#concerns me and makes me look deeper. if they're going to the effort to control the discourse there's something there that

[louderfade]

exene talking about the state of the world. the good stuff starts at eight minutes. or you can just read the transcript complete with the usual errors that accompany robot transcribed speech (the irony of which is not lost on me). maybe it's not about transhumanism and living forever (or maybe it is who knows), but there's definitely an agenda of surveillance and control at work which is designed to keep the powerful in power. cash rules everything around me and you will own nothing etc. the future is worse.

[shepcdr]

SHEPARD NODS BACK TOWARDS ZAEED AND KASUMI. and then they're off, trailing behind durus, eyes flitting to-and-fro with equal amounts curiosity and appropriate caution that any new post or environment might elicit. shepard wasn't sure what to expect from a world built by and run by a krogan — there isn't much to go off of, given how tampered-with krogan progress has been in the galaxy — but it's not as architecturally unfamiliar to him as what he's seen left of once-grand tuchanka. nor does he think it's quite as off-putting ( pretentious ) as the deliberate glamour and glory carved into every tile that's set in the citadel.

" surprisingly welcoming lot, " zaeed mumbles a few steps behind him, snatching a drink off a passing tray without so much as asking.

this whole place is a good look ... a shame that it's among few examples of krogan success. ( shepard's terribly suspicious that the council fear an era of rapid development for the krogan just as much as they fear another krogan uprising. either effect — no matter if it was the thriving of civilisation or the clamouring of rebellion — if it was beyond the council's control, it's no doubt in their favour to quash. humanity's efforts for recognition, in the few decades that the alliance have fought for their right to stand alongside council races, taught him that much. not all contributors to galactic society are so lucky; the krogan, perhaps, continue to bear the worst of it all. )

he imagines he would've felt quite at home here within hours, if he were a traveller seeking respite and a place to stay while his ship was undergoing maintenance. maybe he'd be a little too at home amongst the casino machines ... though, he supposed, that was the whole point of the business.

he glances aside at kasumi, disapproval set in his brows before he even makes eye contact. ( not that he's any better. but he might as well try to keep the both of them accountable. ) she peers back at him, eyes large with deceptive innocence, and shrugs her shoulders and — for now — empty, open-palmed hands. shepard huffs in light-hearted disbelief before turning his eyes back to durus.

his brows furrow deeper as they step into what looks like a conference room. a glance at the several faces seated around the table confirm his brief moment of dread. zaeed, a pace behind him and still outside earshot of most anyone in the room, clicks his tongue. " shepard ... should've told me you were just coming here to make more big speeches. i would've stayed on the damn ship, " is grumbled in light irritation before zaeed steps in and aside, picking a spot along the wall to linger near the doorway.

shepard says nothing in response, occupied with scanning the expressions of their audience. there's not much he can glean from that — he's capable enough of rallying a unit preparing for active combat, but he's neither skilled with nor concerned enough with socialities to have bothered learning how to concisely read a room. but he recognises the face of the krogan from the briefing edi prepared for him. he should tread carefully, and with respect.

" aiza srilaka. " he approaches the end of the table, eyes coming to a stop at the krogan that heads it, and tilts his head forward in acknowledgement. a female krogan outside of tuchanka, running an operation of this scale ... there's most certainly a hell of a story there but, unless srilaka offers it, they don't have much time to go digging for details. " i appreciate your welcoming us on such short notice. what do you know about why we're here? "

he's more than prepared to offer what he has on the abductions and on the collectors, or as much as they'll believe. still, it would be helpful to know what aiza srilaka knows already — and what role she intends for her people to play in it all.

LITHE AND AGILE HAS ALWAYS BEEN STEADILY MORE IMPORTANT THAN BRUTE STRENGTH . speed even more so. kristen durus was a cute face with an extremely deadly hand. SHE COULD BE INCREASINGLY VIOLENT , not unlike the other cerberus project defect. it probably doesn't help that a krogan was the parental figure that grounded her. although that's a stereotype too -- not all krogan are cruel , violent , and without a heart. SOME OF THEM REALLY FUCKING CARE .

... kristen's still wearing sunglasses. aviators with dark lenses. she reaches up a hand to set them against her eyes. IT'S HARD TO SEE EXACTLY WHERE SHE'S LOOKING . oh , and those inhuman eyes are scrambling across his features. and maybe she's also perfectly aware they're kind of unsettling -- if not for anything else , that means she's willing to be hospitable. KRISTEN SMIRKS , this simple curl to the corner of her lips. the noise of the airstrip drowns out a lot noise , but having it further away would just make it more dangerous to deploy. the main casino / hotel is a high rise of a building , very architecturally human. the colony besides and behind it was architecturally a combination of human and krogan. WITH SOME REMNANTS OF ANCIENT KROGAN ARCHITECTURE before that war. before it all turned to dust. the krogan actually talk about it a lot. and she doesn't actually have to much history of humanity -- she was kidnapped too young.

" yeah , follow me. " the lobby has a cafe in the corner , a fountain in the center , the hotel check in in another corner. just past a hallway with advertisements is the casino itself. tall walls lined with machines after machines. first mention of asari walking around serving drinks and food. she goes past that into another hallway where a sign at the end introduces a restaurant. KRISTEN PULLS OPEN A SET OF DOUBLE DOORS . the conference room is big , a large and oval table , a set up for coffee or other various beverages on one side. sitting at the head of that oval table is the female krogan owner ...

