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crqstalite · 3 years

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stargazer.

just a little something from the wip folder. i started writing it months ago and i honestly have no idea where it was supposed to be going. you might be able to tell where earlier!andre stops and now!andre begins.

otherwise, a drabble about kodelyn and her mother, hannah shepard. no warnings.

She used to love the stars.

She used to be a child who knew nothing more than the skies of Rio, curious and wide eyed when they'd say goodbye to her new stepfather and siblings. Then, out into the warm and humid air with her mother, who'd braid her hair back in cornrows and pick her up to a piggyback style. So far outside the city, she was amazed by the lack of noise, lack of light. The way the sky would be speckled with white and gold, the way they'd twinkle when she lifted her head just right.

They'd never had the time before her sister was born. It'd always just been them, her and her mother bouncing between stations. Hannah Shepard and her daughter, Kodelyn, with the endearing habit of typing her own reports with nonsensical subjects that the crew would take in stride. One had started giving her stickers for each one, much to her happiness.

She saw the stars outside her window on Arcturus, wondering what lay beyond the twinkling lights in the distance. She'd used to make up stories that there were aliens, like any good child would in the years preceding the First Contact War. It'd fascinated her, so far away, yet they sped past them with the usage of the mass relay network. Anywhere she could, she stuck glow in the dark stickers. Whether that be in the crew cabin or elsewhere, she loved the way they looked. The nebula of purples and blues and black mixing into a vision of what she lived to see. Her curiosity about the galaxy before her made many believe she was simply a carbon copy of her mother, someone who asked just about all the right questions and maybe a few that weren't relevant. They saw Hannah in her, a few officers referring to her as simply 'Little Shepard'. A little clone that was constantly on her heels, but it was more endearing than annoying. Most of the time. As long as she didn't get underfoot too often. And that was fine, she liked it. Loved it even. Would've been happy if it stayed that way.

Then all of sudden (well, to her it was all of a sudden), she wasn't living on stations anymore. It seemed sometime between all the childish fantasies of being a spacefaring heroine, domesticity had settled in and didn't seem like it was leaving. Someone who took care of her when her mother was on tour, a 'proper' father. Then, a sister that hung onto every word that came out of her mouth. Then a brother who thought she was the best thing since the Mars relay had been found. It wasn't just her and her mother anymore, a family had grown around them.

At first, she was confused. Why she didn't accompany her mother on cruises anymore, why she was rarely home. Nearly upset even, until she came back through the door with a smile on her face and tired crinkles around her eyes after months on missions. A warning not to dirty her dress blues when she'd been away at the garrison, but never minding to bend down and hug her daughter. The stars became her connection back to her, wondering which one had her mother's ship behind it. As much as the megaopolis' bright lights drowned out those in the sky, she still stayed up to watch the city sleep and the stars find their way to her window. Watching as the ships came in at the dock, becoming adept at identifying each model, growing excited when she recognized the one she'd been looking for. Her mother always said she didn't have favorite children, but considering the shiny models of Alliance ships brought back for her, only her, she had reason to believe otherwise.

Well, most of the time. She'd never tell her baby siblings, but she was pretty sure she was the favorite.

"Do you have to go back?" Kodelyn asks, voice small as she rests her head on her mother's shoulder. The last day of her shore leave, and she wasn't excited to let her just go again, "Let them have Mr. 'Quin, then you can stay home with me all day."

Her mother chuckles, adjusting her hold on her small legs, "If that were how the military worked, I'm sure he'd be gone already, Dee. But you know I have work to do, and I'll be right back here for your birthday."

"But that's forever away!" Kodelyn exclaims, incredulous at the notion. April was a long time from then, nearly a whole year from that July. She believed she was completely justified in her reaction to the absurd amount of time her mother would be gone. In the grand scheme of things, it was decidedly absolutely unacceptable, "You're gonna miss Mason's birthday, and Mr. 'Quin's."

"I wish I could be here for them all, you know that, bug. Shore leave doesn't always come easy to us marines," She responds, stepping out of the way of a bush, the crinkling of leaves underneath her boots, "Tell you what, how about we get a dog for him and Mason? They like dogs, don't they?"

"There aren't pets in space, mom. Everyone knows that," Kodelyn giggles, her mother shaking her head and surely smiling herself, "Are we there yet?"

A pause before they step out from the tree line, Kodelyn craning her neck to stare up at the sky. Her mother gently puts her down, sliding to the ground to sit. Her daughter unceremoniously does the same, eyes wide. It was true, then, you could see so much more from the forest than you could from her house. Gently, she lays down on her mother's legs, Hannah carefully drawing her fingers through her scalp. Names of constellations come to her in waves, pointing out each one to the woman who smiles.

"There's an entire galaxy out there for you to explore," Hannah smiles down at her, hands resting on the ground before she looks back up to the sky, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes," Kodelyn responds, playfully exasperated. She already knew that, and she knew that she wanted to be a ship captain just like her mother when she grew older. Of course she was going to explore. She'd get back up into space someday, even if she was only twelve right now, "It's pretty from here, right? So you can just stay here, with me."

Hannah sighs, though still good natured when she gently pulls Kodelyn into a soft embrace, "I'd love it if I could. Though I have a commitment to the Alliance, and I can't just walk away, little one."

"Then take me with you...." She whines, while Hannah chuckles.

"What do you have against being on Earth? I thought you'd like it, after all the time we spent on the Citadel, and the stations, and the ships," Hannah asks, leaning her head gently on her daughter's, "So much room to run around and play with kids your own age. You don't have to keep to the mess or medbay anymore, isn't that what you wanted?"

"Earth is...nice, I suppose. Too many bugs though," Kodelyn sticks out a tongue, reminded of her first experience with a spider only a few years ago. She shivers at the thought, but turns her big brown eyes back up at her mother, "I wanted to stay with you. And then you keep leaving."

"Oh." Hannah pauses, then squeezing her just a little tighter, "Kiddo, I'll always come back."

"And what if you don't?

