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lavender-rebellion · 5 years

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The Reality of Existence Chapter one

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AO3 Link

Ships: Analogical and Royality

Description: "Thomas looked around his living room and felt a stone in his gut. He had four freshly human sides before him. Four human, terrified, grown adult men who had never lived a day in the real world. Four men who didn’t legally exist, permanently in reality. They were in his care now, and that dormant panic made itself known once more.“ A story about learning to live and learning to love. But also about being roommates, first jobs, being an adult, and that friendship really is the strongest force on earth. They all have things to teach and things to learn, but that’s part of being human. (They have to learn how to do that too, though)

TW for a panic attack and what can be seen as depression symptoms.

Thomas closed the door noisily behind him, letting out a heavy sigh and quickly making his way over in front of his TV, the familiar spot lending him some comfort and he could feel most of the anxious energy fall from his shoulders. He took a moment to take in the new perspective of his living room the spot gave him, before rolling his shoulder and finding the threads inside him. Thomas tugged at the one thrumming with more nervous energy than usual, watching Virgil appear on the stairs nearly immediately. Seems he was waiting for him, which was fair considering that Thomas had been thinking of this all day.

“It’s bad.” Virgil agreed quickly, wrapped up tight in his hoodie with darker bags than usual. Thomas still wasn’t sure if they were natural or makeup, and Virgil always dodged the question. Honestly, he didn’t know which one was more troubling, if Virgil apparently hadn’t gotten a good days sleep ever or if he thought it was a good fashion choice. Speaking of bad fashion choices…

“I knew it, they hated it!” He despaired, running a hand through his hair. Virgil nodded solemnly.

“There is an unusual amount of icky-sticky energy in here.” Patton rose up, hands on his hips. “If I didn’t know better I’d think your name was Vicky!”

Thomas let out a small chuckle at the Fairly Odd Parents joke because while it wasn’t Patton’s best it was clear that he was trying to cheer him up. Virgil sent a tense smile at the other side, who seemed to pick up on the mood and clapped his hands together.

“Alright then, what’s the problem, kiddo? I’ve got my listening ears on and I’m ready to ear you out!”

“It’s his new shirt!” Virgil chimed in, gesturing. Patton looked confused.

“My friends hated it!” Thomas clarified, “I looked awful all day, and they kept sneaking looks at it with this look on their face..”

“Thomas have we not already gone over your cognitive distortions? It was only a few months ago, surely you remember?” Logan rose up, flipping through a planner. He looked up to give Thomas a disapproving look, before returning Patton’s wave and sharing a smile with Virgil.

“Well yeah, but this is different.” Thomas insists, feeling a little silly but mostly like he needs to change his name and go into hiding.

“Look, Thomas, there is only one option and you know it. It’s time to move away to a remote village and become a hermit, never showing your face again.” Virgil cut in, chopping his hands down to emphasize his point. He nodded along, crossing his arms and wondering how long it would take to pack up his entire house and buy a new one. One without internet access, he couldn’t ever go online again.

“Uhhhh….” Patton looked up at Virgil dubiously. Logan shot him a similar look.

“That’s a bit of an overreaction, is it not? We can’t just go into hiding over a bad ‘look’.”

“Watch me.”

“What’s wrong with his shirt, again? I’m lost.” Patton asked.

“And why are you reacting so strongly to this, it’s hardly the worst thing you’ve worn out of the house,” Logan added, and Thomas clutched at his chest, offended. What could he possibly be talking about, and why was he so quick to remember it? Was it recent? Had Thomas just been walking out of his house looking like he got dressed in the dark for ages?

“Not helping, Lo!” Virgil ran his hands over his face, dark bags still perfect afterward which lent weight towards the natural theory..what were they arguing about again? “Anyway, that’s not the point, the point is that Thomas looked ridiculous all day and it’s all on camera!”

Oh right, that.

“OH! That’s right, you were filming that collab today weren’t you?” Patton jumped, clapping his hands together again. “How did that go?”

They all looked over at him, disbelieving, before turning back to the conversation.

“Everyone is going to see my stupid shirt and laugh, and screenshots are going to be all over Tumblr and there will be memes-”

“Are you really that worried about a bunch of 13-year-olds making fun of you?” Logan interrupted. Thomas ignored him.

“-and people are going to think I’m silly and then they’re going to realize that I’m a weird 30 year old who records himself talking to himself and posts it on Youtube-”

“Tumblr is not just a bunch of 13-year-olds, there’s plenty of young adults and adult adults. I mean, we’re on Tumblr, and so is Joan.” Virgil argued.

“Plus 13-year-olds are really mean,” Patton whined. Still ignoring them.

“-and they’re going to stop watching my videos which means I’m going to steadily lose money until I’m making none and then I’ll have to get a stuffy desk job-”

“That’s true. It’s like the John Mulaney skit, ‘13-year-olds are the meanest people in the world because they will make fun of you, but in an accurate way’.” Virgil quoted.

Patton gasped, “Oh I love John Mulaney! He is a very funny man.”

“That’s ridiculous, there’s no factual evidence that 13-year-olds are meaner or more observant than any of the ages near them.”

“Clearly you’ve never spoken to a 13-year-old.”

“-and I’ll spend the rest of my days living in a grey, unfulfilling haze where my coworkers make fun of me and send office emails around full of my earliest vines and those awful screenshots-” Ignoring them, just continue ranting.

“We are both sides, I’ve met every 13 year old you have.”

“And you’re still defending them?”

“Yeah, I’m on Virge’s side in this, Logan. 13-year-olds are just cruel.”

“I’m not defending them, I’m simply saying that there’s no logical reason-”

“There’s no logic in pre-teens-”

“Not even a teen- sy bit-”

“-and that will be my life, mockery and the cold confinement of office routine, no friends or boyfriends and I’ll die alone, without even a cat for company because I have this stupid allergy-”

CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP

They all went quiet, echoing the clap and looking over at Roman, who had appeared a second ago while they were bickering.

“How am I supposed to practice my one-man duets if you are all making a racket?” Thomas squinted at the gaudy necklace he was wearing, a giant ruby pendant resting in the center of his chest. While he watched, it flashed a dim red light. Must have been the light catching the gem.

But everyone else glanced at it as well, including Roman. He looked pleasantly surprised.

“I didn’t know it did that. Neat!”

“What on earth are you wearing?” Logan sighed, glaring at the necklace in suspicion.

"Oh, it’s a best friend necklace! The Dragon Witch gave it to me-”

“The Dragon Witch?” Virgil interrupted, looking at him like he was crazy. Roman glared at him, but it lacked any real heat. He placed a hand on his hip and popped it dramatically.

“Yes, the Dragon Witch. We totally patched things up and are now great friends! Honestly, it was super judgy of me to declare her as evil just because she happens to be a dragon and a witch. She can’t help that! And there are good witches and dragons! Like Sabrina, or the characters from Dragon Tails!” Roman argued, waving his hand around. Patton nodded along, looking proud.

“That is so true! That’s so cool of you, Roman! And may I just say it is be- ruby -ful!” He beamed.

“Ayyyyyyy-” Roman pointed at him, looking delighted. Thomas hid his laugh behind his hand.

“That feels ill-advised,” Logan argued, Virgil gesturing at him in agreement, looking baffled. Personally, Thomas didn’t see the problem with it. But they were once again off track, and Thomas’s problem still hadn’t been solved, so he shrugged and decided that there were no real arguments against Virgil’s idea and that must mean it was fine. He turned and moved to grab his suitcases out of the hall closet.

“Maybe you should evaluate why you hate dragons and/or witches because it’s not her problem that you have a bias.” Roman sassed.

