#mason siris wu

[thuban-x]

《Feliz navidad》: Christmas Mercs Ⅰ

Click here to see the whole zine

[radiantrookie]

[rutabagel]

yall remember those tweets Miles made about Locus and Felix having dinner at the Wu's house? yeah

[agentbuckshot]

I Caved and designed this man some armor, I imagine he worked with felix and locus for a couple more years but when the chorus mission came around he couldn’t bring himself to do it

[purpleboytournament]

[durararossart]

siris is doing his best, felix

[rvb-relationship-royale]

RVB Romantic Relationship Royale- Round 1, Part 2, Poll 18

[texas-hates-taxes-too]

This is NOT the new merc lore I expected to get 💀💀

[yayneloveart]

I know this probably means nothing but I need to point something out in the Lozano trilogy.

Whenever Siris and Felix slip up with the codenames, they always refer to each other by their last name. That makes sense because they are all ex military and that's how everyone knows and calls each other (even my brothers and dad (and grandpa and 100+ other relatives) werent called anything else but 'Johnson', despite that being the #1 most common name ever) (Srsly, it's easier to count how many of my Male relatives DIDNT serve in the armed forces)

But there is one moment where someones first name is used casually, when Felix puts his sunglasses and mask on. He specifically calls Locus 'Sam', so not only his first name but a nickname.

Locus never slips up on the codenames so we never learn if he would ever call Felix 'Isaac', but I think it says a lot that Felix would casually use a first name and Locus was only annoyed by him not using codenames.

[plagues02]

Red vs Blue - Blues and Reds (plus Mercs) Queer HCs

Pride Month 2024 - Day 27

Temple is aroflux and gay. He is also a trans man(he/him) and would kill if clocked.

Biff is omnisexual with a heavy fem lean.

Buckey is pansexual.

Loco doesn’t label himself. He just falls for whoever he falls for

Surge is aroace.

Cronut is asexual and gay.

Gene is nonbinary and uses they/he/it and is gay.

Lorenzo is agender and uses any pronoun.

Felix is a trans man who uses he/they. He’s on the aroace spectrum and he’s biromantic.

Siris is on the aroace spectrum.

Locus is genderfuild and their pronouns changes fairly often. They mainly use they, he, or she. She also is only attracted to men and asexual.

[clebsterart]

Felix wearing this to the function directly before getting his shit rocked by Wu

[rutabagel]

normal people making in-depth rvb ocs: freelancers, sim troupers, people on Chorus me: wash's sisters and mom yeehaaaw

[agentbuckshot]

Dude Siris is such an interesting character it really sucks he was only around for 3 episodes, I totally get he wouldn’t have much of a place in the greater story of rvb, he’s still a cool ass character. He’s able to outrun bullets, fucking bad ass, he has a family he cares about and partners he cares about just as much, he’s a martial expert and is able to kick metal in half. And without a doubt a very moral and well rounded character with his like 20 or so minutes of screen time.

I wouldn’t really have had s11-13 any other way, and Wu wouldn’t have really fit, but I still would’ve loved to see more content of him + more of his abilities, because his fighting style is fucking Awesome I would’ve loved seeing this dude in full armor and at his full potential. I will never not stop appreciating Siris til he gets the appreciation he deserves

[sharkface-daydreams]

for when you want five more of those little mercs bitches

[nevada-got-screwed-over]

Taglist: @averagejoey2000

Original Inspiration / Masterpost

Chapter 13 / Chapter 15

Theta!South AU. I Guess.

Chapter: 14

Words: “the biggest barrier to posting stuff is actually posting it apparently” (2,527)

Meg pursed her lips, swallowing back tears, eyes avoiding South’s own.

“You know he…he had a hard time. Adjusting, back here. With civilian life.” Her strained voice had softened, growing stronger as she spoke but still barely a whisper. “He took up some…nontraditional work for the city.”

“Nontraditional?” South raised a brow, trying to keep her expression neutral as Theta’s thoughts crowded her own.

“Bounty hunting.” Meg said quickly, eyes darting to South’s face before finding the flicker of the lamp a welcome distraction. “With some other soldiers who were also struggling with civilian life.”