"I will, and that's that," Hannah answers firmly, "And if you have your way, you'll be with the Alliance in a few years yourself. Just be patient, and be happy you still have solid ground under your feet for now, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Kodelyn figures this is as much insurance as she's going to get on the matter, and relaxes her head back onto her mother's shoulder, "Space is still better."

"As if there was a question," Hannah brushes her hair out of her face, "Love what you have right now, kiddo. Please. You’ll never know if you’ll get this back.”

“You just said you’ll always come back, what do you mean?”

“Don’t take things for granted -- you could lose it in an instant.”

And that's how it would've gone. She probably would’ve lived out the rest of her days on Earth, had her younger sister not been swept up in the biotic tests that drove them to live on the Citadel more often than not. And that's how it would've gone had they taken it in stride and gotten her further treatment on-planet instead of the Citadel. Had Hannah's stations not moved further and further away from Earth. The list went on. And that's also, probably, how it would've gone had she made an actual point to stay on Earth. That didn't happen for a multitude of reasons.

Does she miss it? Not particularly. Spiders didn't follow her up, so that was a win.

No, she doesn't miss Earth exactly. She misses how she and her mother's calls end up being less and less frequent. There aren't anymore evenings that she drags Hannah out by the hand to stargaze. It isn't as if Kodelyn can't just look out a window and see them either, but it's a special sort of lonely that she can't quite put a finger on. Did she ever love the stars, the ones that eventually killed her, or was it the time spent together?

After her death over Alchera, the first thing she does once she can get her hands on a secured and encrypted channel is call her mother. She’s nearly clamoring for any real sense of reality, or part of her past that she can get her hands on.

Hannah nearly cries when she hears her daughter's voice for the first time in three years. She figures she’s lucky to get in contact with her at all, considering her current situation. Yet even though she still knows next to nothing of what Kodelyn is doing, she’s just grateful that she spares the time to speak to her.

“Hey mom?”

“Yes?”

“Remember when we used to go star-gazing out on that hill by the house, when I was still a kid?” There’s a muffled chuckle on the other end of the line, “After Alchera, someone in Cerberus had a sense of humor and decided I must love it so much that there’s a skylight above my bed.”

Hannah curses, “Great. Is there a way you can cover it?”

“I’m looking into it,” Kodelyn answers, “Still, I think it was far more fun when my feet were on the ground, and would stay that way. You used to hold me like I was the most important thing in the galaxy when we went out there. Hard not to miss it.”

“Hard not to,” Hannah echoes the sentiment, “I can’t stay for much longer, but please, stay safe. I don’t need to find out that your ‘death’ was only a trial run.”

“I will. At least to the best of my ability. Love you.”

#kodelyn shepard #oc #original character

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olivia-lovecraft · 4 years

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Who We Once Were

Take a trip down memory lane, pull up the oldest ‘about’ post you can find for your character, and annotate what has changed and what has stayed the same in {Curly brackets}.

Originally posted: November 11th, 2017

Olivia came to Tumblr in August of 2017, but I was too new to know that people liked character sheets.

Olivia Lovecraft, Lover of the Unloved

~Appearance~

Gender: Female {Same}

Race: Human {Same}

Height: 5’6” (5’3” without shoes) {She some how shrunk one inch. I write her as 5′2″ these days. Not sure why, lol}

Eye Color: Green Hazel {Her eyes are just described as green because I found that people saw her that way even when I wrote “green hazel.” I am cool with it.}

Hair Color: Dark Chestnut {Same, though many people will call her hair black. I roll with it since I know Eva Green has black hair in several roles she plays.}

~ The Facts ~

Name Day: January 4th {Same}

Occupation: Seamstress / Designer and Scribe {Same, though her role as a civilian contractor to the military has come up a bit as well.}

Sexual Identification: Heterosexual {Same}

Romantic Identification: Monogamous {Same. This is simply how she identifies romantically, with no additional qualifiers, despite having been in a poly relationship.}

Relationship Status: Single (and hard to love) {She is arguably still hard to love, but she is now in a happy, long-term relationship with @carlkrogen}

Alignment: Wicked Good {Oh...oh no. I thought I was clever, but Olivia is Neutral Evil, to be certain.}

Criminal History: No history of crimes committed, but she has a record of sorts. During the Burning Crusade, she voluntarily registered as a Warlock with Stormwind City. This comes up whenever someone looks for a criminal history, despite her innocence. {She still hasn’t been caught being shady or terrible, so no record.}

~ Favorites ~

Favorite Food: Rare Roasted Venison {Same}

Favorite Drink: Wine {Specifically sweet Dalaran Red.}

Favorite Animal: Spider {Same}

Favorite Scent: Lily of the Valley {Same.}

Favorite people: Sylaera, Quinaeris, and Zelmaris. {This has evolved, but not because she loves these people less. Since these characters don’t show up in her life anymore, she has new favorites. Carl [ @carlkrogen ] Dragaur [ @silentasagrave ] Darthea [ @darthea-the-demon ] Lorcan and Alle [ @lorcanbeithioch and @allebeithloch ] Alice [ @alas-ward ] and Quin [ @subjectragnar ] are easily her favorite people today.}

~ Randoms ~

Ten facts about Olivia Lovecraft:

1. She has protection wards inscribed upon the tops of her feet. These intricate designs are made from an ink similar to henna dye, but give off a faint abjuration aura through her shoes. {Same.}

2. Beneath her make-up, Olivia has freckles, and she secretly loves them. {Same.}

3. With the leftover scraps of fabric from her clothing projects, Olivia makes dress-up clothes and outfits for dolls, and donates them to the Stormwind Orphanage. {Same.}

4. By her appearance, it is assumed she is in her early 30’s, but Olivia has yet to tell anyone in Stormwind her exact age. {Same, though she does look just a little bit older.}

5. While her education was social-centric, Olivia picked up a few skills which weren’t commonly appropriate for a young woman of the landed gentry. Her chaperone, and cousin, Kaliban Silentsun, taught her to shoot a rifle and fight with a saber. Although she never purchased a rifle of her own, she keeps, and occasionally carries, her cousin’s saber. { This one made me sad! Early in her story, when I had her just doing random rp in Stormwind, someone stole the saber from her. That person stopped playing the character before we could run the storyline for Olivia to get it back, so I have always assumed she simply lost the weapon forever and now I am sad for her. }

