common. Alexandra was the first one to get her augs back in 2018, agreeing to take part in a Sarif Industries initiative. Isabelle gets her own after a couple of years. Both their surgeries are successful, and the two sisters don’t really need to worry about their syndrome anymore. While Isabelle sticks to regular updates meant for a civilian as technology improves, Alex is more daring. In 2027, after debating about it for a while, thanks to her job, she gets some military upgrades.

Following her father’s footsteps, Alex applied for Police Academy after getting her Bachelor degree. That’s when she meets Adam, just days after her training at the Academy starts. Their meeting was almost a lucky coincidence: Alex was meant to have lunch with her father, but Adam was free, too. Koa thought it was the perfect occasion to have the two of them finally getting to know each other. He always had a good consideration of Adam, and Alex has heard of him before, multiple times. On the other hand, Adam has heard a lot about Alexandra, as Koa was always very proud of his daughter and all her achievements.

As her career progresses, Alexandra ends up in a relationship with Michael, who she has been knowing since college. The two of them both enrolled with DPD after their degree and ended up in Academy together as well. After graduating from Academy and after two abundant years of active service, Alexandra takes a step further and gets her training to join the SWAT division, with the support of her father and Adam, who both give her some help and tips when needed. Her career at DPD is brilliant, even though she never got the chance to become a commander herself.

Meanwhile, her sister studies hard and manages to get her dream job at Sarif Industries, and is assigned to Megan Reed’s team. There, Isabelle meets Faridah Malik and Francis Pritchard and introduces them to Alex. They both become some of the closest friends of the two sisters. For Alex and Isabelle, they’re more like siblings in bond.

Her life is relatively calm and peaceful until 2027 comes. The attack at Sarif Industries has her all over the place. Luckily, Isabelle wasn’t working that day, but what happened to Adam hits her and raises her stress levels. For months, Alex keeps worrying about her younger sister’s safety, and for Adam’s mental and physical health. Michael helps her a lot during this time, supporting her in every selfless action of hers. He’s not as close with Adam as Alex is, but still tries to support him, too. Some weight seems to be lifted from her shoulders when Adam is back in the saddle again, but six months after the first attack at SI, the same people responsible for what happened that day try to kidnap Isabelle, too. But once again, they fail, also thanks to Adam’s investigations and his right-on-time rescue. Some days after that, the Incident takes place. She’s off-duty and with Michael when the chaos starts to surround them. Alex didn’t get the new chip and is still sane. Even though they’re both off-duty, they end up inside a residential building, partially on fire, trying their best to aid some people stuck inside. A heavy augmented man, with heavy labour augs, is the current threat. Alexandra comes up with quite the reckless plan, acting as a living bait to give the chance to Michael to get those people safe. In that instant, there was no better option than that, it was only a matter of time. Things don’t really go as expected though. Alex gets badly stunned, and the man grabs her to throw her smaller body into the nearby flames. Michael barely makes it on time to save her, shooting the man, but there’s nothing he can do about her right arm, all he can do is extinguishing the fire. The pain is too much, and Alexandra is unconscious. Next thing she knows as she opens her eyes again, is that she’s in a hospital bed, with no right arm, and without Michael around. While doing everything to save her, he was badly injured and didn’t make it to the hospital, no matter how fast her father got there to pick them up. Her family also needs to let her know what happened in Panchaea, and that Adam is most probably dead.

The aftermath is pure hell. She went through one of the darkest times of her life. Lots of people that she called friends turned their backs to her only because of her second aug, guilt for Michael’s death ate her alive, and the whole process of rehab and the pain after the amputation were destroying her. Knowing that Adam was gone, too, made everything even worse. If it wasn’t for her family and closest friends, her mental health would have been extremely compromised.

The following months are all about recovery, and the support of her loved ones is crucial. Slowly, she gets back on track, regaining her inner fire, and coming back stronger than before. Her original songs and covers become a way for her to channel her emotions and to blow some steam off, even more than in the past, to give a message and raise awareness about what it really means to be augmented, and to, hopefully, bring some hope to augmented people like her. With time, an idea pestering the whole family becomes reality, and Montgomery Foundation is born. Based in Detroit, it’s meant to bring assistance to augmented people in desperate conditions, to raise awareness and to educate about what it means to be augmented, trying to stop the hatred. Alex and Isabelle put a lot of care into using the various social media channels to do this. Isabelle spreads awareness using her biomedical knowledge, while Alexandra insists more on the social, emotional side of the issue. This project also gives her the motivation and the inspiration to make some new content. This is not about music only anymore, Alex takes the chance to bring entertainment, too, as many have suggested her throughout the years. Her personality is perfect for this, and it could be a way to give more visibility to the Foundation and the activism that the whole family is carrying on.

Despite this new reality, Detroit is becoming unbearable. Once she can get back to work, things are not the same anymore. Alex can’t really see the point in being a cop anymore, not with all the violence and hatred that police brings upon augmented people. Most of her colleagues don’t fully trust her anymore, look at her like she was a walking death machine. Some don’t even try to hide their true feelings. The situation becomes more and more frustrating every day. But there’s a spark of hope in late 2028, one year after the incident: out of the blue, Adam is back in Detroit. It’s the key event that brings all her strength back, fully, after a year of struggles. Determined in helping him out, she has her first contact with Interpol’s Task Force 29. Jarreau agrees to have her taking part in their operation in Detroit as some sort of local aid agent, and is very impressed by her work. Before leaving, he suggests Alex to consider applying for Task Force 29, letting her know he wouldn’t mind to have her in Los Angeles.

As much as Detroit is testing her patience, Alexandra doesn’t leave immediately. She’s too concerned about the safety of her family, especially of her sister, and about the condition of the augmented people living in the former Sarif Industries area. Yet, Jarreau’s offer is tempting. It takes a while for her to even just start really considering such an option. Friends and family try to convince her for months, they know how this new job could benefit her. Adam, too, does his best to persuade her, giving her information, answering her questions about TF29; there’s no time zone that can stop him. It takes almost a year for Alex to finally decide to embrace this opportunity. DPD won’t let her go easily, though, no matter if they can only waste her potential, and her superiors manage to let her be a simple agent on trial. To officially become an Interpol agent, she will need to impress her superiors. The inconvenience doesn’t stop Alex, and she still sends her application to Interpol, to those terms. Instead of requesting to be part of the LA team, she applies for Prague’s team.

Alexandra’s intention is to move to Prague, to be by Adam’s side. In fact, after meeting him again almost a year before, she started to realise how her feelings for him went beyond friendship. Said epiphany only made her miss Adam more and more, making her want to run after a whole brand new start. She reaches Prague the day after Ruzicka’s bombing and is immediately thrown into action. Teamed up with Adam, she works on the bombing case and later takes part in London’s operation. Right after Apex Centre’s evens, Miller immediately gets to work to have Alexandra among his agents, and eventually, his efforts are successful. Things seem to be brighter for Alex from now on. She gets to spend more time with Adam, just like old times, and they get closer and closer, as close as never before. Their relationship gets deeper and deeper day by day and after a relatively short time, they end up together, from friends to lovers.

[rejectclone]

I gotta eventually start posting more lore for my OCs so enjoy this tidbit of [R] and Lawrence from before The Incident

............

Lawrence groaned mildly as he was forcibly awoken from his daily after noon nap, a staple of his at his dreaded workplace.

