#therealgchu writes

[therealgchu]

To The Shore - Breaking

holy crap, finally a new chapter! actually, this was ready to go last week, but last week was not...last week was last week.

so, i finally got this published. and, everyone that's played starfield knows where this is going, but how hwa deals with it is very different, i think, than a lot of ppl. but, a lot of ppl aren't nearly as broken as she, which is the next chapter.

Breaking.

sneak peak

Hwa and Barrett disembarked from the Solar Flare chatting amiably about the last few days they spent together. She inwardly marveled that she had two close friends now. Never in her life had she ever had friends, much less two of them. She honestly didn’t think she had it in her, even though Sam had been bugging her to be more open with other people, especially Constellation.

She just assumed she wasn’t likeable. But, after her trip with Barrett, she began to wonder if maybe Sam was right. She figured that since he was so easy-going that he’d like anyone, including her. He could make friends with an ashta, to use one of his phrases. She entertained the idea of telling him he was possibly correct, but he’d probably just grin at her in that utterly disarming way and give her some florid compliment. And, she’d tell him he’s insane, and he’d counter that even if he was insane, it doesn’t mean he’s wrong. And give her another florid compliment that would leave her flabbergasted. He really liked doing that to her. She thought he was taking some perverse pleasure in watching her squirm. She unconsciously grinned at the dialogue in her head.

“What’s got you smiling like that?” Barrett asked.

Hwa blushed a little, “Oh, just thinking about stuff,” she answered vaguely. While she felt closer to Barrett, she still wasn’t ready to let him in very far. It took her over six months to develop that sort of trust and bond with Sam, after all. But, she now thought of Barrett as a big brother, and maybe, someday, she’d be able to let him get that close. It was a nice thought that had her smiling even more.

“What are you going to do with Harvey?” she redirected, motioning to the little potted cactus he carried as they boarded the NAT to head back to the Lodge. Harvey was Barrett’s late husband’s plant, the only thing left of value in the old apartment on Gagarin. Hwa was tickled pink that the plant was named Harvey. To her, everything should have a name, and Harvey was an excellent name for the little cactus.

“He’ll have a place of honor. Think you could fit one more crewperson on the Solar Flare?”

“Sure, but I’m not making a spacesuit and helmet for him,” she answered.

“Aww, c’mon, he’ll look great! Cover up the spines. We can take him out with us when we survey.”

“Yeah, we can get a rover and put him on the dashboard like you see in cars in old movies.” Hwa giggled at the thought.

“Now you’re talking!” Barrett enthused.

[fangbangerghoul]

Music Shuffle Game

I was tagged by @thedissonantverses thank you soooo much!!! I love love love loooove music tag games!

(sorry for being so incredibly late posting this)

Put your ‘on shuffle’ playlist on and list the first 10 songs (or your most used playlist if you don't have spotify)

Dark Signs - Sleep Token

Over This! - Slayyyter

HISS - Megan Thee Stallion

Sensation - Crosses

I Don't Wanna Be Me - Type O Negative

Talk To Me Nice - Tinashe

Diamond Eyes - Deftones

luther - Kendrick Lamar & SZA

BEVERLY HILLS - Doechii

God Did Me Wrong - GRLwood

This is pretty good shuffle tbh. I might be a little biased, but these are all bangers in my book. I used my Youtube's 'Supermix' and put it on shuffle, and it was pretty accurate for my usual listening. I was going to use my Writing 2025 Playlist, but I tried to keep it open to everything.

If you see any artists you also like let me know! Hopefully this will also introduce some artists to other mutuals. I love sharing music very very much.

Tagging, with no pressure, some mutuals I know who might enjoy music tag games: @staticpallour @toxiclizardwrites @atonalginger @lyriumrain @lucaanis @lisa-and-shadow @blightedcrow @bearlytolerant @ellstersmash @skeleinor @therealgchu @fangbanger3000

[atonalginger]

Writing Game: post the last line you wrote and tag someone for every word in the line.

