#Searle (Sunshine)

[diver5ion]

[1wooden-antlers1]

Sunshine (2007): Additional Media!

Behind the scenes/promo videos

Character backgrounds (direct link here)

Commentary from director Danny Boyle and physicist Brian Cox (direct link here, I just wanted to give credit to the person I found it off of lol)

Deleted scenes

Fan website with science, trivia, links (though most are not in working order now), and more!

Official blog

Original January 2004 script written by Alex Garland

Trivia just because it's fun :) (you can also find other stuff for Sunshine via that website, I just wanted to especially highlight the trivia)

If anyone has anything else, feel free to add! If I stumble across more, I certainly will lol. This movie is so cool

[squooshit]

there is probably something very significant about the fact that Mace and Harvey died freezing to death whereas Capa and Searle both burned to death

however I am still in shock and cannot elaborate further

[aliensamba]

Sunshine

[theladyofthevarioussorrows]

Sunspots

Fandom: Sunshine (2007)

Pairing: Robert Capa x fem!reader

Word count: 6,400+

Characters: Robert Capa (Cillian Murphy), the rest of the cast is only mentioned.

Summary: Alternate universe (duh). Reader is the 9th crew member on the Icarus II as a second physicist assigned to assist Capa; she and Capa started dating at some point during the mission. But, in this story, the mission was successful, and everyone lived to make it back to Earth; the reader and Capa have been together ever since. The story takes place during a solar eclipse two or three years or so after they make it back to Earth, and as to be expected, Capa is excited about and fascinated by the eclipse, and so is the reader. He is set on making it a beautiful and romantic experience for her, especially since it was because of them that they can see it from Earth.

Warnings and additional tags: Fluff, smut (p in v), established relationship, mention of masturbation (m and f), the mission is successful in this (everyone makes it back to Earth in one piece), soft!dom Capa if you squint, Capa is slightly out of character in this (he's happy, he's deeply in love with the reader, and he's a little bit of a tease), mention of airsickness, reader-insert, reader-interactive, reader uses Capa's first name a few times, Capa calls the reader "sunshine" (I think it's fucking cute okay? Sue me. I'm just a girl.).

Notes: This is my first fic in literal years, and it is in two parts...both are in this post. I took a lot of liberties here. Necessary ones I think, but liberties nonetheless. I don’t know a lot about space and space travel. I know very little about it actually. However, I did do some research (if you could call it that) and tried to make it as accurate to the movie as I could. I had a ton of fun writing this! I miiiiiiiiight add to this later on, we'll see! I hope you guys like it!

--->Smut below the cut! NSFW, minors DO NOT INTERACT!<---

He had been planning this for months. Years, to be exact. Up until now, he was convinced that if he made it back in one piece, he would have been alone.

Capa had spent over a year cramped up on the Icarus II with eight other crew members. Kaneda, Searle, Trey, Corazon, and Cassie seemed to take him seriously a good chunk of the time, but stayed mostly neutral towards him. Harvey and Mace tended to direct a lot of their anger towards him. Whether it was out of jealousy, anxiety, or whatever else, it didn’t matter what their reasoning behind ganging up on the lead physicist was. Despite their unfounded animosities, it was Capa’s stellar bomb that would reignite the Sun and save humanity from extinction. Even though tensions were understandably high, Capa was the only person aboard the Icarus II who knew the gravity and the importance of the mission they were tasked with carrying out. In other words, he was the only one who knew how to operate the device to perform such a miracle. It was really no surprise to anyone that they put Capa in charge of the payload; he understood the mission better than anyone else on the ship, and it showed. Mace and Harvey began to back off once it finally began to sink in that their lives depended on Capa, and because of that, they should take it easy on him. Try to, at least.

Of all the other astronauts on the Icarus II, Capa felt the closest to Y/L/N, the second physicist, a young woman wise beyond her years who was assigned to work alongside Capa. She was a bit younger than him and the rest of the crew, but she proved to have a level-headed way of looking at things, while also presenting herself with an air of cautious optimism. Her grace and appreciation of everything each of the members were doing drew Capa to her, something that initially made him nervous. She captivated him in a mysterious but welcome way, and she was nowhere near immune to his unique allure and quiet charm.

She would watch him in awe as he spoke, completely entranced by his intelligence. Every word he said, every move he made…she felt it in her heart, and deep in her core. After watching her perform her duties effortlessly without ever faltering once, Capa began to feel at ease with her, and he caught himself quietly thanking the forces that be for pairing the two of them together.

It took a lot of effort on his part to keep his composure around her, and little did he know, it was just as difficult for her to behave herself around him. He knew he was falling for her, and he tried to keep it down as long as he possibly could, just in case his feelings for her weren’t reciprocated. Even though she did feel the same way about him, she made a valiant effort to stay focused on the tasks at hand, despite the ever-looming temptation.

She and Capa grew close after spending hours alone working out equations or going over calculations, and even just spending whatever free time they had talking about anything and everything, but nothing too wild or personal just yet. After one particularly restless night, she left her quarters and came out to the common area to find Capa at the table, his head in his hands. He noticed her and lifted his face to look at her, a faint smile escaping his lips.

“Oh, hey. I take it you couldn’t sleep either?” Capa asked her, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes as he shifted in his seat. She looked absolutely beautiful to him, still in her sleep clothes that fit her perfectly, the fabric slightly revealing but leaving just enough to the imagination, her hair down and slightly tousled. His gaze accidentally drifted to her thighs and hips, and he looked away suddenly, focusing back on her face. Capa was trying hard to keep his cool as she stood in front of him, fighting back thoughts of how much better those clothes would look on his bedroom floor. He struggled to push the thought away, and was internally failing miserably at it.

She also felt an all-too-familiar feeling between her legs seeing Capa sitting there in his gray tank top shirt, his hair falling on his shoulders in the sexiest way possible. She couldn’t help but notice his well-defined arms, and traced the path of his veins with her eyes. She tried not to stare at him, and swallowed before she answered. “Yeah, unfortunately. A lot to do, a lot to think about, you know?” she answered back as she walked over to the table to sit down next to him. “Do you mind if I sit with you for a while?”

He motioned for her to sit down, welcoming her. “Oh no, not at all, the company would be nice. And yes, you’re right, there’s tons to think about for sure.” He sat up straighter and turned to face her better as he cleared his throat quietly, still fighting with his wandering mind.

She let out a small breath of relief before she sat down. She turned toward him and continued to speak. “What’s on your mind?” she asked. Even though she was concerned and was aware he was under an insane amount of pressure, she knew Capa had everything under control, and she trusted his judgment completely. “We can talk about it if you’d like.”

He takes a deep breath before answering her. “I guess it’s just nerves. You and I have run the calculations countless times now, and we’re on the correct path with everything, the payload is operational and all that…but I’m still a bit anxious about it. It’s nothing crazy, but, you know…” his voice trails off before looking into her eyes. “I just hope everything goes to plan, that’s all. I don’t think we have any reason to think it won’t, but still.”

She looked back at Capa. “Oh believe me, I totally understand.” She moves closer to him in an attempt to reassure him as she rests her hand on his. “But hey, I have faith that we can get it done and all will be well with the universe.” She smiled. “You’re doing amazing, by the way.”

Capa began to blush as he smiled back, softly but warmly. “Aww, thanks. Just doing my job.” He turned his hand over under hers, holding it gently as their fingers tangled together. “You’re doing great, too. We’re so lucky to have you with us…with me.” His heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t believe he said that out loud, but he didn’t bother trying to go back on it either. “I know I am.” His ocean blue eyes looked at her face, searching for any sign of discomfort or apprehension. He was relieved to find neither in her expression, just her smiling and blushing back at him.

She felt his words deep inside her as if a bomb on a much smaller scale was going off within her chest, and his words almost didn’t register with her right away. She smiled and blushed deeply before continuing. “That’s very sweet of you to say…thank you,” she answered. Despite the fact that they have spent a lot of time alone together in recent weeks, the tension in the room was noticeably thicker…so thick that you could slice it in the air with a scalpel. “I try my best. It’s all I can do, really.” She held onto his hand a little tighter as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

Capa broke the brief silence. “Hey…” he began, speaking warily but keeping his smile. “There’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you. I’ve been waiting for the right time, and I’m not quite sure when that would be or would have been…I hope you won’t take it the wrong way.”

She looked back at Capa, curious but cautious. “Sure, you can ask me anything. What’s up?” He returned the gentle squeeze of her hand and softly grazed his thumb over her knuckles.

Capa took a deep breath, and looked away from her for a split second before directing his focus right back on her. He could feel his face getting warmer, his fair-skinned face turning a faint pink. He hesitated for a beat before throwing caution to the wind to speak his mind.