“Here’s your next assignment, Grey” said some faceless employee, throwing him a fresh portfolio haphazardly on his desk, where he previously propped his legs on. Lawrence rubbed his eyes for a second as he quickly scanned though the documents, already knowing what he needs to do that day.

Another activation.

It’s not anything special for him though, as he was already tired of activating a small group earlier and was hoping to finally finish up the current entire batch later during the week. In order to reach his goal though, he’ll get some overtime as he slaves away documenting the *subjects*.

He paces his way towards the locked room where the next subject is, along with some ‘others’, although most in that room aren’t that promising. Statistically they’re some of the most malformed out of the bunch, some are still somewhat underdeveloped and even malnourished, regardless of his efforts to keep them somewhat healthy.

The room’s door hisses as it’s bolt locks and hatch disengage, and Lawrence is greeted by a foreboding glow from the numerous stasis tanks in pitch darkness. Equipment slowly surged as they kept their occupants alive, well, some alive. As he went to the first tank, he could immediately tell it was a goner, as the same telltale signs of death were seen. Gangly body, malformed limbs, open and distressed mouth. The subject seemed to have woken up due to substantial internal pain, and proceeded to quickly drown in the tank’s fluid. It’s there to physically suspend and slowly nurture them, but it’s only worthwhile when they’re unconscious.

He records the status of the afflicted subject, but taps the glass for a bit. No response. He then proceeds to turn off the tank’s system, slowly watching the fluid stop gurgling as it drains away through tubing at the bottom of the tank’s platform. The body slumped against the glass as he walked away, seemingly slightly disgusted at it’s ghastly appearance. He proceeded this regime, and was disheartened to see that others in the room seem to have similar issues as the first subject, and they were either also diseased or on the very cusp of it. Save for one midway, which had some promising vitals, but just one look at it...... made Lawrence doubtful of it being capable to breathe and walk on it’s own.

It was substantially larger when compared to the others, potentially due to it being one of the few subjects to be comprised of DNA from some healthier donors than average, but it seemed to be too much, as it also lead to more limbs to be formed, likely as a common result of the host’s various DNA mixtures not willing to comply and merge with each other. It’s face was quite severely compromised too, he actually assumed it’ll be better for the subject to be blind, rather to face it’s own reflection. Not to mention breathing for it might be a major issue.

He nonetheless marked the subject down as ‘salvageable’, and proceeded to finish up his paper work. That particular being and a lucky two others in that room’s batch were also deemed worthy to move onto the next phase of testing. He awaited further command from his boss before slipping into his mandatory hazmat suit. Not meaning the subjects themselves were toxic, but more-so himself being more deadly than anything else in their exposure.

As he zipped up the jumpsuit and carried the helmet piece in his hands, a quick sip of coffee and some light chatter with some other employees of his status, he was soon on his way, slowly walking down a particularly long and dimly lit corridor to face a imposing set of steel doors. A quick retinal scan and some of his spit getting jammed into a scanning tray soon opened the doors, leading into a cramped and blank disinfecting room. He made sure to put his helmet on carefully as it magnetically latched into place against the jumpsuit’s metal inner collar, before letting the hidden jets spray him with a sterile smelling medley of disinfectants and the sort. After another tedious report filling session on his holo-clipboard, he can finally get to the real meat and bones of his job.

Watching clones writhe and suffer in their first few moments of consciousness in the world.

..........................

The large room was barren, save for the three holding tanks with the ‘salvageable’ subjects. As he makes his way to the tank’s control panels, the room reverberates with the sound of his boots squelching against the oddly sticky floor.

He proceeds to pick one with the subject he deemed the most healthy, a subject with only a single arm deformity. He moves the wheeled tank to one of the many, individually private, holding areas within the room, which is as equally sterile as the disinfecting room.

He punched in a string of code to start a countdown for the tank to release all of it’s contents...... He backs away, knowing what will come next.

The tank hisses air, as the glass quite literally splits open, slowly letting the clear oobleck-like liquid flow out of it. The subject begins to slump, until falling over and out completely, laying sprawled against the white floor. Lawrence watched all of this unfold, waiting.

Finally, what he was waiting for. The subject seemed to finally stir, as it vomits up the clear fluid it was once encased in, desperately trying to take it’s first breath. It seems to stop vomiting, but it also retched up a considerate amount of blood, immediately concerning Lawrence. He continues to stay still, watching to see if it can show some real motor function. The subject struggles to straighten itself, as it neck appears to have a certain lump, not seen before. Perhaps Lawrence was wrong in his judgement, he sometimes fails to take in consideration what may lie beneath ‘healthy’ subject’s internals.

Only 4 minutes has passed and the subject soon laid dead. Lawrence sighed, knowing that he’ll need to clean up that mess, and that his judgment today might’ve screwed his chances of clocking out early.

He proceeds to nudge the body for a bit, before closing up the used tank and recording the incident. He closes the private holding area, before walking back to the rest of the tanks. He stops to contemplate. Should he finish the rest and deal with their potential failure, or send them back to gestate for some more.

He re-examines the two, and proceeds to mark down the female subject to be sent back, as he doesn’t want to risk loosing them, so a few more weeks of them resting some more wouldn’t hurt.

A quick glance at the male subject next to it immediately made him realize that it should be activated. Leaving it to develop more would be a death sentence.

He moves the tank to the next holding room, straining for a bit, as it’s much more heavier than the previous one.

He punches in another string of code and was wondering how this subject would painfully fall out of it’s tank. If, it doesn’t get stuck midway though the opening glass.

Before he can even make it across the room after the activation sequence, the clear fluid gushed quickly from the tank, as the subject’s mass quickly displaced it.

It slowly slid out before falling into the floor with a resounding thud, and Lawrence become slightly more perturbed by viewing how lanky and pale it looked, outside of it’s former incasement.

It wasn’t breathing, which was somewhat good for Lawrence, for at least he doesn’t need to sweep up more blood or bile. A unharmed corpse by it’s own is much more easier to clean.

Alas, it finally gained conscious and spat out copious amounts of fluid and some bile, mainly out of the mouth that’s unfortunately placed on its neck, the others just pathetically gasped for air.

This proceeded for a few minutes, until the subject seemed to finally get a proper breathing rhythm, although they were shallow and broken. It then started to cry for a bit, typical as it’s just recovering from the slight physical trauma. It’s sobs were horrid sounding, and it spilled drool all over itself, as it shook, not in control yet of it’s body responses to such emotions. It just tightened itself up into the fetal position, as it shook while letting it’s cries reverberate through the room.

After a few more minutes of unconsoled crying, in which Lawrence all witnessed, it soon them tried to push itself off of the sticky and wet floor, soon noticing it’s copious amount of limbs. It was quickly enamored by its arms, slowly touching and feeling up each one, trying to outstretch each one, along with moving each digit on every hand. It started to cry frantically again as it’s fingers couldn’t move well, as his body is still numb in most areas. It soon began to look frantically around as it began to choke own its own tears again, until spotting Lawrence, just a few feet across him, writing down notes.

It stared at him, eyes widening as it becomes terrified, yet longing, for the scientist near him. It started to pathetically moan and scream at him, either to scare him away, or to call him closer to him.

Lawrence couldn’t tell, and was afraid to either agitate or traumatize the subject by making sudden movements.

