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dearophelia · 3 years

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turn on your favorite nightlight

long live :: nine of wands :: turn on your favorite nightlight

Hannah partakes in that gold match from combat, i’m ready for combat. It goes about as well as you can expect.

It’s three weeks before Liv’s back on the Citadel and schedules line up for their gold match. Hannah’s spent most of those three weeks pointedly not talking about it to Zaeed, but spending a little extra time at the shooting range. If he notices (and there’s no way he doesn’t), he doesn’t say anything.

After a warmup bronze match against geth that earns Hannah her first kill medal, Hannah watches the three of them load up on gear in a way they haven’t yet. They’ll be on gold, but given how they’re gearing up for this (and that Olivia programs a missile launcher for each of them), Hannah thinks she could’ve gone her entire life without knowing her daughter soloed something called platinum. More than once.

Liv hands her a handful of mod chits to plug into her gear slots on the match configuration board. The board beeps and displays the mod name as it registers each. A pistol amp, armor-piercing rounds, shield power cells, and a shield booster, all maxed out at level five. Hannah swallows.

“Map preference?” Garrus says, flipping through the choices. “Giant, Rio –”

“Fuck Rio,” Zaeed and Olivia say at the same time. Hannah wonders what the story is there.

“– Giant, Vancouver, Goddess, Hydra, or Dagger?”

Olivia checks the sights on her shotgun. “I’m too short for Dagger. And, you know,” she says as she slams her locker shut, “maybe not Goddess.”

There’s a twinge of pain in Olivia’s voice. Earth’s never been home for Olivia, but Thessia was for a while. Probably still is.

Garrus nods. “Any objection to Hydra?” Hearing none, he selects the map, sets the enemy, and challenge.

The board flashes HYDRA – REAPERS – GOLD and then begins a countdown.

Ten seconds to back out.

“Breathe,” Hannah says to herself.

***

A barrage of grenades explodes at the other end of the map and it’s a lot of effort not to sit down in a corner, cry, and just let something kill her.

Gold is loud. Gold is chaos. Gold has too many enemies coming from too many directions at once. Gold is overwhelming. She’s gone down four times and hit a grand total of zero targets.

It’s wave three. Of eleven. And this is what her daughter deals with every time she jumps out of a shuttle. Crying seems like a really good idea.

It doesn’t help that she’s been split off from the others. She’s hiding at the very corner of the map under a ladder, hoping nothing notices her.

The others aren’t together either, but they know what they’re doing. Their comm chatter has been heavier this match – amidst calling out shots and swearing, there’s still an astonishing amount of banter – and none of them are as scared as she is.

Which makes sense: they’ve all been doing this a long time and they did it together for a year and a half. But it doesn’t make her feel better.

Something slides down the ladder and lands in a crouch next to her. Hannah startles and whips around so fast she loses her balance. She comes face to face with Olivia.

Liv peers out of cover long enough to scan the immediate area. Finding nothing worrisome, she taps her comms. “Massani, Vakarian, keep the shit off us,” she orders. “We’re in the back corner by the dam. Back in a minute.” She switches her comms to silent and then reaches out, tapping the same control on Hannah’s gear.

“Liv,” Hannah starts, but she doesn’t know what comes after. She wants to be brave for her daughter, but she’s fucking terrified.

“Mom,” Olivia says, as steady and collected as Hannah’s ever heard her. “Number one, none of this is real. Remember that. Safety protocols are locked on and there is no such thing as friendly fire. You cannot get hurt.”

Hannah nods. Olivia’s voice is calm and comforting, soothing amidst the gunfire and fighting.

“Number two, we’ve got you. Zaeed, Garrus, and I. We know how to do this. We will get you through this.”

It’s the nightmare voice.

Hannah used this exact tone with Olivia and Mark when they were small and had a scary dream. She doesn’t know how she feels about Liv using that same voice back onto her, but that’s a problem for later. Right now, the nightmare voice is exactly what she needs to hear.

“Good air in, bad air out,” Olivia says.

An uncomfortable mechanical noise whirs nearby. Liv pops up, scopes in on the marauder, and blows its head off.

A little medal appears in the corner of Hannah’s HUD: Olivia Shepard – 15 Headshots.

“Mom,” she says, drawing Hannah’s attention again. “Good air in. Bad air out.”

It’s an order.

Even if she could argue, Hannah wouldn’t. Not with that tone to Liv’s voice. Hannah takes a deep breath.

“Do you need to stop?” Olivia asks, brow furrowed deeply in concern.

Yes.

“No,” she says firmly. “I want – I need to finish this. And then drink. Heavily.” This is her daughter’s life. All this fighting, all these horrors, and Hannah can’t do a goddamn thing to protect her from it.

A brute goes down on the walkway above them (Garrus Vakarian – 25 kills) and the metal structure shakes, grating and shrieking against itself.

“Well, Zaeed lost the headshot bet in the warmup, so drinks are on him tonight.” Liv’s smile drops and she throws two grenades at an influx of cannibals in the courtyard before they can get any ideas. “I’m right here. And I’m staying right here. If you want to park it next to me in cover for the rest of this, that’s alright. I’ve got you.”

They’re in armor in a combat simulator on the Citadel, not barefoot in a chilly cornfield on Mindoir, but for a moment – it’s suddenly eighteen years ago. Only this time, Olivia’s saying Hannah’s words.

“I’m right here,” she whispered, holding her daughter close as withered corn stalks rustled in the wind. “I’ve got you.”

Hannah exhales. Bad air out.

“Okay?”

“Okay,” Hannah nods.

There’s that smile again, reassuring and solid. Olivia gently clasps her shoulder. “Good hunting.”

Hannah offers a half-hearted smile in return. She swallows. “Good hunting.”

#s:long live #s:words #livfic #s:2021

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swaps55 · 3 years

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Cantata

Pairing: mShenko | Rating: M

Sam Shepard and Kaidan Alenko, in the years before the Normandy. AKA, the slowest of slow burns.

Summary: What’s it like to fight side by side with the Butcher of Tofan? This. It’s like this.

Combat ahead. Violence, blood, and injury ensues.

Welcome to the Fire (Ao3)

If the batarians don’t kill Shepard, Kaidan will.

The mission should have been routine. Check in with the local Alliance outfit on Mindoir before doing some recon outside the settlement. With Torfan in the rearview and Mindoir finally on its feet, the Alliance wanted to do a little flag waving, in case the batarians had retribution in mind.

Two days and a few shittastic decisions later, Kaidan crouches behind an abandoned mining excavator deep in a bunker, pistol in hand, while Shepard kneels in the center of the room surrounded by a dozen pirates, each with a gun pointed right at his head.

His helmetless head.

Of course they took his helmet. It was the second thing Kaidan had argued they’d do when Shepard hatched this batshit plan. The first was take his gun. Kaidan was right on both counts.

Shepard’s outnumbered, off the grid, and has no firepower save the eezo nodes under his skin, assuming this bunch wasn’t smart enough to notice or remove his amp.

They’re fucked.

The only break they’ve caught is that Shepard’s captors apparently have enough confidence in the guards stationed at the entrance that they weren’t watching the tunnel when Kaidan and the marine squad eased quietly into the chamber.

Wong edges along the perimeter and sets up camp on the other side of the poorly-lit cavern, assault rifle gripped in both hands.

“Wong,” Kaidan murmurs into the comm. “Switch to your pistol. You start spraying bullets while his head’s exposed and he’s just as likely to go down to friendly fire.”

Wong’s shaky breath carries over the comm line, but he racks the rifle and draws his sidearm.

Beaudoin settles in on the opposite flank, quick and silent, drawing the sniper rifle off his back. At this range, it shouldn’t matter he doesn’t have Aslany’s skill as a marksman.

“Aslany,” Kaidan says. “Still clear out there?”

“Yes, sir,” comes the clipped reply. “Anything moves and I’m dustin’ it. No one’s comin’ in after you if I have anything to say about it.”

“Copy that.”