6. Having never learned to swim, Olivia is hesitant to participate in voyages across the ocean. {Olivia learned to swim late last summer. She is not a strong swimmer, but she can at least swim enough to avoid drowning.}

7. Olivia is a self-proclaimed lover of unloved things. She is drawn to people who are loners, collects chipped teacups, and considers spiders to be her favorite animal. {Same.}

8. In all the years she has lived in Stormwind City, she has been mugged on six separate occasions. During these robberies, she has given up her gold and jewelry without a fight, even if she may have had the upper hand. To her, this stands as a testament of dedication to leading a normal life. {This number has surely increased, but I stopped keeping track. No shade, but a few guys have tried to rob her as a pick up line.}

9. Olivia’s modest occupation as a seamstress is one borne out of necessity. She covets the finer things in life, but no longer has the means to afford the finished products from other designers. The raw materials, on the other hand, are not so expensive. {This is still true, but Olivia’s income has increased thanks to some IC connections she has made.}

10. Olivia’s Duskwood home stands as the setting for numerous ghost stories. Accounts of young men and women sneaking into the empty home for romantic adventures often end with harrowing tales of escape from a siren-like spirit haunting the estate. Olivia is amused by these claims and makes no attempt to explain them. {Olivia’s Duskwood home burned down in a storyline in 2018.}

~Five Things~

Things she likes:

1. Cool, sunny days {Same.}

2. Tragic romances {Same.}

3. Philosophical conversations {Same.}

4. People watching {Same.}

5. Unloved things {Same.}

Things she dislikes:

1. Violence {Same.}

2. Prolonged silence {Same.}

3. Wide open wilderness {Same.}

4. Uneven cobbles {Same.}

5. Corsets {Same.}

Good habits:

1. Punctual {Same.}

2. Clean (Personal hygiene, anyway) {Same, and her housekeeping has also improved!}

3. Attentive {Same.}

4. Exercises daily (though you would be hard-pressed to catch her at it.) {Same.}

5. Makes a wish at every fountain she passes. {Same.}

Bad Habits:

1. Messy / Disorganized (She is one of THOSE people. One who doesn’t tidy up after herself but still seems to know where things are.) {This has changed significantly. She keeps a tidier home but still hates dusting.}

2. Sarcasm / Dark Humor {Same.}

3. Drinks (sometimes heavily) {Same. Although she has cut back, her habit is still heavier than healthy.}

4. Occasionally summons demons (never in the city) {Same.}

5. Really likes sweets {Same.}

Personalities she gravitates toward:

1. Brooding {Same.}

2. Dangerous {Same.}

3. Mysterious {Same.}

4. Masculine {Same.}

5. Talkative {Same.}

Personality types she avoids:

1. Aggressively Insecure {Same.}

2. Misogynistic {Same.}

3. Senselessly Evil {Same.}

4. Senselessly Lawful {Same.}

5. Overly Gullible {Same.}

Fears:

1. Losing her eyesight {Same.}

2. Succumbing to her demons (figuratively) {Same.}

3. Dying {Same.}

4. Spending her entire life alone {Same, though it is less of a fear now that she has Carl in her life.}

5. Her cousin Diana {This is no longer a fear since Diana has approached Duchess Beithloch and she promises to pose no threat to the “silly girl.”}

This was really fun! Thank you for the tag @alyssa-ward!

Tagging: Anyone who was tagged above as one of Olivia’s favorite people, but also anyone who wants to do this thing.

#tagged #prompt #old character sheet #not too much has changed

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starlitesymphony · 6 years

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Novel Snippet #2

I was really tickled by your response to the first one (thanks again, you guys rock!) Here’s a much longer one, featuring grand-theft starship--and also some of Quin’s abilities. Space station security? No biggie!

You can read the blurb for Ark of the Timelost and the 1st snippet here.

@lady-redshield-writes, @ally-thorne, @toboldlywrite, @writeontheedge, @writerray, @hklunethewriter, @danceny, @loveiseldritch (please let me know if you’d like off the list--or on)

The shuttle hatch splits open and Maddox steps out like we’ve just arrived in Gallanthius’s Central Promenade. A loose swarm of people fill the cylinder-shaped concourse, emerging from and stepping into airlocks on all sides. The shuffling of footsteps is nearly louder than the sparse conversation.

I stride after him, resolving to mimic his professional air. Every color of uniform streams around me. The occasional floral dress or casual top break up an otherwise very official crowd. All of them with hair cropped in a practical manner. All of them at least a head shorter than either of us.

|Not to worry,| Maddox messages. |Here, the more you stand out, the fewer questions they ask.|

I catch a few sideways glances in my periphery, but soon focus on his back and the art of walking casually. By now, security is watching, perhaps even following. I haven’t spotted anyone yet. I bet Maddox has, though.

It’s odd. All of these officers, all of these middle-aged and even elderly people, all of them traveling alone, with no apprentice in sight. I know the Imperian military is entirely unlike the Troika. But it still feels more foreign here than I thought it would. And they just seem…so old. Maddox is old, really old, but he doesn’t resemble them in the slightest.

We board a sterile trolley with a somber group in burgundy and silver. Their eyes are too busy with glinting cortex feeds to pay us much mind, other than sideways glances from two younger women with matching jeweled insignia on their neck scarves.

