#Surface Modification
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laboratory-equipment-supplier ¡ 7 months ago
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Material Science & Nanotechnology: Revolutionizing the Future
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At Gaia Science, we are at the forefront of driving innovation in material science and nanotechnology, two transformative fields that hold immense potential for shaping the future. These disciplines focus on understanding and manipulating materials at the atomic and molecular levels, unlocking new possibilities across industries ranging from clean energy to microelectronics and even art conservation. Our work spans diverse sectors, including clean energy, micro fabrication, material characterization, and surface modification. By leveraging nanotechnology, we create advanced solutions to address global challenges and push the boundaries of what is possible in today’s rapidly evolving world.
Clean Energy
One of the most critical global challenges today is the transition to clean energy, and material science and nanotechnology are playing pivotal roles in this shift. At Gaia Science, we are dedicated to exploring and developing nanomaterials that enhance the efficiency of renewable energy technologies like solar panels and energy storage systems. For example, our research on perovskite materials and graphene-based batteries is leading to more efficient solar power conversion and better energy storage, helping pave the way for a sustainable energy future.
Microfluidics
Our expertise in microfluidics allows us to contribute to advances in biomedical engineering, chemical analysis, and diagnostics. Microfluidics, the manipulation of fluids on a microscale, benefits from nanotechnology to improve the precision and efficiency of lab-on-a-chip devices. These innovations have applications in medical diagnostics and environmental monitoring, enabling faster, more accurate results with smaller samples. By integrating nanomaterials into these systems, we enhance sensitivity and performance, pushing the boundaries of what microfluidic devices can achieve.
Microfabrication & Microelectronics
Gaia Science is committed to pushing the limits of micro fabrication and microelectronics. Our work in nanostructured materials is helping create the next generation of faster, smaller, and more energy-efficient electronic devices. We are working with silicon nanowires and other nanomaterials to develop transistors that process data at faster speeds while consuming less power. In addition, we are exploring the development of flexible electronics, which will enable future innovations in wearable devices, foldable screens, and other flexible technologies.
Material Characterization
In material science, understanding how materials behave under different conditions is crucial for innovation. At Gaia Science, we utilize cutting-edge nanotechnology to characterize materials at the atomic level. Using tools like atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), we analyze the mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of materials with exceptional precision. This level of detail helps us develop tailored materials for specific applications, whether in aerospace, healthcare, or electronics.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is evolving, and we are contributing to this change through our research on nanomaterials and advanced manufacturing techniques. Nanocomposites developed by Gaia Science offer superior strength and durability, making them ideal for industries such as aerospace and automotive. In additive manufacturing, we are using nanomaterials to 3D print parts with intricate geometries and enhanced precision, reducing material waste and improving production efficiency. Our innovations are transforming traditional manufacturing processes and leading the industry into a new era.
Surface and Material Modification
Surface and material modification techniques have wide-reaching applications, from creating anti-corrosion coatings to developing self-cleaning surfaces. At Gaia Science, we apply nanotechnology to modify materials at the surface level, improving their performance. Our nanomaterial-based coatings can make surfaces more resistant to wear, corrosion, and microbial growth, benefiting industries like healthcare, food safety, and construction. By mimicking natural phenomena like the lotus effect, we have developed self-cleaning surfaces that reduce maintenance costs while maintaining superior functionality.
Art & Conservation
Even in the world of art and conservation, nanotechnology has a role to play. Gaia Science is proud to contribute to the preservation of cultural heritage through innovative nanomaterial solutions. We develop nanomaterials that can clean and restore artworks without causing damage to the original pieces. Our nanotechnology-based coatings also protect historical artifacts from further degradation, ensuring that they remain intact for future generations to enjoy.
Conclusion
At Gaia Science, we are committed to harnessing the potential of material science and nanotechnology to drive innovation across a broad range of industries. Whether advancing clean energy solutions, improving microelectronics, or preserving cultural heritage, we remain at the cutting edge of these transformative fields. As we continue to explore the possibilities of nanotechnology, we are excited about the opportunities to shape the future and address some of the most pressing challenges facing the world today.
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pvntechnosystems ¡ 1 year ago
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Enhance Bonding & Printability: Corona Surface Treatment Systems
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Achieve superior adhesion and printability for your films, foils, and plastics with corona surface treatment machinery. Our systems utilize a safe and efficient electrical discharge process to modify material surfaces, improving their ability to bond with inks, coatings, and adhesives.
Benefits:
Increased surface energy for enhanced wettability
Improved adhesion for superior bonding results
Enhanced printability for vibrant and durable prints
Wide range of applications across various industries
Applications:
Printing and packaging
Converting and laminating
Medical device manufacturing
Automotive components
Electronics and aerospace
Learn more about how corona surface treatment machinery can benefit your production process. Contact us today!
Contact  : 9727777057 / [email protected]
website : https://pvntechnosystems.com
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macksartblock ¡ 1 year ago
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I hope Trudy wasn’t always a robot bc that would be way more fucked up of Tucker also because what robot is programmed to suffer from comphet
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webdiggerxxx ¡ 2 years ago
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꧁★꧂
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seraphauna ¡ 3 months ago
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new surface bars <3
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reportstrends ¡ 14 days ago
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cylexplastics ¡ 6 months ago
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Secondary processing technology of ABS plastics: a new way to expand the application field
In the plastic processing industry, ABS plastics (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer) are highly favored for their excellent mechanical properties, processing performance and surface gloss. However, with the advancement of science and technology and changes in market demand, the single performance of ABS plastics has been difficult to meet the increasingly diverse application scenarios.…
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priteshwemarketresearch ¡ 7 months ago
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Antimicrobial Coatings Market Forecast: By Product, Application, and Region (2024–2034)
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The Growing Antimicrobial Coatings Market: Trends, Benefits, and Future Outlook2034
The Antimicrobial Coatings market is predicted to develop at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.8% from 2024 to 2034, when it is projected to reach USD 32,632.85 Million in 2034, based on an average growth pattern. The market is estimated to reach a value of USD 11,576.38 Million in 2024.By applying these coatings on the substrate surface, microbial metabolic processes can be inhibited. Cooper, silver, and zinc are the antibacterial coatings that are most frequently used. To increase the lifespan of substrate surfaces and prevent the growth of different germs, antibacterial coatings are applied.
Request Sample Copy:
https://wemarketresearch.com/reports/request-free-sample-pdf/antimicrobial-coatings-market/1582
Antimicrobial Coating Market Dynamics
DRIVER: The market is driven by the escalating demand for antimicrobial coatings in the healthcare and medical industries.
The use of antimicrobial coatings in the healthcare and medical sector is what propels the market in developed nations like the US and the UK. Antimicrobial and antibacterial coatings have become more and more popular in the medical and healthcare industries around the world in recent years. Rising hygiene awareness and government initiatives to curb the spread of hospital acquired diseases (HAIs) may be to blame for this. Both directly and indirectly, these HAIs are associated with injections, catheters, and other medical devices that frequently enter the body by the skin or implant. These coatings, which help stop microbiological growth, are widely used in the healthcare and medical sectors. This industry's demand is expected to fuel growth in the antibacterial coatings market.
Market Segments
By Product Type
Antimicrobial powder coatings
Silver
Copper
Others
Surface modification and coatings
Coli
Listeria
Pseudomonas
Others
By Application
Sanitary facilities and kitchen
Air conditioning and ventilation systems
Food processing and packaging
Mold Remediation
Construction
Medical Devices
Antimicrobial Textile
Others
Key Market Players 
AkzoNobel N.V.
AK Steel Corp.
Lonza
Diamond Vogel
DuPont
Axalta Coating Systems
Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd.
PPG Industries, Inc.
RPM International Inc.
Koninklijke DSM N.V.
Burke Industrial Coatings
The Sherwin-Williams Company
Troy Corporation
Opportunities: Antimicrobial coatings used in innovative applications
The need for antimicrobial coatings has grown dramatically in recent years, and some companies have decided to incorporate antimicrobial coatings into their goods. An emerging company started making fabrics with antimicrobial coatings to protect against a variety of illnesses.
Antimicrobial Coatings Market Trends
“Increasing Adoption of Bio-Based Composites”
Due to growing awareness of infection management, the market for antimicrobial coatings is expanding significantly. A significant development in the market for antimicrobial coatings is the increasing application of nanotechnology to improve coatings' ability to inhibit bacteria growth. The strong antibacterial qualities of nanoparticles, especially those of copper and silver nanomaterials, have made them more well-known. Antimicrobial coatings for use in healthcare settings, where infection control is crucial, are increasingly incorporating these materials. Silver nanoparticle coatings, for instance, are currently being used to lower the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) on high-touch surfaces such as hospital beds and medical equipment.
Challenges in the Antimicrobial Coatings Market
While the antimicrobial coatings market is growing, it faces certain challenges. One key issue is the high cost of raw materials, which can make antimicrobial coatings more expensive compared to traditional coatings. Additionally, the effectiveness of antimicrobial coatings can be influenced by factors such as surface texture, cleaning practices, and environmental conditions. Manufacturers are working to address these issues through innovations in coating technologies and formulations.
 The Future of the Antimicrobial Coatings Market
The antimicrobial coatings market is expected to continue expanding as industries focus more on health, hygiene, and safety. According to market research, the global antimicrobial coatings market size is anticipated to reach new heights, fueled by the rising demand for advanced coatings that offer long-term protection against harmful microorganisms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the market size of Antimicrobial Coatings Market in 2024?
What is the growth rate for the Antimicrobial Coatings Market?
Which are the top companies operating within the market?
Which region dominates the Antimicrobial Coatings Market?
Conclusion
The antimicrobial coatings market is poised for significant growth as the world continues to prioritize health and safety in both public and private spaces. With advancements in technology and a broad range of applications, antimicrobial coatings are transforming industries and contributing to healthier environments everywhere. Whether for medical devices, food safety, or consumer goods, the potential for antimicrobial coatings is vast, offering solutions to challenges that are becoming more important in our everyday lives.
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reasonsforhope ¡ 3 months ago
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"In an unprecedented transformation of China’s arid landscapes, large-scale solar installations are turning barren deserts into unexpected havens of biodiversity, according to groundbreaking research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The study reveals that solar farms are not only generating clean energy but also catalyzing remarkable ecological restoration in some of the country’s most inhospitable regions.
The research, examining 40 photovoltaic (PV) plants across northern China’s deserts, found that vegetation cover increased by up to 74% in areas with solar installations, even in locations using only natural restoration measures. This unexpected environmental dividend comes as China cements its position as the global leader in solar energy, having added 106 gigawatts of new installations in 2022 alone.
“Artificial ecological measures in the PV plants can reduce environmental damage and promote the condition of fragile desert ecosystems,” says Dr. Benli Liu, lead researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “This yields both ecological and economic benefits.”
The economic implications are substantial. “We’re witnessing a paradigm shift in how we view desert solar installations,” says Professor Zhang Wei, environmental economist at Beijing Normal University. “Our cost-benefit analysis shows that while initial ecological construction costs average $1.5 million per square kilometer, the long-term environmental benefits outweigh these investments by a factor of six within just a decade.” ...
“Soil organic carbon content increased by 37.2% in areas under solar panels, and nitrogen levels rose by 24.8%,” reports Dr. Sarah Chen, soil scientist involved in the project. “These improvements are crucial indicators of ecosystem health and sustainability.”
...Climate data from the study sites reveals significant microclimate modifications:
Average wind speeds reduced by 41.3% under panel arrays
Soil moisture retention increased by 32.7%
Ground surface temperature fluctuations decreased by 85%
Dust storm frequency reduced by 52% in solar farm areas...
The scale of China’s desert solar initiative is staggering. As of 2023, the country has installed over 350 gigawatts of solar capacity, with 30% located in desert regions. These installations cover approximately 6,000 square kilometers of desert terrain, an area larger than Delaware.
“The most surprising finding,” notes Dr. Wang Liu of the Desert Research Institute, “is the exponential increase in insect and bird species. We’ve documented a 312% increase in arthropod diversity and identified 27 new bird species nesting within the solar farms between 2020 and 2023.”
Dr. Yimeng Wang, the study’s lead author, emphasizes the broader implications: “This study provides evidence for evaluating the ecological benefit and planning of large-scale PV farms in deserts.”
The solar installations’ positive impact stems from several factors. The panels act as windbreaks, reducing erosion and creating microhabitats with lower evaporation rates. Perhaps most surprisingly, the routine maintenance of these facilities plays a crucial role in the ecosystem’s revival.
“The periodic cleaning of solar panels, occurring 7-8 times annually, creates consistent water drip lines beneath the panels,” explains Wang. “This inadvertent irrigation system promotes vegetation growth and the development of biological soil crusts, essential for soil stability.” ...
Recent economic analysis reveals broader benefits:
Job creation: 4.7 local jobs per megawatt of installed capacity
Tourism potential: 12 desert solar sites now offer educational tours
Agricultural integration: 23% of sites successfully pilot desert agriculture beneath panels
Carbon reduction: 1.2 million tons CO2 equivalent avoided per gigawatt annually
Dr. Maya Patel, visiting researcher from the International Renewable Energy Agency, emphasizes the global implications: “China’s desert solar model could be replicated in similar environments worldwide. The Sahara alone could theoretically host enough solar capacity to meet global electricity demand four times over while potentially greening up to 20% of the desert.”
