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purgatory-is-life · 22 days ago

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Mechtober prompt 20/day 20-Crew Night

soft mechs rights. as a treat

@mechtober-2024

One (Mostly) Violence Free Night - Reality666Rift999 - The Mechanisms (Band) [Archive of Our Own]

tw; jonny shoots ivy in the head at one point, a little bit of out angst, marius breaks his arm very briefly and it's not described, i think that's it! lmk if there's something u need me to tag!

---

Lyfrassir was knitting themself a blanket, definitely-not-hiding in their room, when a knock sounded from their door.

They definitely didn’t jump and nearly throw their entire blanket half-way across their room. That did not happen.

They got up, carefully setting their project down on their bed, before walking over to their door and sliding it open part way. “Yes?”

It was Ashes, the quartermaster smirked up at them and raised an eyebrow, a cigarette between their fingers. “Hey Doll,” Ashes said.

“Hello, O’Reilly.” Lyfrassir raised an eyebrow. “Is there something you need?”

“It’s Crew Night,” they said, in lieu of explaining.

“…Okay? And what does that have to do with me, O’Reilly?”

Ashes rolled their eyes, taking a drag of the cigarette. “C’mon,” they stated, gesturing with their head. “We better get going.”

“Wh- I thought I made it clear I did not want to engage in any criminal activity while I was aboard.”

Ashes snorted. “We’re in deep space, sugar. The only criminal activity available is killin’ each other, and that’s practically half the entertainment we have. It’s not anythin’ illegal. Just c’mon, I think you’ll like it.” Ashes started walking away, and Lyf was content to just return to their room, but Aurora jerked their door open the rest of the way.

Lyfrassir huffed, trying to pull it closed. It didn’t budge, Aurora beeping at them incessantly.

“Would it help if I called this mandatory?” Ashes called back to them. Lyf sighed.

“Fine. Just let me get some of my knitting things.”

“O’course, we all gotta find ways to keep our hands busy. Aurora will show you to the right common room!” and Ashes disappeared around a corner. Lyfrassir sighed, and walked into their room to grab their half-finished blanket. Aurora beeped and creaked excitedly. Lyf raised an eyebrow, but continued on their way to this alleged ‘Crew Night’.

Aurora’s lights blinked and flashed, leading the former inspector down a twisting and winding hallway. Lyf followed, as Aurora hummed excitedly.

Eventually they arrived at the designated common room, to find the Mechanisms… making some kind of pillow fort. Brian and Raphaella were making a nest with the blankets, covering the floor with them–the floor that was already made up of mostly plush mats. Marius was on Tim’s shoulders in an attempt to hang up blankets, while Jonny was on Ashes’s shoulders doing the same thing. The Toy Soldier and Ivy were holding piles of snacks while Aurora cycled through movies on a large screen.

“…What’s going on?” They asked. Marius turned around, which did not seem to be safe–considering he fell off Tim’s shoulders doing that.

“Lyf! Hi!” he shouted excitedly, before breaking his flesh-arm from falling down. “Motherfucker!” Mairus screeched.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Lyfrassir sighed.

“It’s Crew Night, dumbass,” Jonny said. He glanced down at Marius. “The hell were you thinking, idiot? How the fuck did you even hurt yourself in this room? It’s mostly pillows.”

Marius just flipped the first mate off.

Lyfrassir huffed in annoyance. “Yes, I’ve been told it’s Crew Night already. What the fuck does that mean?”

“Did Ashes and Aurora not explain to you yet?” Ivy raised an eyebrow as the Toy Soldier started pouring cups of tea. Lyf shook their head. Ivy sighed, and turned to Ashes. “I thought I asked you to explain when you went to get them.”

“I did explain,” Ashes grinned widely.

“You just said that it was ‘Crew Night’!” Lyf argued.

Ivy sighed again. “Crew Night is basically just a day we pick at random where we all get together and relax, often with movies but sometimes we do other activities. One night we attempted to bake together, however that… did not end well. So we mostly stick to movie nights.”

“Oh…” Lyf hummed. “Alright.”