Although he didn’t need to make a choice, as the subject soon started to move closer to him, slowly slamming it’s arms to drag itself across the room, it’s legs dragging behind, struggling to move on their own. The subject managed to make a decent display of effort, until it broke down again after just moving two feet. It laid on it’s chest, sputtering and whining as some of his arms still reached towards Lawrence, the rest of them were trying to push the rest of the body off of the ground.

Lawrence just stood there. Observing for any more signs of ‘self-motor control’ before finally moving closer. The subject seemed to cease crying as he noticed the suited man slowly walking towards him, but soon began to tremble and shake as he got a bit too close. He emitted a low whine as his eyes widened in terror as Lawrence loomed over him.

Lawrence then went down on his knees and made contact with the subject for the first time. He made sure to touch him gently, to avoid bruising it’s relatively raw flesh.

“Shhhhhhhhhhh. Shhhhhhhhhhhh. I’m here. I’m here. Shhhhhhhhhhhh.”

The subject responded with a confused murmur, as it proceeded to somewhat instinctively hug him. It’s breathing slowed, as his embrace slightly tightened.

“mmhhGghn........mmhhhHhhggAAAGhhhhhhh?.......”

“Shhhhhhhhh. No words. I’m here......”

“mmhHhh?! HhKhn........ hm........... hm...”

The two stayed stuck together for a few more minutes, as Lawrence started to slowly pat and stroke the subject’s back and head, and being pleased to see that he responded positively to it. It just babbled nonsense, and even tried to giggle at one point, showing it can express some elements of positive emotions.

But now comes the real danger.

Leaving the room.

[moondancewrites]

Kaleidoscope Eyes - Chapter 1

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Lucy Larson (OC)

Warnings: Fluff, eventual smut

Summary: After the Infinity War, Bucky Barnes is invited to officially join the Avengers and move into their compound.  For the first time in a long time, everything in Bucky’s life makes sense.  He has a place he belongs, friends who care about him, and a purpose.  But, there’s one thing that’s keeping him from feeling truly like his old self.  It isn’t long before he realizes that the something he’s missing might be found in Lucy Larson, a Stark Industries employee who has worked her way up the ranks to become Maria Hill’s executive assistant at the Avengers compound.

A/N:  This story exists in a perfect world where none of our beloved Avengers die in Infinity War and Cap and everyone come back to the Avengers compound to live and work.  What’s the point of fan fiction if you can’t keep the ones you love alive, right?  Be gentle on me - this is my first Bucky fic and it scares the hell out of me to write someone as complex as him.  Also, this will switching POVs every once in a while.

Chapter 1

John Lennon’s voice filled the room, signaling the start of another day.  Lucy reached for the console beside her bed, fumbling to turn off the alarm.  

“Five more minutes,” she whined, hugging her pillow and squeezing her eyes closed to keep out the early morning sun.

“Ms. Larson.” F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s soft voice filled the room .  Lucy turned onto her side, pulling her pillow over her head as if that would hide her from the omnipresent AI.  “Ms. Hill wanted to make sure that everything was ready for this morning’s arrival.”

“This mornings …. Oh!”  Lucy sprang up in bed, wide-eyed with excitement.  “Y-yes, F.R.I.D.A.Y.  Everything is ready.  I just need to go down and do some final checks.”

The day was finally here.  Today, all of her friends would be back home after saving the world, once again.  Not wanting to waste another second, Lucy jumped out of bed and ran to the shower.  While she washed her hair, Lucy went over the list in her head of things she had to do to prepare for the day.

Lucy had been given the task of setting up the living quarters for one of the newest member of the team.  It took a little coaxing, but Steve had managed to talk his best friend, Bucky Barnes, into officially joining the Avengers.  Maria Hill, Lucy’s boss, put her in charge of making sure that his room was ready for him when he arrived.  Since Bucky didn’t have many possessions to start with, Lucy pretty much had a clean slate when it came to decor and wardrobe.  

Steve wanted the whole room to be a surprise, so she’d been working solely with him to cultivate items the would suit the new Avenger.  They had been texting back and forth the last few days as the team made their way back home.  Although, honestly, Lucy could have probably done it without asking Steve a single question since she knew so much about Bucky already.  She’d known Steve for years now and he talked about Bucky all the time.  She felt like she knew him already.  Sure, she knew about him before, but that was only through the official files and the gossip around the compound.  But through Steve, she felt like she knew the real Bucky - not just the Winter Soldier or the White Wolf or whatever people called him.  

As the hour drew nearer, the butterflies in Lucy’s stomach started to flutter a little faster.  Would he like what she’d done with his room?  What if he didn’t like it?  Would he tell her?  Would he even talk to her at all?  People were speculating that he would be the silent type.  She wouldn’t be surprised by that at all, given his history, but she was determined to be his friend.  Or maybe just make him smile.  That was the day’s goal.

She was doing some final checks in his closet when there was a knock on the door.  Her heart leapt in her chest.  “They’re here,” Gina, one of her old friends from data maintenance said from the doorway.  “Holy shit … it’s freezing in here.”

“That’s how Bucky likes it,” Lucy replied.  Gina squinted at her and Lucy’s gaze shifted back to her task.

“And you know just how … Bucky likes it?” Gina choked on her laugh and Lucy had half a mind not to throw a shoe at her.

“I just mean … That’s what Steve … Sergeant Barnes …” She was flustered and Gina knew it, which made it even worse.  

“C’mon, Luc … time to meet ….” Gina flipped her hair back over her shoulder as she said, “Sergeant Barnes,” with a teasing exuberance.  

“I hate you,” Lucy muttered through gritted teeth.

“Love you, too.”

--

“Welcome home, Buck,” Steve said with a kind grin, patting his friend’s back.  The place was even bigger than they’d all described.  It felt more like a town than a compound.  

“Thanks,” Bucky said with a gulp.  He pulled on the strap of his bag nervously, tightening it around his shoulder.  He was half expecting there to be a huge crowd of people waiting for them to arrive.  If the whole team had arrived as a whole, maybe that would have been the case.  But it was just him and Steve for now - the rest of the Avengers would slowly make their way back throughout the rest of the day.  Steve thought it best for them to get there ASAP so Bucky could start to become acclimated before they started training for whatever lay ahead.

“Look, I know it’s a big change.  And I know you’re nervous-”

“I’m not-” Bucky started, but Steve shot him a look that made him shrug in admission.

“It’s going to take some getting used to.  But your room is right across the hall from me.  And I’ve put someone I trust in charge of setting it up for you.”  Bucky’s eyes followed Steve’s gaze.  “There she is.”  Steve smiled widely, waving at a woman coming down the stairs.  “Buck, this is Lucy.”

“Hi Bu- … I mean, Sergeant Barnes,” the young woman said with a wide smile.  She reached out her right hand and Bucky took it.  Bucky was about to correct her and say that Bucky was fine, but she just kept right on talking.  “I’m Lucy, Maria Hill’s executive assistant.  She runs the compound, so I basically do whatever she needs me to do.  And she’s made it clear to give you whatever you need to make you comfortable and I’ve been working with Steve on your room and I think you’re going to like it.  At least I hope you do.  But if you don’t, you can tell me and I’ll change it right away.”  She was still shaking his hand.  That is, until Bucky looked down at their hands and she realized what she was doing.  She pulled away and a soft blush appeared on her freckle-speckled cheeks.  “Sorry.”

“Thanks,” was all he could think of to say.