Kaidan signals to Pendergrass, who settles into place behind a supply crate a meter away, still wearing smears of blood from the guards. She digs in her satchel of ECM grenades and palms one. Her respiration and heart rate read high, but Kaidan chalks it up to adrenaline.

This isn’t exactly how he’d hoped Pendergrass’s first ground mission would go, but after the mess with the guards he’s pretty sure she’ll do just fine. Wong’s the one he worries about. His heart rate is closing in on 125 sitting still.

They’ve got one prayer to alert Shepard his team is in place, and it all depends on how close Kaidan can get without attracting attention.

Shepard may not be able to hear him, but if Kaidan can get close enough, he’ll feel him through the gravity well.

If Kaidan’s seen, Shepard’s dead. If he’s not, and they somehow make it out of here, he’ll still be dead. It just won’t be from Wong’s friendly fire.

Kaidan is going to kill him.

Read from the beginning | Read the rest on Ao3 | The Cantata Playlist

#mshenko #kaidan alenko #mass effect #cantata update #all these words i've written for sam #and yet no one has seen him in combat yet #FIXED THAT #this is why i call him #'shoot it again sam' shepard

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name-me-regret · 3 years

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If The World Was Ending 15/?

If The World Was Ending Chapter Fifteen: A Reason To Live

- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

“When I die, I wanna die with my Chucks on Pair of jeans and a shirt with MJ on I’m gonna die, yes, but I'ma live in style Time is golden don’t you waste a second Make the most of everything you’re getting Cause you’re gonna die too, so best you live in style

All I know Is I’m not giving up I’m gonna go Until my time is up…

When I wake up I'ma look in the mirror Take a look and see my vision clearer Oh I’m gonna give, my everything Went to church the other, Sunday morning Preacher told me ‘Put an end to the moaning Cause you’ve got a reason, a reason to live’...”

~Chucks - Mi Casa, Younotus

- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

The man had literally an endless supply of ammo it seemed, since they had to continue to avoid being shot at from the grenade launcher, and he was still too close to the residential areas that Rhodes didn’t want to use his heavy artillery. Also, the police that had been following the assassin were too close. So, he stuck to repulsor blasts, but when they did manage to connect, didn’t seem to harm him that much besides some first or second degree burns. That wasn’t enough to take down the man that was clearly enhanced in some way, judging by the way he’d picked up his motorcycle and threw it at Buck with ease. The man wasn’t fast enough as he was slammed by the 400 pound vehicle, flying back as he tumbled across the ground. Thankfully, there wasn’t anyone or anything around.

“That’s it, I’m putting him down,” Rhodes growls. Buck lifts his head and sees the man’s suit shift as a missile comes out of his shoulder as well as his mini-gun.

Buck wants to stop him, because he didn’t want him to kill anyone regardless if the other was trying to kill them. Before he could, Rhodes is unleashing the missile and then the mini-gun when the assassin dodges the projectile. As he was dodging the bullets, Buck saw his opportunity and stood, flew to where the motorcycle was at. He took hold of a flash grenade JARVIS provided that was apparently part of the armor’s arsenal. He attaches it to the motorcycle and then was amazed as he was able to lift it, and started to swing it around and then let it go in the man’s general direction.

As expected, he was able to dodge, but he wasn’t expecting the flash grenade which exploded close enough to knock him off his feet. This wasn’t the movies so the motorcycle didn’t explode, but the one of handle bars did rip the rest of the way off after the second throw though. Buck is already in the air moments after he throws the motorcycle, so he arrives as the Winter Soldier is starting to get up and kicks him across the face. It knocks the mask off his face, as well as quite a bit of blood from his mouth. Buck winces, but knows he doesn’t have a choice. War Machine is on them in the next moment, knocking into the man with all the strength of a battering ram as he had tries to stand a second time.

“Hold him down!” Buck quickly jumps forward and helps Rhodes, who forces the still struggling man onto his stomach. Rhodes puts a pair of heavy duty handcuffs on him, but it extended from the wrist all the way to his forearm. Their newly secured prisoner struggles but isn’t able to break out of them. “Good luck breaking out of that, buddy. It’s Starkanium.” He pulls his fist back and punches the man in the back of the head, finishing in knocking him out before he looks at Buck. His faceplate lifted as he gives him a grin. “Good work, Evan.”

Buck is breathing heavily, from exertion and the adrenaline coursing through him. His own face plate lifts and he grins back at the other, since that was the single most craziest thing he’d ever done. It was also the first time in a long time he’s worked with someone and felt trusted. “Thanks!” He swallows as he tries to regain his breathing back to normal. “And it’s Buck, by the way. No one calls me Evan anymore.”

Rhodes laughs and claps him on his armored shoulder. “Sure thing, Buck.”

- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Bobby was very concerned, because Athena had called him a few minutes ago but she couldn’t really get out much from in between her sobs. So, a heavy feeling was quickly building in his chest and choking him; a feeling he was very familiar with. It was the same feeling from when he’d lost Marcy, Robert Jr., and Brooke. So, as soon as he managed to find a parking space —that may or may not end up with him getting towed— he’d jumped out and started to make his way toward the medical center. Before long he was jogging, and then running as that feeling started to build.

Finally, he sees his wife and there were tears running down her beautiful face, and slows to a stop as he reaches her. “What? What’s happened?” Bobby demands, wrapping his arms around her to try and offer some kind of comfort to the woman he loved. It was just, he was too freaked out to properly do so.

“Buck... his...” she tries to get out, thus further confusing Bobby. It was then she pulls away and hands him something that his heart dropping down through his stomach, because he recognizes it. He was holding the charred remains of Buck’s license plate.

Bobby suddenly realizes with a horrifying clarity that he had just lost another son.

- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Eddie zipped up the hoodie over his sweaty, battered body with a wince, since he had taken more body hits in order to not get punched in the face. It would be harder to explain away a black eye than hide a bruise to his stomach. And not for the first time, he wondered if he was making a big mistake, and then remembered the winnings that were burning a hole in his pocket and all he could do with it.

Originally, he had gone to the street fights to release his anger and forget about things that he didn’t want to think about. He didn’t want to think of Shannon and how she had left him twice, once by choice and the other unwillingly, and that she would have left him willingly anyways if she hadn’t died. And how pathetic that he was angry at a dead woman, even months after her death.

Then there was almost losing his son in the tsunami, and the one that had almost killed himself searching for him; and found him in the end. Buck. He was the one he didn’t want to think of the most, and the look on his face the last time they’d seen each other and Eddie had spewed hurtful words that weren’t true. And Eddie had never felt more like his father than in that moment, and he wished he could push the words back into his mouth so they could have never caused such a look on Buck’s face.

He was just angry, angrier because he couldn’t see him. Mostly at himself, because if he was being truthful, he had preached about all of them having problems and needing to suck it up, and when he had examined his words he realized he’d sounded like his father. His old man had always drilled into his head that he couldn’t whine about his problems, that he had to be a man.

‘No puedes llorar o te verás como un maricón. Aguántate como un hombre.’

You can’t cry or you’ll look like a faggot. Hold it in like a man.

It was those lessons that always reared their ugly head whenever he tried to deal with his own emotions. He knew it was because of this, the machismo taught to him by his father that his marriage with Shannon had failed. Also, because he hadn’t been there to help her when she needed him. That was also tied with it though, because a man’s job was to provide for the family and the woman to raise the children. It was wrong, of course, but it’s what he’d been taught growing up, and he had let it control him for so long.

Now, he was making the same mistakes all over again with Buck, even if he knew that their relationship wasn’t that of a couple. It wasn’t to say that he was adverse to the idea of them together, but he knew that Buck and Tony were together, and that was one of the reasons he had lashed out. That as well as that sleazy lawyer bringing up Shannon and reminding him all over again where he had failed.

As he got into his new truck, having made enough money to make a sizable down payment on it, Eddie turned on the A/C. His phone started to ring as he pulled out of the parking lot of the run down factory, and frowned when he saw that it was Bobby. He was wondering what he needed and hoped he didn’t need him to come in for an extra shift, since he wasn’t exactly in a position to do so. Besides, he had seen the man earlier at the end of their shift. The grocery run had been the last thing they did before they were finished, having to extend it because of the road rage incident in the parking lot.

