#as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.

[jonberry555]

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 REVIEW

My Review of the finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2.

"STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series features fan favorites Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock. The series follows Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy."

[sansaorgana]

— THE GIFT

PAIRING — Na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x fem!Reader

SUMMARY — You were born to be Feyd-Rautha's wife. You arrive to Giedi Prime to get adjusted to the new environment before your wedding. Your betrothed is trying to court you properly... but he only knows The Harkonnen ways of doing so.

REQUEST — (1)

AUTHOR’S NOTE — After a whole month of writing Thrown To The Wolves, I felt weird writing something with Feyd with a different Reader and a different plot. 🙈 But at the same time I was excited to explore a new scenario. 😄

WARNINGS — arranged marriage, blood, death

WORD COUNT — 3,700

ENGLISH IS MY SECOND LANGUAGE.

THE GIFT

Giedi Prime was an unfriendly place – cold and colourless, nearly lifeless as well. The people you were seeing reminded you of machines more than humans. You were terrified as you realised you’d spent the rest of your life there. The Harkonnens were even worse. Rude, harsh, not very talkative. Your future husband had looked you up and down on your first day in a way that turned your blood cold.

You missed home. You missed your family. But you knew it was impossible to ever go back. You could run away – if you somehow managed to bribe the servants to help you – but it was impossible to hide from your destiny. You had been born to be Feyd-Rautha’s wife, and most importantly, to give birth to his child.

You were a daughter of an important Lord, therefore you weren’t opposed to the idea of an arranged marriage. You knew nothing else was waiting for you in this world and no one would ever let you marry a person of your choice. But why was Feyd-Rautha your betrothed? Out of all the people in the galaxy, why did you have to be promised to a Harkonnen?

Ever since you had been a little girl, your friends had been teasing you about it. Repeating the dreadful gossip about Giedi Prime and your betrothed who had become a famous and dangerous gladiator in the meantime. And now you were finding out that the gossip was not true – reality was even worse than anything you had heard and expected of this place and of this man.

You were supposed to spend three months on Giedi Prime before your wedding, away from your home and family, to adjust to the environment and the customs. Then the wedding would take its place and you’d become the na-baroness of The Harkonnens.

On your first morning you were woken up with breakfast brought to your bed by the servants.

“Why can’t I eat with my husband’s family in the dining room?” You asked them while sitting up and resting on your pillows.

The pale and bald women looked at each other significantly. Everyone looked the same here, you felt like a freak.

“Baron Harkonnen and his nephews do not eat their meals together, unless it is a special occasion, a banquet of some sort,” one of them explained. “Everyone eats their meals in their own private chambers.”

“I see,” you nodded and sighed at the sight of the food. It was as colourless as everything around. You missed the bowls of fruit and yoghurts you had been getting on your homeplanet.

After swallowing the last bit of your breakfast, you took a shower and let your new servants dress you up. The Harkonnens had requested for you to leave all your clothes and personal belongings at home. They wanted you to be as detached from your old self as possible. You were gifted a whole wardrobe of new outfits instead. All black.

You wondered if they’d ask you to shave your head, too. You dreaded that. Your hair was like an armour you could hide under. Your servants had no idea how to manage it so they left it loose. You brushed it with your fingers since there was no brush.

When you saw yourself in the mirror you thought that on your homeplanet you’d be called a feral woman. In a black, long dress, hair unkempt and dark bags under your exhausted and empty eyes that lacked any sort of emotion.

You were supposed to have classes about The Harkonnen culture. You had been studying it since you were a little girl but they did not trust your progress and they wanted to test you in a more practical sense. Your teacher was an old man with a contemptuous smirk, a close advisor of the Baron and most likely his spy.

He had been asking you questions for the past hour to which you answered perfectly well. It was becoming difficult for him to hide his surprised facial expression.

“You’ve been trained well, my Lady,” he admitted.

“This is all that has been expected of me,” you explained with a nod, your voice was hollow and emotionless as you realised how true your words had been. Your whole personality was limited to be the future Harkonnen Baroness ever since you had been a little girl. You couldn’t possibly tell what you would be like under different circumstances. You had never been given a chance to find out.

“Very well then,” he hummed to himself. “I’d like you to roam freely around the fortress and try not to get lost. Tomorrow during our class you will ask me questions about the things and places that made you curious,” he informed you and bowed down before leaving the room.

You looked around, expecting someone to fetch you but no one was coming. He had to actually mean that you were allowed to roam freely around the fortress. Carefully, you left the room and chose to turn right. You had arrived from the left side of the corridor so you were naturally more curious about the right side and exploring a brand new territory.

You were too scared to try to push any doors, though. You didn’t want to walk in on things that would possibly make someone beheading you for seeing. The occasional guards passing you by were looking at you suspiciously but they were not saying anything. After a while you stopped seeing them at all and realised you were in a dark maze of endless corridors that you had no idea how to get out of.

Trying to go back, you only ended up getting lost even further as you were going deeper and deeper into the maze. Your heart started to pound in your chest and your hands began to shake as they turned cold. The corridor was cold in general – much colder than the rest of the fortress. And it was terrifyingly empty.

You decided to stay in one place and wait. Someone had to eventually look for you, right? You hoped for it to be true. Trying to hug your own self for warmth and comfort, you rested your back on the cold, grey wall, taking deep breaths in. 

Suddenly, a loud and animalistic cry emerged from behind one of the black doors. You were startled by it and your body began to tremble even more. You wanted to get away as far as possible from that door but when you were about to turn around and run, they opened and your heart squeezed in your chest.

To your surprise, it was your betrothed leaving the mysterious room. He was wearing gladiator attire and holding a blade in his hand with blood still dripping. His eyes widened at the sight of you and you froze.

“What are you doing here?” He asked in his deep and raspy voice.

“I… I got lost, I’m sorry. I’ve been told to roam freely around the fortress and explore on my own but I got lost…” You explained as you shivered.

Feyd-Rautha approached you slowly like predators approach their prey. You took a step back and felt the wall behind you. You were trapped.

“Lost, you’re saying?” He smirked as he hovered over you. Your heart was pounding so fast in your chest that he just had to hear it. He rested one of his hands on the wall above your head and leaned in even closer. “You’ve accidentally gone underground where I train on my slaves,” he smiled almost playfully, showing off his black stained teeth.

“I’m sorry, I did not mean to..” You gasped but he shushed you with a soft hiss.

“Did I say it was forbidden?” He asked and you shook your head. “Come, I’ll show you,” Feyd straightened himself and reached out his hand towards you as if he was a proper gentleman.

Everything inside you was screaming to run away and to not follow him anywhere. But you were aware that he would catch you in a second and your attempt would only most likely enrage him. And very soon you would belong to him anyway. You would be his property whether you wanted it or not.

You held his hand and he froze at the feeling of your ice cold and shivering fingers.

“You are cold,” he pointed out. “And scared.”

“I am not scared,” you lied. You had been taught that The Harkonnens hated fear and cowardice.

“And a liar,” Feyd-Rautha sneered and led you inside the mysterious room he had previously left.

It was big and dark like every other room in that fortress. There was a dead body of a servant in gladiator gear laying on the floor in the puddle of his own blood. The walls were covered in all sorts of weapons.

“This is where I train,” Feyd announced proudly. He had to think it would impress you but it only made you sick, especially the sight of the dead man on the floor. You had never seen death in such a brutal and ugly way before. But now you were sure it was not the last time.

Feyd was visibly waiting for your response as he let go of your hand and took a step back to tilt his head and watch your expressions carefully. You realised it was a test of how much you were able to handle as his wife.

You wondered what would happen if you failed all the tests. Would they just send you back home or would they get rid of you? Were they even able to do that? You didn’t want to find out.

“It is impressive, my Lord na-baron,” you admitted with a shaky nod of your head and he winced at your words which made you furrow your brows.

“Don’t address me like a servant, pet,” he clicked his tongue and you nodded, slightly uncomfortable at the way he had called you.

“I’m sorry,” you apologised. “How should I address you then?”

“However you like,” Feyd shrugged his arms and approached you once again, raising his bloody blade slightly as you flinched. It brought a smile to his full lips. Looking deep into your eyes, he licked the blade clean. You clenched your jaw and tried to keep a poker face on but a knot formed in your stomach at the disgusting act.

You hated to admit that he was attractive for a Harkonnen. There was a magnetic energy about him that made you attracted to him like a moth was driven to a flame. Even his harsh and unpleasant voice was leaving you wanting more.

Feyd brushed your hair with the tip of his freshly cleaned blade, carefully, making sure not to cut any strand.

“I want you to always wear your hair like this,” he looked even more intensely into your eyes.

“That would be inappropriate,” you tried to explain. “It’s not considered elegant.”

“I said, I want you to always wear your hair like this,” he repeated like he couldn’t understand why you were trying to argue. He was a spoiled na-baron and completely not used to people disobeying him. So, you just nodded this time.

“Then I will,” you promised. “If I could only get a hairbrush, though. Or a comb. So they don’t tangle,” you pleaded and he squinted his eyes at you as the tip of his blade moved to under your chin. You swallowed thickly at that gesture.

“A hairbrush or a comb,” he repeated your words. “That can be arranged,” he added and you smiled nervously at him. “What are you scared of?”

“Of the blade under my chin perhaps?” You raised an eyebrow at him and he chuckled, however his hand remained still.

“Weren’t you sent here to be my wife?” Feyd’s smile dropped in an instant. He was serious again and you took a deep breath in, tugging on the folds of your dress to hide how sweaty your hands had become.

“Yes, I was,” you nodded.

“And what do you think of that?”

“I don’t think. I have been preparing for that since I was a child,” you answered.

“I want to be a good husband,” his sudden confession made your eyes widen. In one swift move he took the blade away from you and replaced it with his hand as he held your chin up, forcing you to look into his eyes. “My uncle says that a wife should not be an enemy. He wants me to court you properly,” he explained.

“Is your uncle experienced in marriage?” You asked, curiously. You had been taught that Baron Harkonnen had never been married.

Feyd laughed at your question as his grip on your chin tightened. He moved his face even closer to yours, your nose nearly brushed his and it made you hold your breath.

“Can you think of a woman who would not become his enemy after being forced to marry him?” He asked you and you dared to chuckle at that.

“So, I assume, I do not have to worry about you becoming like him one day?” You bit on your lower lip, realising that he indeed did not want to hurt you.

Perhaps that whole uncomfortable and threatening situation was his idea of intimacy. You wouldn’t be surprised.

“My uncle is not my role model,” he only answered and took a step back, removing his hand from your chin. “I don’t have idols.”

“What do you worship then?” You furrowed your brows.

“Blood and honour,” he answered with all seriousness. “Allow me to give you something, my pet. A gift for my bride to be,” he proposed and you hesitantly agreed, not wanting to hurt his feelings by refusing.

You expected him to approach one of the walls and hand you some of the weapons. But, to your surprise, he kneeled down next to the dead body laying on the floor and he opened its chest with the sharp tip of his blade. You gagged quietly and covered your mouth with your hand, trying to look away as the metallic smell of blood hit your nostrils, leaving you nauseous.

The sound of his heavy footsteps made you look in his direction again, not wanting to offend him in any way. He was walking towards you proudly with a real human heart in his hands, blood dripping off of it on the floor, leaving a trace. With all your force you stopped yourself from squealing at the sight. No amount of training and studying The Harkonnen culture had prepared you for this.

Feyd-Rautha reached his hands out as he offered you his foul gift. He was staring at you intensely, expecting praise of some sort or admiration. However, you had none. You let the wet organ slip into your hands as you gagged once again at the sensation and a shiver went down your body. Your reaction caused Feyd to tilt his head and squint his eyes.

“What am I supposed to do with it?” You asked in a shaky voice.

“You don’t like it,” he pointed out after a short while of silence and you got scared of upsetting him.

“It’s not that I don’t like it, I just…” you started, trying to nervously explain yourself.

“You don’t like it,” he repeated, both annoyed and disappointed.

“I appreciate the gesture,” you tried to assure him. “I will keep it,” you promised.

“Why don’t you like it?” He asked once again, ignoring all your words. You sighed.

“It’s just not something I’m used to. In my homeworld, we don’t give each other human hearts,” you explained softly.

“What do you give each other?” His question was genuine and curious.

“Haven’t you studied my customs like I have been studying yours?” You asked but the answer was obvious.

“My uncle says it is not important for me to know your culture because you are here to become one of us,” Feyd explained. “The only thing I have been studying was the blade,” he added. “So, what kind of gifts do your people give?”

“Flowers,” you answered. “For example.”

“There are no flowers on Giedi Prime,” Feyd pointed out. “No seed blooms in our soil.”

“I understand,” you nodded, nervously. “I am grateful for your gift, Feyd-Rautha. I appreciate your courtship,” you assured him but your voice and hands were shaking as your face was visibly disgusted.

Someone knocked upon the doors and Feyd barked at them to come in. You turned around and saw two guards sighing out of relief at the sight of you.

“There you are, my Lady!” One of them approached you. “We’ve been searching everywhere. Let us escort you back to your chambers,” he bowed his head.

You nodded at him, relieved as well at the sight of them. You wanted nothing else than to go back to the familiar part of the fortress and to finally leave this awkward and uncomfortable situation with your betrothed.

Still holding the heart carefully in your hands, you walked out without even glancing at Feyd-Rautha. The guards took you to your chambers where the worried servants had been waiting. They gasped at the sight of your gift.