“Why don’t you show us what you’ve done?” Steve suggested.

“You … you want me to come with you?” Lucy asked, pointing at her chest.

“You’ve done all the hard work - you should show him,” he told her, grinning that signature Cap grin that would make most girls swoon.  Lucy just smiled, though, which Bucky found interesting.  

If this girl talked as much as she did while showing them the room, Bucky was certain he’d have a headache after her little tour.  He’d never heard a person talk so fast in his life.  And with such … giddiness, he decided, was the best way to describe it.  The girl was practically bouncing on her heels.  And those were some tall heels.

“Oh, okay.  Sure.  I can do that.  This way, gentlemen.”

“She was in charge of my room?” Bucky whispered under his breath to Steve as they followed Lucy to the living quarters.  

“She’s a sweet kid,” Steve sighed.  “She’s just excited to meet you.”

That baffled Bucky.  “Why?” he asked.

“Everyone’s excited to meet you, Buck.  You helped save the world.  And you’re my oldest friend.  They’ve all heard a story or two.”

“Oh, great.”  Bucky rolled his eyes.  He was already having second thoughts about this whole new living situation.

“Here we are.”  Lucy stopped in front of the door abruptly and Bucky nearly collided with her.  She turned on her heel, reaching in the pocket of her cardigan to pull out a keycard.  She handed it to Bucky.  “This will get you in until we set up the retinal scan.”  He just nodded and he thought he saw a hint of a frown tug on her bright smile.  

“What are you waiting for, Buck?” Steve said, nodding to the keypad on the door.  Bucky pushed the card against it and the door slid open without a sound.  He looked back at Lucy and Steve who were both standing the exact same way with the exact same expression.  It almost made him smile.  Almost.  

What did make him smile was what he walked into.  He hadn’t been in a place that felt like home in so long, but that place …. There was something about it that made him feel instantly safe and comfortable.  Blue and green were the main colors in the room - a stark contrast to the dark reds and blacks and gloomy greys he was used to.  The walls had a few art pieces on them.  There was a really cool painting of a car that caught his eye.  The bed looked like a gigantic cloud.  He felt the urge to fall on it, just to see if it was as fluffy as it looked, but he restrained himself because of the company.

He could hear Lucy holding her breath behind him.  He turned to her and nodded.  “This is nice.  Thank you,” he said.  Lucy exhaled and that bright, giddy smile was back.

“You like it?”  He nodded again.  “Oh, thank God,” she sighed.  “I know I’m not an interior designer by any stretch of the imagination, but with Steve’s help with the whole color thing … he said your favorite colors are blue and green, so I did both.  And he said you liked tech and cars, so I got some stuff out of Mr. Stark’s art vault and found a few new pieces.  And he told me your size, so I got you a closet full of new clothes.”  Lucy walked over to the closet and Bucky followed.  “See?” She beamed, turning on the light.

“Yeah.  That’s … great.”  There was that little tease of a frown again.  Was someone that giddy even capable of frowning?  “Thanks,” he said.  He looked at Steve.  “It’s great.”

“I told you he’d like it,” Steve told Lucy, patting her shoulder.  “Lucy, want to explain the tech part to him while I go drop my bags off?  Then I’ll come back and give you a tour.”

“Sure,” she said.

--

Steve closed the door behind him, leaving Lucy alone with her new neighbor.  He wasn’t as scary as some of her coworkers made him out to be, but the few who described him as quiet and brooding hit the nail on the head.  Even though he barely said a word, Lucy spoke enough for the both of them.  She had a talent for it, if you could call it that.

When she went over everything with Bucky, he seemed pretty comfortable with it - way more comfortable than Steve had been.  Hell, Steve still couldn’t figure out how to get half of the stuff to work.

“You’re pretty into tech, huh?” Lucy asked him as he played around with the buttons.  “Steve is still figuring out how to use that thing.”

“That’s because Steve is a grandpa,” Bucky said matter-of-factly.  Lucy busted out laughing, nearly falling into the dresser.

“Oh my God.  That’s great.”  Bucky smiled … actually smiled.  And his smile was so … soft.  And kind.  And sweet.  The smile fell from his lips, almost as if he could hear her thinking about how much she liked it.  “I bet Wakanda was like heaven for you, then, with all their amazing tech.”

“Yeah,  it was great.   Until the whole war thing.”  

Fuck.  “Way to put your foot in your mouth, Luc,” Lucy groaned, covering her eyes with her hand.

“It’s fine.  I’m used to war,” Bucky said with a little shrug.  That sentence broke Lucy’s heart.

“I-” A knock at the door cut her off, followed by a bearded Steve poking his head in the room.

“Ready, Buck?”

“Sure.”  Bucky turned to Lucy.  “Thanks, Lucy.”

“You’re welcome, Sergeant Barnes.”

“Bucky … please,” he said with a soft smile.

“Good luck with that,” Steve laughed.  “Do you know how long it took for me to get her to call me Steve?”

“You’re welcome, Bucky,” Lucy said, looking defiantly at Steve.  Steve crossed his arms over his chest and Lucy smirked at him.  “See you at the party tonight?”

“Wait … what party?” Bucky asked with wide eyes.

“The … welcome home party?  For all of you guys?  Steve, you didn’t tell him?” Now Lucy was crossing her arms over her chest.  

“I was going to casually mention it later after the whole tour and everything.  Ya know, ease him into the whole thing.”

“Oh …” Lucy dropped her arms.  “Sorry.  Well, anyway … see you later!”

--

“This is a bad idea.”  Bucky adjusted the collar on his crisp white shirt.  It fit like a glove.  Everything did, actually.  Even the boxers.  Thinking about Lucy picking out his boxers made his cheeks get a little hot, which he was shocked by.  He wasn’t sure until that moment that he was capable of blushing anymore.

“Nah, man.  It’s a great idea.  Everyone is going to be there - even the guardian’s gang is making an appearance before they go off to who knows where.”

“Oh, great.  The racoon will probably try to steal my arm again,” Bucky groaned.  Sam laughed at him but when he saw the look on Bucky’s face, he shut up.

“It’s gonna be great, man. Booze, drinks, girls …”  Sam nudged Bucky’s metal shoulder.

“I repeat,” Bucky said, glaring at his friend, “bad.  Idea.”

“Do you know how many fine women are going to be at this party?”

“I thought this was just a compound party … that’s what Steve said.”

“Yeah.  There are some honeys that work here, man.  There’s this one girl in deployment.  Kristie ….” Sam licked his lips.  “She’s mine,” he warned.

“They can all be yours,” Bucky said, holding his arms up.  “I’m not ready for any of that.”

“Not ready?  Pschhh.  Man, we’re dudes.  We’re always ready.  And don’t act like you’re all brainwashed and everything because I know for a fact Shuri straightened you out.  You’re you again, man.  You can be a dude.  A normal dude.  And you know what normal dudes do?”

“What do normal dudes do?” Bucky found himself asking; his voice sticking on the word dude.  He wasn’t used to that word yet.  

“They get.  The.  Honeys.”

“Sam.” Bucky had to laugh at the man’s enthusiasm.  “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to … get the honeys.”  He grimaced hearing those words come out of his mouth.  “But it’s not tonight, okay?  I just got here and I’m already kind of freaking out.”  Sam smiled at him.  “And I don’t know why I’m telling this because you’ll just make fun of me.”