... AIZA SRILAKA . kristen has also learned that the amount of ridges or spikes embedded in a krogan's skin is also how you tell how old they are. BESIDES THE SCARS . aiza is still relatively young (still hundreds of years older than kristen ) , but the krogan is smart , wise , and open to other cultures. open to change , rather. THAT'S WHY SHE HAD A HAND IN CREATING ALL THIS . there's a few other faces as hands in this. most of them krogan. one asari as more diplomat. one human to bring in allies to create all the architecture. IT HAS MOST DEFINITELY BECOME A NEW HOME .

and they will fucking protect it.

" you have the floor , commander. i wanna hear what you have to say. " kristen just breathes out , smirk still intact. she pulls out a chair that's on the right side of aiza.

[morelikesin]

You Know You're Cute, Right?

ANOTHER APEX FIC BECAUSE I CANNOT CONTROL MYSELF SKNDLWKDM,, this time I wrote differently than how I normally do - it consists of quick snippets of a day-in-the-life type thing, featuring Mirage-Octane-Bloodhound-Caustic as a polycule 💕 Huge inspo from this song (as well as included in the fic)✨

Take this as a late Christmas-early New Years gift ✨ Super fluffy and casual type work, with a heavy dash of romanticism because I'll be damned if I'm not a romantic. Fic under the cut 💕💕

"You call your cat sweetheart? 'Zander-"

"Not a word."

Elliott suppressed a snort. That cheeky little smile he had when he found an opening for playful jabs was always so irritating - the kind of irritating that made the scientist want to kiss it right off of him.

"I think it's cute," Octavio hummed, leaning back into the sofa with his arms crossed behind his head. "That means you're cute. Que lindo."

The way Alexander scoffed an "Octavio" would've been more intimidating had it not been for the big, sleepy cat he cradled in his arms. She stretched her big fluffy paws, made a squeak as she yawned, and buried her head into the man's chest.

Blóð smiled.

"Vhatever helps you sleep at night, elskan."

It was incredibly late. The last time they had checked the clock wasn't that long ago, and apparently it was supposed to be sometime around 4 in the morning. It didn't feel that way at all.

They knew it'd kick their ass in the morning - getting so little sleep.

Well, Octavio might be fine. But Elliott had made it a habit to wake up at 8, Blóð still hadn't made much progress on getting more sleep to begin with, Alexander had his internal clock waking him at 7, and they all had somewhere to be at 9. This entire night was probably a huge mistake. They normally try to get to sleep by 2, but admittedly, they may or may not have a bad practice of keeping each other awake for company's sake.

And now that an entirely new subject was brought up after Alexander had rather adoringly picked up Bear, his senior cat, and called her "sweetheart," the prospect of playfully pestering him about his soft spot was all too enticing to go to sleep just yet.

"You've never even called us sweetheart," Octavio began. "You save it for her?"

There was a brief pause. Alexander had kept petting her back paw with his thumb, as his eyes remained averted until he sighed. "It...is something I've grown accustomed to for her, yes."

Elliott made a pleased hum. "Well isn't that just adorable," he teased before leaning over and petting Bear across her back - fur unbelievably soft.

It started as a joke a while ago - the way they noticed how Bear could make anyone sleepy just by looking at her - her cozy looking fur, her sweet little face, her ability to get comfortable and sleep virtually anywhere - but over time the joke had increased its humour when the idea became seemingly true. Alexander occasionally would mention how he'd sometimes stop working at his desk late at night because Bear was sleeping in his lap, and turn in a few hours early compared to his usual 2 in the morning bed time. This was deemed an exaggeration until the three others experienced it for themselves.

This happened to be one of those magical sleepy-Bear moments, as made evident by how Blóð made a quiet yawn shortly after leaning over to give Bear a loving scritch under her chin.

Octavio staved off a matching yawn. He rubbed at his eyes, began to stand, and nodded to Alexander's bed. "We should probably try and get some sleep."

-

The sun coming in through the blinds was a rude awakening. Elliott instinctually raised an arm to cover his eyes - making a soft groan in annoyance at the bright rays somehow coming through at a perfect angle to hit him in the face. Turning, he lowered his arm and began to sit up slowly as to not wake up the sleeping Octavio who had his arm wrapped around his waist.

Elliott sighed, and leaned down to give him a kiss on the temple. He lingered for a moment before sitting up again and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

He noticed a weight on his legs, and looked to see a peacefully sleeping Bear curled up in a ball. As he went to pet her head, his eyes glanced up to see Blóð sitting in Alexander's desk chair - hands busy sewing a thick-fur item. From the time spent with the hunter, Elliott had picked up on the types of hides they'd hunt and use - this one appearing to be rabbit fur. What they were making, though, wasn't clear yet.

Elliott's voice came deeper, and a bit more throaty in post-sleep fashion, "Morning."

Blóð briefly looked up, gave a gentle smile, and proceeded to look back down to continue their work. "Góðan morgin. How did you sl'leep?"

"Pretty good, considering." He took in a deep breath, and stretched his arms out in front of him. He rested his hands in his lap as he went to speak again, "When did you wake up?"

"Before Alexander, but not by long."

Elliott frowned slightly. Blóð took notice when they looked back up to gauge his reaction. They made an effort to ease his concerns.

"I'm sure Octavio will get me to take a nap vith him later today," they assured, "don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Elliott made a small hum indicating reluctant agreement. "...Alright. Just promise me to keep doin' what you're doin' - trying t'get more sleep, I mean."

"I promise, ástin."

If Elliott was a sucker for anything, it'd be terms of endearment - especially when they're used so casually. Having all four of them be big on using said terms made for an eternally happy Witt.

"Beloved, right?"