“What is it, my Lady?” One of the girls asked you.

“It’s a gift from Feyd-Rautha,” you explained as they all widened their eyes. “I have no idea what to do with it,” you admitted.

“Feyd Rautha gave it to you, my Lady?” The servant swallowed thickly and you nodded. “Do you know what it means, my Lady?”

“No,” you shook your head and handed the organ to another girl. “I desperately need to wash my hands and change my dress,” you said and disappeared into the bathroom where you spent fifteen minutes getting rid of the blood.

You took the stained dress off and threw it on the floor before walking out back to your chamber. The girls were already preparing the heart as they put it in a jar full of some odd liquid.

“It will dry in there, my Lady,” one of them explained. “Na-baron must be really enamoured with you, my Lady, or perhaps he is trying to show his best side to you.”

“Enamoured?” You snorted at her. “It’s gruesome.”

“It’s the most romantic thing a Harkonnen man can give to a woman, my Lady,” the other woman added and you gasped.

“I haven’t been taught that…” You whispered, feeling extremely stupid for the way you had treated Feyd-Rautha before. You had to anger him dearly and his rage was not something you wanted to deal with. “What is the equivalent of such a gift for a man? What can I give him in return?” You asked the servants and they looked at each other’s faces, surprised.

“There is no equivalent, my Lady,” one of them answered. “Harkonnen women do not court. Only men do.”

On the next day, when you were leaving your chambers to go to your class, you spotted the doors nearby opening and your betrothed walking out of them. Your room was in the same area as his so it was no surprise but you didn’t expect to see him at the same time in the morning. At the sight of you, he looked down and walked past you without a word, which made you feel bad for him and for the way you had treated him. But it also made you anxious because his uncle has been right about marriage. You didn’t want Feyd-Rautha to be your enemy.

Giedi Prime was far from perfect and your betrothed was an odd, psychotic creature. You couldn’t change your destiny, though, so you had to embrace it to make it bearable.

“Feyd, wait,” you rushed after him and he froze when you grabbed the sleeve of his robe. He turned around and looked at you coldly.

“I am in a hurry,” he drawled.

“So am I. But I wanted to apologise. I have been studying the Harkonnen culture for years but I have never been told of the meaning of such a gift,” you explained, feeling your cheeks getting warm. “Please, forgive me. I didn't mean to reject you.”

“The heart was of a low quality,” he admitted as his face softened slightly. “Next time I will give you the heart of a real warrior, a real enemy. Not some slave,” he added. “My uncle has already reprimanded me for that.”

You broke a smile at him. It was adorable in a way how this scary and dangerous man was following his uncle’s guide on courtship, trying to be on his best behaviour around you. It was making you feel powerful in a way.

“I would like to return the favour but my servants have informed me there is no such tradition,” you confessed. “What can I do for you to forgive me?”

Feyd-Rautha hesitated for a moment as he looked away, thinking intensely about something. Then he laid his eyes on you again and leaned in to join your lips together. You were startled at first, your heart pounded in your chest. Raised to become his wife, you had never kissed anybody before and saved yourself for him only, however it felt as if his soft lips were truly made for yours. You put your hand on his chest and opened your mouth to invite his tongue in. He devoured you, greedily wanting to explore your mouth and feast on your taste. His hands pulled you closer by your hips and you put your free hand behind his head. Seeing him for the first time in real life two days ago, you had been slightly uncomfortable at the sight of him. But now you did not feel any of that.

Even if you hadn’t been prepared to become his wife, you’d still want him. You had been born to be his.

Feyd’s hands moved up and cupped your face before breaking the kiss and moving away gently. You took a deep breath in as he stared into your eyes and caressed your loose hair.

“You’re forgiven, my pet,” he told you. “By the way, I’ve ordered a hair brush for you.”

MASTERLIST

[nasa]

5 Years, 8 Discoveries: NASA Exoplanet Explorer Sees Dancing Stars & a Star-Shredding Black Hole

This all-sky mosaic was constructed from 912 Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) images. Prominent features include the Milky Way, a glowing arc that represents the bright central plane of our galaxy, and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds – satellite galaxies of our own located, respectively, 160,000 and 200,000 light-years away. In the northern sky, look for the small, oblong shape of the Andromeda galaxy (M 31), the closest big spiral galaxy, located 2.5 million light-years away. The black regions are areas of sky that TESS didn’t image. Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS and Ethan Kruse (University of Maryland College Park)

On April 18, 2018, we launched the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, better known as TESS. It was designed to search for planets beyond our solar system – exoplanets – and to discover worlds for our James Webb Space Telescope, which launched three years later, to further explore. TESS images sections of sky, one hemisphere at a time. When we put all the images together, we get a great look at Earth’s sky!

In its five years in space, TESS has discovered 326 planets and more than 4,300 planet candidates. Along the way, the spacecraft has observed a plethora of other objects in space, including watching as a black hole devoured a star and seeing six stars dancing in space. Here are some notable results from TESS so far:

During its first five years in space, our Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has discovered exoplanets and identified worlds that can be further explored by the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

1. TESS’ first discovery was a world called Pi Mensae c. It orbits the star Pi Mensae, about 60 light-years away from Earth and visible to the unaided eye in the Southern Hemisphere. This discovery kicked off NASA's new era of planet hunting.

2. Studying planets often helps us learn about stars too! Data from TESS & Spitzer helped scientists detect a planet around the young, flaring star AU Mic, providing a unique way to study how planets form, evolve, and interact with active stars.

Located less than 32 light-years from Earth, AU Microscopii is among the youngest planetary systems ever observed by astronomers, and its star throws vicious temper tantrums. This devilish young system holds planet AU Mic b captive inside a looming disk of ghostly dust and ceaselessly torments it with deadly blasts of X-rays and other radiation, thwarting any chance of life… as we know it! Beware! There is no escaping the stellar fury of this system. The monstrous flares of AU Mic will have you begging for eternal darkness. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

3. In addition to finding exoplanets on its own, TESS serves as a pathfinder for the James Webb Space Telescope. TESS discovered the rocky world LHS 3844 b, but Webb will tell us more about its composition. Our telescopes, much like our scientists, work together.

4. Though TESS may be a planet-hunter, it also helps us study black holes! In 2019, TESS saw a ‘‘tidal disruption event,’’ otherwise known as a black hole shredding a star.

When a star strays too close to a black hole, intense tides break it apart into a stream of gas. The tail of the stream escapes the system, while the rest of it swings back around, surrounding the black hole with a disk of debris. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

5. In 2020, TESS discovered its first Earth-size world in the habitable zone of its star – the distance from a star at which liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. Earlier this year, a second rocky planet was discovered in the system.

You can see the exoplanets that orbit the star TOI 700 moving within two marked habitable zones, a conservative habitable zone, and an optimistic habitable zone. Planet d orbits within the conservative habitable zone, while planet e moves within an optimistic habitable zone, the range of distances from a star where liquid surface water could be present at some point in a planet’s history. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

6. Astronomers used TESS to find a six-star system where all stars undergo eclipses. Three binary pairs orbit each other, and, in turn, the pairs are engaged in an elaborate gravitational dance in a cosmic ballroom 1,900 light-years away in the constellation Eridanus.

7. Thanks to TESS, we learned that Delta Scuti stars pulse to the beat of their own drummer. Most seem to oscillate randomly, but we now know HD 31901 taps out a beat that merges 55 pulsation patterns.

Sound waves bouncing around inside a star cause it to expand and contract, which results in detectable brightness changes. This animation depicts one type of Delta Scuti pulsation — called a radial mode — that is driven by waves (blue arrows) traveling between the star's core and surface. In reality, a star may pulsate in many different modes, creating complicated patterns that enable scientists to learn about its interior. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

8. Last is a galaxy that flares like clockwork! With TESS and Swift, astronomers identified the most predictably and frequently flaring active galaxy yet. ASASSN-14ko, which is 570 million light-years away, brightens every 114 days!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[zwhoreo]

Why be sad when you can be horny instead? Luffy cheering you up by eating you out #TeamSmut

I’M POSTING AGAIN!! now with my THIRD story about luffy eating you out on the deck of the ship

cheering you up - luffy x f!reader

smut

summary: while you’re lethargic and sad from being on sea for so long, luffy offers oral sex to cheer you up one night

contains: oral (f receiving)

words: 1.9k

_______________________________

You’re sad, not by any particular event but just by the way monotony permeates. The sea is large. It takes a long time to sail between islands, exciting adventures that take a few days are framed by weeks and weeks at sea with nothing other than your friends, your boyfriend, yourself. That last part doesn’t sound so bad, right? Your friends, your boyfriend.

Luffy rests his chin on your shoulder and begs for attention. He’s sprawled all limp and tangled and he’s been whining for the last hour about how bored he is, how much he wants to go exploring and do something fun and even this fancy ship gets boring after awhile, he doesn’t want to look at the fish or play on the deck anymore. You love him but he’s just been so bratty recently, uninterested in anything. You aren’t sure how to entertain him and he just always, always wants to be with you and it’s getting exhausting, you’re so, so tired. So you rest in bed and pet his hair as he complains about wanting to go on adventure and be somewhere else.

Everyone else is irritable and tired, especially because of how hot it’s been recently and nobody likes to rot in the sun in the middle of the ocean. You know what happens with your best friends, where you see them so much that there isn’t much new to talk about? So you’re mostly quiet when you’re sketching with Nami, or reading with Robin, or fishing with Usopp. Or napping with Luffy.

It’s late in the evening but you’re taking a nap anyways, you’re feeling sort of depressed and lethargic and it’s all catching up to you at around 6 PM. You ask for Luffy to come cuddle you even though this is his time to beg Sanji for more food after dinner, the only time of the day he’s really been at his full energy. But he won’t turn you down so he squeezes your hand and pulls you into bed with him.

You lay down. You get under the blankets and take Luffy and tuck him against your chest like a stuffed animal. You can move him around however you want, he won’t mind. He huffs contentedly and quickly goes to sleep with his head between your breasts, clutching you around the waist, snoring loudly.

And even though your eyes hurt and your body’s sore and all you want is to let the rest of the evening slip by in dreams you can’t somehow. You just stay awake with this sweaty boy in your arms, squeezed too tight, and he isn’t a quiet sleeper even when you try to still him so he just squirms and murmurs against you and there’s nothing you can do.

You turn your attention to caring for him, just trying for some sort of comfort. You kiss his greasy hair and whisper little compliments, you massage his back, he loves your touch so much, smiling against you in his dreams. This makes you happy but you still feel sick in your heart, uncomfortable and tired and lonely. The room suddenly feels too hot, oppressive, you need to leave and go get some fresh air.

So, because you don’t want to wake him, you eventually ease a pillow into Luffy’s arms in the absence of your embrace. You slip out of bed, you need fresh air.

There’s a spot you’ve found, a support platform halfway up the tallest mast. You go here when you want to be alone. You’re rocked and the world tilts as the waves crash beneath you, climbing higher, higher. Your feet are bare against the rope ladder, thick knots digging into the soles of your feet. But now on this platform you can breathe. You can see every single star and galaxy from here, black purple blue, a glimmering ballroom of constellations that mirror the wine-dark sea. You are the world’s meridian.

Your body turns off, mind drifting away because you’ve always loved outer space. If you were floating a million light years away then everything would just disappear which sounds nice right now. You close your eyes. You are the universe.

But your body is shaken by the sudden rocking of the mast, you have to scurry to keep from falling as the wood creaks. The loud snap of elastic, a body slams next to you with a clumsy bounce and there he sits, legs spread, looking at you with huge, curious eyes.

“Hey Luffy,” you move close to him. You don’t want to be in the stars if you can’t take him with you.

“Whatcha doin’?” He's quiet, wistful. He looks a little hurt to have been left alone, he doesn’t understand.

“Just needed some air. It’s ok, you can stay,” you say even though he would’ve stayed anyway.

He takes your hand, tracing your fingers, off in his own little world. You feel sad and lonely again. This is your boyfriend, why can’t you talk to him? Tell him how you feel. It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t understand, really, he’ll just be there for you. But don’t make him worry, don’t make him upset. But no, tell him, you have to talk to him or you’ll cry right now. Right now.

“I’ve been sad,” you whisper to the ocean below.

“Hm?” Luffy’s arms wrap around you slowly. He presses his cheek to yours, searching your face, so confused. “How come?”

“I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. Sometimes I just get kinda depressed being on this ship for so long between islands, you know? Especially when everyone else is bored and tired, and when the weather’s bad. And we’re low on food, I’m sick of fish. I’m just getting frustrated all the time and I hate it.” Once you start to let it out you can’t stop. You wipe your face with your hands, sniffing.

He listens, not speaking, not moving except for those hands rubbing yours. And when you’re done he puts his chin on your shoulder. “Yeah, me too. I get what ya mean.” But soon his face is against yours again, so tender now. “Can I help make you feel better, though?”

You smile. You’re so glad you told him, he’s so sweet and good to you. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Hey, this’ll make ya happier! Nami told me we’re close to an island, the tide’s changing or somethin’!”

“Really? How long?” He’s right, you do feel happier.

“Mm, I dunno that part.” His chin’s back on your shoulder. “I’m sorry, I shoulda asked.”

“That’s ok.” You sigh, but you’re still smiling. “It’s enough to know we’re close.”

“Yeah, but you’re still not feelin’ well. An island in the future is no good if you’re feeling bad tonight, huh?”