Almost everyone files into the hall on our first stop. Maddox and I move toward the front. Soon, after the next stop, we find ourselves alone, whisking along increasingly rusted and mossy tunnelways with only the occasional blocky hatch on either side. Moments of darkness pass where lights have broken. This may be a space station, but it feels like a derelict mine, left to decay long after its ores had been extracted.

|What is this place?| I tap. We couldn’t have missed our stop. Maybe we’re going to some forgotten security terminal.

|The Imperia has to keep its decommissioned starships somewhere, in case a new prisma deposit is discovered, although that particular hope is roughly six centuries dead.|

|Couldn’t they grow more ships, though? If more prisma was ever found.|

Maddox smiles darkly, and sighs. |Growing a fleet would take years. And imagine if a sizable prisma deposit was discovered. If the Imperia didn’t outright crumble, they would have multiple rebellions on their hands, across at least a dozen star systems. Hale would probably be first in line. The Imperia’s power lies more in its monopoly on prisma than anything else.|

|So when the Collective ordered the missile strike on Vassra’s base—when they called it preemptive—|

|They’ve been challenged by organized pirates before. Not in a long time, but they don’t want to take their chances, clearly.|

I glance at my feet, eager to change the subject but unable to stop thinking of Mother, and what if she’s somewhere in that base? Only a slim chance, Maddox said. But he could have been hiding the truth. He could have lied. He might know she’s there for sure, but would he even tell me?

No, no. This is no time for that. I’ll watch the windows, try to blank out my growing alarm.

Meanwhile, Maddox is a picture of tranquility. Perhaps weathering an internal storm, or as unworried as Ash accused him of being, there’s no way for me to know. As if the conversation I’d overheard never happened. He suspects his own mentor of betraying us, yet watches through the trolley’s spotless windows with resignation, eyes glinting blue.

We slow to a stop, and the doors slide open, almost tentatively, as if our transportation is having second thoughts about dropping us off in such a remote location. A wide platform awaits us when we step through. The tiles, arranged in what must’ve been a spectacular mosaic, lie chipped and fragmented and overgrown with moss and creeping vines. Lichen-speckled reliefs cover the walls. Towering statues guard the outer bulkhead. The Navigator, with her signature third eye, nothing but a blank divot where a sapphire should be. Beside her, the Mariner, the second-in-command who braved the first warp journey. Some of the gold leaf is still visible in her hair.

I crane back my head, gaze wandering up the length of the diamond bulkhead, taller than Ash’s shuttle.

Maddox slips back his sleeve and presses his seal against a corroded sensory bar. Low rumbling fills the tunnel as the trolley whisks away, leaving us in the glimmering light of a thousand pinpoints in the rafters. Broken glass twinkles along the base of the walls and at the feet of the deities. The picked-over remains of offerings from a thousand years ago.

Maddox pulls back from the bulkhead as a burst of stale air vents from the bottom. “Rather humbling, isn’t it? I wonder if they could’ve guessed that one day, it would be merely the two of us standing here, not even paying reverence.”

I nudge some pottery shards with my toe. “I think they would’ve been more appalled to see their holy site turned into a military base.”

Once the bulkhead grinds open enough for us to duck through, we emerge into a great cathedral of a vestibule, so overgrown with foliage that almost all of the lights have been blocked out. Orchids spring from defaced reliefs. Glass and wood and Mariner-knows-what-else crunch underfoot. A pile of brown bones lies off to the side of the next bulkhead. Animal, or…? Perhaps better not to look closely.

Another press of Maddox’s seal, and machinery protests and grinds far below. Like we’re breaking into an ancient crypt.

|This next passage is where I need you to wait. Find a place on the ceiling. You can’t interrupt me until I finish with the codes, so if anyone comes, it’s your job to neutralize them.|

We duck through into darkness. A rotten, nostril-burning stench washes over me. Insects…I hope insects…scuttle at my ankles, and the buzzing of flies makes a perfect compliment to the hideous smell. Luckily, it only takes a few moments for my olfactory system to recognize and block out the molecules. My visual feed ever-so-helpfully identifies their source. |Chupher’s corpseflower approx. 45 blooms detected.|

“If the whole ship is like this, we’re taking a different one,” Maddox grumbles.

I follow his faintly glowing outline. “It’s not so bad once the scent’s blocked.”

“I won’t have you breathing poison for the length of the trip. This ship’s environment must be severely unbalanced to allow an infestation like this.”

My eyes haven’t fully adjusted to the dark, only enough to show monochromatic foliage and the flat, gargantuan surface of the primary bulkhead. Maddox rips back a few vines to reveal a control array sitting cockeyed on a pedestal. He sinks his hands into ports on either side, with a lot more indifference than I’d be able to muster. Imagine how many insects have found their way to the tactile jelly within, if there’s even still enough to make a neural connection.

“Now,” he says, hands working tentatively, the glow of his skin intensifying. “I’ll be unresponsive for only a few minutes. Off you go.”

I glance up once more. I don’t see any movement, but…am I really going to stop and check for centipedes? Creepy-crawlies dart up my arms. I squeeze my hands into fists. What would Maddox would say if I told him I was more afraid of bugs than security guards? It’s not even a very good joke.

Shadowy armor tendrils rise from my shoulders and attach in the depths above. My senses expand with them—I feel the touch of warm dew, followed by the papery flick of leaves, and the squish of layered moss. Then, the rough stone lining the passage.

Once my nanoarmor has shooed all the insects away, I sail up into darkness, leaving Maddox staring resolutely ahead, eyes bright with data streams.

I anchor myself with a few tendrils from my calves and back and hang like an upside-down spider.

This chamber would have been a sort of inner sanctum, back in the Age of Pilgrimage. Starship captains weren’t just pilots. They were practically disciples, chosen to lead congregations in the Navigator’s footsteps. While the captain initiated boarding sequences, like Maddox is doing, the room would have been packed with the most privileged followers, chanting the same low, breathy prayers heard in cathedrals all over Imperian worlds.

The only ones doing any chanting now are toads croaking off in the far corner.

A message snaps through my visual feeds. It’s from Ash.

|Docked. A lot of shuttles just entered the tracks above us. No definite ID on them until their next orbit, but you should probably hurry.|

|That was quick,| I tap against the carbon black of a nanoarmor tendril.

|Yeah. And four security guards just got on the trolley, headed in your direction.|

My stomach jolts. Four of them? Why couldn’t it be just two? |Carrying plasma rifles, I suppose.|

|Didn’t look like it. No masks, either, so just put them to sleep. And yeah, you should really hurry.|

Tense, silent seconds tick by, stretching into minutes, or possibly years. My breath is perfectly measured but it makes no difference to my flailing thoughts. We already broke the law by leaving Gallanthius. Still, I hadn’t exactly planned on adding assault on Imperian security to my records, too. At least, not all in the same day.