“Hey, Bobby,” he greeted as his phone connected to his truck’s bluetooth. That’s another thing he loved about the truck, since he could answer his phone and not have to worry about taking his eyes off the road. “What’s up?”

‘Eddie,’ came the man’s choked voice, making Eddie immediately snap to attention. Something was wrong.

“What’s wrong?” His heart was already beating wildly in his chest, fingers gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were turning white.

‘It’s Buck.’

Eddie felt his heart jump up into his throat and images of the truck bombing, the pulmonary embolism, and the tsunami coming to him so abruptly that he had to pull over before he has an accident. “What happened? Is he alright?” It didn’t even matter that he was mad at him at the moment, because in the end, Buck was Eddie’s best friend and would come running if he needed him.

‘He... his Jeep... you should come to Kaiser Medical Center on Sunset Blvd,’ he finally said, clearly unable to finish what he had wanted to say.

Eddie immediately swiped up on his screen to get his phone to the main menu and brought up his map amp as he found the complete address on there. “I’m on my way,” he told him before ending the call. Then he pulled away from the curve, hearing as someone blared their horn behind him as they had to stop when he pulled into traffic so suddenly. Eddie didn’t pay them any mind and floored the gas pedal, the feeling of dread building more and more the longer it took to get to where he needed to go.

When he was unable to get through due to emergency vehicles, he felt his heart stop in dread. “Buck,” he whispered, before he’s out of his truck and running toward the scene. When he gets to the police line, he can’t see much besides the red lights and black smoke of something manmade on fire, like a building... or a vehicle.

Eddie is suddenly under the police line before he knows what he’s doing as Bobby’s words echo in his ears. ‘It’s Buck. He... his Jeep...’ And also the last thing he said to him in that grocery store. The words that he didn’t mean, but had said them anyways.

‘Because you’re exhausting! We all have our own problems, but you don’t see us whining about it. No, somehow, we just manage to suck it up. Why can’t you?’ And Eddie hadn’t meant them, not really, he was just mad. Eddie was mad that he couldn’t speak to him, that Christopher was having nightmares and calling for Buck, and the man couldn’t contact them.

In that moment, none of that matters, and all he’s thinking and praying, is that Buck is alright. That if that’s his Jeep burning, then he isn’t inside of it. Because if he’s... If Buck’s...

He’s stopped by some officers as they try to hold him back. Eddie only doesn’t swing at them because he’s so desperate to get through and make sure Buck is okay. Then he hears a voice that makes him stop and he sees it’s Athena, and she saves him from getting arrested, again.

“Is it Buck’s Jeep?” he demands of her. Normally he wouldn’t ever speak to the older woman like that, but he needs to know. Eddie wants her to tell him that it isn’t Buck, and that he’s just being irrational right then. She shatters his world with her next words.

“Yes, it’s Buck’s Jeep.”

A strangled sob escapes him and she’s suddenly hugging him, and he’s never ever hugged or even touched Athena besides a brief pat on the shoulder. However, in that moment her arms are the only thing holding Eddie together.

- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Buck flight back toward Kaiser is much better than when he left it. He thinks he’s getting the hang of the suit, even if he didn’t really think it was a great idea. After all, even if JARVIS had said that Tony had built the suit for him, it couldn’t really be for him... surely not to keep. Buck can’t really think that he will. That’s just crazy.

He sees mayhem when he flies over the medical center, the lights of police and other medical personnel and he knows that he’ll have to answer for some of it. Rhodes had told him not to worry about it, since it was only a few damaged cars and a few minor injuries, but luckily no one died. He told Buck before leaving to secure the prisoner, that after the attack in New York, Tony had created the Stark Relief Foundation and that the destruction caused today would be covered by the Foundation.

Buck had of course heard about it but the day had been wild that he hadn’t really been thinking of that at the time. He also really hoped that meant he’d get his Jeep as well, since he had just gotten it back from the shop after the tsunami, and he needed his Jeep. It wasn’t the same one that his sister had given him, which had quit on him when he was six months into his probationary year.

The Jeep he had brought afterwards wasn’t the latest model, because he hadn’t been rich or anything. All that mattered was that it was a Jeep and he’d managed to keep the word JEEP from the one Maddie had given him and had it put on the dash. It and a few other things he had added to his new one, so it wouldn’t feel that much different. The damage had been extensive after the tsunami, but nothing that couldn’t be repaired, especially after the water had receded and the vehicle recovered. So, he hoped it could be recovered again this time.

Although as he flew over the parking lot and saw the remains of the Jeep, or what he assumed was the Jeep after being hit by the projectile from the grenade launcher, he was sure it wasn’t recoverable. He was only thankful that he hadn’t left his wallet in the middle console as he normally did when he drove. Then again, he had been trying to keep Tony awake on the way to Kaiser, so he hadn’t thought to pull his wallet out of his pocket.

His phone, however, had been in the console since his maps app had been guiding him to the medical center and had forgotten to grab it when Rhodes and the Rescue armor had arrived. So, it had likely been destroyed, and he wouldn’t be able to call anyone for a ride, or even order an Uber or a Lyft. There was no way he could take the suit back to his apartment, since his neighbors were still asking him about Iron Man, or Tony Stark, as if they weren’t the same person.

He could just imagine the gossip if he stepped out of a suit of armor of his own. Oh boy.

Buck was thinking about landing the suit on the roof where no one would see him leave it to check on Tony, but heard JARVIS’s distinct voice suddenly. ‘Mr. Buckley, there appear to be several police officer’s trying to get your attention from down below.’

“Shit... uh, what do I do? Should I go down there, J?”

‘It does seem to be a good idea to speak with the officers about what Colonel Rhodes has told you, Mr. Buckley. Although, if I may suggest, it would probably be better to keep the faceplate down. The Rescue Protocol was only a last resort, and revealing your face would paint a target on your back. It’s prudent to stay off HYDRA’s radar for now.’

Buck inhaled and nodded. “Y-yeah, I think I can do that.” He started to pilot down, now a bit more confident that he can land now without causing anymore property damage. It’s a bit rough but not too bad, and two police officers are suddenly there, and he realizes that one of the has the Captain’s rank and the other is none other than the Chief of Police.

“Iron Man?” the Chief asks, uncertain.

Buck tried to will his voice not to shake as he opened his mouth to answer. “No, I’m not Iron Man,” he told him, surprised when his voice came out warbled like Tony’s does when he speaks without lifting the faceplate. He saw them wait for him to identify himself and he wasn’t sure what to say, and latched onto what JARVIS had called the armor. “I’m Rescue.”

He saw the reporters being kept back by the police lines snap pictures, their flashes lighting up the night along with the lights of first responders. Buck was a bit thrown that their cameras were aimed in his direction, but then again, he guessed he could understand. He did have on armor like Tony, and of course they wanted to know who he was. “Can you tell us what happened here, Rescue?”

“Yes, of course,” he said, clearing his throat and was glad that wasn’t heard since he didn’t want all of them to know how nervous he was. He was surprised as words started to appear on the HUD, and realized that JARVIS wanted him to read it. So, that’s what he did after he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “At proximately 5:47pm, Iron Man was attacked in a safe house by an assailant that has yet to be identified.” He wondered why the AI didn’t want him to say that it was the Winter Soldier. He wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t about to offer it up and decided to stick to what JARVIS had written for him.

“He managed to escape in a suit of armor that only had flight capabilities and met up with a friend, who took him here for medical treatment. However, his attacker followed him here and proceeded to attack myself and War Machine, who had arrived to offer backup.” He noticed that the ‘statement’ didn’t mention Buck’s name, which was just as well. “We left the area to prevent anymore destruction of the surrounding area, as well as the medical center. The assailant followed us from the ground and managed to cause destruction on a residential home. I was able to rescue the people trapped inside, who were a married couple and their daughter. Afterwards, War Machine and I were able to finally restrain our attacker. War Machine has gone ahead to secure the prisoner while I came back to see to Iron Man. The Stark Relief Foundation has already been informed of this incident and will be on both scenes within the hour.”