The Chinese government has responded by implementing policies promoting “solar energy + sand control” and “solar energy + ecological restoration” initiatives. These efforts have shown promising results, with over 92% of PV plants constructed since 2017 incorporating at least one ecological construction mode.
Studies at facilities like the Qinghai Gonghe Photovoltaic Park demonstrate that areas under solar panels score significantly better in environmental assessments compared to surrounding regions, indicating positive effects on local microclimates.
As the world grapples with dual climate and biodiversity crises, China’s desert solar experiment offers a compelling model for sustainable development. The findings suggest that renewable energy infrastructure, when thoughtfully implemented, can serve as a catalyst for environmental regeneration, potentially transforming the world’s deserts from barren wastelands into productive, life-supporting ecosystems.
“This is no longer just about energy production,” concludes Dr. Liu. “We’re witnessing the birth of a new approach to ecosystem rehabilitation that could transform how we think about desert landscapes globally. The next decade will be crucial as we scale these solutions to meet both our climate and biodiversity goals.”"
-via Green Fingers, January 13, 2025
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carionto ¡ 3 months ago
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The terrifying sound of silence
"Where is the Human?"
A question that incites dread across the Galaxy. And no greater when the Human in question is an engineer.
For weeks after her arrival aboard the Coalition joint exploration vessel Ulmanar's Resilience, the Human Jenna had been pestering everyone about the technical specifications, tolerances, build schematics, design philosophy, power outputs, and countless other microscopic details.
At first everything seemed normal, Humans are known to be curios, especially the technically minded ones, and her job would entail managing parts of the vessel's systems, so everyone was as helpful as they could.
Then Jenna started tinkering.
'Optimizing' is how she described it.
Admittedly, most of her modifications resulted in marginal improvements to energy distribution and mechanical motion efficiency. Although the fact the power reactors started to make audible noise was... unusual, but the readings said everything was fine, and the fact a day passed without explosions put everyone at ease - this was partly why a Human engineer was brought along in the first place.
During a short stop at a supply station before our first descent onto an uncharted planet, Jenna was the first to rush off with several cargo drones in the direction of the shipyard district. She was the last to return mere minutes before the scheduled departure, all covered in dust and oil, and the drones straining under the weight of everything she had procured.
"Don't worry, it's gonna be awesome." she declared.
It had been a while since our training and none of us had encountered other Humans in the meantime, so all of us had forgotten to immediately be alarmed by those words and question everything she was doing.
The following weeks of transit to our destination were marked by a severe lack of Jenna interactions or even sightings. The shuttle bay was a mess of disassembled craft, loose parts flung about, and sparks and rattling noises coming from the bowels of whatever was going on.
Unbeknownst to us, for the idea itself was ludicrous, Jenna was only within the vessel half of the time during this period. The other half she was in her spacesuit tinkering with the exterior of the vessel. Laser cutters and cold welding, not to mention the vacuum of space, make for a very silent work environment.
Perhaps it was instinct for most of us to avoid the confusing actions of a predator species descendant, as once we arrived to the designated planet, we learned we only had two surface shuttles left. Out of sixteen.
"This baby can land now!" Jenna happily said.
Confused beyond measure, we asked: "What do you mean 'this baby?"
"The ship, you know, Ulmanar's Resilience. We can land the whole thing now instead of doing this boring shuttling down thing. Plus the terraforming bot wouldn't fit in a shuttle anyway."
"The what?" our confusion continued.
"Yeah, we're gonna terraform this planet, right? That's what I got from the briefing back before joining you guys." she explained with innocence in her eyes.
There must have been some miscommunication, but the work had been done, and as far as our own technicians (who were scolded harshly for not keeping track of such grand changes to the entire vessel) did confirm that, as far as their understanding of mechanics and physics went, Ulmanar's Resilience can now indeed endure descent and commence takeoff from up to a 6G world.
So I guess that's what we're doing now. Preliminary surveys from past unmanned missions had suggested this world was once in the past and potentially now habitable again, and we suppose the Humans had decided to just set that in motion before more detailed analysis had occurred.
"Oh yeah," Jenna interjected, "if it turns out this place is, like, super dangerous and a threat to the Galaxy if we accidentally wake something up, I modified one of the scanning dishes to be a deep drill laser. Two hours of firing it at the core of the planet and it'll go boom."
...
"The planet, not the laser dish. That will explode if left on for more than three hours."
...
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bluemerakis ¡ 6 months ago
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────────── ᝰ bluemerakis ༝༚༝༚ ────
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❝ feelin’ fuckin’ fantastic ❞
part i/iii
read part ii here
─ ۶ৎ ─
pairing ୨୧ soldier boy x fem!supe!reader — how they met
warnings .ᐟ cussing, angst, masturbation m receiving, let me know if I’ve forgotten any!
synopsis ─ after the love of your life—soldier boy—is kidnapped by the russians, you strike a deal to work under them as a scientist so that you could keep tabs on your boyfriend. over the years, you managed to make modifications to compound v as per the russians’ orders, so that soldier boy could receive the treatments and be remade in a far greater image than any other living supe—a biological weapon. but it all comes to and end when you make contact with a strange group and conspire to get yourself and him out of dodge.
word count ~ 6.8k
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“He’s ready for you.”
Those very words crept past the nape of your neck to caress your ear as a warm breath, yet you felt the way it instilled chills down the expanse of your spine, whisking your attention away from one of the lab assistants you’d been checking stock with. You placed an apologetic hand on her shoulder, braving a thin-lipped smile as you excused yourself and handed her the clipboard of listed supplies.
“Take care of that for me, will you?” You murmured kindly, to which the assistant relieved you of the board with a meek of course, and you thanked her hastily before sending her on her way.
Turning to face the bearer of bad news, you were confronted by the guard you’d tasked with pulling Soldier Boy from his induced coma. Immediately, your attention snagged onto the faint trail of blood smudged above the curve of his upper-lip. It formed an incomplete line that told you he’d attempted to obliterate the evidence of his known temper with a hasty swipe of his thumb—but more so, it told you that Soldier Boy was in one of his fouler moods today.
The Supe was quite physically capable of inflicting more damage whenever he pleased, but his compulsive urge to do so only surfaced on his worser days—which seemed to be growing more frequent.
All courtesy of the godsent fucking side effects of induced sleep.
The technology was still so new despite being in use for these last couple of years, and hence you hadn’t been able to successfully map out any tangible links between behavioural alterations and manual arousal of the brain—you only knew that it happened. The how was as good a guess as anybody’s.
“Trouble?” you asked the guard pointedly, the hand at your side making a subconscious reach for your lab coat as you throttled the white material in anticipation.
You didn’t know why you still bothered to ask, really, when the answer to that singular question had always been the same. You couldn’t have Soldier Boy without the trouble. They were the sort of two-for-one special that you couldn’t have said no to—but at what cost?
The guard rolled his shoulders with a husk of embarrassment as he spoke, drawing your attention back to him. “You know the prick,” he grumbled, averting his gaze to acquaint every aspect of the hallway other than your own expectant stare. “He’s on some of the crazy shit today. . . jumped me and decided to lay one on me after we put him in the room—but don’t worry, I put him in his place.”
“Uh huh,” you murmured distractedly, your attention slipping past his figure to tune into the door that loomed like a menacing figure at the end of the facility’s pristine hallway.
The reinforced steel frame adorned with high-tech locks all along the perimeter could identify itself as Soldier Boy’s door—because who else could possibly warrant such caution within this secret facility?
Truthfully, you’d allowed the guard’s explanation to slip through your care entirely. You had bigger things on your mind—for one, what sort of greeting you could expect from Soldier Boy this time around. The induced sleep has been rough on his brain. It made him feral at times—made him blindly lash out like a rabid animal of prey. And he wasn’t notorious for restraint, either—god forbid or you’d have never had to expel the name Herogasm from your waking mind.
“If you’ll excuse me.” You brushed past the guard to put an end to the suspense you felt inevitably building at the idea of seeing Soldier Boy again—after all this time. Your fingertips seemed to tremble in solidarity.
“I’ll come with you,” the guard insisted, and the unpleasant screech of his heavy duty boots followed shortly after as he pivoted on his heels to follow.
“No, I’m going in alone,” you called over your shoulder without so much as a glance to spare.
“Well, be careful!” the guard called to the back of your rushing figure. “He’s wilder today—not using a single goddamn braincell!”
Seems to be the common trend around here, you thought, birthing a mental scoff. Men. The last thing you needed was to add another twig to the fire by bringing along the guard Soldier Boy had already popped one on. He’d gone easy on the guard, you knew him well enough to deduce that, but it also meant that the flimsy punch responsible for the bloodstain above that guard’s lip was merely a promise for a truer beating somewhere down the line. That time would not be now—not if you could help it.
You hurled a dismissive hand over your shoulder that told the guard not to worry—a gesture to brush aside his concerns, but also to hopefully coerce away yours. If you wanted to feel braver, maybe a good place to start would be to act as though there was no reason to feel scared.
Would Soldier Boy hurt you?
You couldn’t help but lift a hand to ghost across your neck for a few seconds before lowering your hand back to your side.
The door that would give sure way to that nagging question seemed to grow with each passing second as you closed in on it, and when you came face to face with the worn, thick steel, the breath in your chest stilled. Your gaze lowered along the various locks, which had been left unlatched—not a bad finding, surely, if it meant he was tame enough to temporarily forsake the extra security. That thought gave permission to your lungs to breathe as per usual.
But when you really tried to listen, head slightly turning to tune in your hearing, you could make out a cluster of grunting and thudding from beyond the six inches of steel. It wasn’t a finding that eased away the dread your fingertips so insistently clung to—you’d hoped for an entirely different scenario.
Fuck, you cussed internally, taking your lower lip into a frustrated bite, before you decided to push through the anticipative haze by fastening your hand around the door’s handle.
You pushed the door open, your vision bombed by the blaring, overhead lights that beat down on the even whiter room. You’d always thought the room had been purposefully modelled to convey the impression of a void—it was no wonder the test subjects often went insane in here. The room swallowed up your senses for a moment, and you fluttered your eyes in an attempt to adjust to the blinding air before you came to focus on Soldier Boy’s figure in the centre of the stage.
He lay plastered along the length of a reinforced operating table, fist-drawn hands sentenced to his side by thick, steel-linked chains. There were a few sets to match, which secured his torso and legs to the table, intended to immobilise him as best as possible—but Soldier Boy seemed determined to test out the limitations of their purpose as he thrashed vigorously between the fortifying steel, guttural sounds filling the silence of the room.
He only laid the effort to rest when his head lifted from the table with a grunt, and his eyes fell onto your familiar figure. His sudden calmness seemed to ease off the four guards lining the table—their weapons long since drawn as a show of force, and a promise of death, should the subject make a successful escape.
Your airways thinned as you caught Soldier Boy’s stare, the rage that framed his eyes simmering into a semblance of relief as he drank in your presence.
He called your name. Your name.
Your lips parted as a slight breath of disbelief pierced its way through—forced from your lungs by the sudden jolt in your heart.
“Leave us,” you ordered, your attention lingering on the Supe for a few seconds longer before you broke the mental tether to whisk a hard stare across the idling guards. “Now.”
The guards all exchanged a look that seemed to communicate a shared feeling of doubt, but neither of them wore a pair big enough to outwardly criticise your command. So, hesitantly, they holstered their weapons in practiced sequence, then in complete silence, they streamed from the room in an orderly fashion.
The last one to slip past you lingered at your ear only to murmur, “we’ll be outside to intervene if anything goes wrong.”
Don’t bother, is what you wanted to say—you knew just the way to go about handling Soldier Boy. After all, you’d been doing this for years. But you also knew that this was standard protocol set in place to protect any and all employees—especially when said employee was as valuable as you.
So, instead, you turned your chin slightly to offer the guard an acknowledging nod, which allowed him to slink through the doorway and lug the heavy door closed behind him. The mechanism clicked into place, and it echoed brashly between the four walls of this inspired asylum.
You turned your attention back to Solider Boy, who still had his eyes patiently fixed on you. The hands at his sides had stilled completely, and his body had relaxed against the cold steel of the table, but there was still a tension bracketing his jaw that was yet to release, even at the sight of you.
“The hell was it this time, huh?” His sombre voice dampened the hollow air—you’d almost forgotten how profound the rumble in his throat was, and it tickled your senses in all the right ways. “Three, four months? A year?” He seethed, the muscles of his jaw faltering with great restraint.
“Six months,” you told him levelly, chin lifting slightly as you endured the brunt of the guilt that was evoked under his resentful glare.
You didn’t hold any joy for this procedure—pulling him in and out of an induced sleep throughout the years only to inject him full of experimental compounds that burned him from the inside out. You hated it, almost as much as he did. But that was just the way things had to be—for now, at least. It’s what the Russians had brought you here to do—and funnily enough, it was the only way to keep him safe.