“Well…you know how we’ve been spending a lot of time together lately? Not just on protocol and calculations and whatever else…but in general?” He continued to hold her gaze while he waited for her response.

“Yeah, of course. Why?” she asked as she looked at him, still smiling and holding his hand, butterflies forming in her stomach. “Is everything okay?” she asked, trying to gauge where the conversation is going without assuming anything or jumping to any conclusions.

“Oh yeah, everything is fine, all things considered. Amazing, actually…” He swallowed quietly before beginning again. “Um…I guess what I’m trying to say is…I feel closer to you than anyone else on the ship…” He paused and chuckled nervously before he continued to speak. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt such a connection to someone. You understand me in a way that everyone else doesn’t, and I really appreciate that. A lot.” He smiled and blushed deeper.

She smiled and blushed deeper as well. “I’m glad I can make you feel that way.” She moved closer to him. “I feel the same way about you.”

He reached his free hand up to gently brush some of her hair out of her face, softly caressing her cheek as he did it. “You’re just…I don’t know what the right word is. Exhilarating? Refreshing, maybe? I guess what I mean to say is…” he trailed off before cupping the side of her face with his hand while holding onto her hand with the other. “I’m falling for you. I mean…I have fallen for you. You’re on my mind constantly.” He gazed at her for a beat before continuing his thought. “I hope that doesn’t make anything weird or awkward.” He searched your face again for any opposition. Yet again, he didn’t find any of either.

Capa wasn’t one to divulge his deepest, darkest secrets to anyone, but it took every ounce of his being not to tell her that he’s seen her face behind his eyelids almost every night for the past two or so months, her name in his throat every time his need for her took over. He let it spill all over himself when he couldn’t sleep, which was unfortunately often. She wasn’t going to tell him that she touched herself to the thought of him any time the mood struck her either, soaking her fingers and her sheets beneath her. The two of them, separated only by a thin wall, had been breathing each other’s names as they reached completion for quite some time, and neither of them had shared any feelings for each other until today. As luck would have it, their feelings were mutual.

She leaned into his hand as she looked back at him. “It’s not weird, I promise…I’ve fallen for you too. I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t.” She gazed at him, full of love and infatuation. “You’re all I think about.”

Capa looked back at her with the same intensity. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that,” he replied. He leaned in closer to her still, less than a foot of space between them. “What I really wanted to ask is…” he trailed off as he caressed her cheek and jawline. “I know this isn’t ideal, and I’m sorry about that…but I want this mission to continue with no regrets. I would hate myself forever if I never told you how I really feel about you. With that being said…would you be okay with us seeing where this goes?” His eyes never left hers as he confessed his love for her. “I want to be with you…if you’ll have me. Now, and, God willing, after the mission, too.”

Her heart pounded in her chest as she heard his words. “Of course I will. I want to be with you, too. I want nothing more than to be with you.”

Capa smiled and let out a sigh of relief before he spoke again. “Thank you…really. You mean everything to me, and I want you to know that…I’ll never let you forget it.” He closed any remaining distance between the two of them. He caressed her face tenderly once more. “May I…?”

She smiled at him with admiration and anticipation. “Yes, you may.”

Capa closed his eyes, leaned in, and kissed her gingerly at first, her eyes fluttering shut. She tilted her head as she kissed him back. Their kiss grew more and more passionate as seconds passed. He held her head gently and he ran his fingers through her hair as she wrapped her arms around his neck, their tongues dancing together softly. Capa slowly broke the kiss and opened his eyes. She opened hers as they pulled away, their pupils blown out with love and desire. He wrapped his arms around her as she pulled him into a tight hug, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long…” he breathed into her hair as he rubbed his hands on her back, inhaling her sweet scent. “Thank you…I mean it.” Capa blushed some more as he took another deep breath. “God, you make me feel like I’m a teenager again.”

“Me too…you’re absolutely lovely,” she replied, hugging him tighter. “You’re the man I’ve always dreamed of.” She broke the hug before looking into his icy blue eyes again. “Does this mean we’re together?” she asked, blushing and smiling.

Capa smiled back at her. “It does…is that okay with you?” He brushed some of her hair over her shoulder before caressing her face again.

“That is more than okay with me,” she answered. “So, what now?”

Capa blushed deeper as he smiled. “Come here…” He stood up from the table and held his hand out for her to take. She accepted his hand and stood up as he put his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his plush lips met hers again, kissing her with more intensity and urgency than he had before. She matched his passion as she returned his kiss, tangling her fingers in his long, dark, soft hair.

Noticing her need for him in her movements, Capa moved his kisses from her lips to her chin and jawline, then down along her neck and collarbone, immediately appreciating her reaction as she moaned quietly, tugging on his gray sleeveless shirt. She mused to herself about how effortlessly gorgeous he looked in it again, biting her lip at the thought, instantly reminded of all those nights she fantasized about taking it off of him. Lost in lustful longing, she struggled to get the words out.

“How did you know that I…maybe…we should probably…go somewhere else…” she whispered in between heavy breaths and soft whimpers. “Someone might wonder…what if someone wakes up and…” This is the first time he’d ever kissed her, and he already figured out one of the things that drives her crazy, knocking the air out of her lungs without trying to.

Capa chuckled slyly as he softly shushed her before he agreed. “A wild guess? But yeah…good call.” He gently pulled her with him towards his small bedroom. “We’ll deal with everyone else later. You’re all that matters to me right now.” He opened his door and let her in before shutting it behind him and locking the two of them inside. He looked at her with concern. “Are you okay with this? We don’t have to…you know…if you don’t want to…” His voice was low and seductive as he moved his hands under her shirt, tracing the curve of her spine and her shoulder blades with his fingers.

She spoke as he trailed off. “Yes, I want to…I want you. I’m sure about this. Are you?” she answered, looking back at him lovingly.

“As sure as I’m alive,” Capa answered, smiling back at her with just as much love. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life.” He kissed her some more before gently pushing her backwards onto his bed and positioned himself between her spread legs as he laid her down.

They spent the rest of the night making love to each other, over and over, drawing out every single moment to make it last as long as possible, and after at least a few hours, they wore each other out completely. Their first entanglement started out slow and sensual until their hunger for each other consumed them. They tried their absolute hardest to keep the noise to a minimum, but that became increasingly difficult for the both of them as their makeout heated up and clothes started to fall away.

Capa was gentle with her for their first time having sex, leaving no part of her untouched or unkissed, committing every inch of her skin to memory as if it was their last night alive. As far as he was aware, the woman underneath him was nothing short of a goddess. She gladly returned the favor, marveling at his incredible beauty. She was completely amazed at how he looked as if he was carved from stone, his whole body breathtakingly perfect to her. As far as they were concerned, it very well could have been their final night together. Neither of them were worried about that now, focusing solely on each other.

She was tight like a vice and sopping wet around him, and he stretched her so deliciously that he would whisper his praises in her ear, encouraging her. Capa made it a habit to cover her mouth as he took her, something she learned to absolutely lose her mind over. If he wasn’t covering her mouth as he brought her to climax, he would make sure to devour her with hot kisses as she contracted around him, bringing his orgasm forth soon after. As much as he would have loved for her to be as loud as she possibly could, Capa found it incredibly sexy and oddly endearing when she struggled to stay quiet under him, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as he poured himself into her.

She was able to rile Capa up in all the best ways possible as well, and he too had some difficulty trying to keep his voice down. One round turned into two, and then three…and on and on until both of them were sore and exhausted. Once they were able to catch their breath, Capa would make sure he didn’t wreck her too much, and if he did, he’d kiss it all away, and she would follow suit. “I love you” were three little words that neither of them could ever get sick of saying or hearing from the other.

After all of their daily tasks were taken care of for the day, every night on the Icarus II thereafter was spent in each other’s arms, whether in Capa’s bed or hers. On nights when they weren’t ravishing each other half to death with reckless abandon, she and Capa would lay in bed together and talk about whatever came to mind until they fell asleep tangled up in each other. She and Capa were able to keep their new relationship a secret for about a week maximum before the crew found out on their own. They were delighted to discover that none of the rest of the crew were surprised that they ended up together. There was initially some concern, but ultimately the crew accepted it and let it continue, because they knew that these moments the crew had together could be the last they have with anyone, so who cares if two of the crew members fell in love?

Mace ribbed Capa about his enthusiastic nightly activities with Y/L/N, and it was nice that he wasn’t fighting with him for once. It was hard for him to believe that Capa, the usually soft-spoken physicist, had that effect on Y/L/N. He even mentioned to Cassie that he has never seen Capa smile as much as he did now, and Cassie added that Y/L/N had a glow about her. For someone as quiet and reserved as Capa, Mace found it amusing that his new girlfriend could bring him out of his shell like that, and although he would never admit it, he was glad that it was Y/L/N.