“So, Iron Man is inside the medical center receiving treatment at the moment?” the Chief of Police asked. Buck couldn’t remember the man’s name for the life of him, and JARVIS wasn’t giving him anymore information. He nodded instead of speaking again. “Then we shall provide a protection detail for him,” the man told him.

Buck refrained from breathing in relief and turned away from them. He hadn’t taken more than a step when he heard a shout and paused when he recognized the voice. Buck turned and saw three figures heading toward him through the police line; Athena, Bobby and Eddie. He froze, since he hadn’t expected them to be there. Also, he couldn’t really greet them as if he knew them, since there were too many cameras still pointed at them. He also wouldn’t put it past the news reporters to have microphones pointed toward him to try and capture something.

“Yes?” he said, his head tilted down when he saw Athena’s badge attached to her belt. “May I help you, officer?”

“I’m Sergeant Athena Grant, and the friend that helped Iron Man is also a friend of ours. We found the remains of his license plate and we want to make sure he’s uninjured.”

Eddie and Bobby looked like they were really trying not to interrupt her, the former’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. It was hard to make out the expression on his face due to the darkness, but Buck could imagine he was angry. “Sergeant Grant, this isn’t the place to discus these things,” he told her, trying to keep his tone neutral. Buck did not want them to know it was him and risk them revealing his identity. “I’m sure Dr. Stark will get in contact with you about... your friend as soon as he can.”

Buck’s gaze turned toward Eddie as he jerked forward, looking like he wanted to get into his face if not for the hand that Bobby had put on his shoulder to hold him back. “Where is he?!”

He looked at his best friend, not sure if he could call him that after everything that had happened, and wanted to say something. Buck wanted to wipe the angry expression he could see due to the suit, since JARVIS had turned on the night-vision. “I have nothing further to say.”

Buck turned and blasted off, leaving Eddie, Athena and Bobby behind.-

- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

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misc-headcanons · 4 years

Note

Please do a headcannon for Ryukyu, mina and momo and their male s/o who has a quirk similar to mic but he can make like a song from his phone amp up like at a concert and during fights he like to put on something to get pump up to

Ryukyu

Ryukyu, both as a Hero and as a person in general, is fairly serious. Because of this, sometimes people wonder how the hell you two wound up together when you're one of the most outgoing and loud Heroes out there, with a flamboyant Quirk to boot. But you two kinda even each other out; you can get her to come out of her shell and stop being so hard on herself sometimes, and she tends to mellow you out and always has this calming presence about her when you're together.

Seeing you two team up is always a trip: she'll be in her dragon form, all sharp and sleek and terrifying, and you'll be blasting music from your amp to hype up her entrance. It's like going to a rock concert where they have all those props and giant setpieces, except it's two Heroes (one of which is a FUCKING DRAGON) taking down a group of Villains. The hype of seeing this is definitely worth the risk to your life and the ensuing property damage.

Mina

Mina LOVES fighting alongside you. To her, the only downside to it is that she'll be too busy jamming out to pay attention to the Villain she's fighting, but that's nothing a few self-defense moves and a splash of her acid can't fix. You two are definitely one of the most energetic and fun Hero couples that citizens pay attention to on social media. Every time you're fighting together, people are crowding around to cheer y'all on and just enjoy the impromptu crime-fighting concert.

Mina and the Support Department actually found a way to turn Mina's acid into some new and interesting gadgets, including (at her request, to fit the vibe you two have when fighting together) some glowsticks with her liquid inside of them; when she cracks them and tosses them, the chemicals inside combine with her acid to make a thick fog that disorients everyone but her. She has to be careful to only use it in large spaces so nearby civilians and allies aren't affected, but it's super fun whenever she uses them while you jam out around her.

Momo

Bless her heart, Momo's a little...overwhelmed, during the first few battles you have together. She's much more reserved, even during fights with Villains, and prefers to silently and strategically take enemies out before they can counterattack. So when you come in, music blazing and kicking asses left and right, she just sort of...watches you in a sort of confused awe. Her whole strategy kinda got thrown out the window, but she's not that upset about it. It's just so odd to her to make a fight with Villains into something "fun".

But she does eventually start to work better with you, and she manages to work with your Quirk when using tactics to take out an enemy. She'll make smoke pellets/grenades, strobe and disco lights to disorient large groups of enemies (as well as some shades for the two of you so you don't get hurt by the lights)...if you're the talented musician at these "concerts", she's the stage manager behind the scenes that manages to slip under the Villain's radar while they're distracted by your spectacle--only for them to be taken out once Momo gets the upper hand.

#bnha #bnha headcanons #bnha headcanon #ryuko tatsuma #ryukyu #mina #ashido mina #momo #momo yaoyozoru #mina ashido #male s/o #mine

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gbhbl · 3 months

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Album Review: Hearts & Hand Grenades - Where I Begin (Eclipse Records)

Hearts & Hand Grenades are a great band, and always deliver a wicked blend of modern and classic hard rock. It’s good to have them back, and they are back with serious aplomb.

American NWOCR band Hearts & Hand Grenades are back, starting off 2024 with a bang, as they release their new album ‘Where I Begin’ on January 26th, 2024, via Eclipse Records. Photo Credit: Meredith Snow Hearts & Hand Grenades are a great band, and always deliver a wicked blend of modern and classic hard rock. It’s good to have them back, and they are back with serious aplomb. Keeping things…

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#Album Review #Eclipse Records #Hearts & Hand Grenades #Where I Begin

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metalshockfinland · 4 months

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HEARTS & HAND GRENADES Meld Rock, Country, Hip-Hop, & Pop in New 'I Just Want My Rock' Music Video

(Photo Credit: Meredith Snow) HEARTS & HAND GRENADES are an explosive American NWOCR group from Buffalo, NY, bursting with an edgy sound for all generations of true rock addicts, and they just premiered a new music video and single entitled “I Just Want My Rock“. This is the third single & music video taken from their upcoming full-length album Where I Begin which is scheduled to be released…

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#HEARTS & HAND GRENADES

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theoriginalladya · 4 years

Note

Physical affection #25 for Michael/Kaidan. 😉

from this prompt list

on AO3 here

Okay, so I haven’t actually written anything for these two yet, so thank you for spurring THAT on! Just a few things to note:

(John)Michael Shepard - Earthborn/Ruthless/Vanguard

(Thanks to mods) Romances Kadain in ME1. Both stories play out more or less like we see them. There is the potential for Ashley to have survived Virmire, too, though I’m not 100% on that yet.

ME3 era, however, is far different from how the game plays. Michael is my “What if I stayed on Earth and Anderson left on the Normandy?” Shepard. His story (which I will hopefully be writing for Nano in November, or at least start it) will be set in the ME3/Reaper War world on Earth, but will have it’s own unique plot/story. I will also be using some of the information the mods I’ve been playing with gives to help formulate that plot and see things purely from an Earth perspective. (Vega and Kaidan both remain on Earth with Shepard.)

So, with that in mind, this is probably fairly early in the timeline of that story, but where exactly I’m not sure yet.

Commander Michael Shepard waits for Vega to settle into his watch before he leaves; not that he doesn’t trust the lieutenant or his abilities as a soldier, far from it, but experience is one hell of a teacher, and the reapers are graduate level studies. After another fifteen minutes or so, satisfied there is no immediate threat, he heads inside.

The building is a wreck, not suitable for a long-term stay, but it’ll work for a night or two. That, at least, gives them a chance to recharge. Food is still scarce, but they’ll make do. MREs may taste awful, but they fill a belly better than nothing. Clean water, on the other hand, is more of a challenge, but that’ll fix itself once they’re back in the countryside. Or so he hopes, anyway.

He passes quietly through the halls. Despite the ruin and destruction, there is comfort of a sort to be found here. At the very least, it drowns out the distant reverberations of reaper klaxons. He’s woken more than once from dead, dreamless sleep, heart pounding in his chest due to those sounds. The silence is a far better companion to his way of thinking.