There was a scoff from Soldier Boy, followed by a soft thud as he allowed his head to collapse back onto the metal frame. “Yeah, you’d know. . . fuckin’ stewardess on the sidelines, draped in that goddamn lab coat while they pluck your guinea pig from the greatest fuckin’ nap of his life.”
You let loose a light huff at that, the trembling in your fingertips beginning to slip away at last. “Yeah?” You began moving off to the side of the room where various tables lined the walls, coming to a stop at the nearest one. It was adorned with nothing but a black, sealable case with a label signed sample 246. Your own handwriting. “And what’d you dream about?” You asked, reaching to unclip the case before lifting up the top compartment to reveal what horrors lay inside.
“You.”
Your hands faltered on the case, your chin slightly buckling to take in the view of the table as that singular word bounced about the dark corners of your mind. Suddenly, your breathing sounded a lot louder in your ears, and you managed to catch a slight hitch in your airways.
“What about me?” You pushed on almost timidly—dreading the honest answer to such an open-ended question.
Throughout the years spent in this facility, there were various versions of yourself that you could recall—creatures you’d become in order to endure and survive the brutalities of your work under the Russians. None of those versions had a commendable reputation—not one of them. And that scared you—the thought that Soldier Boy had come to meet so many of those prior versions, and that he might’ve forgotten the one he’d fallen in love with all those years ago. If you were put in front of the mirror, you couldn’t honestly say that you’d recognise yourself, either.
There was a pause from Soldier Boy, and the silence was so loud that your ears began to ring. “Don’t play stupid with me,” he said at last, coupled by the soft clinking of chains against the table.
Instinctively, you glanced over your shoulder with an undertone of panic. But when you took in the view of him, he was still cemented in the same position, and his head was already turned toward you—likely to prowl after your every move like a waiting predator.
“Yeah, that’s right, look at me,” he grinned, but the gesture wasn’t genuine, and it was plucked from his lips quicker than you could blink it away.
“It’s the same dream, every fuckin’ time,” he continued. “Birdsong, all around—god, the fuckers never stick their beaks in the bark. . . Anyways, there’s sun streamin’ in through the windows. And there you are, in my bed, a mewlin’ mess between the sheets with not an inch of modesty anywhere on that fine body of yours. I’ve got you pinned, and I mean really pinned between the sheets—skin’s fuckin’ bruising—and instead of pleadin’ for some sort of release, you’re telling me you love me. Pretty sure I remember the feelin’ of my ballsack puckerin’ up at that.”
A smile crept its way back onto Soldier Boy’s lips as his gaze raked over your stunted expression, and this time, it was founded on blatant curiosity.
“You look surprised,” he remarked, and there was a lot of room for him to poke at any aspect of your reaction, but he held onto his tongue with a practiced calmness. You couldn’t help but feel as though he had some unspoken motive.
You drew in a steadying breath, fighting to control the influx of mental pictures that his dream seemed to coerce into your brain. But it was hard to deny something its rightful place, especially when said dream of his was not a dream at all, but a memory.
Slowly, you turned your head back to the case at hand, focus falling onto the singular needle cushioned within a foam imprint. With one hand, you reached to free the needle, and with the other, you clicked the the case closed again.
“I am surprised,” you admitted, bringing the needle up to your eye line as you studied the blue serum behind the glass.
“Do tell.”
You waited and watched as a bubble soared through the compound to cling to the uppermost point of the vile, then you flicked your finger across the glass to dissipate its fragile skeleton. You lowered the needle and turned to face Soldier Boy, who entertained a mildly curious look on his features.
“This sleep you’ve been under, it’s not exactly. . . well-understood. We’ve hit a few bumps in the road. The worst of the effects has to do with the patient’s cognitive function.”
He scoffed. “What, you mean to tell me I’m goin’ dumb?”
“No,” you answered carefully, taking a few steps toward the table. “It’s your memory. There were times after we’ve woken you where you failed the standard procedure questionnaire—things about your life. . . thing’s that you’ve answered a hundred times before. You should know it all by now—it’s really just there as a sanity ritual. But, like I said, there were times you’ve failed it, and it doesn’t always happen, but it’s becoming more frequent.”
You stopped before the table with a few inches of space to spare, noting the way the confusion on Soldier Boy’s face seemed to deepen with each passing second that you spoke.
“There’s some retrograde effect to it, though,” you continued. “Sometimes, you wake up in a fit state. You’re calm, and you’ve got a memory as best as it’s ever been. . .” You trailed into uncertainty, feeling at war with your role in his current memories.
You knew perfectly well where you stood with him, but you wanted to—needed to know what version of you currently stood with him, and that all banked on just how much his drug-addled brain remembered this time around—details of his life before the sleeping tank, about his purpose, and about his relationship with you.
His brows furrowed as he gazed up at you. “And the other times?” He prompted you to continue.
You cleared your throat self-consciously, your eyes wandering down to the hands chained at his side. “Well, the other times, you wake up explosively, blindly dealing fists faster than the guards can reach for their weapons. You even managed to kill a guard, once.”
“Badass,” he chuckled smoothly, deeply—the familiarity of it tugged at the fibres of your heart. “But don’t you get any ideas about what today’s little skirmish was all about.”
Those words caught you off guard. You tore your gaze away from his knuckles, brows kneading together as you acquainted the mischievous glint in his eyes—those goddamn eyes. A dick move from heaven to give him a feature as beautifully persuasive as that. You couldn’t help but drown in their green depths whenever he sentenced you to a hearty stare, and it’s an ocean you’d never need, nor want rescuing from.
“What’re you on about?” You asked.
“Don’t tell me you weren’t thinkin’ ‘bout that guard I fisted back there.” He lifted his first from the table to make a commotion that aided his words. “He tell ya I went berserk on him, hm?”
The hum in his voice sent a barely perceptible shiver down your neck, and it pulled forward a sudden memory of his frame pressed up against your back—broad, bare chest cushioning your exposed shoulder blades as he sank you deeper into the mattress with each, drilling movement of his pelvis into yours. His lips would find your ear, murmuring endearing words of encouragement to spur you on, doin’ so good for me, sweet girl—my sweet girl, and he’d hum ever so sweetly at the sound of your rapid undoing.
You pushed the memory away, reinforcing the grip on the needle that had begun to slip under your frail focus. “He said you were a hassle, that’s all,” you told Soldier Boy. “And that he put you in your place.”
He gave a scoff the most scornful you’ve heard thus far. “Please, dickhead’s got the swing of ninny. Didn’t even leave a scratch. I, on the other hand, gave him the slightest taste of my dick with that punch—and I’ll tell ya, I knew damn well what I was doin’ for every glorious second of it. It wasn’t the goddamn drugs pumped into me.”
A hopeful spark lit up in your chest as you slowly began to confirm the parameters of his mental state, and you felt eager to ask him just how much he remembered this time around, but you fought to compose yourself. Instead, you asked, “did you pass the questionnaire?”
Soldier Boy held your stare with an almost devilish glint to his eye. “Cum laude,” he said.
You couldn’t help but let slip a breath of a relieved chuckle, but Soldier Boy’s charm sobered up pretty quickly as he forged a more serious look. His eyes wandered down to the needle in your hand, which he acknowledged for the first time since you’d pulled it out.
“This the part where you stick it in me?” He caught himself with a sultry chuckle, his eyes fluttering closed as he turned his head to face the ceiling again. “Man. . . never thought I’d hear those words outta my own mouth, that’s usually your line.”
Heat momentarily flushed your cheeks at that comment, but you pushed it away and lowered your gaze to the needle in grasp, a heavy sense of regret coupling your words as you pushed out a soft, “I’m sorry.”
“Well, what’s it gonna be this time ‘round? Burnin’ me blind? Cramps that feel like a fuckin’ mole tryin’ to explode from my stomach? A full body burn-up and debilitatin’ seizures seem to be a favourite.”
You listened to him with a guilt in your heart that had long since hollowed out much of your chest—there was not much else to feel in all the time between his ritualistic awakenings. “I’m sorry, Ben,” you told him again, only because you were unsure of what else you could be saying.
You let slip a heavy sigh of defeat at the circumstances, before you seized up on the name you’d accidentally let slip. You tore your gaze away from the needle to glance at Soldier Boy with slight anticipation, but he only turned to stare at you with a quieted expression. The use of his real name didn’t seem to come as any unfamiliar shock, and that gave you some solace on the mental debate of how much he remembered about your relationship.
He gave a small jerk of his chin. “Come on, then, do your thing and get it over with. Don’t care for all the fuckin’ edging.”
You closed in on the last of the space separating your bodies, and you took the time to observe the clean pair of scrubs he wore this time around, as well as the gentle whiff of soap radiating from his skin. They made a habit of washing him shortly after pulling him from sleep, usually once the questionnaire was completed. As much as they considered his bodily hygiene, you only wished they’d taken it a step further to address the growing beanstalk of a beard plastered to his chin—not his best look by far, but it was something you could work with.
You reached out your free hand to hover over his arm, eyes trailing up to his. He watched you closely, intensely, with an emotion not quite decodable by your means. “I’m going to inject it into your arm,” you warned him.
“And take your damn time with it, apparently,” he said, lifting his arm to cover what little distance he could manage before the chains reinforced their hold.
You turned your eyes onto his presented arm, and hesitantly, you reached to snake your hand under his elbow. His skin felt so warm against you—it was comforting.
“In these six months you’ve been asleep, I tried my best to modify the compound to have as little side effects as possible. I’ve tested it on the animal subjects, and at most, they showed an elevated body temperature.”
“Yeah, well, let’s just see how much my primal DNA counts in my favour,” he scoffed as he watched you at work, but never once did that look in his eyes waver.
Your lips tackled silence as you focused on the task of inserting the needle. You didn’t have to do much searching to choose the vein to victimise—the vessels were quite open to appreciation along the length of his arm. You lifted the needle toward your vein of choice and slowly inserted it through the skin. Carefully, you began to press down on the plunger, watching as the contents drained from the vile and into the vessel streaming beneath the skin.
Ben sucked air through his teeth, which snapped your attention to his face. His eyes were screwed shut, his teeth displayed in a clench as his head burrowed back slightly further into the table.
“Are you okay?” You asked him.
“Feelin’ fuckin’ fantastic,” he pushed out sarcastically, the squeeze of his eyes yet to let up.
“Good to know,” you muttered with a brief, dismissive flick of your eyes before you focused on the needle once more.
With the last of the contents emptied, you carefully released the hold on his elbow to draw a swab of cotton from your coat. You pressed the material over the insertion point of the needle and applied a light pressure before you began withdrawing the steel length from his skin.
You set the needle onto the table beside his arm and retrieved a plaster from your pocket, and after removing the paper film, you secured the cotton against his skin. You reclaimed the needle and briefly left Ben’s side to place it back into the case before you returned to monitor his vitals.
“Do you feel any different?” You asked, coming to stand beside his arm.
“I’m hot as fuck and more sober than I’d like to be,” he answered wryly.
You were tempted to be snarky, but then you realised that compared to his usual state—the one you’d often come to find him in back in his prime days—this very well could be considered a difference of note.
There was a silence that carried out for a few minutes as you stood waiting to observe any worrisome changes, and it was never uncomfortable—not with him, but Ben eventually put an end to it.
“You know,” he began, a singular brow slightly cocked with curiosity. “You didn’t ask why I punched that dickhead asshole back there. I mean, we’ve established that my brain’s pretty much like that . . . what’s his name? The dude was born somewhere after me, smart as fuck—Stephenson fuckin’ somethin’—anyway, who gives a fuck? I got all my shit in one place, I’m not a goddamn freak show of flying fists, so ain’t ya the least bit curious about it?”
You glanced at him with a hint of surprise. “It’s not exactly off-brand for you to go around punching people, even on your good days,” you pointed out with a hint of amusement.
He rocked his head side to side in a gesture of acceptance. “Eh, fair enough. But I’ll tell ya,” he said.
You watched him closely, a soft smile on your lips. It felt good to talk to him normally. You’d missed this dearly. “I’m listening.”
“The fucker made a jab at me about you, said he’s been keeping one hand in your panties since they put me under—takin’ sweet care of you all the while. So I gave him a light face fuck, the only action he’s ever gotten, and I’d have done a whole lot more had the four assholes out there not strapped me down like some kinky bondage plaything.”
Your heart fluttered at the idea that he’d gotten so protective over you. But you barely had time to process the emotion before he continued.
“He ever touch you?” Ben’s stare was hard, but despite the soldier act, you caught the way his eyes briefly flickered down to your lips.
“No,” you answered instantly, bristling slightly at his nerve to ask. “Never. He’s all talk, no show, and even if he had something to show for it, I can handle my own.”
Am impressed smirk stretched Ben’s lips. “Yes, ma’am,” he drawled. “And I always did love that about you.”
Those words paved way for the question you’d been itching to ask since the beginning. You dropped your gaze to your hands, planted against the table beside his.
