#i must supply the new vegas fandom

[cathartic-crypt]

fallout nv companions (+ extras) and what kinda asmr theyd listen to

[concussed-to-pieces]

The Mettle Of A Man; Part Twenty

Fandom: Fallout (4)

Pairing: Paladin Danse/Female Sole Survivor

Rating: Holy shit M.

AN: Welcome to the end of our tale, everyone! Thank you so much for reading and enjoying over the years. I love you so much and appreciate you more than words can say. Here's to 2021, my friends! Ad Victoriam, and stay safe! Tagging @anonymouscosmos​, @culturalrebel, @wrestlingfae​, @toxiicpop​,  @mercy-and-malice, @deepkittycollecto, @nelba, @mechanicalism, @commandershepardshtole, @valkyriejack and @kovu-the-mythical-being. Enjoy!

Part One: ArcJet

Part Two: The Prydwen

Part Three: Orders

Part Four: Finding Brandis

Part Five: Weston Water And Oberland

Part Six: Meeting Preston And Matthew

Part Seven: Radstag And Radstorm

Part Eight: The Return To Sanctuary Hills

Part Nine: Domestic Ruminations

Part Ten: Institutionalized

Part Eleven: Two Weeks, Three Days

Part Twelve: Haylen’s Warning And The Glowing Sea

Part Thirteen: Under Fire

Part Fourteen: Dichotomy

Part Fifteen: The Litany Trial

Part Sixteen: Nice Try

Part Seventeen: Preparations

Part Eighteen: Divide And Conquer

Part Nineteen: Lucky

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This installment contains holiday celebrations, brief emotional distress and unprotected sex. Stay safe!]

Time seemed to pass both too fast and not fast enough. 

  Synths were accommodated, reprogrammed at their wishes or helped to adjust to their new lives. Doctor Amari and the rest of the Railroad had no shortage of work, and Desdemona eventually tapped MacCready and Cait to oversee their caravan logistics back to the Capital Wasteland. 

  "And the people of the Commonwealth slept soundly, for the greatest monster was gone." Nick had remarked, touching the brim of his fedora in a half-salute. The old detective quickly appointed himself as head of first impressions in Diamond City, making certain that no trouble befell any wayward synth that accidentally wandered in. There was still a lot of work to be done to repair the Broken Mask incident, after all.

  New settlements sprang up overnight and while there may not have been total harmony, there was the sensation of the whole Commonwealth heaving a sigh of relief. Recruits flocked to the Minutemen and Brotherhood in droves as Piper's Publick Occurrences spread the word of their successful campaign against the Institute. 

  Commonwealth boogeyman decimated by combination effort: Brotherhood Of Steel and Minutemen join forces to save Boston from bodysnatchers!

  Deacon had effortlessly deflected Piper every time she asked for an interview, the mysterious man more than content to keep the Railroad shadowy. The less everyone knew, the less they could tell, and that suited him just fine. "You did real good, Icebox. Helped a lot of people."

  Elder Brandis sought approval to establish a permanent outpost at the Boston airport ruins, the former paladin keen to send the Prydwen back to the Capital Wasteland. "Oh the Prydwen's a fine ship, but put me in the field any day!" The airship, once a proud symbol of the Maxson reign, now served little purpose aside from blocking the sun on occasion. Scribes laughed and played in the massive shadow, kicking up dust until the circle where the litany trial had taken place was nothing but a memory.

  X6-88 had floundered for several weeks, the courser falling into a depressive slump that not even Curie could rouse him from. Oddly enough, it was Preston who ended up being able to haul him out of the darkness, the lieutenant making a point to visit the courser to drag him from his room for target practice and other low-effort patrol duties. "Sometimes all folks need is a hand, General." 

  The courser went on to reluctantly take the role of defective defector, working as a consultant to the Minutemen to help ward off any future attacks by desperate coursers or Institute scientists. Preston found his input invaluable, and the duo could often be found in the lieutenant's quarters poring over threadbare maps and trading tactical information. Preston also seemed to have a calming effect on the synth hunter, helping to blunt some of the cold steel edge that X6 had honed his entire life. Add on to that the constant caring presence of Curie, and they made a strange but surprisingly effective trio. 

  With the new supply line firmly established between the verdant utopia of Starlight Drive-In and Oberland Station, the strain of the prior lean months finally eased a bit. Faces grew less pinched even with the increased burden of the synths, and many settlers began to tentatively plan for a small celebration in the beginning of the winter. 

  "'The Holidays' is what they been callin' it, real simple and succinct. Some freaky hodgepodge of everyone's traditions. I guess a lot of folks on that fancy director's board also celebrated around this time of year. Not that the synths would know, naturally." Hancock had muttered, his expression sour. "Poor bastards always workin', and they ain't got fuckall to show for it. Seems like a shit deal."

  Elder Brandis granted Danse an extended leave of absence after the toppling of the Institute without the paladin even requesting it, the large man dumbfounded for a moment upon receiving the news.

  "If you're up for it, I could use a hand back at Sanctuary." Vega had grinned up at him, her eyes squinting a little under the force of her smile. "A lot of prep work goes into a holiday, after all."

  ...

  Danse had taken it upon himself to retreat from Shaun's previous bedroom when he accompanied Vega and her son back to Sanctuary. He debated heavily on returning to the airport; after all, there was no real reason for him to stay in Sanctuary Hills, at least none that he dared to dwell upon. The few small projects that Vega had to manage were easily accomplished and he was left a bit lost in the wake of the excess of his leave.

  Vega, however, had begun framing in what was once the carpark for her house. Sturges helped of course, and once Danse caught on he was touched by the gesture. 

  "I don't want you to feel like there isn't room for you just because Shaun is back." Elizabeth had said, lugging a chunk of scrap metal from the wreckage of her car. 

  The paladin had to take a moment, claiming sawdust in his eye as the culprit.

  Now Danse lived in the area she had partitioned off for him, uncertain if he still believed he was intruding. Those thoughts were troubling, because if he could get comfortable…

  What if Vega eventually decided that Shaun needed a father and what if...what if she chose a real man? Really real, not a sham like Danse was. And if she did, what man would permit Danse to stay? What real man would permit a synth that was currently entangled by these...human emotions to remain on their property, even if Danse proved he wasn't a threat?

  What man would believe him if he claimed to have no interest in Vega? Hell, Danse didn't even believe himself. 

  But he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay. He wanted to tell Elizabeth...well, there were a lot of things he wanted to tell her.

  His silence was more of a burden each day, and Danse knew he must seem sullen. It gnawed at him; it felt like lying every time he choked the words back down because it wasn't the right time or he just didn't know what to say, and he didn't trust himself not to say something foolish.

  He decided he would wait until after the holiday gathering. Whatever the verdict was, it shouldn't take away from the joy she was clearly feeling over the festivities. So Danse threw himself into helping Sturges, Mama Murphy and the Longs around Sanctuary.

  Secretly making a toy truck for Shaun had been a painstaking process fraught with peril. Mainly because Danse was somewhat indelicate and carving tiny wheels had never been his area of expertise. Oh certainly, he could build a survival camp with nothing but a combat knife and time, but a toy...

  The paladin had spent countless hours creating prototypes in his cobbled-together room as he pondered the path he should take, sometimes working into the wan light of the morning. He eventually showed the truck to Jun, immensely fearful that Shaun might not enjoy the toy. Danse couldn't recall his own interests when he had been Shaun's age, and thus fell back on the other man's expertise. 

  "It looks good! Sand the wheels a little more, maybe give it a coat or two of paint." Jun praised the pensive paladin, turning the vehicle over in his hands to examine it. "Kyle loved these kinds of things y'know, trucks and trains and little toy boats." His gaze grew distant for a moment, the rough plaything stilling in his grasp. "Marcy thinks she's pregnant." He said abruptly.

  "Pregnant?" Danse repeated without meaning to, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline.

  Jun nodded jerkily. "It's been three months now. She's scared, Mr. Danse, real scared. Thinks something bad will happen."

  "What can we do?" The paladin asked sharply. 

  Jun gawked up at him, seeming confused. "We?"

  "I am unfamiliar with this process. What needs to be done?"

  "I...I don't follow, Mr. Danse."

  "To simplify the duration! What precautions can I-"

  "Whoa, hang on." Jun protested. "We aren't sure if the general will even let us stay here with an extra mouth to feed. I've been trying to figure out how to bring up the subject." He admitted. 

  "You haven't even told General Vega yet?!" Danse squawked. 

  "W-Well, no! I figured maybe we would...we'd see how the winter went and play it by ear." Jun mumbled, seeming defensive. 

  Danse seized the other man's arm, heedless of his protests as he hauled him across the front lawn to Vega's abode. Today was the day that Vega had planned to sort through decorations; there were many left over from the fall holiday the Commonwealth had been preparing to celebrate before...well, time had stopped for most when the bombs fell, it was understandable that faded pumpkins and skeletons would still grace crumbling walls with their orangey-cream presence.

  Vega looked up from the veritable pile of brittle, salvaged decor in confusion when Danse barged into their...her home, the paladin immediately halting and offering a sharp salute. "Danse! I...uh, what's wrong?"

  "Mr. Long has something he needs to discuss with you immediately." Danse informed her, tugging the other man forward. 

  "I-I...er, General, you…" Jun struggled to speak, twiddling his fingers wildly. "M-Marcy--"

  "What's wrong, Jun? Is she okay?" Vega asked, getting to her feet and shooting Danse a worried look. "Did something happen?"

  "B-Baby." Jun squeaked. "Pregnant."Backhand went still, her freckles stark against the fresh pallor of her face. "I'm sorry, General, I know we haven't discussed it beforehand a-and I know food's been better as of late...I-I guess she got enough nutrients and got healthy enough for...er, well, you know." Mr. Long looked like he wanted to disappear into the ground. "We should have spoke to you sooner; I don't know if she can leave with the weather being--"

  "Wh-Where are you going? Why leave, what?" Vega stammered, "Jun, you can't travel now, if something goes wrong-!"

  "We weren't sure if you'd let us stay!" The thin man interrupted her frantically. "This is your base, after all, and you didn't sign on for an extra person to worry about."

  Vega inhaled deeply. "Danse, could you give me a minute with Mr. Long?" She requested, her voice suspiciously even.

  Danse obeyed, closing the front door gently and meandering a pointed distance down the main thoroughfare so as not to eavesdrop. He had a relatively good idea of how the conversation would go, despite Jun's misgivings. So he wandered down to the huge tree at the end of the cul-de-sac, fiddling with the truck in his pocket absently as he stared upwards at the barren branches. 

  "Y'know kid," Mama Murphy piped up from her customary chair on her porch and the paladin turned to face her, giving the elderly woman his full attention. "When I had the Sight, I saw this place. Sanctuary." She nodded in the direction of the river, then gestured upwards. "The bridge, and this tree. Massive and old, worn out from all those years." She cocked her head, giving Danse an appraising look. "The tree though, it was...covered in lights. Like what you see in the pre-war mags. The Holidays, shinin' like a beacon of hope at the end of the tunnel." 

  Danse hummed, the vaguest beginnings of an idea taking root in his mind. He couldn't bring Vega's old life back, but maybe...maybe he could bring something from it back to her. Like what you see in the pre-war mags.

  "I think you're pickin' up what I'm puttin' down, kid." Mama Murphy's smile was knowing, the old woman reaching over to pet Dogmeat. The dog seemed to materialize out of thin air sometimes! "Now get to it."

  ...

  Backhand was already scurrying around the kitchen when Danse rose on the morning of the Holiday celebration, the paladin pausing only momentarily to yawn in the doorway before sleepily offering his assistance. "Is there something I can help with, Vega?"

  "Uh, Sturges, he said something about you and stuff from Goodneighbor, I think?" Elizabeth replied, obviously preoccupied with whatever she had in the semi-functional oven. Danse nodded, trudging across the kitchen to tug on his boots by the door. 

  Shaun bounded out of the bathroom, his face still damp from his morning wash. "Oh, can I help too? Please Mom, let me help Mister Danse and Mister Sturges!" He begged.

  "You'd better stay right where Danse and Sturges can see you." Backhand instructed him sternly, one oven-mitted hand gesturing to indicate the gravity of the situation. "Otherwise you're coming straight back inside. Go put on your warm coat."

  Shaun cheered in delight, racing back to his room.

  "It's okay that he's with you two, right? I know he's not your responsibility." Backhand continued in an undertone to the paladin.

  Danse's throat tightened and it took him a moment to respond, "I don't mind at all. He's a very well-behaved child." 

  "Let me know if he's an issue and I'll bring him back inside. I just need to get this done and the oven is being all-" 

  Danse stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders, deliberately schooling his expression into something more stern. "General, you're doing a fine job. Stop worrying."

  "Am I? Shit, I really hope so." Elizabeth mumbled, tipping her forehead until it rested against his chest. Danse prayed she couldn't hear his heart, hammering merely from her proximity. God, his body was nothing but an embarrassment waiting to happen. "I've never really done this crap. Not sure if I'm cut out for it."

  The momentary respite was broken when Shaun reappeared in his oversized flannel and oilcloth jacket, the child bolting past the two adults to put on his boots. Danse reluctantly released Backhand, noting how flushed her face was but not really daring to dwell on it. "I'll...I'll watch him." The paladin said, his voice a bit stilted. "I promise."

  "Thank you." Backhand mumbled, wiping her eyes and then returning to coddle…whatever it was in the oven.

  "Ready, Shaun?" Danse asked the boy, who nodded rapidly and extended a hand. 

  The snow outside was still fresh from the night before and Danse took a moment to appreciate the view of the Commonwealth covered in a thin layer of white. Off in the distance, the towering crimson insignia of the Red Rocket gasoline station stood stark against the backdrop of the gray sky. Even further down the road slumbered the empty shell of Concord, the tallest of the town's dilapidated buildings only just visible from the paladin's position. 

