#verse: so much (for) stardust

[flovverworks]

(sees the moon) just like promise of wizard....

[crqstalite]

[1] so much (for) stardust —

I feel like something bad has stretched out over and over again Until I'm creased and I'm about to break down the middle Split me right down the middle, right, right down the middle, yeah

In the aftermath of Meridian and the fight against the Archon, the crew of the Tempest finds their footing in Andromeda. Being pathfinder never came with a manual, but with six races depending on the young Talis Ryder to find them all a home, she wishes for one more every day. Not to mention trying to keep them from being at each others throats, a whirlwind romance, a brother who's turning out to be more trouble than he's worth and a plot against the Nexus, something's got to give.

And Talis is afraid it might be her.

A collection of stories about Pathfinder Ryder as she discovers herself and the cluster amid the political upheaval of an adolescent galaxy.

[set post-mass effect andromeda.] [female ryder/jaal ama darav, male ryder/cora harper]

chapter specific warnings: vomit mention, general sickness. whump.

-

February 25th, 2821 [1 year and 11 months since arrival to Andromeda] - Nexus Wards.

Logs: Mateo Sirius Ryder-Lucero

Mateo has thought about how this conversation would go at least three or four times since he left the Nexus nursery center, and it’s weighing him down more and more the closer he gets to Talis’ apartment. He only really has so many options and so far, the lint in his pockets and the hair product sticking to his fingers do not hold the answers that he needs. She’s pissed at him (rightfully so), as far as he knows, still hasn’t spoken to Cora after she overrode her order back on Voeld (arguably rightfully so), and the lack of having emotional stability through Jaal being gone had everyone on the Tempest walking on eggshells.

(He cannot wait for his future brother-in-law to get back. The sooner he can either get to her or get her to visit Lexi for a psych eval, the sooner everyone would be happy -- Talis included)

Whether he disagreed with her or not (he did) right now he needed to apologize. Just so he didn’t make everything worse than it already was. So after he'd dropped Ahri off with one of the attendants, he'd quickly made the trek out to the Nexus Presidium, considering both exactly what he was apologizing for (probably for insubordination and generally being a bit of a dick), and considering how she'd respond (probably not well). Little fires everywhere that he'd been ignoring for too long, too quick to get off of med-watch to realize his sister was drowning in responsibilities she wasn’t prepared for. Almost two years out from when they'd arrived in Andromeda, and regardless of her titles, Talis was still only twenty four. Same as him. Neither of them with any major 'leading' experience (they'd both held jobs on the Citadel like any other teenager, but. Well. False equivalent), and neither of them had done anything like this. The only other Pathfinder that had the necessary experience to be leading anyone was Raeka (he thinks that was her name), but everyone turned to his sister for help.

Talis only had so much help to give. Only had so much advice lying around before she was forced to say she didn't know, and if there was one thing his incredibly driven sister was horrible at, it was saying she didn't know how to do something.

Her newly discovered short fuse however was likely the direct consequence of this. He remains unsurprised, but her blowing up at him after the Tempest had rescued him from Voeld was new. And he wasn't exactly sure if he liked this new side of her. He was glad she wasn't as shy anymore, probably a good trait to shed as a Pathfinder, but perhaps he was just a smidge afraid of her now.

He probably hadn’t helped adding to her mounds of problems and causing her a shitton of stress on top of it. Who knew most people didn’t enjoy high stakes rescue missions in the middle of blizzards to find their twin brother when he wasn’t ever supposed to leave the station?

(According to Cora, most people knew this already. Go figure.)

When he buzzes the door to her apartment, she doesn’t answer immediately. Unusual for her, she usually came to the door as soon as she was able or would buzz him in at least. Frosty then. Ok. He could work with frosty.

(He should've brought food -- his mother would hit him upside the head with a sandal if she were awake.)

He rocks back and forth on his heels, considering whether he should come back later. She could still be in her meeting with Kandros and Addison from earlier, God knew those usually ran long. But he didn't really want to run all the way back to operations, and he imagines he'd look horribly pathetic waiting for her outside her apartment door like a lost puppy.

Which...is a weird way to refer to himself. Still the mental image works, but if he has to play the part of pathetic younger brother to get back on her good side, then so be it. He wasn't exactly above it at least.

He waits a few more minutes, checking the time, shoving his hands into his jacket pocket. He reaches the end of his hoodie string into his mouth, typing off a message to his sister before his SAM implant buzzes to life in his ear.

“SAM?” He asks around the endcap, “Where’s Talis?”

"Talis' implant has been dysfunctional for some time now. I have been primarily focused upon keeping her both conscious and stable. While my systems did not go dark, I am in a brief moment of human 'clarity'."

"What?" Mateo chews on the fabric, heart stopping and starting again as he processes the information, "Why would her implant be in the fritz? I mean, I know she took a hit or two on Voeld, but --"

"Mateo, we do not have long," SAM continues, and while he's incapable of changing his tone of voice, Mateo does not like the way he's enunciating his words, "Talis has been made gravely ill. Her interior systems are deteriorating as we speak."

"What?" Mateo asks again, this time spitting out the hoodie string, "Injured? Shit, SAM where is she?"

The door slides open before him and he rushes inside. He does a sweeping glance of the apartment, the kitchen empty and almost barren, her bedroom empty with only a few scattered pieces of clothing to even clue him in she may be home somewhere. Not in the bathroom, though the medicine cabinet is strewn open, with a bottle of painkillers left uncapped on the counter. A bucket lies on it’s side on the tile, water spilling out of it. Considering it hasn't dried yet, this was still recent.

His heart is racing as he doubles back, scanning the ground. Tile, tile, tile. He's beginning to hyperventilate almost, calling her name a few times. She doesn't answer, and he runs around a corner into her office fast enough to smack his hand against it. No one. Then he darts into the living room, catching a glimpse of the dirty blonde hair of his sister laid out in the middle, curled in on herself.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit..." Mateo mutters under his breath, pushing the coffee table out of the way, dropping to his knees to roll her over, carefully cradling her in an arm, "SAM--?"

"I have briefly relinquished control of her bodily systems to make contact with yourself and Dr. T'Perro. Most of my primary attention has been diverted onto keeping away the worst symptoms, but her illness is progressing faster than I can keep up," SAM answers in his ear, "She needs help, Mateo."

"I...I can see that, SAM," He says. Okay, as much as he’s panicking right now, he has to do a rudimentary status report. Talis is burning up beneath his fingers, barely clothed in a damp Initiative tank top that clings to her skin and shorts that are stained with what he thinks is vomit. He really hopes the few red stains are old as he brushes the hair that sticks to her face out of the way. She's flushed and somehow shivering under his touch, breathing labored. Her eyes flutter open for a moment, auburn orbs unfocused and glassy. She's not all there, and doesn't answer for a moment if she does recognize he’s here, head lolling to the side into Mateo's abdomen, "Tali, can you hear me? Sis, what happened? Are you okay--?"

She squints her eyes closed again against the light of the Nexus’ day cycle, voice crackling and rough, "Dad?"

Mateo's blood runs cold at that, and his voice creeps up an octave, "SAM, what's her base temp?"

"Her temperature spiked to almost 40 Celsius this morning, though I am working to lower it," SAM reports, "Hallucinations and confusion are not uncommon with fevers this high and consistent."

"Yeah...yeah that definitely sounds about right," Mateo squeaks out, glancing around for water, her freezer, whatever he thinks might cool her down, "What happened SAM? She seemed fine a couple days ago and now she just collapses middle of the day?"

"I am recognizing it as a toxin, though I am unsure of what origin, but it has damaged my reach over her physiological systems. With that, it has begun poisoning her, targeting organs and threatening to shut them down. Regardless, it seems the more I try to take back my control, the more I am pushed out. A virus perhaps, created specifically to target me and fatally wound the pathfinder."

"That--I don't...when did it even happen?"

"I am unsure. I can trace when symptoms began in earnest to about two days ago, but I could not pinpoint when exactly she became ill. Originally her symptoms seemed to have pointed to the common cold or influenza, but as they continued to worsen and become more severe, this became less of the case. If this virus is capable of shutting down the parts of her body I can control, then her body likely will end up in shock without my major involvement.”

Mateo’s head is spinning, and he barely understands what SAM is spitting back at him. He’s not a doctor, never has been, but he does understand that his twin is on the wrong side of ill. Poisoned, he can’t even begin to wrap his head around that one. Four days ago they’d been on Voeld, when the Tempest had come to rescue him. They’d only spent minimal time in one of of the raider camps, convinced they were friendly (or at least neutral) at the time. But…

Talis has been the only person he hadn’t had an eye on the whole time they were there in the ice shelf. But then again, they’d been taking care of something on Kadara prior to that. Elaaden even before that. All places that’d make sense if they’d hurt her with the concentration of exiles and possibly left over Roekaar. He has more than enough questions about that, but he can go over those concerns with Lexi when she gets here. If she gets here in time. He gently lays her back down to scuttle to his feet and rustle through her freezer for ice or water, fingers stinging against the cold shock and pulse throbbing in between his ribs, “SAM, ideas? When’s Lexi going to get here?”

“ETA 12 minutes, she is bringing a small emergency team with her,” He answers, “It is not advised to cool her down too fast, Mateo.”

“I know, I know,” He says. SAM’s right, he needed to cool her down but not shock her. He'd do more damage that way, and the last thing he needed was to put her in any more pain than she already was in. He learned that much in basic. He drops the ice in favor for a cold water bottle, shutting the fridge and quickly walking back to the living room, “Other ideas then? Did she take anything for it before this happened?”