Blóð hummed, "Yes. Closest tr'ranslation I can equate to it." They briefly stopped their handiwork in the wake of a smile they couldn't seem to get rid of. "I'm touched you remembered."

Elliott smirked and made a quiet laugh, turning his head to find the time on the side table clock - 8:21 AM - before looking back over. "I try my best. Making it a goal to learn as much as I can from you and Octavio."

"We find it very sweet," Blóð assured, letting it be known that Octavio and they had seemingly discussed the language efforts before. "Alexander said as much, that you and he were doing so."

"Think I can speak for him when I say that we love learning it. Speaking of him...?"

"He's downstairs."

Elliott made a quiet "Ah." As much as it pained him to do so, he gently lifted Bear and set her on a free spot of the blanket so he could get up - her being left generally unfazed, besides her slightly annoyed tail wag in being moved from her spot.

With Octavio being so small, Elliott could easily leave the bed without disturbing him too much, albeit moving his arm so it wasn't draped across his body anymore. He stretched, walked over to Blóð, and gestured for a kiss. They hummed, seemingly still in their work, but Elliott knew they were keen - the hunter picking up the hint and looking up so their lips could gently meet.

"Que lindo, mis amores."

The two of them made a small hum in surprise before pulling away from one another with a blush. Blóð was smiling to themself shyly, while Elliott made a small chortle and flirted with the newly-awakened Octavio, wearing his darling little smirk.

"Welcome to join us."

Octavio laughed - the sound half-purr, half-grain. "I'd love to. Watching is only so much fun."

He started to rise, stretching his arms upwards and making a groan before reaching over the bed to grab his prosthetics and put them on. Standing, shaking his legs to help himself wake up, he made a small yawn before walking around the bed and giving a kiss to each partner - looking satisfied with himself.

"Big guy downstairs?"

Blóð nodded.

Elliott and Octavio made a mutual decision to go see him - the latter turning around before they headed out the bedroom door to question Blóð. "You comin' down?"

They shook their head, hands busy sewing the fur item again. "I will soon. I von't be long in finishing this."

Octavio nodded, and proceeded to take Elliott's hand as they went downstairs.

-

Dr. Somers and Alexander seemed to be having a chat when the two made it to the kitchen, their hands busy with mugs of black coffee all the while. Elliott could never understand how people drank their coffee so bitter, much less Octavio.

Dr. Somers was the first to notice the two, as she was facing the stairs leaning against the counter. Giving a small wave and giving a nod to Alexander, she drank from her mug and gave them a minute to exchange expected affections - something she learned the polycule are incredibly prone to do, despite several joking complaints about PDA from the others.

Octavio quipped with a laugh between his words as Elliott and Alexander exchanged a coffee-flavored kiss, "Not even creamer, 'Zander?"

The man bore an amused hum. "Black coffee actually tastes like coffee. You may as well drink candy if you add so much sugar to it."

"You sound old."

"No avoiding that, I'm afraid." He gestured for a kiss, to which Octavio happily gave, before drinking from his mug again. "How did you sleep?"

"Great!"

Elliott gave a "Ditto" in response, though he followed it up with a fitting yawn and a "Wish I slept some more, though."

The statement was seconded by the way Alexander made a soft hum in agreement, and thirded by Octavio and his rightly timed yawn.

Dr. Somers waited a few quiet moments before stepping forward and piping into the conversation. "It'll just be a few stores we stop by, darlin's. Doubt we'll be out that long."

"That's still gonna' be so long," Octavio complained, his voice coming as a whine.

It was common knowledge that Octavio wasn't exactly big on shopping. Elliott, however, could spend all day doing it. If they had to disagree on anything, it'd be how long they were out for things - Alexander and Blóð keeping things relatively frustration-free during a shopping trip, though Blóð would always get antsy to go home if they stayed out longer than a few hours out in a city.

"It'll be fine, babe," Elliott assured the man while rubbing his back. "It's kinda'- kinda' just mainly food shopping, isn't it? You like doing that."

"Aren't we going to the pet store after, though?"

Elliott rose a brow, "'Tavio, are you complaining about that?"

Octavio snorted and began walking to the fridge - grabbing a Bang from inside and popping the can open. "No, para nada - prefer that to everything else, even food."

Mary laughed at that, shaking her head before taking a gulp of coffee and making her way to the living room. Before she left, though, she spoke with her back still facing them, "Oh, remind me t'grab a level while we're out -  puttin' up a shelf an' think I lost the one I had."

"Lucky for you, I'm the best at reminding people of things," Elliott half-joked. Mary laughed again and took her leave with a "Thanks."

Being left alone in the kitchen, the three stood in comfortable silence for a few moments. Alexander prompted a question shortly thereafter;

"Is Blóð still upstairs?"

"Yeah," Octavio began, "Think they were working on something - dijo no tardará mucho. I can go see them if-"

The stairs creaked a bit as someone walked down the stairs, causing Octavio to cut himself off as he turned to see who it was. In seeing so, he sighed damn near dreamily and softened his gaze a bit - Elliott and Alexander softening all the same.

Pulling their past-the-waist long black hair behind their jewelry-adorned ear, they rounded the last stair and looked up to see their partners - smiling warmly and lowering their hands to fold their arms. The coyote jaw necklace (that Octavio had gifted them this past holiday, knowing they loved real animal items), that rest against their lower chest rose slightly with every breath, as quaint a detail it was to notice. Not a day goes by do any of them not love seeing their pretty face.

And Elliott made sure to tell them that.

"Not a day goes by do we not love seeing your pretty face."