“Buck, Buck, Buck,” Sam sighed, throwing his arm around him.  “Would I ever make fun of you?”

“You made fun of me five minutes ago …”

“Touche,” Sam said with a shrug.  “But we’re friends, man.  I’ll stop pushing.”  Bucky let out a breath.  “For now.”  The music from the party got louder as they approached the big double doors.  “But for now, it’s time to celebrate.”

--

“Wow,” Gina breathed, looking over Lucy’s shoulder.  Lucy turned, curious to see what made Gina’s jaw drop like that.  Sam and Bucky had just walked into the party.  Bucky was wearing a white button down with black slacks and a black tie.  His hair was down and falling in his face, hiding the pretty blue eyes that she couldn’t help but notice earlier in the day.  “That man is wearing that outfit … yowza.  You did a good job with wardrobe.”

“I guess I did,” Lucy said, unable to tear her eyes away from him.  He wasn’t really her type - she liked nerdy, lanky guys, usually - but it was impossible to deny that he looked good.  

“I’m going to go introduce myself.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Lucy told her.  Gina’s brow furrowed.  “He’s kind of nervous about the whole party thing.”

“Oh?  Well, all the more reason.  I just want to make him feel welcome.”  Gina winked at Lucy.  She was an insufferable flirt.

Lucy watched the exchange between Gina and Bucky from across the room.  Bucky’s expression never changed and they only shared a few words before Gina turned around and made the ‘kill’ signal across her neck.  Lucy chuckled, taking another sip of her drink.

While the others were all mingling and laughing and drinking and dancing … well, at least the Peters were, Bucky hid himself away in a corner, nursing a beer and observing the party going on around him.  Steve came over and sat with him a few times, but each time he’d get pulled away by someone.  Lucy kept her distance for a while, but after a few drinks she managed to get the courage to go up and talk to him.

“Enjoying the party?” she asked, sitting on the chair beside him.  Bucky jumped.  “Oh, sorry.  I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine,” he said, waving it off with his metal arm.  It was so shiny and she was so curious about it, but she didn’t dare ask him, at least not on the first day.  That was more of a two month conversation.

“So … are you?” Lucy asked.

“Am I what?” Bucky responded, pushing his hair behind his ear.  Over the course of the evening, his tie had loosened and the first two buttons on his shirt had come undone.  It was a good look, although Lucy dared not mention it or even think it.  She had a feeling he would sense it if she did.

“Enjoying the party.”

“Oh.  Yeah.  It’s fine.”

“I like getting together with everyone, but the music they play at these things …”

“It’s pretty bad,” Bucky replied with a small smile.  Lucy smiled back.  “It just sounds like noise to me.”

“Who’s the grandpa now?” Lucy teased.  Bucky’s smile widened, his gaze falling to his beer resting on his lap.  

“Touche,” he said.  “But it is pretty bad.”

“I know.  I prefer oldies.”

“Like …?” Bucky asked.  He was actually talking to her.  Like, having a conversation.  Lucy could hardly believe it.

“Like the Stones.”

“Stones … Rolling Stones,” Bucky said.  Lucy nodded.  “I like them.”

“And the Beatles.”

“Them I haven’t really listened to yet,” Bucky told her.  Lucy’s jaw dropped.  “What?”

“You haven’t heard the Beatles?” she asked.

“I think I’ve heard a few songs.  But not a lot.  I like the Stones better.”

“Blasphemy!” Lucy exclaimed, clutching her chest.  Bucky chuckled - actually chuckled.  It was so soft she could barely hear it over the music, but it was there.  Lucy tried to ignore the warm flutter of the butterflies.  “The Beatles are the best.  But … I suppose I’m biased.”

“How so?” he asked.

“I was named after one of their songs.  Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Bucky’s blank stare told her that he hadn’t heard it.  “Ya know, Lucy in the skkyyy with diamonds,” she sang.

“Haven’t heard it,” he said with a shrug.

“It’s a great one.  But I think A Hard Day’s Night is my favorite album.  The movie is hilarious.”

“They made movies?” Bucky asked.

“Yeah!  It’s great.  It really has no plot except following them around for a day while they prepare for a show but the music is great and they’re funny.  Especially George.  Everyone likes John best but I mean, c’mon … George Harrison was the best Beatle.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Bucky replied, taking another sip from his beer.

“BUCK!”  Sam stumbled over to them, nearly falling over Lucy.  “Oh, hey Lucy!  You are looking gorgeous this evening.”

“Thanks, Sam,” Lucy muttered, smoothing the skirt of her blue dress.  At least somebody noticed.

“Buck, there’s a group of girls over there that keep asking me about you, man.  You’ve gotta come say hi.”

“I’m good here,” Bucky said.

“C’mon, dude.  Be my wingman …”

“Why don’t you go get red wing to do that for you?” Bucky quipped.  Lucy didn’t expect Bucky to be so funny.  But there he was, making her laugh for the second time already that day.  She practically choked on her drink.

“Ha. ha.  Very funny.  Seriously, dude.  We could both get …” Sam seemed to forget that Lucy was there until that moment.  He cleared his throat, averting Lucy’s gaze.  “They want to get you a drink.”

“Got one,” Bucky said, raising his beer.  “And I’m fine here.  Lucy’s telling me about how the Beatles are better than the Stones.”

“Bullshit,” Sam laughed.  “Beach Boys are where it’s at.”

“I did not peg you for a Mike Love fan,” Lucy said, looking up at Sam.

“Well, it shows how well you know your friends then, huh, little Lucy?” Sam booped Lucy on the nose.  Lucy pretended to bite at his finger and he laughed at her, shaking his head.  “C’mon Buck …”

“You’re not going to stop until I go over there, are you?” Bucky asked, heaving a heavy sigh when Sam nodded in response.  “Fine.”  He got up, running his hand through his dark hair.  Lucy wondered if it was as soft as it looked.  “It was nice talking to you,” Bucky said, pulling her out of her musings.

“You, too,” Lucy said.  “Give the Beatles another chance.  You won’t regret it.”

--

Finally, Bucky could sink into the plush bed that he’d been thinking about all day.  He’d managed to escape Sam and Gina and Beth and Tori, the girls he’d introduced him to.  They all seemed nice.  Gina actually came up and talked to him first, but that was right when he got there and he was still freaking out about the whole party thing.

The only thing that calmed his nerves was when Steve and Lucy came to talk to him.  Then again, there was something about Lucy that made him nervous, too.  A different kind of nervous.  Kind of … uneasy.  He wasn’t sure what it was about her.  Maybe it was her giddy demeanor or the way her freckles bunched up on her nose when she laughed.  Or maybe it was the fact that he couldn’t decide what color her eyes were - were they blue or green?  Granted, he hadn’t been brave enough to look that close.  But they were vexing, still.  Maybe it was the fact that she talked to him like they were already friends and yet he knew nothing about her except that George was her favorite Beatle and she was named after one of their songs.  Or maybe it was the way that blue dress accentuated her curves.  He couldn’t put his finger on it and it was irksome, to say the least.  

He tossed and turned for a while, trying to get comfortable.  It wasn’t the bed - that thing was heaven.  It was just his new surroundings, he told himself.  Not the brunette in the pretty blue dress.

After about an hour, he gave up and started fiddling with the tech pad that Lucy had showed him earlier.  He wasn’t sure how he got to it, but he found himself pressing play on ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’.  He laid back, crossing his arms behind his head and staring at the ceiling as the music filled the room.

