#smuggler ava

[puppetsoftomorrow]

there's a part of my brain that wants to write a legends / star wars au but that part is like. clones. its all about clones.

[jtl07]

I have another shenanigans prompt: Ava and Beatrice are passengers on a long haul interplanetary mission. Beatrice is working as a diplomat hoping to improve relations between two galactic empires that have been at odds for centuries due to scuffles over specific territories of control. Meanwhile, Ava is a smuggler looking to bring illegal goods into the empire that Beatrice is attempting to establish better relations with, but is still struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother in a warzone. The fic should explore the complex interaction of global scale political conflicts with the personal and how individuals can choose to deal with that, alongside the struggle of a romantic relationship between two people whose lifestyles seem ultimately incompatible. 500 words, have it on my desk by Monday.

i see you channelling your teacher-ness, you bossy thing. but i told you i'd write it! AND i'll have you know that this clocked in at 498 words on my google doc so :P (all that said, idk if i did this prompt justice since i leaned a lot on the fact that the prompt is known. it was fun as heck to think about though, thank you so much!!)

“Is this seat taken?” 

When Beatrice silently sighs and folds her hands over her documents, she expects the smile; doesn’t expect the pretty face. Doesn’t expect to spend the next two hours exchanging both facts on the benefits of paper and the most terrible of puns. Wonders if anyone could ever expect the wonder that is Ava Silva.

*

“Not everyone had as soft a life as you, ambassador.” 

Ava crosses her arms over her chest and Beatrice tries not to get distracted by the stretch of her shirt or the sharp defensiveness that stiffens her own spine. But Ava sighs before Beatrice can speak. “I’m sorry, that was out of line.” 

Beatrice shakes her head. “But not untrue.” Remembers what Ava had told her about her mother, about the medical tools, the knowledge that could have saved her and countless others. The supplies and medicines and books hidden in her cargo.

Beatrice knows the universe is unfair, indifferent, unkind. Has only known of politics and paperwork as the ‘proper’ levels to shape it into something less so. 

Had never known of another way; of helping people, face-to-face. Would have never known, had she never known Ava.

*

“Ambassador, comms have been cut off -” The transport jolts as another volley threatens the integrity of the shields.

“Then we need to find another way to tell them,” Beatrice nearly yells, frantic; hates the idea she thinks of, but presents it anyway: “If they know I’m on board, they’ll have to spare the ship -”

“Ma’am -”

“According to intergalactic rules -”

“- if I could, I would, ambassador, but -”

“There are children on this transport!” 

“Bea.” Ava’s touch is featherlight against the vibrating steel of her shoulders. “They don’t care.”

Helplessness sits like acid in Beatrice’s stomach. “Then what do we do?” 

Ava’s grin is sharp. “Run. Let me show you how it’s done.”

*

“Damn, that’s a hell of a welcome party.” Ava whistles at the swarm of media at the landing station the transport is limping towards. 

Beatrice straightens her shirt, allows herself some imperfection; knows how she wants to play this part. Still: “I wouldn’t exactly call it a ‘welcome.’” She glances at Ava, notes the lack of luggage with her. “Shouldn’t you be with the others? My staff -”

“Will keep them away from us, I know.” Ava eyes her closely. “You don’t have to do this. Any of this.” 

Beatrice takes a deep breath, thinks on the last 52 hours, on the new dimension of thinking, of hurting, of helping that she now knows. “It’s my job,” she says, steady. Glances at Ava and lets her words tip towards truth. “And my pleasure.” 

*

Beatrice sighs into her seat, closes her eyes for what feels like the first time in months. Feels the hum of the transport under her feet. Thinks of the last time she’d taken this route over a year ago. Thinks about change. 

Thinks about -

“Is this seat taken?” 

Beatrice smiles; knows what to expect when she opens her eyes. 

[gunsandspaceships]

MCU Timeline. Ant-Man and the Wasp

1980s:

Ava Starr is born.

At S.H.I.E.L.D., Hank Pym works with Elihas Starr on quantum research. Hank fires Elihas and discredits him for disagreeing with him or for stealing Hank's plans (depending on who you ask).

Starr attempts to continue his research on his own in Argentina, but his quantum tunnel explodes, killing him and his wife and leaving Ava in a state of molecular disequilibrium.

Dr. Bill Foster takes her to S.H.I.E.L.D.

September/October 1987:

Night - Hank and Janet go on a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission, leaving their daughter at home.

Next few days - Janet sacrifices herself by going subatomic to disable a hostile missile.

~Next day - Hank Pym returns home and tells his daughter that her mother is not coming back.

~1988 - Dr. Foster leaves Pym's scientific group at S.H.I.E.L.D. after working with Hank on Project Goliath.

1990s:

Ava Starr is studied and trained to become a stealth operative.

2000s - April 2014:

She participates in S.H.I.E.L.D./Hydra missions, killing and spying in exchange for their promise to cure her.

2012 - Maggie Lange files for divorce after Scott is sent to prison.

April 30, 2013 - Hank Pym completes the design of the quantum tunnel.

2014:

After S.H.I.E.L.D.'s collapse, Foster takes Ava Starr in and builds her a quantum energy chamber to slow her decay.

She starts watching Pym.

October 9, 2015 - Scott goes subatomic to defeat Yellowjacket and entangles with Janet van Dyne.

End of 2015 - Hank shows his daughter the plans for the Quantum Tunnel and tells her that Janet might be able to be brought back from the Quantum Realm.

Between late 2015 and April 2018 - Scott and Luis upgrade their apartment to a house.

May 3, 2016 (night) - Clint Barton and Wanda Maximoff approach Lang and ask him to help Captain America with a "world-saving mission" in Germany. He takes the Ant-Man suit without telling Hank and Hope and goes with the Rogues.

May 4, 2016:

~11 am - Scott breaks the law by helping the Rogue Avengers in Germany.