“My body hurts… I’ve been sitting and resting too much, I think.” It’s true, your legs are sore and heavy. Bones have turned to stone in their hibernation.

“Yeah? Let’s take care of that.” His hands go to you, rubbing your thighs beneath the silk of your night dress, your waist, your shoulders. “Mm, hey, you wanna play? Would that make you happier and make yer body not hurt so much?” He’s murmuring into your ear, smiling with his teeth.

“What kinda play?”

“Sex? You wanna have sex? It’s been awhile.” Luffy licks his lips, mind racing. “I could… eat ya? Y’know, that thing we do sometimes? Where I-”

“Please,” you say so quickly. Maybe this is therapy you crave. Release all this time before you start anew, release it for him to devour.

He laughs loudly, sitting back against the mast. “Heh, ok, lie down and lemme hold you. I got you, love.” His eyes twinkle.

You face him, you get on your back on the wood, head turned away toward the endless stretch of night and sea. And Luffy wraps his arms around your thighs, propping your legs up, spread for him, you feel him nuzzle your thigh and huff against you as he returns to this scent he loves.

You both breathe as one in a long, deep rhythm as his nose presses against you there, right there. Soft moist warmth for Luffy, damp lacy fabric perfect to chew and taste. Teeth gnaw on you through your panties, dull but hungry. You pulse there with every swallow against nothing, nerves lighting you up down to your toes.

“You’re teasing me…” you whine, reminding him of where he is.

“Heh, sorry.” But he’s lost in you, he’s not in any hurry. Until, of course, his tongue catches the arousal that drips out of you and that’s where he needs to go, he decides.

So he casually rips away your panties and smiles at what’s his. You’re at the center of his world and this is how he’ll feast on the meridian.

He quickly bites your clit, not hard but enough to make your whole body twitch. He’s so good at doing what you’ve taught him. And god he does look stunning from here, he pushes his hat back and shiny, jet-black hair tickles your inner thighs. You run your hand through it and tug, curling your body up to stroke his cheek and now you’ve got his attention, you just wanted to see those big, chocolate eyes.

It’s with care that he dips his tongue lower, slowly lapping at you as you get wetter for him, he’s getting loud now as he usually does and the vibrations from his moaning makes you tremble in his arms. And when you tremble, he squeezes you tighter. Warm arms, so different from the sky.

Closer, closer, it’s almost painful it’s so deep and perfect. Your hips move on instinct, riding his tongue, pulling you into this vortex, deep and deeper it comes in waves. The ship rocks and you sway together.

He buzzes against you with a shiver and a sound of joy when your orgasm hits deep. You moan and reach for him immediately and he looks up at you, mouth soaked, he asks, “ya done? Feel better?” smile unbroken.

“Mhm, a lot better.” And he’s in your arms now. You cuddle on that little wooden platform beneath the moon. The heartache and soreness and exhaustion is all new and perfect now. So much better.

“Hey thanks for cheering me up. You felt so good, Lu.” Your voice is a quiet whisper on the wind as you stroke his hair, his muscles twitch around you with the remnants of that powerful joy.

“Heh, tasted good. Glad you’re ok. This mean you’ll come back and sleep with me now?” He’s tilting his head like a little puppy, your scent warm on his breath.

“Yeah. But I wanna watch the stars for a little longer.” You lay against him. You’re sitting, now, interlocked and inseparable. You drip down there from him, so warm against the wood, nerves still on fire. And those stars up there are all suns, you know. They’re all on fire too. You’re amazed at how alight the night is. And this wind from the east, I guess this is what it means to be close to land. Those clouds, maybe that’s what they mean too, shot with colors from no direction, full and aimless.

Luffy is content with you. He’s ok with you watching the sky. All he says is, “that’s alright. Long as I can stay here and hold ya.”

[justaparsec94]

Feeling

Summary: When you and Hunter are left alone on The Havoc Marauder the feelings the two of you have kept well hidden finally come to light...

Pairing: Hunter x Jedi!Reader

Word Count: 5,271

Author's Note: I really don’t know how Hunter’s senses work, especially since they seemed to forget about them as the seasons went on. I like the idea most of fandom subscribes to that all of his senses are heightened but I saw a post once comparing his electroreception to that of a platypus which absolutely kills me. I guess we’ll never know for sure but no matter what I love our dear platypus man LOL

*******************

The Havoc Marauder was uncharacteristically silent as you sat in the cockpit. Most of The Bad Batch, minus Hunter who had stayed behind claiming headache, had left for a supply run earlier and likely wouldn’t be back for a few standard hours. Hunter had retreated to his bunk to sleep moments after the others had left, effectively leaving you alone.

Normally, the chance to explore a new place on a new planet would have thrilled you but like so many other things that had changed recently too. What had once brought excitement now brought fear. You had volunteered to stay with the ship as you didn’t want to risk being seen in a busy spaceport. Not that there were many left in the galaxy that would recognize you, but you just didn’t want to take any chances that might further endanger the squad. Having a former Jedi amongst your ranks was essentially a death sentence these days, and The Bad Batch already had enough heat on them as renegade clones. 

With a sigh, you sunk further into the copilot seat as you stared out the viewport. As much as you appreciated some peace and quiet, which admittedly was hard to come by with the squad, the silence left you with too much time to think. Somedays it was hard to wrap your head around all that had happened. The weight of the grief you felt threatened to drown you when you took a moment to stop and acknowledge it. Everything you had once known, had once believed in had been completely turned upside down. Your friends, your former master, all gone in a moment. 

As far as you knew you had gone from being one of thousands to one of only a few that remained and even then you had only just barely survived. You weren’t sure if your survival was the will of the force or simply just the result of being in the right place at the right time. In your more cynical moments, you believed it really had only been luck. If Jedi masters with far greater power than your own hadn’t survived you felt you really had no right still being alive. It was a thought that kept you up most nights, survivor's guilt. 

Having only been nighted a few rotations before the Clone Wars had started you had never been assigned your own battalion. Instead, throughout the war you had often completed recon and special ops missions that had the GAR assigning small squads of clones to you as needed, mostly commandos. It had been how you had met The Bad Batch in the first place. You’d been paired with the squad on several missions towards the end of the war. In the end, this use of your skills as a Jedi had likely been what had saved you. You hadn’t been near any clones when the order had come through, instead you had been klicks away from the nearest squad scouting. The clones had known you were on the planet though and the manhunt that had happened in the days that had followed Order-66 had nearly claimed your life multiple times. But despite everything that had been thrown your way you had still managed to escape off-world with a blaster wound burning in your side and a broken arm. 

Your first thought had been to simply disappear in the galaxy, to find some small backwater planet to live out the rest of your days but without enough fuel or credits to get you anywhere far, desperation had driven you to seek out Cid. You had used the Trandoshan as an informant many times throughout the war and while you still didn’t trust her it had turned out to be a good idea after all as it had led you directly back to The Batch. 

You’d been terrified at first, drawing your lightsaber on them the minute they had entered the bar, but it had become clear rather quickly that they were not following orders like the other clones had been. They’d explained everything, Order-66, Palpatine, the inhibitor chips, everything that had happened in the days following the end of the war. To hear the truth, that the men you had fought alongside for so many years, your friends, had been used like pawns in a game, treated in such a horrendous way by both The Republic and the new Empire had broken you more than anything else. It had been in that moment as you stared at the squad in front of you in Cid’s dingy bar that you had come to the realization that everything you had once believed in, everything you had fought for had amounted to nothing at all. All it had done was bring about the demise of nearly everyone you had cared for. You hadn’t been protecting the galaxy, you’d just been one part in bringing it to ruin. 

The thought continued to haunt you, even now, months after the end of the war. It had been hard to keep going afterward but being with the Batch and Omega had helped. You had always gotten along well with the squad during the war, in fact, they had become your favourite team to work with and despite not often working with Jedi they had seemed to accept and respect you. You’d always felt welcome amongst them. When they had suggested you stay on with them as they worked with Cid you had initially refused, not wanting to put them in any more danger than they were already in. Even if you had mostly shut yourself off from the force to better hide yourself you still didn’t want to take the chance of being detected. But Cid being Cid hadn’t really given you the option, if you wanted to get the credits you needed to disappear into the galaxy you were going to owe her, and running jobs with the Batch became the only way to do so. 

You sighed as you slid further down in the seat if only your master could see you now. Jedi Knight turned mercenary. Your eyes began to sting as you thought of your lost master. Master Antar Wei had been so very kind, wise, and caring. He’d been a true keeper of the peace, a gentle soul with the strength of a warrior. He had taught you so very much, without his teachings you would not have been the person you are today. He had been as close to a father as you had ever had and his loss was nearly unbearable. Tech had been able to get access to some of the Empire’s files and when Master Wei’s name hadn’t appeared on any of the wanted lists you knew he had likely succumbed to the same fate that nearly all of the Jedi had. 

You startled slightly as the door to the cockpit opened, so lost in your own thoughts you hadn’t heard the approaching footsteps. You swivelled the chair around to turn and look at Hunter as he entered, trying your best to school your features into an expression that would best hide your inner turmoil.

From the look on Hunter’s face, you hadn’t done the best job. His warm brown eyes were filled with concern, the lines of his face taught as he hovered hesitantly just inside the doorway. He shifted from one foot to the other as his eyes briefly swept the cockpit, as though searching for signs of danger, before they settled back on you.  

“Are you… alright?” He asked stiffly, as though he found it uncomfortable to ask you such a thing. His long hair was ruffled, likely from his sleep, making him even more ruggedly handsome than usual. You felt momentarily guilty for disturbing him before you noticed the air of tension that usually surrounded him when he had one of his migraines was no longer present. Only the same unease that had been clinging to him for the past few weeks was there.

Of all the members of The Batch, you had always gotten along best with the Sergeant. You admired his intelligence, his straightforward manner, the sly sense of humour that he let escape every once and a while, and the way he was fully devoted to his brothers. He was one of the most honourable men you had ever met and watching him go from stoic soldier to caring older brother to Omega had been a joy to witness. 

Truthfully you had been wrestling with feelings for the gruff clone that were decidedly not Jedi-like since the very first mission you had been on together. There had always just been something about him that had drawn you to him. His signature always seemed brighter to you in the force, and like a moth to a flame, you had struggled to maintain your professionalism around him. Attachment was forbidden after all and some days when you looked at the ridiculously handsome man you knew your feelings were treading into dangerous territory. That had been before though, you reminded yourself, the Jedi were gone and with it, you supposed the rules you had once lived by were as well. 

At one point you had been certain that your feelings were not just one-sided, Hunter kept his emotions very closely in check, but there had been looks, touches, conversations, and jokes just between the two of you that had set your heart pounding. But that also had been before. It seemed that whatever had been there was now long gone. In the last few weeks, all you had been able to sense from him was tension. He had done almost a complete 180. He no longer talked to you directly unless absolutely necessary, whenever you entered a room he left as soon as he was able to, even on The Marauder he always retreated to the space furthest away from you. A part of you wondered if you were just overreacting but the other knew that you weren’t, something had changed in him and you had no idea what had caused it. Hunter’s cooling towards you had just been another knife in your already fragile heart. You had lost so much and watching him slip away too, even though he’d never been yours in the first place, had only added to your pain. 

You realized suddenly that you had been quiet for longer than what was considered polite you finally spoke, shaking yourself fully from your melancholy thoughts, “I'm fine,” Your voice was soft as you nodded at him. You did your best to plaster a gentle smile on your face in an effort to ease his obvious discomfort.

“Your heart rate was elevated,” Hunter said, answering the question that had been at the forefront of your mind. Though you thought with amusement that you should have known, Hunter’s heightened senses meant there was very little on The Marauder that could be kept secret, “I thought something had happened…” 

“No,” You replied with a soft sigh, shaking your head sadly as you continued, “I just got a bit lost in my thoughts. I'm ok.”  

His warm brown eyes were still intense but some of the worry had drained out of them as he looked at you for another long moment, “Are you…sure?” He asked hesitantly, looking somewhat like he’d rather be anywhere else. 

“I’m sure, thank you, Hunter,” You replied with another nod, hoping to reassure him even though internally your heart was aching at the distance between the two of you. 

“Ok, I’ll uh - leave you to it then…” While Omega’s presence had forced him to get better at dealing with emotions he still had the tendency to avoid emotional confrontations like a plague. But this complete avoidance was new, in the past you might not have talked about it but he had still always seemed to know when you were feeling down or conflicted. You’d spent many hours and missions together sitting side by side, usually, no words were needed as you had always just found comfort in his solid and warm presence, sometimes he would distract you with stories about missions the squad had been on, but often it was just his silent company that he offered. Those moments together had always been your favourite. You still didn’t know where things between the two of you had gone so wrong. 

You watched as he went to turn around and suddenly you found yourself moving from your seat.  Silently and quickly you closed the gap between the two of you, your hand reaching out to grasp his wrist, pulling him to a stop before you could really even consider what you were doing. You were so tired of everything but especially this unspoken conflict the two of you seemed to be in, “Hunter, wait…” 

He turned to look at you with wide eyes before his gaze darted between your face and where your hand was on his wrist. You let go of him, trying your best to ignore the way your palm was tingling from touching him. He’d always had that effect on you but whereas it had been comforting before it now only brought a sense of sadness, a sense of loss.  