  Shaun tugged at his hand, pulling his attention back to the present. "Mister Danse, Mister Sturges is waiting for us!" The child announced, waving up at the engineer who was currently settled into a crook of the brittle branches that graced the tree on the cul-de-sac island. "Hi Mister Sturges!"

  "Howdy fellas! Come to give me a helpin' hand?" Sturges called, grinning down at the two of them. 

  "What assistance can we offer?" Danse queried, wary that the other man might suggest Shaun climb up to him. His fears were quickly allayed when Sturges instead asked Shaun and Danse to begin untangling the long strands of old lights. 

  Hancock and his ilk had arrived from Goodneighbor, bearing the gifts of dubious treats and many, many mangled strings of lights. Goodneighbor had always been drenched in neon, after all, so Danse had assumed the ghoul mayor would be the best person to call upon for aid. It would appear that Hancock had delivered in spectacular fashion.

  "With your help, we'll have this place lookin' pretty as a picture in no time!"

  …

  Maybe she had bitten off slightly more than she could chew, trying to cook a traditional dinner. Backhand sighed, glumly poking at the cold poultry with a wooden spoon. Her cooking skills had never been much to write home about in the first place, and this only served to solidify that fact. 

  "Oh Mum, I'm so sorry. The old oven just isn't how it used to be." Codsworth commented, his mechanical voice tinged with melancholy. 

  "It's not a big deal, Codsworth. I hate to waste the food, that's all." Backhand muttered, assuring herself that she wasn't fighting back frustrated tears, her eyes were just tired. "Damn thing didn't even get to the warm phase."

  "Mum, if I might suggest…?" The robot started hesitantly, carrying on when she nodded. "Perhaps it can be salvaged. After all, we make bread in that same pan by tucking it beneath the hot coals out front. What do you say, shall we give it a go?"

  "Got nothing to lose, right?" 

  "It will be just fine, Mum! You're an adaptive sort." Codsworth remarked, drifting out the front door to stoke the usual cooking fire to life once more. "Indeed, just fine!" He called. 

  Vega shook her head ruefully. "Oh I'm sure." The woman grumbled. "Can't cook and comes with baggage. What a catch ol' Vega is." At least the bread had come out well, in spite of the brisk weather. She could thank whoever for that small favor.

  Once Codsworth had coaxed the embers to life in the fire pit, Elizabeth bundled up and brought the still-cold cast-iron pot outside. Maybe it had been wishful thinking to believe that the oven portion of her stove would still work. Or even heat at all. It had been promising earlier in the week, but this might be a blessing in disguise. If the whole house had gone up due to a cooking malfunction...well, the holidays wouldn't be too happy then, would they?

  "Please cook." She begged under her breath, troweling hot coals onto the battered dutch oven lid. "I need this, y'know? Just a little victory, that's all I'm asking for here." 

  "Shall I get started on the tatoes, Miss Vega?" 

  Elizabeth nodded, only half-listening to Codsworth. She knew she would have a good forty five minutes to an hour to wait, and it wasn't as if it was colder outside than it was inside. The joys of semi-functional heating! 

  Vega shook her head at herself after a second, since when did she dwell on everything that Sanctuary wasn't? At the end of the day, it was her home. She wouldn't trade it for the world, and she knew she had much more than most people.

  At that thought, her gaze wandered to where Danse and Shaun were. The larger man had Shaun on his shoulders while he patiently unwound a massive bundle of flickering string lights. Shaun, for his part, was passing the untangled lights up to Sturges. The engineer slid down the ladder so he could reach the child, looping the lights over his arm before climbing back up and painstakingly placing them in the gnarled grasp of the tree's limbs.

  The manufactured cheer that the lights had given off pre-war was still somewhat there, though the radiant colors were washed out to pastel and the warm whites had gone dingy gray. Instead of it being a melancholy reminder that her life had changed irreparably, Backhand was overcome with gratitude. For her son's safe return, regardless of his synthetic makeup, and for the man who was currently carrying Shaun on his shoulders. For her home, for her family.

  A family. 

  Perhaps she was getting a little ahead of herself. After all, Danse was still adjusting to life in ordinary time. It would be selfish of her to voice her feelings to him while he was coming to terms with everything that had happened. For better or for worse, their lives were different now. 

  It ought to be enough that he was in her life at all. She should be content. His presence alone was a miracle; for all intents and purposes he should be dead. Yet there he was, mere feet away, helping to brighten up the holiday celebration.

  Tonight there would be a multitude of visitors. God only knew how many would arrive from settlements near and far, to say nothing of Goodneighbor, Diamond City, the Prydwen and the Castle! It would be an incredibly busy evening for certain. Hancock had arrived early with a posse of ragtag drifters from Goodneighbor, all of them offering gifts of food or scavenged ornaments to decorate. Hence the massive mound of lights that was currently being diligently sorted through.

  The aforementioned ghoul appeared to have delegated the task of quality checking the lights, as his form currently leaned against the faded blue siding of her house. With cigarette smoke wafting from his mouth and nasal cavity in equal amounts, he seemed content to just watch the chaos unfold. 

  "Aren't you a little chilly?" Backhand queried, raising an eyebrow. The mayor was still clad in his usual garb of...for lack of a better term, repurposed period dress. Granted it wasn't seasonably cold out, at least not like how she remembered it being before the bombs dropped.

  "Nah, we ghouls run pretty warm. Ham's like a portable space heater." Hancock answered, giving her a lazy grin. "Cute of you to worry, though. I must be growin' on ya'."

  "Whoa there, let's not get too crazy."

  "Whatcha' think, General?" Sturges shouted from his perch, waving to get her attention.

  Danse turned in place, appearing to realize that she was watching as his hands flew up and grabbed Shaun's legs, stabilizing the small boy on his shoulders. 

  Backhand couldn't keep from smiling when she called back, "it looks wonderful! Keep up the great work!"

  "That ain't the only thing that looks wonderful, right Sunshine?" Hancock snickered, rolling his eyes at the now-sputtering woman. "You better give the Brave Little Toaster the ride of his life, that's all I gotta' say."

  "Hancock!" Vega hissed, making a half-hearted swipe at the mayor. "You fuckin'--"

  "Ah ah, little pitchers!" Hancock scolded, tilting his head to the side to draw Vega's attention to the rapidly-approaching form of Duncan, MacCready's son. "Gotta' watch that mouth of yours, Sunshine."

  "This ain't over, ya' raisin-lookin' bastard." Backhand snarled under her breath, pasting on a friendly smile for Duncan while Hancock wheezed with laughter. "Hey bud, how's things?" She greeted the child, who grimaced. 

  "Dad's kissin' Miss Cait again. S'gross." The little boy announced, wrinkling his nose in disgust. 

  "That does sound pretty gross." Hancock piped up before Backhand could reply. "But you like seein' your old man happy, right? The lady makes him happy. Simple as that."

  "Yeah, I guess. Can I play with Shaun?" Duncan asked Vega, eyes wide as he seemed to take in the tree covered with lights. 

  "Go ahead, kiddo! Just be careful and stay away from Sturges' ladder." Elizabeth warned, grinning when the little boy took off with a whoop. 

  Cait and MacCready strode up after a moment, both of them red-faced. MacCready bent double, his hands on his knees. "I'm not built for these bullsh--awful conditions." He panted. "I don't know how the kid does it. He was nearly dead a few months ago and now he's out here kicking the snow in the a--er, butt."

  Backhand glanced around, and then snorted. "You call this snow? It's a dusting. Back before-"

  "Ah ah, easy now Mumsicle, we ain't got time for yer trip down memory lane." Cait teased. "Work to be done, aye? C'mon then, General, shape up. What you doin' on the ground anyway, all crouched like a mother hen broodin'?"

  "I'm cooking." Vega replied tersely. 

  "Oh aye? Looks like yer shirkin' t' me, love. Codsy can manage that mess, c'mon." Cait seized her elbow, levering her up out of the snowy grass. "Now, what needs doin'?"

  ...

  The day was a whirlwind of arrivals, preparations and well wishers. Elder Brandis even stopped by briefly, taking precious time away from his all-consuming duties to distribute some useful supplies and catch up on the gossip. 

  The Diamond City trio graced Sanctuary with their presence shortly before noon, Nat scurrying off to play with Duncan and Shaun while Piper made a beeline for Hancock's merry band. Nick was more keen to meander around the outskirts of the groups forming, amber eyes taking in his surroundings.

  Preston appeared midafternoon with X6, Curie and the entire O'Brian clan in tow, later than expected but apparently they had stopped to help out a settlement along the way. 

  The cul-de-sac soon rang with the laughter of the rambunctious children; even little Siusan was permitted to briefly toddle about in the trampled snow under the watchful gaze of Eamon. The weather was chilly but the sun had broken through the clouds throughout the day, sending momentary waves of brilliance across the Commonwealth. 

  Every table and chair that could be salvaged had been assembled on the old foundation at the end of the cul-de-sac, and it was there that the adults began to gather as the sun set. Metal drums loaded with wood were lit, providing heat and illumination to the many guests of the Commonwealth's first official potluck dinner. 

  "Or rather," Piper amended, clearing her throat with a touch of self-importance as she tapped her notepad, "the first documented official potluck dinner."

  The large tree twinkled and shone in the fast-approaching darkness, the occasional flicker or broken bulb doing little to diminish the cheer it provided. The food was distributed, Backhand's roast chicken disappearing without a hitch. The young woman couldn't help doing a mental dance of victory, delighted that Codsworth's quick thinking had saved that particular endeavor.

  Vega found a place to sit somewhere in the middle of one of the many long tables, red from the praise of her companions and the persistent chill in the air. She got even redder when Preston loudly proclaimed a toast, to the General!, her lieutenant tipping his bottle and everyone else following suit. 

  "I remember when I first met the general, she was half-dead on her feet." Preston began the story, his smile fond. "Sturges couldn't even believe our luck. Hell, none of us could. When freedom called, our general answered!"

  Backhand, who had lived the story and knew all the ins and outs, found her attention wandering to Danse while Preston regaled the crowd with his tale. The paladin seemed to be listening closely, his meal forgotten. Deacon even began to thieve bits of chicken and tato out from beneath his nose, the Railroad agent shooting Vega a sly wink over his sunglasses. 

  Backhand shook her head at the other man's antics, then focused her attention on Preston. "...'Lurk queen, a huge, mean seabug, taken out by landmines! The Castle was ours once again, and we all had General Vega to thank for it." The lieutenant stated firmly. "The one who can get things done in the Commonwealth, the one who gave folks hope when it was in mighty short supply. We uh, we owe you a lot, ma'am." He raised his bottle once more. "To General Vega, leader of the Minutemen!"

  "To Elizabeth!" Hancock yelled, echoed by half the damn populace as Vega tried to wave it off, the young woman laughing awkwardly. "To our Sunshine, the hero of the Commonwealth!" 

  "Synth savior, a regular knight in shining armor." Deacon teased.

  "Well done, General Vega." Danse said warmly, "I can't know for certain whether the Brotherhood itself would be proud, but I certainly am." His praise for whatever reason made Vega's blush feel like it would scorch her skin. 

  Oh she knew damn well why, she was just being willfully oblivious at this point.

  "Speech! Speech! Is that not zee norm for zis sort of occasion?" Curie called, the diminutive synth currently sharing X6-88's coat as well as his plate of food. X6 didn't seem to have any reservations about the matter, his arm slung around her shoulders without a care in the world.

  Much to Vega's chagrin, the majority appeared to be in favor of such a vocal endeavor. She attempted to laugh off the suggestion to no avail, and finally got to her feet. "Alright, alright, settle down. I'll say a few words if it'll get you all off my damn back." She grumbled, her body thoroughly warm now with a combination of embarrassment and gratitude. "I uh…" 

  Vega trailed off as she looked out over the ragtag gang of expectant faces staring back at her. So many friends and neighbors, finally getting the chance to breathe. The chance to celebrate the fruits of their labor...it was sobering.

  "I can't thank you all enough for...well, for everything that you've done. You all sacrificed so much for this peace, stuff I could never imagine doing even before the bombs dropped." She cleared her throat. "My mentor, Sergeant Shaun Cathan, was a great man, and he often had some very succinct or choice words which I'm not about to repeat in polite company."

  "Aw c'mon-!" Zeke began to protest loudly, his voice fading as he noticed the small gaggle of children still gawking at his power armor.

  Backhand continued, her jaw set firmly, "but one thing I can say that he told me is this: a leader who permits their pride to impede their decisions is doomed to failure. Pride built the Institute, and that same pride rotted it to the core. Pride built the Brotherhood of Steel, the Minutemen, and we've seen the both of them nearly toppled." Vega clenched her fist. "Pride brought nuclear fire down on Boston, but people hauled themselves outta' the ashes of that fire. Good people, tough people. Folks I knew. Folks I cared for, even if some of 'em did spend a little too much time on the Cape. If pride can do so much effin' harm, I expect simple compassion and decency to do just as much good. Hell, more than that. Humanity's built itself back up after the cluster that was armageddon, and we ain't through yet." 

  She tipped the jar she had been drinking out of towards the crowd, sternly studying the collection of scavengers, families both new and familiar.

  ...

  "So here's to you, my friends. To all that you've done, and to all that you will do." 

  Vega's salute was rigid, pre-war. Like her helmet on the table beside her, scraped and covered in faded sigils. The mixture of candlelight and the lights on the tree reflected off the worn lenses of her glasses, shielding her eyes from view. Danse wished desperately that he could see her eyes; more than anything he wished to stand up and flat-out state what she had done for him to every soul there, display his...admiration. 

  Was that even the right word? Admiration, adoration, affection--

  His face was strangely warm all of a sudden. Danse flinched, staring down at his mug of coffee with single-minded intent as the buzz of conversation around him picked back up. His mind raced, pieces falling into place in a nigh-unstoppable rush.

  Affection. Like...what he had felt for Cutler? Almost. A little to the left of that. Brighter. 