The last door opens and he ducks inside to find Kaidan sitting at a desk surrounded by various technical components and pieces. The light from his omni-tool gives everything an orangish-yellow glow, but it’s the best they can do without power.

“Any luck?” he asks. He grabs a nearby chair, spins it around and straddles it so he can sit with his arms lying across the top edge.

Kaidan sighs. His focus is on the components before him even as he raises one hand to rub at the back of his neck. Michael’s gaze is drawn to the movement, like a moth to flame, and concern fills him. The war started weeks ago – months maybe? Keeping track of time is a challenge when on the run – and a day hasn’t gone by where they haven’t had to fight their way out or through multiple groups of reaper troops. Overclocking their amps has become a habit in most encounters, even though they both know the toll it can take.

“I’ll be alright,” Kaidan replies absently. His hand lowers and he tinkers some more. “As for this … well, let’s hope it’ll be enough.” He pushes it across the desk in Michael’s direction. “Tell me what you think.”

Their stock of grenades is running low, and without a source to replenish them, they need to make each and everyone count. Improvisation is becoming the new normal these days. Adaptation. Modification. Adjustment …

Michael shakes his head to clear it of memories of friends whose fates are unknown; he distracts himself from such thoughts by noticing the lines of exhaustion creasing Kaidan’s face, particularly around his eyes. Carefully, he pushes the device to the side and reaches a hand out to stroke his thumb gently along the corner of Kaidan’s left eye. “Migraine?”

“No,” Kaidan replies immediately and with a shake of his head, “not that, thankfully.” He reaches up and wraps his hand around Michael’s wrist, tugging it gently.

Michael relents and pulls back, but he’s surprised when Kaidan adjusts it so their hands wrap around the other’s. Their eyes meet, and in Kaidan’s he sees something more than just exhaustion. One brow lifts in curiosity and question, only to be answered by a soft huff from the major as he breaks the contact and drops his gaze. Slowly, Michael flexes his fingers, inviting Kaidan to thread his between. It’s been a very long three years with many ups and downs and harsh words since Alchera, but the fact that Kaidan was the first face he saw after the initial attack surely had to mean something more than just one soldier helping out another, right? After all they’ve been through?

The seconds that tick by feel like ages, but Kaidan eventually curls his fingers around and through Michael’s. When he lifts his head, Michael looks closely, and for the first time sees the slightest darkening in Kaidan’s face even in the dim light. His lips curl up on one side and he tilts his head just a bit to the right as he tugs Kaidan’s hand close enough he can brush his lips against Kaidan’s fingertips. “Does this mean what I think it means?” he asks quietly.

Kaidan sighs but nods once.

“What changed your mind?”

Kaidan’s lips twist into a wry smile as he shrugs. “What hasn’t? You were right. Again. As usual.”

A bark of laughter escapes Michael’s lips. “If I’d known it was that easy to convince you …” He lowers his lips again, presses another kiss to the fingers followed by a few playful nips. Beneath his hold, he feels Kaidan shudder. In all honesty, it shocks the hell out of him, but he’s not going to look a gift horse in the mouth or let the opportunity pass. It takes every ounce of willpower he has not to jump to his feet, instead rising calmly and tugging Kaidan along in the direction of their bedrolls.

“Shepard …”

It’s meant as a protest, and Michael halts halfway across the room. “Your choice,” he insists while at the same time loosening his hand but not releasing his hold.

After a minute or two, Kaidan’s fingers tighten to make up the difference. He smiles but rolls his eyes. “Don’t make me say it again.”

“Say what?” The glare Kaidan gives him sends an unexpected thrill through Michael. Winking, he kisses their joined hands once more. “Almost had you there, major.”

“Not even close, commander …”

#Physical Affection Prompts #Ladya writes #mshenko #Michael Shepard #Kaidan Alenko #thank you for getting me started with these two!#I'm so excited to write about them!!!#mallaidhsomo

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annakie · 4 years

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An Annotated Mass Effect Playthrough, Part Two

Aliens! Exposition! Guns! Explosions! Kickass Ladies! Betrayal! So much death!

Um, this got long. Sorry not sorry.

List of Posts: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The first thing Mass Effect does after coming out of the introduction is assure us that yes, we have aliens

and we have hot guys (and hot aliens, if you’re into that sort of thing.)

They should have made an advertisement pointing out these things just for me so I would have paid release price for this game. Ah well, I’ve bought it on 360, Steam and Origin now. They have my money.

We’re going to make it most of the way through Eden Prime in this post.

One thing Mass Effect does a lot of in the beginning here is exposition. There’s a lot to learn about the state of the galaxy in 2148, and there are people there to make sure you learn about it. Jeff and Kaidan only do a little bit of exposition, you learn about Nihilus, a tiny bit about Spectres, and that Captain Anderson is badass. I wish this scene actually lasted longer -- this is the only time we see Kaidan away from his Orange Corner (or that other orange wall) on the ship for awhile. I guess there’s the conference room, but still. If they ever do a remaster, please Bioware, let the companions move around the ship like in ME3 and give our boy better lighting.

I love the flow of the Normandy SR1. It feels the easiest to get around in since it’s so much smaller... except when you have to get on the elevator. I also love the dark theme. The ME2 SR2 always feels so... blinding. The only thing I miss from the SR2 really is my decked out Captain’s quarters. I mean does anyone even ever go into the ME1 quarters except to get the one codex entry until it’s sexytime?

I do like ME1′s use of ambient conversations, you get to learn a little about Pressley and Jenkins before talking to them. Those conversations, though, are just such exposition dumps. I think they do it fairly well, but there’s so much to remember. Both Jenkins (with Chakwas) and Pressley really harp on what and who Spectres are, pretty sure even before you talk to Nihilus you have an inkling you’re gonna eventually be one.

I honestly wish we had more actual interaction with Pressley than what we get here, he has very little to say after this point. Another hope for a remaster.

This kid Jenkins, he’s got a good career ahead of him if we can tame his hot-headedness. That’ll be his role in the game, I’m sure, the kid you mentor and grow into a reflection of you. Good to know he’s from the planet we’re heading to, I’m sure he’ll be a valuable source of information there.

Having played a lot of World of Warcraft, and I mean a LOT, from the alpha, then release, for the next two or three years, the fact that his name was Jenkins was actually a bit of a hint for me even then. But more in the “Wouldn’t it be funny if...?” and then he did. Nice.

I’m really glad Chakwas gets fleshed out a little more in just the one more conversation after this one and in future games. Because there’s not much to say about her here.

Whew! Exposition over, right? We’ve learned about Spectres, the First Contact War, about Eden Prime, that we’re in the Alliance, that there’s Turians and a council that governs things and... we’re good, right?

Wait, didn’t Anderson say he was already with Nihilus in the conference room? Where’d he go? What a bro, to step out and let Nihilus make a big turn-around moment of introduction to us. Okay, more loredump. Cool. Really getting the concept of Spectres now, for sure, especially from this guy, who is one!

Finally, Anderson. Just in time to tell us about Spectres, and Eden Prime, and now it’s time to learn about the Protheans. Whaaaaat? You want ME to maybe be a Spectre? I’m shocked!

Oh sorry, Annakie just flew through time from ME3 to stare into the camera incredulously.

I’m sure that this will be a decision that will be deeply impactful through the entirety of the rest of the series.

But here we learn about Protheans, and they lost me a bit on that one when we first played the game. Who the fuck cares about what happened 20,000 years ago? THIS IS THE FUTURE!!! We’re in SPACE!

Well, we wouldn’t get away from the Protheans so easily.

Oh what the FUCK is that thing? You’ve hooked me right back in. Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up? LET’S GO.

You guys... ALOV is so good, and so pretty. And these screenshots look shittier on tumblr!! Look how clear these movies are now. And these are just 720p! They’re working to upscale them to 4k! Again I say, all hail the modders.

Still, that giant red spot doesn’t look so good for the people living there...

I’m sure it’s fine.

We’re all suited up, but sadly the super cool alien isn’t coming with us? Didn’t he say he was here to follow and observe us? Well, he knows what he’s doing.