“I’m sorry if I’ve done something wrong, or something to upset you in any way…” You said softly, the words suddenly flowing out of you without really thinking. Your heart was beating painfully in your chest and your stomach rolled with anxiety. You couldn’t bring yourself to meet his gaze as you continued to speak, too afraid of what you might find in the depths of his eyes if you did, “It was not my intention and if there is anything I can do to fix it I will. Or if my presence isn’t wanted here I understand. I know I’m putting you all in danger by simply existing.”

Finally, you looked back up at him just in time to see Hunter’s expression morph into one of confusion and shock, “What? What do you mean? You haven’t done anything wrong. Why would you think that?” He shook his head, “And no, that’s not - you’re part of this squad and we don’t abandon our own.”

“Then what is it?” You asked, suddenly nervous about confronting him. You’d faced down thousands of droids, beasts, criminals, and other adversaries in your life but staring in the face of your friend as you prepared yourself for rejection was almost more terrifying than going into battle, “You can’t seem to stand being in the same room as me. You always seem to leave as quickly as you can, you only talk to me when absolutely necessary, and even then it’s usually through someone else rather than directly. So, I felt the only reasonable conclusion was that I’ve done something wrong, that I’ve upset you in some way. But I can’t change if you don’t talk to me about it.”

Hunter seemed shell-shocked as he stood in front of you, his mouth opened and closed a few times. You could feel the rush of emotions from him without even really trying, but it was so jumbled you couldn’t make sense of any of them. Even in the dim light of the cockpit, you could see his face flushing, which was something entirely new. You had never seen Hunter this nervous before. He was quiet for so long that you were beginning to think he wasn’t going to answer. 

“I don’t - I’m not angry at you. I’ve never been more relieved than that day you showed up at Cid’s. I - I thought you had died but then you came back to us, to m-, and you’re a part of this squad. You haven’t done anything wrong…” Hunter finally spoke, his voice deep and rumbling in his chest, “I’m not upset…” 

The way he trailed off left you with more questions than answers, so you simply stayed quiet, hoping he would continue. 

He took a breath, as though he was steadying himself prior to battle, “You’re…You’re not the problem,” he said finally, “I am.”

You waited another long moment for him to elaborate, but when it seemed like that was all the explanation he was going to give you took a few steps towards him, closing the gap between you.

“What do you mean?” You asked. He seemed to tense at your proximity and at this distance, you could see the way his pupils dilated, the way his nostrils flared momentarily, the slightest flush of red on his cheeks. Your own heart was suddenly pounding in your chest at the intensity of his gaze.  

“I just…I…” He started then stopped, redness was beginning to creep its way up his neck and you were surprised to hear he sounded… embarrassed.

“I can…” He tried again, his voice suddenly lower and rougher than you had ever heard it before, “I just feel you more than anyone else. I always have.” 

Suddenly everything seemed to click into place, the feeling that had always been there between the two of you, the looks, the touches, the soft way he had always spoken to you, his sudden running away, the emotions he tried so hard to dampen around you. You couldn’t believe you hadn’t figured it out before, that his sudden avoidance was not a rejection of you. It was fear.   

You took another step closer, watching his face closely as you grasped his wrist gently once more. His eyes widened at your touch and his entire body seemed to stiffen but he didn’t pull away from you. 

“What do you feel Hunter?” You asked softly, your voice steady despite the fact that you were thrumming with nervous energy. You couldn’t stop the question from flowing out of you. Maybe it was wrong to ask, maybe it went against everything you had been taught, but you found that in that moment, as you stared up at him you didn’t care anymore. 

He let out a shuttering sigh before his head dipped just slightly to meet your gaze. His eyes were molten and so intense that you felt as if suddenly every nerve ending in your body were alight. You had kept your connection to the force limited in the past few months but you let your hold on it loosen in that moment, letting it surround the two of you. You listened to it sing, just as it had done every time the two of you had been together in the past. 

“Everything. I can hear your voice in a crowd of a hundred, I can smell you even when you’re not around, and I can feel your heartbeat in a different room. When you’re near me I can’t take my eyes off of you and even when you’re gone I can’t stop thinking about you,” Hunter’s voice was a husky whisper, “It-it’s not appropriate but I can’t seem to control myself. So it’s just better if I leave you alone.” 

You were quiet for a long moment, considering before you spoke softly again, “Better for who?” 

His eyes widened, as though he couldn’t quite believe what you had just asked. Before you could have enough time to second guess yourself you reached out gently to place your hand over his heart. Even without your own heightened senses, you would have been able to feel the way it was pounding in his chest. You had never been so close to him before in such a way and the sensation was thrilling. It was as if the air itself between the two of you was humming with energy. 

The brown of his irises had been almost completely engulfed by the black of his pupils as you looked back up at him, “I feel you too Hunter. I have from the moment we first met. The force feels different around you too, like you’re calling to me.” 

You closed your eyes as his hand reached up to cup your jaw ever so tentatively as if he were afraid that his touch would shatter you. Your skin thrummed under his touch and you pressed further into his hand, revelling in the sensation of finally being so close to him. For so long you had been so worried that his feelings for you had shifted. To have the truth finally out in the open felt as though the weight of the galaxy had suddenly lifted off of your shoulders. 

“But you’re a Jedi,” Hunter said softly, hesitantly, causing your eyes to pop open once more, “It’s not allowed.” 

“Attachment,” You replied as a wave of sadness washed through you. The words the Masters had once preached echoed through your head, “You’re right, it is forbidden. Or it was. I’ve spent so many days and nights thinking about the Jedi Order, about all that has been lost. And I still don’t know the answers to the questions I have, I don’t know that I ever will. But I can’t help but think that our ways only led to our downfall. Perhaps if we had done things differently if we hadn’t been so blinded by our own morality…” 

“I suppose we’ll never know. But the one thing I do know is that I want whatever this is between us. I’m not sure how something that feels so right, something that seems to be part of the force itself, can be considered wrong. I don’t know how many days are left to me, I am no longer a Jedi but I will live the rest of my life in danger. I do not wish to live the way I was before. I want you Hunter, I have since the moment I met you.” 

As you had spoken Hunter’s head had slowly lowered down towards yours until you were nearly touching. At your final words, his forehead had pressed against your own. His gaze was still intense as ever so slowly the hand on your jaw tipped your face up towards his own. His voice was so low when he spoke again that you felt it more than heard it, “I’m yours.” 

His words were all the encouragement you needed to close the final gap between the two of you, capturing his lips with your own in a desperate kiss. He was warm and wonderful and everything you had ever dreamed of. The hand you still had resting over his heart curled in the fabric of his blacks, pulling yourself closer to him as he deepened the kiss. His free hand came up to press against the small of your back, the heat of it searing into your skin as you gently nipped at his lower lip. You’d had dalliances with others before, that hadn’t been forbidden , but you had never experienced anything quite like this. The force seemed to come alive as the two of you melted into one another, thrumming in the air around you. Everything else seemed to fade away into nothing , there was only Hunter. 

A soft moan escaped him as you pressed further up into him, the sound rumbling in his chest and sending a shiver down your spine. You lifted your free hand to the back of his neck, fingers threading through his surprisingly soft hair. You’d always wondered what it would have been like to run your fingers through it and reality was proving to be better than expectation. He seemed to shiver at your touch, the hand at the small of your back flexing just slightly as he pulled your hips flush against his own. You could still feel his heart racing beneath where your other hand was still fisted in his shirt as his tongue pressed against your lower lip. You parted your lips, giving him access and gasping at the new sensation as his tongue explored your mouth. It was dizzying finally being so close to him, to be this connected. 

After what could have been simply minutes or hours Hunter pulled away from you, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. Your own pulse was still racing as he tipped his forehead back down to rest against your own. His eyes were closed as he pressed further into you, nose just brushing against your own as he held you close. 

You were both silent for a long time, simply basking in the warmth and feeling of being in each other's arms. But finally, Hunter spoke, his voice low and rough, “I’m sorry that I’ve been avoiding you, that I made you feel as though you’d done something wrong,” 

Your eyes opened, gazing up into his face that was suddenly filled with sorrow. You let the hand at the back of his neck slowly move until it cupped his jaw, mimicking his own hold on you, “It’s ok Hunter, everything has been so complicated lately. And I understand how conflicted you must have felt, I’ve felt that way too.” 

Hunter let out a soft sigh and with it you felt all of the tension he had been holding dissipate, his muscles relaxing beneath your hand as he seemed to melt further into you. He closed his eyes as his thumb gently stroked along your jawline, the sensation of it was electric and you wanted nothing more than just stay there and bask in his presence forever. 

His breath was warm against your face as each inhale brought you closer together. He tipped his head just slightly, his lips gently brushing against your own in the barest hint of a kiss, once, twice, before you pressed deeper into him. You shivered as your lips melted into his, tongue sliding over his full bottom lip before giving it the gentlest nip that made his chest rumble with another groan. 

The two of you came slowly together and apart, gasps and gentle moans escaping you both and you discovered this new part of one another. Your heart was racing in your chest, your skin tingling with each soft touch of his lips to your own, your skin flaming beneath his hands. The feeling is intoxicating and you have just enough wherewithal to briefly wonder if this is exactly why attachment was forbidden, because truthfully now that you have him you never wish to let him go. 

Eventually, you do pull away, instantly missing the contact but forcing yourself to look up at him as he moves both arms to wrap around your waist. You take a moment to simply look at him as your breath begins to even out once more, eyes tracing the lines of his face, the dark shadow of his tattoo. You’ve always appreciated how handsome he was but being so close is something special. You get lost in him for a moment as you notice the flecks of green in his warm brown eyes, the freckles across the bridge of his nose that are so faint they barely stand out against his deeply tanned skin, the dimple that appears only on the left side of his face as his mouth lifts into a soft smile as he gazes right back at you. 

You blink once, twice, trying to clear your mind of the distraction that he is and focus on the thought that had originally pulled you away from him. 

“How is your headache?” You asked gently, a small wave of guilt for having woken him in the first place rushing through you. It had been the reason he had stayed behind after all, and it wasn’t very often he had the chance to get any extra rest with the lifestyle you all led. 

His mouth curled into a smile and he let out a small huff of laughter, his hair flopping over the top of his bandana as he shook his head, “It’s fine. Forgotten actually,” He replied as he moved his hand to cradle your face once more, his touch feather-light. 

“Good,” You answered before you turned your head just slightly to press a soft kiss to the palm of his hand, “But you should still get some rest. It’s not easy to come by these days.” 

He hummed thoughtfully, his gaze still intense as he moved his hand away from your face, both trailing down slowly until he had your hands grasped in his own, “Only if you join me though.”

You felt your face flush at his suggestion, you wanted to, desperately, but another worry suddenly entered your head at the idea, “The others might be back soon, though…” This was still new and while part of you didn’t care if his brothers and sister saw the two of you together the other part wanted to keep this budding thing between you secret for just a little bit longer, if only for his sake as you knew how intensely private Hunter was. 

Hunter’s mouth ticked up into a smirk again, his brown eyes dancing with amusement as he answered, “Tech has been calculating the odds of us getting together since our very first mission and Omega has some Mantell mix riding on it.” 

You couldn’t stop the soft laugh that burst out of you at that, a bright smile overtaking your face, “Well, we wouldn’t want to let them down, now would we?” 

His eyes were warm and there was the barest hint of a smile on his face before he lifted your hand closer to his mouth, pressing a soft and quick kiss to your palm. Your smile brightened at his replication of your earlier gesture, the skin beneath his lips tingling from the contact. 

You let him lead you back towards the bunks, your pulse racing beneath your skin as he climbed up into the middle first before holding a hand back out to you to steady you as you found your own footing. It was a tight squeeze, but after some mild shifting you finally settled, your head resting against his chest as he laid on his back, his arms coming up to wrap around you and hold you closer to him as you let your leg rest over top of his own. Being so close to him every feeling you had ever sensed from him was amplified and it was easy to just get lost in the sensation of him as you listened to the steady sound of his heartbeat. Neither of you said a word, for there really weren’t any words to be said. Nothing had ever felt so right before and there was no way you were ever going to let that go, ever let him go again. 

It didn’t take long for your eyes to slip shut or for his own breathing to even out, his grip on you never lessening though even as he slept. The trauma of the past few years still haunted you as you lay with him but the thoughts were easier to push away as you focused on the force and the way it moved around the two of you, calming, gentle, right. You knew that nothing could ever truly repair the damage left by your losses but for the first time in a very long time, there was a glimmer of hope brewing in your chest. With Hunter, there was a chance at a future, something you hadn’t been able to even consider since Order-66 had been issued. 

You weren’t sure what that future would hold, for any of you, but right now, wrapped up gently in Hunter’s arms you felt safer than you ever had and there was nowhere else in the galaxy you would rather be. 

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Too stupid to be real

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

There once was a species known as the Ping that held control over several dozen star systems near the outer edges of the known universe.

Under their reign entire worlds were turned into nightmarish hellscapes the likes of which only the mad could dream of and only the dead escape from. The Ping feasted on suffering for nutrients in a process still not fully understood today despite several centuries of research, and so they tortured and mutilated all within their domain.

It took the combined efforts of half a dozen species to finally drive the Ping back to their original homeworld. Countless billions died in the struggle, and twice as many went mad from the horrific images and hallucinations; yet the death like grip of the Ping was broken.

When it came to decide the fate of the Ping there was a heated debate amongst the victors. Half felt that the Ping were too dangerous to be left free and needed to be exterminated, while the other half was hesitant to be swayed by such extreme measures as it would make them no better than those they had fought to overthrow. The debate raged on for several weeks after the final battle until the moderates emerged victorious.