Capa was bashful about discussing his relationship with Y/L/N to the others, shying away from the sexual aspect, but he had no issue praising her and giving her credit when it was due. It was obvious that he was absolutely head over heels for Y/L/N, and she blushed anytime the crew teased her or tried to get her to reveal any juicy details about their rendezvous behind closed cabin doors. They were in love, and it brought a new positive energy to the rest of the mission. Kaneda was thankful that everyone seemed to be getting along better and in good spirits, while Trey and Harvey were indifferent towards the two physicists becoming a couple, but thrilled for them nonetheless.

Searle, being a doctor, wasn’t really concerned with it, but was also excited for them. He pretended not to notice the love marks Capa bit into Y/L/N’s neck or the faint scratches she had left on Capa’s shoulders, and especially tried to ignore the way Y/L/N would squirm slightly when she sat down. Corazon, happily content that a relationship so strong could come from something so hellish, reminded everyone that they had a surplus of oxygen coming from the garden due to overgrowth. The crew would still have more than enough oxygen to go around, whether Capa and Y/L/N were “fucking like rabbits” or not, as Mace put it.

After a few weeks of calculations, trajectory adjustments, and protocols during the day and exploring each other and falling in love more and more at night, Capa led the rest of the crew to carry out the mission successfully. Capa made sure everything was done exactly to plan, and he didn’t do anything without his girl by his side, from the ignition of the bomb all the way through the terrifying trek back to Earth.

It didn’t matter how many times the crew had practiced and prepared for the descent back to solid ground, the airsickness still hit Y/L/N the hardest. It was the part of being an astronaut she hated the most, and she never quite got used to it. Capa was well aware of this having seen her go through it during their zero-gravity training, and he felt bad that it was hard on her. He was one of the lucky ones who could handle it well; the worst of it for him was a slight change in equilibrium that left him briefly lightheaded. But now he took care of her lovingly, holding her hair out of the way and rubbing her back as the nausea won the battle against her, never leaving her side until he knew she was okay.

She was embarrassed about it as it was happening, not wanting anyone to see her so violently ill, but was eventually able to joke about it once the sick, spinning feeling dissipated. All of that initial anxiety melted away knowing her boyfriend was right there beside her, making sure she felt well enough before taking care of any other necessary tasks. He reassured her that a lot of people are really sensitive to it, and that it’s nothing to be ashamed of. In an attempt to make light of the situation, Capa reminded her that the reduced-gravity aircraft they used during their weightlessness training was called the “Vomit Comet” for a reason.

As the Icarus II landed, the crew was met with a massive crowd of people cheering them on, congratulating them on their historic achievement, while also mourning the deaths of the previous Icarus crew. Once everyone was back to their normal selves, or as close to it as possible, Cassie, Mace, Corazon, Trey, Searle, Harvey, and Kaneda all went back to their homes in various places around the world.

Meanwhile, Capa and Y/L/N settled down somewhere in the halfway point between their hometowns, close enough to Capa’s sister and her kids in one direction, and Y/L/N’s family in the other. They had found themselves a nice house outside of the city, and the two built their own small planetarium in their backyard together. Their two-story home was modest but just enough for them; not too small, but not too big either. It was there that they stayed happily for the next couple of years.

______________________________________________________________

It was a warm April day, but to Capa, it wasn’t just any typical day. Today was special.

The solar eclipse was happening today. He hadn’t seen an eclipse on Earth in many years. He has seen a few eclipses from the vantage point of the Icarus II in space, but it’s been a long time since he’s experienced one from the ground, and it just so happened that the path of totality was going right over his house he shared with his girlfriend, Y/L/N.

Of course, being a physicist and an astronaut, he knew the date and time of when the Moon was supposed to pass in front of the Sun ahead of time -- months, maybe years in advance -- and he knew he wanted to experience it with the love of his life. Even more than that, he wanted to make the experience as beautiful and as romantic as he possibly could. It was because of the couple and the rest of the Icarus II crew that they were able to view such a remarkable thing from Earth after all.

While Y/L/N was away for a few hours finishing a few last-minute errands, Capa was busy in their backyard in the midday spring air, setting up a massive telescope and a camera. Next to his setup, he spread out a large blanket on the grass, and on it he set a bottle of wine and two glasses. As he was getting the angle of the telescope just right and setting the time lapse to the correct adjustments on the camera, he thought he heard Y/L/N’s car pull into their driveway. As she got out of the car, she looked around for him, but didn’t see him right away.

“Sweetheart, I’m home!” she called out. She waited a second before calling out for him again. “Robert? Honey?”

“I’m in the backyard, baby,” he called back to her. “I’ll be right there.” Capa walked over to her to help her carry the bags into the house. He helped her put the groceries away in the kitchen, and once everything had been taken in and put away, he pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her deeply, leaving her breathless. She kissed him back, returning his intensity as she held onto his shoulders. She wobbled a little, but Capa held onto her tight, not letting her fall. He gently broke the kiss, his arms still around her.

“Welcome home, sunshine,” Capa said, his eyes full of love. “I was getting nervous for a second there.”

A little dizzy from his kiss, she giggled before answering. “I’m sorry, sweetheart…traffic was backed up, but I made it.” She kissed him again as she hugged him. “How much time do we have until everything goes dark?”

Capa returned the kiss, gently running his hands up and down her back. “We have about half an hour or so before we can see anything happen.” He smiled at her as he played with her hair lovingly. “Might as well head outside so we don’t miss anything cool…what do you think, angel?”

She blushed as she leaned into his touch. “Sure, hun. Let’s go.” She took his hand as he led her outside to their backyard. He helped her sit down on the blanket he put out for them before sitting down next to her. Her eyes widened at the romantic scene he had created for the two of them, the telescope and the camera, as well as the bottle of wine and glasses, and the string lights he attached to the sides of their little planetarium.

He opened the bottle and poured the wine into a glass and handed it to her, before doing the same for himself. “Here you go, my love,” he said as he handed the glass to her.

She gently took the glass from him and smiled. “Thank you, sweetheart.” They tapped their glasses together before they each took a sip. “God, baby, this is really beautiful,” she said, her voice wavering slightly as she rested her head on his shoulder.

He kissed her forehead tenderly. “Not nearly as beautiful as you are,” he said as he smiled back, wrapping his arm around her. “I love you so much. Forever and always.” he said as he planted another small kiss on the top of her head.

“I love you too. So much. With my whole heart.” she replied, nuzzling up closer to him.

Capa leaned over to kiss her on the lips one more time. “Shouldn’t be too much longer…it’s getting kinda dark, and it’s quiet all of a sudden.” He moved slightly to look through the telescope lens. “We’re really close now, I think.” He pulled away and moved the lens towards her. “Here, look at this…it reminds me of all those eclipses you and I used to watch together on the ship, just smaller and farther away.”

She looked through the lens and smiled. “I’ll never get tired of looking at things like this,” she said as the sky started to dim. “It’s always so breathtaking to see.”

While she was distracted by looking at the interstellar image in the eyepiece of the telescope, he stood up and reached into his pocket to pull out an engagement ring with a sunstone gem encrusted in the center, and hid it inside his hand. The sky was getting darker still, and the Moon was almost completely covering the Sun.

“Y/F/N?” he asked as he stood in front of her.

She pulled away from the telescope, and Capa helped her to her feet with his free hand. “Yes, Robert?” she asked as the Moon moved closer to blocking the Sun. “What is it?” The sky turned pitch black except for the light coming from the Sun beginning to hide behind the Moon.

He swallowed as he chose his words carefully. “You mean the world to me, Y/F/N. You are my world. Being with you has made me the happiest man on Earth.” He slowly dropped down to one knee in front of her, causing her to gasp as he took her left hand in both of his. “I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life right here with you. Will you marry me?” he asked gently and lovingly as tears started to form in his eyes.

She trembled and started to cry tears of joy. “Oh my God…yes! Of course I’ll marry you!”

Tears started to fall down his cheeks as he slipped the ring onto her finger. He stood back up and took her into his arms and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back, his tears mixing with hers. Overhead, the Sun appeared as a white circle in the sky, while the string lights glimmered behind them in the darkness caused by the eclipse.

“I love you, sunshine. More than anything else in the universe.” Capa said as he gently wiped away the tears from her face. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. As they held each other, the sky began to brighten back up. He pulled away from the hug to kiss her deeply again. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart. So much. More than words can ever say.” she replied, kissing away his tears. “I can’t wait to be your wife.”

Capa blushed. “And I can’t wait to be your husband.” He kissed her back, holding her tightly in silence for a bit before speaking again. “So how was that? Pretty awesome, huh?”