“And you were okay with –”

“Absolutely not.” The laugh that left her lips held neither amusement nor venom. “I – we almost didn’t make it work but…” Her voice trailed off, South’s expectant eyes prodding her along. “But my work at the clinic doesn’t – the money was good, and we always talked about moving out of the city, so…” She grimaced; the words sour. “Fuck it sounds so selfish.”

“Nothing selfish about wanting good things.” South shrugged, leaning back on the couch and hoping to ease the tension that seemed to crush the room. “I mean, when you say the money’s good, how good is good? I might have to –”

“They fucked up.” Megan’s voice was tightening, eyes settling with glassy tears. “A – A few months ago. There was a dirty cop and the records of the guy they grabbed got wiped and,” Her chest shuddered. “And the only way out was…bad.” Her expression softened. “I nearly strangled him when I saw those bruises…”

“Theta –”

“If I jump to the holo-system she’ll see me.”

“I’m assuming he assured you the other guy got it worse?” South managed a small smile, Theta sifting through her blurry thoughts for any mention of notable murders since he couldn’t access official records without exposing himself to Meg.

“Oh, certainly. They killed every last one of them.” Meg’s eyes widened a fraction at the flicker of concern that crossed South’s expression. “They were – you wouldn’t know the Lozanos, crime family downtown –”

“No, I’ve definitely heard the name. Sketchy folks.”

“Sketchy doesn’t scratch the surface.” Meg wiped half formed tears from her eyes, breathing still shaky. “I…I made him promise. Promise that he was done, and that he would get a job with the clinic – you’ve seen the garage, he makes custom prosthetics better than any the UNSC producer – and, and I thought he did. We worked the same hours; he came home for dinners but…”

“You think he’s still out there?”

“He’s been…going out. For drinks with his ex-coworkers, he says. And – and most nights I trust him and he’s back before midnight but…”

“He didn’t come home tonight?”

Meg whimpered, holding her head in her hands.

“Have you called him? He might have lost track of time,” Theta’s suggestion felt awkward on South’s lips.

“He – he didn’t pick up. I always make sure he remembers his phone and he never turns it off when he knows I might call.” Meg sniffled, exhaustion painting her face. “I was going to…I need him. I need him to stay. I can’t do this alone.”

South took a moment to look at her friend in the soft light of the apartment: shaken, haggard, and haloed in gold from the lamp behind her. Theta slipped a whisper that was confirmed by Meg’s pleading gaze.

“You’re…oh shit, I’m gonna kill him. After I get that potsticker recipe he refuses to share.” South let her frustration slip through, glad to see Meg crack a smile at her characteristic callousness. “How long?”

“A – only a few months. I, I was going to tell him tonight. When he got home. Explain why I…I just need him to be around more.” Her smile fell and her breathing shuddered. “I…I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if – I don’t trust the police – I can’t just go out looking in bars and clubs hoping to stumble upon him…”

“Theta, jump. I need you to help.”

“Are you sure? We trust her but…the UNSC…”

“Yes.”

The holo-system chirped to life; purple light illuminated the various projectors as Theta resynced with the system. Megan jumped at the sound, reaching to South who held her gently as the small, purple hologram flickered to life on the projector in front of the couch.

“Um. Hi?” His tinny voice from the speakers matched the small wave he offered, nervously wringing his hands as Megan gaped at the AI.

“Theta run the cameras. Cross reference historic Lozano locales.”

“On it.”

“What?” Megan’s anxieties had melted instantly, the shock and confusion of the little holographic soldier breaking her from her spiral.

“Your husband’s a bounty hunter on bad terms with the cops. I was part of a black ops project that specialized in using compatible AI enhancements. Secret for a secret seems fair.”

“Fair enough. Um,” Meg’s eyes followed South as she shuffled to the kitchen pour cold coffee for herself.

“You want some tea or something?”

“Oh, yes. Um, do you have peppermint?”

“Tea?” South snorted, rolling her eyes as she rifled through the cabinets. “Somewhere, probably. Cravings kicking in already?”

“I told you, it’s been a few months.”

“South,” Theta asked, emerging from the projector in the kitchen as she set the kettle to boil.

“Got something?”

“An idea,”

“Can…can he do that?” Meg piped up from the couch, watching the pair with curiosity.

“Yeah?” South shook her head. “What’s your idea T?”