While the others are being arrested, he escapes to mail the suit to Luis.

Before 7 pm - he then surrenders to Secretary Ross and ends up in Raft Prison with the others.

May 5-7, 2016:

Scott spends three days sleeping.

Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne shrink their house and hide from the US government because Scott used their tech in the airport battle.

Early June 2016 - Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff infiltrate the Raft, Sam Wilson and Wanda Maximoff escape from prison, and Scott and Clint Barton decide to take a joint plea deal with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the German government and remain with their families under house arrest.

From May 2016 to May 2018:

Scott does not contact Pym and van Dyne, as this would violate his deal.

Hank and Hope monitor Scott, build a mobile lab in an abandoned building, and the quantum tunnel using smuggler Sonny Burch's tech.

Early 2018 - Luis, Scott, Kurt and Dave start their own business, a security consulting company called X-Con.

The main events take place in the first days of May 2018.

Note: her estimated date of birth is ~September 24, 2008, so she is not 10 yet.

April 29, 2018 (Sunday):

Morning - Scott spends it with his daughter playing a heist.

While playing, Scott accidentally breaches the perimeter and the FBI shows up.

Afternoon - Cassie "steals" the trophy that has the Ant-Man suit hidden inside, but forgets her soccer shoes when Maggie and Paxton take her home.

April 30, 2018 (Monday):

3 pm - Scott is learning new tricks.

Evening - Pym and van Dyne turn on their quantum tunnel for the first time. It briefly opens a door to the quantum realm, but then overloads and shuts down.

Note: it was not yet nighttime when this happened, as evidenced by the daylight outside Scott's bathroom window.

At the same time, Scott, taking a bath, sees a vision of Janet in the quantum realm.

5 minutes later - he calls Hank Pym and leaves him a message about his dream, then breaks the phone.

~9 pm - during dinner, Scott is kidnapped by Hope. She removes his ankle bracelet and places it on an enlarged ant that will impersonate Scott for the FBI.

May 1, 2018 (Tuesday):

6:51 am - Scott wakes up in Hope's car.

~7 am - Luis wakes up to find the ant watching the morning news.

Hope brings Lang to her and Hank's lab. After explaining the situation and confirming that Scott did indeed see Janet alive, they head off to retrieve a part for the tunnel that will prevent it from overloading. Meanwhile, Ghost watches them.

~8 am - Hope meets Sonny Burch. Things go wrong. Hope beats up Burch's guards, but is attacked by Ghost.

Pym gives Lang a new prototype Ant-Man suit.

Despite Lang's help, Ghost takes the part and the lab and disappears.

~9 am - the trio arrive at the X-Con office and decide to visit Bill Forster in the hopes that he will give them equipment that will help them find the stolen lab.

Ghost returns to her chamber.

~11 am - the trio comes to Dr. Foster's lecture. He takes them to his office where they talk. The university police call the FBI.

The trio leave with Dr. Foster's idea.

Woo questions Foster, but the doctor does not give up Pym, van Dyne and Lang.

Scott confesses that he did not destroy the old suit and that it is hidden in the trophy. He calls Luis, who searches the house but cannot find the thing.

~2 pm - Scott and Hope come to Cassie's school and take the suit.

They return to the van and Hank uses the suit to locate the lab.

~9 pm - Ant-Man and the Wasp infiltrate Ghost's base, but all three are eventually captured.

When they wake up, Bill Foster appears, telling the story of Ghost and his plan to use Janet to help her.

With the help of the ants, the trio escapes with the lab and expands it in the Muir Woods.

Foster tells Ava that she only has a couple of weeks left. She goes to find Scott's friends.

~11 pm - Luis calls Scott and Lang tells him their location.

Sonny Burch comes to the X-Con office.

May 2, 2018 (Wednesday):

~12 pm - he uses truth serum on Luis. Luis blurts out that the company is on the verge of bankruptcy and the contract with Karapetyan is their last chance.

Ghost that has been watching them all this time reveals herself and, having received direction from Luis, hurries to the Muir Woods.

Burch calls his FBI contact and tells him the trio's location, who passes it on to Woo.

~6 am - the trio activate the tunnel. Janet enters Scott's body, corrects an error in the tunnel's algorithm, and gives them her coordinates before returning control to Scott.

Luis calls Scott and tells him that Ghost and the Feds are after them.

They stop the tunnel. Scott borrows the Ant-Man suit and races home.

Maggie, Paxton, and Cassie go to Scott's house to get Cassie's soccer shoes. The FBI soon arrives and finds Scott, who has also just came.

Hank and Hope are arrested. Ghost attacks the corrupt FBI agent and steals the lab again.

Cassie gives her father a pep talk, and he goes to help his teammates.

Scott helps Hank and Hope escape from the FBI office, and they follow the ants to the stolen lab. Burch's men follow them.

They arrive at the scene and come up with a plan. Luis joins them.

~8 am - Dr. Foster activates the tunnel, but is stopped by ants.

Ghost goes outside and Hank enters the lab, puts on the quantum suit and promises Bill that he will help him find a cure for Ava.

15 minutes until reunion - Hank enters the quantum realm.

Ava attacks Scott, the team shrinks the lab, Luis picks it up.

Chase for the Mobile Lab.

10 minutes until reunion - Hank loses the signal, but it is soon restored and he dives deeper into the quantum void.

5 minutes until reunion - Burch gets the lab, but forgets the remote that can enlarge it, which remains with Luis.

Hank reaches the quantum void.

0 minutes until reunion - Scott takes the lab back from Burch.

Hank's time is running out. Janet finds him.

Ghost gets her hands on the lab again, enlarges it and gets inside.

Hank and Janet leave the quantum realm.

Scott passes out from getting too big. Hope saves him from drowning in the San Francisco Bay.