“I have no problem with either of those things, I’m simply saying that prior behavior suggests- Thomas where are you going?” Logan cut off, confused. Thomas blinked and jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

“Gotta pack, so I can become a hermit.”

Logan sighed and adjusted his glasses. “You are not becoming a hermit.”

“I’m not?” “He’s not?”

Logan glared at Virgil and Patton. “No, you aren’t. Thomas, I know you remember our conversation about cognitive distortions so I’m not going to bother rehashing it, and instead let’s get to the root of this problem. Yes, you may have looked silly today, and your friends may or may not have noticed it. Your outfit will certainly be in the video, and others may or may not make fun of it. But we both know that is where it will end, and that it is a minor problem. So why are you making such a big deal about it?”

“Yeah, buddy, it’s not like you to make mountains out of mole-hills.”

It was Thomas’s turn to sigh, body slumping out of its tense position. “You’re right- (“I’m always right.”) - I’m overreacting. I’m just worried about Cartoon Therapy.” He admitted.

“That’s the new script you and Joan are working on, right?” Patton wondered.

“Yes! It’s going to be amazing, you are just going to love the therapist, Pat!” Roman gushed.

“But that’s the thing, what if it isn’t amazing? What if it sucks? I’ve never made such a long scripted episode, what if it gets boring or repetitive? What if people don’t like the new characters? I mean it isn’t like I made you guys up, and I don’t write our scripts from scratch-”

“Take a deep breath, Thomas.” Virgil soothed, looking a little frazzled but much more relaxed compared to earlier. Thomas hadn’t even noticed his anxiety ebb into a dull static. He did as he said, sharing a smile with him at the reference.

“Thanks.” He murmured quietly.

“Give yourself some credit, you’ve created characters people have loved before, in much shorter bits. Take your personification of Sleep, for example. He is well-liked and barely fleshed out. I’m sure characters you can take your time establishing will be just as well received.”

“And if you can’t give yourself credit, give some to Joan. We all know they are a creative genius.” Patton added, speaking softly. “The script will be fine, and the characters will be great. All you can do is give your best try when writing, and watch it come to life.”

“For now, distract yourself and allow yourself to calm down. Put on Parks and Recs! It’ll work out.” Roman suggested. Thomas nodded, feeling much calmer than when he came in. He took another deep breath and grinned at his sides.

“Thanks, guys.”

“It was no problem, I a- shirt you.” Patton shot him finger guns and winked, and then-

Just stood there. Thomas’s brow creased in confusion, watching panic slowly bleed into his expression.

“Pat?”

“I-uh,” The others were looking at him in concern now, “I can’t sink out.”

“What?”

“I can’t sink out.” He stressed, and Logan fidgeted with his glasses.

“How is that possible, Patton-”

“I don’t know!” Patton snapped, looking very upset. “I just know I can’t!”

“I can’t either.” Virgil blurted out, his voice layering.

“This is probably nothing. Lets just all take our own deep breaths, close our eyes and focus on the living room.” Logan said, terse. Thomas watched them all do so, fear rising inside of him at an alarming rate. None of them sunk.

“What’s happening?” He asked. They all looked a little crazed, wide eyes darting around.

“I don’t know, this shouldn’t be possible! What could have-” Logan’s head darted up from where it was buried in his hands. “Your necklace!”

Roman jumped, alarmed at the outburst. A lightbulb went on over Thomas’s head.

“It flashed earlier! When you arrived!”

Roman looked even more alarmed, hands going to the chain and frantically yanking it up over his head, tossing it to the ground. There was a split second of relief on all of their faces before the ruby once again lit up, this time with a blinding red light that filled the entire room, too bright to see through. Thomas could hear the sounds of bodies thumping to the floor and he blinked rapidly, trying to clear the spots from his eyes.

Four men were crumpled on the floor (and stairs), but they weren’t the men who were there just a minute ago. They were all dressed like his sides, but it wasn’t his face looking back at him. He could feel his breath hitching in his chest, his lungs empty and his chest burning. He sunk to the floor and curled up, sticking his head between his legs. He could fuzzily recognize this as a panic attack, though he had never had one this severe, and clumsily went through tactics he remembered reading when researching Anxiety. It took him a while, but eventually, he was back to being aware. The men were still on his ground.

In Patton’s place was a man with curly blond hair and a scattering of freckles across his rounder cheeks. He was a bit softer all around, and round glasses lay on the ground next to him. Roman had been replaced with a tanner version of him, a face that was similar to Thomas’s, but his hair was a dark ginger and thicker, his swoop larger than usual. He seemed broader than usual as well, but he was crumpled oddly and Thomas couldn’t be sure. Instead of Virgil, there was a slight man with wild purple hair, lightly curling around his face. It looked like there was a suggestion of freckles on his pale skin as well, but he was too far away and the maybe-freckles were light if they were there at all. His makeup -or not?- was gone, replaced with very real eye bags that were much less severe but still noticeable. And not-Logan was, well, tall. Not giant, but he appeared taller than before, with black hair neatly styled out of his face, which also looked much like Thomas’s own. Actually, they appeared like they could be siblings, and not-Logan looked the most like who he should be. Does that make sense? Thomas didn’t really care, he was still panicking.

Not-Patton looked the least like Thomas, with not-Virgil hovering somewhere between him and not-Roman. There was a strong suggestion of Virgil’s features but they were more…delicate somehow. Like a distant relative of Talyn’s and a less distant relative of his. Patton didn’t look much like him, while Roman could be a cousin and Logan could be his brother. Because that’s who they were, he knew it and he had to stop lying about it. Those were his sides, only they weren’t very side-like at all.

A low groan came from Logan, the body shifting on the floor and pushing up into a sitting position. Thomas froze, looking at the strange frame which suddenly felt like it was sitting much too close to Thomas’s own. He scooted back, tense. Logan blinked the spots from his eyes as well, before freezing. He was looking straight at Patton. Thomas was sure he was just as startled as he was, but then Logan relaxed and leaned back against the wall.

“Oh good, we’re back.” He hummed quietly to himself.

“Uh, what the fuck ?” Thomas blurted, feeling somehow more confused and nervous. Logan nearly jumped into the air, head whipping around to face him, dark blue eyes blinking once more at him. His brow drew down in confusion.

“Thomas? But how did you- maybe the light….no, because we never appear like this with you around…” He muttered. They were both interrupted by movement on the staircase, Virgil righting himself on the steps, holding his head. His face was scrunched tight in discomfort, and Logan’s attention snapped to him.

“Are you alright?” Logan asked Virgil, lowly. Virgil nodded, eyes clearing the last of the light and locking with the other sides.

“Fine, Lo. We’re back then?” He noticed the tight line of Logan’s mouth and suddenly Thomas was staring into green. Virgil’s eyes aren’t brown anymore, either, a grey-green color replacing the familiar warmth. They narrowed.

“That’s not right…”

“What is going on?!” Thomas asked forcefully. He doesn’t get an answer, Patton stirring by the curtains interrupting them. He fumbled for his glasses, clumsily shoving them back on his face and opening his eyes.

“Well, that sure was a pain in the neck , very ruby of that Dragon Witch if you ask me.” Patton joked, though it lacked humor. Just like the other’s his body went slack when he noticed the others, but straightened as he immediately took note of Thomas. He absentmindedly noticed that Patton’s eyes were a sky blue. “Why are you in our living room?”

“I-what-” Thomas spluttered. Patton’s attention shifted just as fast as it came, and he let out a little gasp when he noticed Roman’s unconscious form.

“I don’t think he’ll be waking up for a couple of minutes, at least. It appears we woke up based on how close we were to the initial blast.” Logan offered, his eyes darting back to Virgil every so often, who was also watching Roman with concern.