“She had been lucid up until an hour ago. I requested she take a form of acetaminophen for both her fever and bodily aches, she said she would soon. Unfortunately, her fever spiked and she began vomiting again soon after — she had been laying here for almost fifteen minutes before you arrived. I had contacted Dr. T’Perro, you were already on your way,” SAM says. That answered why the pills were on the counter abandoned, and Mateo’s starting to put together a rough chain of events, “I have running theories upon what may be ailing her, but symptoms are not consistent to what I have already been aware of. I have concerns it may be Andromedan in origin or perhaps entirely synthetic.”

Mateo tilts her head up enough to laying against his shoulder when he kneels down again. She groans as he parts her lips, sitting her up to be careful to keep her from choking on the water he’d found, “Is it contagious?”

“The crew aboard the Tempest reports no symptoms, alien and human alike. While I am not directly patched into you, I have not detected any of the same symptoms or changes within you. No reports of endemic level infections on any of the planets she had visited in the past week either. This was likely deliberate, and targeted. Considering the pathfinder’s more recent activities on Kadara, her immune system was already compromised. If I did not still have some extensive control over her and was actively suppressing the worst of this ailment, she would likely already be—“

“Okay, thanks SAM, but I really don’t want to think about that right now,” Mateo cuts off the AI before he can even mention the idea of Talis being dead or dying. Three times was enough in his opinion, and he wasn’t around for those times, but he’d rather not be around for the fourth. Mateo refused to admit to being scared of a lot of things, but losing his sister again was definitely one of them.

Talis is at least capable of sipping down a few gulps of water before beginning to cough. And with her coughing comes her retching onto the rug beneath them after turning her head away from him. Barely a glance and he can tell its tinged just enough with red and bile that whatever she’s working with is doing far too much for him to fix on his own right now. He considers going back to her medicine cabinet for an antiemetic, but then again he’s not sure if he’d do more damage that way.

Goddamn it, he was never sure about these things and right now, he really wished he was, “Have you called Jaal yet?”

“Jaal is still out of contact, though I have pushed a message through to his omni tool. Likely he is still on his mission and will be unavailable for some time.”

“Great. That’s just great.” Mateo responds sarcastically, biting down on his lip. He really needed someone who was more resourceful here.

He hates feeling powerless, unable to diagnose and unable to help. He can clean later but right now he holds his sister close as she still mumbles for their father. He wishes someone else was here to tell him what to do, someone tangible. Someone like Suvi might know what plant or whatever might’ve caused this, someone like Cora would have some sort of plan in place already, but Mateo doesn’t know anything. Even Jaal might've been better, it might give some comfort to his sister knowing her partner was at her side.

But no, he was gone for a few more days on a Resistance operation.

He’s been out of the outpatient medcenter for maybe two months at this point and arguably, he’s already been tossed headfirst into the fire. He was barely a private by the time they left Andromeda, and his inexperience is shining like a badge as he leans the cool bottle against Talis’s forehead. She leans into his touch, not unlike a child, and whimpers. He needed someone else here, literally anyone else who might know what his next move should be. Even Talis would likely know what to do, and she was the one who was currently out of commission.

(Oh why didn’t he just go into biotech like his mom wanted him to?)

“Please, please, please, just stay awake Tali,” Mateo begs, moving the water bottle back to her neck when her eyes shut for a moment. That seems to bring some more coherency back to her briefly as she relaxes back into the cool comfort of it, though her eyes are threatening to flutter back closed, “C’mon Tali, at least stay awake until Lexi can get here.”

“Mm, Dad, I’m — still here. Don’ go.” Talis’ voice is small and weak, weaker than he’d heard her in years, “Don’ leave me.”

“I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” Mateo answers back. To some extent, he’s curious what she’s seeing, what she’s thinking about. But the other part of him that’s terribly superstitious at times does not like what it implies, "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here."

Lexi arrives sometime later, he isn't sure how much later, the door to the apartment sliding open and Mateo jerking himself and Talis by accident, the latter of whom retches again onto the rug. Lexi’s not alone at least, with two others who carry a stretcher behind them. Her expression is already grim, brow bones furrowed and a deep frown across her face. She kneels down next to the pair, Mateo instinctively holding her closer.

“SAM already filled me in on my way here. We’ll take her to the Garson Memorial facility and contact some of our Angaran ambassadors — her scans don’t make me believe that whatever she ingested was Milky Way made,” The Asari confirms, waving her own scanner over Talis while a human and Turian come around his right, "Talis, can you hear me?"

When she doesn't immediately, instead squeezing her eyes shut against the light of Lexi's scanner, Lexi sighs. The Turian picks up the coffee table and discards it into the kitchen, while the human lays down the stretcher in it’s place. Mateo freezes in place, unsure of what to do next while so much goes on around him. A beam extends from the side of the bed, the human EMT quick to prepare what he thinks is an IV to hook up to Talis. Mateo hesitates to let go of his sister, in his right mind he knows they’re here to help and knows she’ll be fine but the last time he let her out of his sight…

So much has gone wrong. And he wasn't there for any of it to help. And he's about to be again if they take her away.

“Iz that—mom?” Talis warbles, her head turned towards Lexi. Her distress is more evident now, every wheezing breath she takes accompanied with the quivering that’s beginning to shake them both is scaring him more and more. Now that she can’t even differentiate between the ship’s doctor and their own mother, can’t differentiate between himself and their father, he just wants to know what’s happening. Wants SAM to shut her down again and just reboot her good as new, as much as that’s a pipe dream and would just as likely kill her outright, “Mom?”

“Mateo,” Lexi’s voice snaps him out of his panic, her cerulean eyes pinned on him. She seems to ignore Talis calling for her, though her stern look is starting to bleed into concern, “We’ll stabilize her and keep you updated on her condition, but we need to go now if we have any intention of getting her to the med center before she gets any worse.”

He allows himself one more second, cupping the side of her face with his free hand before relinquishing his grasp on his twin. The EMTs are as careful as they can be with her, the IV inserted and a monitor with her vitals appearing on her side when they attach it to her. The rest of the time that Lexi and her team are there blur into mush, as they ask questions and roll her back out of the apartment. Mateo does his best to answer with SAM filling in a lot of the major gaps, and makes a mental note to do his best on cleaning whenever he gets back, make sure to take care of what he can.

He walks alongside them as their brisk pace, an ambulance waiting for them and a small crowd beginning to form in the complex hallway. She’s rolled into the back of the skytruck, and one of the EMTs offers him a hand to pull him up. He takes it, hands shaking as he sits to her right.

Lexi is quick and efficient, attaching monitor after monitor to her. SAM assists her, rattling off reports. The sound of the EKG is what he thinks will haunt him after this, though. Talis had told him once that her prior two deaths were quick, like moments of being unconscious. She couldn't tell that she'd died, that she was dying. SAM had only given her a brief warning beforehand the second time, the third was quick and unable to have been predicted. The first, the first had been what had startled him most when she recounted it to him, her legs pulled up to her chest and almost at a whisper when he'd asked in the medbay.

She had been panicking. Had been terrified out of her mind.

Once the heart monitor is attached, the rapid and erratic beeping fills the back of the truck. Lexi glances at it, knitting her brows and quickly administering more medication after that discovery. He can't quite swallow around the lump in his throat, wondering if she's panicking now in her own mind. Wondering if she was, alone in her apartment and barely able to breathe. Likely hunched over a bucket, incapable of deciphering which was up or down or even who was right in front of her?

Why hadn't she called him? Texted him that she wasn't feeling well?He would've come running, even though he knows that thinking about this now wouldn't change the past. He knows the real answer, and doesn't like it much. Wish Talis stopped believing it.

Only SAM had known about this, and likely Talis had sworn him to some degree of secrecy. Mateo knew better than anyone Talis hated having people worry about her.

"God, you gotta stop doing this, Tali," Mateo whispers, throat scratchy and eyes burning, taking hold of her hand in between two of his own. Lexi diverts her eyes, carefully attaching an oxygen mask to her, "Gotta stop scaring me, gotta stop pulling the shittiest parlor tricks."

She doesn't acknowledge what he says, but her eyes are still open. Still flickering around the truck. They land on him briefly, lidded and dark, but at least he can live with the peace she's alive. She's still alive. And for all it's worth, will stay alive.

Because God knows he doesn't know what he'd do without her.

-

Rewinding...

[2] October 2nd, 2820

Logs: Talis Meissa Ryder-Lucero (Ark Hyperion Pathfinder)

[emotionalsupportaudino]

So I started an actual blog???

I wanted to be able to put thoughts out into the word and Tumblr is my funtime space where I reblog shit and don't say anything, so you can find it here: https://battletoasters.wordpress.com/

However I do want to note that I want to say shit about my first posts because they were about the best bits of 2023, so if you're interested here's my best book, best movie and best album of 2023 I'll post them here!

But there was a LOT more in these posts, including why I love Another 2001, how Scott Pilgrim Takes Off shattered and surpassed all my expectations, and how Anne of Cleves from SIX is probably the hottest character I have ever seen in a musical lmao.