“Find a seat anywhere! We’re almost done setting up!” Raphaella called excitedly. She chirped as she tucked a blanket into a ball amidst the nest. Lyf nodded, and sat down on one of the ends of the nest, getting comfortable with their knitting again as the Mechanisms flitted about putting the finishing touches on their pillow nest. The Toy Soldier ran over and offered them a oil-black, rainbow stained teacup with what smelled like jasmine tea inside it.

“Navigator Lyf! I’m Glad You Were Able To Join Us For Crew Night. Tea?”

“Oh, uh, sure, Toy Soldier. Thank you,” Lyf took the cup and nodded to the wooden doll with a small smile on their face.

“It Has Been A Long While Since We’ve Had A Crew Night,” The Toy continued, “So It’s Nice That We’re Able To Share It With The Newest Member Of Our Crew. Do You Have A Movie Preference? Ivy And Aurora Should Be Able To Find Any Movie You Want Amidst Their Collective Data Banks!”

“Oi, it’s my turn to pick a movie!” Jonny shouted. He’d climbed off of Ashes’s shoulders, but was still draped across them like they were the only thing keeping him standing.

Ashes rolled their eyes. “Jonny, Doll, it’s only fair if you let the newbie pick.”

“They haven’t even participated in the rights fights!”

“They’re also breakable. If they did, they’d probably die.”

“They’re also right here,” Lyf rolled their eyes. They returned to their conversation with The Soldier, blowing on their tea to try and cool it off. “How long has it been since you’ve had one of these? I’ve been here about a year by now, and I don’t remember you ever doing this.”

“Oh, Goodness Me, I Can’t Seem To Recall!” The Toy Soldier pretended to think for a moment. “I Believe– Oh My, Has It Really Been Since Nastya?” the wooden thing pretended to get sad for a moment, turning away from Lyf. “My, That’s Quite A Long While… No, Surely We’ve Done It Since? I Just Can’t Quite Remember! How Odd…”

“It has been approximately four hundred and thirty-seven years since our last Crew Night,” Ivy said, walking over and placing her tray of snacks next to Lyf. “The last one was shortly, about a century or so, after Nastya went Out. So–”

Ivy didn’t get to continue whatever it was she was planning on saying, as Jonny had shot a bullet clean through her skull.

“Jonny!” Ashes snapped, yanking his gun away from him. “No death on Crew Nights! That’s literally the only rule!”

“Well she broke a rule too!” Jonny growled. “She- wh-…” Jonny’s voice trailed off as Brian picked him up by the scruff. The shortest of the Mechs went limp, eyes going wide as he stared at the floor.

“Air jail,” Brian said, “for your crimes.” Ashes laughed, lighting up a cigarette.

“Ivy was just tryna explain, Jonny,” Ashes said. “She coulda done it better, but it’s still Crew Night. Don’t shoot people just for pissing you off, or I’m taking your gun.”

Jonny grumbled, crossing his arms as his tail swished. Brian seemed satisfied though, and brought him over to the nest, depositing him in the middle and promptly wrapping him up in a blanket. Jonny glared up at the brass pilot, but the metal man just grinned and kissed Jonny on the forehead.

“Your beard’s scratchy,” Jonny mumbled.

“Oh my beard is scratchy?” Brian raised an eyebrow. “Not yours that you constantly refuse to take care of?”

“Mine isn’t made out of wire,” Jonny said. He wriggled and squirmed until an arm was free, and reached up to poke Brian’s face. “Yours is. And it’s scratchy.”

Brian rolled his eyes.

Lyf took a sip of their tea, eyes darting around the room as the other Mechanisms started settling down. “It’s… odd to see you all being… nice to each other.”

“It is Crew Night,” Brian said, flopping down in the nest next to Jonny, the other immediately curling up into him. “So we’re a bit kinder to each other.”

“You know, the more you say it, the less meaning it has to me,” Lyfrassir declared.

“Now you’re getting it!” Tim called, fae grinned widely which only worked to further confuse Lyf.

“That- what does– that doesn’t even make sense in this context.”

“Exactly,” Tim said, taking Jonny’s other side. Fae draped an arm across Jonny’s shoulders, playing with the first mate’s hair. “We don’t make sense and it’s best if you just roll with it.”

Ivy stood up, brushing her skirt off, and doing her best to get blood out of her shirt. “You don’t make sense. I happen to be very logical. Is Marius alright?”