A massive cryogenic vault was constructed on the Ping homeworld and every surviving member of the species was locked within. Inside their cryo tubes the Ping would serve out their sentences until such a time as the rest of the galaxy felt the Ping could be set free into the universe.

To ensure the vault was not breached several different layers of defenses were installed, each created by a different species to ensure that no one member species could enter into the vault unless each agreed. With the security features in place the Ping homeworld was vacated and orbital beacons were placed warning all who came within system that the planet was off limits.

Years turned into decades, decades to centuries, and then millennia passed without a single soul setting foot on the planet. The former victors of the war continued with their lives and managing their new found freedom amongst the stars without the threat of the Ping. Perhaps it was in this new found sense of freedom that they slowly began to forget about the Ping’s existence all together.

Had any of them given the Ping a thought for even a moment one of them could have warned Humanity to stay away; but none did.

When humanity began expanding into the stars they spread out in all directions like lightning in the sky. Their appetite for the new and wondrous universe around them was insatiable. For too long they had known only the confines of their own world and with the coming of space travel they finally saw their chance to explore the stars; which led them to stumbling upon the Ping homeworld.

Where other races would have seen the array of defenses and obstacles blocking the world and turned away, humanity saw a mystery in need of solving.

“A seemingly dead world protected by such wonders?” they thought. “What treasures are hidden here?”

So they dove head first with reckless abandon into the world, ignoring the numerous warning signals that were still being transmitted by the automated systems orbiting the planet in languages they could not understand.

The first expedition hadn’t made it through the first layer of outer atmosphere before colliding into energy barriers. Crengthi shields operated on wave lengths not detectible by human instruments and so the ships were damaged but still capable of space flight.

The second expedition was able to study the shielding and devised a jamming device that would open small holes within the shield to allow ships to pass through. They had just made it into the lower atmosphere when ground based Kentoc automated cannons targeted their vessels and obliterated them.

The third expedition was larger than the previous two by far as the military had seen the results of the ground based weaponry and wanted their scientists to reverse engineer them. A large military contingent was deployed alongside the science vessels and spear headed the landings on the surface.

Once more the Kentoc cannons roared into the heavens but the military ships were able to withstand the barrage. There were still losses and a few of the heavier landing craft were obliterated, but still many more troop carriers landed and dispersed their cargo of soldiers and scientists. It was here that they triggered the Julnu mind madness broadcaster.

Within minutes the humans who had survived to touch the surface of the Ping homeworld were driven mad by visions of such intense horror many gouged out their own eyes to make the nightmares stop. The military leaders still in orbit could only watch in horror as every human on the planet killed each other and then themselves until once more the planet lay silent.

And so it went on for decades on and off again.

Expedition after expedition would be sent to the Ping homeworld building atop the advances made by the previous until succumbing to the world themselves. Sometimes it was the military, other times private corporations, and then eventually even privateers and treasure hunter’s came drawn to the world by the ever growing legend.

The defenses of the world were extensive, but not infinite; and with each expedition they grew thinner and thinner until finally the humans had reached the cryo vault itself. It was here that the other surviving races of the universe who had once imprisoned the Ping received a final warning transmission that the vault was about to be breached.

Historical records were dusted off and it was with great horror that these races knew of what would be unleashed should they fail to keep the humans from the vault. Wars between them all but ceased as their military fleets were rerouted to the Ping homeworld.

When they arrived they were surprised to find there were no longer any humans on the world. In fact, there was not a single living human left in the entire system.

They quickly descended on the world and found that it had been stripped bare of all technology. Energy shields, automated weapons, broadcasting systems; anything of value had been taken by the humans in their relentless pursuit of the mysterious world was claimed as their prize.

Fearing the worst the races rushed deep into the confines of the world for the cryo vault , hoping beyond hope that the humans had not been so foolish as to unleash the most dangerous species the universe had ever known. Scorched and melted, they found the vault doors had been cut through and breached. With weapons drawn and at the ready they advanced into the vault but found something they had not expected.

Every single cryo pod was missing from the vault, but at the entrance of the vault casually tossed off to the side was a massive mound of dead Ping. Each body had a single hole in their forehead from what was most likely a close range human automatic weapon ensuring immediate death. While some of the races breathed a sigh of relief, others were outraged at the casual butchery carried out by the humans and sought answers.

A delegation was sent to the human homeworld to demand answers and answers they were given.

One of the pods had indeed been opened shortly after the vault had been breached and the humans interacted with the Ping for a brief time. It soon became quickly obvious that the Ping were a hostile race as they immediately attempted to kill all of the humans present and free either brethren.

After a two dozen killed soldiers and scientists it was finally brought down when an excavation bot rammed it through the chest and impaled it to the wall of the vault. It bled out screaming in its alien tongue for hours until finally it died.

The leader of the expedition was given instructions to bring back any usable technology, but nothing on what to do if encountering sentient life forms. It had been a general consensus that they had been dealing with the automated defenses of a long dead civilization so it had never been considered.

Taking into account the hostile nature of the Ping, the leader made a judgment call that they could not be safely released back into the universe. Upon the opening of each cryo pod the occupant was summarily executed before they could fully recover and tossed aside while the pod was removed from the chamber.

The gathered alien delegates were dumbfounded by the humans. They had breached one of the most secure locations in the known universe without fully understanding it and had slain the greatest evil of the universe held within, and had moved on to new endeavors as if what they had just done was as interesting as a casual walk in spring.

They worried what would happen the next time the humans became interested in something.

[heartfullofleeches]

New y/n idea! How about a darling streamer.... but make it galaxy? Like, their either human or alien, and their a known streamer all across the galaxy! Maybe good picks for their yandere being mono or titus since (from what I remember) their the only known yanderes in space.

Ah! Cutie Alien Darling that travels across the galaxy for new adventures, settling down on earth and starting a new life exploring the wonders the world has to offer - streaming their daily activities as a sort of video journal for themselves and anyone who's interested in their journey. Human Yan's just think they're selling a bit for the most part and it's the most adorable thing-

Mono comes across their blog and see a kindred soul as they left home for the same reasons as darling, and crushes on them hard for how their lights light up at every little thing. Speedruns their human body so they can attend conventions Darling ventures to as well and meet their idol in person. Darling would be so happy to meet another wandering soul and take them out to try their favorite foods, and show them their nick-nack collection. It takes all of Mono not to either propose on the spot or scoop them up and carry them back to their ship to explore the galaxy as the universe's power couple.

Alien would believe they're an alien 100% and sprints to any meet ups they have fully decked out in merch official or not if they haven't made any. Appoints themselves Alien Darling's guide to earth and takes them around the places they adore. Piggyback rides everywhere. Treats Alien Darling like absolute royalty and gushes like the dork he is about it's so great to finally have someone else like him on this hunk of dirt - but still keeps up the totally human act. It's also human custom to kiss your new guide and bodyguard with tongue so uh pucker up, please.

Titus watches their streams to find contestants for the arena, but falls for their bizarre, yet effective charms. Sends guards to monitor them from below while he spends weeks putting together the perfect outfit for his grand appearance. Gifts them the finest minerals from around the galaxy and offers to take them on a tour of the universe for their hand in marriage. Alien Darling gives him their favorite roll of holographic stickers and Titus moves the wedding to right then and there.

-

Alien Darling: Hey, guys! Welcome to day four of cataloging my rock collection from favorite to least favorite, and showing you my absolute favorites. There is no least favorite category because I love them all so I will be presenting them from A to Z by name. This one is Aaron-

Mono: [I thought I had full grasp of the concept of love before now..... It seems I was wrong.]

-

Alien: Hey! Did you know it's customary for humans to hold hands with new friends for a minimum of three hours?

Alien Darling: Oh! No, I didn't. [takes their hand] Thank you for telling me, friend :)

Alien, blushing feverishly: Never washing this hand again - Did you know we also touch lips and if anyone asks I am your boyfriend because I am a boy sometimes and we are friends.

-

Titus: For you, my dear. A necklace containing a vial of my blood - the most sought after prize in all the known universe. You are welcome.

Alien Darling: Thanks! Here's a candy necklace I bought earlier. I ate a few of them already, but it's still good-

Titus, internally: Heavens- I can't not fuck them.

[cogentranting]

In The Marvels there's a vulnerability to Carol that we don't really get in her earlier appearances. There's a few glimpses of it in Captain Marvel, but not much, and it's certainly not visible in Endgame (not as a fault of that movie, she's just not very close to the center of that movie). But I find the exploration of that in this movie really appealing.

You have this woman who is incredibly capable, incredibly powerful, and generally very self-sufficient. And you see the way that over the years that's worn her down. She's the mighty Captain Marvel-- one of the most powerful people in the galaxy. And she's absorbed that view of herself, that that is who she needs to be all the time. She needs to carry it all, to fix it all.

As Captain Marvel that's meant that she works alone and she's always off to fix a new problem. More importantly, it led to her nearly disastrous decision to destroy the Supreme Intelligence, and from there to an inability to directly confront that failure (tactically or emotionally) or to accept help in fixing it.

As Carol, it's cut her off from anyone else except a few carefully distanced professional friendships-- she is friends with Fury, and Valkyrie, and Yan, but there's also a coolness there, and with all we're given the impression that she keeps them at arm's length and only comes around when necessary. And again its created an even bigger problem-- she stayed away from Maria until Maria was dying, and never came back to Monica at all.

It's never directly connected for us in the movie, but there's a pretty clear connection here back to the first movie. That careful distance wasn't present with Yon-Rogg. With him she was playful, open, she'd come to his room in the middle of the night. She trusted him. And she was utterly betrayed. He used her, trapped her, manipulated her, stole her life and her memories, tried to kill her. And back then, she only regained her identity when she broke free from him. That experience has made her wary.

But she's also just off-balance. Her memories were taken and she still hasn't fully gotten them back, so she's unsteady in those old relationships. And she's indestructible and powerful but it does her no good in dealing with actual relationships. She meets a problem that she can't punch or blast, and her flight instinct kicks in.

So when The Marvels starts out, those years of being alone and trying to be Atlas carrying the world on her back, have left her shaky. She's scared to talk to Monica. When she does come face to face with Monica, and Monica initially rejects her, Carol visibly shrinks. In dealing with Dar Benn, she's running scared--not scared of Dar Benn, but scared of failing again or messing things up more, and it makes her impulsive, and causes her to push away Monica and Kamala. And it's all a vulnerability that she covers up with cockiness and bravado. She doesn't show people that vulnerability. Instead she shows them the invincible Captain Marvel who can fly into suns and move planets.

And this movie uses the power-switching to handcuff her to two other people to force her out of that destructive pattern of total self-reliance and running from being close to anyone. It physically will not let her run away from Monica and Kamala, and it turns her attempts to do things by herself against her.

Kamala is there to model for Carol a sort of emotional openness that she hasn't known in a long time (if ever). Her heart is all the way out on her sleeve and Carol needs to see that. When Monica discusses her mom's death, Kamala literally shows Carol what to do on the simplest level by hugging Monica and forcing Carol into that hug. And it matters that Kamala is a child doing this, because that simplicity is key. Carol doesn't need to FIX the situation, and Kamala isn't burdened by that mindset. Kamala can approach with this childlike openness and simplicity, not overcomplicating it by trying to find the perfect thing to say or do, and it turns out that's all Carol needs to do too. And so simple hugs become incredibly powerful in this movie because it's just about being willing to be there with some and to hold them, and in the end Carol gives that back to Kamala when they hug after losing Monica.

And for her part, Monica models to Carol that you can be strong and part of a team. Monica has grown up and become a captain and become a superhero. She's incredibly capable. And also very very comfortable working as part of a team. So despite her tension with Carol, she's able to bring that easy team dynamic to the group and get Carol to embrace the team instead of being hampered by it.

Once Carol is able be at ease with being vulnerable, once she can open herself up to others, once she can share her burdens, that's when she finally is able to come home to Earth after nearly 40 years.

[alpinelogy]

@hypersoft-fest week 2: sci-fi star trek au, collab with @testarossa

Lieutenant George Rusell dreamed of the stars. Ever since he was a child, he wanted to lose himself in their light, chart courses to distant galaxies and fly off to worlds unknown. His head has always been beyond the clouds, above the stratosphere, drifting through the far reaches of space. Ensign Alex Albon dreamed of fantastic planets. As a child, his imagination ran wild, drawing worlds with lilac rivers and fifteen moons, grasslands as wide and deep as oceans, plants that could talk and stones that would sing. He studied for hours, memorizing the flora and fauna of Earth and Vulcan and every planet in the federation, and still his mind wondered at the mysteries to be found on new planets. Alex and George both enlisted in Starfleet to travel the galaxy, but the realities of life on a starship didn’t quite measure up to their dazzling expectations. George was scheduled at the helm for beta shift, a time during which both he and the universe were endlessly sleepy and nothing interesting ever happened. Alex’s attempts to grow moss for water filtration were both slow and fruitless, the results of his experiments muddy and disappointing. Then of course, there was the food: replicated, bland, and often chalkier than expected.  Charting unknown depths of the galaxy wasn’t all it was cracked up to be – until the two join the landing team to the mysterious planet AMG-Zeta. There, the two discovered a life form that would alter the course of their lives, and the course of the universe. Read on for an excerpt from Astral Connection, coming this fall from Hypersoft Press.