Maddox’s eyes are still glazed when the soft whirring sound of the trolley echoes through the passage, followed by four sets of cautious footsteps. Judging by their disjointed movement, they’re carrying rifles of some kind, but not with much sense of authority.

A woman’s voice rings out. “Navigator’s breath, what is that smell? You there! Turn around. Now.”

She uses a surprisingly diplomatic tone, considering that Maddox’s silhouette must look taller than a willow tree, stillness matched by the stone in my armor’s grasp.

The guards shuffle into view, hefting ordinary projectile rifles. Bars of light blink from their meandering spotlights. They truly must have no idea who they’re dealing with. I’m going to keep it that way. They’ve only seen Maddox’s back so far.

With the ease of a thought, my hair twists into a web of armor tendrils and whips out to a new anchor point. I slip silently into position just above the guards’ heads.

The woman speaks up again. “Sir, we would be happy to escort you to the proper concourse. We just need to scan your military seal and we can all be on our way. Turn around, please.”

My visual feeds light up with new information from my armor. |Mapping scent receptors of (4) individuals—Grade 6 tranquilizer available—(3) seconds for Grade 7 availability.|

“Shh. Look at him. He hasn’t moved.” A male voice this time, a bit shaky. “He’s locked into boarding sequences.”

“Boarding sequences?” the woman scoffs. “For what? One of these old heaps? Come on.”

“No, but look.” One of the spotlights settles on Maddox’s back. I focus on the four helmeted heads below. I extend my hand, nanoarmor tendrils trailing from each fingertip, obsidian points sharpening to microscopic needles.

At last, all four of them exhale at the same time.

Armor tendrils dart beneath their nostrils, release a puff of odorless tranquilizer, and whisk back into my hand in the space of a blink. Even grade seven takes a few seconds to knock someone out. Hopefully, with their adrenals rushing as they are, it’ll work faster this time.

“You smell something dead, madam?” It’s the male voice again, hitching on some of the consonants, slurring almost imperceptibly on the m’s.

“How many times do I have to tell you, call me Sergeant Nathine.” She takes a few determined steps forward, only to stumble on a broken tile and pitch forward with gurgling growl.

“What’s the matter with all of you?” she mutters, and passes out on a rough-looking root mass.

The other three crumple down without another coherent word. Pulses beat steadily in my visual feed, and their brain waves fluctuate rapidly toward REM sleep. Those will be some interesting dreams.

I lower myself to the ground and withdraw my armor, returning skin and uniform to their usual appearance, and pause to straighten the hem of my jacket. I glance over the security guards, reduced to a sullen, humiliated heap in this dank cell of a boarding passage. It’s not like I killed them, but a knot grows in my chest anyway.

It’s not like I even harmed them. Even so, I, a Troika, laid hands on Imperian guards, sort of. Will that get me a mere wrist-slap when all of this is over? Or will Maddox insist on taking the blame, for this and everything else?

“Quin.”

I whirl around. Maddox pulls his hands loose from the control array, and gives them a firm shake. He nods toward the bulkhead, which hasn’t so much as budged. “We have to move quickly now. I’ve received a message from Aneke.”

Clicks and whirs of machinery grumble far below us. My ankles vibrate with the first groans from the overgrown bulkhead. I wait for him to continue, but he merely tucks away his hands and stares ahead with a thoughtful tilt of his head.

“Let me guess.” I hug my arms to my chest. The bulkhead ticks unenthusiastically upwards. “Aneke does not approve.”

“Worse.” He grits his teeth a moment before continuing. “She’s been sent to convince us to cease and desist. And she’s in orbit now.”

He crouches beside the bulkhead, watching the gap widen. Crystalline black nanoarmor glints at his brow and temples, and licks out from his fingertips when he touches the ground.

“Our only chance is to outrun her,” he says, with typical finality.

“But you were her apprentice. Ash, too. Would she really stand against you? She can be a bit cross at times, but I don’t think—”

“Forgive me, Quin,” Maddox interrupts, tone dropping low, “but you don’t know the first thing about Aneke. She’s going to stop us, if she can. She has no other choice.”

He slides his arm under the bulkhead, pokes and prods with a narrow-eyed glare, and sinks into a shadowy black pool before vanishing altogether through the narrow opening.

I kick out at an upturned tile. It breaks off with a crack. If he’d only tell me. The truth about himself, his mentor, anything, ever.

“Are you still coming?” Maddox calls.

“Well, yes—”

“Then get in here, because we have to run. Hurry!”

I drop flat and jam my way through the opening, teeth clenched all the while.

((Thank you so much for reading!!))

#my novel #looong snippet more like excerpt #writing science fiction #writeblr #my ocs #trying to share a bit more instead of sidelining lol

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inkblackfingers · 6 years

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Thor: Ragnarok in no particular order

I can’t even begin to articulate how much I loved this movie, it was beyond gorgeous and I love everything about this.

Here’re some thoughts I had about it, as always, in no particular order.

SPOILERS AHEAD

It’s a bit long, so I put it under a read more.

I was completely and absolutely expecting a record screech at the beginning. Everything about Thor slowly turning on a chain and literally interrupting a giant flaming being as he slowly, slowly rotates is perfect.

Okay, but the entire theater burst into laughter when Skurge said that he got Dan and Ger from Texas, because ofc. And the shocked horror on those girls faces when they get absolutely coated in dragon slime is hysterical.

That fucking statue I’m still laughing at it. And the play?? Loki, what the actual hell were you thinking? Yeah, I’ll pretend to be Odin, but I won’t act anything like him and I’ll make a giant statue of me and commission a play all about my heroic and tragic “death” and just laze around eating grapes all day and nobody will say anything. How on earth did nobody else realize that it wasn’t Odin??