“What happened?” Patton asked, distressed, and Thomas could have laughed.

“That’s what I’ve been fucking asking!” He burst out, earning a startled expression from Patton.

“Language.”

“That is the least of our problems, Patton! You all knocked out and you aren’t you and you’re still in my living room and no one is telling me what’s going on so take your language and shove it. ” He snapped, and his sides reeled back in shock. He felt a little hysterical, he might laugh anyway. It was either that or scream, because one of them was climbing up his throat.

“We don’t know what is going on, any more than you do,” Logan said.

“But, you- you look!”

“This is how we appear in the Mind Space. When you manifested us for the first time you did so with an image in your mind, so that’s how we appeared.” Virgil explained carefully, looking wary after Thomas’s outburst. “In fact, we look like the short’s characters you imagined us as, so while some features you seemed aware we had, like glasses, the rest of it wasn’t originally us.”

What? “So I decided your faces and clothes and personalities, and forced it on you?”

“Not quite. Admittedly, we dressed very similarly before manifestation, and our personalities have been ours since we started existing. You’ve always been aware of those things, just like you’ve always known our functions and of our existence.” Logan corrected.

Patton piped up, though he wasn’t meeting Thomas’s eyes. “It’s just part of being a manifester, kiddo. Well, we assume so, there isn’t exactly a guidebook on it.”

He suddenly felt bad about his outburst, the metaphorical wind leaving his metaphorical sails. “I’m sorry, Patton, I shouldn’t have yelled at you. At any of you.”

“It’s fine! We’re all freaking out, I can understand your reaction.” He was warmer this time, and Thomas sighed.

Roman let out a dramatic groan and made to sit up against the TV stand, body swaying unsteadily as he adjusted to being conscious. These eyes were familiar and comforting, even squinting suspiciously at him. “You aren’t supposed to be here.”

Patton tapped the ground to get his attention and quietly started filling him in on what little had happened, while Logan started looking around the living room.

“Earlier, you said we were still in your living room,” Virgil commented, watching Logan. He nodded, and Logan mirrored it.

“He’s right, this isn’t our living room. The pictures are wrong, and things are displaced. Like, look, your blankets are not on the couch, and my book and our tea are missing from the table.” He pointed out, and the other three glanced around.

“We didn’t sink out.” Patton devastated.

“And we’re in our real forms, which shouldn’t just happen out of the Mind Space,” Virgil added, grave.

“Something is very wrong.” Roman finished.

“Nothing would be wrong if you hadn’t worn a necklace from the Dragon Witch.” Logan pointed out, edgy. Roman looked a mix between guilty, stricken, and offended, and it twisted his face into something that could have been funny outside of the circumstances. Thomas still wanted to laugh, but that might be the shock setting in. Was this shock? He thought for a second and decided it didn’t really matter. But maybe he should get a blanket?

As the sides began some tense arguing, he spotted his phone lying where he dropped it in his panic attack and realized what would help even more than a blanket. He grabbed it and opened up the call feature. (When was the last time he did that, honestly?)

“It was a gift given of good will, I had to wear it! How could I have known she would do this?”

“Maybe because she was the Dragon Witch ?!”

“Listen, just because she’s the only female in the Mind Space doesn’t mean she has to be the villain!”

“No, she’s the villain because she’s evil! ” Virgil argued.

“He has a point though. Why is the only woman in our realm a villain?” Patton offered, hesitant.

“Roman created her. And he accepted the necklace that got us into this mess!”

“Are you saying this is my fault, Virgil?”

“I’m not not saying that.”

“Virgil!”

“What, Patton? I’m not wrong.”

“But you shouldn’t say it..”

“Patton!”

Thomas hung up and clapped to get their attention. They went quiet once more. “Joan is on their way. Maybe they’ll have some ideas on what’s going on.” And they can tell me I’m not going crazy, he thought, but maybe that was preferable to this situation.

For the first time in his memory, they all lapsed into uncomfortable silence, Virgil tossing his hood over his head and withdrawing into himself while Patton wrung his hands, Roman sulked, and Logan fumed. He had never seen them like this, never known them to be this upset, especially with each other. Things have gotten tense, people have gotten upset or argued, but this disconnect? It was new and somewhat frightening. Minutes passed like snails, slow and dragging, leaving a film behind. Maybe that was the shock.

Finally, a knock on the door drew them out of their heads, and Thomas got up to let them in. They were in their pajamas, and it was only then he thought to check the time. Midnight.

“I’m sorry for dragging you out this late.” He said automatically, but Joan waved him off.

“It’s clearly important, and what are best friends for if not traveling across town at midnight when something important happens?” Joan joked, but Thomas could only give him a weak smile. “You said something happened with the sides?”

He gestured them in, running a hand through his hair. “It’s not good. I was just chatting with them after I got home, everything was normal, and then they couldn’t sink out.”

“They couldn’t leave?”

He shook his head, hovering by the door and speaking quietly. No point in causing the arguing to start back up before it was necessary. “Roman came in wearing this necklace the Dragon Witch gave him-”

“The Dragon Witch?”

“Apparently they made up recently. Today, I think, the others didn’t seem to know about it. Anyway, they figured that was what was preventing them from leaving so Roman took it off. But it let out this bright light, completely blinded us. I heard them all fall and when I could see again they were unconscious and in their real forms.” At their look he tried to explain, feeling jittery and uncomfortable. That was the panic. Shock? “They look different in the Mind Space, they said. They’ve never looked like this outside of it, apparently, they actively control the change. They still can’t sink out, and they keep arguing..”

Joan placed a hand on his arm, seeing him start to panic (had he ever stopped, though?) and Thomas lent into the steadying touch. He smiled at them, thankful. Finally, they moved into the living room, where the sides were waiting. If their new appearances startled them, they didn’t react.

“So you guys are stuck.”

“Understatement of the year,” Virgil grumbled, and Thomas gave him a disapproving look.

“Don’t be mean to Joan. They are just trying to help.”

“Sorry.” He looked guilty, but Joan waved him off.

“Everyone is upset and tense, I understand. But arguing isn’t going to help anything so can we leave that for when this really bad thing isn’t happening?”

They all nodded, and Joan clapped their hands. “Alright. So, once again, you’re stuck. You’ve all attempted to sink out after you woke I’m assuming?”

“Yeah. Before I felt a barrier, almost. I didn’t notice it at first but looking back it was definitely there. But now…now I don’t feel anything at all.” Patton answered, looking down at where his hands were fidgeting in his lap.

“It’s like the Mind Space is just gone.” Virgil agreed. Logan messed with his glasses again, looking agitated.

“But that’s not possible, unless Thomas had something severe happen to his brain or…he wasn’t breathing anymore. Clearly, neither of those things have happened.”

“Yeah I haven’t bonked my head recently, and I’m still kicking. I think?”

“You are,” Joan assured him, seeing the distress in his eyes. “So that means you’ve all lost your connection with the Mind Space, most likely. Can you still conjure things, or access any of your Mind powers?”

They all waved their hands around to no avail, looking crazy. Frustration was clear to read in all of their expressions. Joan grimaced.

“And my shadows are gone,” Virgil said, rubbing his thumb under his eye. “I’ve always had them, I don’t..”

“So, no powers, no shadows, no connection to the Mind.” Joan ticked off. “Forced appearances, as well. Thomas,”

He looked up. “Yeah?”

“You once mentioned you could feel the connections to them, like strings tying you together. Are those still there?”