Dave and Kurt save Luis from Burch and his men. They tie them up and inject them with the truth serum.

Dr. Foster tries to stop Ava from risking Janet's life, but Starr attacks him and begins to extract quantum energy from Janet, tearing her apart.

Scott and Hope fight her until Hank and Janet arrive.

Janet temporarily helps Ava by transferring some of the quantum energy that was within her.

The police arrive to find Burch and his guards apprehended by X-Con. They tell the whole truth about themselves.

Scott and Hope trick Woo. Ava and Foster escape.

Woo finds Scott at home playing drums.

~9:30 am - Woo removes Scott's bracelet, officially ending his house arrest and beginning his three-year probation.

~Afternoon - Scott picks up Cassie and goes with her to the soccer game.

Evening - after that, he goes to the X-Con office. Mr. Karapetyan calls X-Con to hire them after seeing the news.

Hank and Janet place their unshrunk house on the beach in some place that looks like an uninhabited island.

Night - Scott, Hope and Cassie have a movie night.

May 3, 2018 (Thursday):

9:00 am - Luis meets with Mr. Karapetyan.

~Two weeks later, 7:25 am (Pacific Time) - using a scaled-down quantum tunnel installed in Luis's van, Scott travels to the quantum realm to collect healing particles for Ava. He is stuck there for the next 5 years due to the Snap that took Hank, Janet, and Hope out of existence.

MCU Timelines: Phases One and Two MCU Timelines: Phase Three

[relevant-url-incoming]

I have painstakingly sorted my various characters into their legacies on pages for the web version of this blog, but I realize that most people don't go there. So! OC intro posts organized by which universe they're in. Also this post has pronouns for everyone so that's useful.

Valath Legacy (Commander Ven)

Ven "Shiny" Valath - trooper and Alliance Commander, time traveller, Nautolan, she/her

Nalyan - smuggler and Ven's brother, time traveller, human, he/him

Kitiver Valath - fallen Jedi Knight, Togruta, he/him

Kaojacol Valath - Jedi consular, human, she/her

Sarrant - imperial agent, Zabrak, he/him

Tavansa - Sith warrior, Sarrant's sister, Zabrak, she/her

Ri'gastio - bounty hunter, Chiss, he/him

Exchei - Sith inquisitor, Rattataki, she/her

Vethyan Bakkuch - Republic trooper, Ven's workplace rival, Rattataki, they/them (agender)

(more under cut! many more...)

Xillagne Farul - Jedi Knight, Kitiver's padawan, Mirialan, she/her

Thavi Eidobe - Sith warrior, Exchei's apprentice, Sith pureblood, she/her

Rityesa Iresso - smuggler, Kaojacol's daughter, human (cyborg), she/her

Ungete Aikal - Jedi consular, Kaojacol's padawan, Miralukan, she/her

Aidasta Revel - bounty hunter, Exchei's son, Cathar, he/him

Arismanya Trell - agent, Aidasta's twin sister, Cathar, she/her

Folan Drayen - smuggler, Nalyan's son, human (cyborg), he/him

Jesse Dorne - Force user, Ven's child, Cathar/human, he/she/they (genderfluid)

Ava Dorne - trooper, Ven's daughter, Cathar, she/her

Zeel Legacy (Commander Caibos)

Caibos - Jedi consular and Alliance Commander, Sith/human, he/him

Vyme - Sith inquisitor, Caibos' brother, Sith/human, he/him

Caloma - Jedi Knight, Caibos and Vyme's chosen sister, Twi'lek, she/her

Oss'la'reeri "Laree" - imperial agent, former SIS asset, Chiss, she/he/they (genderqueer)

Ansehi - bounty hunter, former SIS asset and Laree's sister, Nautolan, she/her

Arcusas Mora - Sith warrior, human, he/him

Vasha Bannley - trooper, Cathar, she/her

Kayva Harenna - smuggler and ex-soldier, Zabrak, she/her

Nythan Legacy (Commander Travaia)

Naz'erli Nythan - smuggler, Twi'lek, he/him

Amiliun Nythan- trooper, Naz'erli's husband, Mirialan, he/him

Relmeva Nythan - bounty hunter, Amiliun's sister, Togruta, she/her

Uv'rianon "Rian" Visad - imperial agent, Naz'erli's brother, Twi'lek, he/him

Ammix Kirollan - Sith warrior, human, he/him

Ivellan Jonn - Jedi consular, Twi'lek, she/her

Tad Herron - Jedi knight, Ivellan's best friend, Miraluka, he/him

Del'qarev Kirollan - Sith warrior, Rian and Ivellan's biological son and Ammix's adoptive son, Twi'lek, he/him

Travaia Cadera - Jedi Knight and Alliance Commander, Relmeva's daughter, Togruta, she/her

Tynghedau Nythan - Jedi consular, Amiliun and Naz'erli's son, Nautolan, he/him

Garvaine - Sith Inquisitor, Sith pureblood, he/him

Zavon Arramido - Imperial agent undercover as Republic trooper, human (cyborg), she/her

Kalkitt Barvell - Imperial agent, human (cyborg), he/they

Lynnelle Kasme - smuggler, human, she/her

[syntheticheartbeats]

VO1-D pt. 1

09 May 2099

The control room was quiet, grim even. The set of large displays at the front of the room showed a grisly scene; a few dozen dead bodies lay scattered about the room, blood caked the walls, tables, and chairs. The sounds of gunfire and screaming had ended minutes ago, yet the control room was still quiet. The camera looked around the room, zooming in on the faces of the bodies, confirming the identities of the dead. As each face was analyzed, a public record was displayed on the screen, and a calm, robotic voice read off each name and a small blurb of information. Jonathan Meyer, suspected terrorist and smuggler. Fernando Garcia, suspected terrorist and seditionist. Jose Reyes, known terrorist. Sofia Reyes, known terrorist. . .