Best Book of 2023: Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

It arrived to my address on release day. And it sat next to my bed for several days, staring at me. It dared me to read it. I couldn’t. What if Straight was a fluke? What if this story rejected me? What if it told me I wasn’t enough–wasn’t queer enough, wasn’t neurodivergent enough, wasn’t traumatized enough by my history in a fundamentalist cult? Or worse, what if its horror was rooted in re-traumatizing folks who had already been through the cruelty of fundamentalist Christianity’s intolerance? What if Chuck Tingle didn’t get it? This story was so personal to me, as a queer kid who grew up drowning deep in conservativism, who came out of it realizing that I wasn’t neurotypical, and who had taken more than a decade to recover enough to not physically recoil from street proselytizing. I spent a week giving the book a wide berth. And then I picked it up. Within two pages, I had called my partner to read out passages. Within 20 pages, I had to put it down, not because I was scared, but because I was all but reading my own story. I had annotated this book to hell and back, each color tab representing something else. “Oh, I’ve felt this in my queer experience!” “Oh, this hits very close to home for my religious experience…” “Oh, damn, I didn’t know that about root beer.” One scene sticks with me, especially: Rose watching a commercial for the conversion camp, the titular Camp Damascus, and thinking about how cool it would be to go there. I was instantly teleported to being 14 years old and begging my parents to let me go on a retreat, because it would be so cool to get closer to god. In reality, it was a weekend of love bombing and berating, over and over, in turn. It was a weekend that broke my spirit, made me feel like I was the lowest form of life, and that I could only be loved if I was in the church. But I thought it was so cool back then. I wanted to scream at Rose, I wanted to tell her what it was really like, wanted to fight every adult in her life, wanted to shake her and tell her how dumb she was to think that. But more than anything, I wanted to hug her, and tell her she was worth so much more, because maybe if this fictional kid could understand that, I could reach back to my teenage self and save her from the hell she was about to go through.

Best Film of 2023: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse

Everyone has talked about this film to hell and back, but there are some things that I really want to talk about that I didn’t see getting discussed a lot. First and foremost? I would die for Pavitr Prabhakar. I get why Hobie is the fan favorite. Love that guy, too. But PAV. And it’s not just because he’s hilarious and charismatic. There is a line in the Mumbattan scene that I think about a lot. “I can do both.” Pav hits us with the point of the movie in a throwaway line. While everyone else in the film (short of Hobie and Miles) believes in the importance of canon events and that you can’t save everyone, Pav is like Miles. He believes he can do it all. He’s wrong–but not for the reasons that Miguel thinks. Pav is wrong because he can’t do it all. But when he works together with Miles, Hobie and Gwen, they can do both. They don’t have to suffer, they don’t have to sit back and let the bad things happen. Does Mumbattan grow unstable after? Yes. But Spot was right there messing with the tech. It’s not Miles or Pav’s fault. It would have happened even if he’d let Inspector Singh die. (By the way, as someone whose partner’s dad is almost impossible to read, the “I’ve never seen him so emotional” line ruins me every single time.)

Best Album of the Year: So Much (For) Stardust by Fall Out Boy

The way I JUMPED out of bed the day this album released is not even funny. And I messaged everyone I knew who was even kind of into Fall Out Boy that they made a real FOB album. It’s an album I can’t listen to with anyone else in my apartment because I am compelled to sing and dance to it. There is not a single song on this album that I will skip over. (Song specifically, I don’t count “The Pink Seashell”.) The album has some range, but it doesn’t feel like the last three. It feels like they remembered what they loved about pop punk. With that they reminded me of what I loved about pop punk. This was my #1 album on Spotify this year, and I don’t even feel slightly bad about that. For months my discord status was “The stars are the same as ever, I don’t have the guts to keep it together.” If you ever liked Fall Out Boy, please come back for So Much (For) Stardust. You will not regret it. Also this year FOB released an updated version of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” that encompasses literally my entire lifetime. That was a surreal experience to say the least.

I talk more about stuff, so if you want to read it check it out. Like and subscribe?? I guess??? lmao.

[toestalucia]

hewwo..........ill write here......eventually<3

[sockmonstergotstyle]

love from the other side coming for headfirst slide’s title as best outro I see

[strangeterrain]

its the texture its the Layers its the way there is always Something to hear its the . its the detailing and its the different sounds of sounds . and it all Fits together

[xoxo-ren-xoxo]

Hermitcraft / Life Series Fic Recs

Because I love so many of them...

I'll split the fics into completed and updating fics, and try to only recommend currently updating fics (i.e., not abandoned). I'm going to write a little about why I like each fic and what the general vibes are - so this is also a kind of review I guess?

I've tried to @ the authors if they have a public tumblr. Sorry to anyone who didn't want to be tagged, I can remove any @ if you ask (or if I have embarrassingly tagged the wrong person). Anyway, enjoy, and I appreciate reblogs because I want as many people to see these fics as possible!!

This ended up being incredibly long so I'm putting a divider here. Click to keep reading!!! Also, fair warning: shipping ahead! Some fics will have mild sexual content, please read the tags if you are unsure <3

Updating Fics

I have already recommended Help Me To Breathe, lost in the dark (he's got a heavy heart), and There Are Monsters Nearby in this post, so I won't explain why I like them a second time, but definitely check them out!!

Death's A Good Gig by @mawofthemagnetar is probably going to be finished by the time this post gets to you, reader, but I'm putting it here anyway. It's short and sweet, one of my favourite representations of Zedaph (or, Zedeath) I've read, and just a joy to experience. If you like grim reapers and discussions of unions, this one is for you. Also I need more Zedaph in my life.

Look, I'm Sorry, Please Stop Scaring Everyone by @cat-in-the-desert reminds me a lot of a particular TV drama I liked when I was younger, which followed a similar premise. This fic follows Mumbo (vampire) and Grian (ghost) as they get up to various housemate shenanigans and meet their local magic-expert and salesman Scar. This fic is fun, but still includes a nice amount of Feelings and hinted-at Angst which I really love. It's lighthearted, but never boring.

It Hurts To Hope by Inquillitory is my favourite of the "Grian crash lands into Hermitcraft and causes problems for everyone" genre. Seeing how many fics there are with that premise, I think that says a lot. It handles Grian's weird Watcher stuff really well. Honestly, I just want to know what happens next!

killing the boy in the tv by @raspberrystruck is like a sickfic on steroids. If you want Grian with so much past trauma he forgets how to function in society, this is basically the fic for you. I really love how hybrid traits affect the characters' interactions in this fic, and how everyone is kind of messed up because of the imbalance Grian brings. It is wonderfully descriptive in all the right places!

Love Me Like I'm Dead by @daniofcrows is such a gem. You know how hard it is to find good Xisuma whump? It's impossible. I absolutely love how Xisuma and Evil X are characterised in this, and I am obsessed with the unique take on hanahaki disease which I have never seen handled in this way before. The balance between flashbacks and present day is maintained wonderfully and I cannot wait to continue reading this one. Wow.

Oh, you wanted me to do a verse? by @bugbbear is... kind of indescribable. It's horror. It's comedy. It's the apocalypse. It's boatem. Scar eats someone. One of the most interesting and unique apocalypse stories I have read. Slowly updating but worth the wait, in my opinion. This one NEEDS more attention.

So Much For Stardust by @a-plethora-of-peters is basically one of my all-time favourites. Which is a damn good achievement seeing as I don't usually read ZITS fics. Like, ever. In this fic, Skizz is a human abducted and hurt badly by aliens, now recovering in the care of good aliens who don't know how 'sentient' he is. Every update of this one makes me smile, it is wonderful. I love how the characters are written and how the different perspectives are shown. It is just great.

Solar Waltz by @raspberrystruck and aroundtheclock is a brilliant and very very sad regression fic. I love fluffy regression fics as much as the next guy, but this one just... hits different. The hurt/comfort levels are off the charts. Grian is so damn cute the whole time, while also being harrowingly complicated and sad. I am so ready for whatever comes next.

Tango's Castle of Cards by @evilrat-sabre is the one where Tango is a BUG. He's just a little guy (horror). This one is so beautifully written, with poetry-type interludes and perspective changes that really make everything feel so much more impactful. Finding out your buddy is a murder bug isn't the easiest thing in the world. I love this so much.

Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU} (series) by @amethystfairy1 is basically one of the series of all time. I know I keep saying that but it really really is. I love a good fantasy au, and I love an au with hybrids even more. In this world, hybrids are treated like slaves, but it isn't all doom and gloom for the main characters of each installment. There is a lot of hurt/comfort and the different stories feed into each other in really interesting ways. I try to read as much as I can, though I've missed a few because my emails are buggy. Definitely worth reading these fics, especially since now they're all starting to come together!

Completed Fics

Solving Counting Sheep by @theminecraftbee might have rearranged my brain chemistry a little. Another strong contender for 'fics that inspire me to kill Grian', this time with a more concrete notion of "replacement". Three is my favourite fucked up living weapon. It's so rare to find Evo fics in this day and age, too. This fic had me immediately clicking on every update as soon as I got the emails.

Rescue Fire by @imaginethat0327 is one of the most unique takes on a fictionalised life series game that I have ever read. The whole concept is explained in a realistic and easy-to-follow way, as we learn what's happening with the characters. There are several brilliant storylines happening in this one, but my particular favourites are Jimmy & Tango, Joel, and of course Scar & Grian. This fic is full of whump and, well, read the tags, it isn't always pleasant, but those are my favourite things ever. Definitely worth checking out this fic and its currently updating sequel.

don't you know about me? by takenbadgering is a wonderful comedy of errors with just the right amount of angst for a realistic setting type of fic. If you enjoy polyamory miscommunications, rave aesthetics, kandi, school teacher dynamics, and a lovely blend between grumbo, cubscar, and mumscar, this is the one.