The wonderful and talented @fangbangerghoul tagged me in this game, thank you for the tag. I haven't written (unless you count editing) since I finished All Must Serve on the 1st of February. The drive left the building. There's a boulder in my path. Maybe I'll find my way around it, maybe the drive will come back...but so far...

so the last line I wrote was this:

Her giggle lit up Cora’s soul as she hugged them both close, “good!”

13 words. I don't think I have 13 tags but I can [no pressure] tag some folks.

@eridanidreams, @therealgchu, @silent-moons-camp, @lisa-and-shadow, @aro-pancake, @staticpallour, @artemis-crimson

[toxiclizardwrites]

WIP Wednesday

Thanks to @therealgchu for the tag!

I don't have anything to share this week. New meds have been kicking my ass and I've been tired, but also haven't had a ton of motivation to write. Instead, here are links to my works on AO3 if you want to check them out:

(currently all Starfield)

Dancing in the Dark - rated mature, a one-off fic with my OC and Delgado dancing at the Last Nova

Love and Rage - rated mature, my main Starfield fic

On The Key - rated mature, a short fic in progress with another one of my OCs and Delgado. In this fic they go get Kryx's Legacy together.

[silurisanguine]

Writing Pattern Tag Game

Thank you @vorchagirl for the tag. Oh this seems an interesting one!

Rules: list the first line(s) of your last 10 posted fics and see if there’s a pattern! I tag @eridanidreams @thatsgoodsquishy0 @a-cosmic-elf @therealgchu @fangbangerghoul @order-of-the-eye @aislingdmdt @toxiclizardwrites @samcoesclub @staticpallour @themortalscout @lakritzwolf @lisa-and-shadow @atonalginger and ANYONE who wants to play!

1- Recollections of a past life - Seren always felt a little giddy every time she stepped onto the Eye. 2 - Deus Ex: Ludus Anglicorum -They'd won, so Alex had said, but there were too many unanswered questions that needed answers.

3 - Chasing Your Star Until I Reach Home - Waking up sobbing had become a regular occurrence for Seren.

4 - An Emerging Shadow - Kiara Black, to all appearances was a daughter of good parents from a good old Morley family.

5 - A Meeting of Hope - Jonathan now knew what he needed to make this Tears of Angels formula William Marshall had mentioned in his memoirs.

6 - Bitter Femme Fatale - Mary crouched on the rooftop for a moment; watching her brother rush around, helping people, pretending still to be a doctor, to still being human.

7- Some Doors Should Not Be Opened - Jonathan could feel Clarence’s fear as he opened the door to let him in.

8 - Through The Looking Glass and Beyond - It had been agony as he died.

9 - Savages - Jonathan woke from a dream, a dream of blood and fire.

10 - To See Beyond Forever - Billie Lurk hadn't planned to save The Black Eyed Bastard when Daud had first given her the mission; but when she saw his screaming face, his writhing torso captured within stone, something broke inside her. Well the pattern i see is my opening sentences tend to be short! Though, they try to instantly set the scene or mood of the piece.

[esorydoolb]

Snippet Sunday

tagged by the awesome @therealgchu thank you very much!

Ok this is more like a super rough wip as I haven't been productive with writing recently, been finishing artfight (which was a blast) and taking a break in-between exams, but - I'm working on it again. My disastrously-slow-to-update CP2077 fic ...

I don't know when it's gonna be ready, but in the meantime, you can check out the previous parts in the series. They work as stand-alone chapters too and explore V's character and some side plot.