Blóð bore a chuckle and rolled their eyes, though it didn't mask the rosy blush the comment gave them. "I should say the same for you, ástin."

They unfolded their arms and looked back to the three. They couldn't suppress the amused hum they made in seeing that the three were still checking them out - becoming more flushed and brushing their hair behind their ear again, looking away with a shy smile.

They always looked at each other with such warmth. They got playful tease about it from the others, especially Alexander given he was quite brooding to most things, but the gazes never subsided. They'd like to say they were subtle about it - but everyone else would vote against it. And it'd be true.

They were obvious about it. So sticky-sweet obvious - embraces and hand holding and gazes and kisses and all. They didn't mind.

-

By 10 till 9, mostly everyone was ready - save for Loba, Renee, and Elliott, who always took a while to clean up to their own high standards. Elliott called from upstairs whether he should wear his orange body mist or his cologne, and with the majority vote leaning towards cologne today - well, he must please the people.

With Renee in tow, Elliott had finally come from upstairs. He looked handsome as ever, however, wearing a black turtleneck and an orange, knee length open-front sweater. His hair looked meticulously tended to, tossed to the opposite side of his pierced right ear and framing his face well.

The cologne served him wonders, too, with Blóð and Alexander taking a clear liking to it.

Octavio walked down the stairs with a pep in his step - smoothing back his hair as best he could just so it could partly fall into his face once again. Swinging around the corner, he spotted his partners and proceeded to greet Blóð and Elliott with a firm smack on their behinds. They were startled, sure, but Elliott only looked down to give Octavio a laugh and a smack of his own, while Blóð merely scoffed in jest.

Octavio bit his lip. "Don't you all look good? Eres tan sexy," he gave a wink while unabashedly checking them out. Blóð was always so pretty, even when showing their strength in the games or when they hunted or chopped wood (Octavio could go on for days about that), Elliott was always so charming and confident (even if his suave attempts happened to fail, they were all the more charming), and the rolled-sleeve button up that was unbuttoned just enough to show collarbone and brief chest on Alexander was something Octavio (and the other two, admittedly) would store in the memory bank for personal satisfaction.

"¿Qué hubo?"

"Just talkin' about whatever." Elliott adjusted the cuffs of his orange jacket sleeves, rolling them up his forearm a bit. He took notice of Octavio's outfit. "You gonna' be alright out there? You know I love you in your crop tops, but-"

Octavio made a "Pshhh" and scrunched his nose up a bit in response to that, cutting him off. "I'll be fine, bebé. Can't be that cold outside, can it?"

Alexander seemed to check his phone for confirmation on that. "Sixty degrees."

Elliott did find the temperature better than he had anticipated, but still swiveled his head back to Octavio with brows furrowed in concern.

"You don't even have a jacket."

"I can grab one before we go."

Elliott seemed satisfied by that and left the discussion there.

Loba came downstairs, holding the car keys and jangling them as her other hand brushed her hair past her shoulder. "Any takers on being driver?"

Alexander motioned her to give the keys to him, to which she happily did - she was a great driver, but happened to not be particularly fond of doing so, rather liking going on drives as a passenger.

Octavio quickly claimed shotgun.

Before they left, Blóð gave Octavio the fur item they'd been sewing earlier - the latter finding that it was a soft rabbit fur coat. The delight in his face was all Blóð needed to feel assured that he liked it, and helped him put it on. It was a little big, and just how Octavio liked his sweaters and coats. To all of their agreement, he looked rather stylish in it.

-

They were out for most of the afternoon, starting with a two hour Costco trip (that Octavio nearly made his partners carry him for), several smaller shops in between just to browse, a liquor store to buy champagne and sauvignon to celebrate New Years tonight (along with sparkling juice for Octavio who nay drank alcohol), and a hardware store mainly for Mary to pick up that level Elliott reminded her of. By 4:30, their last store of the day was the pet store - everyone individually needing one thing or another.

When they got inside, Elliott asked his partners if they could accompany him for a minute - guiding them to the aquarium section and proposing something.

"Pick one of these guys that you like," Elliott gestured to the wall of individually kept male betta fish, of all sorts of colors and sizes. "You remember those 5 gallon tanks I got a while back? Thought I'd use 'em, and thought a' you guys."

Like Blóð was simply an animal person, and how Octavio and Alexander were cat people, Elliott was partial towards fish. The two large tanks he manages in the living room are rather serene, and despite Renee's concerns, the fish kept there seem to love the foot traffic of everyone coming through.

"One collectively, or-?"

Elliott shook his head, politely cutting Alexander off, "Three total. Was thinking you all pick one, and I set their tanks up in my room. I-I thought it was a cute idea, I dunno'-"

"It's sweet, actually," Alexander softly spoke.

"Think so?"

Blóð made a content hum - leaning down a bit and surveying the curious little fish to see which one stood out to them. "Incr'redibly, my love."

Octavio's approval was nonverbal, made of him apparently finding which one he wanted immediately and picking up the container the little guy was kept in. He looked to Elliott with stars in his eyes and a grin, "Can we name them?"

Elliott chortled and waved his hand dismissively, "I enco- en- enco- implore you to."

"Octavio Dos."

His answer was so quick the others couldn't help but bear a laugh.

And by the time everyone was at checkout, there was definite fawning over the three new additions to Elliott's personal tanks - Ljón, the cream-colored, fiesty little thing that had fins flowing long behind him that Blóð adored, Violet, the red, pink, and white dumbo betta that was adorably curious much to Alexander's affection, and the deep-red colored Octavio Dos.