On that note, Thor instantly realizing that it’s Loki is the actual best and I love that his preferred method of solving problems (a blow with Mjolnir) has now been upgraded to forcing his opponent to choose whether they’d rather get a face full of star metal or lose.

As much as I loved everything about Loki’s “human” outfit in the Avengers, I really really love the all-black ensemble, especially next to Thor’s actually normal clothing.

Also, Tony is totally still keeping an eye on the internet, and there’s going to be a random picture of Thor on a random corner in NYC with two girls and he’s going to be so confused.

Stephen Strange you absolute dick I love you to death. I would watch an entire movie of Stephen just being a complete dick to other superheroes with his magical powers.

Thor calling for Mjolnir and both of them just listening to the sounds of breaking glass and his little smirk when he apologizes? Payback’s a bitch, Stephen :D

“I have been falling for THIRTY MINUTES”

Strange, who just spent the last ten minutes generally fucking with Thor, taking one look at Loki being furious and going, fuck this, get out.

Everything about Odin saying “my sons” (i’m not crying you’re crying) And him praising Loki for the spell that he used against him?? I mean, he’s still a shitty dad, but at least Loki has at least one (1) memory of him being a good dad.

Hela: long black hair, black cape, black and green clothing, obv v dramatic.... Are we sure that *Loki* is the adopted child?

I immediately remember I’m so gay when faced with Tessa Thompson as a drunk hot mess.

So the god of *thunder* is taken down by....electricity?? @marvel, does not compute

Everything about the little amusement-park ride of the history of Grandmaster is pure gold, especially with Thor just screaming at the end.

Listen..... Loki totally got a sugar daddy. That is all.

15/10 Best Stan Lee cameo ever

Oh my god Hulk I love you bb and I’m so glad that you finally found a planet that totally accepts you. (Now if you could work on that being a planet that doesn’t require you to be angry all the time or uses you as a form of entertainment, that’d be great, thx)

Thor finally using his GODDAMN powers, perfect.

Everything about Hulk is perfect. Especially him sparring with Valkyrie, and everything about his conversation with Thor that totally doesn’t have me crying a little inside, but also how he’s basically a giant toddler

Hulk butt. Somebody had to animate Hulk butt. Is it based off of the butt of @markruffalo? People (me) need to know.

Also, I’m really reminded of that one post?? It’s basically etched into my mind at this point, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

That fucking bounce off the window and Thor just picking himself up and going straight through the window and sliding down literally all the buildings.

Pointbreak is the password I’m dying of laughter (@marvel, I need to know all of the avengers’ sign-ins ASAP. Is Steve’s Capiscle or Captain Handsome? Is Clint Hawkass or Legolas? Is Nat Itsy-Bitsy Spider? Also, what’s Tony’s sign-in? You know who I am? The Mechanic? Please, my crops are dying)

Also, once Tony finds out about everything that just happened, Thor’s sign-in is definitely changing to Sparkles.

Why are Tony’s clothes on the quin-jet? (Actual question: why haven’t I already seen fics/art about why Tony’s clothes are on the quin-jet?)

Bruce’s password being Strongest Avenger, and Thor’s look of betrayal in the background is beyond hilarious. (Also can we talk about Tony’s nicknames for literally everyone??)

Okay, but drunk Valkyrie and Bruce trying to figure out how they know each other is the actual cutest.

Thor just chucking something at Loki to check if he’s actually there is beyond perfect. Yes you did good my space labrathor, you have finally learned.

Everything about Thor’s childhood story. (Also, can we just appreciate Frigga for a moment? An eldest daughter that got banished by her husband, and two sons, who basically hate each other. One of them likes picking up snakes and the other likes stabbing his brother. You deserve all the awards for parenting. All of them.)

Idris Elba is beyond the best and if Asgard was a democracy, he would totally have been running the Nine Realms. (Like he basically was already)

Everything about Asgard being the people, not the place is going to make me cry.

Thor sitting on the throne, literally calling Hela to him from across Asgard is something that he totally came up with after asking himself What Would Loki Do? (Answer: be as over the top extra as possible, always)

Well, now Thor can inherit the kingly eyepatch

GODDAMN it Thor, go pikachu already, you did it before and you don’t need to talk to your father while you’re literally dying

Thor descending on the horde of zombies in slow motion, lightning sparking around him as he lays waste to them with the Immigrant Song playing #aesthetic

I know that Fenris is basically a giant zombie wolf, but there’s a part of my brain (the largest part. like 85% of it) that’s going PUPPER!!! WHO’S A GOOD DOGGO???

Okay, I know I already said stuff about Valkyrie, but that stride down the rainbow bridge with explosions in the background and her just absolutely destroying those zombies?? #aesthetic

Also, I thought I had reached peak gay after watching Wonder Woman, but then Tessa Thompson happened.

Loki doing his knife flip and Valkyrie swinging her sword #reasonsi’mpan

I love circular prophecies so much, but also: 1) what happens to the rest of the stuff in the vault? like the tesseract or the casket of ancient winters? the tesseract’s an infinity stone, so it’s not going to be destroyed by the explosion right? 2) I’m not entirely sure if this is comics or mcu, but isn’t Asgard necessary to the stabilty of the other realms? what’s going to happen to the other ones now that Asgard is literally dust??

Other things I love in this movie: Thor finally learning to not always blindly trust Loki, every single rock paper scissors pun, Hulk being a giant cranky adorable toddler.

Things I dislike about this movie: why on earth did you cut the bisexual Valkyrie scene???, @marvel give us the goddamn hug that we’ve been waiting for since the first Thor!!!!

Is that a skrull ship? Or Thanos’ ship? Or the Guardians/someone related to them??? Uggggghhhh, I need the official Infinity War trailer already (like I haven’t watched the leaked version like a dozen times)

Also, Taika Waititi directed one of my *other* favorite movies, What We Do in the Shadows, so that’s another reason why I like Ragnarok so much. (Also that it’s super colorful, has no bullshit romance, has an interesting plot and characters that aren’t ooc...)