George has volunteered for every away mission for which he’s qualified since they have entered deep space, and some of the ones he isn’t. For any trip that was dangerous enough to require a pilot, they sent Lewis, and for all the rest, George stayed on the Mercedes, fulfilling his regular rotation at the helm. It did not take a rocket scientist to keep a starship in steady orbit, so George was stuck onboard, trying not to fall asleep on the bridge, while teams of scientists and security officers and half the regular bridge crew got to explore all manner of planets.

Until today. 

Not only would George join the away team for this mission, but he would pilot the shuttle. The atmosphere around AMG-Zeta, while safe to breathe, was prone to sudden electromagnetic storms and near-constant rain that made beaming directly to the surface inadvisable. 

He was practically bouncing in his seat as he went through the final departure checks. “Are we all buckled in?” he asked, glancing back at the other members of the landing party.

One of the scientists – Adam, he thinks, or maybe Alan –gave him an amused look. “Can we stop for snacks on the way?” Alan asked.

George grinned. “Right, I’m taking that as a yes,” he said, pressing the button to radio the bridge. “Mercedes, this is Shuttle One confirming we’re clear for departure.”

“You are clear, Shuttle One,” came the staticky reply. “Enjoy your trip.”

“That we will,” George said, as he pressed the release button on the locks and allowed the shuttle to drift into open space. 

Despite the thick clouds, navigating to the surface was easy, and the landing quite smooth. George followed the rest of the team down the ramp and took his first steps onto an actual planet in months, into an oppressive mist that instantly coated their space suits. Even the miserable weather couldn’t quite dampen George’s spirits.

At least, not for the first five minutes. The team divided into smaller groups, a few of them traveling to the west to investigate the species of animals native to the planet. According to the briefing, most of the planet’s fauna were varied species of slugs. Not the most interesting subjects, in his opinion, so George stayed behind with Alan, who was on his knees on the mossy ground, his face inches away from a silvery, bell-shaped flower.

“Are you sure you should be that close?” George asked, peering down at the plant. It looked mostly harmless, but even on his very first away mission, George knew better than to trust an innocent appearance.

Alan consulted his tricorder, then looked back to the plant, then at the tricorder again. “Yeah, I think it’s fine,” he said, glancing back at George. “Hey, mind your feet.”

George looked down, then shifted his feet. He’d crumpled one of the bell-shaped flowers beneath his left foot. “Oh bollocks,” he muttered. 

Alan shot him a look, shuffling around on his knees to run his tricorder over the damaged blooms. “We’d better hope this isn’t a butterfly effect situation,” he said. “Oh, that’s odd.”

Alan’s eyes drifted slowly upward, fixed on something around George’s knees. 

“What is it?” George crouched to get a look at whatever it was Alan was looking at, then promptly sneezed as a shimmering powder blew into his face. “What is that?”

“I have no idea,” Alan said softly, studying his tricorder again. 

And here George had thought Alan was some sort of expert botanist.

It’s Alex.

What?

My name. It’s Alex. And I am a botanist, but I can’t claim to be an expert on the properties of previously undiscovered alien flora, now can I?

George blinked. The air still shimmered faintly, the pollen clinging to the heavy mist permeating the air. “Alan,” he said experimentally, earning an exasperated glare from his research partner.

“I just told you it’s Alex,” he said.

“No,” George said, staring at the plant in dawning horror. So much for AMG-Zeta being a boring little planet. “You just thought that. But I heard you.”

“That’s impossible,” Alex said, his voice faint. “Wait, okay. What am I thinking?”

George, having exactly zero telepathic experience until a minute ago, had no idea how to go about reading someone’s thoughts. He looked at Alex, focusing on his – rather handsome, really – face, watching as he broke out into a teasing grin.

You think I’m handsome?

“Oh bollocks,” George repeated, so startled by hearing Alex’s thoughts in his own head that he fell back on his ass. He probably launched even more plant spores or whatever they were into the atmosphere, and now he’d be stuck with the entire crew of the Mercedes hearing his every passing thought.

“Hey, none of that,” Alex said aloud, his voice low and soothing. “I’m an expert botanist, remember?” George nodded silently, watching as Alex clipped the plant near the roots, secured it in a vessel, and tucked the entire thing into his supply kit. “We’ll just take this back to the ship, and I’ll find a way to synthesize an antidote.” Alex looked back up at George, that smile back on his lips. “Who knows, maybe it’ll wear off in a few hours.” Or maybe it won’t, and we’ll be stuck like this forever. Could come in handy sometimes, a bit like a superpower.

You can’t be serious.

I rarely am. Alex’s smile turned wry. Looks like we’re going to learn a whole lot about each other, George.

[ekingston]

Easter! I saw your ME reblog about Kaiden romance options and wanted to know what spicy thoughts you have to share with us about the game in a Supercorp context

ohhh anon. i have too many ideas for this and too many WIPs already to make myself chase after any of them, but like. take your pick honestly

in-game, save-the-world etc:

i’d put Alex in Shepard’s shoes, make Lena an engineer or comms specialist with an Ashley-like family history (ostracised in spite of her talents), and cast Kara-as-Kaiden as Alex’s flawed-yet-optimistic biotic sister, except no one dies, and Kara and Lena fall madly in love by the end.

Illium: a lil bit of action, a lil bit of spice

if it’s just me playing around in the magnificent sandbox that is the greater mass effect universe, i might have Kara and Lena meet on Illium (i needed SO MANY MORE STORIES on Illium), where Lena is working high up in her ruthless family’s spotless corporate offices and Kara is one of their (again, obviously, biotic) hired guns. which could either go the way of ‘oh no my bodyguard/the woman i’m supposed to protect is HOT’ (i’d love to explore how Kara’s powers might enhance certain. ahem. experiences) to ‘oh shit i think we’re going to expose the planet’s seedy underbelly and fight for social change’

Omega: camp

or i could introduce them on Omega, where Kara comes looking for her sister (who doesn’t want to be found because oops she’s fallen under Morinth’s spell), and Lena is the local mechanic who lives in a tin pod above her tiny shop and has 1. perpetually engine-oil-stained fingers, 2. a suspiciously broad knowledge of the space station’s layout and the various mercenary factions and 3. a couple of personal grudges to settle. lots of campy action, wild flirtation and engine-oil-stained tin-pod sex in that one

The Citadel: angsty babies

if i was braver i might have Kara and Lena meet at Huerta Memorial Hospital, where Lena is a surgeon and Alex is recovering. considering that’s Mass Effect 3 it would have to be a bittersweet ‘meeting at the end of the world’ type of deal though, with an open ending at best, and i don’t know if my heart could take it

Hyperion: a whole new world/genre

so what if instead they get to know each other on ark Hyperion, where Lena is in charge of monitoring the cryopods on their 600-year-long journey to a new galaxy and botanist Kara keeps inexplicably waking up each time Lena does. that would start funny/sweet/flirtatious and then BAM HORROR (system malfunction/hostile alien parasites/threat of years of isolation/slow death/responsible for twenty-thousand dead colonists etc) BUT it all ends well (and they still get to take each other’s clothes off)

if you had to pick one of the scenarios above though which would you go for? asking for a friend

[astray-anomaly]

Equivaltale story, Part 2!!

Make sure to read Part 1 first!

Trigger warnings: Violence, character death, major character death, descriptions of body horror, cult activity, child abuse/neglect, mentions of grooming; physical abuse and sexual abuse, transpobia, child labour

Be mindful of the trigger warnings but this chapter is more calm then the last

The sun beamed bright in the clear sky when the creature started to wake again. They could feel the gentle breeze caress them, the grass and growth lightly brushing against their melted bones.

How long has it been?

Their body moved stiffly as they started observing their surroundings. All the blood dried up and the bodies now hidden in the ground like nothing ever happened. They barely remembered anything, their memories were very fuzzy but all they knew was they were no longer in pain, at least not as terrible as before.

They were cautious but curious of the world around them. Everything felt so new and yet so familiar to them. They explored the village down in the valley, all the buildings now in ruins and reclaimed by the foliage and small wildlife who made homes in the cracks.

In the ruins there were still useful things that they would take, like clothes, books, and anything that they found interesting. Collecting shiny items and small toys, ranging from dolls to wooden figurines. After all they were still a child, they were rediscovering the world but they were far from unintelligent.

They needed to figure out who they were and what happened, that was their goal. Deep down they knew they weren’t always like this, they needed to find the answers to their past.

Even with all their searching they still couldn’t find many of the missing pieces, they found scriptures that mentioned two children by the names of Dream and Nightmare, they felt a connection to the two but couldn’t figure out why. It didn’t help that most of the scriptures were faded or crumbled.

They tried to figure out as much as they could, maybe they were related? Then who were they? That’s when they realized they had no name, nothing to call themself. Until they found something, a painting of the sky, the galaxy. Talking about the symbolism between the sun and the moon and the connection to the twins, yet there was something else in the painting, a shining star that caught their attention, Sirius.

…Sirius

That would be their name.

Even if Sirius had figured out a name they still were lost, there wasn’t much to do after all. Just day in and day out of going to the village then back to the tree. However one day they felt like they weren’t alone, there was another’s presence.

Suddenly they would be face to face with another being, who they viewed as a threat, after all everyone who had come before had hurt them. Yet she held no fear to them, coming forward and introducing herself as Lanny, the Guardian of Magic.

She was sent to look after them after feeling their soul awaken, she would train them to be the new guardian. They had the last piece of Nim’s magic, the last apple keeping the balance of feelings, they couldn’t die. Even if they didn’t trust each other and Sirius was still a child, they needed to learn quickly.

Lanny had decided Sirius would stay in this world and she would come to train them. It didn’t seem like they would want to leave anyway, given their stubborness. It was easier to watch over them and she wouldn’t have to worry about them doing anything to the tree of magic.

The corruption was still resting within them so she was cautious, no matter how passive they were she never let her eye leave them every time she was there.

Lanny would visit them almost everyday to teach and train them. Providing them information of Nim, the tree, and the magic they now possessed.

Yet she didn’t explain everything to them, not yet.

Eventually they would be training to defend and fight for themself, having to be taught how to make the most of what they had. Their body was different, they could move very fluidly, like liquid. They also had wings however it would be a few years since they could be useful for anything. They were still too small to carry them currently.

Next they had to choose weapons of their own to work with, trying a large variety. They decided their main weapons would be a bow and a spear. The spear allowed swift movement for closer range and they were surprisingly naturally good at archery.

When they weren’t training on certain days they would try to figure out more about their past. The things Lanny wouldn’t tell them, but they’re not sure if she even knew the full story.

As they got older they started to remember more and more. Remembering moments of joy and ones of torture, but some memories seemed blocked from their view. They were all mixed up, sometimes they remembered things from different perspectives.

At first they just thought it was weird dreams till they started to piece everything together. Some memories they were Dream, others they were Nightmare. Then it finally clicked together, why didn’t they figure this out sooner?

They weren’t related to Dream and Nightmare, they were Dream and Nightmare.

Everything made sense now but it hurt so much more. They cried for the twins, sad, confused, and enraged. Now having to carry the burden of everything that happened to them, the torment, the lies, the pain.. everything.

It caused them to snap at Lanny for hiding such a thing, but she said it was for their own safety, they were still just a teenager. Even if she wasn’t the best mentor she wanted to try to help them with their pain when they were ready but it seemed fate had other plans.

She was already going through her own pain of losing Nim, someone she held so close to her, someone she had shared her whole life with. She had to push all her feelings down in order to train Sirius, but everything just spilled when the two fought. Like a cracked vase holding still water finally shattering.

Then they realized that they were both hurting and yelling at each other was useless. Sirius couldn’t forgive Lanny for hiding such a thing, the very explanation for their very existence, but they understood her. She had her reasons, but it still was very painful to find out.

After the fight Lanny hadn’t visited for days and Sirius was alone to process their memories and who they were. They had to come to terms with the truth.

The twins were gone, their mother was gone. They were so young and they already had blood on their hands, they killed the villagers. Though they felt no remorse for those cruel twisted people. Yet that just meant in the end they were all alone.

Alone to deal with the guilt they now felt for just existing. Their body was nothing more than a vessel, it couldn’t even be called their body, it wasn’t. Their only purpose here was to keep the balance, they didn’t even feel like a person.

Though in the silence of their loneliness they could hear whispers, the voices of the twins. Like they were speaking to them, they felt so close yet so far away, just out of grasp. Maybe it could be possible they weren’t so alone, even with the twins gone. Maybe, just maybe there were parts of the twins with them other than just their bodies and magic, something to help guild them.

They couldn’t give up, no, they would be weak if they surrendered themself like this. To give up just because of everything that happened, everything that created their own existence in the first place. There had to be a reason for them to be here or this would all be for nothing. They would keep going for the twins, for the two children whose lives were taken away from them too soon. They would live for them in spite of everything that happened.

They still had no choice but to be the new guardian however they would do it their own way. There would be nobody to push them around or try to control them like some puppet. They were free now, they were no longer trapped in a cage, forced to never fly.

They had their wings, they were finally free.

Still, they had to finish their training before they could even get to that point.. They weren’t exactly a real guardian yet..

When Lanny returned they had a long discussion, in the end both learned to come to terms with each other. They couldn’t blame each other for everything that happened, it wasn’t in anyone's control or anyone’s fault.

Sirius learned to accept that, it was all in the past now. Still it was going to be a long time before they could come to terms with their existence and the pieces of trauma passed down to them. They needed to learn how to cope but learning to accept the past was a start.

Right now they had to focus on the present, now that they completed their training it was time for them to help the balance become stable again. To help all the other worlds, to help those who were suffering like they once were. Help them escape this twisted game of fate.