Raphaella chirped and walked over the ball that was currently the not-a-baron. She whacked him with a wing. “Mari, we have to start,” the winged scientist whined.

“My arm hurts,” Marius whined back, from his ball. “I’m not moving for five hundred years.” Raph chirped again, more frustratedly, and picked him up in order to deposit him in the slowly forming cuddle pile. As the violinist unfurled from his ball, Lyf could see that his arm was, in fact, healed. Lyfrassir rolled their eyes at them.

Marius crawled into Brian’s lap and Ashes sat by Tim, putting faer head in their lap to play with faer hair. The Toy Soldier jumped up from its spot next to Lyf and wormed its way into the pile wherever it could fit. Raph laid across as many of the other Mechs as was physically possible, which was an endeavor aided by her wings. Ivy joined as well, sitting a bit towards the edge of the pile but close enough to snuggle up next to Ashes and Tim. Lyf watched in mild confusion as the Mechanisms created, perhaps, the most chaotic pile of living human bodies that ever existed.

This was… Not their initial impressions of the Mechanisms.

They were rude, violent, loud, and murderous. They killed without hesitation, they killed each other without hesitation. They destroyed planets, conquered them and then left them to burn because they simply got bored. The worst criminals to ever exist, and they’d only continue to exist and cause more destruction. And yet, here they were.

Cuddling and clinging on to each other like their immortal lives depended on it, about to watch a movie with each other. It was strange, an oxymoron to their very beings.

‘I have pulled up the selected movies for tonight :] If you would like to suggest one, Lyfrassir, you may as well :]’ Aurora wrote out, taking up most of the big movie screen with the words.

“Oh, I’m alright, Aurora…” Lyf said, shrugging. A thumbs up appeared on the screen, and it went dark with a purple loading circle appearing in the center as the lights dimmed.

Lyfrassir took another sip of their tea, before carefully setting it down and resuming their knitting. They weren’t going to complain about the behavior shift, if it got them some peace and quiet.

About half way through the first movie, Lyfrassir dozed off, and when they woke up again they’d somehow gotten dragged into the cuddle pile by–seemingly–Ivy and The Toy Soldier. Lyfrassir sighed, rolling their eyes. Aurora was creaking quietly and the lights were dimmed lower than they had been earlier, signifying Aurora being asleep. Lyf sighed, and curled up, returning to sleep. Just this once, they’ll allow it. It certainly helped that Ashes made a great pillow.

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purgatory-is-life · 29 days ago

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Mechtober Prompt 13/day 13-planetside

i just ended up using this as an excuse to explore some underrated ashes ships

@mechtober-2024 and as usual, also on my ao3

Three Dates For Ashes O'Reilly - Reality666Rift999 - The Mechanisms (Band) [Archive of Our Own]

tw, arson, implied violence, some poor self care habits, raph's Science, gun mention, i think that's everyrhing

Ashes O’Reilly was not, often, a person who enjoyed the soft things of life. Of course, they relished in the luxuries and the finer things, especially when they were playing a long game planetside. But the soft, typical ‘romantic’ things of the world? They didn’t really care for that. They showed the other Mechanisms that they cared in other, less traditional ways. In ways that worked for the crew.

Ashes did like to treat the others to nice things every once in a while, when they were planetside.

—--

They were stopping by a relatively small, unassuming planet for a bit. No longer than a month, just enough to refuel, have some fun, maybe have a few concerts. It was mostly just a restock trip, anyway. It didn’t need to be anything too long. A month was a perfect amount of time, for Ashes purposes.

Ashes strolled into the bridge, while Brian was mumbling arguments with Aurora while they landed. Again. Aurora had been picky about the spot they landed her in, trying to fly off the moment the majority of the Mechs were off of her, so Brian was trying to get her to stay in one spot for longer than a day. Ashes sat down in the chair next to Brian’s pilot’s chair. Brian glanced at them, but spent most of his focus on landing. Ashes let him, spending the time playing with one of their lighters. Eventually Brian and Aurora landed, and Brian turned towards Ashes.

“Yes, Ashes? Do you need something?”

“I was wondering,” Ashes said, flicking their lighter closed as they turned to the brass pilot, “if you’d like to go out on a walk with me ‘round this little planet, Dollface.”

Brian raised an eyebrow, but nodded slowly. “You’re not up to something, are you?”