“Ben,” you began softly. He gave a deep hum of acknowledgment. “Just how much do you remember about me?”
There were a few uncaptioned moments of silence, and you almost wished you could see his face to decipher his thoughts, but some other emotion kept your eyes glued to veins of his arm.
“Everythin’,” he answered at last. “Every damn thing.”
You glanced at him, feeling a mixture of surprise and relief at that confession, and released a long sigh. “You have no idea how relieved that makes me feel.”
Ben held your stare intently, his eyes softening a fraction. “Those times you said my memory got fucked. . . did I forget you?”
You nodded hesitantly and saw the slight ghost of disbelief whisk across his eyes, which caused your heart to ache with the less fond memories between the two of you.
The first time it’d happened was twelve years ago. You’d been right beside the pod they’d pulled him from, and in the midst of his confusion and blind rage, he’d grabbed ahold of you at the neck—another strange face, nobody of any significance to him. Just another damned Russian. You’d been strangled in his grasp for quite a while; the guards coming to your aid were unable to pry his hands from your windpipes in time to escape a blackout.
You’d woken up a day later with severe bruising to your neck and collar bone, and the only news that could’ve been considered good was the fact that you were lucky enough to escape his rage alive. The force with which you were choked should have killed you, you knew that. The only reason you’d survived is because you, yourself, were a Supe.
You’d met Ben back in his prime, before the team had staged the coup that had landed him here. When he was taken by the Russians and betrayed by everybody around him, you’d struck a deal with the higher-ups to get a foot on the inside of the entire operation. Under them, you worked as a scientist to formulate compounds that would enhance Ben to the level that the Russians needed him at.
The first time Ben saw you walk into the medical room, he’d nearly imploded with relief, panic and betrayal all at once, but you’d never let on your relationship with him to anybody within the operation. So to any outside onlooker, you two were strangers to one another, only connected by the duty of the experimenter and her experiment.
It was crucial to keep things that way, especially when you’d been in the company of some of the Russian generals who wanted to witness the first experimental injection on Ben firsthand. Upon his recognition of you, you had to convince everybody that he was undergoing an episode of psychosis—formulating a romantic relationship between the two of you that had never existed in the first place. You had blamed it on the effects of the induced coma, and it had easily passed as an excuse due to the little knowledge possessed on its side effects at the time. Granted, not much progress was made in that field even in this current day and age.
Eventually, when you’d managed to gain enough reputation to demand treatment sessions alone with Ben, you’d gotten the opportunity to explain everything. He had little to be happy about, given that everybody he once trusted had betrayed him in a blink, and the one person he had left to cherish and love was currently pumping him with unreliable modifications of Compound V.
But with time, he’d come to accept it.
You weren’t proud of it. And in the moments that Ben would awaken only to forget you, he’d made sure to toss out every vile insult and cuss word he could each time you slid that needle into his arm, which only broke your heart further. But it was the price to pay to ensure nothing worse would happen to him.
The only barrier that had been set between him and a fate worse off, was you, and that’s a fact you’d tried hard to remind yourself of in all the passing years you’d spent drowning in guilt for your sins. But even then, it never made enduring his mind-swept states easier, and especially not when he looked at you with such hatred solidified in his gaze that it became all you could think about.
You came back to the present when Ben’s hand struggled through the restraints to graze your fingers. You flinched at the touch, at first, but it wasn’t long before your hand relaxed within his hold. So warm, so gentle, even considering all that he’s been through. It was comforting to know just how human he still was.
“Untie me,” he said, and you opened your mouth to argue before he cut you off with an air of eager reassurance. “I feel fine. It’s been a good couple of minutes, and nothin’s happened. Don’t ya trust me?”
You tilted your head slightly at him. “You know I do,” you murmured, your hand tightening within his. “But Ben, there’s something el—”
“Untie me first, then tell me about all the shit I’ve got comin’ for me,” he insisted.
Your eyes scanned the room self-consciously, picking out the two corners that had cameras mounted to their wall. “You know they’re watching us,” you told him. “Our every move.”
“Yeah, fuck those fuckers,” he sniffed, following your gaze to do his own quick sweep of the room. “Fuckin’ assholes!” He called aloud, and you tightened your hand in his as a warning. He glanced back at you with a slight scoff. “What? They’ve seen my bare balls and ass—shit, they’ve even stroked it. They know damn well how I feel about them.”
“Don’t provoke them,” you told him, and he flashed you a look that screamed bet, though he chose to resort to his best behaviour as he clamped down on his tongue. “I can’t take your chains off, they’ll storm the place the moment I do. I’m sorry.”
Ben held your gaze for a moment as he considered the circumstances, then his attention slid past you and lifted to the ceiling above your head.
You turned your head to follow his gaze. “What?” You asked, turning back to him with curiosity.
“Every time they roll me in and outta this room, I get a glimpse of the security room,” he said in a low murmur, raw emphasis on keeping his words out the enemy’s ears. “There’s two cameras in this room. One behind ya—“ he made a gesture with a flick of his eyes, “—and one behind me in the opposite corner. And it’s my lucky fuckin’ day, cause the camera behind me’s busted.”
You frowned as he spoke. “And what favours has that got to offer you?” You asked.
Ben seemed content to explain. “Camera behind you’s the only one still workin’. But your body—god bless it in its fuckin’ entirety—is blocking their dandy view of my dick.”
You listened carefully, the crease in your brow beginning to loosen at the understanding of where he was headed. “Absolutely not,” you scolded him, a dumbstruck smile poking through.
“Oh, come on,” Ben drawled. “Why the fuck not? I’ve been all pressed up in that sweaty fuckin’ tank for weeks, months, years on end and every time my eyes close, I get that goddamn dream of you and I, hittin’ pound town like there’s no fuckin’ tomorrow—shit, and I mean no tomorrow. Seriously, all day, all night—“
“All right, all right,” you cut him short, heat beginning to flush into your cheeks.
“Now, it’s not gonna be a recreation of that sweet, sweet day,” Ben said regretfully. “But if you could give a man a taste of relief by using that hand for somethin’ other than sticking a needle in my arm, I will fuck you senseless as a reward as soon as I’m freed the fuck outta these chains—you just gimme a time and place. That sound like a plan, baby?”
You couldn’t deny the hot burn that jolted it’s way into your core at the sound of that promise, but you pushed it aside to address the other issue you hadn’t yet been given the chance to voice.
“It’s a date, Ben, but you need to listen to me about that something else,” you told him, releasing his hand.
Ben puckered his lips as he coaxed forward a shushing noise, jerking his chin toward his hard on. He didn’t often need a lot of pampering to erect his dick—the bloody thing could get off on the scent of your perfume alone.
With a frustrated sigh, you tossed a quick glance over your shoulder, glimpsing the camera that had been peering over you since you’d set foot in here. You saw it blinking with a red light at its centre, the dead giveaway of recording. You then turned to look at the opposite camera, and it didn’t hold the same red dot in its core, which meant that Ben was, indeed, right.
Of course he was.
“Oh, for fuck’s sakes, Ben,” you muttered in disbelief, tensely guiding the hand that had held his only seconds ago toward the bulge in his pants, simultaneously shifting your body to shield the scene more firmly. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“Try not to make it too obvious,” Ben advised smugly, his eyes dipping to where your hand slipped under the flimsy waistband of his scrub pants.
“Shut up.” You were immediately greeted by his firm hard-on, not having any underwear beneath the scrubs. It felt warm and swollen against your palm, and when you passed a curious thumb over his tip, you felt the damp kiss of his pre-cum.
“Yeah, he’s a little excited—you felt it, get a move on,” he ordered impatiently.
You’d forgotten just how much of a curt dick he could be when it came to anything remotely sexual.
You wrapped your fingers around his length, your thumb gathering all tangible pre-cum to spread it along the head before you began to pump him with slow, fluid strokes.
Ben’s head collapsed back onto the table, his mouth falling slightly ajar with breathy grunts of pleasure.
“I need to make it less obvious?” You sniped in a harsh, low tone. “How about you?”
“Fuck,” Ben spat, lifting his head with what looked like great effort to face you. “Forgot just how good you feel, you’ll forgive a man for being expressive.”
Your heart fluttered at his compliment, and you tightened your hold on his girth to applaud his behaviour. “Keep on talking to me,” you said. “Make it look like we’re having a conversation.”
“Yeah. . .” Ben stammered distractedly, a clear indication that he was struggling to multitask.
“Oh, for fuck’s sakes,” you muttered under your breath, picking up the pace of your strokes. You made sure to come down on his balls with considerable force to add to the stimulation, and he let slip a strangled, gruff moan that caused your core to ignite its own fire.
“Atta girl, pumpin’ it almost as well as your pussy does,” he praised breathlessly as he struggled against his restrains with a frustrated grunt. “These fuckin’ things. . .” He trailed off and met your gaze. “What was it you wanted to say?” He asked, his chest beginning to heave more rapidly now.
You were doubtful that you had his full ear to unload the importance of what you were about to tell him, but you decided to spill that can anyways, simultaneously making sure to keep up the pace of your strokes.
“This is the last injection you’ll ever have to get, Ben,” you told him softly. Ben’s sex-addled haze sobered up real quickly at that, his eyes now fully focused onto your face.
“The fuck you on ‘bout?” He asked.
“Tonight, you’re getting out,” you told him, feeling as the heat around his length began to build with each continued stroke. You could see Ben strain with the movements, wanting desperately to reach his release while trying to focus on your words. “I made contact with this group, they’ve been looking for you for a while—followed your trail all the way out here. You wanna know what the Russians intended to use you for? Well, Turns out, you’re the one strongest biological weapon that planet Earth has to offer.”
His eyes widened briefly at that before screwing shut as his head collapsed back onto the table with a strained growl, and then you felt him implode, his warm seed trailing down your hand. You gave a few more slow pumps to urge the last of it out, then gently released his manhood and discretely pulled your hand from his pants.
“Feel better now?” You asked, bringing your hand to wipe his juices onto your coat.
Ben lifted his head just in time to catch that act, which caused him to grunt in disappointment.
“Do it right next time,” he scolded you. “You know you love the taste of it.”
You did, but this wasn’t exactly the time or place for you to express that particular savoury tooth. “Listen,” you continued the earlier conversation. “This group, they need you, and come tonight, they’ll break you out of that fucking tank you’ve been stuck in all these years.”
Ben’s expression seemed to knead both relief and anticipation as he considered your words. “Where will you be?” He asked earnestly. “I’m not leavin’ without you.”
You took his hand into your own, and he squeezed it tightly. “You won’t,” you assured him. “I’ll be right there beside you when you wake up. But for now, you’ve got to go along with everything—act normal, like it’s any other day.”
Ben nodded slowly, the most docile and compliant you’d ever seen him. “These people . . . how much do you know about ‘em?”
You shook your head slightly. “Not a lot,” you admitted. “But enough to know they’re the lesser evil. They get us out of here, you do what you need to do, and then we run.”
“Yeah, fuck it, I’ve had worse odds,” he decided, something which you could contest to. “This group, they have a name?”
“Yeah,” you said, recalling the blatant stupidity of it. “They call themselves The Boys.”
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a/n ─ man, this was pumped out of me at 3 am because my biological urges just decided to go full-blown FUCK YEAH for jensen ackles. i NEED him.
thank you for reading! all likes, comments & reblogs are deeply appreciated
tags — @gibson-g1rl @bohemianblasphemy @fallbhind
want to become part of the taglist for any future soldier boy works?
other works ─ the boys masterlist
© bluemerakis ─ do not plagiarise or steal any of my works.
693 notes ¡ View notes
crapeaucrapeau ¡ 4 months ago
Text
Defunct ME1 Website Codex Entries
In the interest of preserving rare documents related to Mass Effect, I'm transcribing here the Codex entries which were on the ME1 website when the game first came out. They are reproduced here as they form much of the basis by which we understand Mass Effect ; in some cases, they are phrased differently from the Codex in the actual game, with additional information, or contradictions (e.g. the given length of the Krogan Rebellions). Link here : https://web.archive.org/web/20130326112139/http://masseffect.bioware.com/me1/galacticcodex/index.html
Each Codex entry comes in two parts : the "lede" on the starting Codex page, and the entry itself. In an archiving interest, associated polls are included, though they do not represent anything more than the intended market's opinions prior to the game's release. Everything is quoted verbatim, though I have done some formatting modifications for ease of reading.
Note : since this was very much part of the promotion for ME1, the intended audience is clearly human, but it's difficult at times to see if it's an in-universe "we" or an IRL "we". The polls, however, are clearly out-of-universe.
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SPECIES
The Advent of Humanity on the Galactic Stage
In the decades since our first encounter with the greater galactic community, humanity has risen quickly to prominence, establishing colonies throughout the stars. However, our population growth and military strength have led to resentful speculation that an invitation to join the ranks of the Council itself is imminent. [Read More]
The Advent of Humanity on the Galactic Stage
In the year 2148, humanity discovered Prothean ruins on Mars. The remnants of Prothean technology scattered amongst these ruins allowed them to develop mass effect fields and faster-than-light travel. This led them to discover and reactivate the mass relay at the edges of Earth's solar system, giving them access to the mass relay network spanning the rest of the galaxy and bringing them into contact with the greater galactic community.