It was time for them to become the new Guardian of Feelings..

[sterekweek-2024]

Sterek Week 2023 Kick Off!

Somehow it's already that time of year again! Join your admins @halinski, @boymeetswerewolf, @justjimedits and @kcfriedchicken as we prepare for Sterek Week 2023.

As always, we have a variety of themes to inspire you, but this year we have added something new! Going along with each theme will be a selection of bonus content to you to enjoy. Some of it will just be extra themes to think about adding into your posts, some of it will be interactive, and some we will need your help putting together!

Stay tuned for more information around the bonus content in the coming weeks, but for now enjoy your first look at this years themes.

Wednesday, October 25th: "Only Just Begun" What better way to kick off Sterek Week then the theme of beginnings. The beginning of what you ask? Well that part is up to you! Whether it be the beginning of their relationship or the beginning of a new adventure, whatever beginning inspires you is the one we want to hear about!

Thursday, October 26th: "Seasons & Holidays" Christmas? Halloween? Summer? Fall? What time of year speaks to you most? Maybe you have a local holiday that is only celebrated in your hometown? That's what this theme is all about! Throw Stiles and Derek into your favorite tradition and see how it plays out for them!

Friday, October 27th: "Worlds Collide" Barbenheimer anyone?! Show us your best opposites attracts situation and watch the chaos unfold. Or maybe you are more interested in a crossover of some sorts. This is your opportunity to really mix up the Teen Wolf universe!

Saturday, October 28th: "Whole of the Moon" We are in luck! The October full moon will happen on October 28th this year, so of course we had to have a moon based theme! Do you want to explore the full moon traditions of the Hale pack? Or maybe you want to add in the concept of outer space? The whole galaxy is yours to explore!

Sunday, October 29th: "Sacrifice" What is Sterek without one of them trying to sacrifice themselves for each other or the greater good. With the events of the Teen Wolf movie or even the events of Season 3, there are plenty of canon sacrifices to choose from. But maybe you want to branch out! Make up your own reason for the boys to try and sacrifice themselves or maybe go the happier route and explore the idea of them sacrifice sleep for fun or other reasons!

Monday, October 30th: "Myths & Legends, Fairytales & Folklore" We want to hear about Stiles and Derek experience all your local legends! Are they traveling the world because Stiles wants to meet every mythical being there is? Maybe it is a Beauty & the Beast AU or retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. This is your chance to explore all of your favorite stories through the lens of Sterek.

Tuesday, October 31st: "Haunted & Bewitched" It wouldn't be Sterek week without our favorite holiday - Halloween! Is the pack throwing a Halloween party? Maybe Stiles and Derek have little ones of their own to take trick or treating? Or maybe you want to go the complete opposite direction and think about the ghosts and ghoulies that come out to play.

We cannot see what you all come up with! And we are so excited to share this years extra content with you!

-KCFriedchicken, Halinski, JustJim & BoyMeetsWerewolf

[rainydaydream-gal18]

(Bad Batch) Wrecker x Reader: The Gift

Word Count: 1,178

Warnings: Fluff, pining

Author's note: This one goes out to the Wrecker girlies!!! And anyone else who could use some Wrecker content.

You clutched the folded-up cloth tighter in your hand, waiting at the bottom of the steps for a certain Bad Batcher to come walking by after dinner.  As you waited, you were granted the soothing pleasure of watching the sky turn all sorts of vibrant shades as the sun began to dip below the horizon.  The air was still warm: the evening chill hadn’t begun to set yet. You leaned over the stone wall to peer down at how the ocean shone with reflections of the sky.

With the return of Crosshair, and the whole squad safe and sound- not to mention happy- Pabu was starting to feel like home to you.  The peaceful days that passed were precious to you. You treasured each moment you spent with the squad, and it shed a new light on a particular someone.

Afternoons were spent sitting side-by-side on the docks with him, fishing in the sun. You both helped out with different projects around the community, and when you did take breaks, you took them together.  Sometimes the two of you would dig into a picnic basket that you’d packed for lunch, or take a dip in the crystal waters, or just sit in the sand talking and joking around.

You found yourself hardly anywhere but at his side, and him at yours.  It felt like the most natural thing in the world.  Wrecker always had a warmth about him that you liked.  You always thought he was handsome, and you couldn’t deny that you felt your face heat up and heart pound anytime he was near… But there was hardly time to explore that.  The squad had been on the run for so long, and you were always worried about the dynamic that these feelings would bring to the team.

This time on Pabu gave you the chance to simply be with him.  To exist together. To find out more about not only him, but yourself.  It was all new to you.  Life was simple there, happy, and for a short while you could forget about the insanity that had taken over the rest of the Galaxy.  You could forget about the danger that the squad was truly in.

The familiar gaits of your squad were coming down the steps.  You turned around, keeping the folded item behind your back.  Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker and Omega were making their descent, all with smiles on their faces after a filling dinner.  Hunter paused in front of you first, giving you a curious look.

“You good?” he asked.  To be fair, you had left dinner early.  You’d mustered up the courage to grab the gift from your quarters and wait for the opportunity to give it to its intended recipient.

“Yeah, thank you.”

Crosshair chewed on a toothpick, passing by you with a simple nod in your direction.  It was brief but sincere. Omega was at his heels with Wrecker beside her, and the two of them beamed when they saw you.

“Hey, ______,” she greeted.

“Hey!  Missed you at dinner!” Wrecker said.  He gave you a nudge.  “Everything okay?”

“Yeah…Actually, could I have a moment with you?”

“You can have as many as you’d like!” he chuckled.  Omega already knew about the gift, since you’d given her one not too long ago.  She gave you a knowing look, waving at you both kindly, as she continued on her way to catch up with Hunter and Crosshair.

“What’s up?” Wrecker asked 

You hesitated, suddenly feeling shy as you had his full attention.  “I got you something. I don’t know, it might be a little silly…but, here.”  You held out the item, embarrassment and excitement wrestling inside you.  Wrecker unfolded and held it up to get a better look.

“Aww, it’s Lula!” he exclaimed, turning the shirt around.  “How-?  Where’d you get this?”

“There’s a shop on the lower levels that prints designs on T-shirts,” you explained happily.  “Omega and I drew one up for you.  She had one made that was similar.”

Wrecker grinned at you.  “It’s the best shirt ever!”  He moved forward to wrap his arms around you, giving you a tight squeeze that made you laugh.  “Thank you!”  You wrapped your arms around his neck and hugged him back, so relieved that he liked the present.  It felt like he might never let you go, but then the embrace did come to an end.  You felt his cheek brush against yours briefly as he carefully put you back down.  “So, uh, what’s the occasion?”

He looked a little nervous, like perhaps he had forgotten an important day.

“It’s just because,” you said.  “I appreciate your friendship.  You’re so fun, and thoughtful, and I really like our talks.”

His eyes softened as he listened to your words, regarding you with a tenderness that you saw in him often.  Wrecker gave a quiet chuckle.  “I like spending time with you too,” he said.  It appeared as if he wanted to say more, but no words came.  He simply gazed back at you in this way, and you found yourself unsure of what to say next.

“Uh, anyway…” You ran a hand over the stone railing beside you idly.  “I have some errands to run before dark.  I’ll see you around.”

“Need any help?”

You shook your head, smiling in appreciation of his offer.  “It’s alright, nothing major.  Thank you though, Wreck.”

“Sure, sure.” He rubbed the back of his neck and watched you take the next stairway towards the market.  

Wrecker looked back down at the shirt after you left, running his thumbs over the soft material.  He couldn’t wait to wear it the next time the two of you hung out.  He headed back to where his squad had gone, finding just Hunter and Crosshair seated in a common area with a bonfire going.  Omega appeared to have already gone to bed for the night.

Crosshair was the first to notice what was in Wrecker’s hand.  “What’s that? A gift?” There was no mistaking the subtle teasing in his tone.

“Uh, yeah.”  Wrecker took a seat.  “She got one for Omega too.”

“That doesn’t negate the fact,” Hunter said with the hint of a smile.

Wrecker looked at him.  “What fact?”

“The fact that the girl is crazy for you,” Crosshair replied with the roll of his eyes, irritated that his brother was obviously feigning obliviousness.  He wasn’t about to let his sibling off that easily.  “And you are for her.  So, what’s the hold up?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Wrecker grumbled, folding his arms in a stubborn sort of gesture.  “There’s no hold up.”

Hunter and Crosshair exchanged looks, both raising a brow, but said no more on the matter.  Wrecker leaned back to watch the bonfire while these things went through his mind.

Of course he felt that way about you.  Of course he’d wanted to bring it up for ages, but it never seemed to be quite the right time, so he just carried on as usual. 

Maybe it was time to change that.

[leggerefiore]

If you still want ideas for Volo, here’s one.

Volo’s a villain and people rightfully oppose him, but that negative public image would also apply to his lover too.

You (his partner) probably aren’t treated as badly as he is, but it’s clear that people don’t want to associate with his you, either because they’re against Volo or because they’re scared of him.

How does Volo react to this treatment of you?

(This is also probably a fun prompt to explore with other villains, but you can just stick to Volo if you’d like.)

did some others i thought might be interesting to explore

cw: implied violence, isolation, slight angst

characters: Volo, Cyrus, Colress

💫Volo📜

⭐️ There were similarities between you both that he would begrudgingly admit since the beginning. Perhaps, that was what originally had attracted him to you, aside from the obvious potential of you standing in the way of his plans. The lands of Hisui was isolate and distant, with many groups living among each other with disdain. Outsiders were often brought in with extreme scrutiny and judgement. Especially with a situation as odd as yours. His heart stung in a familiar manner when he saw you sitting alone, rejected by the Galaxy Team and both clans. He knew his intentions were not the purest, but there was a small part of him wishing to give the treatment that he had never received. These similarities would lead to him sharing his ideals. While he would have preferred working alone, you were completely entranced with his promise of a new world without all the sorrow of this one.

⭐️ So he would notice the little things. Judgement was a silent thing, after all. You had been forgiven for everything – another Survey Corps member and that professor carefully explaining your headspace and claiming manipulation. It hurt the blond to see those who so casually cast you aside and judged you harshly take you back in. The harshness towards you would never subside. You attempted to hide it from him, not wanting to spur up his intense feelings, but Volo was more than acquainted with how to go around undetected. He observed everything closely around you. The ways the inhabitants of the village often remarked you with scorn. The Hero of Hisui seemed like an empty title. Rumours of how you had actually aided him clearly spread far and deep. He felt rage at their expressions – something so known and despised by him. The looks he had always experienced in his life.

⭐️ He knew there was little he could do. The blond had gone into hiding after everything, knowing that many would want him dead for what he attempted to do. What he still had the full intentions of finishing. He could only watch and feel his passion reignite with a new vigour. This world… It was far too painful. Not only for him. He needed to find a way to call upon Arceus again. If anyone dared a raise a hand toward you, however, he would definitely intervene. A tall, terrifying blond man would suddenly emerge from some place nearby and restrain them. He will not stand for any true violence towards you. The isolation towards you is nothing new, at least. Everyone had been suspicious of you since your arrival, and now it had only increased. He simply would offer you to fully abandon your life in the Galaxy Team and truly join him. Volo figures that this is the best ending for you both.

🌌Cyrus🛰

☄️ He had been blinded entirely by his grandiose goals. His new world – He had been so close. So close. Yet, it slipped through his fingers. This horrid world around him had one last final attack on him – to deny him even an escape from it. Staying in the Distortion World to rot away for the rest of eternity had been perfectly fine by him, but the thought of you, his beloved, doing the same sickened him. He knew how desperately you supported him – finding the idea of a world without horrible emotion more appealing than this reality. Your support spurred him to work faster, desperate to make a world where you both would finally know peace. Some small part of Cyrus was concerned with what would make you also agree with his vision, but the majority of him was simply relieved that you would not fight him on this and have your full support.

☄️ He would take notice quickly. The way people avoid you – Old friends and acquaintances cutting contact with little hesitation. The loneliness that began to surround you. He had made the decision to go back to the normal world with you, despite the trials and tribulations to certainly follow. The way people in the general public would shoot glares at you – One woman even attacking you and claiming that her brother had been brainwashed by Galactic. He felt those bitter emotions that he wanted nothing more than to completely eradicate. It was far too cruel. He should have been the target of their ire – not you. You clearly were a victim, driven by love for your partner, not thinking straight. That was what that champion had claimed, but it appeared that had not at all become the common sentiment. Many remarked you as a horrible person, ready to force everyone into a situation that none of them wanted. He could only clench his jaw.

☄️ He acts without hesitation. In any situation in which he is around, and you experience scorn, he glares at whoever dared do such a thing until they leave. Anyone who even dares think to enact physical violence towards you will be shown just how surprisingly fit the Galactic Boss is. The idea of someone hurting you in any way is enough to drive him mad, and he cannot forgive himself for his shortcoming there himself. He had wanted you to be uninvolved in his plans for exactly this reason, yet he allowed himself the indulgence of your support. Part of him wants to curl away back in the Distortion World and give up in everything, but the other half feels more driven to protect you. He would take responsibility. It was all he could do. Maybe… Maybe you both could move away from Sinnoh, but where would you go? Cyrus's mind begins to wander. If he was forced to be in this world… Where did he want to be? The two of you would eventually have a long discussion about this.