“Not at all~” Ashes purred, grinning enough to show off their fangs ever so slightly.

Brian sighed and Ashes stood up, grabbing his hand and pulling him along. Brian let them, smiling as they dragged him off of Aurora. “May I ask at least what we’re up to? It won’t require me being EJM right now, will it?”

“‘Course not, Sweet thing. It’ll be fun, promise, but forgive me if I want to keep a few secrets.”

Brian rolled his eyes. “Of course, My Lord Hades.”

Ashes grinned, and the two continued. They exited the starship they called home, and out into a chaotic and alien wilderness of the planet they’d landed on.

Eventually Brian fell in step with Ashes as they walked down a winding path in between twisting trees with glowing leaves, plants growing free and animals scattering at the noises the pair were making. Brian hummed quietly, while Ashes led him further into the woods. Brian wasn’t sure how long they walked for, just enjoying the scenery and each other’s company. After an undefined amount of time, the pair arrived at a small clearing. In the center, a small fire was flickering and burning in the center, with a few blankets spread around it on the floor and Ashes’s bass setup next to the fire as well. There were a few bottles of wine propped against a large bouquet of roses and a picnic basket.

Brian stops before the clearing and pauses, eyes wide in shock but otherwise his expression remains frozen.

Ashes doesn’t stop until they are forced to, hand still holding Brian’s, realizing he’s no longer following them. They turn around and stare at the drumbot, while he tries to find the words.

“When did you have time to do this?” he eventually asked.

Ashes smirked. “I find time. I like to dote on you all, every once in a while.”

Brian didn’t respond, and Ashes gently tugged on his arm. Brian looked at them and raised an eyebrow.

“Coming? I set this up for us, y’know. So you could relax,” Ashes walked back over to him and took the drumbot’s other hand. “We can do something else if you want.”

“No, no it’s perfect,” Brian squeezed Ashes’s hands, and leaned down, pressing a kiss on their forehead. “Thank you for this. Shall we?”

Ashes smirked, and dragged him into the clearing.

—--

Raphaella hadn’t left her lab in a while, and that wouldn’t do. Especially since she hadn’t told Ashes about any supplies that she needed resupplied. And that just wouldn’t do-they were only on this planet for a few more weeks, after all.

So, naturally, Ashes did something about it.

Ashes knocked on the door frame of Raphaella’s lab. “Hey, Sweet Bird,” they called, getting the science officer’s attention. Raph popped up from her project, and turned to Ashes. She grinned at them.

“Hey, Smoky Eyes,” Raph turned back to her project, “if you need something, you’ll have to give me a sec, this is a very finicky compound I’m working with.”

“Sure,” Ashes said, leaning against the lab’s doorframe, fidgeting with a box of matches. Raphaella continued with her Science for a while more, and Ashes let her. Raphaella rolled her shoulders, wincing at the action as she flexed her wings. Ashes raised an eyebrow as Raph returned to her work. “Are your wings cramping up?”

“Yes, a bit, but I’ve got to finish this…” Raphaella furrowed her brows in concentration, which made Ashes snort fondly. She was adorable sometimes, Ashes thought briefly.

“I think being able to walk around without your back hurtin’ something fierce is a bit more important than science, Doll,” Ashes said, walking into the lab. Raphaella shot them a glare.

“Nothing is more important than Science,” Raph declared.

“Not even going for a fly?” Raphaella paused, and Ashes grinned. They sighed exaggeratedly, and turned to leave. “I guess I’ll just go wandering around the new planet myself… All on my lonesome, on the ground…” Raphaella made a small trill in the back of her throat, but hadn’t moved yet from her spot hovering above her experiment.

“Maybe I’ll find a cool mushroom, or a cool specimen… And I won’t have a sweet birdie to be all science-y about it…”

And that seemed to be all the convincing Raphaella needed. “Ugh, fine! I’ll go for a fly with you!” Ashes grinned as Raphaella walked over to them after covering whatever compound she was messing with. Raphaella pouted as she looped an arm around one of Ashes and wrapped her tail around theirs. “I know what you’re doing.”

“Doting on my crew? At this point, is that really such a surprise?”