2148 AD : Humanity discovers a small cache of highly advanced alien technology hidden deep beneath the surface of Mars. Building on the remnants of this long extinct race - known as the Protheans - humanity quickly masters the science of mass effect fields, leading to the development of faster than light travel.
2149 AD : Spreading out through their own solar system, humanity discovers that Charon, Pluto's moon, is actually a massive piece of dormant Prothean technology - a mass relay - encased in ice.
Once activated, humanity discovers that the mass relay allows instantaneous travel across thousands of light years to a synchronized mass relay in another part of the galaxy.
There they discover several more dormant relays. Over the next decade humanity expands rapidly, establishing colonies and activating dormant relays to open up more and more unexplored regions of space.
2155 AD : To defend its rapidly expanding empire, humanity assembles a massive fleet and constructs an enormous military space station at the nexus of several key mass relays…even though they have yet to encounter another intelligent space-faring species.
2157 AD : Humanity makes first contact with another space-faring culture: the turians. Unfortunately, the encounter is far from peaceful. Over the next several months a brief but tense conflict known on Earth as the First Contact war ensues.
This conflict draws the attention of the Citadel Council - a multi-species government body that maintains peace and stability throughout the known galaxy. The Council intervenes before hostilities escalate further, revealing the existence of the greater galactic community to humanity and brokering a peace between them and the turians.
2165 AD : Humanity continues to expand, founding more colonies and establishing trade alliances with many of the other species who recognize the authority of the Citadel Council. In 2165 the Council makes official recognition of humanity's growing power and influence in the galactic community. Humanity is granted an embassy on the Citadel, the political and economic heart of the galaxy.
2183 AD : Commander Shepard - a promising young officer in the Human Alliance military - is assigned to the crew of the Normandy, the most advanced prototype vessel ever designed.
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Turians: Friend or Foe?
We fought these raptor-like aliens in the First Contact War, but have since settled into an uneasy co-existence with them. Despite their code of honour, discipline, and work ethic, the question remains whether these Council members are friends or foes. [Read codex entry]
Citadel Council Race: Turians
The turians were the last of the Citadel races to join the Council. Their features are avian, making them resemble humanoid birds or raptors. They have a reputation for skill and bravery in combat, but they are not known to be bloodthirsty. A rigid code of honor and strict discipline are the hallmarks of any turian officer. This includes humane treatment of prisoners and conquered enemies. A turian patrol unit will never willingly leave behind one of their own, no matter what the cost of saving them.
Turian society is highly regimented and very organized, and the species is known for its strict discipline and work ethic. Turians are willing to do what needs to be done, and they always follow through. They are not easily spurred to violence, but when conflict is inevitable, they only understand a concept of "total war." They do not believe in skirmishes or small scale battles; they use massive fleets and numbers to defeat an adversary so completely that they remove any threat of having to fight the same opponent more than once. They do not exterminate their enemy, but so completely devastate their military that the enemy has no choice but to become a colony of the turians.
Other species see them as "men of action," and they are generally regarded as the most progressive of the Citadel races. Since their culture is based on the structure of a military hierarchy, changes and advances accepted by the leadership are quickly adopted by the rest of society with minimal resistance.
WEB POLL : Turians are an honourable and disciplined race. Why do you think humanity warred with them immediately after first contact in the year 2157?
There was a misunderstanding that blew out of proportion - 64%
They feared our potential and saw us as competitors - 23%
They probably always attack first to probe for weaknesses - 11%
They wanted the planet Earth and our colonies for themselves - 3%
Other - read my comments - 2%
Total votes : 30656
[The website proceeds to try to set up a dilemma as to whether the turians can be trusted by connecting first to Nihlus's Codex entry - the "Friend" - then Saren's - the "Foe".]
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Spotlight on the Krogan Race
Explore the reptilian race known as the Krogan. Part one reveals how their harsh and unforgiving homeworld has affected their evolution. Part two delves into their tragic history and waning foothold in the galaxy. The final part spotlights Urdnot Wrex, one of the last krogan Battle Masters. [Read more]
Krogan Series Part 1 - Krogan Biology
The krogan are a species of large reptilian bipeds native to the planet Tuchanka, a world known for its harsh environments, scarce resources, and overabundance of vicious predators. The krogan managed to not only survive on their unforgiving homeworld, but actually thrived in the extreme conditions. Unfortunately, as krogan society became more technologically advanced so did their weaponry.
Four thousand years ago, at the dawn of the krogan nuclear age, battles to claim the small pockets of territory capable of sustaining life escalated into full scale global war. Weapons of mass destruction were unleashed, transforming Tuchanka into a radioactive wasteland.
Due to the brutality of their surroundings, natural selection has played a significant role in the evolution of the species. Krogan reproduce and mature at an astonishing rate. Their large shoulder humps store fluids and nutrients, enabling them to survive extended periods without food or water. Their thick hides are virtually impervious to cuts, scrapes or contusions, and they are highly resistant to toxins, radiation, and extreme heat and cold.
Biotic individuals are rare, though those who do possess the talent typically have strong abilities. Their most amazing physiological features are the multiple instances of major organs; these secondary systems are capable of serving as back-ups in the event of damage to the primary biological structures. This redundancy makes them difficult to kill or incapacitate in normal combat scenarios.
WEB POLL : What do you think is the most interesting part of krogan biology?
Redundant organs - 50%
Rapid reproduction and growth rate - 21%
Thick hides impervious to many dangers - 16%
Large shoulder humps that store fluids and nutrients - 14%
Other - read my comments - 2%
Total votes : 11673
Krogan Series Part 2 - Rise and Fall of the Krogan
Roughly 2000 years ago the krogan were a primitive tribal species trapped on a world suffering through a nuclear winter of their own making. They were liberated by the salarians, who "culturally uplifted" the krogan by giving them advanced technology and relocating them to a planet not cursed with lethal levels of radiation, toxins, or deadly predators.
But the salarian intervention was not without an ulterior motive. At the time, the Citadel was engaged in a prolonged galactic war with the rachni, a race of intelligent space-faring insects. The salarians hoped the krogan would join the Citadel forces as soldiers to stand against an otherwise unstoppable foe. The plan worked to perfection: within two generations the rapidly breeding krogan had the numbers to not only drive the advancing rachni back, but pursue them to their home worlds and eradicate the entire species.
Saviors of the Galaxy
For a brief period the krogan were hailed as the saviors of the galaxy. However, without the harsh conditions of Tuchanka to keep their numbers in check, their population exploded. Overcrowded and running out of resources on their new home planet, the krogan spread out to forcibly claim other worlds...worlds already inhabited by races loyal to the Citadel.
The so-called Krogan Rebellions continued for nearly three centuries. The krogan sustained massive casualties, but their incredible birth-rate kept their population steadily increasing. Victory seemed inevitable. In desperation, the Council turned to the recently discovered Turian Empire for aid. The turians unleashed the genophage on the krogan home worlds: a terrifying bio-weapon engineered by the salarians. The genophage caused near total infant mortality in the krogan species, with only 1 birth in every 1000 producing live offspring.
The Genophage
No longer able to replenish their numbers, the krogan were forced to accept the turian terms of surrender. For their role in quelling the Krogan Rebellions the turians were rewarded with a seat on the Citadel Council. The krogan, on the other hand, still suffer from the incurable effects of the genophage. Over the last millennium krogan numbers have steadily declined, leaving them a scattered and dying people. Faced with the certainty of their extinction as a species, most krogan have become individualistic and completely self-interested. They typically serve as mercenaries for hire to the highest bidder, though many still resent and despise the Citadel races who condemned them to their tragic fate.
WEB POLL : Was use of the genophage on the krogan justified?
Yes, it was necessary to stop the krogan from taking over the galaxy - 53%
No, it was cruel and should not have been used - 42%
Other - read my comments - 6%
Total votes : 8160
[Wrex's entry has been moved to "Characters"]
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The Quarians - Galactic Nomads
Some believe quarians are a cybernetic blend that can survive for a time in the cold vacuum of space. Others believe they are so used to living on their makeshift ships they never remove their survival suits. Most condemn them for unleashing a dangerous, synthetic life form on the galaxy. [Read more]
The Quarians - Galactic Nomads
A nomadic race of humanoid aliens, the quarians are generally shorter and of slighter build than humans. They dress in a scavenged assortment of materials, hiding their faces behind visors, goggles, or breathing masks. Some believe the quarians are cybernetic, a blend of machine and biology that can survive for a time in the cold vacuum of space. Others believe the quarians are simply so used to living on their substandard, makeshift ships that they never remove their survival suits.
Three hundred years ago the quarians created the geth, a species of rudimentary AIs, to serve as an efficient source of manual labor. But the geth rebelled against their quarian masters and drove them into exile. Now the quarians wander the galaxy in a flotilla of salvaged ships, secondhand vessels, and recycled technology. Other species tend to look down on the quarians, seeing them as scavengers and condemning them for unleashing a dangerous synthetic life form on the rest of the galaxy.
WEB POLL : Should the quarians be held accountable for unleashing the geth?
No, it's all in the past and what's done is done - 63%
Hmmm, I'm not sure yet - 21%
Yes, punishment should be fast and swift - 16%
Other - read my comments - 2%
Total votes : 21535
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Geth: Universally Violent Creatures
Residing in the Terminus Systems, the geth are a humanoid race of networked AIs who overthrew their masters 300 years ago in a brutal war. They have evolved since then into numerous sub-forms, and everyone in the galaxy approaches them with extreme caution. [Read more]
Hostile Entity: the Geth
The geth are a bi-pedal, humanoid race of networked AIs that resides in the Terminus Systems. The geth were created nearly 300 years ago by the quarians as laborers and tools of war. When the geth began to question their masters, the quarians attempted to exterminate them. The geth won the resulting war. The example of the geth has led to legal, systematic repression of artificial intelligences in galactic society.
The geth can learn and grow intellectually, but they progress far more slowly than an organic being. Still, the story of the geth's creation and evolution serves as a warning to the rest of the galaxy of the potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence.
The closer geth physically are to each other, the more intelligent each one becomes. Effectively, they "share" brain power. An individual geth has only a basic intelligence on par with animal instincts, but in groups they can reason, analyze situations, and use tactics as well as any of the organic races.
Over time the geth have evolved into numerous sub-forms - from the diminutive but highly agile hoppers, to the gigantic, lumbering geth armatures. It should be stressed, however, that in all forms the geth are to be approached with extreme caution as they are universally violent creatures.
WEB POLL : The geth are out of control and feared throughout the galaxy. What will you do the first time you encounter a geth?
Frag it - 57%
Talk to it - 22%
Outmaneuver or trick it - 15%
Avoid it - 7%
Other - read my comments - 1%
Total votes : 25359
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The Batarians, From Bring Down the Sky
Debuting in the Bring Down the Sky downloable content pack, the batarians are a disreputable species infesting the Terminus Systems and menacing human colonies. [Read more]
The Batarians - A New Race in Bring Down the Sky
A race of four-eyed bipeds, the batarians are a disreputable species that chose to isolate itself from the rest of the galaxy. The Terminus Systems are infested with batarian pirate gangs and slaving rings, fueling the stereotype of the batarian thug. It should be noted that these criminals do not represent average citizens, who are forbidden to leave batarian space by their omnipresent and paranoid government.
In 2171, humans began to colonize the Skyllian Verge, a region the batarians were already actively settling. The batarians asked the Citadel Council to intervene and declare the Verge an area of "batarian interest." When the Council refused, the batarians severed diplomatic and economic relations, becoming an inward-looking rogue state. Money and weapons funneled from the batarian government to criminal organizations led to many brutal raids on human colonies in the Verge, culminating in the Skyllian Blitz of 2176.
The rest of the galaxy views the batarians as an ignorable problem. The government is still hostile to the Systems Alliance, but beneath the notice of the powerful Council races. It is not known what the average batarian thinks about their enforced isolation, as the Department of Information Control ensures that only government-approved news enters or leaves batarian space.
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CHARACTERS
Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams
Williams is a reliable and dedicated officer, but her aggressive instincts and blunt speech might lead to complications should she be required to interact with civilians. [Read more]
Systems Alliance Profile: Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams
Personnel File
Name: Ashley Madeline Williams Rank: Gunnery Chief Military Vocational Code: B4 Current Posting: 2nd Frontier Division, Eden Prime
Date of Birth: April 14, 2158 Place of Birth: Vercingetorix Outpost, Planet Sirona, 61 Ursae Majoris System Blood Type: B-positive
Genetic Enhancements:
In-utero vision correction (maternal predisposition for nearsightedness)
Class-B Alliance Infantry Upgrade Package
Dossier
Following family tradition, Chief Williams enlisted in the Alliance Marines directly out of high school and was assigned to the Recruit Training Depot in MacapĂĄ, Brazil.