Eventually the Birds Must Land by @milo-hypno follows a polyam ship I would have never thought of, and I cannot believe how much I loved it. This married-as-friends fic premise is wonderful, and captures the main trio (Grian, Mumbo, Impulse)'s personalities so well, while balancing them with the incredibly terrifying descriptions of the Watchers and their power. There's a lot of angst here, but it is ultimately hurt/comfort to the maximum degree. I loved reading it as it updated. Yay for gay marriage!

From The Archives (series) by @sixteenth-days was the absolute inspiration for my own Comms AU, and I will never forget its influence on me. As someone basically unfamiliar with TMA, I thought this series might be hard to follow, but it was not! I read all 57 parts in the span of two days, and I think it altered my brain chemistry. Please read it, even if (especially if) you don't know anything about TMA. The Cleo and Grian storyline lives in my head rent free. I mean it. This is horror at its finest. Also there's an audio series of this fic being released rn, which is very cool.

SUPERCRITICAL by @masque-of-plague hits different. It is such a wonderful take on the superhero/HotGuy trope, and it gets so super dark at some points! This one really takes swings at it's fictional government, which of course I love, while at the same time building this brilliantly emotional relationship between Scar and Grian. I do enjoy a bit of enemies to lovers, but the actual plot mixed into the story makes this one extra special. It is thrilling, with action that I don't get to see too often! Great work.

I am weary with contending! is one of the mumscarian fics of all time. From 'this house has people in it'-type horror, to magic gone wrong, to childhood trauma, to attempted assassination, to gender fuckery, this fic has it all. Usually I don't go for convex siblings, but this one is good enough to get a pass from me. Amazingly detailed worldbuilding alongside a brilliantly creative story.

It Spreads by @foxxology may not count as a fic, actually. It's a comic. But it's posted on ao3 so it counts. I was obsessed with this one as it was updating, honestly. It rocked me to my core. The art is phenomenal. The writing is brilliant. I love sculk.

Luck of the sea by Sleepy_Duck is a lovely take on mermaid and human interactions, with Grian as a marine life conservator and Scar as a very neglected mer. This one takes us emotionally in all sorts of directions, and offers lots of hope for the future of the characters. I heavily enjoyed this fic - if you like mermaids and marine biology, check it out.

there are many downsides to being a marine biologist by donnerstag is another mermaid fic but with a pretty different vibe. First of all, it follows what I would consider a rarepair Doc/Martyn. Second of all, reading this as it updated was a thrilling experience that nearly made me cry at certain points. I love how the relationship builds in this fic. It is honestly amazing. The whole idea of experimenting on a sentient sea creature, learning that he can communicate, then losing funding and having to save him from being dissected?!?! It's crazy. I love it.

Thus concludes my fic recommendations. I hope you enjoy at least some of these, and consider reblogging to spread these wonderful fics around <3

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Bee's Fic Recs 💌✨ | Multifandom works

Happy 2025!! I've been writing on Tumblr since 2020, but I've been reading fanfic on here much longer. So here is a full list of my absolute favorite works from over the years of all the fandoms I love by amazing, talented writers! These writers inspire me every day and I look forward to every time they post. 🥹❤️ might do a part 2 to this soon!!

Note: this list of fic recs contains works that have fluff, angst, smut, canonical violence & death, etc. Be sure to read the content warnings and be mindful. MDNI on works 18+

-------------------------

Marvel

You're My Person | TASM!Peter Parker Imagine by @luvingspence

Right Where You Left Me | TASM!Peter Parker Imagine by @loeyparker

You Are Not To Blame | TASM!Peter Parker Imagine by @maximoff-pan

Static Verse | Bucky Barnes Series by @theconstantsidekick

Madripoor | Bucky Barnes Imagine by @imagines-all-day-everyday

Reality Check | Loki Series by @ohmygoodnessgraciouss

From the Void, With Love | Loki Series by @whirlybirbs

Bold | Loki Imagine by @loving-barnes

If I Keep Running Back to You | Loki Imagine by @theonewiththefanfics

No Sleep Till Brooklyn | Steve Rogers Series by @imamotherfuckingstar-lord

Sugar Lips and Starky-Boy | Tony Stark Imagine by @jamesbuchananxsteviegrant

He's Funny That Way | Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes Imagine by @birdsofpry

Only Forever | Steve Rogers Series by @thank-you-for-the-vampire-money

This is Not Goodbye | Avengers Imagine by @imaginesforjoy

Home | Steve Rogers Imagine by @mikrowrites

Stardust | Loki Series by @imaginesoutofahat

Twilight

The Hybrid | Demetri Volturi Imagine by @wallwriterstuff

Revenge | Volturi Imagine by @like-rain-or-confetti

Oh No, He's Hot | Felix Imagine by @captain-yeet

Volturi Queen | Volturi Imagine by @fanficimagery

Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon

Hiraeth | Gwayne Hightower Imagine by @sainttherezia

The Sword and the Quill | Gwayne Hightower Series by @seancekitsch

Campaign Trail | Modern Gwayne Hightower Au by @seafarersdream

The Good Queen | HOTD Imagine by @itsgameofthronesimagines

Top Gun: Maverick

NCIS | Bradley Bradshaw Imagine by @ohtobeleah

Return to Me | Bob Floyd Imagine by @lewmagoo

The Better Man | Bradley Bradshaw Imagine by @bradshawsbaby

Jukebox War | Jake Seresin Imagine by @roosterforme

Call Me Daddy | Jake Seresin Imagine by @eternalsams

White Liar | Jake Seresin Imagine by @mrssturnioloo

Stranger Things

Wicked | Eddie Munson Imagine by @munson-blurbs

Gladiator II

The Prophecy | Lucius Verus Series by @lilmisshellfireswritingblog

Dies Natalis | Geta & Caracalla Imagine by @painted-flag

Near Death Experience | Gete Imagine by @megalony

Golden Empress | Emperor Geta Imagine by @multific

Soulmates | Emperor Geta Imagine by @multific

Men In Black

Happy Little Mistakes | Agent K Imagine by @lesbianstarkx

Harry Potter

Hardly Hurt | Newt Scamander Imagine by @xbarrjallenx

The Magizoologist and The Magizoolinguist | Newt Scamander Imagine by @b-eehive

The White Owl | Newt Scamander Imagine by @redneonmoons

Lovesick Niffler | Newt Scamander Imagine by @miss-authorcita

At All Costs | Charlie Weasley Series by @ardentmuse

Return of the Jackal | Sirius Black Imagine by @stallingdemons

Animal Instinct | Sirius Black Imagine by @ra-veela-claw

The Grishaverse

Gotta put Some Color in the Miserable Place | Kaz Brekker Imagine by @crazyyluvr

Matching Bracelets | Kaz Brekker Imagine by @happyyyandcrazyyy

Helmets | Modern Kaz Brekker AU by @mcntsee

Love Language | Kaz Brekker Imagine by @rubysunnday

The Phoenix and the Crow | Kaz Brekker Series by @ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes

Set, Charge, Boom | Kaz Brekker Imagine by @stray-kaz

Midnights | Kaz Brekker Series by @auroravictorium

Fallout

At the End of the World | Cooper Howard Imagine by @queenxxxsupreme

How About A Nuke | Cooper Howard Series by @not-neverland06

Sweet as Nuka Cola | Cooper Howard Imagine by @periprose

Bridgerton

Over the Garden Wall | Benedict Bridgerton Series by @homeofthepeculiar

Forgive Me | Benedict Bridgerton Imagine by @benedictscanvas

Doctor Who

Lured Desire | The Tenth Doctor Imagine by @doctenwho

Paradox | The Tenth Doctor Imagine by @shenkizoo

No Reset | The Tenth Doctor Imagine by @madboxwithagirl

[flovverworks]

simone robs alice&ares of all they own n akira looks on in horror

[crqstalite]

[2] love from the other side -

This city always hangs a little bit lonely on me Loose, like a kid playing pretend in his father's suit I'd never go, I just want to be invited, oh Got to give up Get the feeling, get the feeling Don't fight it, fight it

chapter summary: no one said raising a galaxy would be easy, not with thousands of people relying on one organization and their pathfinders. and yet talis is still in this meeting, pretending like it is.

[set post-mass effect andromeda.] [female ryder/jaal ama darav, male ryder/cora harper] prev chapter > next chapter

chapter specific warnings: none

-

October 2nd, 2820 [1 year and 7 months since arrival to Andromeda] - Nexus Operations

Logs: Talis Meissa Ryder-Lucero

“We need the space, Ryder. People are waking up almost everyday, they need places to live and cultivate their lives. We can’t be dealing with restrictions and outright bans from worlds we already have rudimentary outposts on.”

Does he ever stop talking? Talis wonders, squeezing her eyes shut as she she rubs at her temples. Tann had called a meeting in the newly constructed council chambers specifically to discuss more immigration efforts from the Nexus with the Council and Pathfinders. That was fine, she doesn't think that the nine of them in leadership had ever had a meeting together after Hyperion's crash on Meridian. It was nice almost, to not have to play telephone with every leader and send out emails to the other Pathfinders — or receive them. But two hours deep and the only thing they haven’t circled argued about is exploring other uninhabitable planets with plans to terraform. Fine by her, it’d take some decades even with the research they continued to fine tune, and it was just up her alley, but the Council’s lack of consideration about already existing Angaran ownership over the cluster was about to cause her yet another migraine.