-

On the way home, it was decided to just grab something to eat on the way - near everyone could cook, but the idea of standing around in the kitchen to cook for fifteen people was lost.

Natalie passed the aux cord to Octavio, who was just taking his coat off for the ride home. He looked a little beyond himself.

"You trust me with the music? Wow - what'd they put in these fries?"

Natalie held off on a laugh while she tried to finish chewing, though her smile was tell enough on her amusement. "I actually like your music taste."

Makoa requested simply, "Nothing too dirty though, please, Silva."

"Me? Liking dirty music?" Octavio snorted, "You know me so well. How about flirty music?"

The man chortled. "That works, brotha'."

Octavio hooked the cord to his phone, and swiped his screen for a few moments before stopping on something. He looked hesitant, briefly, and pressed his screen. He set his phone down and put his hand on Alexander's, their arms both resting on the armrest.

The song sounded so dreamy. When the intro became a little more recognizable, before the lyrics, Loba made a snort from the back.

"You like this song?"

Octavio feigned offense, looking back to her with a "Of course I like this song!"

He shook his head and laughed softly - looking over to Blóð, who sat behind Alexander, he sang over the song and moved his hand from Alexander to cup their face.

"You're so uwu," his voice came sweet and a bit grainy, moving his hand from their cheek to their chin. Blóð practically giggled - blushing and leaning forward into his touch.

"You make me wanna' do," Octavio took his hand away and gave them a wink, "Naughty things to you - all these things to you, you."

Elliott joined the flirt-singing, joining Octavio in the chorus while they oh-so shamelessly wooed their other two partners (and each other, mind you). The others would've said a joke about it, but Ajay was busy holding Natalie's hand and cuddling up to her, while Anita was busy running her hand through Loba's hair and speaking quietly amongst themselves. The others didn't have the heart to interrupt their moment.

Besides, the song was catchy.

"You know you're cute, right?" Octavio sung in Alexander's direction, who shook his head. Still, he wore a soft smile and kept his hand reached over to rub Octavio's thigh.

Elliott leaned over to the side behind Octavio's seat, Blóð matching the movement from the opposite side, and wrapped an arm around the hunter's waist. He continued the phrase with a cocky smile, "Cute as a button-"

Then the two sang together, "Undoing the buttons and pushing your buttons, I just wanna' get you right-"

It was a red light, and so Alexander took the opportunity to lean over and kiss Octavio - lingering for a moment or two before pulling away and focusing back on the road just in time for the light to turn green.

Octavio's heart was a puddle.

Blóð reached a free hand across the armrest to drape his hand over the one Alexander had over Octavio's leg, their fingers soft and gentle in the way they caressed the back of both their hands. Elliott went to continue singing the song, but Octavio stole a kiss much to his surprise. He hummed, and just before they pulled away, Elliott opened his eyes and let his gaze linger at the man driving.

The glimpse of one another was quick, but just as warm as everything else, and left Elliott with a bigger smile than previously.

Octavio pulled up his leg that wasn't currently the resting place of Alexander's and Blóð's, resting his arm on his knee.

He was so lucky.

-

And finally by 6, everyone was tuckered out - ready to take some personal time alone before reconvening later tonight for celebrations. Putting groceries away, Elliott setting up the bettas (as well as having a bit of an audience while doing so), and having a pre-celebratory drink from the sauvignon left the group in need of a quick sit-down. They found themselves just comfortable in the living room, along with Bear and Octavio's cat, Octave, sleeping on one of the couches. Rightly, this was the couch the four of them decided to occupy.

Renee crossed her legs, her black-painted nails running over the leather of her knee-high boots. "Any plans before tonight?"

"Oh?" Tae Joon began, "I thought we were just going to be alone before- ah, ten tonight?"

"I'm just wondering if that was the time we could agree on."

Octavio gave a nod. "Should work for me, at least. I plan on getting blasted, hah."

There was a heavy silence - his other partners looking rather surprised and, especially Blóð, flushed upon hearing that.

Elliott cleared his throat. "Come again?"

Anita snorted at his wording. Elliott gave a quick "Not- not what I meant, uh-"

Renee shrugged, wearing a look painfully smug. "I mean...a bit too much information, but I'm sure that'll go well."

Alexander cleared his throat.

Octavio, despite his nature to immediately take things dirty, just now got what the issue was. And did he find it hilarious.

Through a series of snorts and laughs, he reiterated what he meant; "If I meant I was gonna' get pounded, I would just say that-"

Blóð, Elliott, and Alexander made a simultaneous "Octavio-!"

He kept laughing, shaking his head, "I meant- like, I'm gonna' smoke a joint. Ay, Dios mío - but hey, if that other option is on the table-"

There was another simultaneous "Octavio!" and it seemed to get him to stop talking and simply laugh. He and the others found this absolutely hilarious, leaving his partners to be lost for words and red in the face.

Octavio snorted, and dared to entertain a final joke.

"Like a refreshment."

"What?" Loba narrowed her eyes, leaning forward in interest in what he could possibly say right now.

"Y'know," Octavio snickered, "Quickie's like a refreshment. And there's four of us - heh, call that a concession stand."

Loba couldn't hold the shocked, boisterous laugh she made hearing that - no one really could.

There was a silence after the laughter died down. It was broken when Ajay snorted, though.

"Stop encouraging him-!" Elliott near scrambled to say, but was cut short when Ajay gave him a laugh and a 'look.'

"I know the one flirting wit' 'im all day isn't telling me t' not encourage him. Don't act like you don't like this."

Elliott quickly bit his tongue and raised his hands in the air.

"Touché."

Another small bout of quiet settled.