Anyone else already willing to die for Anderson fifteen minutes into this game?

The sky is supposed to be that color red, right? Right Jenkins?

As cool as this level design is, also something that could use improving. There’s like... no housing here? Just a bunch of tall towers on the ground all really realy far apart from each other? You’re on a new planet and everyone lives inside a giant tower? I mean, good for preventing Urban Spawl I guess. I’d love to see a more populated Eden Prime. Even in ME3 we just saw a small dig site and more towers in the distance.

Anyway, better level up. Jenkins is young and needs some training if he’s gonna survive this mission!

Here we go, show us what you’ve got!

Shit.

My first time through, I truly thought I’d fucked up and probably reloaded this fight two or three times before accepting he was just... supposed to die. And then I remembered his name was Jenkins, knew it was intentional, and laughed.

Honestly, it’s a great fakeout with making us feel like Jenkins is important, and then having him lose the battle right away. ME1 is pretty brutal that way. It’s a good way to signal that this game is probably going to rip your heart out, so get used to it.

Shepard and Kaidan have a moment, and I like this because it’s really the first time I think you can really start showing who your Shepard is, with how you react to Jenkins’ death. Either way, I like it that she tells Kaidan that we need to focus. I also love that, though we don’t get to see a moment for Jenkins from here on out in ME1, that they finally gave his memory a moment in ME3.

I love Flycam.

What. An. Entrance. For. Ashley. Williams.

Bioware, give us Ashley and Kaidan living in a Mass Effect Remaster, please. I will pay $100 for this DLC. (I know, I KNOW.) I have only played through with Ashley living all the way through once. I’m sorry Ash, I love you. I just... LOVE Kaidan.

But hey that’s HOURS away. For now, she’s with us, and she’s amazing.

Sorry, I just caught several great images from Ashley’s intro and thought you needed to see them. It’s gonna be a miracle if tumblr lets this thing post.

This is fine.

Uh, I’m not the only one who still sometimes dies on Eden Prime because I can never remember how the controls work until like, the end of the planet, right? “CRAP, WHICH BUTTON IS MEDIGEL?” “WHY ISN’T THE SQUAD RESPONDING TO GOING WHERE I TELL THEM WITH Q and E?” “Shit shit shit gotta reload OH FUCK JUST THREW A GRENADE SIX INCHES AWAY. WHY IS THAT MAPPED TO R?”

Grotesque and yet... great visuals. This is when you realize these Geth aren’t playing around. This is Bad Bad.

Iiiiif you also used to always punch out Miguel and then like awhile later realized how shitty that was and now know that the “Geinuis is the other side of the coin of Madness” speech here is also really shitty... raise your hand. Especially since Miguel is, you know, right. Anyway, do better on a remaster, Bioware?

The one good thing here was the “Thank the Maker” at the very beginning of the encounter. I want Shepard to visit Thedas. Give us this DLC, Bioware!!

Oh Nihilus, you were too pretty, and trusting, for this world.

Bioware, again, in the remaster... please go with your original plan and not make Saren all Gethed out this early. I wish that could be modded away. It’s so distracting to have him be OBVIOUSLY HALF MACHINE and everyone being like “Saren? Working with the Geth? PREPOSTEROUS!!”

Got some AMAZING screenshots of Sovereign taking off thanks to Flycam.

Also, this is just such an OH SHIT moment. Look at that thing! It’s terrifying! Also it’s easy to miss if you’re looking the wrong way, this maybe shoulda been in a cutscene. But even so, when you see it, it fills you with SUCH DREAD. They do such a great job of amping up the tension and drama and mystery bit by bit on Eden Prime. Giving you bits of the greater story and also feeding you pieces that will eventually come together, but not for awhile.

I followed Soverign as long as I could before he disappeared. Got this far away from land. The actual spaces in the game are huge, but we’ll get to more of that later.

Congrats! You all survived! For uh... about two and a half more years?

Can’t believe we can’t loot the Spectre’s body.

Also... the luckiest dock worker in the world. I can never yell at him for sleeping on the job. It’d be hilarious if he showed up alive on Horizon in ME2, and like Haven in ME3.

This is the guy that usually kills me.

OK, this is ridiculously long already. We’ll finish up Eden Prime and get to the Citadel next time.

#mass effect #annakie's mass effect stuff #bioware #mass effect 1

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wordsfromgrime · 4 years

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One Night in Richmond

~Busted~

It never hurts to show up with a case of beer so I stop at Lombardy Kroger on my way to the Circle and pick up some Blue Moons and a box of popsicles -both alluding to the festive mood facing through the air. This morning the mayor announced the resignation of our only ten-day old police chief, and while many understood the dense socio-political tactics implied with the decision, most celebrated the occasion as well. A Friday night at the top of summer will always carry with it feelings of excitement and reward.

I pull my bike up to the normal spot at Marcus-David Peters Circle and recognize a few familiar faces in the soft afterglow of dusk’s light. The sun is just now setting, leaving only about 30 minutes until full darkness and the cover that comes with it. Now, the sun is still tightrope walking over the horizon, the sky shimmering with raspberry-lemonade tones and watermelon marshmallow clouds. Around the turn of the Circle a free concert is underway, made possible with just a microphone, a generator, and a few amps. We doodle with spray-paint, or attempt freestyle tricks on our fixed gears, as we sip beers and bust musings on the day.

We’re all rocking on the obvious cookout vibe, but we’re tentative as well; We aren’t completely relaxed. We’ve seen things turn from lax to chaos before, in only a second, for no reason at all, and we know it can happen again. When you’re facing an enemy that has full control over the definitions of combat, it’s forgiven to feel nervous.

For now though, it’s good vibes and sunshine. And while our conversations dance around the protests, the police, police brutality, human rights, the mistakes of the generations before us, and our determination to fix those mistakes, mostly we just talk about Richmond. It’s hard to explain Richmond to someone who hasn’t stayed there for any amount of time. Richmond is like an oasis that’s also a black hole. Richmond is the place you’re trying to get out of, and also the place you can’t wait to be back in. Richmond is the place you think you deserve. Richmond is where a lot of us feel most at home, but it’s a home that needs sweeping renovations.

As we expound freely on the failures and accomplishments of the capitol city, more and more of our friends arrive, skidding to stops at the periphery of our claimed area and slowly increasing our settlement size. It’s easy to dominate a space when everyone arrives with a bicycle, and in our group it’s pretty much a necessity to show up with some wheels of a sort. Besides a general interest in protesting the state, bicycles have been the strongest conjoining factor throughout the ragtag group of friends that I’ve been meeting with near-daily since the brutal murder of George Floyd at the end of March.

Some of these friends, like Salad (our stoic, de facto captain of the group who’s got friends in every part of town) and Funky (our resident artist and Big Wheel extraordinaire), I’ve known for a while and originally met just by biking in the same parts of town. But others, like Sophia (badass girl with a Wide Bars/Big Heart combo) or Johnny (no fixie yet [just a road bike], but is well-loved for his reputation of generosity and hilarious braggadociousness) I’ve only spent real time with since the protests began. All in all, there’s about 12 of us that have formed a little posse of itinerant protestors. Every summer brings with it something new, but something about the revolution marching down the streets had this summer already feeling particularly seismic. And something about all that “newness” in the air made me feel more like a kid again.

Soon, a few men in assault rifles and military vests approach us, seemingly threatened by their own lack of acceptance and comradery now reflected against our group of laughing friends.

“Is this your tent? This tent’s gotta go!” the man begins the conversation, unaware or unwilling to exchange pleasantries.

“It’s not our tent but we don’t think it should go”, a few people begin to say at once. “That tent is covering a free community library.”

“Well, when the cops get here this is going to make them upset, and they’re going to come in here and destroy it anyway,” the man says. “So I’m just saying y’all should take it down before I come back with a few other guys with rifles and take it down myself….cuz we don’t want the cops to come!”

“You can do whatever you want, man, but we’re not going to take down some tent that isn’t ours just because you think the cops might come,” our friend Amin (always good for a giant smile and a fat joint) says. “And also, that whole theory doesn’t make a lot of sense to me” He punctuates this last part with a tip of his head and a swig of his beer.