It happened in her mother’s and father’s respective home countries, and she’d be damned if she let it happen here, under her watch.

At the very least, the chairs were comfy, as she sits smack dab in the middle of the other Pathfinders, with the Moshae at one end of the table and Tann at the other. The coffee could be better (if she were really working as well as they said, she could get some of the good stuff soon right?), and the new uniforms could arguably be better. They look like Nexus cheerleaders, long pullover turtlenecks and slacks colored in white and blue with the Initiative insignia over the chest. And not the cute kind.

Raeka’s pin glints off the light in the room, causing her to look away from the Salarian. In her brief moment of distraction, she carefully avoids the critical glance he gives her that Addison mirrors directly across from her. Her mind tended to wander in these discussions, mostly because she had plenty to offer and few willing ears.

That’d changed at least, since Moshae Sjefa had accompanied her, considering Talis had appointed her as the Heleus ambassador a few months ago. To the disappointment of most of the council — Tann in particular because it put the Moshae a step beneath him in terms of power — but Talis was nothing if not a regular disappointment these days. The older Angara was a comforting and reasonable presence, almost a friend, but she's sure the meeting is already taking more of a toll on her than either of them had bargained for. Tann, of course, was trying to run the show like it was his, and Addison wasn’t far behind — though their interests diverged, their tactics at the table didn’t. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Moshae, surrounded by people who wanted her land that barely helped her take her own back. It didn’t help that, much like Talis herself, she was a scientist. One respected by her people, but at her core she was a woman who enjoyed the confines of her lab, not the boardroom.

She'd make sure to send a fruit basket to her office when she returned to Aya. And maybe some Angaran liquor.

"We do not have the resources to support your exponential growth onto your 'habitats'," The Moshae says to her right, the picture of calm but her tense mannerisms speak a different story, lips pressed together in a thin line, "With the Kett gone, we are just now able to reclaim the worlds they took from us. We appreciate all the Pathfinder and Initiative have done for us, but not only do these worlds need time to heal, we also need the time to find our footing again in our home."

"Meridian has pushed the time table forward, Moshae," Addison responds to her left, folding her hands in front of her. She’s a little less wound up these days, not quite relaxed — Talis thinks this would cause her to implode — but with outposts running and people moving in, she’s at least more reasonable. Less cold. Less likely to yell at her in the middle of Operations at least. Talis prefers her like this, hair growing into a comfortable auburn bob around her ears, but the way she seems so confident about her next steps is bordering on stubborn, "With it effectively terraforming Heleus' vault planets faster than traditionally, we're already seeing the effects of it on Elaaden, Voeld, even Kadara and Eos are almost mimicking desert regions on Earth. Our scientists are amazed, these worlds could hold the population of Earth twice over.”

"We have the people ready to build and ready to live on these planets. While we support the Angara's efforts to rebuild their own civilization, understand that we need the space to be able to survive as well." Tann adds, standing at the end of the long table. If Talis wasn't well-acquainted with him, she would say he was intimidating. After all, he was still the sole leader of the Initiative by far, and if he really wanted, he could continue making her life a living hell should she step too far out of bounds. But considering that she is, he's not. Regardless of if he stands some feet above her, she’s long shed the internal fear of a man who could barely see past his own interests. He was too cold, too analytical for her tastes. He valued himself above others, and that grinded against her gears.

She carefully began testing the waters of working indirectly against him in the last few months. Less afraid to speak up to him, or go over his metaphorical head someone more sympathetic to get access or permission somewhere.

Her father would call it using her resources.

He doesn’t like this new fact about Talis, considering how many flickering glances he directs towards her, likely unhappy with how she leans back into her chair, arms crossed over her chest.

But what was he going to do about it? Scold her like a child?

(He'd tried this, and quickly discovered using her father or her age as an insult was unlikely to get him anywhere. She'd already beat herself up over both of those topics, it was unlikely he could do anymore damage that she hadn't done already.)

The Salarian was smart at least, she would give him that. Calculating and talented in his own right. And while he was usually bargaining for his own gain, he rarely forgot about the rest of the Initiative. Leadership could be worse, it’s one of the few things she tells herself at night so she can sleep a little easier.

The Moshae muses on this, pursing her lips, "Director, forgetting even that planets like Voeld are our homeworlds, these worlds are still incredibly fragile. Voeld itself is speeding through an ice age, causing irreversible damage to existing flora that can not reasonably keep up with development. Harvesting them for further resources in the way you say you need could cause more damage that the Jardaans' Vaults can not repair."

“We’ll never know if we don’t try, and we can’t afford to be playing it safe when projected numbers say the Nexus will reach critical capacity within the next decade. We don’t have the same space as the Citadel does, even with the construction efforts.” Tann rebuffs.

“Then that,” The Moshae stands herself, on equal footing with Tann. Her eyes narrow at him, hands planted on the conference table, “Is poor planning on your part.”

“Will Meridian be available for colonization efforts any time soon?” The pair of leaders go quiet at Vedaria’s question, and she seems almost sheepish when all eyes land on her. The few months of being one of the other Pathfinders has done her some good, at least she’s beginning to contribute to discussions now, usually with her people’s interests in mind. Though she has centuries on Talis, she still doesn’t have the same experience yet as a Pathfinder, clear through her nervous picking at her clothing. She’s not a public speaker, far more a follower than a leader, but she was eager to do her best at the job. Her commando training at least came in handy in firefights. Talis motions for her to sit up, the universal moniker to be more confident in oneself. The Asari sighs before continuing, smoothing out her uniform top and sitting straighter, “If we only have certain places to go on Eos and restricted areas on Kadara, then shouldn’t we turn to expanding the Port? Meridian is basically our next Omega, it’s for everyone.”

Ding, Talis winces at the analogy, but she gets the point. Common space with a decently high crime record, but she wasn’t wrong that population spread indicated plenty of different species took refuge there. Omega itself was also a massive space station.

“Meridian is still an unknown, there are mainly concerns about it being safe past the perimeter we’ve set up. Minor encounters with the wildlife are common, but they seem docile. Still, venturing further into the jungles isn’t wise, especially considering that we do have concerns about setting up proper interstellar travel for new Human colonists,” Kandros answers, and Talis inwardly cringes when she sees Vedaria’s shoulders fall. The asari folds in on herself while the military director continues, “Not forgetting that we have yet to scout it. We haven’t had a Pathfinder team on planet yet.”

“Do we really need a Pathfinder to clear the way? We have APEX teams for that, especially knowing that Meridian is a Gaea world anyway. All of your Human specialists and scientists, whatnot, they can keep themselves entertained for years there. We just need to venture out from the Port, set up our first real cities and—“

“And yet, do you really know anything about the Jardaan, Director? Or the Remnant?” Talis finally asks, leaning back in her own chair when she cuts the man off. His eyes narrow at her, and she takes that as an offer to continue, “It’s not like you were the one chasing down Remnant leads all this time or anything but hey, what do I know?”

“Now isn’t the time to be chasing after our new Protheans, Ryder. We can ask those questions later, when we actually have labs that aren’t glorified closets in Nexus operations.”

“If you’re planning on settling Meridian, we’re going to need to know a lot more about it before we start putting down skyscrapers.” Talis had already had her reservations about settling Meridian, mostly for the sole reason that she still had years worth of things to discover on planet. Even Peebee was still incredulous over the wealth of data left behind in the vault, and not all of it pointed towards things being as easy as they’d hoped.

This was also ignoring that the Tempest crew was just now getting back to real work, months after Meridian had been fought over, enough time for retrofits and time to heal. The way the bruise under her new, admittedly soft turtleneck, rubs against the fabric still makes her wince as she leans her elbows against the table, “My team and I are still sifting through just what was inside the main vault. We haven’t even begun to touch what ecology was affected by us traipsing there while we were chasing the Archon, and I can’t imagine the kind of disruption we might have caused to the local flora and fauna. Who’s to say we won’t cause that as well if we start building before we understand what’s going on?”

“Then what plan do you have, Ryder? I’ve accepted humanity taking Meridian for themselves, and Ryder-1 when that is suitable for life. But the people coming off the Arks still need homes. Not everyone coming out of stasis, regardless of species, wants to live on the Nexus or play in an endless lottery to live in a shoebox in one of the outposts.” The Salarian paces at the end of the table, his tone just edging on frustration enough to know that he’d probably send a long email after this meeting just so Talis knew how angry with her he was. She’d make a mental note to have SAM archive it as soon as it came in.

She doesn’t think he’s entirely wrong. The Nexus had only really been functional for a year and some months, with construction stopping and starting for various reasons. They’re likely still at only maybe fifty percent capacity, and that was still an optimistic guess. While she could be incredibly proud of her work to get outposts set up as well, if she tried to say that most of them besides Prodromos weren’t glorified towns with ready-made cardboard boxes for buildings…

She’d be one hell of a liar.

"I'm not advising for it to be forever, the plan was to give it another year just to see what we were sitting on," Talis says, holding up her hands in the universal 'back off' sign, "We still barely understand the Remnant to begin with. We don't know what extent the vaults terraform to, I mean, hell, they could swing us pretty wildly the other direction. The Moshae’s right — Voeld’s speeding ice age is already upsetting most of its natural functions. Who knows, that might kill off just about all of the natural flora and fauna on planet. Do we really need to be desettling that too?"