Part 1: Mitch and Scorpion and

Part 2: The Job (Interlude with Max Jones)

And a preview of Part 3: With the help of my friends, which should tell you what it's gonna be about:

Last night had been mildly unsettling. The fact that he was losing his consciousness more often, together with bits of memory of the moments surrounding these events, should have been a dark red warning sign. The plus sign was that the problem seemed to mostly affect his head, whereas the rest of his body was functioning normally outside of the sudden attacks. Which was why he was even more eager to take the fight up to the Raffen Shiv right now – consider it a warm-up for the bigger battle that was to come. If he couldn’t handle a little scrap between rivaling clans, who was he to think he could threaten the most dangerous megacorporation in the world? Even Johnny Silverhand had not been largely on his own when he had infiltrated the Arasaka Towers – and look how badly that had ended. Yeah, V’s little problem was the direct result of that attack.

Panam. And Mitch. Dealing with their worries seemed like the easiest, most pleasant task he could think of in comparison. Yeah, he couldn’t lie. He was actually really looking forward to seeing them again. 

----

Tagging anyone who would like to share, I'd be happy to read!

[ashlynstarfield]

nine people I'd like to know better- tag

Thank's for tagging me @therealgchu. I enjoyed reading yours, sorry I was so slow to reply...

Last Song - Skyrim soundtrack because I'm trying to write but I just end up doing everything BUT writing at the moment

Favorite Color: Green, a sort of classic, "forresty" green is my favourite but I like most shades of it really.

Currently watching: in between series right now. I watched the film Solaris (2002) yesterday.

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Sweet but trying to cut back, hehe. Italian ice cream is the best!

Relationship Status: Dating but nothing serious

Current obsession: STARFIELD haha. Also I had to play Firewatch again so hence why I don´t have time to watch series as well lol.

Last thing you google: Parking rules for car camping in Norway, lol

Eeeh I don't know if I even know nine people on Tumblr yet but here we go:

@garifish @cycian @s910 @skinnypig2 @elle-enasalin @ronqueesha @mason010 @varuunsith @starfield-incorrect-quotes

Sorry if you have been tagged before!

nine people I'd like to know better- tag

(tagged by @starchildghost !! 💕 thank you sm!)

Last Song: Orion by Metallica

Favorite Color: Lavender (can probably tell if you’ve seen my blog lmao)

Currently Watching: the clock as I wait for work to end

But fr absolutely nothing…anybody please help me I feel like I haven’t seen a proper show that I’ve loved in ages 😭

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Spicy!! Also sour I feel like it doesn’t get enough credit

Relationship Status: in our sad-girl post breakup party era!!!

Current obsession: Baldur’s Gate 3 (very sorry to everyone whom I spam w that content lol) and cooking as of late

Last thing you googled: my student loan provider bc I refuse to bookmark the website out of spite 💀

I’m tagging: @mason010 @order-of-the-eye @aira-besque @therealgchu @enidkinnie @burgerwaste @wiksxx35 @fangbangerghoul @5iveby5ive

[therealgchu]

WIP...Thursday? Spooky Action Style

finished the first draft of chapter 4 of Spooky Action, but won't get it published till after april 20th, cos i'm going on vacation! taking a 24-year delayed honeymoon finally.

so, here instead is a meaty sneak-peek. lots of world building in this chapter. i'm having a blast trying to figure out evolutionary pathways to how beasties would evolve. so, here ya go.

read Spooky Action at a Distance from the beginning.

beasties oh my!

“Why are there no xenos? The scans showed this moon being full of fauna.”

She shrugged, “Maybe they’re nocturnal. At least the ones in the jungle. We’re only coming to the edges now. We should probably be on the lookout for aggressive xenos.” She turned to the robot, “Vasco, do your scanners detect any fauna?”

“Affirmative. There are small burrowing organisms, analogous to mammalian rodentia of Earth, beneath the rover currently. There are larger herbivorous grazers approximately a half klick from our location. There is a slight rise in the terrain past the jungle’s edge, and the grazers are in the small trough that is formed between the hills.”