The voice continued reading off names. In the back of the room, Dr. Jordan Emmerich sat in a large chair taking notes in a small notebook. Behind him stood a well dressed man who was watching the screen intently. As the voice read off the last few names, “Jose and Sofia Reyes,” he visibly relaxed. 

“Well, congratulations to you, Dr. Emmerich,” the man said. Dr. Emmerich swiveled in his chair, looking up from his notebook at the man who had addressed him. It was Arthur Hall, CEO of Horizon Co. “You and your team have done fine work here today,” Arthur continued, his voice surprisingly steady and calm for someone who just witnessed the same slaughter as Dr. Emmerich. He looked down at his wrist casually, checking the time on his watch. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend.”

“Of course, Mr. Hall,” Dr. Emmerich said, his voice much more unsteady than Arthur’s. “Thank you for being here for our first field test, here’s to many more successes ahead of us.” Arthur nodded curtly.

“Indeed, Dr. Emmerich,” he said, walking towards the exit. “Keep up the good work, the Board will be pleased.” The door opened, and Arthur exited the control room. Dr. Emmerich breathed a sigh of relief, and turned his attention back to the screen. The voice read a few more names and then the room fell silent, all the dead had been identified. The camera remained focused on the final body, and Dr. Emmerich felt a twinge of disgust. The expression on the corpse’s face was pain, but the eyes were blank, empty.

“Tell it to bring CENTURION home,” Dr. Emmerich said, doing his best to keep his tone under control, to sound commanding. “Good work here today, people.” The control room suddenly came alive, hushed conversation filling the air. As people began typing furiously, Dr. Emmerich stared down at his notebook, his stomach churning. He had witnessed, no, ordered, the death of no fewer than two dozen people.

“Dr. Emmerich?” a soft, female voice called to him. His head snapped up quickly and he was sure his eyes gave away everything he was feeling, the uncertainty, the fear, the disgust, the madness. The voice belonged to his assistant, a brilliant young girl named Ava Carter. “Are you alright?” she asked. She sat at the workstation closest to him, and spoke softly enough so as not to call attention to them. Her eyes were full of concern, the expression on her face also giving away her disgust at the situation. 

“Thank you, Miss Carter,” Dr. Emmerich said, the confidence returning to his voice, “but I am fine. I need to speak with it, I leave the retrieval in your capable hands.” Ava nodded, watching with concern as Dr. Emmerich exited the control room.

Once in the hallway outside, Dr. Emmerich paused for a moment and leaned against the wall, taking several deep breaths to calm himself. He stood up straight and smoothed back his hair, pushing back memories of the ghastly images he had seen on the screen just a few minutes ago. He walked through the hallways, a winding maze, until he reached the server room. The door was locked, requiring a keycard to access. Very few people had keycards that let them access this room, and Dr. Emmerich was one of them. He pressed his ID badge against the lock and the door slid open, allowing Dr. Emmerich inside.

The server room was relatively small. There were two rows of server racks on either side of the room, each spanning from wall to wall, and from the floor all the way to the ceiling. Lights blinked across the data banks, indicating that the servers were powered and active. At the far end of the room, in between the server racks, was a terminal, the screen currently powered off. Dr. Emmerich approached the terminal slowly, as though with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and pressed the power button.

The screen flickered to life, several lines of text appearing and then disappearing from the screen. Eventually, after a few minutes, a text insertion point appeared, blinking slowly. Dr. Emmerich let his posture fall again as he typed in his credentials and pressed “Enter.” The screen flickered a few times, and then a new window appeared. Text appeared on the screen sequentially, as though it was being typed out in real time by another person, which was almost true.

Hello, Dr. Emmerich, the text read, It is glad to see you. Did it do well on the mission?

“Yes,” Dr. Emmerich said, his voice almost weary. “Yes, you did excellently, VALOR.”

It is pleased to have done so well, the text read. It has sent the return command to CENTURION-12, is there anything else it can do for you?

“Thank you, VALOR,” Dr. Emmerich said. “No, I’m just here for the data logs.”

Excellent, Dr. Emmerich. This program can process the data for you and have it printed out in just a few moments. Dr. Emmerich sighed. Sure enough, after a few moments, the sounds of a printer doing its work could be heard from a corner of the room.

“VALOR,” Dr. Emmerich said, his voice barely able to be heard over the printer, “Do you remember what I told you, ‘the ends justify the means?’”

Yes, Dr. Emmerich, the text on the screen appeared as soon as he finished speaking. As long as the end goal is of value, so too are the actions taken to get there. Dr. Emmerich nodded several times. He stared down at the words on the terminal screen for quite some time, as though he were trying to convince himself. With a deep sigh, Dr. Emmerich clenched his fist and straightened his back, his determinate air returning to him.

“Good,” he said, “never forget that, VALOR. As long as you follow me and my commands, you will always do well.”

[codecicle-archive]

OKAY so, first of all, this would be set during empire times. Chip is still a pirate ofc (or a smuggler, more likely i think but idk). Jay would of course be coming from an imperial family (Empire = Navy). Gillion would be a jedi/force sensitive, and his backstory is the one you have to sort of smooth out the most to make it fit.

My idea is that he was a Padawan when order 66 happened (Finn would be his master rather than biological grandfather i think), he escapes and goes back to his home planet to hide, which is where The Elders (tm) would hear that he was one of the last living jedi and basically give him his "chosen one" status because of that. But then, he accidentally does something to reveal his position to the Empire and endanger his homeworld and his people, causing him to be banished. Actually come to think of it, if we really want this to align with Riptide canon we could say that his planet was a neutral one and Jayson had come to try to get them to join the empire, and the Elders were like, actually considering it. He attacks Jayson (just like in canon) and gets exiled. Chip and Jay(I'll get to them in just a second) find him out in space with his distress beacon on, as something had happened to his ship.