She giggled and blushed. “Everything was amazing! Absolutely beautiful! I’m the luckiest woman on the planet to have you.” She kissed his cheek as she held him close.

Capa smiled and blushed as well. “Good, I’m glad. And I’m the luckiest man on the planet to have you, too.” He kissed her back with a little bit more passion than before. “I was thinking…”

She kissed him back, matching his intensity. “Oh? Thinking about what?” she asked, looking into his beautiful cobalt blue eyes.

“I was thinking that maybe we can go to bed early tonight…you know, to celebrate,” he said with an air of seduction in his voice. “And we don’t have anything going on tomorrow…” He kissed her again, this time biting her bottom lip softly and tugging on it with his teeth before letting it go, eliciting a small moan from her.

She kissed him back, feeling a wet warmth pool between her thighs as he ran his hands up and down her body. She moaned breathlessly before speaking. “Yeah? And how should we do that?”

Capa smiled wickedly as he began to kiss her jawline and collarbone before leaving a lingering kiss where her neck meets her shoulder. “Well, I could start there…”

She moaned a little louder. “My God…you know what happens when you do that…” she breathed as he continued to tease her.

Capa laughed slyly. “Believe me, I’m well aware of what happens, and I’ll never get sick of it. What do you say we go upstairs…” he trailed off before kissing her neck again, his teeth lightly scraping against her collarbone. “I’ve spent enough time exploring the sky when I’d much rather spend all night exploring my future wife,” he murmured, his lips against hers. “And every night after that.”

She swooned at his words, feeling weak at the knees in his arms. “Anything you say, baby,” she whispered. “I’m all yours. Forever.”

“Forever with you sounds pretty fantastic to me,” he said, full of desire for her. Wasting no time at all, Capa took her by the hand and led her into the house. “I’ll be right back, babe. I’ll meet you in the bedroom in a minute,” he said, his voice dripping with lustful need. She didn’t need him to tell her twice as she started up the stairs, but not before he playfully swatted her on the ass on her way up, making her giggle. He practically ran out to bring everything they had left outside into the house as fast as he could, shutting the door behind him with a soft slam when he came back in. He threw the blanket on a chair, leaned the telescope against the wall, set the camera down next to it, and brought the bottle of wine and the two glasses upstairs with him. He entered their bedroom and put everything in his hands on the nightstand.

Capa saw his now-fiancée sitting on the edge of their bed, eagerly waiting for him. “Took you long enough,” she teased him as she bit her lip looking at him. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever come back.” Her voice was sultry as she shifted on their mattress.

Blushing, Capa rolled his eyes in mock annoyance as he smiled, and teased her right back. “I was gone maybe two seconds max…you want me that bad already, huh?” She nodded as he took her into his arms again, kissing her deeply as he pulled her closer. Kneeling on the mattress in front of him as he stood at the edge of the bed, she returned his kisses as she lifted his shirt up and over his head before tossing it to the floor. “Good, because I need to have you right now,” he said, his excitement becoming nearly painful. Capa then started to undo the buttons of her shirt, fumbling with them slightly before giving in. He ripped it clear off of her shoulders, sending buttons flying in all directions, causing her to gasp and giggle in delight. He dragged her ruined shirt off of her shoulders and threw it behind him as he pulled one of the straps of her bra down to kiss her collarbone.

“You asked for it, love…I told you, you know what happens when you kiss me and bite me like that.” She kissed him again as she started to unbuckle his belt. “I think you know by now I can’t behave when you torture me.” She shot him a sexy wink before kissing him again. His breath caught in his throat as she tore his belt from around his hips and threw it to the floor to join his shirt.

“Torture, huh? Are you sure? Because something tells me you enjoy it. Quite a lot.” His voice had a sensual danger about it, and it thrilled her. He held her chin with his forefinger and thumb before dropping his voice to a velvety whisper. “And yes, I know exactly what happens. I want to see how much you can take. I also happen to know each and every thing that drives you wild.” He unhooked her bra with his free hand and took it off of her so slowly that she trembled. “See? Just like that.”

Thank you for reading! I hope you guys liked it, and if you did, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts and my requests are open! <3

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Historical Fiction Book Bracket: Round 1B

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

Endorsement from submitter: "Grumpy/Sunshine trope, forced proximity. Reporter falls for Baseball player. Had me wanting to watch Baseball and I don't do sports."

The 1960 baseball season is shaping up to be the worst year of Eddie O’Leary’s life. He can’t manage to hit the ball, his new teammates hate him, he’s living out of a suitcase, and he’s homesick. When the team’s owner orders him to give a bunch of interviews to some snobby reporter, he’s ready to call it quits. He can barely manage to behave himself for the length of a game, let alone an entire season. But he’s already on thin ice, so he has no choice but to agree. Mark Bailey is not a sports reporter. He writes for the arts page, and these days he’s barely even managing to do that much. He’s had a rough year and just wants to be left alone in his too-empty apartment, mourning a partner he’d never been able to be public about. The last thing he needs is to spend a season writing about New York’s obnoxious new shortstop in a stunt to get the struggling newspaper more readers. Isolated together within the crush of an anonymous city, these two lonely souls orbit each other as they slowly give in to the inevitable gravity of their attraction. But Mark has vowed that he’ll never be someone’s secret ever again, and Eddie can’t be out as a professional athlete. It’s just them against the world, and they’ll both have to decide if that’s enough.

Setting: 1960, NYC

Historical fiction, romance, sports romance, 1960s, adult

Patience & Esther: An Edwardian Romance by Sarah Winifred Searle

Endorsement from submitter: "A lovely graphic novel about two female servants falling in love, and the struggles they face to set up their own lives. (Happy ending)"

Patience is a kindhearted country girl, eking out a living in Edwardian England as tremors of social change rock the world around her. When she starts her employment in formal service on the grounds of an opulent country manor, she has no idea that her own personal revolution is about to begin.

Selfless, dutiful, and just a touch naive, she takes to both her place as a parlor maid and to her new roommate, the bookish and progressive lady’s maid, Esther. In another time, the two women would have kept one another’s company forever in their little attic bedroom, living out their days in the employ of a Lord. But it’s now the dawn of a new age. The expanding empire has brought with it not only plundered wealth, but worldliness and new ideas. Suffragists agitate in the street, idle-rich bohemians challenge sexual mores, and Patience and Esther slowly come to realize the world is wider and full of more adventure and opportunity than they ever imagined . . . so long as they find the will to seize it.

Sensual, sweet, and beautifully illustrated, PATIENCE & ESTHER is a steamy period romance and an inspirational erotic journey across the epic sweep of history, from the end of a gilded age to the start of an uncharted future.

Setting: Edwardian England

Graphic novel, historical fiction, romance, Edwardian, adult

[news-china-com-au]

超级无挡板篮球赛综述：恩韦克对决布鲁斯，巨人队亟需变革，本土球员仅剩一人

似乎无人提及Leesa Mi Mi是超级无挡板篮球联赛目前唯一的原住民球员 (AAP: Jono Searle) 超级无挡板篮球联赛赛程过半，我们用特别的方式庆祝这一节点。 刚刚过去的原住民主题周末引发巨大反响。这项安排在”全国和解周”前的赛事，旨在探讨原住民与非原住民如何在这项运动中携手共进。 榜首大战中，新南威尔士州Swifts队延续不败神话，以70-62战胜Sunshine Coast Lightning队，完成对全部七支球队的通杀。 West Coast Fever队75-66击败Giants队，Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard本赛季第四次荣膺单场最佳，并成为首位达成9000粒进球的射手。 Melbourne Vixens队70-52送给Queensland Firebirds队五连败，Adelaide…

[androdconstruction]

Spring Interior Renovation Ideas for a Brighter Bruce County Home

Spring in Bruce County is the perfect time to bring new life into your home. Interior renovations don't have to be overwhelming—just a few thoughtful changes can transform your home into a brighter, more welcoming place. Whether you're aiming for subtle updates or full-room transformations, here are smart, inspiring renovation ideas that celebrate the energy of spring.

1. Let the Light In

Spring is all about sunshine, and one of the best ways to embrace this season is by maximizing natural light throughout your home. With strategic lighting, you can make a cramped space feel open and airy or bring nature’s beauty into your home. Controlling light through window shades, windows, room colors, and more can create a luxurious, bright room (The Power of Natural Light in Interior Design, 2024). Swap out heavy curtains for light-filtering sheers or modern blinds that allow sunlight to brighten your space without sacrificing privacy. If you're considering a bigger renovation, installing larger windows—or even a bay window—can flood your rooms with light while giving you a better view of Bruce County’s beautiful landscape. Additionally, mirrors placed across from windows can reflect light and make smaller rooms feel more open. To further enhance brightness, consider painting walls and ceilings in light tones like white, cream, or soft pastel hues, which naturally reflect sunlight and add to an airy atmosphere.