The man grumbles to himself and walks away, returning ten minutes later with his aforementioned rifled goons, as well as a lady that doesn’t really seem to fit in with them.

“This lady owns the library so we’re getting her to take it down,” the man says, directing his speech towards our group for no apparent reason other than to start a conflict. He was obviously oblivious to how his aggressive, commandeering attitude was completely antithetical to the entire idea of the community space that is Marcus-David Peters Circle…or maybe he was just an asshole. Regardless, he was a blatant intimidator, and unless we’re talking about Number 3 (RIP) there’s just no room for that inside the Circle.

We ignored whatever the guy was trying to serve to us and kicked back, but soon the man was back again with an even larger group, now forcefully encouraging everyone to exit the interior of the Circle under the assurance that “the cops can’t touch us if we aren’t in the Circle”. As one tends to notice, it’s hard to say “no” to a group of men with large guns in their hands, so the group was having large amounts of success with their attempts to incentive people out of the area. Our group, though still not understanding completely or agreeing with the logic of the move, followed suit, packing up our blankets, beers, and popsicles.

Not five minutes after the entire populace of the Circle had been cleared out of the area that lay surrounded by graffitied barriers, officers in riot gear began to arrive, just as the man earlier had “predicted”. Predicted! *Hmpf*! Predicted, or imprecated? Or better yet, foretold? Because I reckon it’s a hell of a lot easier to predict the future when you’ve got a direct line to the chain of commands. I also reckon that about the only person who would come up and complain about the tent covering up a free library was some bootlicking wannabe-cop snitch who knew, without a doubt, that the cops were coming that night, whether they had a reason to or not.

And, of course, there was no reason that any amount of police officers, let alone 50+ outfitted in full riot gear, should have appeared that night. No reason for a city to sic a militarized pack of baton-wielding goons on its own people. No reason why the citizens of Richmond could not have just been left to be: listening to music, drinking beers, talking with friends. These were the crimes we committed before being attacked.

As police announced to the crowd that the surrounding area had been declared an “unlawful assembly” by the state, tempers began to flare on both sides. Rampant rubber bullets and flash bang grenades sliced through the air, as chants and screams rose up from the civilians. Suddenly, the space felt like a warzone, a battle with what seemed like completely lopsided enemies. On one side stood line after line of grown men adorned in battle armor, helmets, and shields. Some held Assault Rifles or guns meant for firing rubber bullets and smoke canisters; all wore heavy, polished, steel-toed boots. On the other side stood men, women, children, and pets equipped with nothing more than their wallets, sunglasses, tank tops, and shorts. Some held bottles of water for extinguishing smoke, others had gloves on for tossing tear gas canisters away; all wore a sense of fear, anger, confusion, and determination on their face. These Richmonders, who had done nothing more than to enjoy the public space of their city, would not be deterred so easily. A feeling had spread through the crowd that we would not be punished unjustly tonight. If we were going to have to face the consequences of merely existing in the street, then we weren’t going down without a fight.

The ranks of G.I. Joe-pretenders slowly increased their perimeter, pushing citizens further and further from the reclaimed art space at the epicenter of the Circle. Soon, we stood in the middle of Park Avenue, a block from Monument Avenue, and still we were being told to “back up” and “get out of the street”, by both RPD and VSP. It seemed the boars with badges would not be content until they had claimed the whole neighborhood as their own Draconian hang-space.

When my friend Nick (The big love bully - The homie to ask you if you’re okay when you’ve got a down face) shines his flashlight toward a group of suspicious looking officers, he’s swarmed upon by a particularly dorky looking Virginia State officer who accosts him with a completely trivial question about the bike he’s riding.

“Whoah! Hey! You got lights for this bicycle here?” the officer asked, taking strides closer and closer to us, hand on his hip.

“Two, actually!” Came Nick’s response as we all flipped our bikes around to put some space between the officers and ourselves. “You’re not gunna get us on some shit like that!” He shouted over his shoulder as we pedaled up the street towards a safer space. “ya dumbass cop”

With some distance between the commotion and us, we regroup. Nick, Sophia, Salad, Ryan, Johnny, and I squad up at a park only a block away.

“Shit’s wild”

“What even started this?”

“Oh, they’re definitely mad about the chief resigning.”

“I saw someone get hit right in the face with a rubber bullet”

“Fuck!”

“I saw a couple kids with paint guns shooting at the cops, I think that’s what started it all”

“I mean, the cops started it all when they showed up…”

“AGREED!”

Looking behind him, Johnny says, “This car coming up is an unmarked cop car, anyone want to see where it’s going?”

“Let’s do it”, I say.

And we take off. The two of us darting after this beefy-looking tinted black SUV, keeping close but keeping our distance.

After a few blocks Johnny turns to me and says, “They aren’t going anywhere interesting, let’s head back.” and we reverse-course towards the way we came.

Coming back up towards the intersection where we left the rest of our friends, I can’t say that anything felt particularly off, though it did seem a little quiet, not a simple quiet but a stifled one.

As Johnny and I make our way through the shadow left in the space between two light posts, we hear a “GRAB HIM!” and a hidden mass springs from the darkness. I watch as Johnny’s bike finds the space between charging homunculus and a row of cards and skirts through it successfully, just as the same cop changes direction to tackle me off my bike (FUCK!). The goon leaps into the air as gracefully as an anemic hippopotamus, and tackles me off my bike with the ease of a drunken uncle at Thanksgiving.

“All right, big guy, you got me! You can chill out.” I say to the panting officer now shoving my arms in positions not familiar to them, restraining my non-resisting body with the help of 3 or 4 buddies. “I appreciate all the attention but it’s really not necessary”

“It’s for both of our safeties”, the stormtrooper says to me without looking at my face, instead holding his nose high with eyes darting around the perimeter like some cracked-out hound-dog.

“Oh yeah, I bet”, I say, laughing a little. “Hey man, you having any fun?”

The officer just grunts.

“Aw, c’mon man, what’s your name?”

“Officer Harris” Still no eye contact.

“Hey, officer Harris, you having any fun out here? It’s ok to have fun, I’m having some fun, are you having fun?”

Officer Harris shifts his weight from one foot to the other, rolls his tongue across his upper teeth, and says out of the side of his mouth, “Yeah, I’m having a little fun…but you guys are making it hard for us out here.”

“GROSSSSSSS!” I say laughing from the pit of my stomach, “Oh, Officer Harris, we’ve got real problems” And I continue to laugh as this confused cop looks down on me, still zip-tied at his feet. I was beyond affable at this point from the adrenaline and alcohol coursing through my bloodstream, and while the fear of this cop and his gang of buddies assaulting me crossed through my mind, I figured if I was in for a penny I was in for a pound. Being arrested for protesting the police force already put me in a vulnerable position, and I figured the policeman’s image of me couldn’t be altered much in the short time we were interacting with each other, but I wanted to say one more thing before Officer Harris cast me aside as some wanton rioter.

“I hope you don’t think I’m just some white punk, some revolutionary with no cause. I’m fighting for what I believe in, and I sleep well every night, Officer Harris, do you?”

“I try,” Khaleed Harris said with a sigh as he put me in a cage in the back of a van.

“Now, watch your head.”

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yorkcalling · 4 years

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Interview: Hearts & Hand Grenades

We chat to Buffalo, New York rock band Hearts & Hand Grenades about their new music, influences and the medical benefits of head banging. (more…)

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#Hearts & Hand Grenades

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ow-imagines-headcannons · 6 years

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I have done Junkrat, Roadhog and McCree before here so if you wanna read those three, you can do that in that other post.

I'm going to leave out Torbjörn because he's married, Winston and Hammond because I'm not going to do the animals and Bastion because he's simply not expressive enough to be described in this.

I don't like writing angst in HC's so here are short scenarios.