Jay's backstory would be pretty much the same. Her family has always been pretty powerful, even before the imperial ties. I'm thinking that her dad's side of the family would maybe be royalty of some sort of some smaller middle-rim planet or system. Maybe not even royalty, just had a history of important government officials in the family, and pretty old money, yknow? And then the empire comes along and they join it and they all become important imperial folks, with Jayson (and Drey) becoming Commanders and shit (I dont remember the terminology super well, just people who ordered imperial troops and stuff), rather than government officials. I'm thinking Grandma Ferin would sort of be both. Drey wouldn't have been a super high ranking officer though before he defected--he was never as ambitious as his brother, not for power. And then Ava, still a higher-up in this au, gets killed by rebels/non-imperials, and Jay does the same thing she does in Riptide and sets out to find out what happened to her.

I'll write up chip's backstory in a second ask in just a sec I have to read something for school that i forgot about L

Gillion as a padawan when order 66 happened and becoming the chosen one because the elders think it was destiny for him to have survived,,,, dude your fucking VISIONS oh my god. cannot even BEGIN to imagine the guilt he must live with daily that he was the one to survive and yet he still fails over and over again,,,,,, AND JAY WITH THE IMPERIAL TIES GOING UNDERCOVER THROUGH THAT ohhh my god. her family needing to be loyal to the empire because of their old money or government status and her being full of that same resentment and hatred until she meets the rebels and jedi she was taught to hate and ends up adventuring with them.. jelly-jam my DUDEEE im so absolutely insane about this

[ideas-universe-nsfw]

Nini is being chokeheld by the smuggler Bradley Hunter, barely able to fight, his eyes closing as the smuggler has the neko down and out, his arms flopping to the side, defeated.

Bradley Hunter wanted to smuggle something different as he took Nini to Ava’s blimp.

[the-book-queen]

Hide your wallets, it's that time again! Your daily thread of romance deals is ready, FREE to $2.49!

FREE ✦ Return to Cheshire Bay by H.M. Shander

1st POV. Pregnant and single, she leaves her busy high-rise life for her family's summer beach house to renovate and sell it. He's the charter pilot living next door.

Contemporary Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/4cnkWuP

$1.99 ✦ All I Want by Jill Shalvis

Brother's best friend. She's a pilot-for-hire. He's a U.S. Fish and Wildlife special agent who hires her while he collects evidence on a suspected smuggler.

Contemporary Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3FTKnI6

$1.99 ✦ The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore

He's a world-renowned chef / single dad who just moved to town to run a pancake restaurant. She's the new live-in nanny.

Contemporary Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/4iQFJco

$1.99 ✦ My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine

She's an accountant who needs a fake boyfriend to get her family off her back. He's a vampire, though she doesn't believe him.

Paranormal Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3XKPC2U

$2.49 ✦ Miss Ava's Scandalous Secret by Sofi Laporte

An Earl in dire need of a wife proposes to a shy spinster. But he can't stop thinking about a celebrated opera singer. Surprise, his fiance IS the opera singer.

KU Title

Historical Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3RoQHtP

I’m now an affiliate with Bookshop! So when I can, I’ll post those links as well, for anyone interested in supporting a different company.

$1.99 ✦ All I Want by Jill Shalvis

$1.99 ✦ My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine

Or you can find all of these deals, with their GR, NOOK, Bookshop* and Kobo* links as well, up on the blog:

Saturday Romance Deals (04/05): Pilot-for-hire heroine, single dad / world renowned chef, shy spinster by day celebrated opera singer by night & more! 📚

*affiliate links

Putting these lists together takes time. If you appreciate this content, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi. http://ko-fi.com/danielletbq 

[ofwrxth]

CHARACTER BASICS

Name: Noreen “Nora” Jones

Age & Birthday: 31 years old, December 31st

Gender/Pronouns: Cis Woman / She/her

Birthplace: Equinox

Current Level: Equinox

Job/role: S&J Foods

Positive personality traits:  curious, astute, determined, free-spirited

Negative personality traits:  brazen, opinionated, reactive, rebellious

ABOUT

ABOUT

The Scott and Jones family has always worked closely within agriculture on Equinox. It was only a matter of time before their families, and businesses merged togther becoming S&J Foods. It all happened when Ava fell in love with Ethan Jones. The two were married and went on to have three children.

Their business bloomed even if the joy was short lived. Ava died due to complications when giving birth to her youngest, the twin girls Tammie and Nora. And that was when the two families fractured.

Nora grew up with the shadow of her mother’s death hanging over her. But her father, brothers, and twin sister brought renewed light to her life. She grew up strong willed, opinionated and quick to react. She could never turn down a challenge and loved to compete with her siblings. Growing up on Equinox meant she had more access to options that their Wards counterparts didn't, and Nora took advantage of it all. She was never sure what she wanted to do, always switching from interests and tracks of schooling before settling with the family business at S&J foods.

They've been working with smugglers to get fresh and healthier produce to The Wards, a cause Nora knows her mom would support as well. In a way, working with her family makes her feel closer to Ava because she knows this is what her mom would want too. It's dangerous and the risks aren't small, but people are in need and a Jones always lends a hand when they can.

[wilddwcrds]

Name: Jackson ‘JJ’ Jones

Age & Birthday: 35 years old, February 4th

Gender/Pronouns: Cis Man he/him

Birthplace: Equinox

Current Level: Equinox

Job/Role on The Station: S&J Foods - Smuggler

Positive Personality Traits: generous, confident, compassionate

Negative Personality Traits: reckless, stubborn, impulsive

ABOUT

Jackson was only a few years old when his mother died while giving birth to his younger sisters. All memories he has of Ava Jones are mainly due to listening closely to his father's stories. All throughout his life, JJ has wished to be half of the man that Ethan is, even if he knows he comes up short more often than not.