During training, she certified proficient with the standard-issue M7 Lancer assault rifle and light and standard weight combat hardsuits. She completed certification in zero-gee combat aboard the Rakesh Sharma Orbital Platform in Earth geosynchronous orbit. For Hostile Environment Assault Training, she was assigned to Fort Charles Upham on Saturn's moon, Titan. She was awarded a commendation for her bold assault technique in a field exercise simulating an attack on turian point defense emplacements.
Drill Instructor Gunnery Chief Ellison noted her steadfast endurance and aggressive instincts, and promoted her to the role of squad leader. After observing her effective tutelage of the less skilled members of her training unit, he promoted her to platoon guide. She maintains a friendly correspondence with DI Ellison.
Chief Williams has served in a number of ground force garrisons on Alliance colony worlds and industrial outposts. She has repeatedly requested transfer to a shipboard posting, but each request has been denied without comment by her superiors.
Every year since enlistment, she has used her mandatory week of leave to visit her family on Amaterasu. In 2181, she made an exceptional request for a week-long leave of absence from her posting at the CzarnobĂłg Fleet Depot, citing family issues.
Personal Observations
Chief Williams' platoon has logged unanimous positive feedback on her leadership in the recent fitness review cycle. Private Nirali Bahtia praised her focus on team-building exercises and "tough but fair" discipline.
Williams is a reliable and dedicated noncommissioned officer, but her service in rear-area garrisons has prevented her from gaining actual combat experience. Her aggressive instincts and tendency to speak bluntly are suitable for a field unit, but might lead to complications if her duties require her to interact with civilians. Additionally, her political opinions may be problematic, given the focus on improving relations with the Citadel.
WEB POLL : Ashley is part of your party as you carry out Spectre missions. Do you think her inexperience, bluntness, and aggressive tendencies will pose a problem?
No, I'll think she'll be a great addition to my team. - 39%
I'm holding off judgement and will give her a chance. - 32%
No. As Commander I'll keep my troops in line. - 25%
Yes, I'm quite worried about it. - 5%
Other - here's what I think - 1%
Total votes : 18746
Systems Alliance Profile: Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams - Profile Updated
From: Ashley Williams ([email protected]) Sent: June 17, 2183 22:03 UT To: Sarah Williams ([email protected]) Subject: Re: Hey sis
James left today. He's been reassigned to one of the new Rapid Response Bases out in the Kepler Verge. Lucky bastard. It's like the ancient west out there – pirates and slavers coming out of the Terminus Systems all the time. He gets to play the cavalry, riding out in frigates any time someone's house gets burned down.
I made some speech about how he was a valuable asset to the squad and he better make us look good out there, blah blah. I suck at speeches. I was cribbing from something I read back in history class. I don't think anyone noticed.
I'm going to miss him. Don't tell anyone.
So you think James is cute, eh? Yeah, well, when you said I should "go for him" – not gonna happen, kiddo. See, we have rules about "fraternization." You don't do The Deed with your fellow troops, especially if they're under you in rank. There's all sorts of problems that can happen when two people in the same unit get together.
Let's say your unit is in a tight spot. Some bug-eyed aliens are going to overrun the galaxy. They eat babies, smell bad, and don't have elbows. Nasty. You're told to guard the rear. To let everyone else escape, someone is ordered "hold this spot until we're gone." Someone has to be left behind. You think it's going to be someone you're sleeping with?
I've served with these guys for eight months now. Yeah, some of them make me feel tingly (and yeah, James was kinda scruffy-cute). I hope I never have to decide who lives and who dies. But if I have to, my decision can't be muddled up by magic-sparkly-hearts-and-stars feelings.
Anyways, I'm gonna knock off here. I've got dog watch in a few hours. Want to get a shower and a meal before then. Talk at you tomorrow.
- Ash
This message originated from an Alliance military network. It has been censored at transmission source for security purposes. Any reply may be read by military authorities.
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Agent Profile: Nihlus Kryik
Nihlus Kryik is one of the Citadel Council's most decorated Spectre agents. Cool under pressure, he has an uncanny ability to find an enemy's weakness and exploit it. [Continue]
Spectre Agent Nihlus Kryik
Nihlus Kryik is one of the Citadel Council's most decorated Spectre agents. Born in a small mercenary outpost outside Hierarchy space, he learned the hard way to fight for what he wanted. His father died when he was 16, and his mother forced him to join the turian military. His outsider status made life difficult; though he was always at the top of his class, his superiors and peers never truly accepted him.
As a soldier, Nihlus' skills were unquestionable. His attitude, however, often got him in trouble. On several occasions, he disobeyed direct orders to do what he thought was best. Although his instincts were usually proven right, his notoriety grew. Even when he single-handedly routed an enemy patrol, and saved his squad from ambush, his commanding officers berated him for his recklessness. His military career seemed to stall before it even began.
After being reassigned to a new squad for the third time, Nihlus was introduced to Saren Arterius, a fellow turian and a Spectre. Saren was impressed with the young soldier. He befriended Nihlus and offered to mentor him. Within a year of meeting Saren, Nihlus was asked to join the Spectres.
Free from the restrictions of military procedure, Nihlus excelled in his new role. He quickly stepped from his mentor's shadow and established himself as one of the Council's top agents. Since then, Nihlus has completed countless missions as a Spectre, each one more difficult and dangerous than the last.
Cool under pressure, Nihlus has an uncanny ability to find an enemy's weakness and exploit it. Though his methods aren't as brutal as Saren's, he will not hesitate to efficiently and thoroughly eradicate anything or anyone that stands in his way.
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Agent Profile: Saren Arterius
Saren Arterius is the longest serving turian member of the Spectres. Recently, he has become an outspoken opponent of human expansion in the galaxy, and many fear he may soon decide to take matters into his own hands.
Agent Profile - Saren Arterius
Saren Arterius is the longest serving turian member of the Spectres - the elite military operatives answering directly to the Citadel Council. For 24 years he has been an agent of the Council's will, a zealous defender of galactic stability in the unsettled border region of the Skyllian Verge.
Official records of Spectres are sealed, but it is known that Saren followed turian tradition and entered the military at the age of 15. In 2155 he was promoted to active service after only a year of training, though it is unclear whether his unit was involved in any of the battles against human forces during the First Contact War of 2157.
In 2159 he became the youngest turian ever accepted into the Spectres. Intelligent, cunning and capable, Saren quickly developed a reputation for ruthless efficiency. Although there were a number of unsettling rumors about the brutality of his methods, there was no denying his results.
In recent years Saren has become an outspoken opponent of human expansion. Like many other non-humans, he believes the Alliance has become overly aggressive in its efforts to establish the people of Earth as a dominant species in Citadel space. As a Spectre it is generally believed he will continue to follow the will of the Council in this matter, but there are some - particularly among the Alliance - who fear Saren may soon decide to take matters into his own hands.
WEB POLL : Do you think Saren is correct - are humans expanding too rapidly in the galaxy?
No - 51%
Yes - 33%
I'm not sure - 16%
Other - read my comments - 1%
Total votes : 14555
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Wrex, Krogan Battle Master
Urdnot Wrex is one of the last krogan Battle Masters: rare individuals who combine powerful biotic abilities with the devastating firepower of advanced weaponry... [Continue]
Krogan Series Part 3: Wrex, Krogan Battle Master
Urdnot Wrex is one of the last krogan Battle Masters: rare individuals who combine powerful biotic abilities with the devastating firepower of advanced weaponry. Born into clan Urdnot, he quickly gained fame for his prowess in battle. He became a leader of one of the smaller Urdnot tribes while still a youth - the youngest krogan to be granted the honor in 1000 years…until he was betrayed by his own people.
The betrayal opened Wrex's eyes to the truth about the krogan: most would rather die in battle than try to rebuild their society through peaceful means. Realizing the warrior culture that once valued courage, strength, and honor had been reduced to glorifying pointless violence, Wrex turned his back on the rest of the krogan.
Over the past three centuries he has served no master but himself, working as a bodyguard, mercenary, soldier of fortune, and bounty hunter; there is little in the galaxy that can still surprise him. He doesn't speak often, but when he does his words are direct and often shockingly blunt - and people tend to listen.
Despite his brutish appearance, Wrex rarely loses his temper. The mere threat of his anger is usually enough to get what he wants. When his fury is unleashed, however, it is a truly terrifying sight.
WEB POLL : Would you have Urdnot Wrex in your party?
Yes, I can use all the firepower I can get - 88%
No, he seems too mercenary-minded - 10%
Other - read my comments - 3%
Total votes : 16674
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TECHNOLOGY
M35 Mako
The Mako is a light infantry fighting vehicle you'll get to use when exploring planetary environments. Equipped with laser-guided ordnance, micro- thrusters, and laser detection arrays, it's an essential tool to have in your arsenal. [Read more]
Technology : M35 Mako
For 20 years, the standard "battle taxi" of the Systems Alliance Marines was the M29 "Grizzly" Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV). While excellent in long-term planetary campaigns, the Grizzly's bulk and weight made it unsuitable for rapid deployment across the Alliance's expanding sphere of influence. To fill this increasingly important role, the M35 "Mako" IFV was designed to fit in the small cargo bays of Alliance scouting frigates. The M35's small size and low weight allow it to be easily deployed to virtually any world.
Since Alliance marines may be required to fight in a variety of planetary environments, the Mako is environmentally sealed and powered by a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell. For deployment on low-gravity planetoids, it is equipped with micro-thrusters and a small element zero core, which can be used to increase mass and provide greater traction.
The "eezo" core can also be used to reduce mass, allowing the Mako to be safely air-dropped. This allows frigates to deploy their shore parties while limiting the ship's exposure to defensive anti-aircraft artillery. When used in conjunction with thrusters, mass reduction allows the Mako to extricate itself from difficult terrain.
The Mako's hull is covered with laser detection arrays, which forewarn the crew of enemy laser-guided ordnance. Ground-penetrating radar allows detection of anti-vehicle mines and other subsurface anomalies. These will be brought to the attention of the crew by the vehicle's micro-frame computer system.
Several combat support vehicles using the Mako's basic chassis are manufactured for Alliance surface garrisons. These include a recon drone controller, a mobile air defense platform, and the M38 military ambulance nicknamed "Moby" because it is painted white during peacekeeping operations. Shipboard Marines exclusively use the tactically flexible and heavily armed base model.
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Normandy
Optimized for solo reconnaissance missions deep within unstable regions, and using state-of-the-art stealth technology, the Normandy is a prototype deep scout frigate. [Read more]
Technology : Normandy
Frigates are swift, flexible warships. Unlike larger vessels, they are able to land on planets. Although lightly armed, Alliance frigates usually carry a squad of marines for security and groundside duty.
The most important role filled by frigates is scouting and reconnaissance. Thanks to mass effect technology, ships and communications can travel faster than the speed of light. Sensors, however, are limited to the speed of light. If an enemy ship is a light year away, a stationary observer will only be able to see it when its light arrives in a year.
An attacker will always gain surprise against a defender; attacking ships moving faster than light will arrive long before their light speed-limited sensor data does. For defense, fleets are surrounded by spheres of scouting frigates. These vessels detect enemy ships passing by them, and transmit warnings to the main body. The Normandy is a prototype "deep scout" frigate, developed by the Systems Alliance with the assistance of the Citadel Council. It is optimized for solo reconnaissance missions deep within unstable regions, using state-of-the-art stealth technology.
For centuries, it was assumed that starship stealth was impossible. The heat generated by routine shipboard operations is easily detectable against the absolute-zero background temperature of space. The Normandy, however, is able to temporarily "store" this heat in lithium heat sinks deep within the hull. Combined with refrigeration of the exterior hull, the ship can travel undetected for hours, or drift passively for days of covert observation. This is not without risk. The stored heat must eventually be radiated, or it will build up to levels capable of cooking the crew alive.
Another component of the stealth system is the Normandy’s revolutionary Tantalus drive, a mass effect core twice the standard size. The Tantalus drive generates mass concentrations that the Normandy "falls into", allowing it to move without the use of heat-emitting thrusters. The heat sink and Tantalus drive systems allow the Normandy to loiter undetected in an enemy system to monitor traffic, or drop infiltration teams on enemy worlds. Should the Normandy’s design prove useful in field tests, it is expected that a follow-up class incorporating "lessons learned" will be produced.
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281 notes ¡ View notes
vonlycaonwife ¡ 6 months ago
Text
Lycaon relationship hcs
Omg I went off on this, this was supposed to be for someone’s request but then I accidentally went completely self indulgent. So this will be made into its own post!
Warnings: nsfw (under the cut), knotting, bdsm
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Honestly seeing Lycaon in a relationship is like seeing fireflies in the night. It's so whimsical and almost magical, even if it is reality and down to earth.
He's just so sweet and romantic, a lot of the time not meaning to! Like he just naturally would do these little things that make your heart melt.
Though in the beginning he definitely was nervous, not so much to the point of it being obvious to a stranger. But the rest of the members definitely had fun seeing him overthink his actions.
These three would definitely be asked a lot of questions, mainly Rina though since she would have better advice (debatable) than Corin or Ellen.