Oh. He reached deep into his chest, where the strings he had used to call Virgil had always lied. There was just empty. He couldn’t recall ever feeling this empty. The tightness in his throat returned, and his face fell. A sob burst from his lips. “No. No, they aren’t there anymore. I can’t feel them, I can’t feel you guys.” Tears welled up in his eyes but he didn’t care, struck by the realization. “It’s all empty. I thought that was shock, but..”

Joan looked upset, and he distantly felt bad about bringing them into this, but now he was crying and he couldn’t stop. He was reeled into an embrace, and he went willingly.

“It might be shock, from having the connection broken,” Joan admitted, before looking over his head. “Do you guys still feel..”

It was clear from how they trailed off that the answer was no. They couldn’t feel Thomas anymore, and that wrung another shaking sob from him. It took him a few minutes to gather composure, but eventually, he straightened from the awkward hunched position he had had to make, making a small wince at the wet spot on Joan’s chest. A glance at the other sides showed that he wasn’t the only one crying though. He wiped his eyes.

“So, you have no connection to the Mind, or Thomas. But you’re still corporeal, I can see and hear you. Maybe….you’ve become real people. Somehow.”

Oh. He had been so wrapped up in what had happened, he never stopped to think about what it meant. The others looked just as gobsmacked.

“That’s impossible, though,” Logan whispered, but it was obvious to himself.

“Let’s test it. Have any of you moved from your spots?”

“I’m just so used to not being able it didn’t even occur to me,” Virgil admitted, getting to his feet. He swayed a bit, but didn’t fall. The rest rose as well. Patton took an unsteady step forward, likely stiff from hours sitting, and when he didn’t hit a barrier he took another. Virgil climbed down the stairs to meet him in the middle, and Roman stepped forward too. Patton’s eyes brightened slightly, and he reached for Roman.

“I wonder…” He grabbed Roman’s arm and pulled him into a hug. Roman gasped, eyes going wide, and when Patton pulled back he gave Roman a wobbly smile, face brighter.

“You felt it, right?” He asked, before gesturing Virgil to come closer and pulling him into a hug as well. Virgil let out the same surprised gasp and gripped Patton tight.

“Everything feels like it’s dialed up to, like, 15. Lo, come feel this!” He held out a hand to Logan, who placed his own on top and wove their fingers together. His eyes widened. Patton released Virgil and moved hesitantly in front of Joan.

“May I?” They nodded and suddenly Joan had an armful of Patton, who was beaming like it was Christmas.

“I can touch you,” Joan exclaimed, looking shocked. While they had always been able to see the sides, they had never been able to touch them before. Their hand had always gone right through them, like ghosts.

Thomas looked around his living room and felt a stone in his gut. He had four freshly human sides before him. Four human, terrified, grown adult men who had never lived a day in the real world.

“Is this permanent, do you think?” He asked.

“I think, Logan said haltingly, unsure, “ That we have to assume it is. Go into this with a ‘worst-case scenario’ mindset.”

Four men who didn’t legally exist, permanently in reality. They were in his care now, and that dormant panic made itself known once more. He couldn’t take care of them. He didn’t have the space, let alone the funds. And again, they didn’t legally exist. And how was he going to explain this? Only Joan and Talyn knew he was a manifester!

He caught Virgil’s eye and could tell he was thinking the same thing, saw him work himself into a similar panic.

“How can we live? We don’t exist in the eyes of the government, we have no papers! And without papers, we can’t get jobs! Where will we live? What will we do?” Virgil echoed his earlier thoughts, and Patton’s face fell. Roman was still quiet, arms wrapped around himself and staring at the ground. Logan looked deep in thought, lips moving silently. The tension in the room was back, and suddenly Thomas felt exhausted down to his bones. He just wanted to sleep, and let everything disappear. Just for a little while.

Joan seemed to pick up on this, and as frazzled as they now looked, standing in the center of Thomas’s living room in their pajamas at nearly 1 am, they once again smiled. “It’s late. Let’s order a pizza, I’m sure we’re all hungry, and then call it a night. We aren’t going to get anywhere tonight. Figure it out tomorrow.”

They all sagged, and while Joan quietly ordered they all moved to sit. The sides collapsed, leaning against each other, on one part of the coach while Joan and Thomas sat on the smaller side. He absently thought how lucky he was his couch was too big, but mostly he thought about how comfortable it was, and once again how much he wanted to sleep. There was quiet while they waited for food, but it was born out of exhaustion instead of anger.

Once they started to eat, however, some energy managed to fill them again, and quiet chatter started up. Roman mentioned quietly to Patton how cool it was to have a full sense of taste, while Joan struck up a conversation with Virgil and Logan on living in the Mind Space. He listened to them talk about the bookcase filled with books Thomas has read, about their rooms and the emotions connected, but only when Thomas was with them or they were feeling heightened. Roman chimed in with talk about his Realm filled with creativity and stories, while Patton mentioned the dog they had conjured and kept for a couple of weeks.

By the time the food was gone Thomas was nodding off, but he managed to get up and gather four sets of pajamas, mismatched and some grabbed simply because he didn’t know what would fit them. Like Virgil, who seemed too small for his pants and instead got a pair of boxers he bought a size too small, and Patton who he had to dig out one of his slightly larger shirts for. He wandered back to the living room on autopilot and took them all up to the spare bedroom.

They took the clothes from him and Patton grabbed a bunch of spare blankets, setting up two beds on the floor. They looked as out of it as him, and the chorus of “Goodnight, Thomas”’s were more mumbles than speech. He closed the door behind him and went back down to Joan, who was dozing on the couch.

“Thank you for coming over.” He said softly, “And thank you even more for being so helpful. I couldn’t have made it through tonight without you, and I’ll never be able to express how much it meant to me.”

“Everything is going to be alright, Thomas.” Joan insisted, and he smiled.

“Yeah, it probably will. But would you do me a favor and spend the night, so I know it’s not all some crazy dream tomorrow when I wake up?”

They took the hand he offered and pulled themselves up, giving him a teasing grin.

“What, you thought I was going to leave? It’s nearly 2 am, you owe me a place to sleep, dude.”

They headed sluggishly to bed, and everything else was tomorrow’s Thomas’s problem.

(tagging @strickenwithclairvoyance because they told me to, and they inspired me. Hope you like it! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future chapters! (Also bold of you to assume there won’t be Deceit because he wasn’t ejected.))

#analogical #royality #fanfic #virgil sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #sanders sides #ts sanders sides #ts virgil #ts roman #ts logan #ts patton

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readbythestarlight · 6 years

Text

c2e47

WE’RE FINALLY BACK YAY!

Based on Twitter Liam is more excited to be back than anyone and it’s great

Ayyyyyyy Matt looking good with that facial hair

Sam as President of D&DBeyond?

I’d vote for him

Oh I’m excited about the future D&DBeyond ads now

God I missed them over the break

A nat20 in the first rolls of 2019 this is a good omen

Damn Matt still killing it with the maps

I miss Ashley again already

Sam’s flask: "I am available to host the Oscars" I’d actually watch the Oscars if he did

Nat1 for Beau so that’s a bad omen

Oh ouch a nat1 for Jester too

Oh god there’s so many giant ocean monsters

Oh damn Caleb killed one already! Good job babe!! First kill of 2019 goes to the wizard.

Still two big ones tho and boy they are ugly

Oh god ANOTHER ONE

Beau PLEASE it’s too early to be nearly giving me a heart attack

lol Marisha hit Liam and made him spill some of his tea

Nott is here to save the day! She is the true hero of the M9

"That sounds like a waste of Beau’s time" Beau you are being rIPPED IN HALF

Travis is looking stressed (probably because he knows how it’ll fuck Fjord up if somebody dies during his backstory mission)

STUNNED IT YES atta girl Beau

Yay Beau is freeeee!