Loba snorted.

Octavio looked at her, and when their eyes met, they both snorted, and had to turn away to not outright laugh.

Given the situation, a little fun was wanted out of it. Of course, trivia about one another was a frequent, and a favourite, activity amongst themselves. If they all had any one exact thing in common, it'd be that they were all unabashedly nosy.

Loba uncrossed, then recrossed, her legs as she sat up a little. "Truth or dare without the dare, anyone?"

"I think that's a thing called 'having a conversation,'" Anita jokingly mocked.

"Then let's have one." Loba hummed, "I actually had a question for you," she pointed a nude-shade manicured finger towards Dr. Nox, who looked suddenly surprised.

"What is it?"

The woman leaned forward a bit, cusping her hand around her face as if she was telling a secret - the hand facing no one, ultimately defeating the purpose - and talking somewhat low but audible for everyone to still hear.

"Be honest. Is that sweetheart thing true, or was Octavio being dramatic?"

"Oh my god."

His exasperated expression made his partners in particular so delightfully entertained - Octavio especially, laughing and giving a shrug as he left the man to answer the question for himself. He must've mentioned it to them when they were at a store earlier today.

"The people are waiting," Ajay chimed in. It earned the approval of Loba, as told by the way she looked smug about someone else prodding it.

Alexander lifted his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose in thought, and when he couldn't stave the answer off any longer he was brought to the doorstep of needing to say something.

With hesitation, he sighed. "True enough that she responds to it as well as her actual name."

As if on cue, right after he finished speaking and everyone was ready to pull the expected "big guy soft for a cat" card, Bear shifted her position from simply lying beside him to lying on her side and pressing her face against his upper leg. Despite it all, the instinct to lower a hand and pet her big sweet face was lost not in the man.

The onslaught of "Aww!"s would've been anticipated.

[saviormysticmeme]

ummmm..... I LOOOVE YOUR WORK （≧∇≦） YOU ARE SERIOUSLY SUPER TALENTED! Are YOU A GENIUS???? Sorry for caps...（´-`）If you don't mind, may I request an hc about the RFA + minor trio mistaking mc's twin for mc? Maybe they see her twin with another guy, so they ask mc about it or something... I just love love love your writtiiinngg~~~ I can write whole page! It's all so good that I they're all my favorite! (´Д` ) Sorry if its unclear/bad grammar... Bye（・◇・）/~~~

RFA + MTrio React to Mistaking CM for MC

Omg pls you guys are feeding my ego so muchAnd don’t worry about your grammar!! Grammar is the hardest part of any language, I cry when I speak anything other than English cause “How do say this” 

Ok anyways

Some of these are going to be those totally cliché “Secret Twin” scenarios that are kind of angsty but I’m gonna try some more lighthearted ones too because I feel like the “I SAW YOU WITH ANOTHER MAN IM LEAVING YOU!!!1!1!” “Babe thats my twin” scenarios have been used quite a bit and I don’t want to pump out something that’s already out here

If you decide you want those scenarios instead though then let me know! Because if you just happen to reallllly like that specific case then I’ll do a short drabble focusing on that

Also sorry in advance for the Choi twin ones, I just feel like they would know about MC’s twin and I the writing for them isn’t up to par with the others but I didn’t want to postpone posting for much longer because of it.

Ok I talk too much lets go

Yoosung:

He’s walking by a cafe near campus when he sees you sitting across from another guy

He stops dead in the side walk and stares in the window

At first he thought you were maybe just..discussing something? With some guy? Who you never told him about…?

No he didn’t think that at all his brain went straight to the worst but he couldn’t bare to think it so he came up with every excuse in the book.

MC’s a spy and they have to kill this guy

He’s a new RFA recruit???

He’s a dealer and MC’s buying drugs

MC is secretly a vampire and just trying to eat this guy

Every thought bubble he had was popped when you leaned over the table and planted a kiss on the mans cheek

Yoosung heard his heart-

rrrng rrrrng rrrrng rrrng

He was going to say breaking but apparently his heart rings when broken?

He looked at his phone and your Caller ID was up

“Huh?” He looked from his phone to the window, where ‘you’ were still sitting and talking with the strange man

He answers the phone, voice a little shakey “H-Hello?”

“Yoosung? Hey! Sorry to call but on your way home can you grab soup. I’m feeling like soup for dinner tonight.”

….

“Yoosung?”

“MC…how are you doing this?”

“…Doing what Yoosung?”

“Are you a vantrilaquist?”

“Yoosung pls just what the fuck are you talking about”

“I’m staring at you through a window having coffee with another man…but you’re on the phone with me.”

“1. Yoosung that’s creepy that you’re staring at two strangers 2…”

His phone beeped and he looked down to see you sent him a picture of you sitting on the couch with a controller in hand, soda on the table, blankly staring at the camera.

He snapped a picture of the ‘you’ in the window and sent it back

“Yoosung that’s my sister and her boyfriend you egg”

“Your sister???? What???”

“I told you I had a sister!”

“NOT THAT YOU GUYS WERE TWINS”

“I assumed when you met her you’d be with me…not that this would happen. This is some TV style mess.” You chuckled, feeling a little guilty. Reflecting on it, you probably would have been upset too if you thought a look a like Yoosung was putting the moves on someone else “So……soup?”

“Yeah babe of course, what do you want?”

Jaehee

She was at the cafe making -cue Savior Meme going and making a post about Jaehee owning a musical theatre instead- a new brew when you walked in

She sees you and casts a warm smile and a “Hey Honey”

The person Jaehee thought to be MC cocks their head, slightly confused, but brushes it off as Jaehee being a very friendly Barista

The copy cat you stands at the counter, waiting about a minute before Jaehee realizes their presence at the spot

“Dear, what are you doing?”