2. Refresh with Paint

Nothing transforms a room faster than a fresh coat of paint. Spring is a great time to update colours and cover scuffs left from winter wear and tear. Paint instantly transforms a space and is one of the easiest DIY-friendly projects. Choose colours inspired by nature. Think sage green, soft sky blue, or sandy neutrals for a calming, seasonal feel. Using low-VOC or eco-friendly paints will help maintain indoor air quality as the weather warms. If you're looking to add personality without repainting entire rooms, consider creating an accent wall to serve as a subtle but eye-catching feature. Painting is a powerful tool in home renovation, offering a simple yet transformative way to update your living spaces. By choosing the right colors, finishes, and application techniques, you can create a beautiful, inviting home that reflects your personal style (Revitalize Your Space: The Power of Paint in Home Renovation, 2024).

3. Reimagine Your Entryway

Your entryway deserves attention in spring, especially as it often becomes a hub for boots, jackets, and outdoor gear. 'A home’s entryway sets the tone for the rest of the house and how a family starts and ends their day. It’s also the first and last impression guests have of your home. While sometimes overlooked, the entryway is actually one of the most important rooms when thinking through design,' says Kathleen Walsh, Principal of Kathleen Walsh Interiors (Searle, 2022). You can repaint or replace your front door in a cheerful colour that celebrates the season, then update lighting fixtures for a warm, inviting glow. Adding practical elements like wall hooks, storage benches, or open shelving helps organize clutter while enhancing the look of your home’s first impression.

4. Upgrade Flooring

Why is flooring such a powerful design element? Simply put, it's the foundation of your interior aesthetic. It dictates the flow of your rooms, sets the tone for your decor, and impacts the overall feeling of your home. Think of it as the canvas upon which your entire interior design masterpiece is painted (Spring into Style: Why Flooring Should Top Your Renovation List, 2025). Consider replacing old carpets with easy-to-clean options like hardwood, luxury vinyl plank, or laminate flooring in light wood tones to make rooms feel larger and cleaner. If you’re planning a more in-depth project, radiant heated floors are a wonderful addition to bathrooms or basements, offering comfort during Bruce County’s cooler months while adding long-term value to your home.

5. Revitalize Kitchens and Bathrooms

Kitchens and bathrooms are high-traffic zones that benefit from seasonal updates. They are also the ones that show the most wear and tear over time, as well as the changes in style and technology. Updating these spaces can make a big difference in how your home looks and feels (Ferrino, 2023). In the kitchen, you can refresh cabinets by painting them in lighter colours, replacing outdated hardware, or even adding open shelves to show off new dishware or greenery. A simple backsplash replacement using white or pastel tiles can breathe new life into the space. For bathrooms, updating the vanity or mirror, adding floating shelves, or upgrading to a spa-like showerhead can make a big difference. A few natural touches, such as wooden accents or soft lighting, can transform the bathroom into a spring-inspired retreat.

6. Bring Nature Indoors

Nothing says “spring” like greenery. Plants are often cited as one of the easiest ways to bring nature indoors. Potted plants, herbs, and fresh flowers instantly add a refreshing touch of nature, and plants that thrive in humid environments are perfect for bathrooms. And they don't just look great! Plants are known to reduce stress and anxiety, and they can reduce the amount of airborne pollutants, thereby also creating cleaner air inside your home (Bringing nature indoors, n.d.). Incorporate plants that are easy to care for, like pothos, snake plants, or peace lilies, to boost air quality and add a splash of green. Display them in decorative pots or hang them near windows for maximum visual impact. Seasonal bouquets or fresh flowers on dining tables and counters can brighten any room and help bridge the indoors with the beauty of Bruce County’s spring landscape.

7. Rethink Lighting and Fixtures

The importance of good home lighting cannot be understated. Good lighting can brighten up a room and make it feel more open, while bad lighting can make a space feel dark and unwelcoming. In addition to making a room feel more inviting, good lighting can also be functional. Proper lighting can help you see better when you do tasks around the house (Bruno, n.d.). Replacing dim or outdated bulbs with warm white LEDs instantly improves a room's mood and function. Consider updating light fixtures in areas such as the kitchen, bathroom, and hallway. If you’re looking to add flexibility, smart dimmers allow you to adjust brightness based on time of day or activity. Even under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen or accent lighting in shelving can make a space feel more vibrant and inviting.

8. Refresh Furniture and Decor

Finally, updating your furniture and decor is a simple way to bring a springtime refresh without major renovations. Lightweight, colourful throw pillows, breezy bedding, and fresh rugs in soft patterns can change the entire look of a space. Rearranging furniture to improve flow or take advantage of sunlight makes a room feel more open and lively. By making small updates to your furniture, accessories, and decor, you can breathe new life into your home without breaking the bank. Remember to regularly assess the condition of high-traffic areas or furnishings and replace or refresh pieces showing significant signs of wear. Whether you opt for versatile furniture, updated textiles, seasonal decor, or a reflection of your personal style, these small changes can make a big impact on creating a fresh look in your home (Pan, 2024).

Spring is a natural time for change, and even modest renovations can help your Bruce County home feel more comfortable, cheerful, and functional. Whether you're preparing for summer guests or simply shaking off winter’s chill, these ideas offer inspiration for a lighter, brighter interior that reflects the season’s fresh energy.

Need help with your renovations?

Connect with trusted local professionals to get your spring projects off the ground because a brighter home starts with a smart plan. Contact And-Rod Construction for Bruce County's home renovation. If a major renovation is more up your alley, we can help you. From time to time, a renovation is just a better idea to preserve a historical cottage or to update the style of a home or cottage with good bones. Send us a message!

Works Cited:

Bringing nature indoors. (n.d.). Tarkett. https://home.tarkett.com/en_EU/node/bringing-nature-indoors-design-tips-8841#:~:text=%E2%80%A2-,Natural%20materials,baskets%20make%20beautiful%20finishing%20touches.

Bruno. (n.d.). The Importance of Good Lighting in the Home: How Proper Lighting Can Transform Your Home. Inoleds. https://inoleds.com/the-importance-of-good-lighting-in-the-home-how-proper-lighting-can-transform-your-home/

Ferrino, I. (2023, October 11). Why Kitchen and Bathroom Renovations Matter. Brooklyn Tile & Design. https://www.brooklyntileanddesign.com/Social-Posts/Blog/why-kitchen-and-bathroom-renovations-matter

Pan, N. (2024, March 15). How Often Should You Update Your Furniture And Decor?. Ace Office Systems. https://aceofficesystems.com/blogs/news/how-often-should-you-update-your-furniture-and-decor

Revitalize Your Space: The Power of Paint in Home Renovation. (2024, August 28). Painters Today. https://painterstoday.biz/blogs/f/revitalize-your-space-the-power-of-paint-in-home-renovation

Searle, L. (2022, 29 June). Designing an Entryway – Expert Advice and Layout Tips. Homes & Gardens. https://www.homesandgardens.com/interior-design/designing-an-entryway

Spring into Style: Why Flooring Should Top Your Renovation List. (2025, April 07). Independent Floor Covering. https://www.independentfloor.com/blog/articles/spring-into-style-why-flooring-should-top-your-renovation-list

The Power of Natural Light in Interior Design. (2024, March). Shutter & Shade Shoppe. https://shuttershadeshoppe.com/blog/natural-light-in-interior-design/

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 5.9 (after 1950)

1950 – Robert Schuman presents the "Schuman Declaration", considered by some to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union. 1955 – Cold War: West Germany joins NATO. 1960 – The Food and Drug Administration announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making Enovid the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill. 1969 – Carlos Lamarca leads the first urban guerrilla action against the military dictatorship of Brazil in São Paulo, by robbing two banks. 1974 – Watergate scandal: The United States House Committee on the Judiciary opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon. 1979 – Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is executed by firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once 100,000-strong Jewish community of Iran. 1980 – In Florida, United States, Liberian freighter MV Summit Venture collides with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, making a 430-meter (1,400 ft) section of the southbound span collapse. Thirty-five people in six cars and a Greyhound bus fall 46 metres (150 ft) into the water and die. 1980 – In Norco, California, United States, five masked gunmen hold up a Security Pacific bank, leading to a violent shoot-out and one of the largest pursuits in California history. Two of the gunmen and one police officer are killed and thirty-three police and civilian vehicles are destroyed in the chase. 1987 – LOT Flight 5055 Tadeusz Kościuszko crashes after takeoff in Warsaw, Poland, killing all 183 people on board. 1988 – New Parliament House, Canberra officially opens. 1992 – Armenian forces capture Shusha, marking a major turning point in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. 1992 – Westray Mine disaster kills 26 workers in Nova Scotia, Canada. 2001 – In Ghana, 129 football fans die in what became known as the Accra Sports Stadium disaster. The deaths are caused by a stampede (caused by the firing of tear gas by police personnel at the stadium) that followed a controversial decision by the referee. 2002 – The 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem comes to an end when the Palestinians inside agree to have 13 suspected terrorists among them deported to several different countries. 2018 – The historic defeat for Barisan Nasional, the governing coalition of Malaysia since the country's independence in 1957 in 2018 Malaysian general election. 2020 – The COVID-19 recession causes the U.S. unemployment rate to hit 14.9 percent, its worst rate since the Great Depression. 2022 – Russo-Ukrainian War: United States President Joe Biden signs the 2022 Lend-Lease Act into law, a rebooted World War II-era policy expediting American equipment to Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. 2023 – The May 9 riots following the arrest of Imran Khan in Pakistan.