‘Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies.  Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly, a girl with kaleidoscope eyes’

“Kaleidoscope eyes,” Bucky murmured to himself, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Tag List: @feelmyroarrrr @lesqui @badassbaker @scarletts-letters @vechkinfan @seb-smut

[myotishia]

Time hopping part two

Fandom: Torchwood. Trigger warnings: None I don't think but tell me if I've missed anything. Characters: Owen Harper (Past and present), Toshiko Sato, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Elise Carter (oc) Rating: Teen and up Tropes: We’re fixing things right over here.

Blurb: After being swept into Owens plan Elise is going to have to face her own actions and the effect they have on others. Not only that but she’s been given an important duty, to keep Toshiko Sato distracted.

After another time jump that almost ended with Elise losing what was left in her stomach the pair headed to a hotel. Owen, to the receptionist at least, looked like a normal patron. He flashed a credit card and the receptionist nodded as if this happened all the time. Elise followed the woman in an expensive looking suit to a room that was larger than Elise’s own flat. Owen finally broke the silence as he waved off the receptionist.

“You look exhausted. You should get some sleep.”

The brown eyed woman sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off her boots. “What was that about?”

“Torchwood. Sometimes after something went down we all just couldn’t face going home so we have a tab here. Thought you might need it.”

“Yea… I mean I’m practically homeless right now.”

“You can order room service if you want.”

She laughed mirthlessly. “I haven’t eaten in at least twenty four hours but now I can’t even think about food… I’m going to take a shower.”

“Will you be ok on your own?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I’m going to check on the aftermath. I need to relax for a while anyway.” He held up his hand as it dispersed into the air like salt in water.

“I’ll be here.”

She watched him dissolve completely before heading into the bathroom, turning on the shower and attempting to patch clean her jeans, mud from the field dried into the knees. She hung them on the radiator to dry and stepped into the shower appreciating the warmth. The day hit her like a bus. She sank to the floor and sobbed, overwhelmed. It was as if she really had jumped into the bay, drowning in the darkness, pulled under by death himself. She traced the scar on the back of her hand with her fingertips. She wasn’t alone anymore. For the first time in years she wasn’t completely alone. The warmth seemed to finally permeate her core and she pulled herself up, washing away the day and the thoughts that weighed her down. Finally she stepped out and bundled herself up in the fluffy white towels and a very plush dressing gown.

After a short trip as the crow flies Owen drifted watching two familiar figures below.

Gwen leant next to her workmate on the bars dividing them from the bay water.

“Are you ok? You’ve been quiet… I mean quieter than usual.” She asked.

Ianto continued to look out across the water, “I lost someone a few nights ago.”

“Oh god Ianto I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you say? I’m sure Jack would’ve given you some time off.”

“I’d rather work to be honest.”

“Who were they?”

“Someone I loved… She’d been gone for a long time in a way. I just hoped…” He paused, words lost on the wind.

“Oh sweetheart.” She pulled him into a hug that he didn’t fight.

Elise had closed her eyes for only a moment when she found herself in darkness, far from the sounds of the hotel tv. Drifting. Weightless. Far off, huge footsteps echoed, the vibrations hitting her in the chest. She tried to feel which direction it was coming from but it seemed to come from everywhere. A final loud bang pierced the air and a sharp pain bloomed in her chest followed by a falling sensation.

Owen looked up as Elise jolted awake with a loud gasp, as if she’d just resurfaced from a deep pool.

“Woah Elise, it’s ok.”

“Hurts.” She gasped, a hand over her heart.

The doctor took a swift step forwards, watching her carefully. “Take a deep breath. Can you tell me what hurts?”

“I…” She took a few deep breaths. “It’s gone… Bad dream, I think.”

“Are you sure?”

The cocoon of towels and blankets nodded. The worry in Owen settled but a sharp phantom pain shot through his own heart. A pain he thought he’d long forgotten. A pain he wanted to forget.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you… I hate to be a pain but will my debit card work in this time?”

“No. It won’t have been created yet. What do you need?”

“Just a change of clothes and a few other things if you plan on making me run or anything.”

“I think Torchwood can owe you that much but you’ll have to emerge from your blanket fort.”

“No deal.” She pouted, pulling the dressing gown tightly around her as she got up and headed into the bathroom. Her jeans were dry and they hadn’t stained thankfully. As soon as she got something else to wear she’d throw everything away. She didn’t want to look at them.

One new coat, two new sets of underwear, one new pair of jeans, two new shirts and a set of hairbands later Elise was ready to go.

“Is this next job a little nicer?” she asked.

“Depends how it goes. Hopefully you can just keep Tosh distracted while I keep track of someone.”

“How would I keep her distracted?”

“Easy. Tell her you know about Torchwood.”

“And when she asks how?”

“Improvise”

“I’m not good at lying.”

“Then don’t. You are from the future, just show her your phone or something.”

“My phone’s old.”

Owen stared at her for a moment before the pin finally dropped. She pulled the phone from her pocket and compared it to the ‘new’ models in a nearby shop window.

“How did people deal with having less than a terabyte of storage at least. Even this old piece of junk has three.”

“Exactly. You can use the money I gave you just don’t get drunk. I don’t want to have to wait for you to sober up. Just keep her away from the blond at the bar.”

“I need to send a message. Will you be ok on your own?”

“I’m not a bloody child!”

“Says the woman who was found in a blanket fort.”

“Just go.”

Gwen leant back in her chair. “Just admit it, you left me the note.”

“I was with you, when would I have had time? I’ve checked the cameras.”

“You mean the ones that conveniently glitched out?”

“There was a sudden wave of electromagnetic interfearence.  They didn’t glitch.” Tosh interjected. She was sick and tired of this conversation. It had been going on for over a week and it sounded like Owens usual nonsense.

“See? Right from the expert. Wasn’t me.” Owen threw a ball of paper into the bin that sat across the room.

“Then who was it?” Gwen continued, as stubborn as ever.

“Fuck if I know. I’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

“Like what?”

“I got a new body this morning.”

“Shouldn’t you be working on it then?”

“It’s just bones. Not as if whatever did it is still walking around.”

“Maybe.”

Owen paused before standing. “Ok, if you’re so smart you can tell me what happened.”

“What?”

“I’m serious. Come on.”

Gwen shook her head but followed anyway.

Tosh moved to grab her coffee but it had long gone cold. It was just the last part of a very frustrating day that had given her a stress headache. She couldn’t concentrate. Pulling her bag onto her shoulder she headed out. If Owen was going to act like Gwens best friend then maybe she’d find someone who actually wanted her around. That or at least get a drink.

Elise sat down next to the woman Owen had pointed out to her and smiled.

“Hi.”

Tosh jumped as if she’d been pulled from a daydream. “Oh sorry. Hi.”

“I’m Elise. You’re Toshiko, right?”

“How do you know that?”

“I know about Torchwood. How’s Ianto holding up by the way... Don’t worry, I don’t mean you any harm.”

Tosh had gone quite pale but she kept her composure. “Slow down. How do you know about Torchwood?”

Elise took a sip of her drink. “An agent stopped me from doing something I’d regret. He was drifting through time and long story short I ended up travelling with him.”

“Do you have any proof?”