But! Once the relationship has been through the first couple of months everything is pretty smooth sailing.
He doesn't really question what to do, mainly because he would communicate with you very clearly and often to make sure everything is alright and he's not overstepping.
If his partner isn't a thiren I can imagine him fearing about potentially overstepping because of the possible habits thirens have when in relationships.
One I feel is them being a bit more territorial, though how it's shown is dependent on each person. For Lycaon I feel that for him it's very subtle, like making sure his scent is on you. I can't see him getting aggressive publicly unless someone was making his partner uncomfortable.
Another thiren custom I highly feel is a thing is partners grooming each other. Since it's a common thing amongst animals for bonding, thirens most likely have that instinct as well. So I can see him insistenting on brushing your hair and maybe doing your makeup if you wear any. And he wouldn't really complain about you returning the favor, you would definitely see his tail wagging as you brush his fur.
Also! Another important thing you see more commonly than others is definitely him using more casual prosthetics than the ones we see usually see him. While they would be cyber enhancements as well, they wouldn't have the same modifications as his work ones. I can't imagine him letting just anyone see him use those, so you would be very special to him to see him using those.
Do I have to even mention that he's like the best when it comes to taking care of a sick partner? THIS MAN-
While I don’t believe he would call out of work for a simple cold, he would already have everything prepared for you. Like medicine beside your bed along with a warm meal in the microwave (to keep warm).
But if it's worse than that you can guarantee that he's staying around to make sure you recover at a speedy pace.
Nsfw under the cut
Okay but it's very obvious Lycaon restrains himself a lot to put on a more sophisticated approach.
So when to sex with him you really would have to show him how much you trust him to let him fully relax and not hold himself back during the act.
Even then I don't think he would want to do things roughly that often, maybe only when he's really stressed and needs to release it. Though if that were to be the case there is always a safe word.
As a thiren I do believe he potentially goes through a rut, but it's not really something that happened often until he met you. And even then he most likely prefers to not undergo that since he would lose control of himself.
But! That doesn't mean I don't think he's kinky, I definitely believe he is.
I can see him having a small bdsm thing, but it's only surface level. He mainly would only ever bring these into the bedroom once he knows there's a great amount of trust between you two.
He very much gives soft dom vibes, but it's also obvious that he also has the potential to be a mean dom. I mean come on they're clearly hinting at him being a bit sadistic, even if surface level.
Also I have to say this, he definitely has a knot. (YOU CANNOT STOP ME I AM A FURRY BITCH *ahem* anyway-) But in order for that to ever come into play he would prepare for several weeks, since I can't imagine him not having a big dick and putting a knot on that sounds painful. 
But also I feel like he would only ever do penetrative sex if he's very confident about spending the rest of his life with his partner. Since wolves do have a habit of mating for life.
So it would take awhile to get to that point, and even longer once he's agreed to it since again, prepping you could take a bit.
Another thing I feel I should bring up is him potentially keeping his prosthetics on during sex. It would be the casual ones I've spoken about, but I think he wouldn't take them off for extra leverage and also comfortability (as I feel like in zzz they're most likely advanced enough in tech to where they're pretty comfortable to wear a lot).
Though on the off chance he doesn't have them on you would more likely than not ride him.
Actually speaking on positions, he's definitely a missionary or mating press guy. Maybe would do stuff from behind if he's bending you over a counter or desk. 
Though that would only happen when at home, since I highly doubt he would want anyone to walk in on him while in the act.
242 notes ¡ View notes
bigification ¡ 11 months ago
Text
Star Of The Show
"Is that really safe?" A snobbish man in an expensive suit snarled.
"Yes Mr. Derry, how many times do I have to tell you. It'll make you into a prime bodybuilder just like you asked." The technician sighed.
"It better be, because I am an important stake holder in this bodybuilding competition and I paid a lot for this." Mr. Derry continued to whine, despite receiving exactly what he asked for.
"Here I brought your coffee, sir." Mr. Derry's assistant sheepishly held out a Starbucks coffee. He grumbled as he read the long list of modifications he needed in his coffee to drink it.
"This has coconut milk you idiot!" He shoved the coffee back into his assistant, sending the scrawny man stumbling back. In an attempt to regain his balance he flailed his arm into the large machine that sat nearby.
"I... I'm sorry sir." The assistant panicked. "I can fix it." He reached for the machine in an attempt to minimize the blowback from his boss. He tried to move the machine back to its original position.
"Wait no! Don't tou-" the technician was interrupted.
A blinding light erupted across the back stage as a concentrated beam shot into the assistants chest. He looked like a ragdoll being tossed across the room, slamming into the wall. No one even noticed what had happened while they tried to recover from the flash.
The assistant slowly got up, his head was spinning. He assumed it was from the crash into the wall, but it only got worse after he got up. A burning heat boiled inside his chest as he attempted to recover. The burning soon turned to a tightness as his chest began to grow. His flat chest started to rise like a loaf of bread in the oven. His preppy button up strained under the pressure of his thickening pecs until the buttons started to pop off. His shirt burst open, revealing the perfectly formed pecs of a bodybuilder that created a shelf over his stomach. Speaking of which, his stomach began to melt away. His now flat stomach quickly rose back up, but with hard muscles this time. His stomach started to round out into a small muscle gut as six distinct muscles formed over it, causing the rest of his buttons to pop off in the process.
The technician and Mr. Derry were starting to recover from the flash, hearing increasingly loud footsteps rumbled from across the room and ever deeper sounding grunts and moans came from the assistant.
The assistant lurched over as his shoulder broadened, finally ripping his shirt to shreds. His upper back exploded with rippling muscles that would make any man jealous. And his lower back slimmed to give his body a strong V shape. Moments later he started to flex his arms, making them balloon with every flex. His biceps grew to the size of melons as veins surfaced all down his arms. And his hands thickened into massive man hands, twice the size of his old delicate hands.
Mr. Derry let out a loud scoff as he watched the assistant transform into the man he wanted to be. And the technician just smiled at Me. Derry's dismay. Meanwhile the assistant started to let out deep guttural moans pleasure as his body grew, and animalistic grunts every time he flexed his growing body.
Next, the man's lower body started to grow, making him nearly a foot taller than he was before, towering over everyone in the building. His thighs thickened to over twice the size of his massive biceps, making him have the man spread to make room for all the muscle. Unsurprisingly it didn't take long for his pants to rip to shreds, leaving him in his comically small underwear. Though that wouldn't last long either. His flat ass got flooded with both fat and muscle, making it large and plump and creating a shelf over his thighs. His fat ass strained against the shockingly strong fabric of the underwear before overpowering them, bouncing as his cheeks tore right through them. His calves also grew quite thick and defined as his feet burst out of his shoes, becoming a monstrous size 20. Though the only downside is his impressive package shrunk from a massive 8 inches to an unremarkable 4 inches, looking small in comparison to his hulking body.
Finally the man's head began to change to match his body. His barely visible jawline looked like it got vacuum sealed around his jaw, becoming sharp as a knife. His brow bone became more prominent, adding to his manly appearance as a well kept beard spreads across his face. And his long flowy hair recedes into a military buzz cut.
By the time the transformation slowed, his skin had a bronze tanned color with a slick sheen of oil over it. Almost as if he was getting ready to compete.
"You fucking idiot. Look at the mess you've made. You need to clean this up ASAP, and you better hope that machine has some juice left for me or so help me god I will bury you six feet under Edward!" Mr. Derry blew up with rage, it almost looked like there was smoke coming from his ears.
The assistant stood up tall with his head up and his chest puffed out. Slowly taking steps towards his boss, making the ground shake with each step. As he got close, his brows furrowed and his grunt became deeper and louder. He bent down and yanked his boss by the collar, lifting the shorter man a foot off the ground to meet eye to eye.
"You think I need a fucking pipsqueak like you! You're nothing but a bug to step on. And my name is Evan, asshole! Remember it!" Evans voice booked across the room as he chuckled his former boss into the machine, breaking it in the process.
He stomped across the room and grabbed a black pair of underwear from the rack. Then he proceeded to waltz on stage, stealing the hearts of the audience.
Evan was the star of the show, winning an easy first place. Photoshoots, magazine covers, and sponsors were all he saw in his future. And he never saw his loser of a boss again.
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honeydippedfiction ¡ 21 days ago
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I need to know more about Angel having Joe's initals tattooed and about Dare or Die
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Synopsis: During a wild LSU party and a brutal game of Dare or Die, Angel drunkenly gets Joe Burrow’s initials tattooed on her hip—long before they ever made things official. A week later, when Joe finally sees it for himself… it sets off a night neither of them will ever forget.
Warnings: Alcohol use / underage drinking, Tattoo under the influence, Sexual tension / suggestive content (Includes heavy flirtation, intimate dialogue, and sexual undertones between characters), Peer pressure, & Mild body modification themes.
WC: 2.9k
A/N: they're insane for each other your honor. Also don't ever get a tattoo or anything while under the influence if that wasn't clear.
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The LSU party was already in full swing when Angel and Monica arrived, the night buzzing with that heady, reckless energy that came from being young, free, and just drunk enough to forget about tomorrow. Neon lights blinked erratically against the ceiling, casting flickering colors over the crowded living room. Solo cups littered nearly every surface, the air thick with the sharp tang of alcohol and too-loud laughter. Music pumped from the oversized speakers in the corner—something bass-heavy and dirty that made the floor vibrate and your hips sway whether you wanted them to or not.
Angel hadn’t planned on going out. Not without Joe.
Normally, a Friday night without him meant a quiet night in, curled up in one of his hoodies, watching whatever he had on while sneaking kisses between bites of takeout. But tonight, Joe was holed up in his apartment going over film—grinding through footage with his usual intensity, headphones in and a brow furrowed in that serious, focused way she secretly loved. He’d told her not to worry about him, to go out and have fun. And she figured… why not? Maybe a night with Monica and some noise would help chase away the ache she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying since he’d left her apartment that morning.
What she didn’t expect was to be swept into a drinking game before she could even shed her jacket.
“Dare or Die!” someone bellowed, a cheer rippling through the room. A table was already set up in the center—like beer pong, only sloppier, wilder. Underneath each cup sat a folded dare, and if you chickened out, you had to dump the drink into the big punishment cup at the center of the table: a cloudy, sinister-looking mix of cheap vodka, tequila, beer, and God knows what else.
Angel hesitated, trying to blend into the shadows with her drink, but Monica spotted her instantly.
“Oh, no ma’am,” she said with a devilish grin, grabbing Angel’s wrist. “You are not just gonna stand there lookin’ cute all night. Come on, LSU First Lady—get in the game.”
“Don’t call me that,” Angel groaned, though a smile tugged at her lips.
Monica just raised a brow. “I mean, you’re basically taken. Whole campus knows Joe’s in his ‘taken and smitten’ era.”
“We’re not official,” Angel reminded her, weakly.
“No,” Monica said with a knowing smirk. “But you will be.”
Angel rolled her eyes but let herself be pulled forward. She could feel it, the way her heart fluttered at the idea of being Joe’s. Fully. Publicly. The way his name alone made her feel anchored, even when he wasn’t in the room. Maybe they hadn’t defined it yet, but everyone knew.
She knew.
The game kicked off in a whirlwind of laughter, dares, and dare-fueled regrets. Someone gave a lap dance on a coffee table. Someone else had to call their ex and act like they were getting head. Angel ended up taking a tequila shot with whipped cream off Monica’s stomach and boobs, and by her second round, her head was warm and fuzzy and her confidence high.
The game had already claimed its first few victims.
A tall guy from the track team had pulled a dare that made him strip to his boxers and run through to Mike’s cage and have someone record him pretending to crawl around like a tiger growling.
One girl was halfway through giving her ex’s new girlfriend a lap dance on the couch—and judging by the girl’s reaction, she wasn’t mad about it.
Someone else had just pulled a dare that involved calling their mom and pretending to be high. The entire room had quieted for that one, and the mother’s response—“Tell that weed I said hello, and make sure you eat something”—had everyone in stitches.
Angel was still sipping from her cup, grinning at the chaos, when it happened.
Monica smacked a ball into a red cup near the center of the table. Cheers went up. She plucked the folded paper from beneath and unfolded it, her eyebrows shooting sky-high.
“Girl,” she said, showing Angel the dare. “Kiss the person in the room you most want to sleep with. No backsies.”
Angel choked. “Don’t look at me.”
“Oh, relax,” Monica said with a dramatic eye roll. Then she turned and kissed a girl from the softball team square on the mouth—to whoops and hollers all around. “What? She’s hot.”
The next guy got dared to post a thirst trap with “DM for feet pics” on Instagram. He did it without blinking. Another girl was dared to shotgun a White Claw while on someone’s shoulders—and when she chose Angel’s lap, Angel nearly spilled her drink laughing.
Then it was Angel’s turn.
Monica hit her with a look.
Angel stepped forward, cheeks pink from the heat and the drinks. She tossed the ball underhand. It sank into the cup on the right.
She flipped the note underneath, brow quirking as she unfolded the small square of paper. Her eyes skimmed the words—and stopped cold.