[r-capa]

this photo is so special to me <3

[hephs-thighs]

SUNSHINE - Official Character Backstories

@viiridians​ invited me on a quest to re-find the official Sunshine character backstories, which I finally did on this old archived production site.  I thought I’d also post them here for anyone who wants them!

CAPA PHYSICIST Nationality: American When Capa was seventeen, he wrote a paper which he submitted to America’s foremost scientific journals. It contributed to the understanding of dark matter, and in particular a theory for a controlled method releasing its energy. Although dark matter theory was already well advanced, Capa’s theory assisted in the formation of the principle on which the Stellar Bomb was constructed for the Icarus I mission. Capa was too young to have accompanied this first Icarus mission. But in the intervening years, Capa continued his research. By the time it was realised that the first mission had failed, and preparations for a second mission began, Capa was the world’s foremost expert on the dark matter bomb. Because Capa is the only member of the crew who is not, by history and training, an astronaut, he is an outsider. In this respect, much of the crew see him as effectively a piece of valuable equipment, which must be transported intact to the delivery point. Kaneda, however, feels differently towards Capa. He feels protective in a way which is partly paternal. He knows that it is hard for Capa being an outsider, a passenger, and goes out of his way to make Capa feel included. What Kaneda doesn’t fully realise is that Capa is by nature a loner. He is perfectly content with his own company, working in the dark interior of the Stellar Bomb. Searle does realise this - in fact, it is Capa’s self-contained quality that Searle likes. And Capa likes Searle equally. The two of them get on: they talk the same language, and have a similar sense of humour. Although they are both fundamentally loners, the relationship between them is actually the strongest bond in the crew. Capa is better than Kaneda at chess, and so he always lets Kaneda play white. Capa sometimes lets Kaneda win. Intellectually and internally, Capa is an atheist. CASSIE PILOT Nationality: American Cassie’s background is military - she entered the space program through her experience as a pilot in the US air-force. But she does not fit the stereotype of military personnel. She is non-competitive. She has no particular interest in, or attraction to, machismo. She doesn’t have an automatic deferential response to rank or duty. Cassie has a personal interest in the arts. She was the only crew member who packed books in her kit-bag as personal possessions. Both instinctively and academically, Cassie is a humanist. She likes people, she cares about people. Her sense of mankind is non-cynical and forgiving: she would believe that, in general and as a default position, people are good. Cassie is an atheist. She doesn’t believe in God because she sees no reason for God to exist. She is confident in herself. She is comfortable within her own skin. On the psychological profiles about who would cope best with the long-term deep-space mission, Cassie’s score was the highest. There were pilots in the space program who matched and exceeded her skill, but none that were seen as more suitable for the stresses and pressures of the mission. She has no primary partner, and, as with all the crew, she has no children. However, four months before the mission left Earth Orbit, Cassie became pregnant. The identity of the father was known only to her: he was never aware that Cassie was briefly carrying his child. She terminated the pregnancy after six weeks. The only member of the crew who knows this is Searle, who assisted her in hiding her blood test results from the other doctors in the space program. The termination of her pregnancy had a subtle effect on her outlook - a discreet emotional accent in her perception of life, and death. This nuance might have skewed her psychological profiling, had the most crucial psych-tests not already been carried out. She dreams continuously about the surface of the sun. CORAZON BIOLOGIST Nationality: Chinese Corazon was born in Manila, but her Chinese/Filipino parents moved to the Chinese mainland when she was a young girl. She worked in the Pan-Asian Space program, but, like Trey and Kaneda, was drafted into the US program to work on the Icarus project. Corazon is a career astronaut from the Chinese space program. Her area of specialised knowledge is the cultivation of high-yield oxygen-producing plants. For the last fifteen years, Corazon has been based on the international Moon stations, where she supervised the oxygen production and recycling program. Whereas everyone else on the crew see their mission as to secure the future of mankind, Corazon sees the protection of life in broader terms. Her wish would be to protect Earth as a single biosphere, of which mankind is just one part. Corazon’s feelings for her plants and the Oxygen Garden are more intense than her feelings for any of the crew. When xxxxspoilerxxx, Corazon is bereaved. In emotional terms, she feels the loss of xxxxspoilerxxx more deeply than the loss of xxxxspoilerxxxx. Out of all the crew, her natural ally is Mace. Although she is calmer and less hot-blooded than Mace, they are both pragmatists. They both work with their hands. And most importantly, they are not sentimental. This is most clear when it comes to xxxxspoilerxxxx. Corazon is the only crew member who has never used the calming properties of the Earth Room. For her, the Earth Room is simply artificial, and she prefers instead to spend solitary time in her beloved Oxygen Garden. Corazon is married, but like all the crew of Icarus II, she has no children. In her final recorded message to her husband, she spoke no words. Instead she gazed at the screen for exactly one minute, then smiled, and sent the message home. When Corazon sleeps, she dreams of rice-field terraces cut into hillsides. HARVEY COMMS OFFICER, SECOND IN COMMAND Nationality: American Harvey is a veteran of the US space program, and is one of the few members of the Icarus II crew to have had any involvement in the Icarus I mission. As a young graduate into the Icarus project, he worked as a junior engineer on the Icarus I comms system. Harvey is a Protestant. He is married to his childhood sweetheart. They are without children. He earned his place on the Icarus II mission partly as a result of his invention of the LIGHT BOX COMMS SYSTEM. Built into his console, when he immerses himself in this oddly thick beam of light, he can cancel out the noise of background interference from radiation storms and solar flares. It is this space he retreats to, of purity of sound, to escape from the stresses and pressures of the deep-space mission. Harvey earned his rank on the Icarus II mission partly by hard work and all-round abilities. He is a fine engineer, and would be able to perform most of Mace, Trey, and Cassie’s duties at an equal level. His physical fitness and general health is extremely good. He consistently scored highest in crew fitness tests. He also scored extremely highly on psych tests, as a dependable and stable member of the crew. However, in the psych tests, he managed to disguise (and they failed to detect) his Achilles heel… … which is his attachment to his wife. Simply, he misses her. He dreams of her every night. He is terrified by the idea that he will not survive the mission, and never see her again. It is this weakness that eats away inside him. KANEDA CAPTAIN Nationality: Japanese Kaneda was born in Kyoto. He worked for many years in the Pan-Asian Space Program, with both Corazon and Trey. He was then transferred to the Icarus Project, based first in America, and then on the orbiting international space station. In both age and time spent in space flight, he is the most experienced astronaut of the crew. He was a natural choice to lead the second mission. The entire crew of Icarus II are deferential to him. No one questions his authority or judgement. Kaneda has no wife and no children. He is Buddhist. He has an unforced and pragmatic spiritualism. In his sleeping quarters, he has a small shrine. Outwardly, Kaneda is a model of calm, and he leads by example. But privately, he obsesses about fate of Icarus I. He questions and re-questions the failure of the previous mission. Kaneda feels paternalistic towards all his crew, but in particular, Capa. This is partly because Capa is the youngest, but also because Capa is the only crew member who is not a career astronaut. He knows that it is hard for Capa being an outsider, a passenger, and goes out of his way to make Capa feel included. Kaneda’s closest intellectual equal is Searle. Searle is the only member of the crew with whom he would maintain a friendship outside the context of the mission. Searle and Kaneda are the only crew members of Icarus II to have xxxxspoilerxxxx personally. When he sleeps, Kaneda’s dreams are dominated by images of xxxxspoilerxxxx. MACE ENGINEER Nationality: American Mace is in some senses a blue-collar scientist: his specialist area is Engineering. He doesn’t understand the code programming that creates the Icarus Flight Computer - because no one does. The coding behind Icarus is so immensely complex that it required other computers to generate it. But what Mace does understand is the circuitry mapping and the mechanics that run it. His family background is military. He grew up on air-bases; both parents were pilots. He has an innate belief in the chain of command, and an innate distrust of those - such as Capa - who sit outside the chain of command. His mind is practical and three-dimensional, not abstract. He has never read a book for pleasure. He would rather spend spare time doing push-ups than listening to music. He cuts his hair short because life is easier that way. He is honest. He has no vanity, but he does have pride. Mace is disgusted with himself when he finds that, over the long journey to Mercury, he has lost his focus on the mission. The xxxxspoilerxxxx is his epiphany. He makes it a catalyst for his focus to return - and from that moment on, his focus on the mission is total. He is the only crew member whose vision remains unclouded in respect of this goal. He is unsentimental. He doesn’t like Capa, but he immediately xxxxspoilerxxxx, because he knows Capa is more central to the mission’s success. He is morally uncomplicated. If xxxxspoilerxxxx is what is required to complete the mission, he’ll support the action, and do the job himself. He has a dry sense of humour which is for his own benefit rather than anyone else’s. That is to say, he doesn’t crack a joke in order to make other people laugh. He is not a firebrand. If anything, he is the opposite. His mind is clear, and is not cluttered by the confusions of adrenaline or passion. Losing his temper with Capa is the exception; not the rule. He never remembers his own dreams. If he did, he’d find, to his surprise, that he often dreams of Cassie. SEARLE DOCTOR AND PSYCH OFFICER Nationality: American Searle is not married. Searle is the only crew member who did not have a counter-part on Icarus I. Icarus I had a doctor, but no psychiatrist. Endless theories were developed and explored for the failure of Icarus I. Searle was the primary advocate for the theory that the failure of the mission might have been for psychological reasons - the psychiatric collapse of one or all of the crew. He spent years researching the effects of deep-space travel and its effects on the mind - during which time he developed and created the Earth Room. As a consequence of his research, he argued strongly that the Med Officer on Icarus II should also be a qualified psychiatrist. It was an argument he won. Its unintended consequence was that Searle himself was chosen as the Psych Officer for the mission. His own psychological profile is of a man who is extremely emotionally stable. He is even-tempered. He has a good sense of humour. He is not given to panic or hasty decisions. However, he is also a man who is eternally separate from other people. He is detached. A watcher. Unjudgemental. Oddly unconcerned. This can make him appear (particularly to Mace) unprofessional. Searle is the only member of the crew to know that Cassie became pregnant, and aborted her child, during the final stages of the Icarus II preparation. He helped her hide this from continuous medical examinations, by using earlier samples of blood and urine tests. Searle’s motivations and his agendas are his own, and could best be described as philosophical. Ultimately, he believes only this: the larger the searchlight, the larger the circumference of the unknown. Searle does not believe in God. But he thinks that sometimes he glimpses God, hidden in the sunshine. Whether this tells himself something about God, or something about himself, is unclear to him. TREY NAVIGATOR Nationality: Chinese Trey was born in Hong Kong. Trey has a prodigious ability with mathematics. He has can perform extremely complicated calculations in his head, and can perform the classic mathematician’s party-trick: to tell you what day of the week any given date fell on. When he was only twelve, he achieved a brief world-wide notoriety as the writer of the Hong-Kong-King-Kong computer virus, which wiped out the operational abilities of twelve percent of the planet’s computers in a single day, freezing up the systems and replacing them with a picture of a gorilla beating its chest, swiped from the 1980s Nintendo Donkey Kong game. Although he was just old enough for criminal prosecution, he was spared any kind of juvenile prison sentence because he was talent-spotted by the Pan-Asian space program. He worked in China until he was nineteen. Then, like Corazon and Kaneda, he relocated to the US to work on the Icarus project. His extreme talent for mathematics is also the cause of his mistake on the mission. He is unwilling to give the role of recalculating the changed flight trajectory to Icarus, because he is afraid to delegate such an important task to anyone, or anything, else. This decision is not born from arrogance. It is simply the safest option from his point of view - he knows the limits of his own parameters, and feels more comfortable if all variables are known to him, and under his direct control. In fact, Trey is the opposite of arrogant. His breakdown is a consequence of his inability to blame anyone else for the mistake xxxxspoilerxxxx but himself - despite the fact that the decision to xxxxspoilerxxxx was not his own. His closest friend out of the crew is Mace. Trey is not married, has no partner, and no children. When he sleeps, he dreams of number sequences.