  Happier. 

  Not perfect, nothing could ever be perfect. But...

  "Elizabeth Vega?" A male ghoul's voice barely penetrated the paladin's consciousness, his words not really registering until, "Beth, it really is you!" The ghoul exclaimed. "I thought I was crazy! It's me, Beth. It's Nate."

  "...Nate?" 

  Danse's head whipped up so fast his neck popped in warning, the paladin having been only tangentially aware of the conversation happening mere feet away from his position. But at that particular nickname his entire being snapped to attention, eyes darting sidelong from where he had been intently studying his mug of coffee. 

  The ghoul man that Vega was currently speaking to was an inch or two taller than her, with a single tuft of dark hair that still remained over his left ear. He appeared absolutely delighted, but Vega seemed...wary.

  "Beth," Danse heard him say once more, and he watched Backhand visibly tense. "I never thought I would see you again! After the bombs dropped--I mean how the hell did...is that Shaun? God, he got so big!"

  "Nate, is there something I can do for you?"

  Nate. 

  Danse's breath caught in his throat and his mouth went dry. Nate? Nate her ex-husband from before the war? Nate, the man who had divorced her once he found out she was pregnant with his child? 

  Somehow he had managed to survive? 

  Oh, what an incredibly bitter thing to think! Danse was somewhat startled by his own dark path of reasoning. But it wasn't untrue; his mind railed at the unfairness of it all. 

  The paladin stood up, his mug of coffee forgotten. He wasn't exactly certain what he was about to do, but he also wasn't going to do nothing. He cast around wildly for a plan as he approached Elizabeth from behind around the table, and Danse latched onto what was probably the least intelligent course of action that he could have conjured up.

  "Elizabeth," the paladin called, loud enough to be heard over the general hubbub. She turned and Danse briefly spied a look of intense relief on her face before he enveloped her in his arms. "You appeared cold, figured I could warm you up a bit." He reasoned aloud, smiling benignly over her head at Nate. "Who's this?"

  Vega began to introduce him even with her face still comically buried in Danse's chest, "Nate, I'd like you to meet-"

  "Paladin Logan Danse, Northeastern chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel." Danse interrupted her smoothly, extending a hand to Nate. "I've heard a great deal about you, Nate. It's a privilege to meet you, and a welcome surprise to see that you endured the radiation."

  "Uh, is it? Well I-I guess it is." Nate looked flummoxed and crestfallen all at once, glumly shaking Danse's hand. "I suppose you two are, er..."

  "Vega is my partner, yes. For over a year now." Danse replied once the other man had trailed off, his tone saccharine-sweet. He heard Vega gasp against his chest. "She is a truly incredible woman. I'm immensely lucky."

  "Yeah, I...yeah. Uh, I have to go...talk to--I'll see you later, Beth." Nate squeaked, sidestepping away from the two of them and making a beeline for the road.

  "I can't even believe it." Backhand's voice grated with tangible irritation. "I cannot even fuckin' fathom--I...dammit, why him?!" She seethed into Danse's jacket, clenching her fists on his hips. "Phew, boy, I sort of thought I'd already dealt with all that resentment." The woman admitted unhappily.

  "You do things in your own time." Danse replied quietly. "Are you alright?"

  Vega went still for a second. Danse felt her unclench her fists, hands going slack on his body. Had he misspoken-?

  "In my own time, huh?" Vega muttered, almost like she was thinking out loud. "I...I'll be back in a little while, Danse."

  …

  I'm not panicking. Definitely not panicking. One hundred percent not panicking, totally fine.

  Backhand scurried away from the paladin, trying to hide the tell-tale redness of her face. She needed to find either Mrs. O'Brian or MacCready, fast. 

  As luck would have it, MacCready found her. The former merc tapped on her shoulder as she bounced up on her tiptoes to search for Mrs. O'Brian. "Hey boss, Shaun wanted me to ask you if he could sleep over with Duncan tonight." The man began after she whirled around to face him.

  "Yes." Vega replied, perhaps a little too quick and definitely too enthusiastic. "Mac you're a lifesaver, I was just about to ask-"

  "-for me and Cait to watch your kid so you and the tin can can get some alone time?" MacCready smirked, giving her a wink. "Dang General, I don't think I've ever seen you so red! Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

  "Shut up, Mac, you're so exasperating." Backhand jabbed a teasing finger into the center of his chest. "You talk, Mayor, and I'll know." The threat was toothless; the both of them grinned at each other after their fierce staring contest. "Thanks for everything."

  "Don't mention it. I figure getting you some Brotherhood...uh, Steel, heh, is a pretty decent way to make up for the fact that I didn't bring you a present." Mac shrugged, fiddling with the bill of his hat. "I have beef with the Capital Brotherhood, but these guys...I mean, they don't seem all bad." He allowed grudgingly, giving Vega a gentle nudge with his shoulder. "Go on."

  A bracing shot of whiskey shored up her tenuous spark of confidence and Vega marched back to Danse, the large man now engaged in conversation with X6 while Shaun, Duncan, Bridget, Nat and Matthew swirled around their ankles. 

  Danse was saying, "--collateral ramifications would be inadvisable, I suggest a soft breach. With adequate preparation-" 

  "Adequate preparation on your part borders on over-caution." X6 interrupted him dismissively. "However, I will take it into account and speak with Preston on the matter. He seems to share your morality. A pity."

  "Play at the unfeeling machine all you want, X6." Danse retorted. "It does you no favors. You have people who care about you now, and you would not have asked for my input if you believed the endeavour would be futile."

  "True enough, Paladin." The vaguest hint of a smile tugged at X6's mouth. "You are capable."

  "I suppose that is the best that I can hope for."

  "Hey, Danse? Can I uh, have a little chat?" Backhand asked, stifling a hysterical giggle when Danse immediately looked guilty. The paladin nodded, bidding X6 farewell and attempting to sidestep around the children who were currently playing tag in an ever-tightening circle. "Not um, here though. Let's go to my house, okay? Shaun, you're all set to stay overnight with Duncan, Mac and Cait, right?"

  "Yeah!" Shaun replied breathlessly, pausing in his chase to give his mother a massive grin. "Already brought my blankets over and everything. Mister MacCready said Duncan and I could sleep in their wagon, and that he'd tell us Grognak stories!"

  Danse's brow furrowed. "We are leaving the gathering, then?" He asked, looking a bit distressed when Elizabeth nodded. "A moment, please." He turned back to the children, calling for Shaun. 

  The boy bolted away from the group, skidding in the muddy slush. "Yeah, Mister Danse?" He asked, his impatience plain.

  "I, er. I...happy holidays." The paladin mumbled, extracting a small bundle from his jacket pocket and giving it to the child. 

  "Whoa, for me?!" Shaun practically crowed, tearing through the old newspaper to reveal the gift.

  It was a sturdy carved vehicle, its edges sleek and smooth. The wood was coated in shiny green paint, giving the little truck a distinct air of newness in this post-apocalyptic world. Danse swallowed audibly as Shaun stared down at the toy without saying a word. 

  Backhand closed her eyes, hoping and praying that the kid remembered his manners. She hadn't even known Danse had planned on giving him something. Did he make the truck himself? It was wood, not the usual plastic or aluminum of pre-war children's toys. When had he found the time to make a toy? She suddenly remembered his uncharacteristically wide yawn that morning and her eyes flew open, darting to look at Danse. He had been staying up, hadn't he?

  "I love it, Mister Danse!" Shaun interrupted her mental panic with his enthusiastic eruption, smiling wide and bolting forward to hug Danse around the waist. Danse's own relief was evident, the large man patting the child on the back with an awkward chuckle.

  Oh Jesus, I'm not going to cry, Vega insisted, taking a deep breath. Nope, won't do it.

  "Mom look, look what Mister Danse gave me!" Shaun exclaimed, as if she hadn't been standing right there the whole time. 

  "It's really cool, right?" Backhand grinned, rumpling his hair and then giving him a kiss on the forehead. "Make sure you wash your face and brush your teeth before bed, okay? I hope you and Duncan have fun. I love you." 

  "I love you too, Mom, I will. Thank you again, Mister Danse!" Shaun rushed to say, clearly eager to return to his friends. 

  "Alright, go on." Vega tapped the end of his nose, "go have fun." She watched him scramble through the slush, nearly tripping again. "Jesus, he's a bull in a china shop," she sighed, making Danse snort. "Shall we, Paladin?"

  He fell into step beside her, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket and his back ramrod straight. He was silent until they were actually in Elizabeth's living room, the young woman barely able to shut the front door before he started babbling, "if I offended you earlier, if I-I overstepped my bounds, I apologize. I just recalled what you had said about the name he used for you and I'm afraid I started moving before I could reconsider-"

  "Danse, do you remember how we started all of this?" Vega cut off what promised to be a downright incredible justification, cocking her head to the side. "How we met, and what happened?"

  "You came to our aid at the Cambridge police station. Then you carried on assisting me with our mission. You helped acquire the deep range transmitter. You greased my armor." Danse paused, fidgeting. "You...said it was alright if I wanted to kiss you."

  “It’s alright if you want to kiss me, you know.” Her smile was gentle. “I wouldn’t mind.”

  Vega nodded, smiling once more. "The offer still stands, naturally."

  "I...things are different now. I'm different. You still...even now, after everything that you know about me?"

  "Of course."

  "I didn't want to believe you felt that strongly about our...about us." Danse was smiling, actually smiling! "I'd given up hope a long time ago that I would ever be enough for anyone. I was never...enough. Smart enough, or strong enough or...well, just enough, I suppose." He shrugged, his smile fading. "With what happened between Maxson and I, and previously with Cutler…" The large man trailed off.

  Vega took a deep breath, nodding furiously. "I do feel strongly for you. Danse, I know that this is a lot, b-but I...uh, I think I love you." She gestured up and down at the speechless paladin, feeling the heat that bloomed fresh on her cheeks. "Not just the wrapping, y'know, but uh. The whole package. You."

  His look of shock and confusion slowly dissolved into something unreadable, and he broke eye contact for a moment to stare down at his boots. 

  "Uh, it's okay if you don't reciprocate! O-Or even if you can't reciprocate, I'm not going to be offended!" Elizabeth rushed to add, waving her hands nervously. "I know that this is a lot to dump on you all at once, I-I'm sorry. I don't want you feeling pressured to give me an affirmative answer just because you don't want to hurt my feelings or whatever."

  "I...I can't say that I haven't thought about it." He admitted softly. "But Shaun, he needs--Vega, I'm not really human." 

  "Neither is Shaun, but I don't love him any less." Elizabeth replied. "Shaun is my son. For all intents and purposes, he is my real son, Danse."

  "It's one thing to overlook it for a child, Vega. But I'm...what if something goes wrong with me? What if there's some sort of fault in my programming, and that's why I'm like this? What if-"

  "It's alright if you don't want me, or even if this is too much right now. I know, it's a lot." Vega interrupted him, her heart sinking but determined to make damn sure he didn't feel pressured.

  "Christ, that's not what I meant. I just want to make certain you know exactly what it is that you're agreeing to." Danse cut her off, his shoulders rigid like he was bracing for impact. 

  "I understand, Danse. I've understood for a while now." Elizabeth dared to rest her hand on his arm. "I want to be with you. I know that nothing in this shitshow of a future is guaranteed and I want to have something good in my life before my inevitable demise at the hands of some overconfident mole rat."

  Danse nodded stiffly, and then grabbed her by the lapels of her canvas coat. Vega found herself abruptly pinned against the wall, Danse's mouth hungrily seeking her own. "You mean that?" He panted.

  The brush of the stubble on his face reminded her of their first kiss in the Cambridge station and drove home the differences between he and Nate for the hundredth time. Nate was always clean-shaven, favored pecks on the cheek and lived saturated with cologne. But Danse was grizzled, earnest, reeking of the outdoors and power armor grease. Nate had been eloquent, while Danse was taciturn or tripped over his words. Nate was cold and calculating, and Danse…

  Danse was fiery and raw, more vulnerable now than she could ever recall him being before. His knee nudged against her thigh and without conscious input, Elizabeth parted her legs for it and threw her arms around his neck to try to urge him even closer. "Yes, Danse," she gasped. "Oh, Jesus, yes, fuck-ing shit--"

  She ground herself down against his leg, relieved that everything seemed to be functioning normally and somewhat impressed by her body's ability to mount such a rapid response after a two hundred-plus year dry spell! 

  "Language," Danse rumbled in reply, his hands tugging her heavy coat off of her shoulders. "Too fast?"

  "No, hell no!" Backhand protested, "not fast enough."

  "Shh," Danse rested his hands on her hips, shoving up her shirt slightly so he could touch bare skin. "I have you, Vega." Vega pushed herself excitedly into his grip, grinding on his thigh and arching her back. The way his breath hitched sent shockwaves to her core; the way he watched her...

  "Danse we should...we should-" Vega's voice wavered as Danse laved her throat with tender kisses. "-should--bedroom, bed."

  "Yes." The paladin growled, making no move to actually follow the direction. That is, until he hoisted her up to rest on his hips. 

  Backhand yelped, her thighs gripping his sides tightly. "H-Hey!"

  Danse pressed his forehead to her own, brown eyes attempting to read her soul. "Elizabeth…" he sighed, his expression gone hopelessly soft. "I should warn you, if we...if you do this, I...listen, I can be a little--a little wordy, sometimes. If I am speaking too much-"

  "Hey, no, you talk as much as you'd like, okay? Doesn't bug me at all." Vega assured him, slightly curious about what this might mean. Wordy? 

  "Elizabeth, you are everything that I never knew I was looking for." Danse murmured. "When I lost Cutler, I didn't think I deserved to be happy again. I assumed that my failure would continue to darken any future triumph, and when the majority of Gladius was...I feared that I was unfit for my rank. How could anyone have faith in my skills after such a catastrophic loss of life?"