The customer furrows their brows and responds slowly, somewhat confused “Ordering coffee…”

Jaehee chuckles, amused at you playing customer. She just shakes her head and walks over to the register

“Alright, what’ll you have?”

“I’ll have an iced Mocha with extra cream no sugar.”

Jaehee scribbles it on a cup and gets to work making the drink “Weird choice for you. Didn’t think you were a fan of  mocha, you always seem to prefer vanilla”

“I do?” 

“Yes silly, you always ask for French vanilla flavoring.”

“I ne-” Before your clone can respond though, Jaehee has finished up the drink and handing it over

As ‘You’ take the drink, Jaehee leans over the counter and plops a quick kiss on your cheek

‘You’ are frozen on the spot

Jaehee opens her eyes to see why you’re suddenly so frigid towards her, but when she opens them she can’t help but glance behind you and see…YOU??

“MC?” Jaehee jumped back looking between you and your look a like.

“MC?” Your twin turns to you, face still flushed from their sudden kiss. “Is this the surprise you had for me??? A super friendly barista??”

“Surprise???” Jaehee exclaimed, still looking between the two of you. “Wait you’re not MC???”

Finally you stepped in to clear the confusion

“Jaehee! This is my twin …. CM. CM, this is my new Cafe that I run with my girlfriend!”

“Girl..friend.” CM turns to look at Jaehee, at the same time the two of them realize everything that just happened concerning the confusion.

“I am so so so so so so so so so sorry” Jaehee can not stop apologizing no matter how many times CM says it’s ok.

Zen

It was  opening night for his new show

He was pumped

Sure because of the show, but also because you had shot him a text earlier that day that you were going to bring your sibling. 

Zen had yet to meet anyone in your family, so he was excited that you were going to start introducing him to them. It showed how ready you were to spend your life with him and that just made him giddy.

So after the show was over he couldn’t wait to find you

He scanned the crowd and eventually spotted you in the crowd with a bouquet of roses

MC is so sweet he hummed to himself

That was his sole moment of calmness before the storm

He watched as his coworker walked up to you and started chatting you up. Zen was on the other side of the auditorium, trying to push his way through the flock of people set on congratulating him, so he couldn’t run to your rescue as fast as he liked.

He was frustrated but he knew you could handle yourself

At least that’s what he thought until his fellow actor’s hand found it’s way to your hand, where the thumb gently brushed back and forth. 

Zen’s face turned red, and the shade only grew deeper when he saw his douche bag scene mate’s mouth turn into a cocky looking smirk.

He found superhuman speed and agility to push through the crowd and end up right behind you, where he wrapped his arms around you tightly and pressed a long kiss to your cheek

“Honey, there you are.” Zen sounded so sweet while his blazing red eyes stared daggers into the green ones of his coworker.

“Zen? This is your girlfriend?”

“Yes, this is my girlfriend MC.” Zen squinted at the guy. How dare he pretend not to know, Zen only pointed out MC every time she came to a show. Every time she picked him up from rehearsal. Every time-

“You said your name was CM” The Actor turned a confused stare to the person in Zen’s arms

“I-” They tried to say but

“CM?” Zen questioned, he spun them around only to realize “You’re not MC.”

“No I’m” Cm tried to say

“Zen!” You interjected as you ran over to the 3. “Sorry, I had to run to the bathroom. CM thanks for holding the flowers. Speaking of which, Zen I see you’ve met my twin”

Zen’s face turned bright red with blush this time

He turned to his fellow actor and CM and started apologizing profusely 

Jumin

He knew you had a brother….or…a sister? …or both?

He lied he had no clue, he just knew you had some sort of sibling.

He was unaware it was a twin

A twin who worked as an assistant for a company but was looking to switch, so when they saw C&R was hiring a new chief assistant, they threw an application in

So here is Jumin, just sorting through some applications when he sees

“CM PlayerPants” 

He smirks at the paper, seeing all the information filled out is yours. Your home address, the general store you lived near, your school, graduation, etc.

Your picture was even you, just you in a suit and looking very hot professional

Now lets face it you and Jumin did some kinky shit sometimes

Sometimes your love life together involved role playing

Jumin was surprised at how much effort you put into this, but he wasn’t going to spoil it. 

He types in the phone number, it’s not your usual cell number, what did you get a prepaid phone just for this?

He was in awe with your dedication

Rrrng rrrng rrrng

“Hello?” Your voice answered

He couldn’t hide the smirk on his face “Hello there, Kitten.”

“I-I’m sorry?”

“Oh my bad” He corrected himself “Hello there, Ms. Playerpants. This is Jumin Han from C&R calling about your application”

“Oh! Uh, Hello! Yes, what can I do for you? Does it need any clarification?”

“Oh no no no, I think I read you loud and clear.” He lazily flipped through the pages of the resume in front of him

“Oh..ok. Is this about the position then?”

“Yes” A smirk found it’s way to his lips “Speaking of which, what is your favorite position?”

“Excuse me? I don’t think I understand?” The voice on the end was clearly taken aback. Damn, you were making him work for this.

“Well I figured I’d give you a say in the matter tonight since you put sooo much work into this. So Kitten, tell me, what would you like to do tonight? Maybe I’ll buy some toys on the way home an-”

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU????” Click.