#in no particular order #thor ragnarok #marvel #ink spatters

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fredericka3617-blog · 7 years

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Who Gets Exactly what?

Theo Tkaczevski, a 23-year-old United States trainee living in Asia, discovered themself confronting a mortifying sweetheart circumstance. Though you will not need an Xbox Live Gold membership to accessibility Xbox Gamings Pass, you will definitely still require this if you would like to access some of the multiplayer methods in the games you download. If you have any queries regarding where and how to use linked internet site, you can get hold of us at our own web site. To put this another means - lots occurred on Activity from Thrones this week, a lot from that violent and undesirable. Supporters from Ridley Scott's Gladiator will certainly acknowledge both Ait Benhaddou and neighbouring Moroccan towns show up in Game of Thrones also, as Astapor as well as Pentos, specifically. I can easily find my copy of Forbidden Desert - a game I have beaten all when - where I am actually inputting this, for example, and the most effective it may get out of me for the foreseeable future is a suspicious frown. Your Android has the power to participate in just about every major computer game from the final three or even 4 decades. I came across your weblog concerning 2 weeks ago and also permit's merely say you have actually changed my lifestyle! Despite the fact that the game was confirmed in 2013 and we have actually right now viewed this create a look at three successive E3 activities, our team still don't have a final release time for Empire Hearts 3. A better conversation in between scholastic record and also video games seems like a needed part of understanding how our team interact with the past. George R.R. Martin's publication set that motivated Video game of Thrones" is actually phoned A Tune from Ice and Fire. Thanks for visiting Caraval where the players reach participate in the video game ... Below this is actually a video game, certainly not a competitors, beware just what you believe and see for some have been actually driven crazy when they receive so included they shed their sense from fact ... this tis however a treacherous game, and if you win-you receive a desire if you don't ... effectively that's where traits acquire a little bit of chaotic. Remarkable: Likewise played baseball maturing and made this to the Gnome AAA amount. Completed on two baseball provincial staffs, shedding in the last in both 2011 as well as 2012. Spent three seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey Organization along with the Camrose Kodiaks (2012-2015). Scratched 31 purposes in 30 games for the Griffins final time in his ACAC novice campaign. Btw I possess no suggestion where the author got the idea that Shenmue is discharging upcoming year, especially if you take into consideration the insurance coverage from the activity on gamingbolt i.e. you would certainly think this type of oversights definitely would not be actually brought in, certainly not by a site that has actually released 14 articles referring to the activity given that the announcement at e3. Understanding Scorpio is actually happening and will certainly have the far better settlement on each and every video game. That's where our walkthrough comes in. This full online video walkthrough from the game likewise consists of the ending. In 2015, new researches surfaced that advised that piracy of the program before time five had actually improved through 45% around the world, as compared to 2014. The lengthy bruited Spider-Man title by Insomniac Games has actually lastly emerged, and also it's coming specifically to PS4. Considering that it does certainly not involve a big staff, Badminton has actually become my favourite activity specifically. He especially serviced the foundations for their 2014 E3 trailer that viewed a regular family members residence developed into a protective foundation along with boarded up windows and crates from unpolluted mineral water. I have actually been actually observing this manual being actually applauded for months right now and lastly, I recognize where the hype is coming from. The game released today on both iphone and also Android and also the evaluations are actually very great. That is like the writer was reading my notions and also put it all down within this book. Equally as the game assets have been actually recreated along with wonderful treatment, Darkened Souls the Board Game additionally carries out a terrific task from recording just what that is that makes the souls games therefore convincing: not that they're difficult by definition, yet that they're levying. Explore Google Play as well as you'll find a variety of apps that replicate retro operating systems as well as game engines. Yet this's perhaps the 900p third-party video games (where foundation PS4 typically strikes total 1080p) that will certainly be actually even more lighting. The Telegraph's video games editor Tom Hoggins verified that they tasted awful. Much from the analysis on violent video game usage counts on steps to assess hostility that do not associate with real-world violence. This manual was actually a little bit unusual for me. Each Bric and Quin seemed like entirely other individuals. That is actually additionally pleasingly reminiscent of various other parlor game - specifically the excellently stepped T.I.M.E Stories. What each sides of this particular controversy agree on is that it is feasible for moms and dads to have measures that restrict the possible unfavorable impacts of computer game. That's quite interesting to hear they have not determined which the Period 3 protagonist should be actually. Warning should probably consider the best of the page, where (at this time of creating) out of 85,258 followers an overwhelming 78,357 recommended they want to play as Clementine! Yet it certainly appreciates, honors as well as assists in all of the various end factors that Period 2 possessed. I have actually been into baked oat meal for a couple of months right now and also this is actually remarkable to have another model to combine points up. Thanks for all your exceptional work with the book and also the weblog!

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leaffiii · 8 months

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fuck it *reveals his identity*

not tagging this as my art as it's a funny style thing and drawn over official art, but i'm hopping on the trend @hollowsart started and translated my boy quin into TSSM's style. It was pretty fun I think lol

#yeah this is how i reveal quin's actual pre-spider identity lmao #my toxic trait is having more than one beck under my belt #quin's mysterio outfit is more inspired by vampire aesthetics since he has the fangs and claws in his spider power repertoire #quin/gold spider #ocs #tssm mysterio #mysterio #quin's face in particular turned out really cute i think lol #i also like making his mysterio helmet look really sad because he is much more pathetic back then #TAKING ALL MY WILL POWER TO ACTUALLY GO THROUGH WITH AN @#ah the curse of anxiety

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leaffiii · 8 months

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Quinbiote lol. In an alternate ending, post-society Quin gets a symbiote friend :) It's name is Vein

#vein is a pathetic wet beast whom bleats pathetically for reese's pb cups #in this ending quin's basically lost all his friends so they're just kinda sticking out for eachother #my art #ocs #spidersona #quin/gold spider #symbiote oc #symbiote vein #symbiote

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leaffiii · 8 months

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casual quins

#he's my fancy boy #spidersona #quin/gold spider #ocs #my art #not too many tags because he's not spider-ing in this lol #also if it's not obvious uhhhhhhh he got sharp teef :)