  "It's hard being the one making the choices. You have to be able to bear the burden of responsibility and also the burden of guilt." Vega reasoned, sympathizing with his plight.

  "You had faith in me, though. You didn't even know me, but you didn't judge me for my inadequacy and you allowed me some damn peace. I'm just sorry you had to go through that abuse at Maxson's whim for my sake." Danse cupped her hand in his own, pressing kisses to her scarred knuckles. "You've already done so much for me, Vega. Let me undo you?" He offered seriously, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

  "Well, I uh, I-I can't say I've ever been propositioned quite like that!" Backhand stuttered, certain that her flush covered her entire body at this point. 

  His laughter, heard so rarely, washed over her like a tidal wave. "Forgive me."

  "Only if you keep asking me to have sex like that." Vega shifted her hand in his grip, intertwining their fingers. "C'mon, bedroom."

  "It's not just that." Danse tried to protest, shaking his head. "I care about you. About your wellbeing. I want to make you happy."

  "You do. So happy. I'm so glad that you're here with me still." Vega turned in the doorway of her room when he set her down, seizing Danse by the collar of his worn t-shirt and tugging him into her arms. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Danse."

  "You don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that." 

  "It's the truth, though!" She insisted.

  Danse surged forward, his kisses still rough and demanding as he fought to claim her affection. But she gave it freely, all he could ever want and more.

  He stripped her of her shirt and dragged his own off over his head, chuckling at the way she greedily drank in the bare skin he presented. "See something you like, General?" 

  He was hairier than she was used to, but Backhand decided it suited him. Nate, after all, had been absolutely adamant that body hair was grotesque, and now look at him. He'd likely never have to worry about that again.

  Thinking of Nate yet again put a frown on her face and Danse paused, giving her a quizzical look. "Is something amiss?"

  "Oh! No, I'm sorry. I was just remembering. Nate was all…" Elizabeth gestured vaguely at Danse's chest. "He shaved everything. I'm not used to all...well, seeing so much."

  "Is it off-putting? I assure you it's within the Brotherhood's hygiene guidelines, but if you don't like it I-"

  "No, I love it. It's new. I've seen your arms, after all, I knew what I was getting into." Vega teased, grinning to ease his worry. "If you can accept all my stretch marks and leftovers, I can definitely handle your chest pelt."

  "I'm planning on doing far more than accepting." Danse cradled her breasts in his palms, the paladin lowering his head to draw his tongue over one of her nipples. "I don't care." He soothed when Elizabeth tried to stammer out something else in regard to her stretch marks. "I don't care. It doesn't make you any less desirable to me, Elizabeth."

  Vega squeezed her eyes shut, kissing his forehead as he continued to cautiously rouse her peaks until they were stiff and aching for more. Then his thumbs took over, stroking in slow, firm circles that made her quiver from head to toe. "You...you're really good at that." Elizabeth said faintly.

  "I'm pleased you think so." Danse grunted when her fingers found his belt buckle. "It has been a significant amount of time for me as well, I...my excitement may be a bit obvious." He admitted, his smile sheepish. 

  Vega's breath caught in her throat, her hands trembling as she struggled to draw down the worn zipper of his jeans. The underside of his cock throbbed against her palm when she dared to slip her hand into his briefs, his skin searing and smooth. 

  Danse huffed out a breath, crumpling a little at her tentative touch. "Elizabeth," he groaned, hiding his face in her neck as he rolled his hips eagerly into her hand. 

  "Keep saying my name like that." She ordered, laughing when the paladin nodded rapidly into her shoulder. "I love you, Danse."

  ...

  Danse rumbled again, words failing him while Elizabeth's fingers wrapped around his cock. This seemed like a dream, another one of his fantasies brought into being. He couldn't seem to do anything aside from stare down at her hand. 

  "Hey, Danse?"

  He jerked to attention, eyes flying up to meet her own guiltily. "Y-Yes, Vega?" He stuttered.

  "Do you...uh, y'know." Backhand fumbled to undo the button on her jeans. "You can, if you'd like." She finished awkwardly.

  No sooner had she given him permission than Danse was pulling her hand out of his pants, urging her backwards onto her bed even as he kissed her battered knuckles again. "Yes." He grated out, kneeling to untie her boots so he could get her pants off. "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes."

  "A for enthusiasm, big guy." Elizabeth teased, lazily fingercombing his short hair back. Her veneer of composure was shattered when the paladin eased her underwear down her legs, the young woman covering her face as if she was embarrassed. "Listen, just uh, go easy on me. It's been over two hundred years, after all." She reasoned weakly.

  Danse swallowed hard. Cutler had always praised his dirty talk, the calculated way he could take apart a person with his words and touch alone. Maxson hadn't appreciated his speech, granted, but perhaps…

  "You're saying you don't want me to bury my fingers in you, Elizabeth? You don't want me to open you up, work my way into that beautiful, flushed little cunt of yours?" Danse rasped, two fingers tracing lightly on her pubic mound. Her cesarean scar was faintly visible, and he felt a brief flare of concern before recalling that was indeed where the scar was from.

  "Oh, Jesus. Okay." Vega gasped, blue eyes wide in what Danse could only assume was shock. "Keep that up and you won't have to worry about using anything else. Fuck, Danse, have some pity here." She pleaded, burying her hands in her hair. 

  "Language. Do you deserve my pity? How would you earn it?" The paladin queried, the heel of his hand applying steady pressure to her mound now. 

  "I can be good, Paladin! I can be really good. So good." Her breathless use of his title had Danse's cock pounding, though he tried not to make it obvious. "Please Danse, please touch me…"

  Danse climbed up onto the bed alongside her, gently parting her labia with his fingers. "You'll be good for me, Elizabeth?" He asked, propping himself up with an elbow.

  "Yes, please."

  She had wonderful manners. Danse grazed her clit and her breath stuttered, the paladin spreading the liberal lubrication that she had already created with deft, slow strokes of his index. "Please, what?"

  "P-Please...Danse."

  He cautiously eased one finger into her, exhaling raggedly when her hand sought out his cock. "Vega-"

  "Shh, let me." Elizabeth hushed him, her smile a little dreamy as Danse crooked his finger and rubbed in just the right spot. "Oh, f-uck, Paladin, you--"

  "Language, Vega. Can't have you being a bad example while I'm knuckle deep in your cunt." Danse admonished, groaning when she whimpered. "You're so tight, this could take ages. We'll need to come up with some stretches to cope with this." He teased gruffly, sliding in another finger and spreading her open. "Mm, Elizabeth, you need to relax. Relax." He murmured, latching onto her breast.

  He felt her pussy clench down around his fingers and he took a greedy suckle from her breast, making Vega cry out his name, "Danse!" She twitched and writhed under his deft attack, her thighs quivering even as she tried to spread them wider for him. Her hand fell still on his cock, not that Danse minded. It had always been more about his partner, he couldn't care less if nothing was done for him. Watching someone else fall apart because of him...now that was its own reward.

  "What do I need to do to get you there, hmm?" Danse taunted playfully, tonguing sloppily over the peak of her breast. "What will it take, Elizabeth?"

  She arched her back in response, pressing her breast firmly against his mouth, and Danse gently nibbled on the sensitive area she had offered up. Elizabeth sobbed out, shoving one hand down to her cunt to spread herself even wider for his plundering fingers. "More, Danse! Please please please-" she begged, her moan when he pressed a third finger into her absolutely enough to have Danse hurrying to talk himself down. "Yes, Danse." She was practically growling, her arousal something primal and untamed. 

  If Danse had his way, it would stay like that forever. 

  "What is it that you want, Vega?" His inquiry was almost lazy, three fingers stroking in and out with much less resistance now. "Hmm, I wonder if you're wet enough to take me."

  "You can't just-" Vega made a noise of dismay. "That's not fair, Danse, that's not fair, you know it's not. Please, please fuck me." 

  Jesus. Danse almost choked on his own breath, letting his fingers slip out of her cunt. "How do you want me?" His voice broke noticeably. It felt like a lifetime since he had been desired, wanted in such a blatant and strangely pure fashion. She loved him. She wanted him inside her. Wanted him to make love to her. Wanted him.

  The speed at which she flung herself up a little higher on the bed made Danse want to laugh, but then she was arching her back and looking over her shoulder at him and he suddenly forgot how to breathe for a moment. "This okay?" She panted, brown hair all tumbled around her face as she took off her glasses and pitched them in the general direction of her bedside table.

  Danse nodded hurriedly, kicking his pants off. "If you need me to stop, just grab my hand." He instructed.

  "This isn't exactly my first time getting fucked, Danse-"

  "Language," the paladin reprimanded her with a chuckle, greedily fondling her rear as he mounted up behind her. "You have such a beautiful form, Vega." He murmured, leaning over to press a kiss between her shoulder blades. "An absolute vision."

  "I do have nice tits." 

  Danse rolled his eyes, slipping his hands down to grope said breasts. She gasped out, rocking back against him as he agreed, "yes you do, that can't be denied. Soft, the perfect size, they fit in my hands so well, and so sensitive." He found himself laughing when she whimpered again. "Don't offer up all your weak spots unless you want them taken advantage of, Vega."

  "The only thing I want to take advantage of right now is the raging hard-on I can feel." Elizabeth wriggled and Danse grunted, shuddering. "Pl-ease Danse, please put it in me."

  The paladin slipped his cock between her labia, the hot, slick flesh pressing against him mercilessly as he teased her. He suddenly felt her fingers on his cock and then-

  "Fuck." The paladin grated out the uncharacteristic curse through his teeth, his fists meeting the bedding on either side of her body as he fought the urge to thrust himself home in one breath.

  Elizabeth half-collapsed while he slowly, slowly rutted into her, the woman panting and clawing at the blankets. "Mmmgod, Danse-" she slurred, sighing loudly. "So good, fuck, Danse…"

  Danse toyed with her nipples, stupidly snarling "language," as she keened in reply. "I'll take care of you, Elizabeth. Be good for me." He pressed a kiss to her temple, smirking at the way her body quaked when he finally bottomed out in her. "That's it, look at you, taking all of me so well," he praised. "Now, how can I make you come?"

  "Fu--Please use your big cock to get me off, oh please Danse!" She begged and Danse fondled her breasts yet again.

  "You don't want me to touch you here, just like this?" He asked, stroking over her nipples and lingering to tease the area. "They're so hard, though, begging for my attention."

  Backhand made a noise of despair, burying her face in her pillow. 

  "I think you need me to play with them, don't you? You like when I touch them like this." Danse muttered, thinking out loud and coming to that realization even as the words left his mouth. "What is it about it that you like?"

  "S-Sensitive." Vega whimpered, "feels good."

  Danse rumbled again, bending over to press his chest to her back so he could whisper in her ear, "does it feel good when I'm inside you, Elizabeth? Can you feel how hard I am for you? Feel how badly I need you?" 

  Elizabeth gifted him this pitiful sound, canting her hips and clenching down around his cock so tightly it took Danse's breath away. "Yes, I love it. I need you too, Danse." She murmured, shifting back and forth ever so slightly.

  "Good. I'm glad." Danse took hold of her hips, seating his cock as deeply as he could in her cunt. Elizabeth whined, burying her face in her pillow again as he slowly began to make love to her. 

  Paladin Logan Danse, pride of the Brotherhood of Steel, had never been a man who took sex lightly. It was too important. Even after everything that had happened with Maxson, Danse still held to that belief. The display of vulnerability, the offer of power in exchange for pleasurable release, the brief moments of tenderness in an existence that was soul-crushingly difficult…

  It was serious. It always was. 

  Vega's arms gave out and she slumped onto the bed, but Danse followed her down. Covering her with his body, the paladin thrust into her again and again, her soft whimpers and cries of his name music to his ears. "What do you need, sweetheart?" He asked raggedly when she began to squirm and arch back against him. "What can I give you, Elizabeth?"

  "Fuck me, Danse!" She pleaded, turning her head to the side so she could see him. 

  "Language," Danse smiled, kissing her temple again. "But understood, ma'am."

  …

  For the first time since she'd awoken to an irradiated hellscape, Vega was wholly content to just lay down and be taken care of. 

  Danse was huge, proportionate to his already overgrown size, and he made the most incredible sounds when she inadvertently squeezed down on him. Groans burring in his chest like some untamed animal; he seemed content to just slowly fuck her into oblivion. Which was honestly more than she thought she would ever get. 

  Her fantasies, much as she'd believed they were wrong or silly at the time, didn't hold a candle to the reality of having Danse on top of her. She had gotten off more than once to this exact idea, being dominated and pinned by the massive paladin. This was a dream come true.

  Elizabeth whined when he bottomed out in her again and just rutted himself back and forth slightly, making her feel every inch of his cock. The underside of his dick throbbed against the spot that made her see stars and then, the bastard, he slid his cock out of her cunt to press the head to her clit for a second. "Turn over for me?" He requested, punctuated by a gentle smack to her ass.

  Vega rushed to obey, eager to have him back inside her as quickly as possible. The woman spread her legs wide so Danse could settle in between them and when the paladin did, he shifted upwards to kiss her tenderly. 

  "I've wanted this for so long." He admitted quietly.

  "So have I!" Elizabeth replied in delight, her grin beaming. She was sure she looked like a mess, her hair stuck to her forehead with sweat and her face all flushed. But the way Danse was smiling at her…

  She found she didn't really care about her appearance at this point in time.

  "I love you." Danse murmured as he slid back inside her. 

  "I l-love you, Danse." Vega stuttered, the natural curvature of his cock applying steady pressure to her g-spot. "Make me feel so good, fuck."

  "Language." He growled, making her laugh and then moan. 

  "Feels too good, brain can't cope." She gasped, wrapping her arms around his neck and tugging him closer until all he could do was grind down into her in a merciless manner. The motion flung her towards her peak, disconnecting her mouth even further from her brain and making her ramble into his ear, "God, I love you so much, make me feel so good--"

  "I love you too, Elizabeth." He panted into the hollow of her throat, "you feel incredible. Outstanding."