“There ya go,” she said smugly. Just then, a small eruption appeared to the front and right of the rover as a small furry…tentacle? Appeared. It stuck up about five centimeters from the ground, was covered in brown fur, and tipped with a bulbous knob. It shook itself a moment, then shivered. Sam and Min stared silently and barely breathed. Their first glimpse of a xeno that no human had ever seen. Even Vasco seemed to be holding his breath, if that was possible. The tentacle slowly rotated around and they soon discovered the bulbous knob was actually an eye, as it blinked slowly looking around. It froze when it saw the bright red rover, but blinked furiously several times. The explorers and tentacle froze, staring at each other for several minutes before it slowly sunk back into the ground.

Min turned her head to look at Sam, her eyes sparkling and the grin returning. He returned the smile. Never in all of the settled systems had they seen a fur covered mammal have tentacles like that! And, one with an eye? What sort of evolutionary path had the creature taken? A second later, several more eruptions appeared, but instead of tentacles, small furry bodies came scurrying out. The xenos were covered in light brown fur, contrasting greatly with the blue of the soil, and had six legs. To Min, they reminded her of moles and were approximately the same size, with the exception of the tentacle on the top of their heads that contained the creatures’ sole eye, and oddly flat heads. Currently, the new creatures had contracted the tentacle and wrapped it around their head, which made them look like they had a bun on their heads like a ballet dancer. Once their entire bodies were out of the ground, their tentacles, or more accurately eye stalks, unfurled from their head and, after shaking off the dirt, started looking around.

Once again, Min and Sam held their breath and didn’t move a muscle, and watched them intently as they scurried about. While the eye stalks did seem to have the ability to see around them, the creatures themselves were rubbing their faces with each other. If Min had to guess, they were smelling each other or possibly sharing scent, while the eye stalks swiveled around. In short order, they started forming balls out of the soil and rolling them around like dung beetles. Their top and mid legs formed the ball, while the bottom legs were digging into the soil. In a flash, all of the little creatures had rolled up a ball made of dirt and vegetable debris, and dragged it back down underground from the hole made from their rear legs.After a minute had passed, so thoroughly did the creatures bury themselves and their balls of dirty that it was like they had never been there.

The duo exhaled simultaneously when they were decently sure the xenos had gone back underground. “Vasco,” Min called out, “did you get a chance to scan them?”

“Affirmative, Captain Kim. They were the small burrowing organisms I had previously mentioned.”

“Gotcha. And, were you able to get any information on them?”

“Affirmative. They appear to have bony spines similar to the phylum chordata. They are warm-blooded.”

[therealgchu]

❤️‍🔥WIP Game❤️‍🔥

tagged by the lovely @staticpallour. i love these games. thanks for the tag!

Rules: make a new post and share 1-2 sentences from your most recent unposted WIP(s) with zero context – Let your followers guess!

Sam got up and slowly drew the clean shirt and pants on, trying not to throw up again, and shuffled to the door.

A guard stood by, “I don’t want to see ANY part of you in this jail again,” he barked, and shoved Sam out of the cell.

tagging @esorydoolb, @lochley, @eliteseven, @thatsgoodsquishy0

[therealgchu]

Snippet Sunday - To the Shore Style

been working the main fic lately. got a bit more to write up, then should have a new chapter friday. the narrative is kinda vignette-y because instead of actual, straight-through events, it's setting up the next story arc. but, it's all thematically the same. the next chapter will be called Home.

that said, tagging the coemancer crew for snippets today. share 'em if you got 'em.

if you wanna read To the Shore from the beginning, it lives here on ao3.

my other works are here on ao3.

little wee sneaky peeky

Her lips fell into a moue. “What?” he asked when he saw her expression.

“Umm…I don’t actually care for cake very much,” she answered.

“WHAT? How can you not like cake?” Sam demanded incredulously. “Everyone likes cake! It’s delicious!”

“I’m not fond of sweets, in general,” she explained. “It’s not that I dislike it, it’s just not something I go out of my way to eat.”