"I've seen our projected data from our scientists. Myself and Ryder have collaborated with them -- it is not unlike work I took on in the Milky Way to restore biodiversity on my homeworld. But this...this is on such a large scale and is incredibly delicate," Raeka nods to her left, resting her chin on her propped up hands, sweeping those present with a raised brow. That was one thing Talis was still semi-surprised about, but nonetheless grateful for. Raeka’s background in biology, "Still, I am not a woman without reason. Stalling out wave three is our best bet considering we're somehow in the middle of another one. Finishing wave two and supporting our already bloated population is better than continuing on our crash course.”

Talis agrees, shrugging her uninjured shoulder noncommittally, "Leusinia is still working on waking back up leadership properly, and Natanus is still finding people across the cluster. I say give them the resources to house their wave ones, let them start up their respective initiatives. Then we really need to cut off anymore development."

"If it's purely a numbers game, I say we keep developing the outposts. They're already functioning like Ports, we might as well give them the support to act as such." Avitus says, distant to her right., "A lot of them are either dealing with Exiles or pockets of Kett, if we're quick and organized, we could have proper towns within the year. It might get a little tight for a while on supplies until we can right supply routes, but it'd be for the best. Wake enough people to man the stations. After that, we put a pin in this and come back when the Angara are ready for more of us."

“The Krogan have already found a foothold on Elaaden, and whether we like it or not, they’re expanding. We’re expanding. As long as we don’t step on any Angaran toes, slow and steady is best.” Kesh steps in for Talis this time, gesturing gently at the Moshae, who nods to her in agreement, “I agree with the Pathfinders. We can’t be waking people in droves like we’ve been doing, it’s unsustainable. Once we finish waking wave two, we’re going to need to wait until we can start with the non-essentials.”

“Even if we slow down off projected numbers, which we have already, we can’t wait forever, a lot of humans are already coming off the procreation blockers, whether through medservices or naturally. We’ve been getting news of newborns just about every other day. Asari are following rather closely, we’ve got doctors here on the Nexus studying effects on human and Asari pregnancy here in the Heleus Cluster. I’d argue that the Turians and Salarians aren’t far behind, those families need places to go. Need places to thrive.” Addison rebukes, tapping the table with a finger. Talis makes another mental note to see how Dr. Kennedy was doing these days. Likely that was exactly who she had on her mind, and it likely didn’t help Kesh much to know her own clutch was growing up in a cluster with barely enough for anyone, “It may not be ideal, but we need these towns and cities faster than a decade from now. More than just outposts, more than just one on every habitable planet we've come across. Moshae, certainly with the Kett gone, your people are considering similar family-building moves? There shouldn’t be anything saying we can’t build alongside you.”

“Alongside is not a problem, Director Addison. The problem I have is that your Initiative outnumbers my people perhaps 3 to 1. For every settlement we build as we begin to right ourselves again from years under the Kett, you will have two more.” The Moshae answers, furrowing her brow, “I am not someone who wants to see a child of any race starve, but keeping the Cluster healthy and free of any unnecessary climate-triggering pollution is a priority of mine."

"The Initiative isn't in the business of unnecessary pollution, Moshae." That much Talis agrees with Addison on, considering the entire endeavor worked rather tirelessly in the Milky Way to keep their carbon emissions under a certain level. It meant at least they wouldn't be dragging the footprint of massive corporations with them to their new home, "We aren't asking for a lot. Not in the grand scheme of things -- if you allow us to colonize portions of Eos and Kadara, and keep our outposts as outreach communities that could grow into Ports over time, you would have little reason to worry. Our trade will benefit you just as much as it will our people."

"There is not much you could be trading that we do not already have ourselves. And there still lingers the problem of your outcasts -- who you've allied with for the time being? You can blame them for our supplies becoming more of an issue." Talis actually does shrink under the Moshae's concerned gaze when she speaks again. While Reyes has more unorthodox methods than his predecessor, it would still be remiss not to mention the damage the exiles had already done by effectively pushing the Angara back off another planet, regardless of their criminal status. That was one of the few things she was just unable to do much about herself, especially with so many facts missing when she'd landed.

Though this is one of the first times that Talis is hearing the Exiles may be directly interfering with the Angara’s supplies outside of Kadara. She scribbles down a note for herself on her datapad. Something told her that Reyes might know more than he was letting on.

"Not officially, but the exiles that have accepted help from us again shouldn't continue to be a problem on Kadara -- we have a presence there now," Kandros responds. His subvocals drop deeper, "Those causing you problems are no allies of ours."

"You bring these unknowns, and with no offense to our Pathfinder Ryder, who has done the best with what she has, your Initiative has yet to bring anything but turmoil. Uncertainty. We thank you for your efforts and the hope Ryder's team brought us as a cluster, but we implore you to step back for long enough that the Angara can thrive again -- on our own terms.” The entire conference table silences at this, the elder Angara's words punctuated with an air of finality. Addison leans back in her chair, hands folded in front of her while Tann finally takes a seat. The Moshae seems some semblance of satisfied, and collects her datapad under an arm, "If that is all, I will be on my way."

"Of course, Moshae. We appreciate the time you took to meet us here," Kesh responds in kind, tone softening some. The Moshae appreciates it, evident in the small smile that crosses her features. If there was anything Talis could depend on here, it was that Kesh was willing to do her best to make sure the Angara felt welcome. Even if that went directly against her better interests as superintendent.

The others could learn a lesson or two from her.

"And Ryder?" Talis lifts her head to look over her shoulder at the retreating woman, "I'd like to speak to you about an issue after your meeting. Find me in my office later."

"Will do." Talis nods, and the door slides closed behind her. She's itching to leave and follow her right at this very second, anything to get out of the stuffy conference room and get back to work, but the way Tann is looking at her says she's nowhere near getting to leave early. She doesn't need to be here for the rehashing and debrief of a meeting she was already in. And if he really had an issue, he could go to any of the other three pathfinders currently present to take care of it.

She sighs, crossing her legs underneath her and flickering her datapad off. Talis sharply turns to Tann, setting her jaw, "You know better than anyone we have to cut back on how many people we're waking, Tann. Are you really about to drive off our own allies out here because you can't stop building for two seconds?"

Talis thinks she sees his eye twitch, "We didn't come out here to be told that we have to bend to someone else. We've tried being diplomatic, and as time passes, we're denied at every turn it seems. We need the resources, we're just getting on our own two feet out here."

"Those resources belong to the Angara. Your plans are outdated. This isn't the Milky Way."

"That's the exact reason we need to continue on course. We've been relying on stores from the Milky Way since the Nexus uprising." Addison answers, her response cold, "The colonies are just now able to begin producing useful and valuable materials, but we have no economy. The Angara do, but trade agreements are slow to come in. Credits are good on the Nexus and not for much else other than whatever it is that the Vortex sells. People need a sense of normalcy, and normalcy isn't going to come if we have to wait longer and longer on our cities."

"We're not going to get normalcy, we're in a completely new galaxy, Director," Talis bites back, frustrated. Normalcy would’ve been her father being here instead of her, normalcy likely would’ve been settling Habitat 7, normalcy would’ve likely been them not having to have dealt with the Kett or Angara at all. And yet here they were, "We're guests here right now. If we weren't prepared to not be the first ones here, if we weren't prepared to run into roadblocks, run into problems with supply chains, even have problems with settling completely new ecosystems, then what was it all for, Addison?"

The woman across from her presses her lips into a thin line, not meeting her eyes. She knew Addison still had some lingering guilt over the Nexus uprising, still had problems trying to rationalize all of her choices away and coming to terms with the ones she had already made. Talis gestures across the table, "What did we lose so many of our Krogan citizens for, huh? Every one of us at this table risked our lives to get here to Andromeda, and every one of us risked everything to beat out the Archon. And we didn't just do that for ourselves -- we did it for the cluster. And that cluster includes the Angara, whether you all like it or not."

"Those plans are drenched in blood," Raeka adds, "As soon as every Ark and the Nexus hit the Scourge, we weren't working on six hundred year old plans anymore."

"We aren't coming from a place of malice, Ryder," Kesh's softer tone acts as a counterbalance to the rest of leadership, "I understand better than anyone what it feels like to have someone else come in on your home uninvited. That's why I would be willing to slow production, slow waking waves until the Angara are ready for us. But --"

"There will always be people depending on us to feed and home them. Not just our people on the Nexus, but everyone you opened up homes to across the cluster. Whether it harms relations for now or not, we can't leave those settlers out to dry. We cannot have another uprising on the Nexus, or add to the Exiles numbers because we have unsatisfied citizens," Tann's expression hardens, and Kesh visibly winces at this when he interrupts her, "We'll continue forward with a modified plan that will hopefully meet the Moshae's request for it to be less resource-intensive, but we will have to shoulder the outward facing consequences until she allows us into more of the cluster."

Consequences. Talis relaxes marginally, that she could deal with. They didn't need to be fighting a battle on multiple fronts anymore. Dealing with angry citizens wasn't exactly in her job description, but what was anymore? Earning the Angara's trust and respect was priority number one for now. If that meant dealing out rations to every settlement for a few months, then so be it. They had enough to make it happen — and they really needed to make it happen.

"Sounds like that's a meeting adjourned then. Rix, I need you in APEX operations later this afternoon. Raeka, same with you, we need to discuss your Pathfinder team assignments." Kandros is already standing from his seat, making a beeline for the door. She could always rely on the Turian to usually have good interests in mind, and also keep himself out of most arguments the best he could. She'd have to check in with him later as well, see what they could do about getting scout teams out into the undiscovered regions of Meridian.