  Elizabeth wasn't sure how she could feel both so aroused she thought she might die and so annoyed that she wanted to explode. "Danse, did you just call my pussy outstanding?"

  "It's not an incorrect statement, from my perspective. It's perfect. Wet and tight and hot." The paladin praised her freely, a hand lowering to apply gentle pressure over the scar on her lower stomach. "Beautiful."

  I am not going to cry, Vega told herself sternly as she hid her face in Danse's neck. Definitely not going to cry, not going to.

  A sob somehow escaped her as she came and Danse froze, his whole body flinching when her cunt clenched down on his dick. "V...Vega?" He asked tentatively.

  "I'm fine! I'm fine, I promise, m'not hurt or anything. My brain is just dumb." Elizabeth hiccupped, rubbing her eyes. "I'm okay, Danse, I'm fine."

  The paladin seemed uncertain and she couldn't blame him, she didn't seem fine even if she felt a thousand times better than she had in literal months. 

  "I swear I'm okay, that was just...it was really intense, y'know?" She mumbled awkwardly, unable to make eye contact anymore. 

  She felt Danse shift his weight and then he settled down on top of her, holding her close and tight. "You're sure?" He murmured, "if you're overwhelmed, that's entirely acceptable. I'm not hurting you, am I?"

  "No, shit no, you feel incredible. I'm not going to be able to walk after this." Vega huffed, giggling a little when he rolled his eyes. "Keep going, okay? It feels fantastic."

  "If you're certain." Danse acquiesced, kissing a hot trail down her neck when she nodded. "Let me know if you need me to stop." 

  Watching his forearms cord with muscle as he propped himself back up again, Vega's mouth went dry. "I have to say, this might be the best night of my life." 

  Danse pressed a sweet kiss to her forehead, the tenderness of the action a wonderful contrast to the needy way he sheathed his cock in her body once more. "I've thought about this." He confessed again, punctuated by a roll of his hips. "What you'd sound like, look like beneath me. You put my imagination to shame." 

  "What did I do in your dreams?" Backhand asked, unable to keep from breathlessly laughing when Danse hid his face in her neck. "So shy, Paladin! Even with that huge cock in me?"

  "It's lewd, Elizabeth, I-I'm not proud of it." He mumbled. "Shouldn't have thought of you that way." He spread her legs wider, one hand on the back of each knee to urge her to bend. 

  "Mm, you thought about fucking me? Nice to know I'm not the only one with dirty thoughts." 

  "I did not." He protested staunchly. His cock slid back and forth between her pussy lips in a purposeful teasing motion. "I thought about how...I thought about how good it would feel to make love to you." He continued, his voice wavering slightly as his dick brushed her entrance and he plunged deep yet again. "Thought about how good I could make you feel."

  Now it was Vega's turn to be shy, the woman looking away from him and flushing.

  "It was still inappropriate at the...time, but I assure you it was never about that. I am not-" Danse struggled for a moment to find the words, before he sighed and rested his forehead against her own. "This already isn't simple, and I know I make it miles less so. Forgive me."

  "I feel like it's pretty simple." Vega gasped, twitching as his fingers landed on her clit. "I f--fuck, Danse--I feel like it's real simple. You like me. Love me, yeah?"

  "It's more than that, dammit." Danse growled, rubbing her clit in merciless circles. "What you did for me...how can I ever be worth your affection? Hell, your time?"

  Elizabeth threw her head back, arching her entire body up into his chest. "Whatever good I give to you," she moaned, almost exasperated that they were even having this discussion, "you deserve it. Take it." 

  Danse's hands latched down on her hips, thumbs stroking back and forth over her pronounced stretch marks as he fucked into her so fiercely that Vega swore she saw stars. His pelvis ground against her own, body hair providing a delicious new sensation that had Vega grasping at the blankets in an effort to keep herself grounded. "I'm going to come, Elizabeth." Danse panted. "Where do you-"

  "Inside." Backhand implored him, "come inside me, Paladin, please come inside me-" Her voice broke as she begged and Danse groaned loud, the sound incredulous.

  "You...inside? Are you sure?" He asked through gritted teeth, dark brown eyes conveying his uncertainty. In reply, Vega dug the heels of her feet in beneath his rear, effectively locking him in place. 

  She caught a handful of his hair, gently tugging it until he leaned down again so she could seethe in his ear, "yes."

  "Oh, dammit." With that wonderfully characteristic swear, Danse shoved his mouth against hers gracelessly. The heat in her belly spilled over from the onslaught of his enthusiastic thrusts and Backhand cried out, fingernails digging into his back when she came a second time. 

  Danse, either spurred on by her sounds or by the way her pussy gripped his dick (maybe a combination? Backhand mused) found his release seconds after, his voice breaking and dropping into a lower tone as he moaned her name. Her real name.

  Elizabeth.

  Vega cupped the nape of his neck, guiding his face into the hollow of her shoulder. "Lay down, sweetheart, you're shaking." She murmured, stroking over his quivering back.

  "Don't want to flatten you." Danse rasped, his dick still throbbing inside her.

  "Lay down. It's okay." Elizabeth flexed her bicep. "I'm strong, I can handle it." Danse laughed wearily, almost immediately going limp on top of her. She wrapped her arms back around him, fingers digging into the knots that she found to ease out the tension. "There, isn't that better?"

  "Mmmmuch." Danse slurred into her neck, sounding exhausted. "Love you."

  "I love you. Sleep, okay? We'll get cleaned up later. Right now though you seem like you could use a nap."

  Danse nodded, the tangled mess of his hair mashed flat against her cheek in the process. "Want...to be a good parent." He mumbled several minutes later, just as Vega had thought he was dozing off. Danse propped himself up with one arm, cradling Vega's cheek in his palm. His thumb absently traced the cryo burn marks from the stasis as he continued, "a true partner for you. I don't know if you...if you even want me in that capacity, I--I don't know whether you would prefer that Shaun thinks of me as simply your friend, but I-"

  "Danse," Elizabeth interrupted him sternly, raising an eyebrow. "Someone who's simply a friend wouldn't be balls deep in me."

  Danse sputtered, his blush spreading down his neck to his chest. Despite his proclivity for dirty talk in the moment, he was endearingly embarrassed by her blunt words. Vega felt her heart pound as he floundered to collect himself, the large man looking away. 

  He's really nothing at all like Nate.

  "Danse." Her voice was gentler this time, unmistakable affection bleeding through. "I would have to ask Shaun, of course, and I'd like to have an adjustment period before I do so that he can get comfortable with the idea on his own, but…" The young woman swallowed hard. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? Oh sure, she could handle the vulnerability of being naked and fucked with absolute abandon but this? This was where her brain drew the line? Unbelievable, Backhand grumbled at herself. "I think the odds are in your favor." She concluded with a grin.

  "You...even though I'm not-?"

  "He's probably the last person to care about that kinda' stuff, Danse. C'mon." Vega chided, running her fingers through his sweaty hair. "Now. We are...absolutely disgusting. We need a bath big time."

  "I...you're right, of course." Danse agreed absently, still seeming shocked at the whole scenario. "I should...w-we should bathe. Er, at the same time. To save water." He didn't meet her eyes, his attention focused somewhere by her left shoulder. 

  Elizabeth laughed, bumping their foreheads together before carefully scooting up the bed. His cock slipped out of her and she couldn't help her sigh, the noise echoed by the paladin who tilted his chin to catch her with a kiss.

  "You are amazing." He breathed when they parted, his smile small but sincere. "I'm...I'll be hard-pressed to keep my hands off you, Elizabeth."

  "Why bother?" Vega asked, chuckling as he ducked back in for another kiss. 

  ...

  Hours later, Danse laid awake while Elizabeth slept peacefully on his chest. The paladin stared up at the ceiling, his mind running rampant.

  The future.

  He hadn't really dared to think about it since discovering his true identity. Hadn't felt like it was something he deserved. After all, if he was just a machine, it hardly mattered. But Elizabeth…

  She thought it mattered. She wanted him. Wanted him to stay with her. Wanted him to act as a father. Pending Shaun's approval, of course. 

  It was surreal how much his life had changed, how far they had come in such a short amount of time. Danse was a little overwhelmed by it all, if he was being honest. Scared, yet hopeful at the same time. And, he thought as he wrapped his arm around Elizabeth, incredibly, immensely grateful.

  This new world was unforgiving, the universe coldly testing the mettle of a man time and again. But Danse had finally come out the other side, and he liked to think he had changed for the better. 

  Whatever the future held, they would face it together. 

  Ad Victoriam, General Vega. Thank you for having faith in me.

[shannendoherty-fans]

People, September 9th 1991

High School Confidential

By Tom Gliatto and Michael Alexander.

Photos by Mark Sennett.

Beverly Hills, 90210 Gets Its Heat from a Dangerously Cute Cast of TV's Hottest New Stars CONFIDENTIAL MEMO: FROM: The Vice Principal TO: The Faculty, High School U.S.A. I'm sure I don't need to remind you what happened when we didn't prepare for Bart Simpson last fall. The school was flooded with rude, antieducational T-shirts. Some cows were had. Well, as a new school year gets under way, I believe we face another daunting challenge: Brace yourselves for Beverly Hills, 90210. That's the Fox drama about unworldly twin teens Brandon and Brenda Walsh (played by Jason Priestley and Shannen Doherty), recent transferees from Minneapolis to the Hills of Beverly. There they struggle to assimilate into the fast-lane lifestyle of West Beverly Hills High School, where the kids come equipped with BMWs, call waiting and designer surfboards. In the process, the teens examine their emerging identities and the problems that adolescents everywhere face.

The show languished in the Nielsen ratings against Thursday powerhouse Cheers last year. But Fox had no replacement, so it stayed. While we were on summer vacation, new 90210 episodes began airing, and the show landed in the Top 20, becoming the most popular show among teenagers. To some extent, I take responsibility for having ignored 90210. I made the mistake of reading newspaper critics instead of my daughter's diary, and so I believed, as Howard Rosenberg sniffed in the Los Angeles Times, that the show was merely a "ZIP code for stereotypes and stock characters." Little did I know that this show would mesmerize teens by doing emotionally realistic shows that involved adolescent rebellion, alcoholic; parents, a breast-cancer scare and plenty of worrisome teen sex. "Most shows for adolescents," says 90210 creator Darren Star, "seem like they are written by 50-year-olds who think teenagers behave like 7-year-olds."

It also doesn't hurt that the show's male stars, Priestley and Luke Perry (who plays brooding loner Dylan McKay), are "to die for," as my daughter puts it. These two have each been receiving about 1,500 fan letters a week. So be vigilant: Surely some of these will be written by our students...during class! And I'm afraid that 90210 is only going to get bigger with our kids, if producer Aaron Spelling is to be believed. "I thought The Mod Squad and Charlie's Angels got a lot of publicity in their heyday," says Spelling, whose company produced those shows, "but it doesn't compare to this. It's crazy. We have merchandising coming out of our ears"—a complete line of T-shirts, beach towels, notebooks, etc. "And now these actors can't walk down the street!"

Or even streak through malls. You probably saw those alarming news reports about a frenzied mob of 10,000 fans that stampeded Perry when he appeared at a south Florida mall last month. "It's a little scary," says Perry. Scarier is the amount of time students will waste this fall discussing Luke. And Jason. And who is sexier. I provide some information on the two. Jason Priestley, 22, plays Brandon Walsh, a model of thoughtful level-headedness. In real life, however, the brown-haired, blue-eyed star, who started acting in commercials at age 4 and played an orphan on that very nice NBC sitcom Sister Kate, is no Oliver Twist. He likes dirt bikes, bungee jumping and is a chain-smoker (just about the whole cast puffs it up—but not on-camera). Vancouver-born Priestley likes to hang out in Las Vegas. As for his real romantic life, he was reportedly dating actress Robin (Doogie Howser, M.D.) Lively last spring, but it seems likely that now he is too busy for such dalliance;. He must be on the set 14 hours a day, five days a week. To avoid ever-present fans, Priestley says, "I look different from my character when I'm just walking around. I don't shave, I don't dress like Brandon."

On the show, 26-year-old Luke Perry (Brenda Walsh's boyfriend, Dylan) sports a leather jacket, dagger sideburns and a squint that spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e. Although he grew up and graduated from high school in Fredericktown, Ohio, he seems to have attended James Dean wise-guy classes. Perry, who played country-boy Ned Bates on the ABC soap Loving, entertains the 90210 cast by strutting around bare-chested making jokes. Does he have a girlfriend? "No. You know how I can get in touch with Linda Hamilton?" What kind of music does he listen to? "Tom Jones is awesome." Are he and Priestley ever mistaken for each other? "He's mistaken for me on his good days." And 90210, he says, is "the best show on television, except for Jeopardy!" We should act quickly, faculty, when we see any signs that Beverly Hills, 90210 is disrupting normal student activity.

How abnormal might things get? Consider: "It's almost like there are cults," says Brian Austin Green, 18, the North Hollywood High grad who plays the cutely dweeby David Silver. "Girls go to school the day after the show, and they actually become these characters. They say, 'Okay, today I want to be Dylan, you can be Brenda, you can be Brandon.' " Needless to say, students caught pretending to be TV characters should be brought directly to my office for detention. But you know, it might not be a bad thing if our students could show some of the good sense that the 90210ers display in coping with the pressures of fame and fortune. Jennie Garth, 19, who plays the very sexy, very blond, very snotty Kelly Taylor, is particularly admirable. The youngest of seven children, she grew up on a farm near Champaign, Ill., until her schoolteacher parents moved to Phoenix when she was 13. "Living in a small town and coming from a very tight and close family instilled a lot of standards that I need to live up to," says Garth, who just bought a home in Sherman Oaks. She also recently supplied her parents with the down payment for their new home, setting a splendid example for today's youth.