“His prosthetic leg. The core is UNSC construction even if he’s made modifications to the shell.” Theta flickered next to Meg, who startled at the sudden appearance. “Do you know if he ever tampered with the RFID tag?”

“The, the what? I – I don’t know,”

“I’ll run a scan, couldn’t hurt to try for a ping.” His hologram flickered out; energy diverted to running his code.

“So,” Meg said as South handed her a still steeping cup of peppermint tea. “AI, huh?”

“If you tell anyone I will kill you.”

“I wouldn’t!”

“I know.” South smiled, sipping her cold coffee as she settled back on the couch.

“Got him!” Theta announced proudly, pulling up a map of the city and narrowing down a small red dot on the outskirts. South would have been proud too, if she had at least gotten to finish her coffee. The dot on the map was far from the city center, resting at the intersection of the barrens surrounding the city and the last remnants of urban sprawl.

“Where abouts?”

“No address, let me pull up satellite.” The road map zoomed in on the location as the image shifted, revealing the blurry delineation of scattered buildings. “Looks like part of the abandoned industrial district – south of the old granite quarry – hey, hey! Wait for me!”

South looked over from where she was lacing up her boots.

“No. You stay here.”

“But –”

“Meg needs the company little buddy, besides –”

“Don’t little buddy me.” The snap in his voice was cold but not hostile, despite the silvery light in his projection. Megan had flinched away from his tone, looking between the pair in anticipation.

“Your more useful here than in the field in this case. I need someone to give me real time updates if there’s any changes.” And he was safer here, but that sentiment went unsaid. Theta processed her words, hologram shrinking slightly as the tension in his shoulders eased.

“Okay. But,” He flickered to the projector by the door as South shrugged on her jacket. “But! I want to try something. Just, a little upgrade for your helmet.”

---

South’s bike screamed through the near-empty city roads, the dull light of morning creeping between the streetlights and fading glow of neon signs. She ran a red light or two, but with Theta’s upgrades to her helmet, she was well aware of police positions throughout the city and easily avoided them.

Without an AI the interface was a little overwhelming, but her standard civilian helmet had been updated to reflect her familiar HUD. Theta and Megan’s voices kept her updated through the newly secure audio channel.

“It hasn’t moved, keep following the path I highlighted. There are no cameras within 100 meters of the building unfortunately, so we’ll have to rely on your visuals once you’re there.”

“Piece of cake,” South grumbled, though a smile tugged at her face. For the first time in months, maybe more than a year, she felt present. Alive and comfortable despite the ache of hunger in her stomach and the damp leather jacket that weighed down her skin.

What was hunger but the tight ball of anxiety before any mission? The weight of phantom armor in the form of her jacket? She was once again following a mission objective with North watching her back.

She breathed deeply as she shook the bittersweet nostalgia from her mind. She needed to focus.

South stopped her bike two blocks down the street, tucking it between two half collapsed buildings. The building was similar to the factory she worked in (she was going to miss her shift today, she thought with a twinge of guilt and annoyance). Rainwater still dripped from the crude tin roof, and the concrete walls were black with damp. Shattered windows were still protected by iron grates, and the graffiti across the ground and walls echoed of children who once terrorized the world with red paint rather than blood.

Two hostiles ahead. Theta was already running background scans. Ex-military (who wasn’t these days?), the pair were associated with a rising gang in the city. Something needed to fill the power vacuum left behind by the Lozano’s, and apparently this violent collection of drug running, human trafficking idiots thought that they best suited the role.

“You’re sure he’s in there?” South asked, voice soft despite the distance still separating her from her targets.

“Yes.” Theta answered, his voice distant as he spoke to Megan. “You, you don’t have to watch. South can be scary sometimes, when she wants.”

“No. Don’t worry about me. Get my husband out of there, whatever it takes.” Any tears were banished from her voice, hard and calculated.

“O-Okay! Okay, uh, South,” Her HUD cleared, focusing on the two hostiles down the road. “Ready?”

“Ready.” She stumbled from her hiding spot, lazily shifting her jacket off of one shoulder and wandering down the road as though in a daze.

“Never told me you were such a good actor,” Meg’s voice laughed, but silence fell as the two hostiles approached.