[imsupposedtobestudying-whoops]

Workin on something

[oh-my-damn]

(Un)Necessary Care

A/N: Second installment in my Mace-Verse. 

Masterlist for my Mace-Verse

Mace-verse Summary: Mace is the brooding, angry engineer onboard Icarus II. You’re the happy-go-lucky biologist, who just so happen to find him irresistible. Maybe it’s time you bring some sunshine into this broody engineer’s life. 

Pairing: James Mace x Female Reader

Word Count: 1730

Summary: When Mace gets hurt, you insist on taking him to the med-bay to get checked. In true grumpy fashion, he refuses until you force him, and it surprisingly makes him open up to you. 

Warnings: Mace being a moody little bitch who won’t accept help when he gets hurt. This part is inspired by the part in the film where he drops his tool in the freezing water and decides to reach for it with his hand (like a dummy). 

The beautiful divider is by @firefly-graphics​

Gif was made by yours truly

You’re working in the garden, checking O2 levels of the different plants as you walk through it. 

One week had passed since you got locked in the lab with Mace, and he had followed up on his proposition, sitting next to you at dinner that night, asking you all the questions he probably could about plants. 

It had been cute and endearing, the way he’d asked even the most basic questions, and you were fairly certain he already knew the answers to some of them, which made it even cuter. Because it meant he was asking just to have something to talk to you about. 

Ever since then, Mace had stayed fairly close. Sitting next to you at meals, talking to you whenever he was in close proximity, and it was new. It was a very big difference from the broody, angry man you had grown used to in the past six months. 

You were even starting to suspect that he was making up reasons to come see you in the lab. Never before had the cooling system needed so many check-ups as it suddenly did now. 

Which is in fact where Mace was right now. Checking on the cooling system. Again. 

You’re walking close by, sneaking glances at him whenever you can, as you check the O2 productivity of the Garden. 

Once in a while you can feel his gaze on you, and you want to turn and look, but you also don’t want to alert him to the fact that you are hyper aware of him. As you always have been. 

You’re studying a particular plant closely, noticing a difference in color that is slightly concerning to you, when you hear a loud yell. 

“Shit!” Mace hisses, followed by the sound of splashing water. You look towards him immediately, turning your head so quickly it almost makes you dizzy. 

When you spot him, he’s sitting by the large container, the one that holds freezing water inside. He’s hunched over, clutching his hand with a tight grimace on his face. 

“Mace?” You ask, putting your tablet down as you rush over, “Mace, what happened?” 

Once you’re close enough, you reach out for his hand but he recoils, gritting his teeth as he speaks, “Don’t! No, don’t touch me, it could hurt you.” 

You look at his hand, soaked in the ice cold water, and watch as he tries to flex his fingers. 

He cries out in pain and it makes your heart ache. You widen your eyes, feeling as your heartbeat picks up, a worry running through you, rattling your bones. 

“Come on,” you say, gently, to try and coax him, “We need to get you to the med bay.” 

“I’m fine,” he grumbles, his face scrunched up as he continues grimacing, hissing whenever he tries to move his fingers. 

“You’re not fine,” you say, glancing from his hand to his face, “You’re in pain. We should get Searle to look at it.” 

“I’m fine!” He exclaims, groaning a little as he closes and opens his hand, “See? It’s fine..” 

Your eyes narrow as you look at him, and you cross your arms over your chest as you sternly say, “Mace, we are going to the med bay. Right now.” 

He looks up at you, eyes wide and slightly confused at your stern tone, but when you don’t relent he eventually sighs and grumbles out a quiet, “Fine..” 

You’re sitting in the med bay on a chair, a little away from where Mace is sitting on one of the medical beds as Searle tends to his hand. 

“It should be okay,” Searle says, checking it over, “I used some of the heating liquid on it and you should have full movement back in a couple of hours.” 

“I know,” Mace says, looking at you pointedly, “It usually goes away on its own.” 

You scoff, rolling your eyes as you look from Mace to Searle, “Please tell him that it was a good idea to come see you because he clearly doesn’t believe so.” 

Searle chuckles, looking from you to Mace as he says, “It was a good idea to come see me.” 

This time, Mace is the one who scoffs, and he moves his wrist in circles a few times before standing up as he mumbles, “I told her I didn’t need medical attention..” 