According to a tabloid that someone left in the faculty lounge, Memphis-raised Shannen Doherty, 20, a veteran of such wonderful shows as Little House: A New Beginning, is the only cast member to be accused of behaving like "a spoiled brat" on the set. But she maintains she is no such thing. "I think everybody gets in a bad mood," Shannen says. "You do not work 16-hour days and not start feeling it. But I have never thrown a tantrum. I've gotten upset on the set, but it's never been just to be a bitch. You have to stand up for yourself in this business. That was something I was told when I was 12 years old and working with Michael Landon."

As with about half the cast members, Doherty is in a relationship—in her case, a real-estate developer with whom she's exchanged commitment rings. "You really have to date a while before you decide if this is the person you want to marry," she says with Brenda-like candor. Almost sounds like the relationship could be a future 90210 plot. "The problems of young people have accelerated," says Aaron Spelling, "and so have their feelings and thoughts." The show, he says, has kept pace: Even with their Clearasil-perfect complexions and plump allowances, the students at Beverly Hills have encountered their share of problems. "We had the guts to make Luke Perry be a member of AA," says Spelling. "We had Jason, our star, drinking and driving. That's reality."

And, apparently, the adulatory fan mail often includes a sad dose of that reality. "I got a letter the other day from a girl who mentioned the show we did on parental drug abuse," says Perry in a rare moment of seriousness. "She wrote about catching her father freebasing in the basement. I get letters like that all the time, from people all over the country." Gabrielle Carteris (at age 30, she's 90210's oldest cast-kid), who plays Andrea Zuckerman, the bright student who comes from the wrong side of Rodeo Drive, remembers an encouraging close encounter in a grocery store. "One girl came up to me after we'd done the breast-cancer show," says Carteris. "She said, 'I went home with all my friends and we checked our breasts for lumps.' "

In conclusion: Maybe I didn't need to write this memo. Maybe things won't be that bad, even if every locker in every corridor has a picture of Jason, Luke, Shannen or Jennie in it. Perhaps our dear little school is more like West Beverly Hills High—at least the TV version—than I thought. That's what Ian Ziering, 27, thinks too. "The reality on the show pretty much mirrors the way life is all over, in terms of teenagers," says New Jersey—bred Ziering, who once did Fruit of the Loom underwear ads and now plays 90210's curly-headed jock, Steve Sanders. "There's a mystique about Beverly Hills. But that's not what keeps people tuning in. The show could have been Montana E-I-E-I-O." By the way, should any student pronounce his name "eee-an," correct him or her, please. It's "eye-an."

-- WHEN BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 PREMIERED last October, Highlights, the student newspaper at Beverly Hills High, ran articles mocking the school's TV counterpart, West Beverly Hills High. "They said that the show was a joke," says Jenny Brandt, 14, a sophomore at the 1,900-student school. But as the story lines improved and Jason Priestley and Luke Perry became stars, the jokes stopped, and Brandt found herself, like many of her pals, glued to the set on Thursday nights from 9 to 10 P.M. "No phone calls allowed," says Brandt. "Except during commercials." Hope Levy, a 17-year-old senior, has taken fandom a step further with her friends. "We have little handmade cards," she says, speaking from her mom's car phone. "They say you're a member of Club 90210." While some kids think the show treats them as snobby stereotypes, most agree with sophomore Jordan Rynes when he says, "It's like a soap opera for teens. The shows dealing with drinking and drugs are the most real—adults don't realize how accurate it is."

[nonopiimagines]

Fandom: Fallout: New Vegas: New California Pairing: Ben Kurtz x f!Star Player/f!Courier Warnings: n/a Word Count: 1747 Author Notes: I am most proud of this chapter. Go play New California, so good.

part iii.

Again, you felt so tired. Falling out of the sky, fighting alongside the NCR, being whisked away to Union City to celebrate, the subsequent retaliation of the raiders attacking the front gates.

You couldn't wait to sleep in a bed for once.

The rest of your companions headed to the hotel in Union City, just as eager for a break as you were. You stayed behind at the medical tent, Captain Jameson offered to bandage your wounds. As gruff as he had seemed mid-battle, he had lightened up significantly now that their gates were safe once again.

You lifted your arm as Jameson wound the clean bandage around a shallow knife wound from the battle earlier. “We could use more people like you, Y/N.”

A polite chuckle escaped your lips, followed by an equally expected smile. You didn't think about it, how you were socialized to always be nice and agreeable. It didn't matter who you were talking to, the Overseer, a caravan merchant, or someone who willingly represented a thoughtless government trying to recreate the sins of the past. You looked up at the older man, wondering if he ever thought he was on the right side.

Your eyes flicked to the front of the medical tent where Ben was watching your exchange. His face was set in a chronic frown, his dark eyes meeting yours for just a moment before he quietly turned and left the tent. You turned back to Jameson, a somber feeling coming over you.

---

Mission Palms was too good to be true. Large, immaculate homes were still intact and full of untouched supplies. The cazadores fended off most of the raiders and scavengers, but they couldn't keep you away.

You would stay the night there before heading south to Xiabula.

Something was pulling at your insides. You and your companions became closer over the last few weeks. Traveling the San Bernardino desert would do that to people. Digging through your bag, you found the last fresh carrots, potatoes, and pears from the vault. They would go bad soon but this also felt like a nice occasion to finish them. The last remaining children of the vault, enjoying the last vault meal they would have together.

You cooked the potatoes and carrots over a small fire you lit in the backyard and cut the pears into slices. Jamie and Kira were the first ones to dig in, then Eric (after making sure Jamie had enough), then you.

Ben was upstairs, gazing out the window. You remembered he said something about first watch. You felt like maybe it was an excuse. This new Ben was just as alone as the old Ben, though he didn't seem to realize he had the support of everyone, including you. Most of all, you. He could wax poetic about you leading them on this journey to find safety and maybe discover the truth about everyone's parents along the way, but he refused to let this relationship be reciprocated.

“It's getting cold.” You pushed a small plate of food onto the window sill, hoping the smell would waft up to Ben's nose. “Everyone said it was the best thing they've eaten in awhile.”

“I'm sure.” He gave it a brief look, seeming as if he were going to ignore it in favor of looking outside again. But after a moment, he used his hand to pop a carrot in his mouth.

You watched his jaw move up and down, his face not betraying his thoughts on the matter. You wondered if he missed the vault, if he missed the ignorance. He obviously thrived in this new environment, but he must remember the safety, the monotony, the easiness of the vault. Would he trade it for this life given what he knows now?

“Yeah, it's pretty good,” he admitted, though there was no surprise or praise in his voice. It was like he expected this outcome, he had no doubts your cooking was passable.

Feeling some amount of pride, you returned to the others. You talked for a time over a found bottle of whiskey, reminiscing about the vault, discussing what route to take tomorrow, wondering if the NCR would notice if your group never returned after restoring water to Union City. It was funny, none of you would've ever sat around a table drinking together even a month prior to this.

When it came time to turn in, Jamie offered to take first watch. After escaping the vault and the events that unfolded, she refused any alcohol offered. She kept saying, “when we win”, “when we're safe, really safe”, “maybe to celebrate the death of Elsdragon, that fucker.” You remember how delirious and tired and scared you were when you found out she could've warned you had she not been piss drunk. It didn't matter to you now, what's done was done. But you felt proud of her for seeing a problem and trying to fix it.

“I'd offer to share the queen bed with you, Y/N, but I'm a kicker.” Kira didn't look too sorry at her revelation, but she squeezed your shoulder anyway.

“And Jamie wouldn't like it if I slept next to someone else,” Eric chimed in, already laying his backpack down on the bottom bunk in the other room. “Besides, you deserve the big bed, Y/N.”

“Whatever, Eric,” you shook your head in defeat as you looked through the drawers of the dressers in the main bedroom. Most of the drawers were empty, but you found a baseball cap and mitt, a dirty tie, a ripped up dress. In one of the last drawers you found a real treasure. Giving a discrete glance over your shoulder to make sure everyone was occupied, you pulled out the sexy sleepwear. It looked almost untouched by the years and years of being stuck in a wooden tomb. You carefully folded it and stuffed in the bottom of your backpack just in time to see Ben walk up the stairs and into the room.

“Jamie's taking watch,” he informed, giving you a weird look for your position in the floor. He hesitated but must've decided he wasn't going to ask about it and turned to walk downstairs.

You scrambled up and tried to grab his arm, but he was too quick. You didn't want him to go and it bubbled up out of you, “Ben! Wait!”

He turned his head to look back toward you and you swore you saw a twinkle or some notion of something in his eye that emboldened you. “Where are you going?” Your voice was higher than normal, betraying what you thought was a calm demeanor.

“I'm going to rest my eyes on the couch downstairs.”

You looked at him as he said that, he had the same fatigue that the rest of you had. The bags under his eyes, the bloodshot whites, the slumped shoulders of someone who has been alert for far too long. You knew he didn't fully trust any of you, you knew he didn't ever sleep well, just so he could be ready if danger ever arose. You may be the shepherd but he was the sheepdog that protected the flock. But even he couldn't maintain this lifestyle for long.

So you appealed to the Ben you used to know.

“You took me to your room, but I never got to take you to mine.”

That intrigued him. He chuckled, a rare smile gracing his chapped lips. It was almost like no time had passed, nothing bad had happened, you were just continuing where you left off. But there was a bit more danger in his eyes, a darkness. At first you found it off-putting, but now you were beginning to understand this world and how everyone needed a bit of danger and darkness to survive. You could feel it seeping into you.

“Stay here. Sleep here.” You weren't going to beg him, but you wanted him to know that he was welcome.

He eventually nodded, coming back into the room, closing the door behind him.

--

You were wired. You tried not to think about the body behind you, the warmth it was giving off, how easy it would be to roll over and slide your arms around him. Sleep was supposed to come quickly and effortlessly after days like these. Your body was at the mercy of your mind and the stories it would weave about you and Ben.

You tried counting sheep or recalling the stack frames from the computer you hacked earlier today. You tried focusing on your breathing or the snores of Kira in the other room, but you found your ears trying to tune to Ben's breathing. Was he asleep? Was he suffering as you were? Did he ever intend to fall asleep? Is he faking it right now? Your ears strained, eventually finding the slow and steady breathing of the man next to you. At least he was finally resting.

You cautiously turned until you faced his naked back, seeing the rise and fall of his figure in the darkness. For some reason you expected him to be baby smooth like the rest of the children in the vault, but he had a patch of scars on his shoulder that dripped into his back. You couldn't tell if it was a weapon or perhaps a chemical burn. With a boldness you didn't expect, you carefully traced the edge of it with your fingers, trying to understand its existence just from the topography.

“You're playing with fire, Y/N.” A whisper, but it sounded so strong and clear. He hadn't been asleep at all.

But you didn't withdraw your hand. Instead you pressed your palm to it, feeling the tough rippled skin and the heat it emitted. You could feel him take a larger breath, followed by a slow, even exhale.

“We'll see if I get burned,” confidence oozed out of your response and you hoped he felt it too. You let your hand fall away from him and you rolled back over to face open air again, a small smile on your face.

[avengerdragoness]

Children of The Gods Ch. 3 - Demigod AU [Jason Todd x Reader]

A/n: Chapter 3!!! Since you guys said you didn’t really care if it was long, I just went with this one and it’s a bit lengthy. Sorry I’m posting it late, I just couldn’t stop lol. I really enjoyed writing this chapter!! I hope you guys love it and I’d love to know if you love it!

Ch. 1 - Ch. 2 - Ch. 4 - Ch. 5 - Ch. 6

Tagging: @memento-scribet @cherryignacio @queen-of-all-the-fandoms @annoyed-kitten11 @4evahevah @crazyfangirl1810 @aworldwideapart @shortycraft13 @nerdy-and-ginger @bat-lakota @left-boob-chris @tim-help @zuni21798 @hamsterforlive @books-netflix-and-pizza @sad-horchata @star-wars-5555 @abluepenguinlove @so-little-time-to-many-fandoms @ultralillylove @holywinchesterness @miraisnotavailable @marvelsimaginess @axa-vega @heyitsilverwolf @elysiannostalgia @kazuha159

________

It’s early in the morning, the sun hasn’t even come over the horizon yet. As there were about a thousand things running through your head as you walked through the camp. This trip was going to take nearly all five days if your calculations were correct. You don’t know where the adamantine itself is, but have knowledge of where a map that leads to it is. Though, the map is guarded by the Drakon Kholkikos. An ancient dragon that used to guard the Golden Fleece. It’s no easy feat, and it would not be easy to retrieve everything else you needed before actually going after the adamantine.

You were lost in strategizing and thinking of anything else you might need, you never even felt the eyes of all the half-bloods on you. Usually you were upbeat and aware of the people around you. Always shooting smiles their way or stopping to talk and check up on the younger demigods. But you were so focused and serious, no one had the guts to come up to you today. Especially after last night’s display, some of them never realized how powerful you actually are. They’re not scared of you, but they’re definitely intimidated.

No one dared come up to you until you entered the stables. Finding Kaldur leaning against your pegasus’ stall. “[F/n] we need to talk.” Making eye contact, you ignored his order and went into the stall. Leading the animal out before mounting and continuing on as you were. Though Kaldur wasn’t letting you off that easy. “[F/n] Stop!” he yelled after you before retrieving his own steed.

Following you all the way up to the cabin dedicated to your father, your cabin. “[F/n], you’re not getting out of this conversation.” He said while following you inside. “Kaldur, is this necessary?” asking with an annoyed tone. “Yes. I’m not going to let you go out there and get yourself killed. [F/n] I understand your reasoning behind this, you feel responsible for what happened to Garfield. You feel like you have an obligation to M’gann. However, you and I both know this is a dangerous mission. I wish the two of us could handle it ourselves but this exceeds us both.”