“Oh my god. My opinion of you has totally changed. What’s wrong with you?”

“The fact I don’t like cake very much is what has finally convinced you I’m crazy?” she laughed. “Not my abandonment issues, or how I grew up, or that I can’t relate to normal people. But, it’s my opinion on cake that’s finally keyed you in?”

He held up his hands, “Hey, relating to normal people is overrated. That’s not what’s beyond the pale…”

“But not liking cake is?” she asked.

“I’m not the one that said it,” Sam countered.

After a moment of studying him, she declared, “Sam Coe, you are a very strange person.”

He shook his head in disbelief, “I’m not the one that doesn’t like cake.”

[therealgchu]

WIP Wednesday - The Pilot

i have a WIP! started chapter 2 of The Pilot.

tagging the coemancers. share 'em if you got 'em.

Chapter 1 is here on ao3.

how much do i twist the knife?

“How are we affording this trip?” he heard his mom ask his dad.

“Keep it down, Grace, do you want Sam to hear?” his dad whispered back, “you’ll have the boy asking questions he shouldn’t be.” 

“Jacob…” his mother started again, but was cut off.

“You know my new position pays significantly more than before,” his dad whispered back.

“But, this much? This is a lot, Jacob,” she asked.

“Don’t worry about it. That’s my job. Yours and Sam’s job is to have fun on this trip,” he answered.

“I am going to worry about it,” his mother hissed back. “First the vacation, now new skis for Sam? This is too much!”

“It’s not too much, for either you or the boy. I told you not to worry about it,” his dad retorted, and Sam heard his dad kiss his mom. “I want to do this for you and Sam. You know how I was raised. I don’t want to do that to him.”

“I know,” his mom whispered back, “I’m just worried.”

“Trust me,” he said soothingly. After that Sam snuck back to his room. The whole thing gave him a lot to think about.

About eight months ago, his dad got a huge promotion in the government. Sam was really proud of his dad because his new job was super important. He even came to his first grade class to talk about what he did. Honestly though, Sam thought it sounded really boring, lots of meetings, legal and lawyer stuff, and always having to wear a stupid suit everywhere. And, his dad was rarely home now which made both him and his mom kinda sad and lonely. Right before his dad got the promotion, they would go out to the batball field and his dad was teaching him how to pitch. Now, even when he was home, his dad had no time to play with him anymore. With his dad off-world half the month, his mom had to change jobs, too. She wasn’t going off-world as much, and had set up a lab in the same room as her darkroom equipment. Though, she still did pull him out of school on occasion to go dig up some new rocks around Akila, a habit she started when he was in the first grade, but not nearly as often.

When his dad was home, he wasn’t as fun as he used to be. He was always buried in paperwork in his office. He never had time for pitching practice. He also seemed to have a lot shorter temper. Come to think of it, Sam decided he really didn’t like his dad’s new job. He’d have rather had less money and more time with his dad, and things back to what they used to be.

[therealgchu]

WiP Wednesday - Anamnesis

previewing something i started working on. not very far with it, and as i outline it, it'll likely be a limited, multi-chapter story called The Pilot.

tagging the coemancer crew, and anyone else that wants to share their WIP. doesn't have to be fanfic, can be any art.

my Anamnesis short stories are here on ao3.

my other stuff is also on ao3.

just a peek

“Come on, Sam,” the six year old boy’s mother called from the ramp. “Let’s get going.”  The tow-headed boy, with a stuffed ashta in his left arm, and a model NASA Saturn V rocket in his right hand, raced up the ramp.

He stopped and looked at the landing module in wonder. This was going to be his first trip off world, and they were going in his dad’s ship. He’d been in ships before, but those were just for flying around Cheyenne, nothing big. But his dad’s ship had a grav drive! It could fly to other planets!

A lot of the other kids in school had been off-planet; either they were born somewhere else, or they had family they’d visit on another planet or moon. Sam was born in Akila, and all of his family lived on Cheyenne, so they never went anywhere.