“No, but you got it, so stop being such a grump and say thank you,” you say sternly, narrowing your eyes at him. 

He meets your gaze, matching your expression, and for the next few seconds all you do is just stare at each other like that. 

You stay like that until Searle chuckles again, putting back his medical supplies where they belong as he says, “Mace, if I’ve learned one thing in life, it’s that, when a woman wants to take care of you, you let her. Otherwise you’ll be in for a world of trouble.” 

Mace doesn’t look at him, he keeps his gaze on you, and you quirk a brow, challenging him to speak. 

His eyes narrow a little more, and you can tell he’s considering saying something, but then he ultimately gives up with a sigh, breaking eye contact. 

“Fine,” he mumbles, wiggling his fingers a little, “I guess it did help. So thank you.” 

“I don’t think I’m the one you should be thanking,” Searle says with a smile, “Just be glad that she cares about you enough to want to keep you alive.” 

You and Mace walk back towards the living quarters side by side and tension fills the air as both of you stay silent. 

After a moment, Mace quietly says, “So, you care about me, huh?” 

You roll your eyes, focusing on the walk back instead of looking at him as you mumble, “Guess so. But apparently it’s a waste of time..” 

That makes him stop in his tracks, his hand taking your arm to gently turn you towards him, “It’s not. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have acted like that.”

You scan his face for a moment, and when all you see is an apologetic smile, your features soften from the stern expression you’ve been wearing since he refused medical care, “It’s alright. I guess I should have seen it coming, I mean, you’re not exactly fond of people taking care of you.” 

Mace snorts, nodding at you as you both start walking again, “Yeah, guess you have a point there. I’m just not used to it, you know?” 

“No one ever took care of you?” You ask casually. 

When he doesn’t reply, you glance at him, and you can see a sadness etched across his face. You immediately regret your words, quickly realizing that you’ve over stepped. 

“I’m sorry,” you backtrack, “I didn’t mean to snoop, I just-”

“It’s okay,” he interjects, glancing at you with a strained smile, “It’s just.. a long story.” 

You nod, your eyes glancing down to focus on your feet as you walk side by side in silence. 

After a moment, he speaks again, quieter this time, “I was the oldest. So I was always the one to take care of my siblings.” 

“What about your parents?” 

Mace shrugs, his movement a little stiff which shows he’s clearly uncomfortable, “They weren’t bad parents, they just weren’t around much. We were a military family, my father was in the army and my mother was a scientist. We moved around a lot, never really settled anywhere..” 

He trails off and it makes you look at him, scanning his face. The expression on it is solemn, sad even. 

Your heart aches at the pain scribbled across his face. 

“Do you miss them?” You ask quietly, looking back ahead of you to not make him any more uncomfortable than he already is. 

“Every day,” He answers, his voice as quiet as your own, “That’s why I’m doing this. To make sure my sisters have a chance at a proper life. Have a chance at a family, to have kids without having to worry about the world ending.” 

You nod, wrapping your arms around yourself unconsciously as his words sink in. 

He’s doing this for them, not for himself. 

“That’s beautiful, Mace,” you whisper, not daring to look at him, “What you’re doing is beautiful. It shows how much you love them.” 

He looks at you but you don’t see the expression on his face, keeping your eyes downcast as you walk down the hall. 

You don’t see the gentle smile on his lips or the adoring look on his face. 

“I do love them,” he replies, his eyes darting away after he’s been looking at you for a moment too long, “They’re the most important people in my life.” 

“No girlfriend?” You ask, your tone amused as a small smile plays on your lips. 

He chuckles, shaking his head, “No, having a girlfriend doesn’t really work when you’re planning on leaving earth for four years.” 

You giggle, “You’ve got a point. I’m going to tell myself that’s the reason I don’t have a significant other waiting for me to come home, either.”

“What other reason would there be?”

You glance at him, catching him as he looks at you with a soft smile on his lips. 

You blush slightly, darting your eyes away from his as you shrug and joke, “Well, you know. Being a biologist isn’t exactly the sexiest profession.” 

Mace chuckles as he says, “No? I think it’s very sexy.” 

Your eyes widen as your cheeks immediately heat up, quickly looking at him as a surprised chirp leave your lips. 

He stops walking, and so do you, and then he laughs softly when he notices your embarrassed expression, “I’m sorry, was that inappropriate?” 

You take a breath before a giggle spills past your lips, shaking your head, “No.. Well, maybe a little, but I’ll let it slide.” 

That makes him laugh again, and as you reach the living quarters he says, “Thanks, I appreciate it. And thank you for taking care of me. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

He smiles softly as he says goodnight, and then he walks down the hall towards his room. 

You stay put for a moment, watching as he leaves, and you feel an unfamiliar tingling in your stomach, feeling oddly like something is tumbling around inside. 

You shake your head at the thought. 

It’s probably just something you ate. 

Probably. 

Next part: Crashing Waves

[randomvarious]

Today’s mix:

Breakdown: The Very Best of Euphoric Dance by Dave Turner 2001 Trance / Progressive Trance / Euphoric Trance / Progressive House

You know what was super weird about this whole UK series that was originally started by Telstar TV in '99? Almost every installment had the same exact name. There was no volume number or year appended at the end to help differentiate between each release; up until the summer of 2008, every album was just called The Very Best of Euphoric Dance Breakdown. Why??? Eight albums in the series had the same title! So unnecessary!

Whatever. This edition from 2001 is pretty good. The mixing's not great, but this wasn't really supposed to showcase the mixing skills of Dave Turner anyway, who is more known for being an engineer in the first place. This double-disc just cuts to the chase to give you the goods and it does a pretty nice job of supplying a steady stream of euphoric dance music that came out between the mid-90s and early aughts, although I would argue that not all of it sounds that euphoric.

The two sets are mostly trance, but the first third or so of disc 2 wavers from that entirely and goes in more of a progressive house direction with songs that have acidically fuzzy and annoyingly simple big room melodies, like "Kernkraft 400," and because of that detour from the rest of the program, disc 1 is far superior. And guess what? I only have a link for the first disc anyway! Enjoy!

Listen to CD1 here.

Highlights:

CD1:

Faithless - "Drifting Away (Paradiso mix)" Lustral - "Everytime (Mike Koglin remix)" Rui da Silva - "Touch Me (original 12" mix)" Aurora feat. Naimee Coleman -" Ordinary World" Chicane - "Saltwater (The Thrillseekers remix)" Moby - "Natural Blues (Katcha remix)" Marc et Claude - "I Need Your Lovin' (Like the Sunshine) (Dark Moon vocal remix)" Delerium feat. Sarah McLachlan - "Silence (Airscape remix)" Joshua Ryan - "Pistolwhip (original mix)" Element Four - "Big Brother Theme" Afterburn - "Northpole" Liquid - "Orlando Dawn (Space Brothers mix)" Sash! - "Stay (original 12" mix)" Hurley & Todd - "Flyaway (extended mix)" Planet Perfecto - "Bullet in the Gun 2000 (Rob Searle remix)" Sasha & Emerson - "Scorchio (full length version)" Azzido da Bass - "Dooms Night Remix (Timo Maas remix)" Fatboy Slim - "Sunset (Bird of Prey)"

CD2:

Modjo - "Lady (Hear Me Tonight) (original mix)" Santos - "Camels (original mix)" Darude - "Feel the Beat (original mix)" Alice DeeJay - "The Lonely One (XXL)" Ascension - "For a Life Time" Emmie - "I Thought It Was You (Lucid club mix)" Xstasia - "Sweetness (Michael Woods remix)" Lost Tribe - "Gamemaster (Signum remix)" Plasma feat. Berri - "Do U Believe (Angelic remix)" Faithless - "God Is a DJ" Universal State of Mind - "All Because of You (original mix)"

[ragesharkbritain]

im finally watching sunshine (2007) to take my mind off things and i Really vibe w/searle. i, too, would like to stare directly into a stellar body and die keeping that divine experience my sexy sexy secret

[teatotally]

New Yuletide fic for Sunshine (2007)

The Sun Was the First Star We Knew (12720 words) by gwyneth rhys Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Sunshine (2007) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Robert Capa/Mace Characters: Mace (Sunshine), Robert Capa, Kaneda (Sunshine), Corazon (Sunshine), Searle (Sunshine), Cassie (Sunshine), Harvey (Sunshine), Trey (Sunshine) Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everybody Lives, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Always Listen to Captain America, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Survivor Guilt, Touch-Starved

Summary: Capa was only five years older than him, but Mace felt like some middle-school dipshit who’d been suddenly, inexplicably befriended by the star high school quarterback.

OMG, I also wrote a whole crazy long meta post about the process of developing this story.