“I will not put anyone else in danger for damage I caused. If I’m going to live up to the expectations that come with being Zeus’ daughter, I must be able to fix my own mistakes.” You whipped around to face him. Frustration in your tone. “You’re not your father [F/n]! Yes, there are expectations that come with being a child of the Big Three, I know, but we are still mortal. We aren’t gods.” He told you sternly, knowing when you’re frustrated and stressed it’s the only way to get through to you. He knows you know these things, but he must bring out your rational side once more. You’ve always been a warrior who relies on instinct before all else, so when you’re worked up, Kaldur is a good person to have around.

“We can bring along warriors we both feel are trained and strong enough for this. I suggest Dick and Conner, Conner is the lead guard and Dick was trained by Bruce. They both can handle themselves.” Kaldur suggested as you leaned against a desk. Thinking. “Fine, but make sure they know the risks. These trials are life or death, the monsters don’t show mercy. They have two purposes, protect and kill.”

He nodded before turning and exiting the cabin hurriedly.

As soon as he left you felt a presence. “You disagree with my decision.” Asking while turning to the lightning bolt as it lay in it’s case. It was left for you for two reasons. One being, the daughter of Zeus should learn to wield her father’s weapon. The second, being a way for your father to communicate with you, it acting as a phone of sorts.

“You could handle this yourself.” A low voice rumbled through the room. “You are my daughter, you have the makings to become a goddess.” You sneered at the comment, “You mistake me for another.”

“I do not.” The voice rumbled again. “I would not have left you such a weapon if I did not believe it so. You are better than this. Your abilities exceed those of these friends of yours”

Scoffing you turned away. It wasn’t often your father talked to you, he only did it if there was purpose. “What do you want father? You don’t normally pop in just to say ‘hi,’ what have I done wrong this time?”

“Other than thinking lesser of yourself. You grow affections for one of the new half-bloods. This son of Athena.” You shook your head, “I hardly know him.” For some reason your father always had troubles with the Goddess or any of her offspring. Not that you knew why, it was ‘olympus matters’ after all. “I know these things my daughter. Such affections are but a distraction.”

“Coming from you, that’s a bit hypocritical.” Rolling your eyes. “Your actions are that of a child.” He growled. You clenched your jaw, turning to the open case “And yours are one of a god not a father! I am no goddess, I’m not immortal like you! I am not you! My life is fragile and I must remain cautious, you wish for me to be this immortal being of which I am not! If you want me to stay out of your brother’s grasp then I suggest you don’t doubt me or my friend’s abilities. They are fine warriors and I trust them with my life!”

“Were you not just the one needing persuasion to bring your friends?” He questioned angrily. “I was but not because I think them weak, I actually care for their safety and know the perils ahead. I don’t want them hurt no matter their skill.” Snapping back.

“No matter, they will hold you back [F/n].” You shook your head, “You’ve said your peace now leave me to mine.”

“So be it.”

After those words you felt the presence leave the room. Sitting down in a chair near the desk, the case sitting open. Looking over at it, you slammed it shut and flipped the clasps closed. Running your hands through your hair, resting your head in your hands. Feeling rage rush through you system, you soon had stood and swiped everything to the left off the case clear off the table. Leaning against it on your hands, seething. “Hold me back, what does he know? ‘Almighty’ my ass.”

Picking up your backpack that has your supplies and the case with the bolt in it, sliding your sword into the scabbard your hip. Heading out the door to leave this place behind for a good while. Once mounting the pegasus you gave the cabin one last glance before clicking your tongue, signalling for the animal to go.

Flying you found Kaldur with a group of the veterans of the camp and the new recruits. After landing you dismounted. “[F/n], good morning” M’gann greeted you. “Good morning” Eyes trailing over the rather large group. Kaldur, Conner, Dick, Jason, Kori, Roy, Wally, Tim, Barbara, Cass, Steph, M’gann, and Zatanna. Turning to the veterans you began, “Okay, so as you all know Dick, Conner, Kaldur, and I are leaving this morning. While we’re away, I need you guys to pick up the slack from our absence. Wally, I need you to keep up on communications, be ready if we need you out there. Zatanna, we need to figure out how the Sirens got through the barrier and get it back to full capacity. Tim, I’d appreciate if you could assist her with research. Cass, while we’re away you’re lead guard. Steph, you’ll take over Dick’s position in helping any new recruits. Barbara I need you to fill in for Kaldur as second in command around here. Finally, M’gann I’m trusting you to keep this place in line. You’re a great leader and the half bloods trust you. I know I’m asking a lot but I need this from you.” Placing your hand on your shoulder.

She smiled, “You can count on me. Bring Garfield home.” Returning her smile you nodded.

“[F/n], we wish to accompany you. We know the real world well and could be of use to you.” Kori stepped up, drawing your attention to her. “I appreciate the offer but I refuse to put anyone else in harms way.” Shaking your head at her.

“I don’t know. [F/n] she could be right. They were strong assets in the siege last night.” Conner spoke up, calling your attention there. “My answer is no.”

“Why?” Roy asked. You turned to him, “Do you know what this mission entails? These monsters we will face will be nothing like the ones from the siege. They have but two purposes, to protect what they’re guarding and to do so by killing. They won’t show you mercy of any sorts and they will never let their guard down. You let yours down and you’ll spend the rest of eternity in the company of Hades. Are you willing to risk that?”

The three exchanged a look before looking back to you, “Absolutely” Jason answered sternly. Looking at his back you noticed the hilt of the sword you had given him the other day. Getting an idea your hand shot to the hilt of your own sword, drawing it you went to strike Jason. His instincts and reflexes kicked in, drawing his own he blocked the attack. “What the hell [F/n]!?” Wally yelled.

You only smirked, not breaking eye contact with Jason. Pulling your sword back you put it back on your hip. “A test, you passed. If you’re willing to put your lives on the line I can’t stop you.” Hearing that they smiled at each other, “But! You do so, you follow my command. Do we have a deal?”

“Deal” they said in unison. “Well, we’re losing daylight. We should get moving.” Turning to the three others joining you. They nodded, and you turned to your veterans again. “Keep the place in one piece while we’re away.” Wally gave you a thumbs up, “You can count on us.”

However you walked over to your pegasus, “Keep an eye on them beauty” whispering before handing her over to M’gann. “Alright, let’s get moving.” Saying while picking up the case with your weapon in it.

“We are to head to a place called the Lost Sea Caverns. They are a series underground caverns with lakes. That is where we can find the map.” Kaldur instructed and you nodded. “Alright, that should be around a day of travel. We need to go.”

After that your group moved to step outside the gate, though when you passed Jason you called his attention, “And Jason. Nice sword.” Smirking while passing him. He chuckled before putting it on his back once more.

While traveling Jason and the other Outlaws began to talk to Conner and Kaldur more. Getting to know the people they were going to be fighting beside. Roy and Kori adding Dick to the mix. However they were all a bit disappointed you didn’t join in on any conversation.

Kaldur thought this strange, usually you were all for getting to know new demigods. Crisis or not. Sometimes you like to think he knows you too well. There are some things you just want to keep to yourself, your relationship with your father being one of them. Everyone at camp thinks you have the strongest bond when it comes to immortal parents, however you two barely see eye to eye. That’s what’s clouding your mind right now, and keeping you from conversating.

“Is [F/n] alright?” Kori asked leaning toward Kaldur. He sighed, “She has a lot on her shoulders. Being a child of the Big Three adds a lot of extra pressure. [F/n] and I are the only ones to be children of the Big Three. My father is not as harsh as Zeus though, things like this take a toll on her.” He explained, not going into much detail.

“What is Poseidon like Kaldur, does he speak to you?” Roy asked, peering around Kori. “Sometimes, through the water. He can be as calm as a stream to as harsh as a raging sea. Though he is often understanding.” Kaldur answered sincerely. Honestly you thought he has the best relationship with his immortal parent.

“Conner, Dick, what about you?” Kori looked at the two other men. They shook their head, “It’s not often because they have multiple children instead of just one. In a fight or battle we may hear from them but it’s a different set of circumstances.” Conner explained as Dick agreed.

“So we will most likely not hear from our parents.” Kori said sadly, looking over at Roy. “I wouldn’t say that.” You interrupted from in front of them all, “It doesn’t just depend on skill, but dedication to your training and willingness to help people. Conner and Dick are being modest, I know they are often communicated with. Apollo and Ares are proud of them. Along with Poseidon with Kaldur. Doing something like this, it will make you parents proud as well.” Glancing back at them, a caring look in your eyes.

“Thank you [F/n]” Kori thanked you smiling. Jason watched as you turned back forward, throwing back up any walls you had just put down.

Kaldur noticed his watching you. “You are curious about her.” He more stated than asked. Jason looked at him, noticing the others caught up in conversation. He nodded. “[F/n] is reserved in situations such as these. She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders, being the one in charge so she takes full force of any mishaps. She won’t ever even let me take some of the weight off her. However, she trusts you. When she lunged at you at the camp, she knew you would block it. Perhaps you are different, maybe she will let you carry some of that weight.”

Jason shook his head, “I’m nothing special. Just someone who was given a second chance.”

“Maybe, that’s what makes you different.” Kaldur said keeping his eyes on Jason. Jason shrugged sighing, “Maybe.”

You had all traveled quite aways when it began to become too dark to go any farther. You announced that you’d set up camp, still being a good ways in the forest. Everyone seemed to sigh in relief. After building camp everyone basically passed out immediately.

Though you didn’t find sleep as easily. Thinking everyone was asleep you rose and headed to where you had seen a stream on the map. However you didn’t realize Jason was still up. When he noticed you leaving he decided to tail you.

Though coming upon the stream you were nowhere in sight. He looked around confused until something fell beside him. Looking down he noticed a branch, his brows furrowed in confusion. “Up here” someone called. Looking toward the source of the voice he saw you sitting on a branch, your back leaning against the trunk of the tree while one leg was dangling and the other was bent. “So, you like trees.” he joked.

You laughed, “Closer to the sky.” He nodded in understanding, watching as you motioned for him to come up. He grabbed onto a branch and began to climb. Making his way to you. Once on the same branch as you he noticed you staring at an opening in the trees, looking to see the stars.

“Do you know the constellations?” You asked looking at him. “A few”

“Do you know that one?” Pointing to a certain cluster of stars. He shook his head. “It’s Sagittarius, the Archer. Sagittarius is a Centar. He draws his bow pointing it at Antares, which is the red heart of Scorpius. It’s said he’s avenging Orion who was slain by the sting of a scorpion.” You explained, not looking away from the night sky. Jason smiled, “Who taught you that?”

Your expression turned somber, “My mother used to be an astronomer. She taught me all of them and the stories behind them before she died.” “I’m sorry” You shook your head, “You have nothing to be sorry for, it’s in the past.”

“Maybe but the past can hurt.” You chuckled, “you can either run from it, or learn from it.”

“Wise words of Rafiki.” You laughed. Making Jason smile. “Thank you by the way.” He caught your attention. “For what?”

“Opening my mind up to all of this. The camp I mean, embracing being a half blood.” Your spirits perked back up a bit, “My pleasure.”

A comfortable silence fell between the both of you. “So, what’s it like being the daughter of Zeus?” Jason questioned curiously. You shrugged, “Not as glamorous as one might think. How about you, son of Athena?” He chuckled, “Not bad”

“Care to elaborate?” You rose an eyebrow curiously, swinging your leg mindlessly. “You really want to hear my sob story?” He laughed making eye contact. “Well you’ve already heard about something in my past, it’s only fair.”

Chuckling he began, “Let me start from the beginning. Before I knew about all of this, I lost my parents at a young age. Not that they were necessarily good parents. Like Garfield I never knew of my true heritage until my so called father was arrested then died in prison, and my mother overdosed. I turned into a street kid until one of those monsters put me on their radar. That’s when Bruce saved me and I became one of his wards. He trained me and I did some good, having refused to go to the camp. But there was this certain villain that just kept coming back. The Joker. He ended up setting me up in a trap, using my not so dead mother as bait. I fell into his trap, and well he killed me. I remember being in the underworld, it’s vivid. But my mother, my real mother, Athena apparently made a deal with Hades. That gave me a second chance at life, but Zeus was against it I guess. Though my mother didn’t care, she wanted me to live. So when I came back I met Roy and Kori, and we formed the Outlaws, determined to help people. Working outside of Bruce’s moral code. Then long story short, we were brought to the camp after a mishap on a mission.” Jason explained. His story cleared up a lot of things to you, but you couldn’t help but feel awful. He just poured it all out to you.

“Wow, that’s terrible. I’m sorry you had to go through that, and that my father was against it. It kind of explains why he seems to butt heads with Athena now.” You sighed, remembering what he had said about your ‘affections.’

He shrugged, “Like you said, it’s in the past.” Nodding as another silence fell, “My mother, she was killed by one of the villains. I don’t know which one, the League refuses to tell me. She died in my arms, her last words were telling me about the lightning bolt and my true heritage. After that I was targeted by multiple villains and had some close calls, that was until the League found me and brought me to the camp. That’s where I grew up.”

“I guess we both have some pretty fucked up pasts.” He chuckled as you laughed, “Yeah I guess so. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to just talk to someone like this.”

“Me too” Jason smiled and you felt a blush creep to your cheeks, luckily it’s dark. “Um, we should get back. Tomorrow will be a long day.”

“Yeah, maybe we can make a habit of this. Plus I’d love if you could teach me the rest of the constellations.” Jason smirked while climbing down. You laughed, “I might just take you up on that.”

[satelliteofmstielove]

K16 City on Fire

                                                    Roasted turkey

General notes

         …So. Hey. Remember when I used to make these, like, a long time ago? It’s been over a year since I worked on the guide, for various reasons involving school and reboot junk and other stuff, but mostly school and reboot junk. I won’t go into details because who cares. Let’s just move on and watch an episode of MST3K.

          This episode features a little more fan club talk, and not much else worth noting here. Let’s get to the watching. Guess who finally learned how to embed hyperlinks? Onward!