They were flying to New Atlantis! Almost no kids at school had been to New Atlantis. They’d only been to the dinky moons like Codos. New Atlantis was on Jemison, over twenty-four light years away! He actually had no idea how long a light year was, though he did know it measured distance, NOT time. His mom told him that. Mom was a scientist, a planetary geologist. She came to school and talked to his first grade class about what she did. She looked at rocks to tell how planets were made. Sam liked going rock collecting with his mom. But Dad kinda got annoyed with them bringing back the rocks into the house. Then Mom would give Dad a smile, and he wouldn’t be annoyed anymore.

Mom had a big meeting to go to. A “conference” was the word he heard. He had to look that up in the brand new dictionary Mom gave him when school started. She said since he was a big boy, starting first grade, he’d need it. He spent all night with a flashlight under the covers reading it. He learned a lot of new words. Then he his dad got mad at him for being up too late.

[therealgchu]

WIP Wednesday - Seven Days

hey, look at me with a post! tagging the coemancer crew this time since i'm actually posting! @silurisanguine, @atonalginger, @eridanidreams, @toxiclizardwrites, @aro-pancake, @bearlytolerant, @order-of-the-eye, @fangbangerghoul, and whoever else i may be missing.

so, my main fic is on a bit of a hiatus while i wait for my thinky-blob to process some stuff.

in the meantime, i started writing a new one. it's a short, 7 chapter series called Seven Days. it's a stand-alone piece, not necessarily tied to my main fic. however, since starfield is all about (spoilers?), it gives you an amazing playground in which to play.

this story has been floating in my mind for about a month. and it was just recently that she demanded her story told. i don't know why, but as i was trying to bang out what to do with my current chapter, she rose up and said, WRITE ME. so i am.

the first chapter will go up on friday. i warn in advance that this is a pretty dark story. no fluffy, warm and fuzzy in this one.

Seven Days - Day One

“You’ve made a big mistake,” the blond yelled, getting ready to charge the Starborn. The Starborn grav dashed and closed the gap before the blond had a chance to even unholster the laser pistol at her hip. The Starborn withdrew their revolver, the one they specifically modded for this purpose and held it inches from the blond’s face.

The woman held her hands up, “Why are you doing this? Who are you?” she demanded. Her voice triggered a memory in the Starborn’s mind of another blond woman’s last order to them so many lifetimes ago. You need to grieve. You need to stop. This isn’t what he would have wanted. The memory flashed by in a blink of an eye. The Starborn then cocked their head in a quizzical fashion. “I am done with you ordering everyone around, Sarah Morgan,” they said flatly, and pulled the trigger. The revolver’s explosive round obliterated the woman’s face, shattering her skull into fragments.

“NOOOOO!” a man screamed from the direction of the garden, as he came charging into the room. The Starborn turned to see him run towards them, and their vision swam, almost graying out from the shock. Not him, never him. Why was he even here? In all of the universes they’d been to, he was never here on this day, which is why they always picked it to raid the Lodge for the artifacts. So why was he here now? They instinctively released an anti-gravity field, which stopped the man dead in his tracks, floating but unharmed, as he continued to yell and swear at the Starborn.

Several pirates reported that the hostages were safely locked away, and no one was harmed more than necessary. They nodded and instructed three to remain with them, and the rest were free to loot as desired, and reminded them that all of the rooms had safes. “When the anti-grav field dissipates, I want him taken. If you have to, knock him out, but do not harm him any more than that. If you do, you will answer to me,” they instructed, as a tiny ball of plasma started forming in their hand as punctuation. The pirates nodded fearfully, and did as they were ordered. The man tried to make a break for it when his feet touched the ground, but he wasn’t a match for three against one. One of the pirates knocked the man out cold with the butt of his rifle. “Take him and throw him in the brig. If you have to, drug him,” they ordered.