Reinhardt

You were fighting right behind his shield, shooting the most dangerous enemies to protect your loved one. "Barrier is giving out!" He screamed, looking down at you. You nodded and acknowledged it. Your instincts told you to protect him at all costs. A big flood of enemies was coming to you and at the exact moment where Reinhardt announced "BARRIER DOWN" You jumped forward and threw a grenade into the mass of enemies. "Take cover!" You shouted.

"Y/N!" you heard his voice echo in your head, as you felt the wave of the explosion and how your body was pushed through the air like a ragdoll. You felt how you crashed to the ground, your whole body twitching in pain. Groaning, you tried to move but you simply couldn't. A shadow was visible in your blurry sight. "Nh..." "Y/N! Liebling! Stay with me!" Your body was lifted off the ground, the edges of your sight registering a familiar face.

You smiled, taking a deep, rattling breath. "My strong soldier in sh-" a coughing fit got to you before you could finish. "- in shining armor." Your shaking hand found his cheek. "Y/N... You will be fine, my darling. Angela will patch you up. Stay awake, my dear!" You felt him running. "I love you." You said and reached for him when he left you in the hovership with Mercy.

Doomfist

Akadne had actually told you to stay with the other women. In the back lines. Not because you were weak, but because he could be ruthless and didn't want you hurt.

And in this smaller fight, it was tactically smarter for you to fight closer to Widowmaker since you were fond of sniper rifles. Not as good as Amelie but good enough to fight for Talon. A scream passed your lips when a bullet pierced your shoulder. You came out from your cover and tried to get to Moira, but another shot robbed you of the ability to walk since your leg was hit by another shot. Right in your knee.

All you could think of, was to scream "AKADNE!" and lay as low to the ground as you could, protecting yourself with the gun and the twelve shots you had in the magazine.

Out of nowhere, the tall man stood next to you. "I should have been more careful." You said and tried to get up. He picked you up and kissed your forehead. "We are a team, Y/N. Everybody else should have looked after you better. Including me." You kissed him back, your blood smearing on his bare chest. "I'm sorry." You murmured, your chest heaving in pain. "I was careless." He didn't answer. Simply bringing you to Moira. "Fix this. Now" he barked and jumped off.

Genji

You waited for him in front of Shimada castle, giving him cover, keeping a way open... Sadly though, there were more Shimada guards than both of you had calculated. You saw your ninja slicing though them, while you tried your best with your pistols.

One of these bastards sliced the back of your kneecap, causing you to fall to the ground with a blood curdling scream. After that, a neat slice in your hip followed. "Fuck... Fuck fuck fuck!" You whimpered and cried. You heard Genji screaming your name. He summoned his dragon to kill every single person around you while you laid on the ground, bleeding and crying.

"Y/n... Don't leave me." He begged and softly held you. "I won't... You- you know that." You murmured and wrapped your arms around him. "You've been through worse." You couldn't hold the sobs of pain back. You saw your blood shimmering on his armor, painting him red. Redder than he had been before. Genji put his forehead to yours. "I love you." He said. "I love you too." You replied, your eyes closing, letting you glide into unconsciousness.

Hanzo

He knew that it would happen. Some assassins had broke into his place, forcing you two awake immediately and into a fight. They were swift to paralyze you with a tazer. Hanzo was still fighting them, when he suddenly heard a loud crack and a scream of yours that was heart breaking. Some of your ribs had been broken with an aimed kick to them.

You could barely breathe, only pathetic gasps helped you get air while you tried to drag yourself across the room towards Hanzo. As soon as he had heard that, he didn't hesitate anymore to shoot an arrow in every single assassins head. There were seven in total. He scrambled over to you, cupping your face in his hands.

"H-han..." You coughed up blood, "I... It hurts." He carefully dragged you into his lap. "I know, beautiful. You're strong. Don't leave me now." He didn't want to do that, but he couldn't lose you. He sent a message to Overwatch. That he needs help. That a life was at stake.

"They will pick you up, beautiful. They will help you." He would have to be with this damned organization for a mission or two, but your life was worth everything.

Reaper

You laid on the ground, your body twitching and writhing involuntarily. You had taken electrocution for Gabriel. One of his weaknesses. It had been a trap by Overwatch. Probably that damned Monkey. But you couldn't let him die. You simply couldn't risk it.

"G-g-gabriel" you said, shivering and crying. "S-sorry" your entire body hurt, loud sobs audible through the shots and the screams of the enemies. As soon as you felt hands on you, you screamed in pain. It was overwhelming, your entire skin was burnt. Your face was bleeding, the plastic from the clothes and the vest had burnt and molten into your body. He had to carry you to the hovership. To Moira. So she could help you.

It helped a little, When you felt Moira's hands hover over your skin. The Reaper leaned down, his mask off. His cold lips touched your burnt ones. You were twitching and whining. "I will kill him." Gabriel announced. "I promise, Y/N." Then his hand softly caressed your head. You kept twitching and crying. "Out now, Gabriel. You won't want to see this."

He turned to leave and all he heard was you screaming your heart out. He couldn't bare it. He couldn't listen to this torture... But he had to.

Soldier 76

Jack was running. With you in his arms. Towards Angela. He had to get to Angela! You couldn't die! No! You couldn't leave him! Your hand touched his cheek, a painful expression on your lips. "It hurts." You whispered, as your other hand laid on your ribs, pressing down on the wound like Jack had instructed.

"I know, baby. I know. Don't worry. We're almost there." He ran faster, you heard him huffing. Suddenly, there was a shot. Somebody had shot his ankle. He stumbled and fell, you tumbling from his arms, hissing in pain, a stone pressing down on the wound. Jack got back up, slumped to you, picked you back up and carried you to Angela.

"Dr. Ziegler. Help. Now." Angela jumped up, got you onto a cot and Jack to herself. "Not me, Angela. Y/N!" She shook her head. "You have to get back out there, Jack." She quickly healed his shot. "You can regenerate faster. Y/N can't." Then she got over to you. "I will have to perform surgery. OUT!" She shouted at Jack.

"Don't leave..." You begged, but Angela shushed him out. "Please... Jack..." Tears running down your face, that's the last thing Jack saw, before Angela pushed him out of the medic tent.

Lucio

"Oh no no no no no!" Lucio said when he saw you falling to the ground. He skated over as fast as he possibly could, dragging you out of plain sight. He put you down and fumbled around in his pockets. You let out a weak laugh.

"That was bound to happen, right?" You said and clutched your chest. Your lover had put on a healing song, amping it up as much as possible. "Stay, Y/N. Stay. Please." He begged as he wrapped a bandage around your wound.

"I.. I'm tired, Lu.. really tired." You told him, your eyes growing weaker. "Oh no." Lucio hissed, trying to stop the blood flow. "It's a beautiful day, Y/N." He said, his voice shivering. "The sun is out and it's... It's so nice and warm!" He tried to convince you that this ugly fight around the corner wasn't happening.

You smiled at him. "Yea... It's really nice weather." You said and looked up at the sun. "I wanna rest." You said and nuzzled your head to his chest. He wrapped his arms around you, the song still playing.

"Promise me, that you'll come back." He insisted. "Promise." You kissed his neck and murmured "Promise" as your mind was taken over by darkness.

Zenyatta

A fight in his home. Zenyatta had to count on Overwatch. And on you. But not right now. You laid on the outer platform of the Sanctum, looking up at his face while you felt healing energy was flowing through you.

Your head laid in his lap, he softly stroked your hair. "The Iris embraces you too, Y/N." You smiled, a bit of blood running down your lips. "I know, Zen. As long as you're with me, the Iris is around me." He softly pulled you up, careful not to touch the bullet wounds in your back. He softly held you in his arms, humming a melody.

"Zen... I don't want to leave." You choked out, your chest heaving now. "I don't want to go." "You can stay. You need to stay." He emphasized on that, putting his chin on top of your head, holding you closer. "My entire body hurts." You said, shivering in his arms. "Don't let me pass into the Iris yet. I don't want to die." He kept holding you. That was all he could do, while you said it over and over again.

"I don't want to die."

OH. MY. GOD. I SAT ON THIS FOR LIKE 2 HOURS. MNH! Guys, please be more specific with your characters. It was a LOT. really.

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