🥼Colress🛸

🧪 Had you been exactly supporting Team Plasma? Not really. Colress had not been himself, despite being called the leader of it. Part of him was fully aware of Ghetsis using him, but the other half simply did not care, as long as he got to also work on his research unabated. You supported that – So understanding towards his strong interest in bonds and how to bring out the full potential in pokemon. Colress knew he could put up with whatever madness Ghetsis drug him through, so long as he had that. But… Well, he knew that it would become more and more difficult for you to fully support what he was doing. Your upset over the Opelucid City incident, ever present in his mind. But, in the end, you had supported him, and he was still the acting head of Team Plasma.

🧪 Which meant… Even after the remains of Team Plasma had faded out, and he had disbanded the group, you found yourself under the harsh judgement of those around you. Colress paid attention to you closely after it all, worrying about the worst possible scenarios. Friends seemed less inclined to be around you following it, and most acquaintances had completely cut you out – not wishing to be connected with a so-called member of Team Plasma. You had not been. Colress would not have let you, but how much time you had spent at his side had only encouraged the thought. So, you had people yell at you about having their pokemon stolen or the act of terrorism on Opelucid. A few even dared tried to attack you physically, wanting you to hand over pokemon you did not have. It was all quite traumatic. Colress hated every single second of it.

🧪 He refused to let any of it happen in front of him. His work with the International Police following has cleared him from any possible arrests, and you had been determined to almost be entirely uninvolved. Even though that had been announced, it was clear those affected wanted an easy vessel for their anger. Colress much would prefer they target him over you, but he supposed they were just taking anyone they could. He acts to deter anyone with malicious intentions quite often. A cold glare and a hand on one of his pokeballs is usually enough to scare anyone off, but not always. If someone feels inclined towards violence, he shows a surprising amount of strength and catches them. He really will not accept any horrible treatment toward you. A request to work with a certain Alolan organisation could not have come sooner. You two would be out of Unova, and this would all seem like a bad dream.

[animeyanderelover]

Anon: May I please request Eren, Mikasa and Armin with a scientist female s/o who is a scientist and half-human, half-robot from a futuristic, dystopian world where everything has advanced technology? The s/o was sent to other planets to explore and discover new life forms and ended up in a whole other galaxy.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, toxic relationship, possessiveness behavior, obsession, delusional thoughts, manipulation, threats, isolation

Otherworldly Scientist s/o is half-robot

Eren Yeager

👊It's all jumbled in his head. Past, present, future... It has become all the same to him and Eren is barely able to navigate through his own knowledge and perception of the paths. Yet you... Where do you come from? He can not see you there, inside his head you don't exist, have no spot in the timeline. So what exactly are you? Where do you come from? For the first time in years, Eren can not determine the present not the future as you are a mystery, a phenomenon even the Founder Titan can't see in his abilities. An otherworldly being from a place he can't perceive nor predict. Obviously this imposes a threat on his plan as he can't tell what will happen now since your presence has already changed the future he thought was set in stone. Yet despite all the Yeagerists viewing you as a threat to their plan, as a threat to Eren, Eren himself can't help but feel something different. Obviously initially he doesn't trust you as much as you are something that defies the laws of what should be possible, your body partially made of highest technology.

👊You aren't part of the timeline in his head so you become a pillar, a sign that when he is around you, he is in the present as you've not been part of his past nor are you within the future he sees in his head. You defy his abilities and despite all the fear and caution surrounding you, Eren can't help but suddenly feel a sliver of hope. Hope that maybe the future he thought was unavoidable isn't set in stone after all. You possess knowledge and technology far above what this world has to offer and despite his best attempts to push his hope down, he can't help but wonder if you could help him, save him from his own mind and impending death that crawls closer and closer. Around you the future seems to be still changable instead of one big prediction he has to obey like a slave. The future surrounding you is painted in black, unpredictable and for that full of chances and different ways to go about it. There are options. There is freedom because of your existence in his world.

👊Listening to your stories of your own world, the advanced technology and the fall of your own world in chaos and the end of humanity as he knows it are engrossing and his heart aches when he sees the sadness and defeat in your eyes. Eren's world is filled with life and death, natural things that your planet has lost long ago so despite the terror of his world, you are amazed with everything. This world must look like paradise in comparison to your own world and suddenly he has an idea, a change of heart. He begs you to stay here, help him with your knowledge and the technology you brought with you to create a world where everyone can live a better life free of the fear of war and sudden death. You could stay here with him, live a life worthy of living instead of returning to the hell that your own planet has become centuries ago. He wants it, Eren wants a future with you where he can stay with you for his entire life and suddenly the acceptance he thought he had developed for his own death crushes his soul and heart. He's scared, desperate. So stay with him. Help him. Save him from a fate that was forced upon him and that he has been carrying around all by himself for so long.

Mikasa Ackerman

🧣​Imprisoned upon discovery, you are a well-kept secret within Paradise Island as you are an abnormality, something that shouldn't exist. Your body made of flesh, blood and metal and your flying ship with which you ascended from the sky all defy everything they thought they knew. Whether you are a friend or foe has yet to be decided and for now you're kept isolated and imprisoned in the cells. You possess a vast amount of knowledge and inventions far above what Paradise Island has so many try to convince you to work for their course, under them the fraction surrounding Mikasa. They plead for your help to assist them with their task yet your eyes are drawn to Mikasa, the woman who is fairly quiet and often just observes you. Looking at you is sometimes hard for her as your body is human yet also not human, some parts of you modified for scientific purposes as you've told her on a couple of occasions when she came to visit you alone to ask questions she couldn' ask in front of the others.

🧣​It surprises her to discover how much human-like you still are and you catch her within her surprise when asking her if she expected you to merely act like a machine as parts of your body have become one. She never admits that to you but you sense slight guilt as she acts a bit more friendly around you after that. Still cold and quiet but a welcoming presence nevertheless in your life which hasn't been this peaceful and quiet in a long time. When you confess this to Mikasa she can't help but wonder what must be going on in your world to describe hers as tranquil and the mere imagination of what your own planet might be like resorts in a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach, a lump of nervousness and concern for you. You notice an increase in her visits as both of you often just sit in silence with you occasionally telling her a bit about your own world whilst Mikasa just sits there. It's alright though, you know that she's listening to every word you're saying.

🧣​Out of the blue, she promises you one day to make sure to release you from this cell you're locked in, her dark eyes looking at you with an emotion you've never seen anyone expressing in your world before. Infatuation. Suddenly the woman who has been keeping it quiet in regards for you for such a long time suddenly grows active and demands you to be freed. No one knows where this sudden burst of desperation to get you out of that place came from but Mikasa isn't backing down. Hell, she'll break you out of there herself if she has to. The only reason why you haven't done so yourself is because you've come to this galaxy for peaceful purposes and she's boiling with anger on the inside when seeing the Yeagerists coming up with all sorts of excuses why you can't be released. You have more humanity inside of you than all those delusional bastards combined. It's going to be alright, she promises this to you often whilst looking at you through the prison bars separating the both of you. She's going to free you, is going to protect you from anything that tries to label you as a monster and tries to take you away from her.

Armin Arlert

🐚​He's send to talk with you when you first land on Paradise Island, ascended from heaven itself as some people rumor. Armin is polite and friendly yet also observant and careful around you when he meets you for the first time. He has no plans to harm you though as he wants to discuss what your purpose is for coming to Paradise Island. It quickly becomes clear to him that you aren't associated with Marley nor with anyone else on this planet. You confess everything to him rather openly in exchange for him providing you with information on his planet. It's hard to believe at first but after considering it and you showcasing him the mystery that is your own body and some of the inventions you have on your starship, it doesn't look all that ludicrous anymore. You've come from an entirely different galaxy and have just gotten lost on your mission of researching new life on other planets. Instantly the chance if you were to stay and support them becomes clear and Armin gives it his best to convince you to stay here a bit longer.

🐚​You're fine with it. In exchange of letting you research as much as you want, you provide information yourself and actively get involved with leveling their weapons and technology up, fascinated and bewildered with some of the stuff you find there as this would be ancient for you and far too inconvenient on your planet as it has evolved to high technology. You sense Armin's blue eyes on you though, sense his curiosity and so you invite him to join you on your starship as you spend hours in your laboratory, collecting data and examining plants and animals there, even Armin is being made a bit of a test subject but you promise to not hurt him so he carefully agrees as you use machines on him to measure his brain activity and circulatory system. To your delight he isn't only curious but also smart as he memorizes what you tell him and asks you questions of his own which you gladly answer. Soon Armin even decides to lead you to some places outside of your starship as he hears that life and nature have ceased to exist on your planet in favor of technology.

🐚​Astonishment of what you and your planet are capable of gradually fade away to horror as you reveal more and more about yourself and your world. Life doesn't exist, even the concept of emotions has been deemed unnecessary on your planet as only technology and science are what makes the world. It helps him understand why you are so fascinated with the simplest of things in his world and his heart beats faster in his chest when he manages to amaze you with something and sees the childish thrill in your eyes. You can sense it, his accelerated heartbeat, his dilated pupils and the hormones his body is releasing which triggers feelings of euphoria when he as much as lays eyes on you. Armin is in love. With you. You don't tell him for now as that may change his behavior around you, you want to observe for a while longer. You notice his cheeks blushing, how he stumbles over his own words when you're physically too close to him. Yet you also notice how he often talks with you about staying longer, carefully choosing his words to convince you to just stay and never return to your old home and seems awfully anxious when not around you, his body in distress. You wonder if love is supposed to work like this.

[felassan]

Email from Modiphius:

"MASS EFFECT NEWS! Mass Effect The Board Game and Mass Effect Miniatures are almost here! Commander Shepard, it’s time to suit up—the galaxy needs you again! Mass Effect The Board Game - Priority: Hagalaz is coming very soon! But here’s some top secret data just for you: we’re also releasing a range of high quality resin Mass Effect Miniatures! You can use these miniatures to upgrade the plastic miniatures and tokens in the base game, or field them in any miniatures skirmish game (like Five Parsecs from Home), and they’re great for for miniatures collectors and Mass Effect fans everywhere! Find out more on our Mass Effect blog and get a tease of the miniatures representing the crew of the Normandy, including both male and female Shepard minis (with optional helmets) and Wrex and Tali (with detachable drone)! If you haven’t already, sign up for Mass Effect news here, so you can be among the first to find out when pre-orders for Mass Effect The Board Game - Priority: Hagalaz and our Mass Effect Miniatures launch VERY soon! Until then, stay vigilant. The galaxy is counting on you."

[source: email from Modiphius]

Images of the miniatures (Sheps, Garrus, Liara, Tali, Wrex)

[source]

Info from the associated blogpost:

"Mass Effect Miniatures By Gavin Dady Art by David Benzal October sees the launch of Mass Effect The Boardgame - Priority: Hagalaz. In it, Commander Shepard and their band of loyal squadmates take on a new mission to explore a crashed Cerberus Cruiser on the storm-wracked world of Hagalaz. Within the cruiser they will face many dangerous enemies, from the survivors of the Cerberus crew, native life and even the dangerous captives and experiments that Cerberus were keeping aboard the ship. The enemies are represented by thick, full colour, illustrated card tokens in the game, but Modiphius are also producing a range of 32mm, multipart miniatures to compliment them. As with our previous Fallout and The Elder Scrolls miniatures, these are highly detailed resin collectors miniatures.    In this first phase of miniatures, we are concentrating on the core sets required to build up the forces for the board game. The first of these is The Heroes of the Normandy Alpha. It includes six miniatures in alternative poses for the PVC sculpts from the board game.  Commander Shepard is represented in both male and female versions. Armed with the M-8 Assault Rifle or her M-3 pistol and Omni-blade, Shepard is ready to take the fight to their enemies. Shepard also comes with optional parts to depict them with either bare head or their iconic helmet from their N7 armour. The former C-Sec officer, Garrus Vakarian, has been by Shepard’s side from their earliest days as a SPECTRE and is depicted in his role as one of the galaxy’s premier snipers (arguments about who is the better shot between Shepard and Garrus aside). Garrus is depicted with his signature M-92 Mantis rifle, repaired armour and the scars he gained as The Archangel. Next amongst Shepard’s staunch allies is Dr. Liara T’soni. A powerful Asari biotic, expert on the ancient Prothean race and, secretly, the powerful underworld figure The Shadowbroker. Liara  is depicted initiating one of her powerful biotic abilities, energy crackling around her hand. Tali’Zhora Nar Rayya is the young Quarian that Shepard first met whilst pursuing the rogue SPECTRE Saren. Tali is a gifted engineer and staunch advocate for the Quarian people. She is depicted with her drone, Chatika, who can be modelled attached to Tali’s Omni-tool, or kept separate to act as a marker during gameplay. Rounding out the squad is Urdnot Wrex, the veteran mercenary and leader of Clan Urdnot. Wrex is a powerhouse in battle, utilising biotic abilities, a powerful M-300 Claymore shotgun and, more than once, a well placed head-butt. As well as these miniatures, we are also producing further sets to compliment the boardgame, including Reaper Forces, Cerberus Troops and some of the Priority Threats that you will face as you make your way through the crashed cruiser. These sets are ideal for upgrading the tokens in the base game, or for use in any miniatures skirmish game (like Five Parsecs from Home) or for miniatures collectors everywhere. Look out for special collectors and gameplay bundles available exclusively from Modiphius  when the Mass Effect Board Game pre-orders go live soon! In the meantime, you can sign-up for more Mass Effect news here."

[source]