PS note: This movie contains quite a bit of unpleasant imagery, including a lot of people getting burnt throughout, a couple of distressed/dead animals, and a short surgery scene which begins about 1:17:30. Just thought I’d note it here for people who’d want to be warned.

Prologue

The Mads get a letter from the Mad Scientists League, an organization that will crop up in one form or another in various episodes down the line, such as Mitchell [512] and Girl in Gold Boots [1002]. Sometimes it’s called something different, but the idea is the same. Here, as in later mentions, they’re not really sure if the Mads’ brand of evil is really mad or scientific enough to qualify as mad science.

The official unofficial episode guide on Satellite News says that the comment Larry makes about Ken Keller has something do with a local university president, I think. I read it a long time ago and don’t really remember. I tried to go back and verify, but uh, I can’t get www.mst3kinfo.com to work for me. Is that just me or are other people having that problem? Did something happen to it that I haven’t heard about? (I haven’t been very active in the fandom for, like, more than a year, so I’m a little out of the loop about a lot of stuff.)

What kind of job do you think Larry had at the Pentagon? Do you think the “worked for two weeks, paid for two years” thing was actually part of the gig, or something he engineered for himself? Questions for the ages.

Apparently now the Mads get all of their research money from the MSL. I wonder what happened to all the money Clay won in Vegas a few episodes back. Guess they blew it all on who-knows-what already, which would not be surprising. Is Gizmonics as a whole funded by the MSL? In a previous episode, it sounded like the Mads had to meet some kind of standard for Gizmonics in order to work there, so maybe that’s related to the…look, I know it doesn’t matter, and the guys didn’t think any of this through when they made it up. They just threw it together 45 minutes before they taped the episode, not worrying how it fit together in the world. Which is totally fine. I just like to see if I can make it make sense, despite that. Coherence is not required in the MST universe, but it’s kind of amusing when you find it. At least to me.

Sounds like Larry’s already kinda bored with the “worst movie ever” experiment. I think Joel and the bots might be on the same page.

Uh, is Gizmonics not considered the private sector? Do they have government funding? If so, how the heck do they swing that? I realize the pork goes pretty far in this country, but thinly-veiled mad science seems like it would be pushing even that. They must have some kind of in with a senator or something. Maybe one is a Gizmonics alumni- politics would be a nice place to continue practicing evil.

Fruit inspection is apparently their only other option for a job. Ouch.

Clay, at least, seems to think the MSL doesn’t consider them mad enough because their experiment is too cutesy. I wonder if that’s what it said in the report. Personally, I wouldn’t really consider their movie selection cute, but I guess in comparison to the truly grade Z garbage that would come later, like Manos or Red Zone Cuba, I can see what they mean.

Huh, it heads straight into the movie without showing the S.O.L. first, without even the doorway sequence. I don’t think that’s happened before.

Movie pt. 1

Am I crazy, or do the theater seats look extra tiny and crowded together this time?

I like Servo’s wrestling-announcer-style reading of the title card at 3:58.

At 6:02- I can’t be the only one who automatically responds “McCloud.”

Crow sounds concerned about the smoothie (or whatever that’s supposed to be) at 6:30. He also mentions the many camera edits. Why does that scene have so many of those?

Josh interrupts Joel again at 6:56. I haven’t been keeping a count, but that’s gotta be at least 6 or 7 times over the course of the series.

At 14: 39, TV23 shows the time and temperature. Is that 6:15 AM or PM? Based on the 32° temperature, I’d guess morning, assuming this aired in March or April.

A transcript of the French that begins at 15:23, at least as well as my two years of high school French can tell: “Monsieur Pierre. Pas maintenant. Non, uh, après le mois demain à trois heures. Non, something something. Something bien something? Au revoir.”, which translates to “Mr. Pierre. Not now. No, uh, after the month, tomorrow at 3 o’clock. No, something something. Something good something? Goodbye.” You guys probably understood most of that without help, but still, there it is. (The après le mois could have actually been rapidement, meaning quickly, but I thought the former made slightly more sense in context. Or not. I don’t know, really.)

At 17:46, Tom mentions nude Shelley Winters photos in Joel’s room, and Joel shushes him. Sounds like maybe he has something to hide.

Joel and the bots keep predicting that maintenance guy will turn out to be a psycho. I can’t remember if they were reviewing part of the movies before using them by this point in the show’s run or not. They might have seen farther into the movie previously and know what’s going to happen. Let’s watch.

Man, it’s like 20 minutes into the movie and they’re still introducing whole new swaths of characters. Were people supposed to take notes while watching? Also, seriously? The city on fire is on fire because some dumb kids threw a cigarette? That’s…kinda disappointing. I was sort of hoping for gigantic explosion, and I’m not even usually a gigantic explosion kind of person.

Crow’s distressed about Mickey Mouse burning to death at 20:54.

Crow comment at 21:07 about same movies kinda sums up my feelings, as well.

The boys do a classic Lassie type sketch at 22:00.

There’s another interruption problem at 22:43, this time with Joel interrupting Josh. Afterwards, he asks Josh what he was going to say, and then says he was glad he interrupted him once he hears the riff. Burn. Crow/Trace even comments on it.

Uh, the boy in the striped shirt, Gerald or whatever his name is…to quote the Star Wars: Episode 1 RiffTrax, is it okay to say this kid sucks?

Crow thinks the movie is getting too scary as they leave the theater. He used to be quite a bit more sensitive early on, didn’t he? He still had his moments later in the series, though, like in Being from Another Planet [405] when he’s afraid of the basement.

Host Segment 1

The bots are doing something potentially suspicious with a telescope as we enter the bridge.

Joel brings up their supplies, saying somebody’s been overusing the oil. I don’t want to point fingers, but I’d guess it was Tom, seems like something he’d do. Then again, Crow has said in the past that WD-40 was his favorite lubricant, so maybe…

The bots aren’t listening to him, though- they’re trying to get their prank going. It’s surprising that Joel still falls for some of these by now, but I guess he’s not known for being really aware of his surroundings.

Servo was definitely the less innocent one if the first couple of seasons of the show. Crow had moments but Tom made his babe obsession a part of his personality.

Joel not only falls for the telescope eye ring prank, he rubs his eye all over it to be sure it gets on there really well. I’m sure they had to do that for the episode to make sure you could see it on camera, but it makes Joel look like he doesn’t know how to use a telescope. Maybe it’s just a weird telescope.

One thing I always liked about the bots- especially in the first few seasons but really throughout the show’s run- is how they don’t know so many basic things but still know details about, for instance, 1960s ad campaigns for cigarettes. It gives the impression that they have random parts of encyclopedias in their memory banks, which is probably true. I always felt like Joel probably dumped as much info as he could think of into the bots when he built them, but he couldn’t think of everything important at once, so they’ve got big holes in their knowledge base. For the purpose Joel built them for, it makes sense and works pretty well.

Poor Joel. He’s not the butt of the joke that often, at least not without getting back in some way.

Movie pt. 2

Crow’s confused at first by Joel’s comment about cattiness at 32:39.

At 37:55, Joel starts talking about seeing Orville Redenbacher get into a fistfight with his nephew at a party. I have no idea if this is true (though I doubt it) but maybe that eventually became the inspiration for the Orville Popcorn sketch in Godzilla vs. Megalon [212]. Odd how a weird little idea like that could stick around for so long.

Hm, I guess I did get my gigantic explosion after all. But somehow it still doesn’t fill the gaps in my heart…Actually that was really horrific. Geez.

Not important, but does anyone else think the psycho guy looks kinda like Peter Davison?

Joel laugh at 44:47, and a pretty enthusiastic one.

Huh, that movie section was unusually short.

Host Segment 2

Joel’s got an invention, which may have been inspired by the movie- Hell in a Handbag. This one, like many KTMA era inventions, will be reused in Season 1, in The Mad Monster [103].

Servo is not impressed by Crow’s flirting techniques with pretending-to-be-a-woman Joel and demonstrates his own. What is it with him and mangoes?

Joel got really into his part there for a second. Maybe he should have been in drag more often on the show, since, like, everyone else was. Actually maybe that was just all Mike.

Why would Joel program a thug algorithm into the bots? When did he ever think he’d need that? Maybe that explains what happens at the pinball machine in The Girl in Lovers Lane [509]. Also, I like how they can apparently just rummage through their own programming and find old stuff. Cool.

Joel seems to find the bots’ thug mode pretty funny. Maybe that’s why he programmed it into them.

Crow’s scared of the Hell-in-a-Handbag. Poor baby hahah. The way Joel grabs his neck affectionately afterwards is really cute, though. Joel says it was all in retaliation for the telescope prank earlier, but Servo didn’t seem phased, so really only Crow got punished. Crow’s also the only one who apologizes. Crow is always cute, but he’s extra cute in these old episodes. I just really love Crow, you guys.

Movie pt. 3

It’s called the Manson Refinery? That’s fitting, I suppose, with all the people it’s killed.

Crow falls right over backwards at 53:58. He and then Servo say they feel woozy. Understandable given the content of the scene. Ugh. But in reality, Trace was probably having trouble with the puppet. He has said in interviews that the KTMA Crow handled “like a T-square.”

At 56:18, Tom calls someone onscreen a “boinkus”? Doinkus, maybe?

Geez, nobody in this entire city has heard of stop, drop, and roll.

Host Segment 3

Joel and the bots do a little march/call and response thing. They’re having a little bit of trouble staying on beat, though (and on pitch). I like the song, though.

Joel’s jumpsuit is pretty fitted in the butt area. Just in case, you know, you were interested in knowing that.

They run down the hall with Cambot at Movie Sign. I’ve already forgotten if they’ve done that before in KTMA (that’s what happens when you go a year without working on your episode guide). They did it once or twice in the show proper, though not with the bots.

Movie pt. 4

Wow, seriously? First all the burning people, now surgery close-ups? How much pointlessly gross stuff is this movie going to include?

Also, dead bird shot, just to be sure everyone is sad. Why didn’t that kid just let the bird OUT OF THE CAGE? It can fly! That would at least give it a better chance.

And now the psycho’s comeuppance is getting anti-climatically crushed by a falling fire escape, and Shelley Winters dies too for no good reason? I haven’t even had anything to say about the riffers during this segment because stupid crap keeps happening in this movie.

Tom comments on how they killed off Shelley Winters in a stupid way, but the doctor guy somehow survives all the fire. I agree. This movie is stupid.

That’s the ending? THAT’S THE ENDING? Sappy music and romance and whatever, the city was on fire but hey it got put out (OFFSCREEN) so it’s all fine? Who cares about the thousands of victims and the millions in property damage? Not us, we’re kissing! Wow. Thanks for that, movie.

Crow gets excited about the name “McCrow” in the end credits at 1:37:22.

At 1:38:00, Servo begs to leave. At first Crow says they need to stay for the credits, but then agrees that they should go.

Servo also says goodbye to the audience as he leaves the theater.

Conclusion

Gypsy’s on deck for this segment, and Joel asks her where she’s been. Apparently “bumping into newsletters”. I wonder if she’s the one who printed them off.

Looks like back then you got a certificate for joining the fan club. I wonder if anyone out there still has theirs. Probably at least a few do.

I like Gypsy’s “ooh, aah” at the fan club membership card.

Crow tells the fans to keep more drawings coming. I guess he likes those.

Mr. Crow of Beverly Hills is still credited with the hair designs for the show.

Thoughts on the Movie

          A more accurate name for this movie would be Oil Refinery and Area Around a Hospital on Fire, since most of the city is never actually on fire. Not that I’d want to see it, but with a title like City on Fire you kind of expect to see a whole city on fire. All I’m saying is our expectations were mismanaged. Also, what was the point of burning the house earlier in the movie? Just to give us a fake-out? “Hah, you thought the fire was going to be earlier in the movie but instead, it was later in the movie!” You really got us there, guys.

          But jokes asides, this film mostly disgusted me. Does anyone want to watch long sequences of people getting burned alive? Do they like watching people endure terror and pain? It could be the filmmakers were just trying to underscore the dire situation, but it seems more like a sick fascination with showing suffering and death. I guess that’s common in movies and TV, in various forms, but it doesn’t make any sense to me. I talked about this a little in the entry for SST: Death Flight [K13], but it applies here again- pointless destruction of things and lives just doesn’t make good entertainment for me. Maybe a good disaster movie is about people overcoming and surviving in the face of horrible circumstances outside of their control. Certainly that’s not the case here. This movie becomes more a parade of lurid and gruesome imagery than anything else. No thank you. I guess maybe that’s why it wasn’t successful, hm.

          On a lighter note of criticism, did every friggin’ TV movie in the ‘70s have to be about 800 different people? Seriously, that’s SST: Death Flight, Superdome, San Francisco International, this movie- ok, I guess Stranded in Space wasn’t. Or Code Name Diamond Head. Or Mitchell. But those are sci-fi, spy, and cop movies, respectively, while the others are disaster/action/um, airport genre. Whatever. Point is, you do not need 437 different protagonists. Stop putting in 437 different protagonists.

          There’s not much else to say about this movie, I guess. The plot starts out confusing but converges and becomes somewhat less so as it goes along (though that's partially because several plot threads just drop off the map). Most of the acting is decent, some of the characters actually seem kind of interesting. Not every part of it sucks. Unfortunately, any of that mildly good stuff is buried in a pile of rubble and burnt bodies.

Review

          Despite my distaste for the movie, this was a funny episode. I laughed out loud many times and had a hard time picking a favorite riff (though I did pick one- Crow: That’ll wake the dog up.) The guys are really starting to get good at this. Even with the slower pace of the improv riffing, it doesn’t really feel empty like some of the older eps do. That may have something to do with a more action-filled movie, too, but the jokes are definitely improving. While the movie is not as watchable, funny-wise I’d call this as good an episode as SST: Death Flight, which I previously called the best KTMA ep. Nice job, guys.