The Starborn grabbed the artifacts, turned on their heel and strode out of the Lodge.

[therealgchu]

alliterative WIP friday

so, i haven't had much of a chance to write all week. but, i'd been working on some stuff previously. hopped back to my main fic, and i've got some bits and bobs going on there. we'll see how it goes.

To the Shore lives here.

my other stuff is here.

sneaky with the peeky

They made their way into Ebbside, the dampness making Hwa’s hair curlier than usual. Sam could see the tension in her shoulders, and her lips narrowed to a thin line. She stopped within ten feet of the entrance, eyes wide and alert, taking in all of the sights. “It’s only been a seven months since I was here,” she said softly, “but it feels like lifetimes.

Sam stopped and took her hand, “I’m here for you,” and he smiled encouragingly, “for whatever you need. OK?” She nodded and continued walking. She led him to the sleep crates, and found the one she was looking for.

“This is where we lived when I was little,” she whispered. “Me, Mom, and Seong.” After a beat, she added, “It’s so tiny.” She walked into the crate and sat down on a dilapidated chair. “When I was little, it didn’t seem small to me. It was my world.” She threw her arms out, “This whole area was my world. Seong and I used to race up and down there,” she pointed along the railing. “We and the other kids would dare each other to hang off the sides. We were all such shits, scaring tourists.” Hwa picked up a small piece of metal and hucked it over past the railing.

Sam stood in the doorway, nearly blocking all of the light into the tiny cubicle. This wasn’t the first time he’d been in one; there were more than a few occasions in his younger years that he slept off a night of carousing in one. But he’d never had to share one with anyone else. He tried to imagine what it was like with three people in one of these things, but his six-foot frame couldn’t. He assumed that Hwa’s mother was about the same size as Hwa was now, and she and her brother were small children, but it was still unthinkable. He wrinkled his nose at the smell, a mixture of fish, urine, oil, and unwashed bodies.

“I was actually born in here,” she said, pulling Sam out of his reverie, pointing to the cot, “only we didn’t have that, but a plain mattress on the floor.”

“What?” Sam asked, shocked, “no hospital?”

Hwa scoffed, “We couldn’t afford a doctor. Not a lot of people down here have ever even seen a doctor,” she explained. “There are midwives, however. And, a good number of older women that might as well be midwives.” She stood up, “Oddly enough, the first time I saw a doctor was when Seong and I were dropped off at the Syndicate. They had us checked out, first. The Syndicate’s not interested in sick kids. Bad investment, and all.” She walked over to what was the “bathroom” and looked at herself in warped metal that was meant to be the mirror. “I was thinking about what you’d said about not being able to remember your mother well. My problem is I remember almost everything. Ironic, that.”

[therealgchu]

Snippet Sunday - The Pilot

notice the new graphic? this is the start of the new fic series that'll go up friday. tagging @eridanidreams, @atonalginger, @fangbangerghoul, @@esorydoolb, and @sailor-kaiju (c'mon, show me what you're working on!) and anyone else that wants to put up a snippet or art.

it's part of the anamnesis series, and goes into how sam became one of the best pilots in the settled systems. it starts at age 6, and goes till he joins constellation. much of the themes will be about generational trauma, and how we break out of it, and fly away.

also, a reminder that Chapter 2 of Spooky Action at a Distance is up on ao3.

my other stuff on ao3.

sneak peek

Jacob had his hands full navigating re-entry with a rambunctious six year old on his lap who kept trying to pop up to see out of the cockpit windows. Truth be told, the man was a serviceable pilot, at best. And, at the moment he was regretting his decision to let Sam sit on his lap as he adjusted the nose to tilt upwards so the heat plates would take more of the brunt of the friction from re-entry. But, Jacob knew that when Grace looked at him like that, he couldn’t say no. 