Wasted enemy nat20 excellent

SHIELD OF RETRIBUTION nice!

NICE just SHOVE that big crabby guy back

YASHA WITH THE FIRSR HDYWTDT OF THE YEAR YEAHHHHH

Yessss girl! They’re both stunned

Yeahhh nat20 go Beau!!!

My girl Nott taking out the next one yesss!

Poor Matt is a bit frazzled it’s okay Matt you’re still the best DM

Somebody get to Caleb quick now or he WILL go down

Beau and Fjord off to save their squishy wizard friend bless them

YESSS the ladies getting the job done tonight!!

Oh god CALEB

Paralyzed, poisoned, grappled oh no

Oh thank god for the transmuter stone

It’s a nest I’m calling it

YEAAHHH NOTT!

Nott and Caleb are going to have to work things out soon

Cad talking to plants is my favorite

Cad is just my favorite I love him

I don’t like the idea of them going underground under the ocean nope

Nott hates Fjord but also trying to hook Fjord and Jester up still because as far as she knows Jester still like-likes him

J: "Do you want to climb through it?"

N: "I don’t want to but I will. It’s my job."

The whole group needs to come together and realize that they have put Nott in a position of feeling like she is the one expected to go first into the dangerous unknown and that she probably feels expendable because of that

Cad apologizing to the seaweed when Yasha rips it

I’m curious about why Fjord is so instant that he needs to leave one of the orbs at all.

Oh look another skeleton

Oooo mystery potion

Oh no

Oh no is it Vandrin...?

Look at Travis’ face when Matt was describing everything he looked like he knew something

Don’t touch the skeleton there’s something about the skeleton

Travis was REAL afraid it was Vandrin

...Maybe the seaweed crushes you as you try to get out

Oh or maybe the crabs crushed him it’s fine

Oh I have such a bad feeling

"If something does go wrong that should be my burden." Oh Fjord.

Fjord gives me so many feelings, like I think he wants to to the right thing but he also wants answers and he’s got guilt and he’s got fears and he’s like got no idea what he’s doing and the group keeps looking at him like he does and I just have feels about Fjord

I’M HAVING A LOT OF FEELINGS WITH THIS FJORD AND JESTER INTERACTION

"dont turn evil. I mean if you do I’ll still be your friend it’s okay some people are just evil" Jester <3

Cad casting "protection from evil"

Everyone’s so worried about Fjord

I’m worried about Fjord

GASP HE USED HIS (real?) ACCENT

Oh god oh god he’s loosening the bindings oh god

He better get some cool new magic from this

I DONT LIKE THIS

Liam and Marisha look as stressed as I feel

So that must be the third temple. On an island or some place with mountains.

SWIM FJORD SWIM GET AWAY

Oh god I don’t like this

Wooo control water go Jester!

The clerics saving the day that geyser would have fucked then UP

AYYEEE MY BOY CONTROLS WATER NOW

...that’s actually bad tho god he shouldn’t have put that second one in. A single lock left isn’t enough security.

Oh god another ship RUN

Oh shit Caleb heard Fjord’s accent

Boy this whole thing has just been STRESS. I hope they just run away from this shop and leave sailing behind for a while.

We’re gonna have ourselves a proper sea battle here we go

Nope we’re gonna run?

Get Fjord and the clerics on the back to push

Goddd I can’t shake the theory that Sabien and Vandrin both survived and Sabien convinced Vandrin that Fjord was who blew up the ship to get the orb. And since Fjord now has U’kotoa as a patron it’s gonna look bad.

HOLY SHIT Cad capsized a fucking ship

Guys come on don’t fire on a capsized ship

Nott, Fjord, And Beau get WAY too caught up in the heat of the moment. If they weren’t so worked up they wouldn’t be shooting on an already dealt with ship

Oh sure now you pull in the survivors

"We just got taken out by the Ball Eater..."

A smiley face with risks and big googly eyes

Jester messaging her mom again I’ve missed that

So much loot!!

B: “We should put some money aside to pay the crew.”

F: “They die before we reach the shore.”

Everyone: 8O ???

Beau’s got lots of family issues that I can’t wait to delve into later

“You only get one family” FALSE she has found a new family you goober

Oh no

Oh Beau sweetie

Oh honey. That’s so sad.

Beau has a baby brother tho wow that could be fun later.

Oh baby giiiiirl.

Oh jeeze Nott’s tribe too...

Fjord just wants to find Vandrin like that’s been his main goal the whole time and I cry a little

Fjord wants out that’s good news

Although if U’kotoa does choose someone else then there’s only one temple left so that’s bad

Ooo the glowy orb will definitely be useful

Caleb says tree and Caduceus IMMEDIATELY puts the rock in his pocket

Nott should get the armor she rarely gets the new things. Although it would be cool if Jester had it too.

“I can claim ownership in name only, but we all know who the captain of this ship is” ORLI THAT’S SO SWEET!

That’s exactly how I hoped it would go tbh

“I wonder what Vandrin’s doing right now?” WHAT?!

“staying out of sight. making amends.” HE’S ALIVE!!!

I can’t wait to delve into Nott’s stuff. Going home. FINDING OUT WHO SHE’S BEEN SENDING STUFF TO.

The friend is the guy she freed isn’t he?

N: “You can make people see things that aren’t real and you can... can change things from one thing to another. You’re very good at that, aren’t you?” STOOOOOP

God I missed these nerds.

I’m not gonna be able to watch live for the whole next semester because I’m an idiot who signed up for a Friday morning clinic *cries* but I can’t wait for everything that comes next!

Happy Twenty-Nein-Teen, Criters!

#emi watches critical role #critical role spoilers #Critical Role

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urdnot-wrekt · 7 years

Text

Serious Business

“Shepard, I want to begin by making it clear to you that this is, without a doubt, the most ridiculous vidcall I have ever been asked to make in the entirety of my life thus far.”

At the sound of Liara’s voice, Shepard’s eyes immediately jumped from the report they were reviewing to the terminal at her left. It was obvious that Liara was trying to hide her amusement, and failing quite spectacularly in the process. The sight brought a genuine smile to Shepard’s face, and with it, a flood of contented happiness.

“Ah, Shadow Broker,” she said in greeting, leaning casually back against her seat and clasping her hands behind her head. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Would you happen to know why I just received an uncharacteristically bizarre call from Tali and Garrus? Bizarre in the sense that neither one of them could stop laughing long enough to explain why they were calling in the first place.” She paused to wait for an answer, which came only in the form of a sparkling grin from the commander. “Miranda was the one who finally conveyed the message to me,” she continued, “and, for the record, Shepard, she seemed significantly less amused. Something about ‘wasting time’ and ‘not as funny as she thinks she is,’ which I assume was directed at you.”

“Couldn’t be. I’m exactly as funny as I think I am. Which, at the moment, is pretty peak.”

Shepard winked at the terminal screen and watched as Liara tried to continue appearing exasperated. As a courtesy, she pretended that the slight violet color creeping into Liara’s cheeks didn’t give her away.

“So, you’re really on your way to Sol? At this very moment?”

“At this very moment.”

“And you’re really going to attempt to extract resources from a depleted planet, all for the sake of humor?”

“Oh, abso-fucking-lutely.”

The confident smile she flashed at the screen finally elicited a chuckle from her overworked girlfriend, and Shepard made a mental note that the elaborate joke, which hadn’t even been carried out yet, was already worth the effort.

“You’re unbelievable,” Liara laughed.

“Yeah, well, what’s really unbelievable is the fact that Tali and Garrus tried to sell me out to you. I thought they were my friends. EDI, remind me to space the two of them after we’ve all thoroughly enjoyed my Grade A sense of humor.”