Jumin just stared at the phone confused. He shrugged it off because his desk phone went off, and when he answered it was his father calling him to a meeting. Jumin resolved to just handle whatever happened with you when he got home

After a long work day he came in the door to see you waiting for him. “Hello Kitten.”

“Hey Babe, how was work?”

“Good, aside from this strange phone call I made today” A small grin on his face

“Oh?” You cocked an eyebrow.

“Yes,” He purred as he walked over and started rubbing your shoulders “I thought I had found a new assistant”

“OH!” You exclaim, jumping up and remembering something “I forgot to tell you this morning! My twin is applying for the chief assistant job, it completely slipped my mind.”

“Your…twin?” Jumin cocked his brows now

“Yes! CM!”

“C….M” Jumin was quick to catch on to his mistake “Oh my god”

Seven

Lets face it

You guys may be sick of hearing this but 

He knew

Of course he knew

He stalked the ever-loving-shit out of you

He saw photos of the two of you together

He insists on you and your twin joining him and Saeran out for lunch all the time

You guys have the certified Twin Club in his brain

The 4 of you spend so much time together Seven can tell the slight difference between your hair and your twins. How your twin is about a centimeter taller. Your eyes are a little more wide.  He knows. 

Which is why he isn’t caught off guard when your twin and you show up in the same room

He’s not confused when he sees CM out kissing someone 

He knows

He loves it

#TwinSquad

V

His eyesight is so bad he has mini heart attacks once a week thinking he sees you out in public holding hands with someone else

Over time he stops freaking out, he starts to recognize you easier, which means he can play ‘Spot the Blurry Difference’ a little better when you two aren’t together

Until one day he’s on set doing a photo shoot for a Modeling company that requested his help

And he sees…MC? With a headset on ordering some people around to do this and that.

The voice is the same. He knows MC’s voice damn well. 

And that is MC

“MC..” V quietly calls out but with no answer.

‘MC’ Disappears into the crowd of models

What the fuck. How could you not tell him? He was a little hurt you never shared your work life with him. Was this where you were when the two of you weren’t together? Did you think he wouldn’t be impressed because he usually focuses on more artsy photography??? Did he say something??? MC please why don’t you love hi-

“Hey Hun!” 

MC!? V whirled around to see you, but you were talking to one of the models, very flirtatiously he may add. Your hand on their arm and a sweet, sweet smile on your face as you looked at them. He could see that much.

He felt his heart break a bit, how could you pretend not to even see him?

No. No this couldn’t be you. 

Jihyun Kim trusts and loves you and refuses to believe you’d be evil *cough*LikeHowHeTrustedSnakeBitch*cough* 

He marches well marches as good as you can while visually impaired up to ‘MC’ and taps them on the arm.

MC turns “Can I help you?”

“I’m sorry, but you look extremely like a friend of mine. Her name is MC-”

The set director in front of him suddenly seems much more friendly “Oh! That’s my twin! Wait, are you V?? MC mentioned they were dating a photographer I didn’t realize it was the one we hired for today! Oh, I’m sorry, Hello I’m CM!”

Relief. So much fucking relief on V’s heart.

Vanderwood

Neither you nor Vanderwood were aware that Seven was being devious today

He had been scarce all day, leaving the two of you to go through the day in overall peacefulness. You guys had spent a bit of time together, but eventually you got up to start cleaning and doing some chores.

Yep that’s all normal

Until you suddenly walk in the door you did not leave out of

“MC?” Vandy stared at you as you looked at him, then walked straight back out the door you just came in

Then you walked in the door he thought you originally left from.

You crossed the room and into the hall, out of site. He was left a little slackjawed and confused

Then you entered from the door he just saw you enter from. Wait what

“MC how-”

You giggled and ran out another door

Only to come back from the hall

“OK LITERALLY WHAT THE FUCK”

His outburst made you jump

“Vanderwood wha-”

Two doors behind you silently opened, and two almost carbon copies of you peaked their heads through and shushed Vanderwood

He was speechless and just violently pointed trying to get you to turn around, but by the time you did the copies of you were gone

“What in the fuck-”

“Vanderwood what is-”

“Yeah Vanderwood why-” An MC copy asked running in from the hall

“What’s going on?” Another one said coming in from a room

“What the” You looked around and Vanderwood was rubbing his eyes like crazy trying to get whatever form of psycho out of them. 

Upon further inspection, you realized one of your clones didn’t look like you aside from the fact they were wearing your clothes and had on a wig that looked like your hair “Seven?”

“You got me! Lucky~~Aha~!” Seven cheered pulling the wig off

“So who is-” Vanderwood looked to the last copy

“Oh, I’m CM! I’m MC’s twin. 707 asked if I would help him out with a little prank and I couldn’t say no” Cm giggled.

You all had a good laugh

Except Vanderwood

Saeran

Ok, you guys might hate me for this one

But

I feel like he also knows

I feel like Seven has told him, and dragged him out on the #TwinClubDates

There’s no way Seven wouldn’t constantly talk about you 4 being goals

He takes group pictures of you guys all the time

He shows Saeran photos of CM constantly asking if he and Saeran look more alike than MC and CM

Buuut

Even though Saeran knows, he’s totally fucked up before

I bet he’s accidentally kissed CM before when MC’s in a spot then leaves only for CM to be left standing somewhere close to where Saeran last saw MC

He’s definitely had to play the “Which one am I dating” game when you two first started going out. And he has failed and accidentally grabbed Cm’s hands, causing you two to giggle despite Saeran’s obvious saltiness

I’m sorry. This one is really weak but I don’t really have any ideas for it because I feel like Saeran wouldn’t make a big slip up since he’d know MC had a twin cause of Seven.