They had met at a function at the Rock ten years ago, and to this day, he never knew why she asked him out. He wasn’t great looking, and she was beautiful - tall, flaxen hair, blue eyes the color of the Akila sky after it was washed clean by rain, and the longest legs he’d ever seen on a woman. He was just a mid-level civil servant with the FC, working mainly in trade, while she had just finished her Ph.D., dashing off to newly discovered planets to uncover the origin of how solar systems were created. He’d gone to the function because his buddy, Ben, who’d just joined the Rangers, wanted a wing-man. Turned out Ben didn’t need a wing-man, and Jacob was left alone at the bar. He’d been contemplating leaving when Grace walked up to him. Of course he’d noticed her earlier, she had swarms of people around her vying for her attention all evening, yet she arrowed in on him. From that moment forward, they were inseparable.

Sam was a bit of a miracle baby, as Grace wasn’t sure she could carry to term. They tried to conceive again shortly after Sam turned two, but it wasn’t to be. Medical science still could fix only so much, and her pregnancy with Sam put too much of a strain on her body. Instead, they lavished their love and attention on their only child. He might have been a little spoiled, at least compared to the way Jacob was raised, but he was such a sweet, loving boy, that it didn’t seem to make a difference.

Jacob was thankful that Sam took after his mother in looks, the same blond hair and clear blue eyes, rather than him. He also took after his mother in his disposition and brains. He was fearless and open with everyone, just like his mother, and sucked up information like a sponge. Jacob, on the other hand, was by nature cautious and even timid at times; and he knew he didn’t have a great mind. He was built to be the low-level bureaucrat that he was. Grace was reckless and spontaneous; sometimes too spontaneous as there were several times when he had to haul her out of trouble. In all, however, they made a good, complimentary team, smoothing each other’s edges.

Sam, however, seemed to distill the best qualities from both parents. While fearless, he already showed signs of good sense, and he had a kindness and thoughtfulness that his mother sometimes lacked. By the time the boy was three, Jacob felt that Sam was intended for greatness, to bring back glory to the Coe name. He knew that he was never going to; his own father drilled that fact into his head often enough growing up. But for Sam, he was going to move all of the Settled Systems if he had to, to give the boy all of the opportunities to reach his destiny.

[therealgchu]

Chapter 3 - Spooky Action at a Distance

i actually have a new chapter! whee! i felt like i've been neglecting this story, so got this done. you ever start writing, then the characters are like, "yeah. this happened. now write it." that's this chapter.

if you want to read from the beginning, it's over here on ao3.

vasco is now ship's counselor

“What the hell was that?” he asked after he could hear her feet on the level above.

“The Captain is prone to irrationality, more than the average human, or even Starborn I have observed. I hypothesize it stems from her abandonment issues from her childhood and previous use of psychopathy as a coping mechanism for her loss,” Vasco pronounced.

“What have I gotten myself into?” Sam moaned, shaking his head.

“She is a very good captain, however.”

“Defending her?” he asked.

“Merely observation.” The robot’s tone sounded almost tart to Sam’s ears.

“Thanks, Vasco. Good talk.”

“The Captain says I am a good listener. I can listen anytime you require, Sam Coe.”

He shook his head as Vasco went back to analyzing the samples. “I must be insane,” he mumbled under his breath.

“You have not exhibited any signs of insanity, Sam Coe. However, I have observed that you seem directionless, and have since you came aboard. The Sam Coe I knew had abundant energy, though misplaced at times, but he never lacked for direction. Perhaps you would like duties assigned?”

“Goddammit, I forgot how good your hearing is.”

“The Captain upgraded my auditory processing as part of my offensive and defensive capabilities.”

“No, Vasco, I don’t need duties assigned. Thanks.” For some reason what Vasco said annoyed him. “I’m headed up to the cockpit since we’re coming up on that moon. So, I have duties aplenty,” he said more testily than he had planned.

“I have enjoyed conversing with you, Sam Coe. I am here anytime you would like to talk.”