The voice of the AI did not sound as amused as Shepard looked.

“Commander Shepard, I am obligated to inform you that if you ‘space’ any member or members of your crew, the chances of them surviving the encounter are less than .01%. Their deaths would be classified as ‘homicide’ by both Alliance and Cerberus standards. I must highly caution against this course of action.”

“That was a joke, EDI.”

“Noted.”

In the comfortable silence that followed, Shepard could feel Liara’s eyes conducting a quiet assessment. She knew that each laugh line, each freckle, each new gray hair was being carefully catalogued, and she knew that the growing dark circles under her eyes would certainly not go unnoticed. But she didn’t mind. After all, she was doing the same with each subtle feature of Liara’s, including her own deep violet crescents from too much work and too little sleep.

A slight tug at the edge of Shepard’s consciousness filled her with a bittersweet glimpse at the feeling of home that they shared together, but the distance between them was too great for anything more than a fleeting moment of connection. It wasn’t enough.

“I wish you were here,” she whispered.

The smile that came in response this time echoed the longing that she felt. But before Liara had a chance to speak, the excited voice of Kasumi blasted throughout the captain’s cabin.

“Shep! ETA two minutes to the mass relay. Three minutes to destination. See you on deck! And… sorry for interrupting!”

The commander stood up from her chair and rerouted the ongoing vidcall through to her omnitool.

“Wouldn’t want you to miss out on all the fun,” she said as she stepped into the elevator.

“I can hardly wait,” Liara deadpanned back.

“You know, you’re getting uncomfortably good at sarcasm.”

“Is your comedic superiority feeling threatened, love?”

“A little bit, yeah,” Shepard laughed, “but give it a minute and I’ll be back on top.”

The elevator doors opened up to reveal the command center and a growing collection of variably amused squad members, including, to Shepard’s surprise, Miranda.

“Hitting the relay in 10, Commander,” Joker called from the cockpit.

Shepard jogged up to join him and grabbed onto the back of his seat to steady herself for the jump. A slight shudder rippled through the ship as they crossed from one side of the galaxy to the other, a concept that never ceased to amaze Shepard even after a hundred leaps, and then, to her delight, she began to see the outline of her prize in the distant, starlit sky.

“There it is,” she declared, crossing her arms and watching as the planet grew bigger and bigger with their approach. “Prepare for resource analysis and scanning protocols.”

“Preparing systems,” EDI intoned.

Shepard felt an arm drape around her shoulders and turned to see Kasumi beaming next to her.

“You know, Shep, this is probably shaping up to be one of the most expensive jokes in history. I must admit, I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t think of it myself.”

“Don’t encourage her,” Miranda said as she approached.

Tali and Garrus followed suit with sizable grins of their own, and Shepard even caught Jack giving her a strangely supportive eyeroll from where she stood across the room with the rest of the squad.

“Are you really going to go through with this?” Liara asked as Shepard rerouted their vidcall once more, this time to EDI’s nearby terminal.

“I’m too close to back out now,” Shepard grinned back.

“Approaching orbit,” Joker announced, barely hiding the excitement from his own voice.

“Okay, EDI. Do your thing!”

In a flash, a full analysis of the planet’s resources appeared on the screen overhead. EDI began slowly processing through, identifying areas where traces of minerals remained on the surface. There was nothing particularly useable, but this trip had never really been about functionality to begin with.

“Launch probe, EDI.”

“Really, commander?”

A chuckle peppered through the crew in response to EDI’s unexpected hesitation, Shepard’s own laughter among the many.

“Yes, EDI. Really.”

A sigh emanated from the AI’s speakers, causing an even larger eruption of laughter from those gathered, followed by the resigned announcement of,

“Now probing Uranus.”

“Ayyyyyyy!!!!!” Shepard yelled, throwing her fist into the air with a wink in Liara’s direction.

A surprising majority of the crew reflected Shepard’s excitement with shouts and laughter of their own, and she soon found herself on the receiving end of an almost overwhelming number of fist bumps and high fives. Even Miranda broke into a chuckle as Shepard clapped her fondly on the back.

“I knew you’d come around,” the commander told her with a proud grin.

Then, Shepard positioned herself next to EDI’s terminal, sparing a satisfied glance toward Liara, and she watched as her crew reveled in the simplicity of the moment.

It wasn’t much. She knew this. Hell, the joke wasn’t really even all that funny. Nothing they hadn’t all heard at least a million times growing up in the Milky Way. But as much as the trip wasn’t really about gathering resources from a mineral-poor planet, it wasn’t really about the joke, either.

Sooner than any of them would like to admit, Shepard and her crew would be making a jump through the Omega 4 Relay that they may very well not be coming back from. It was a reality that loomed over their heads every spare moment of every day, and on none more heavily than the commander who had to ask them to follow her into the dark.

It wasn’t about the joke at all. It was about this; the pure, unrestrained joy that echoed around the command center as crewmen and squad members alike shared cheesy jokes from their own homeworlds, and as celebratory pun-themed foods were passed around, courtesy of Mess Sergeant Gardner. It was about the smile that Miranda allowed herself to wear on too few occasions, and the weight that could be seen visibly lifting off of so many shoulders, even just for a few moments.

Shepard felt a tingle at the edge of her awareness again and glanced over to find Liara watching her with a look filled with more affection than she could ever convey with words. As much as Shepard would absolutely go out of her way just to make a joke, she knew that Liara understood her real motivations. She could feel it. And she felt Liara’s words taking root in her chest even before she finally said them, in a voice barely above a whisper.

“I love you, Shepard.”

“I love you, too.”

“Oh, geez,” Joker interrupted from his seat a few yards away. “I’m still right here, you guys.”

Kasumi uncloaked herself next to the pilot’s seat and patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t let him fool you, Shep. I’ve heard him talking about the two of you to EDI. He thinks you’re great together.”

“I believe Mr. Moreau’s exact words were ‘so cute it’s disgusting.’”

Beaming with pride, Kasumi recloaked herself and disappeared back amongst the crew. Joker, on the other hand, shook his head and mumbled something about EDI being a tattletale.

“Joker, I didn’t know you cared,” Shepard teased, no longer worried about the temporary blush in her cheeks now that Joker had his own to match.

“That’s very sweet of you, Joker,” Liara added in support, stifling a laugh.

“Yeah, but, Joker,” Shepard continued, “it’s interesting that you called us ‘disgusting’, because I can think of at least one other thing that’s way more disgusting than we are…”

She adjusted a few settings on her omnitool so that Liara was transmitting back to her private channel again, and began to walk off of the bridge as Joker groaned behind her.

“Please don’t,” he begged.

Shepard stopped, and turned to look back at her pilot with a triumphant grin.

“…Uranus.”

#mass effect #shiara #it was only a matter of time before i started writing fic again #and what better fandom than the one that OWNS MY SOUL #my fic

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aces-to-apples · 8 years

Text

A Treatise On The Domestication Of Two Mercenaries

by TheFreelancerDivision (Apples), @arirashkae, @aryashi, @zalia, and @goodboyfreckles (cabose)

Apples-Today at 1:37 PM

rvb au where everything is the same except locus and felix really are just mercenaries and the people helping charon industries are, like, volleyball girl and that one sad gunner with the awful red stripes. Discuss.

Aryashi-Today at 1:37 PM

okay as a story that'd be baffling and confusing, but as a crack fic I'd read it in a heartbeat

cabose-Today at 1:38 PM

ok so is there persona a cover or?