The other leaders file out of the room as quietly and disgruntled as they'd come in earlier. Kesh briefly puts a hand on her shoulder, squeezing as she walks by. She appreciates the vote of confidence almost, knowing the Krogan was doing her best to support the Initiative and keep from making waves. She'd have to speak with the superintendent as well about supply chain issues to Voeld and Kadara soon. She hadn't thought it was so dire until she'd actually looked over reports from herself and Addison. She hadn't exactly turned a blind eye, but she wouldn't lie and say it hadn't slipped her mind in between getting out of the medbay and working on smaller projects.

Rations indeed.

With the room empty, every pathfinder next to her settles back into their chairs. Leadership seemed to always activate the professional in all of them, but outside of official meetings, it was significantly more casual. Various expressions of relaxing or stretching spread across them as Vederia gets up to lean her forearms on the top of her chair. She turns to Talis, scrunching her face up into an expression of distaste, worry flowing underneath it, "Do you really think it's such a good idea to work against leadership so much, Ryder? They don't exactly seem happy with you right now."

"They're less mad at me, and more mad at the fact they're not getting what they want right now. I’m just happening to stand in the way, because a lot of the little things matter, and I don’t want them bulldozing over the Angara either," She answers, flickering her datapad on to search in her documents from this quarter's report. She sucks her teeth, almost all in the red. Not that it deviated much from last quarter, but still not great news, "I'm not sure which is worse for me."

"Still...a lot of people are counting on us to do -- something. They're not wrong that waiting much longer will probably cause us more unrest. We're supposed to be pathfinding, and right now we're not doing anything useful," Vedaria remarks, "We came off the arks and then now we're still waiting. They don’t really have crops or food yet, everything is flash-frozen from the Milky Way. Nothing’s stable yet. I mean, what about you, Raeka? A lot of your people are still in stasis, and so are mine. The people that are out are getting restless about their families."

Raeka hums as a response, opening her omni-tool to type away on her forearm. Her dark eyes give little away when she turns to the Asari, "That's part of being a pathfinder, Damali. Part of being part of any leadership. You were a commando once, sometimes you have to make the hard decisions to stop from causing more little fires everywhere else. We wake more people, we set fires. We wait, we’re able to work on putting out a few through trade contracts with the Angara."

"Not like life out here is much better. Besides the glitz and glamour of being in Andromeda, we don’t exactly have a lot to offer right now for people waking up," Avitus's mandibles flare gently at the comment, flexing his fingers out in front of him, "We can't solve one problem without creating more. But leadership think it's worth creating more problems to get rid of the main one right now. Addison's right, more people means a better functioning economy for everyone."

“The economy means nothing if we can’t build anywhere for them to live.” Raeka says.

"And the Moshae's in our way right now," Vedaria gestures with her hands. Her expression dulls before she raises a brow, "Why doesn't she want us on Voeld anyway? Seems like it being as freezing as it is, they'd want to be anywhere but."

"Well, most if not all the worlds originally belonged to the Angara. It's why we're not settling Havarl or Aya -- those are their homeworlds. Voeld was a massive colony before the scourge hit it. They're still finding artifacts there from centuries ago," Talis stands from her own chair, groaning as she rolls her shoulder. It cracks audibly, "So was Kadara, but that and Elaaden were settled before we woke up. The Moshae already doesn't want us on Kadara but she's giving us special privilege there because they need help clearing out the Exiles."

Vedaria considers this, "So we have what, three worlds and the asteroid field to colonize freely? In theory it's not so bad, but the fact those worlds only really have small areas where the vaults have cleared up their respective problems..."

"It's probably closer to one world. Eos is the only world a lot of us can survive on, and we only really have so much built out there already. Whenever we adapt to whatever the Krogan have going on, we earn another planet," The sarcastic tone of the Turian at least makes her chuckle while he fiddles with the collar of his uniform. His smile is dim but genuine, knocking Vedaria on the shoulder gently, "Still, we can't moan and whine like everyone else is. Best thing we can do is handle the problems the Moshae mentioned. Clearing out the more violent exiles might earn us some more land."

"I'm assembling a smaller pathfinder team myself, I'm planning to head out and see what I can do about them. I would like your help, Ryder," Raeka nods to her, pushing herself away from the conference table and standing. She collects her things methodically, swinging her back over her shoulder, "You seem to know a good deal about the Charlatan. If you can get him talking, it might help us map the movements of the Exiles not allied with him."

Talis nods, "Mayor Tate's probably going to need help on that front. Ditaeon could use the support, I'll see about his monthly report soon."

"That'd be best," Raeka looks past Talis, "Rix, has Kandros said anything on what the timeline of getting APEX teams out onto Meridian is looking like?"

"All I've heard is soon. Think a lot of teams have been assigned out to Elaaden or helping with the Roekaar...or still dealing with pockets of Kett everywhere. We're just too thin to spare anyone right now." He answers, making similar moves to pack up his own materials, "With Ryder's team already out and completing operations, it wasn't exactly priority number one to get my Pathfinder team up and operational. Especially with my ark scattered out into spirits knows where."

"Then you and Damali should see about your respective arks waking your teams, or creating new ones. Surely you both can get a foothold on discovering what Meridian has in store for us," Her towering figure is commanding enough that all Talis can do is nod in response, "I'll let you know when I have something to go on Ryder."

"Same here."

And with that, the conference room is left empty. Vedaria shuffles out last, the door sliding closed behind her before Talis checks her omni-tools messaging system, taking a sip from her cold coffee. Bitter.

Three from her brother, asking after her for their lunch appointment tomorrow. She’d almost forgotten, having to see if Harry would finally clear him for active duty with the Pathfinder team before the Tempest took off again. Updates from Gil and Kallo on the Tempest retrofits. It seems neither of them were happy to be having others in the ships engines -- she's glad they can relate on something. A few from Vetra on procuring supplies for the crew, at that she shoots back a message to see if she could find any Piattos with some of the new defrosted shipments. Peebee has forwarded quite a few new documents on findings from Meridian. She saves those into her personal drive to read later in the evening. The few paragraphs she skims over look terribly interesting, something she’ll probably stay up later than is healthy poring over.

A few from Jaal, one correcting himself once he remembered she was in a meeting for the afternoon. She smiles at the soft greetings. It wasn’t enough to completely balm over her struggles from her earlier conversations, but it was nice to remember someone was in her corner.

Turning towards the massive bay window displaying the galaxy beyond her, Talis sighs. Distant stars twinkle back at her, and the long unfinished arms of the Nexus great her like a cold hello. With all the work she had done, it still felt like she was taking her first bumbling steps into Andromeda. And yet, they were more than a year and a half in. One problem had been fixed, but more were on the horizon. These were the ones she wasn’t trained for. She wasn’t trained to fix supply issues that couldn’t be ended with an operation out to a distant station. She wasn’t trained to play diplomat, and certainly wasn’t trained to deal with the politics of situations either. But now she had to, and she’s waffling over them.

Talis hesitates, wondering what her father would’ve done. Then, wondering what her brilliant mother would have done. She comes up empty. Unsure. All she knows is that they would’ve done a better job than her.

Turning over her shoulder, she runs a hand through her hair as she leaves the council chambers. They still had a long way to go.

[loud-trash-arcade]

I finallly finished my CD roof lol all the bands and albums are:

Gorillaz- cracker island

Korn- self titled, issues

Slipknot- self titled, Iowa, the subliminal verses, all hope is gone

Ghost- prequelle

In This Moment- blood, black widow, godmode

Murderdolls- beyond the valley of murderdolls

Melanie Martinez- crybaby

Blur- leisure, self titled

Ice nine kills- the silver scream

Deftones- white pony

My chemical romance- three cheers for sweet revenge, bullets(I’m not typing all that out)

Kittie- spit

System of down- steal this album

Alien ant farm- ANThology

Motionless in white- disguise

Fall out boy- so much (for) stardust

Radiohead- amensiac

And finally, the the record that says “we are loonies and we are proud on it” is a shirt design for takin over the asylum, and I have the good omens soundtrack up there too lol don’t question how wide my music taste ranges

[toestalucia]

what if i took back everything ive ever said for 2024 and made it into the year where i solely write farming sim charas instead

[starsweepers]

    STORM WASN’T SO IMPRESSED.  it didn’t help he couldn’t indulge in the sugary and lightly chocolatey snack, so his attention towards the whole debacle at hand ( paw? ) was next to none.  he remained sprawled in his own bed nearby, just sideglancing the two as though wishing they would go to sleep already…  it DELIGHTED dawn just how much of an old, grumpy fellow her beloved canine could be, and she winked ( a loose term considering it was more a scrunch of both her eyes ) an apology to him before chomping down the last bit of her treat.         “it tastes better, too.”  nodding as though her words could solve wars.  dawn’s legs awkwardly kicked out as she attempted to flop back into her pillow, trying to sink amongst its comfort.  warm gaze observed airin k n e a d i n g, always finding it such a cute behavior.  she enjoyed watching her siblings’ cats do it, as well.  “i thinks mommy and daddy would be more worried ‘bout how hyper i would get.  bzzzzzz!  like a bumblebee just alllllll over the place.”

It may not be magic to her, but it’s magic to him. Older humans appear to be super smart… then you start talking to kids. Their imaginations and problem solving are on a different level. Who would think to do such precise surgery on a little cookie like this? Not someone in their thirties– that’s for certain.