The brown haired woman placed her mobile phone on the bar. “Go ahead. If you have a look at the news sites they should have a short history saved. I can’t connect to the internet here but maybe you can.”

Tosh turned the unfamiliar phone over in her hands, checking the ports and any brand naming. Nothing she recognised. Even opening it up didn’t show her anything she’d seen before, at least not in such a compact form. The sim card and memory cards had names she’d never heard of printed on them. She wanted to double check but at that moment she realised that, in her frustration, she’d left her own mobile on her desk. Next she switched the device on and hit a roadblock. It needed to be unlocked.

“Sorry. One second.” Elise said, taking the phone back and holding it up. “Retinal scanner. A bit much I know.”

Once it was unlocked Toshiko immediately hit the web browser and it did bring up well known news sites but all the dates were for over twenty five years in the future.

“Can I keep this?” She asked.

“The speaker doesn’t work very well. I had to resolder a few of the connections more than once but go ahead. It’s not as if I have anyone I can call. Even in my time the only one to answer would be my roomba.”

“You still have those?”

“Yea. I got mine from a friend who worked at my local scrap yard. It was old but it still worked. Just needed a bit of care and attention.” Elise smiled softly at the memory. “I reprogrammed him because he was oversensitive. He’d make his little warning beep whenever he hit the doorframe or got stuck under my bed. I gave him a little AI that could tell where he was. It went a bit far when I walked in on him humping the base of a lamp.”

Tosh nearly choked on her drink as she laughed.

“I’m serious. I think he just hadn’t worked out that it wasn’t a ramp with an obstacle. Of course I gave them my blessing. At least he could get a date.”

“Do… Do you want to get something to eat?”

“I’m starving. You lead the way. I doubt any of the places I went to are here yet.”

Owen, his future self at least, had enjoyed watching the creature known as Mary get exactly what she deserved. Eons of looking back had amplified his bitterness, remembering how heartbroken Tosh had been. The feeling of broken trust around the hub. It had been the same with Ianto, doubting every interaction. They deserved a win before the next case that would fall to them. Of all the monsters and eldritch abominations they’d faced somehow humans were the worst. There was no one thing he could do to change the events to come, like a perfect storm it would blow through, unstoppable. He just had to do his best to limit the damage of the aftermath. He knew the notes he’d left for both Gwen and himself wouldn’t be enough to stop his past self being an idiot. He just hoped the anonymous message he’d sent to Rhys would be. “Gwen’s been given a sensitive project at work but she doesn’t want to go to counselling. When she gets back I've set up a date for you both to try and help her decompress from the whole thing. Below I’ve included all of your reservation details. Everything has been paid for. She may not be able to talk about her work but maybe a night to forget about it all will help.” It was a risk to leave evidence of his existence and he was sure it would end with them investigating his activities but it had to be done. Owen had to fix his mistakes, for his own sake if no one else's.

“-And he’s spending all of his time arguing about notes like a schoolchild.” Tosh continued over a spoonful of sorbet.

“Sounds a bit desperate if you ask me. Didn’t you say she had a boyfriend?”

“Exactly. Who does that?!”

“It’s not worth stressing out over. I mean you’re smart, beautiful, you’ll find someone worth your time.”

She blushed lightly at the compliment. “Not in this job.”

“And you have people who love you. That’s worth way more than a few dates.”

“Didn’t you have anyone?”

Elise paused and took another bite of her cheesecake. “Not really. I haven’t spoken to my parents in years. Not that I’d want to. All they ever did is put me down and use me. I fell out of contact with my school friends long ago and my workmates just aren’t into the same kinds of things I am. They go out drinking and I’d rather go home and build something. Nearest thing I had to a friendship was the guy at the junkyard and I didn’t even know his last name. The night before I met… The agent… I came home to my flat and it’d been ransacked. Everything was gone… Sorry. I brought the mood down.”

“No. It’s ok.” She leant down to her bag and pulled out the phone. “You should keep this.”

“Are you sure? I’ve got nobody to call.”

“Yes you have.” She let Elise unlock it and started typing her number in. “Now you can call me.”

“I hope I can… Tell you what. I’ll give you all of my details and we’ll see if we can keep in contact even when I’ve time jumped again.”

“That sounds good. Thank you for tonight. I think I needed this.”

“Me too. Just remember, even if I don’t answer right away I’m still out there somewhere and after whatever Jobs we need to do get done I think I want to come back. We can go out for dinner again or something.”

“I’d like that.”

They were interrupted by a waiter stopping at their table. “I’m sorry to bother you miss. There’s a gentleman outside looking for you.”

Elise’s heart sank slightly. “Ok. Thanks could you tell him I’ll be out in a minute?”

“Of course miss.”

Elise grabbed a napkin. “Do you have a pen?”

Tosh grabbed one out of her bag and handed it to the woman as she stood.

“This is my number, my email address and my backup email. I’ll see you again Tosh. I promise.” She handed over the napkin with the money for their meal before turning and heading out with a smile on her face.

Owen was waiting just outside but out of sight of the windows. “I said distract her not take her on a date.”

“It wasn’t a date.”

“You were giving her the fuck me eyes the whole time.”

“I was not! Were you watching us the whole time?!”

“Not the whole time. Anyway, we have work to do. Time’s already been shifting so I’m having to compensate. Originally this nights events were set to begin in another three weeks. They’re all going to be called out to the brecon beacons so we have time to sneak into the hub and fix a few things. I can introduce you to Janet.”

“Who?”

“The hubs resident weevil.”

“I’ve seen bugs before.”

“Janet isn’t a bug. You’ll see when we get there. Ready for a time jump?”

“I’ve just eaten.”

“Lucky you.”

“If I throw up I’m going to aim for you.”

“I’m a doctor. We’re trained to dodge vomit.”

“You’re such a dick.” She punched him gently in the arm.

Owen was caught off guard by it actually connecting but found himself smiling. It had been so long since he had any real human contact.

After a jump and a short walk Owen switched on the lights in the hub. They didn’t have to sneak like the last time they had visited so Elise took a moment to walk around. She looked over the desks and anything that had been left out  stopping at a large jar containing what looked like a severed human hand inside.

“Owen… What the fuck.” She said, pointing at the floating limb.

“Yea, we need to take that with us too.”

“I say again, what the fuck?!”

“It belongs to Torchwoods most wanted. Known only as The Doctor. He’s a time traveller and Jack is more than a little bit obsessed with him. The bigger the problem the more likely it is to be connected to captain Jack fucking Harkness.”

“Right.”

“I’ll deal with it. Come over here.”

Elise made her way over to where Owen was standing, looking up. She followed his gaze to see something moving far above them hidden by a balcony.

“Myfanwy!” He called.

The thing moved over to the edge before revealing itself as a large pteranodon.  It flew in a spiral before landing clumsily, chirping and snapping its beak.

“That’s a dinosaur.” Elise gasped as if it weren’t obvious.

“A pteranodon. She’s the hub pet.”

“Can I touch her?”

“If she lets you. She won’t hurt you but she gets bitchy if she hasn’t been fed recently.”

She reached out a tentative hand towards the creatures beak. It tilted its head and sniffed her before nudging her hand gently, or as gently as a large creature can.

“Easy girl. It’s ok. Good girl.” cood Elise as she pet Myfanwy's beak.  

“When you’re done we can go down to the cells so you can meet Janet.”

“Isn’t Janet as friendly and this big soft bird?”