Apples-Today at 1:38 PM

shrug i just picked two people we know nothing about. storm troopers #7 and #9 as it were.

cabose-Today at 1:39 PM

yea

Apples-Today at 1:39 PM

and yeah ary i was just thinking about it as a fic

cabose-Today at 1:39 PM

1137 and 1139 if u get the reference u are my new best frend

Apples-Today at 1:39 PM

nope sorry not big on star wars

more of a trek person

cabose-Today at 1:40 PM

yesssss

Aryashi-Today at 1:40 PM

okay but you'd need to up their competence by a LOT, because you'd have Felix and Locus with the good guys

eventually

cabose-Today at 1:40 PM

yea so like i said would ther personas be a cover

Apples-Today at 1:41 PM

yeah i was thinking they discover it at the same time as in canon and then locus and felix (who stilled followed tucker and the others) end up swept in everything. they're very upset by this turn of events.

dunno man that first idea was the extent of it really

Aryashi-Today at 1:41 PM

no no I think you got something here

but instead of it being the figure heads, what if it's a BUNCH of double agents?

seeded through the ranks as it were

Apples-Today at 1:42 PM

oooooooh

oh wait not the LTs though right

leave the LTs alone

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:42 PM

So instead of a separate base, all the pirates are in the armies?

Zalia Chimera-Today at 1:42 PM

Felix is upset because it means he probably won't get paid

Apples-Today at 1:42 PM

haha yisss

locus is upset cuz he doesn't get to shoot felix anymore

Zalia Chimera-Today at 1:43 PM

Then of course, you have the inevitable... Hargrove tries to tempt Felix

with a TV the size of a billboard

Aryashi-Today at 1:43 PM

oooooooooohhhh

that'd be SO TENSE

because it could go either way!!!

Apples-Today at 1:43 PM

lOCUS IS WAITING TO SHOOT FELIX AGAIN

HE'S SO READY TO DO IT

THIS IS HIS CHANC-- ah man he turned it down

Aryashi-Today at 1:44 PM

EXACTLY EXACTLY

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:44 PM

Hargrove's too much of an asshole

Aryashi-Today at 1:44 PM

play with audience expectation

Zalia Chimera-Today at 1:44 PM

Locus actually spending too much time around Wash

Apples-Today at 1:44 PM

the first time he yells loud enough to squeak he refuses to make another noise for two days

felix never lets him live it down

Aryashi-Today at 1:45 PM

you know what else Felix not being the Biggest Douche in the Universe means

more of him with the BGC

i loved Felix with the BGC, he was so... baffled

Zalia Chimera-Today at 1:45 PM

Lopez insulting him

Aryashi-Today at 1:46 PM

and the Locus and Lopez friendship we deserved could be REAL

Apples-Today at 1:46 PM

yasssss

Aryashi-Today at 1:46 PM

or at least grudging alliance in the face of such idiocy

Zalia Chimera-Today at 1:47 PM

Carolina threatening Felix more

Aryashi-Today at 1:47 PM

yyyeeeesssss

Apples-Today at 1:47 PM

felix still stabbing carolina but they were sparring and it was an ~accident~

nobody believes him

he's not even sure he believes him. whatever.

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:48 PM

at least he missed the vein?

Aryashi-Today at 1:48 PM

that's the other thing, you'd need to lean into Felix's amorality to make him interesting; without the twist, as initially presented, he's kind of dull(edited)

Zalia Chimera-Today at 1:49 PM

...Felix and Grey teaming up for pirate torture funtimes

Apples-Today at 1:49 PM

listen here you little shit i liked felix before he was evil

Aryashi-Today at 1:49 PM

like he said, "the mercenary with a gruff exterior, but a heart of gold!"

Apples-Today at 1:49 PM

nono he was just a douche

Aryashi-Today at 1:49 PM

he's FUN but he's not especially deep

Apples-Today at 1:49 PM

it was fun

the entire show took six seasons to get deep

i think we can cut him a little slack

Aryashi-Today at 1:50 PM

Oh I'm not saying a lot needs to change! You'd just need to account for it. Lean into his jerkishness, his 'Everyone has a price' stuff, and his thing with Locus

Apples-Today at 1:51 PM

yeah locus and felix are exactly what they look like

or rather are presented as

Aryashi-Today at 1:51 PM

Well being entirely fair Locus wasn't exactly... putting on an act

He was just Locus. Hiding his real employer XD

Apples-Today at 1:52 PM

exactly! in this case doyle actually is his employer(edited)

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:52 PM

And his intel source on the New Republic XD

Apples-Today at 1:52 PM

hmmmmm

i dunno

maybe him and felix play hide-and-seek-and-death

he has yet to be found when he's spying on the News

felix always seeks

locus is very smug

Aryashi-Today at 1:54 PM

and their beef could be hanging over the alliance too, another faucet of the Feds vs. News

Apples-Today at 1:54 PM

heheh yesss

Aryashi-Today at 1:54 PM

like as soon as Charon's dealt with they're absolutely gonna try to kill each other

Apples-Today at 1:54 PM

.....you know what that means right??

the red and blue army each get a new recruit!

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:55 PM

Aryashi-Today at 1:55 PM

XDDD

Apples-Today at 1:55 PM

sarge is thrilled that his actually tries to kill one of the blues

Aryashi-Today at 1:55 PM

Locus is Red as Fuck man, don't even argue with me

I'm a Blue and I'm saying this

Apples-Today at 1:55 PM

locus has to be on blue team tho cuz he can't be on opposite sides with wash he just can't!!

Zalia Chimera-Today at 1:55 PM

They both wake up one day to find their armour has been spray painted

Aryashi-Today at 1:55 PM

but SARGE though!!!

Locus and Sarge connection!!!!

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:56 PM

Plus Orange is a shade red, Green is a shade of blue

Apples-Today at 1:56 PM

but locus' giant weird crush!!

i mean yeah that too

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:56 PM

Oh, wait!

Locus' crush could drive Sarge up the wall

Apples-Today at 1:56 PM

.......ah f**k

locus is a fucking red isn't he

goddammit

Aryashi-Today at 1:56 PM

LOVE TGRIANGLE!!!!!!!!!

Zalia Chimera-Today at 1:56 PM

Except in private when Sarge admits he has always found Wash's yellow stripe alluring

Apples-Today at 1:56 PM

no stop desist

Aryashi-Today at 1:56 PM

yes yes yes yes yes yes yeeeesssss

Apples-Today at 1:56 PM

silence

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:56 PM

Apples-Today at 1:57 PM

begone

Aryashi-Today at 1:57 PM

YESSSSSSSSSS

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:57 PM

Of course now I see Tucker getting fed up

Apples-Today at 1:57 PM

i am channeling locus right now

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:57 PM

Hauling Locus over to Blue base

Apples-Today at 1:57 PM

be quiet

fOR A THREESOME

cough

sorry

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:57 PM

And walking up to Wash and going "He needs to sleep with us tonight I am so sick of this bullshit"

Apples-Today at 1:57 PM

i'll restrain muself

AHA YES

FUCK YEAH

W00TW00T

sorry

back to restraining myself

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:57 PM

Now, whether or not Tucker meant "sleep" or sleep is up to you

Aryashi-Today at 1:58 PM

seriously though, I think Locus and Felix flip. Like that's the gag, nobody knows what team they're on

because

Apples-Today at 1:58 PM

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Aryashi-Today at 1:58 PM

ya see

they're MERCS

Apples-Today at 1:58 PM

ayyyyyyy

Zalia Chimera-Today at 1:58 PM

Awww damn, I am disappointed. i was rooting for Sarge/Locus/Wash

Apples-Today at 1:58 PM

that's great!