“Get your man’s initials tattooed. Right now. Monica’s driving.”
Angel let out a startled laugh, blinking as though the words might rearrange themselves. “Absolutely not.”
There were howls of protest and laughter from the crowd.
“Pussy!” someone called out. “Dump your drink!”
Angel hovered, her cup midair. Her eyes were still on the dare. The words felt like a joke. A wild, ridiculous one. But they also stuck in her brain like glue.
Joe. Her Joe.
He wasn’t just a man. He was her man. Even if they hadn’t labeled it yet, she felt it in every late-night text, every soft kiss on her shoulder when she fell asleep in his bed. He made her feel seen. Protected. Adored.
Joe wouldn’t even know.
He wasn’t here.
But it wasn’t just any initials. It wasn’t some random guy. It was Joe. Her Joe. The man who kissed her forehead like it was sacred. Who called her “baby” in that soft drawl that melted every bone in her body. The man who texted her after practice just to make sure she ate.
She felt Monica watching her.
Would he even care?
Would he love it?
She didn’t answer. Just looked over at Monica.
Monica narrowed her eyes, then tilted her head. “You’re really thinking about this?”
Angel bit her lip.
“I mean,” Monica shrugged, “I do know a guy who stays open late. Just saying.”
Angel hesitated, then exhaled sharply. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Monica’s grin widened. “Girl, nothing. You’re just down astronomically. Come on—what’s life without a little chaos?”
Angel exhaled, set her drink down, and laughed. “I’m insane.”
Monica grinned like she’d won the lottery. “And I’m driving.”
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Ten minutes later, they were in Monica’s car, windows cracked, Angel’s leg bouncing so fast it shook the cup holder. She was still buzzed but nerves were starting to crowd her chest.
Monica glanced over. “You’re really doing this.”
“You sound more excited than I am.”
“That’s because I am,” Monica beamed. “Girl, it’s romantic. Dumb, sure. But romantic.”
The tattoo shop was barely still open, the “Closed” sign already flipped on the door—but the guy at the desk, a tatted-up dude with sleepy eyes, recognized Monica instantly.
“You bringing me trouble tonight?” he asked.
“Something like that,” Monica grinned.
Angel was in the chair fifteen minutes later, hip bared, laughing with her hands over her face as the artist prepped his tools.
“What are we doing?” he asked, gloves snapping on.
“Initials,” Angel said. “J.L.B.”
The artist raised a brow. “He better be worth it.”
Angel smiled to herself, heart warm. “He is.”
She squeezed Monica’s hand while the needle buzzed to life. A soft wince pulled at her mouth when it touched skin, but she didn’t flinch. The pain was sharp but brief, and over almost too soon. J.L.B. in fine, slanted script—small and simple, right above the curve of her hipbone, flanked by three delicate butterflies, their wings light and soft, like flight.
Twenty minutes later, it was done.
Angel stood in front of the mirror, jeans low on her hips, her fingers grazing the fresh ink.
“I’m insane,” she whispered.
Monica grinned behind her. “Nope. You’re in love.”
Angel didn’t say anything. But the smile tugging at her lips said everything. Her eyes looking at the butterflies and cursive script.
One for then. One for now. One for whatever the hell came next.
Joe didn’t find out about the tattoo that night. Or the next one.
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Friday had come and gone in the way most of his in-season nights did—low-key, focused, and quiet. He was camped out in his apartment, hoodie on, feet up, watching game film with a half-eaten container of takeout and his phone flipped screen-down on the couch beside him. Distractions weren’t allowed when he was locked in, especially this close to kickoff. But sometime after midnight, when his brain started to fog and his eyes began to blur from the endless rotations of defensive sets, he finally caved and checked his phone.
Twenty-two messages in the group chat.
He groaned, swiping it open with one hand, still half focused on the replay on his laptop—until he saw what had them all talking.
The first was a video.
Angel.
Blurry, grainy, lit with that terrible red party glow—but unmistakably her. She was on top of the kitchen island at someone’s house, mic in hand, trying to belt her way through a Beyoncé song while Monica stood behind her, playing backup with a cooking spoon like it was a prop.
Joe cracked a smile, shaking his head. He tapped the video again, watching it loop.
She looked beautiful—tipsy and unbothered, curls bouncing, cheeks flushed. Her body moved with that easy rhythm he knew so well, even when off-key and barely balancing in heels.
“Tell your girl to calm down,” someone had texted under the video.
Joe just smirked, fingers hovering over the keyboard. She’s fine. But he didn’t send anything. Just kept scrolling.
Then came the second video.
And this one stopped him cold.
It opened mid-laugh, the room buzzing. Monica was laid out across the kitchen counter, shirt pulled up, her bra still on but pushed a little higher. There was whipped cream running down her stomach in a zigzag, settling between the curve of her ribs and the top of her jeans. Someone off-camera shouted, “Three… two… one!”
Angel leaned in.
Head tilted. Eyes focused.
She licked a line of whipped cream, fast and laughing, then gripped a salt shaker, tapped it onto the inside of Monica’s hip, and knocked back a full shot of tequila. The crowd erupted.
Joe’s mouth parted slightly.
The video ended there.
Another text followed: Your girl is WILD.
He stared at the screen, thumb frozen.
The logical part of him—the one trained for chaos and pressure—reminded him it was a party. A dare, probably. College antics. Harmless. He’d seen worse on the sidelines. It wasn’t even sexual. Just girls being drunk and stupid.
But the other part—the part that had been imagining her curled into his side tonight instead of licking whipped cream off someone else—was not as cool about it.
He hit play again.
Watched it slower this time. Noticed the way her hand curled around Monica’s hip for balance. The way she laughed after the shot, tongue darting out to catch a drop of tequila from her lip.
Jesus.
He sank deeper into the couch, jaw tight.
The text buzzes didn’t stop. More photos. More chaos. Someone sent a picture of Angel and Ja'Marr locked arm-in-arm, sunglasses on at night, flashing peace signs like they were on spring break.
Joe finally set the phone down, screen-up this time. Just stared at it.
He wasn’t her boyfriend. Not officially. They hadn’t put a title on anything yet. She didn’t owe him anything.
And yet—
That possessive curl low in his gut wasn’t trying to hear logic.
Still, he didn’t say a word. Not that night. Not the next one either.
When she texted the next morning—Miss you—he replied with Miss you too, sweetheart. Like always. Like nothing was different. Like his brain hadn’t replayed that whipped cream moment seventeen times and imagined exactly what it would’ve felt like if she’d done it to him.
And the tattoo?
He had no idea.
Not yet.
That surprise was still waiting—inked under soft skin, hidden in plain sight, waiting to wreck him in ways even that tequila video hadn’t.
Until a week later.
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It started as one of those quiet nights they both craved—no game film, no classes, no loud parties or practice schedules to juggle. Just the two of them in Joe’s apartment, wrapped in the kind of easy silence that only came from real comfort. The movie playing on the screen had long lost their attention, reduced to background noise beneath their slow conversation and half-stifled laughter.
Angel was curled into Joe’s side on the couch, one leg thrown over his, her head nestled against his chest. He absentmindedly ran his fingers through her curls, his gaze more on her than the screen.
“Monica’s with her sneaky link,” Angel murmured, voice warm with amusement. “So no surprise FaceTime chaos tonight.”
“Thank God,” Joe chuckled, brushing a kiss against her temple. “Every time I hear her voice echoing through your phone, I brace myself like it’s a blitz.”
Angel snorted, pulling the throw blanket higher over her bare legs. “That’s fair.”
The night stretched long and lazy after that, full of easy touches and half-spoken thoughts, until Angel sat up with a stretch, her shirt riding up slightly as she stood. “I’m stealing one of your hoodies,” she announced, already halfway to the drawer.
Joe leaned his head back against the couch and watched her move, a small smile playing at his lips as she pulled open the drawer and tugged one out—his navy LSU hoodie, the one she always stole.
Then she pulled her shirt off and tossed it onto the bed, standing in just her shorts and a black bra. That’s when he saw it.
The curve of her waist. The soft dip of her hip.
And ink.
Not just the butterflies—though those caught his attention first, three tiny ones dancing just above the waistband of her shorts, like they were mid-flight across her skin.
No. It was what the butterflies framed that made him sit up straight.
Three letters.
J. L. B.
Joe blinked, brows furrowing as he stared. His throat went dry.
“Wait,” he said, voice quieter than before but sharper, rougher. “Come here.”
Angel froze mid-pull of the hoodie. “Why? What’s wrong?”
He didn’t answer right away. Just leaned forward and held out his hand. “C’mere, baby.”
Something in his voice made her move. Carefully, curiously.
He pulled her in by the waist, guiding her between his legs as he sat at the edge of the couch. His hands were warm, thumbs grazing over her hips as his eyes locked on the tattoo. His expression shifted from confused to completely wrecked in seconds.
“Joe—” Angel started, heart thumping.
But he was already pulling at the hem of her shorts, just a little. Just enough to see all of it.
The ink was small. Clean. Fresh. Still healing, if he looked close enough.
J.L.B.
His initials. Marked right above the curve of her hip.
He froze.
Angel’s stomach dropped.
“Okay—before you say anything,” she said quickly, her voice rushing to fill the silence, “I was drunk, okay? It was this dumb game and Monica dared me and I swear I wasn’t trying to be crazy—”
“Angel.”
“I mean, we weren’t even official yet! I just—ugh, I don’t know what I was thinking, and I totally get if you think I’m nuts—”
“Angel.”
“I can get it removed, or covered, or—”
“Baby.”
The sound of his voice stopped her cold.
Low. Rough. Like it scraped the back of his throat. His grip on her hips tightened just slightly as he looked up at her, eyes dark, pupils blown wide.
“You let somebody tattoo my initials on you?” he asked, barely breathing.
She swallowed. “...Yeah?”
His jaw flexed. His fingers dragged along her waist, slow, reverent. “You really did that?”
“I didn’t think you’d be into it,” she whispered. “I thought you’d freak.”
Joe gave a soft, disbelieving laugh. “Angel, you don’t even know what you just did to me.”
She blinked. “Wait—you’re not mad?”
He looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “Mad?” he echoed. “You got my initials on your skin. Wrapped in butterflies. You really branded yourself for me and you thought I’d be mad?”
Angel felt the warmth rush to her cheeks, suddenly shy under his intense gaze.
“I think it’s sexy as fuck,” he said, mouth at her hip now, voice like velvet. “I think it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
She laughed—nervous, breathless. “You’re serious?”
Joe’s lips brushed her tattoo, slow and deliberate. “Dead serious.”
Her breath caught as his fingers traced the top of her waistband again, dipping slightly lower.
“You really let the whole world know you’re mine,” he murmured, voice molten now. “You marked yourself, baby.”
Angel shivered as his tongue flicked out, teasing the sensitive skin just below the ink. “I didn’t mean to—it just kind of happened.”
“Nah,” Joe growled, standing and hauling her effortlessly into his arms. “You meant it. You wanted me to see it.”
She squeaked as he carried her toward the bedroom. “Maybe a little.”
“Now I gotta show you what that kind of loyalty gets you.”
Her giggle melted into a gasp as he dropped her onto the bed and hovered over her, eyes still locked on the butterflies, like the world had narrowed down to that one little spot on her body.
“You think that dare had consequences?” he murmured, mouth trailing kisses down her belly. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
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sarcasticscribbles ¡ 5 months ago
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"Statement of Odette Hart, regarding the modification made to her body for the arts of figure skating. Original statement January 19th 2007.
Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London.
Statement begins." [CW: Body Horror, self harm implication]
“Figure skating is the embodiment of grace: balancing on sharp blades, moving swiftly across the unforgiving ice. I was born with strength, but not with flexibility. My body was too stiff, too stubborn to practice the spins and jumps in professional figure skating. 
My third coach taught me how to spin longer, leap higher, and hold positions that violated human anatomy. With a few minor modifications, I gained the flexibility I had yearned for. She showed me how to use my blades—not just on the ice, but on myself. She taught me where to place them for the smallest, inconspicuous cuts. How to elongate my limbs without tearing the muscles. Tiny incisions beneath my skin, loosening what was rigid, allowing me to arch my back, pull my head farther, and lift my arms higher.
I was practising a quadruple Salchow, soaring into the air with four rotations before landing on one leg with a final pirouette. I had to stay straight, keep my arms tight, and bend just enough as I hit the ice. I landed low, arms outstretched, fighting for balance. 
The cold air sliced across my body, seeping into the open wounds that marked the modifications I had made to myself, each one a painful reminder of the price I’d paid. But when my blade struck the ice, my legs betrayed me. They were no longer strong enough to hold my weight.
The warmth of my blood melted the ice as my body collided with the ground. My limbs refused to lift me from the cold surface I had dedicated hours to. My broken reflection stared back at me from the crimson-coloured ice, a haunting reminder of what grace stood for.”
Odette Hart, a figure skater who sacrificed her career after altering her body in pursuit of perfection on the ice, embodies the extremes of human ambition and the devastating consequences of pushing beyond natural limits.
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