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leaffiii · 8 months

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they barely tolerate each other

#this is referenced from a marvel movie screencap but hats off to you if you know #my art #spider man oc #spidersona #quin/gold spider #spider man #across the spiderverse #miguel o'hara #yeah i can tag him #world's most distrusting man meets other world's most distrusting man #to be fair if the machine you specifically built to send people home keeps trying to send this man to your own universe #you'd be a little suspicious #but quin's not doing anything disruptive really and he's just as confused #plus you cant exactly get rid of him if it keeps trying to send him to the universe youre already in #oh yeah quin collects rubber ducks #specifically those fucked up novelty/themed ones

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leaffiii · 8 months

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Quin when he had too much character development

KFVDIDHS YEAH!! gotta love Quin and his fucked up little thang. He can actually connect with people if he puts his mind to it (even if said person is a strange sea slug looking alien goo)

#this is a multilayered joke because at this point in his story he's gone through betrayal and misery #but has gotten through it by bonding (on more than one level) with vein #his character got SO developed #also vein with it's reeses pb cups...#quin/gold spider #other's art #croc pop #spidersona #symbiote vein #symbiote

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leaffiii · 8 months

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what's quin thinking about folks

#ms paint shit #shit doodles #quin/gold spider #spidersona #other versions of himself perhaps #maybe a nice chocolate milkshake #a villain?#could be anything. who knows

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leaffiii · 8 months

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he would scream and cry i think (unshitty version under the cut because i liked the drawing)

#eyestrain #bright colors #adding those to every one of these because good god #ask game #my art #quin/gold spider #ocs

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leaffiii · 8 months

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Your Quin looks like a mix between an Iron spider and that one time Spider man got Dr. Strange cloak to work with him for one episode, at least to me

Also, if it's not too much of a "spoiler", did he make that outfit himself? Because it's ether he got it from someone else (which seems unlikely tbh) ether he is a god of fashion in flesh and blood

LOSING MY MIND I FORGOT THE IRON SPIDER ARMOUR EXISTED OOPS :,) I didn't have either of these in mind when designing him, but FUNNY that you mention that episode. I'm not going to say in which (very convulated) way that it's kinda related to him/his design, but connections can be made hehehehehe >:)

Also, he DEFINITELY made his suit himself. He loves working with his hands, be it with machinery or clothing, and takes pride in everything he makes. He's got a little hobby in embroidering as well, but he didn't add any to his suit due to the damage it can be subjected to. If he's going out, he's going to be looking GOOD even if he ends up being the fanciest person in a McDonalds.

#quin/gold spider #croc pop #leafy speaks #me doublechecking the lore of characters in usm2012: yeah you could reasonably make a connection through 4 layers of bullshit #also me: hides everything under layers of mystery for no reason

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olivia-lovecraft · 6 years

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Olivia Lovecraft (Updated Sheet)

~ Appearance ~

Gender: Female

Race: Human

Height: 5’5” (5’2” without shoes)

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Dark Chestnut

~ The Facts ~

Name Day: January 4th

Occupation: Seamstress / Designer and Scribe

Sexual Identification: Heterosexual

Romantic Identification: Heteroromantic

Relationship Status: Courting

Alignment: Neutral Evil

~ Favorites ~

Favorite Food: Rare Roasted Venison

Favorite Drink: Wine (Sweet Dalaran Red)

Favorite Animal: Spider

Favorite Scent: Lily of the Valley

Favorite person(s): Sylaera , Quinaeris (@beautiful-beacon), Quin (@subjectragnar), Ranek ( @ranekvilmas)

[Random facts beneath the cut]

~ Randoms ~

Ten facts about Olivia Lovecraft:

1. She has protection wards inscribed upon the tops of her feet. These intricate designs are made from an ink similar to henna dye but give off a faint abjuration aura through her shoes.

2. Beneath her make-up, Olivia has freckles, and she secretly loves them.

3. With the leftover scraps of fabric from her clothing projects, Olivia makes dress-up clothes and outfits for dolls, and donates them to the Stormwind Orphanage.

4. By her appearance, it is assumed she is in her early 30’s, but Olivia has yet to tell anyone in Stormwind her exact age.

6. Having never learned to swim, Olivia is hesitant to participate in voyages across the ocean.

7. Olivia is a self-proclaimed lover of unloved things. She is drawn to people who are loners, collects chipped teacups, and considers spiders to be her favorite animal.

10. Olivia’s Duskwood home stood as the setting for numerous ghost stories. Accounts of young men and women sneaking into the empty home for romantic adventures often end with harrowing tales of escape from a siren-like spirit haunting the estate. Olivia is amused by these claims and makes no attempt to explain them. This home recently burned to the ground.

~ Five Things ~

Things she likes:

1. Cool, sunny days

2. Tragic romances

3. Philosophical conversations

4. People watching

5. Unloved things

Things she dislikes:

1. Violence

2. Prolonged silence

3. Wide open wilderness

4. Uneven cobbles

5. Corsets

Good habits:

1. Punctual

2. Clean (Personal hygiene)

3. Attentive

4. Exercises daily (though you would be hard-pressed to catch her at it.)

5. Makes a wish at every fountain she passes.

Bad Habits:

1. Messy / Disorganized (She is one of THOSE people. One who doesn’t tidy up after herself but still seems to know where things are.)

2. Sarcasm / Dark Humor

3. Drinks (sometimes heavily)

4. Occasionally summons demons (never in the city)

5. Really likes sweets

Personalities she gravitates toward:

1. Brooding

2. Dangerous

3. Mysterious

4. Masculine

5. Talkative

Personality types she avoids:

1. Aggressively Insecure

2. Misogynistic

3. Senselessly Evil

4. Senselessly Lawful

5. Overly Gullible

Fears:

1. Losing her eyesight

2. Succumbing to her demons (figuratively)

3. Dying

4. Spending her entire life alone

5. Her cousin Diana

#character sheet #updated

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