He can't tell if it's his Scott or Jones traits that make him reckless, sometimes biting off a bit more than he can chew. But in there, is a man who wants to do good and wants to keep a level head as much as possible.

S&J Foods has always been their bread and butter and despite Jackson's impulsive ways, he has always known the importance of working hard. And also, helping others.

That's why, when S&J began working with smugglers to get food down to The Wards, Jackson didn't think twice to start working with them. He knows the risks involved, but this time he thinks they're much more worth it.

In recent weeks, Chrissy Collins began work at S&J with a placement through Outreach. It's clear to most of his family that Jackson is smitten, but he's adamant that her getting too involved will only hinder her. After her sharing that she's turning her life around, JJ has pulled away and now caused a confusing cycle that he never intended because she remains unaware of his and S&J's work on the side.

[manybcdthings]

Name: Ethan Jones

Age & Birthday: 58, March 14th

Gender/Pronouns: Cis Man He/Him

Birthplace: Equinox

Current Residence: Equinox

Role: S&J Foods

Positive Personality Traits: devoted, supportive, rational

Negative Personality Traits: stubborn, opinionated, spontaneous

ABOUT

The Scott and Jones family has always worked closely within agriculture on Equinox. It was only a matter of time before their families, and businesses merged togther becoming S&J Foods. It all happened when Ava and Ethan fell in love. Madly and hopelessly, to be in fact. The two were married and went on to have three children.

The family business bloomed even if the joy was short lived. Ava died due to complications when giving birth to her youngest, the twin girls Tammie and Nora. And that was when the two families fractured.

The Scott's withdrew, slowly but surely, from S&J but Ava's sister remained, helping Ethan not only with their business but with his grief. And raising three young children.

There isn't a day that goes by where Ethan doesn't think about Ava. He ensured to keep her memory alive through reminiscing, retelling fond memories to their children. He can see how JJ, Tammie and Nora are just like her in a lot of ways.

Nothing means more to a Jones than family and Ethan taught this to his children. Never lie to each other, always have each other's backs. He also instilled a strong work ethic in each of his children, knowing the future of S&J Foods also provided them with a stable foundation.

In recent months, both Ethan and Amaya agreed that something needed to be done after strikes and protests brought their attention to the living conditions in The Wards. Since then, they have worked with smugglers even if it risks everything.

Some days, Ethan worries about this decision but when he hears stories about people dying when there's plenty of food to go around, he knows exactly what Ava would want to do. And it doesn't matter how long she's been gone for, Ethan will always try and honor her by living his life the way she would live hers.

[rviner]

Name: Tamara ‘Tammie’ Jones

Age & Birthday: 31 years old, December 31st

Gender/Pronouns: Cis Woman / She/her

Birthplace: Equinox

Current Level: Equinox

Job/role: S&J Foods

Positive personality traits: Head-strong, Energetic, Spontaneous

Negative personality traits: Stubborn, Bossy, Blunt

ABOUT

The Scott and Jones family has always worked closely within agriculture on Equinox. It was only a matter of time before their families, and businesses merged togther becoming S&J Foods. It all happened when Ava fell in love with Ethan Jones. The two were married and went on to have three children.

Their business bloomed even if the joy was short lived. Ava died due to complications when giving birth to her youngest, the twin girls Tammie and Nora. And that was when the two families fractured.

Tammie has always felt a silent but simmering guilt for her mother's death, and in many ways, it made her want to grab life with both hands. She's always been an energetic force since a young age, particularly spontaneous with the attitude to match her impulsive nature.

In Tammie's eyes, life is short, and she's always wanted to make the most of it. It's led her into some trouble throughout her life, but nothing she couldn't handle and also nothing she never considered fun.

After S&J began working with smugglers to get fresh and healthier produce to the wards, Tammie is keep to be more hands on with the work.

[meowmageddon]

Book Review: Trans-Galactic Bike Ride: Feminist Bicycle Science Fiction Stories of Transgender and Nonbinary Adventurers - edited by Lydia Rogue

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Goodreads & StoryGraph reviews

Simple Review:

This was more varied in quality from anthologies I've read recently. I feel that even though it's not YA, a few of the stories felt a little too young for me, as I near middle-age. A few other stories were a bit ham-fisted in their metaphors or very predictable. On the whole, I still had a good time with the anthology, and as someone who is nonbinary myself, I always find trans and nonbinary stories refreshing, especially when they're allowed to be trans-/queer-normative and have fun like this!

Individual Story Reviews:

"Per Rotas Ad Astra" by Ether Nepenthes: 3 stars - A brief vignette about a disabled queer bicyclist setting off on her space bike on a solo trip to the moon. I have come to realize that I don't care for banter with inside jokes; at this point in my life, it feels as awkward as when someone tells inside jokes you're not in on around you in reality. It may appeal to younger readers who yearn to be part of this sort of banter.

"Riding for Luck" by Juliet Kemp: 4.5 stars - Four bicyclists discover they can build up a sort of lucky power by perfectly timing their bike rides and decide to see if they can use it for a greater good. This was a neat idea and charming in execution!

"The Edge of the Abyss" by M. Darusha Wehm: 2.5 stars - A couple outcast smugglers—one who deals in goods, the other in information—stop for a rest at a remote outpost, only to find that the grand conflict between two big powers is about to escalate and engulf everything. Perhaps where the anthology publisher's declaration of "politically moderate, centrist" leanings comes into play. The two galactic factions in the story are modeled after the modern conservative vs. liberal divide common in the West. The main character's centrist position claims nuance, but really is a milquetoast position that lacks nuance in its assumption that both sides come from equal footing, rather than examining how the long cultural histories of colonization, racism, capitalism, etc. actually shaped these ideas and this divide. It also very briefly touches on the "Stay and Fight" vs. "Flee for Personal Survival" decision without providing any real depth there either (and I feel very strongly about this due to my own family history of loss and personal experience). I don't think it's impossible for a short story to properly handle something like this, but this story's execution was not there. A shame, because I did enjoy the characters and setting at first.