“You alright ma’am?” One asked, sly smile spreading across the woman’s scarred face to reveal gold and silver plated teeth in her prosthetic jaw.

“Sorry, think I’m lost,” South slurred, still swaying on her feet as Theta appraised the threats. Both the woman and the man behind her were handily armed, silenced pistols held loosely in hand and flash grenades on their belts. They had no earpieces or radios.

South worked brutally and efficiently. In an instant her body language shifted and there was blood spraying from the woman’s sliced throat, the knife traded midfall for the woman’s pistol. Already loaded and primed, the bullet sank into the man’s skull before he could raise his own weapon. The only sound of the fight was the solid thud of two bodies hitting concrete, and the soft splatter of blood as South stepped over them to the unlocked door.

After she took their grenades and ammo, of course.

“Remember, try to be stealthy. We’re at a disadvantage without cameras here; if we can extract him quietly that would be ideal.”

“Since when has anything worked out ideally for us?”

“Good point.”

Inside, a pair of lookouts trudged toward the door, ready to take on the morning shift. The first one to open the door would be lucky. South grabbed him by his mouth, muffling any attempt to scream as she pulled him out and pinned him to the wall. The man behind him slumped to the ground with a bullet hole weeping blood between his eyes.

“You scream you die. Am I clear?” Her faceless threat was met with a wide eyed frantic nod. “Good. There is a man in this building I need; he has a prosthetic leg. You know him?” Another frantic nod. “Good. Do you know where he is being held?”

“South, I have a more accurate fix on the RFID tag.” Theta’s voice trembled, but he knew that the sooner they found Mason, the safer both he and South would be. “We don’t need information from this guy.”

“Copy.” The man beneath her gave a muffled cry before her knife sank deep and smoothly into his throat. A few seconds of twitching, then he stilled. South pushed a few even breaths through her chest before withdrawing her knife. Killing up close was never really her style, but she was no stranger to the way the man’s glassy eyes grew dim as she rose and began to follow Theta’s track through the building.

It was going to be a bloody morning.

Two more hostiles taken down in quick succession, South saw no reason to slow her dogged assault on the compound. She had no need for information – Theta’s thermal scan, though limited, showed her any living threat. The group of three that shuffled around the corner would be no different.

“The tall one has an earpiece,” Theta informed her as she glimpsed them around a corner. “Best to take her down first –”

As though in slow motion, a primed flash grenade seemed to float over her shoulder. She saw the new assailant’s face, twisted in rage and teeth bared before he ducked away from the imminent blast. Theta’s processing worked faster than her sluggish human brain, triggering her helmet’s visor to insulate her eyes as the flashbang detonated.

Her visor quickly reverted, assessing the new threats as South reoriented her priorities. She was unharmed but had lost the element of surprise. So much for an ideal extraction. Theta had adjusted her HUD’s overlay to account for this.

The man who had thrown the grenade rounded the corner; submachine gun raised. The bullet he caught in his throat thankfully stopped him from squeezing the trigger. Footfalls from the trio down the hall were incoming.

South snagged the machine gun and fired indiscriminately, forcing them to take cover behind the corner and giving her a moment to remove the pins from several flashbangs. Theta drew the angles at which they needed to be thrown, and in an instant the grenades skidded to the feet of the guards around the corner.

They detonated in quick succession, and South rounded the corner to fire at the incapacitated hostiles. Luckily, her shots had missed the earpiece. She raised it to the side of her helmet, Theta picking up the feed.

“How many?”

“Two – three? Maybe more. How the hell are they –”

“We need backup in the north – now! We need –” Static interrupted the various communications, the channel scrambled. South dropped the earpiece and marched forward, thermal scan reaching out and around her. Mason was in the room ahead, and he wasn’t alone.

---

I was not made to write fight scenes - I hope they’re readable. Debated rewriting this whole chapter at several points, and am still considering it. I use tumblr on mobile and write on desktop so I assure you every time I open the app I think ‘oh damn gotta update my fics -’ and then I proceed to Not Do That.

[durararossart]

was talking about possible recurring characters for a merc series and came up with the idea of "rival female bounty hunters that are scarily similar to the boys"

shout out to @a-daks for the "Lucia has an X scar between her tits and only wears plunging necklines"