His purrs can’t combat with her giggles. So he stretches his forelimbs into her soft, messy comforter to knead them. “ So it’s snow that’s not snow? Well, at least this snow doesn’t disappear when you lick it, yeah? ” Chitters bubble from his maw. “ I don’t think your parents want you having a whole tub of it though… that’s a lot of cookies to make smaller. ”

[omegalomania]

someone put the full q&a that fall out boy did the other night on youtube and while i'm going thru it for highlights there's this exchange that was WAY too long to bulletpoint so i'm just transcribing the whole thing here. this was mostly just patrick and pete talking to each other but i need to note that andy was grinning SO big the entire time at the side and it killed me dead.

so, the answer they gave when the band was asked about the song that took the longest to complete on "so much (for) stardust":

patrick: probably this song "heaven, iowa." this is the truth...i hated that song. i wrote it, i sent it to pete [...] i send him everything, 'cause i don't like any of it. but i was like "i don't believe in this one, i don't like it," really far into the production.

pete: really pumped me up to hear this song.

patrick: i'm GETTING there, man!

pete: "got an elevator pitch for you, it's a fuckin terrible song, i hate it. lemme know what you think."

patrick: by the way, this exact type of anecdote is why i didn't talk on stage for like 20 years. remember that? so this is true - sorry, this is a side tangent but very true, we were playing a show with this band "killing tree" and i was the only one that had a microphone, naturally, and so i go "here's, uh, here's a new song..." and i don't know i said something silly like, "it took me like five minutes to write it" and i was being self-deprecating or something, and pete was like "well that's the last time you're talking."

pete: that is NOT actually what happened! you did the harry caray -

patrick: it was something - that was the next show!

pete: oh. the harry caray one...

patrick: that was a different one. so then there was another show, 'cause...i am...wont to do impersonations once in a while and there's a guy from chicago, an old broadcaster in chicago called harry caray, and i just did this harry caray impression and a few people laughed and i was like, "oh, yeah!" and i kept doing it. but the thing. the thing IS. this probably lasted -

pete: "i'm gonna do this impression until everybody stops laughing."

patrick: you're gonna like it! no, but um...so i kept doing it and it was probably only about a minute? it felt like 30. so whatever. anyway, um...the song that took the longest was this song, "heaven, iowa." we'd been working on it, and i wasn't really sure of it. every day we'd go in the studio, i'd ask joe to lay any ideas he had on the verse, any atmospheric guitar or synthesizer or something, and i'd lay down all these ideas, and then there was this moment - we recorded in a studio in seattle, and there was this weird synthesizer that i had and somehow that was it. i landed that and the whole thing came together, and now it's one of my favorite songs on the record. but there's some moments in there where it's just my voice and some other things, there's some sparse moments, and i don't like that a lot. i don't like...it's like hearing your voice on an answering machine.

pete, gesturing at the crowd: ask them if they like it.

[crowd promptly goes apeshit and patrick shakes his head and looks down while pete just fucking smirks at him]

[brucewaynehater101]

Grandpa Drake would be a himbo except he looks a little too much like a noodle, he looks like milo thatch but with black hair or a black haired pre serum steve rogers, this does not stop him from absolutely getting into drag down knock out fights at bars when he spots some jerk who is harassing a woman or, even worse, has drugged a drink. And while he may be a bit air headed at times, he is a savant when it comes to pharmaceutical science and the general realm of developing medicine.

Grandma Drake looks like a little music box ballerina, she is small and fine boned and as mention previously, is completely capable of breaking a person's femur with a kick. She is fiercely loyal, incredibly intelligent, and likes to be prepared. She is the type of person to have a full first aid kit, a snack, a bottle of water, and a tire repair kit in her bag ready for an emergency. While she can and will knock out anyone who's messing with her friends or family, she'll try verbally eviscerating them first because she doesn't want to be kicked out of the bar or banned. The majority of the time her verbal battles are won and result in her opponent being in tears.

Grandy is something like a piece of the void of space and stardust in a mostly humanoid shape or sometimes an amorphous blob. They enjoy pretty things and are a noted patron of the arts across the galaxy as well as being dedicated to their duty and to their duchy. The way to immediately annoy Grandy is by being rude to service workers. Grandy developed a crush on Grandma Drake when they saw her dancing on stage. They dated for awhile but Grandy had to return to their planet to fulfill their responsibilities and Grandma wasn't ready to leave earth. The break up was amicable and they were still friends. Grandy fell for Grandpa after they saw how they made Grandma laugh and liked how Grandpa inspired such joy and they both looked just so pretty when they were happy that they felt compelled to ask out the Drakes. They courted both of the Drakes and this time when they asked the two to come with them to space the Drakes figured why not? Janet was all grown up and married after all, Mary was also married and living happily with her beloved, and, as far as they knew, David was dead. They figured they could come back to visit sometime. They left an an emergency beacon with Janet and told her to use it if she had important news for them. Jack accidentally broke it at one point and hid the pieces which is why they didn't return to see their grandchild when he was a tiny baby. Janet found out later when she tried to use it to get her parents' attention regarding their coming grandchild. Jack was on very thin ice for a very long time. (Had Grandpa, Grandma, and Grandy known about what David was up to, the Drakes would have done their very best to kick their son/step son's ass into the next year or hired probably lobo or some other intergalactic mercenary to do it for them since they were getting up there in age. They also left behind a sizeable deposit with a detective agency to continue to investigate Jack Drake every year and give Janet the report just in case. The agency wouldn't follow the Drakes outside of the states so this is one of the reasons that Jack pushed for lots of trips abroad.)

Grandpa and Grandma are the most beautiful beings in the galaxy the eyes of Grandy until they see their adorable adopted grandchildren. Then the grandchildren as well as grandma and grandpa are the most perfect examples of beauty, wonder, and joy in the eyes of Grandy.

Grandma, Grandpa, and Grandy all get along very well with Ma and Pa Kent. None of the Drakes are particularly well versed in the kitchen, they can cook in a pinch but it's not their favorite thing to do, so they don't infringe on Martha's kitchen dominance.

Of course Alfred was in a thruple with Martha and Thomas, personally I don't believe there's any reality where he wasn't.

I can't find the OG posts this is referencing. If I do, I'll add the link back in later ^^

The last point I 100% agree with. Alfred/Martha/Thomas all the way. It makes Alfred's angst even heavier (especially if the three were hiding their relationship from Bruce, and thus the kid never knew Alfred to be another parent figure. He was still considered family, but the change in roles was definitely a transition stage for both Alfred and Bruce).

Anyways, thank you for expanding on the AU some more!!! I especially love the way that Grandy is described. Their form seems so beautiful.

Hmm... In this AU, Dick, Cass, and Tim are Grandpa Drake's bio grandkids. Does the grandparent thruple recognize their siblings (Duke, Jason, Damian, maybe Babs and Steph) as their grandkids as well? I'd imagine so.

Also, have the G.T. (grandparent thruple) recognized anyone else as their kids/grandkids through adoption? It'd be hilarious if they considered Starro as their kid and thus Jarro is their grandkid (not sure how to make that work, though).

I would love to see more adventures of G.T. in space, getting to know their grandkids, and hanging out with Ma Kent and Alfred.

[botanikos]

I had time to think about it today - not sure what prompted it, but? Anywho. . . Here's a list of romantic and/or sexual relationships I would be happy to engage in or willing to explore. (Note: Platonic and rival relationships are always welcome 24/7).

✧ Stolitz, obviously. And I'm only putting this on here coz somehow it wasn't clear at one point that I ship them? I dunno man. . . lmao. ✧ Stolas & Andrealphus ; I tag this as snowyowl and winterstars. I may also include cosmicsnow. ✧ Stolas & Vassago ; I tag this as starryowl and stolassago. ✧ Stolas & Better Than Blitzo Guy (people have different names for him) ; I don't have a tag for them yet. ✧ Stolas & Angel Dust ; I will tag this as stardust and angelfeathers. (I am also HUGE on this friendship as a whole in and of itself tbh) ✧ Stolas & Lucifer ; I tag this as cosmicapple. ✧ Stolas & Valentino ; I do not have a tag for them yet. ✧ Stolas & Striker ; Someone got me into this. . . I won't name names, but they know who they are. I. . . don't have a tag for them though (aside from what I use for that specific mun's muse). ✧ Stolas & Stella ; Now listen, my views are crystal clear for canon Stella, and I have that whole sheet with info typed out on my feelings. HOWEVER, there is so much to explore within their dynamic, and with comfort and communication, I would be more than willing to explore their interactions, and happily do with a handful of Stella's. ✧ Stolas & OC ; Again, with communication, interactions, and comfort between us as muns, I'd be more than happy to explore this~

Romantic and/or sexual ships I will NOT explore with Stolas include but are not limited to:

✧ Stolas & Vox ; I dunno' doesn't seem like it would work? But I could be swayed. ✧ Stolas & female characters ; The exception to this is through my AU verse with Stolas being a Princess. Her sexuality is more fluid. Exception being: Stella. ✧ Stolas & Fizzarolli ; I just don't see Fizz liking Stolas very much in that aspect, lmao. Or in general, without development between muses period. ✧ Stolas & Mammon ; No. For reasons. ✧ Stolas & Vortex ; No. For reasons.

NOTE: This does not inherently mean I want to ship Stolas with your muse! It just means I've given thought to the possibility of these dynamics in general. I can be convinced on some of my No's, but not all of them. I'll maybe update this as time goes, if I remember. But just putting it out there.