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:58 PM

Red & Blue in a bidding war

Apples-Today at 1:58 PM

zalia. ZALIA.

you are one of my only allies

don't do this to me

hehe ari omg

Zalia Chimera-Today at 1:58 PM

I am a Free agent

Aryashi-Today at 1:59 PM

Dude I'm into Lucker too but Sargington is a damn fine ship

Apples-Today at 1:59 PM

"ally" in this case meaning you wrote the only other lucker thing

Zalia Chimera-Today at 1:59 PM

...a Freelancer, if you will

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 1:59 PM

Now, now, children I meant for their combat skills

Apples-Today at 1:59 PM

......recoils delicately

Aryashi-Today at 1:59 PM

but yeah, Sarge and Locus have some pretty unique things in common

Zalia Chimera-Today at 1:59 PM

Nah man, I write anything XD

Apples-Today at 2:00 PM

cries

Aryashi-Today at 2:00 PM

like not even arguing as a ship, just as a conversation that needs to happen

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:00 PM

an unhealthy love of firearms?

Apples-Today at 2:00 PM

sHOTGUNS

Aryashi-Today at 2:00 PM

Question: What's Sarge's name>

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:00 PM

Sarge

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:00 PM

So the merc thing is solved when the Reds and Blues agree to a time share

Aryashi-Today at 2:00 PM

yes, he changed it. Legally. Locus is the name of his armor

Apples-Today at 2:00 PM

locus is just happy he gets to address someone by their rank

having to call every by their names makes him twitchy

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:00 PM

According to .... Reconstruction? when the Meta was calling Red Base, you cna make out he was a Master Sargent S-----

Aryashi-Today at 2:00 PM

I'm just saying, shedding the name you were born with like that...

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:01 PM

Like... 2 weeks with one team, 2 weeks with the other

Sarge was an ODST

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:01 PM

"Dress for the job you want" so he changed his name on top of it

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:01 PM

I think it says that in the book

which means he is terrifyingly badass

Aryashi-Today at 2:01 PM

Exactly!

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:01 PM

one of the miniseries says it too

Apples-Today at 2:01 PM

and in

yeah between reconstruction and recreation

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:01 PM

"Didn't you used to jump out of spaceships?" "How do you think I got the fear of heights?"

Apples-Today at 2:01 PM

don't remember what it was called tho

Aryashi-Today at 2:02 PM

Relocated

Apples-Today at 2:02 PM

thank you!

Aryashi-Today at 2:02 PM

but Sarge is the only non-Freelancer with a confirmed military career

a successful one too, if he actually got into the program. Volunteer only, best of the best

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:03 PM

Have to pass some serious screenings

Apples-Today at 2:03 PM

locus tries to reconcile that with his abject stupidity

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:03 PM

yeah. ODSTs are a volunteer only force, and you have to already be a veteran of another special operations unit

Aryashi-Today at 2:03 PM

the fact he has literally negative interest in talking about it... implies several things

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:03 PM

... I want to see Locus learn this

Apples-Today at 2:03 PM

his brain hurts

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:03 PM

cough neural tampering cough

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:03 PM

Yep

Apples-Today at 2:03 PM

wait wait

Aryashi-Today at 2:03 PM

Sarge isn't interested in talking about being the best of the best, and also surviving it. The man has gotta have PTSD

Apples-Today at 2:03 PM

real talk though

are they in valhalla or blood gulch

or did they stick around chorus

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:04 PM

They find a nice canyon on Chorus

everyone on Chorus is baffled

Apples-Today at 2:04 PM

ah yes a nice little place to settle down

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:04 PM

because like... they offered them housing in the city

Apples-Today at 2:04 PM

"you just want....two concrete bases? and that's it?"

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:04 PM

or some really nice farm buildings

nope

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:04 PM

Can't play Capture the Flag in the city

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:04 PM

a couple of abandoned bases

Aryashi-Today at 2:04 PM

XDDD

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:05 PM

Carolina & Wash introduce them to lockdown paint

Aryashi-Today at 2:05 PM

YES

Apples-Today at 2:05 PM

nobody is pleased with this development

Aryashi-Today at 2:05 PM

they get it colored red and blue

Apples-Today at 2:05 PM

not even locus and felix

cuz it's nonlethal

Aryashi-Today at 2:05 PM

so everyone knows who landed the hit

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:05 PM

I now just want an epic bromance between Felix and Grey

Apples-Today at 2:05 PM

personalized colors

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:05 PM

with the two of them being terrifying

Apples-Today at 2:05 PM

so they really know

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:06 PM

I mean, Felix doesn't give a damn about patching people up

but he does have a strong interest in cutting them open and pain

Aryashi-Today at 2:06 PM

Dr. Grey's technical knowledge and Felix's experience make them very, very, VERY good at.... Interogation

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:06 PM

...and that just led to scary Adult Only ideas

Apples-Today at 2:06 PM

The Weird And Scary Courtship Of The Doctor And The Mercenary

Aryashi-Today at 2:07 PM

I am IN TO THIS

Apples-Today at 2:07 PM

locus pouts and he and grey used to have a thing

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:07 PM

Felix smirks and counts it as a win

Apples-Today at 2:07 PM

he isn't attached he just think felix isn't good enough for her

he has a great deal of respect and admiration for the doctor and he swears to god if felix hurts her...

he will be very. upset.

felix proceeds to overshare about her pain kink

everything is terrible

Zalia Chimera-Today at 2:08 PM

Felix has the scars to prove it

Aryashi-Today at 2:09 PM

well this certainly took a turn

Apples-Today at 2:09 PM

sorry back to red vs. blue shenanigans

Aryashi-Today at 2:09 PM

So. Felix and Caboose.

Apples-Today at 2:09 PM

oh good lord

but ooh ooh locus and caboose because carolina ordered (or wash asked) him to help train caboose

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:11 PM

.... Locus & Caboose armwrestling

Apples-Today at 2:11 PM

locus loses

hands down

but he puts up a good fight

they do it weekly(edited)

it joins movie night up there on favored canyon entertainment

there's popcorn

Aryashi-Today at 2:12 PM

Felix is convinced Caboose's whole Thing is an act

Apples-Today at 2:12 PM

tries to catch him at it

Aryashi-Today at 2:12 PM

no man is that weird

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:12 PM

Caboose can verbally out maneuver Felix

Locus thinks this is the best thing ever

because Felix can't keep up with Caboose's tangents

Apples-Today at 2:13 PM

surprisingly locus often can

cabose-Today at 2:13 PM

hang on ary theres a fic where felix is trying to catch caboose "in the act"

lemme go find it

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:14 PM

yes!

the bathroom one!

cabose-Today at 2:14 PM

yes!!

Apples-Today at 2:14 PM

wait what

Ari (arirashkae)-Today at 2:14 PM

that needs to be shared everywhere

cabose-Today at 2:14 PM

theres an ari and an ary im confused

Aryashi-Today at 2:14 PM

I've had this name since middle school! I'll duel you for it!

Ari/Zhaneel (arirashkae)-Today at 2:15 PM

I've had mine for 23 years

Apples-Today at 2:15 PM

ary beta-ed my lucker fic, ari wrote one of the other lucker fics in existence

Aryashi-Today at 2:15 PM

....... i'll still fight you

Apples-Today at 2:15 PM

that's how i tell them apart

cabose-Today at 2:15 PM

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9042677

Ari/Zhaneel (arirashkae)-Today at 2:15 PM

I bring offerings of chocolate and sugar

Aryashi-Today at 2:16 PM

-squints Accepted. I'm still keeping my name tho

Ari/Zhaneel (arirashkae)-Today at 2:16 PM

deal

#red vs. blue #rvb discord #rvb au #felix mcscouty #rvb locus #rvb meta #by apples #goodboyfreckles #zalia #arirashkae #aryashi #real mercs au

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