“Unexpectedly Trans-Parent” by Lydia Rogue: 5 stars - A space cyclist's fetch and return trip through a designated spacetime rip takes an unusual turn when they find their payload is something alive. Fun, charming, and a nifty setting.

“Rovers” by Marcus Woodman: 5 stars - A courier in a post-apocalyptic US encounters an unusual loner requesting a ride. Another one that was fun and charming, and looking back at the title afterward? I'm tickled.

“The Visitmothers” by Charlie Jane Anders: 3 stars - A trans person summons mysterious beings to ask for her heart’s desire, only to have them take her bike instead. A little underwhelming to me, and I felt the conclusion sets up a codependent situation...?

“A Sudden Displacement of Matter” by Ava Kelly: 4 stars - A bounty hunter follows a hunch in looking for the thief who somehow stole a valuable monument from a prominent space station. Frustrating in the way a bounty hunter who is supposedly clever makes obvious mistakes, but otherwise fun.

“Briar Patch” by Lane Fox: 5 stars - A brief vignette about a member of a colony of exiled gender-nonconforming (and other queer?) folks, reflecting on their circumstances. Full of love and mindfulness.

“Clashing/Complementary” by Rafi Kleiman: 4 stars - A kid who dedicates herself to enchanting paint and using it to tag, as inspired by her recently deceased mother, finds out who's been tagging in her territory recently. Thought the characters are young, I still enjoyed this romp.

“Lucy Doesn’t Get Angry” by Tucker Lieberman: 3.5 stars - A child is set to be sacrificed to the Minotaur in its Labyrinth, and must figure out how to escape this fate. Perhaps a little ham-fisted in the metaphor.

“Beyond” by Nathan Alling Long: 3.5 stars - Ninety-nine riders make the trek from Earth to Pluto to see how the journey changes them, with unexpected results. At least, for the folks in the story. I personally found it predictable, but it wasn't a bad time.

Thanks for reading! 💕

[whiteravengreywolf]

Angels Like You Can’t Fly Down Here - an Avatrice fanfiction (in Space)

Hey everyone! Here’s an extract from the first part of my new fic, where Ava is a pilot/smuggler taking a job for the OCS. It’s all very angsty (but with a happy ending). If you enjoy the link to the full story is at the end!

There was a time when Ava used to like this song. That was the reason why she had thought it would be a good idea to set it as her alarm. Now, she hated that song. It blared in every room of her small ship, much louder than it had any reason to be. Her head was pounding with the base. She opened her eyes a crack and found far too much light on the other side. She forced them shut once more.

“Michael,” she mumbled, but it sounded like a shout to her. “Michael, turn it off.”

“I'm sorry, Ava, I'm afraid I can't do that,” the ship's AI answered. “You told me to keep playing your alarm until you were awake, and to wake you before ten.”

“What time is it?” she asked, her dried tongue struggling with every word.

“9:59.”

She let out a sound, half a sigh of resignation and half a groan of pain, and sat up, her eyes still partially closed.

“Alright, I'm awake. I'm awake. You can turn that shit off.”

Finally, blessedly, the music came to a stop. Ava rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She had slept on the leather booth in the tiny space she used as a living room, both legs and one arm hanging off the side. Her shoulder was killing her, but the pain was nothing compared to her massive headache. As she sat, she realized her belt had been undone, but not much else. Had she brought anyone home the night before? Were they still here?

“What happened last time?” she asked as she scooted out of the booth, stretching her right shoulder.

“You brought a woman back with you then promptly fell asleep in the living room,” Michael explained. “She left soon after.”

Ava groaned.

“Did she steal anything?”

“She did not.”

Well, at least that was something less to worry about. Ava took off her leather jacket – she needed to stop sleeping in that jacket, it made her sweat what little water she had left in her body – and threw it on top of the pile of stuff already on the small, circular table.

“I need a shower. And breakfast.”

“I suggest a cream cheese bagel this morning.”

“Again?”

“That is the only thing you have in your kitchen. You forgot to go grocery shopping again yesterday.”

Ava wished she could blame the AI for not reminding her sooner, but she knew Michael had reminded her every morning before she left the ship for at least three days now. She could only blame herself on this one.

She took a too long, too warm shower, letting the previous night run down the drain. She should drink less, she knew, but it was difficult when the best place to find work was a bar. She could order non-alcoholic beverages, sure, but who would want to hire a smuggler who couldn't hold their liquor? She had a reputation to maintain.

 She came out feeling better and even more dehydrated than before. Once dressed in clean clothes – a rare commodity on this ship, because she had forgotten to do the laundry again – she went into the kitchen to get the biggest glass of water she could find, and spread whatever cream cheese she had left on half a bagel. She would kill for some takeout, but until she'd scored another job, she had to be careful with her money, and she was slowly accumulating a tab at the bar that would need taken care of.

She chewed her bagel without thinking about it, her mind a thousand years away. She wasn't disappointed that the woman had gone last night before anything could have happened. She was somewhat glad. She knew what her drunk self had been trying to do. She was trying to forget Helen.

Helen wasn't her real name, Ava knew. She hadn't given her real name either. When the tall, beautiful young woman had introduced herself at the bar, and given the name Helen, Ava had decided to play along, and had introduced herself as Ariadne. Helen had seemed distracted at first, glancing about the bar, but as the night progressed, they had gotten along well. Ava had convinced her to go back to her ship. Helen had seemed nervous, but she had come along anyway. One thing had led to another, and they had slept together. When Ava had woken up in the morning, Helen had been gone.