“Depends what you mean by friendly. It’s a weevils nature to bite whatever they see. They leave nasty bites too.” Owen tugged at the neck of his shirt, showing a large set of scars etched into the skin of his shoulder.

“Christ!” She walked away from Myfanwy who launched herself into the air and back to her nest. “Is that what… killed you?”

“No. I spent a while in hospital after it. Luckily Jack dragged me out of there and stopped me bleeding out. I should have died then.”

“What did ... um…”

“Kill me? An arsehole with a gun. Shot me in the chest. Fucking cops didn’t search him.”

“At least it was quick.”

“Not as quick as you’d think. Come on, I’ll show you the cells.”

Owen was quiet in the lift down to the cell block, staring at the wall.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“I know. Just forget it.” He walked through the door the second he could and towards a cell that was lit up. Each had a clear glass wall and a metal security door at the other end of the room. An odd sound rose from the cell that Owen stood in front of. It was a whimpering or crying but it wasn’t human. It was similar to whale song but rougher.

“This is Janet.” He said. “She’s afraid of me now. As soon as I came back from the dead she started reacting like this to me. Usually she growls and tries to charge at whoever goes past.”

Looking into the cell Elise finally saw what was making the noise. A humanoid figure dressed in a blue jumpsuit cowered in the far corner. It had dark eyes and wrinkled skin, its lips pulled back in a snarl that showed pointed, shark like, teeth as soon as it saw the woman.

“What is it?” She asked, transfixed on the figure.

“She’s a weevil. They fall through the rift and gather in the sewers. Sometimes they come out at night to hunt anything that moves. They don’t need to, they can eat pretty much anything but they seem to almost enjoy it. From what I could tell Janet was… Is old. Kicked out of her group and left alone. We tried to send her back to the sewers but we found her on the doorstep the next morning.”

“She sounds lonely.”

The viewing area once again filled with weevil whale song.

“Come on. We have more we need to do before we go.”

Elise followed silently, her mind trying to process what she’d seen. Owen snapped her out of her daydream by waving a hand in front of her face. She realised she was sitting down and had completely missed how she’d gotten there.

“Sorry. I’m saying that a lot today.” She said, rubbing her eyes.

“Too much if you ask me. Have you ever been in a fight?”

“What? No.”

“Ever fired a gun before?”

“Of course not!”

“Shit. I’ll have to teach you that too. Right, first we need to grab a couple of things from the archive and then I need to walk you through disposing of one of the bodies we have in cold storage.”

“I didn’t follow anything you just said but ok.”

“We haven’t got time to let things settle, just try and keep up.”

[somewhat-stressed]

pixel doodle dump

(i figured out how resize pixel art to look crisp so heres just a completion of those)

[augmented-beauty]

OC Ask Meme: Alexandra Montgomery

Basics 

Name: Alexandra Maribel Montgomery 

Gender: Female

Sexuality: heterosexual

Pronouns: She/Her 

More below the cut

Other 

Family: her mother is Cuban, born in Havana, and moved to the USA to study and work. Her father is a half samoan-american SWAT agent, born and raised in Detroit. Her father-side grandfather is Hawaiian, he later moved in Detroit in search of more job opportunities, while her grandmother is a white woman born in Detroit, disowned because of her will to marry a black man. She also has a sister, Isabelle Ignacia, former member of a Sarif's research team. 

Birthplace: Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit 

Job(s): former Detroit PD SWAT agent, TF29 agent in Prague 

Phobias: augs malfunction. She horribly fears of hurting someone because of a malfunction of her prosthetic arm. To prevent this, she's got a sort of emergency button installed, designed by her own sister. It is meant to quickly discharge her nanoblade and tesla system ammo. She also horribly fears of getting blind. Both Alexandra and Isabelle suffer from Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a genetic disease that slowly drags the patient into blindness. Despite getting an eye augmentation, one of the first of its kind, back in 2018, she still fears to lose her sight for some reason.

Comfortable enjoyments: dark chocolate and everything chocolate flavoured, strawberries, good beer or wine once in a while, domesticity, Adam's heartbeat.

Hobbies: singing and songwriting (sometimes it's a piece of her own, other times is a cover of famous songs), videomaking (essentially linked to her activism activities and to the Montgomery Foundation, managed with the rest of her family, or to her previous hobby) 

Morals: extremely loyal, equal opportunities for all, always try to get and/or keep everybody safe, following orders it's ok but sometimes it's needed to ignore protocols and orders, law and justice sometimes are not the same thing, never get too influenced by others. 

Alignment: Neutral Good. Alexandra respects the authorities and she does not consider herself above law, but as I said before, she believes that protocols and orders sometimes have to be ignored to do what is right. She does have a rebelish side, but that’s not enough to make her a Chaotic Good.  

Sins: gluttony, a bit of pride and wrath. 

Virtues: this or that 

introvert / extrovert / ambivert

organized / disorganized

close-minded / open-minded

disagreeable / agreeable / inbetween

leader / follower / flexible

empathetic/unempathetic

optimistic / pessimistic / realistic

traditional / modern / inbetween 

Relationships

OTP: Adam x Alexandra. They've been knowing each other for years, since when she joined the police school and got to meet him thanks to the fact that her father and Adam were colleagues. Their relationship was a really strong and deep one. After that Adam ended up working for Sarif, they didn't get to hang out as much as before, but their friendship never ended. Before getting in touch again when she moves to Prague, she only gets to know that Adam is firstly presumed dead, and later learns that Sarif found him alive, but not many details are given to her. Day by day, their relationship gets deeper and deeper, and after a relatively short time they end up together.

Acceptable ships: Alexandra x Talos Rucker. She deeply admires him, and she seriously thought about getting in touch with him more than once before meeting Adam again. Her love for Adam is deeper though, and that's what stops her in the end, besides Talos' death. 

OT3: none 

BroTP: Alexandra x Aria. Those two get on so well since day one and feel more like sisters in bond. Alexandra x Faridah Malik. She loves her deeply, too. Isabelle got them to meet each other, and since then they developed a strong relationship. Alexandra x Francis Pritchard. Again, they got to know each other thanks to Isabelle. Their relationship bloomed slowly and with more difficulties because of their extremely different personalities, and sometimes they still have troubles while interacting with each other. Truth is that deep down they deeply care about each other, no matter how much different they are. Alexandra x Vaclav Koller: as she gets to his dungeon to get checked, she can’t help but fall for his friendly personality. Being as old as Isabelle, she can’t help but look at him like a little brother. She’s extremely supportive and always ready to help and protect him, just like an older sister would do. 

NOTP: Alexandra x MacReady. Those two can't seem to get on at all. Alex can't stand his behaviour and attitude towards augmented people, and she tries her best to be nice to him. Only if Duncan's attitude towards those like her changed they could hope to bond. Yet, Duncan respects her and vice verse. They manage to find some sort of balance day by day, and at least they get to act decently around each other. 

She has an excellent relationship with her family. Her parents, grandparents and sister are extremely supportive. When she lost her right arm in 2027 during the incident, and her boyfriend Michael, while trying to keep people inside a residential building safe, she went through one of the darkest times of her life. Lots of people that she called friends turned their backs to her only because of her second aug, guilt for Michael's death ate her alive, and the whole process of rehab and pain after the amputation were destroying her. If it wasn't for her family and closest friends, her mental health would have been extremely compromised.