Raphaella pouted, but she and Ashes left the lab and left the Aurora, taking a moment to enjoy the relatively serene nature around them. Raphaella stretched her wings out, spreading them as widely as she could. Ashes grinned wider, and Raph stuck her tongue out at them. Still, she scooped them up into her arms (it was always a surprise how strong Raphaella was, sometimes it even left them flustered, if Raph picked them up unexpectedly) and prepared to take flight. Ashes pulled out one of their guns, then.

“You in the mood for some violence, Sweet Bird?” they asked.

Raphaella’s eyes lit up, almost literally. “Oh, you motherfucker… Of course I’m in the mood for violence.”

Ashes grinned, and that was all the invitation Raph needed to take off in the direction of the nearest town.

Flying was a jostling experience, especially with Raphaella. She didn’t care much about easing turbulence when taking any of the crew on a fly. The only one she was even kind of careful with was Jonny, and that was just because he’d shot her out of the sky enough times for being ‘too rough’ on flights that she’d learned her lesson with him. But Ashes enjoyed it, the wind in their hair and the rushing air around them as they soared through the sky. It felt freeing.

The town was coming into view, and Ashes readied their gun, taking another one out to hand to Raph. It was time for the two of them to have some fun.

—--

The Toy Soldier was odd, but it was helpful. It loved to help, and Ashes appreciated it. “Artillery Stocks Are All Checked, Quartermaster O’Reilly!” The Toy said, saluting. “We Will Not Need To Restock Anything For At Least Another Ten Years, Which Will Allow Us To Reach Our Next Proper Destination With Ease. Though We Could Always Get More Tea, As One Can Never Have Too Little Tea.”

“Great, thanks, TS,” Ashes said, turning away from Aurora’s food stores. “Anything needing repairing immediately? I can take them out to get repaired tomorrow.”

“Nothing That I Could See!”

“Alright. Thanks again.”

“Of Course, Ashes!” The wooden soldier pretended to beam, and snapped its fingers. “Ashes, If You Are Finished With Your Duties For Now, I Have Something I Wish To Present You With, Old Bean! If You Will Follow Me,” The Toy Soldier offered them a hand, and Ashes raised an eyebrow, but took the wooden hand and followed the wooden thing off of the ship. The Toy paused not far away from Aurora, just a place with a nice, clear view of the sky.

It pulled something from its coat, as Ashes turned to look at it confused. It tutted at them, saying that they had to focus on the sky, not itself. Ashes decided to amuse it, and returned their focus to the skyline as The Soldier fidgeted with the device in its hand.

A few moments later, the sky lit up, bright and brilliant, many colorful sparks decorating the sky. Ashes grinned and turned to the wooden doll next to them.

“Fireworks tend to be more Gunpowder’s style, you know.”

“Shush, Old Bean! Just Watch The Show!”

Ashes complied, and watched the sky light up in all of the colors that The Toy Soldier could find. As the firework show continued, Ashes could see smoke wafting from some far off place, smoke in the same direction as the fireworks. And as the fireworks began calming down, the skyline erupted into a beautiful, gargantuan fire with one final bang from a large firework.

Ashes gasped, entranced by the beauty of the fire that was quickly spreading through the forest around them.

“Oh, It’s Absolutely Spiffing! So Much Prettier Than I Anticipated!” The Toy Soldier clapped excitedly, the wooden clacking noise snapping Ashes out of their haze of admiration.

“Oh, TS… You know you didn’t have to, Soldier, dear,” Ashes said.

“Of Course Not, Old Bean, But I Figured You Deserved Something Nice! And You Know, It’s Been A While Since We’ve Had A Really Good Fire. And So, Jonny And Tim Helped Me Set This All Up!”

Ashes slung an arm around the doll’s shoulders, grinning widely. “Well, how ‘bout that. Thanks, TS. I appreciate it.” Ashes dug out their box of cigarettes that they’d pawned off of Jonny at some point. “How ‘bout a smoke, to celebrate the occasion?”

“Oh, I’d Love To Pretend To Smoke With You, My Dear Quartermaster!” Ashes handed it a cigarette and took one for themself, lighting it up with a match that they tossed into the forest.

Ashes took a drag and smiled. “Here’s to violence, and a damn good fire,” they said, and turned, them and the pretend Soldier walking back onto the Aurora as the forest burned behind them.

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