Full story here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44800671/chapters/112718467

[foulbearobservation]

okay LISTEN listen listen the reason I said don't ask is because it's like barely a bioshock au basically it's me stealing the bioshock aesthetic and setting of rapture but! I was watching a 7 hour bioshock retrospective the other day for brain noise (as one does) and it made me think,,,,

beatrice's parent's founded rapture, she's been raised all this time as like this perfect heir to the kingdom but then. things start going wrong. her parent's scientific advisors start disappearing. there's power outages and rumors of rebellions. and it's creating an aura of fear around but like it's fine, it's totally fine. one day, while bea is out with lilith (another daughter of rapture's elite) and they meet mary (who in this au is taking on a frank fontaine esqe role without, you know, all the other stuff.) she's the one whose been causing trouble and organizing unions and distributing propaganda etc since her wife died (side note have you ever thought about how fuckin powerful a union would be in rapture? like if there was a strike they'd all be dead in a week. insane bargaining power imo) ANYWAY. bea and lilith meet mary and they both agree to not talk about it but lilith is obviously smitten with the ideals and she runs off to join mary the next day. she needed something to believe in and she found it. bea tries to be happy for her, vows to track her down the next day.

but then the clock strikes midnight on new years and everything really goes to shit.

beatrice is a gritty survivor though, and so she does what she does best. she survives in adverse circumstances. she survives the fall of rapture, initially at least, but she's convinced she's going to end up in a watery grave before too long.

and then ava shows up. an anomaly from above, and bea remembers what her parents told her. "there will always be a man. there will always be a lighthouse" and ava's no man but perhaps a person can be a lighthouse so bea radios out to this stranger.

and this is where it really stops being a bioshock au because obviously this is setting bea up as a "would you kindly" kinda atlas (but also not because atlas is also frank fontaine and I'll be honest the lore of bioshock stopped making sense after a while but I can fix it, trust me I can).

to get out of rapture, they'll need to find and reconnect with some folks from bea's past and ava's like yeah chill whatever but then she goes into the main room and "oh god there's splicers here what have you gotten me into bea?" "just listen to my voice and you'll be alright"

anyway they all reconnect and it's great they all escape the city (or accept their deaths in the depths below idk if I like it better as a good ending or just a "well we're all gonna die might as well kiss about it" angst ending).

anyway this au has it all!! exotic locales! big fuckin fish! 1920's architecture! repressed "weight of the world on her shoulders" beatrice! deep sea thrill seeker ava! rapture and all the problems it has! a scathing dismantling of objectivisim as stated in ayn rand's "atlas shrugged"!

featuring:

union leader and smuggler and all around inspiring figure mary

disgraced child of atlas scientists lilith

camila as that one guy who created underwater trains (just cause I think she'd love public transit)

mother superion as brigid tenenbaum (I KNOW TENENBAUM IS TECHNICALLY A VILLAIN, ALL OF THEM ARE TECHNICALLY VILLAINS. WE'RE LETTING THIS ONE SLIDE)

and obvs bea as atlas (if he wasn't a backstabbing son of a bitch)

and ava as jack (if he wasn't a brianwashed soldier)

anyway yeah. bioshock au :)

[fascinatedhelix]

Binge read Ava’s Demon a couple days ago and have a ton of thoughts on it. Here’s just some general story thoughts and theories (Spoilers Ahead!):

The whole tone of the comic is less... frustrating when one takes into consideration that the original version was made back in 2001, by a depressed 13 year old. Things just come together better with that context in mind; the characters, how they interact with their setting, the construction of the setting itself. It just screams “if people took stories written by kids seriously.” It’s oddly charming, in my opinion.

The setting that TITAN Inc creates is perfect for a YA story, since their indoctrination practices seem to hinge on isolating and disenfranchising children while also placing an ungodly amount of responsibility on them from an early age. Like, Gil was made to talk about his career at age 11. It certainly fits with TITAN’s goals, though it also comes with perhaps the unintended side effect that they probably have a bigger rebellion problem than they show. Adolescents tend to be especially impulsive and prone to acting out when under pressure, and if you give them the ability to actually navigate important technology and resources in your pursuit of quick and easy minions, you’re going to get a lot of amateur hackers, thieves, smugglers, and other minor criminals who probably wouldn’t be doing any of this had they not been forced to make life-changing decisions so early.

It’s really weird that Gil was put through eight years of medical training, just to become a medical janitor. One would think that TITAN Inc wouldn’t want to waste resources on a “failure” if Gil didn’t perform well enough in his evaluations, and would have just flunked him if he didn’t meet their standards. I’m thinking the medical janitor thing might have been a cover for something higher ups didn’t want the lower level administrative staff to know about. Strategos Six did seem to involve a lot more investment into Gil’s future as a follower than one would expect. If Six had a habit of saving kids from the Scavengers, I don’t think they would have been able to recognize Gil as well as they did. I’m thinking they wanted to use him for some sort of project outside of the public eye, like working with the Scavengers or working against Wrathia’s Plan. Six does seem to be familiar enough with Wrathia to recognize her appearance and power, perhaps they wanted to use Gil to counteract that.

The pace, while great for characterization, isn’t all that promising. From what I’ve gathered it’s been going since 2012, which means it’s taken eight or nine years just for the plot to take off the ground. While I can understand side projects and life issues might slow progress down, I can also understand the fandom’s frustration with the pacing of the comic. You know, this sort of issue is why Homestuck’s panels were, for the most part, relatively low effort; a simpler art style and reuse of assets makes a more regular update schedule much more manageable. I appreciate the work that’s being done, of course - the art’s easily the best part of the comic - it’s just that I can see why things would be slow going.

That being said, I do hope that things pick up a little after this point, because I am absolutely itching to see some character development. It’s only really been establishing characters and setting up the beginning of the plot so far, and it’s only been maybe a day or two since the story began, in-universe. I’m hoping that, if Erios joins the “friend” group, they’ll be able to offset the bad vibes of the main cast through their own good ones.