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somedaylazysomeday · 8 months

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Experiment - Part Two

Tech x fem!reader

Tech decides to prove how simple female bodies can be.

Can be considered a second part to my one-shot 'Experiment', but can also be read as a stand-alone work.

Rating: Explicit. Minors DNI.

Word Count: 3,800

Warnings: Antagonism, ill-advised bets, assumptions about females, mentions of sexual behavior, sexual touching, fingering, unprotected piv sex, creampie

Previous | Masterlist

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It wasn’t rare, per se, that you and Tech found yourselves alone.

Your relationship could be contentious, but it wasn’t anything bad enough that you needed to keep a referee on hand. You found him slightly grating and he thought you were oblivious at times. You also vented some of that low-level irritation by sleeping together every so often, but you had never decided to be anything close to exclusive.

That being said, Clone Force 99 was busy enough that neither of you had much time for finding another partner. It had been a particularly bad dry spell for you. Which was why you were unashamedly eavesdropping on a few troopers behind you in a market on Savareen.

“Anyway, I told her I wanted to bring someone else with us and she freaked out,” one of the troopers was telling his friends. “She said I wasn’t even good enough to keep her happy, let alone two people at the same time. Can you believe that? Not my fault that making her come is harder than defusing a det on a countdown timer”

Thankfully, you were facing the other direction, because that made you grin broadly. From everything you had heard so far, the relayed statement from the trooper’s girlfriend had been harsh but true. The trooper was a remarkably selfish lover if his stories were to be believed. Personally, you thought the girlfriend had a point.

“Are you almost finished?” Tech asked. “We need to return to the ship.”

“Shhh!” you hissed. “I want to hear how this plays out.”

You couldn’t be sure whether the troopers had heard you or if they simply weren’t bold enough to tell their friend that his girlfriend was right. In any case, the only answer they offered was a simple, “That sucks, man.”

“Yeah,” the other agreed. “Females are a mystery.”

“We will miss our rendezvous,” Tech warned.

You huffed at him and went to pay for the basket of produce you were holding. After weeks of nothing but rations, the prospect of fresh fruit and vegetables was something you couldn’t turn down. Still, you were irritated at losing your stolen entertainment and you glared at Tech when he fell into step with you on your way back toward the Havoc Marauder.

“I don’t know why you were rushing me,” you said eventually. You were passing the last of the small town’s buildings and the forest grew thicker around you. “Hunter sent a comm that the window needed to be pushed back by an hour. They won’t be at the rendezvous for at least two hours and we’re not that far from the ship.”

“And I don’t know why you were so eager to continue listening to those regs.” Tech shook his head. “It was hardly an interesting story, especially given the trite and untrue assurances at the end. Females are hardly a mystery.”

Your jaw twitched. “And what exactly does that mean?”

“Females across most species barriers share several characteristics,” he spouted instantly. “The majority of them prefer to be listened to rather than have their problems solved, prize social bonds rather than holding leverage over others, and are often capable of more complex, circuitous thinking than most males.”

“They were talking about female bodies, Tech.”

Tech fell quiet at that. You gloated for a moment, happy to have silenced him for once, but it didn’t last. Apparently, he had needed a moment to consider that, but came back with a reply soon enough:

“There are too many species to narrow down what he was talking about. Different species have different physiology, and need different stimulation to achieve pleasure.” He adjusted his goggles, and you could see the brightness of his eyes behind them. “For instance, did you know that female Dianogas derive pleasure only from having the pressure in their eyeball increased by a factor of twenty percent?”

You nodded slowly. “Gross.”

Tech had been preening at his masterful display of knowledge, but his expression dropped into one of derision when you failed to be as impressed as he thought you should be. “It is far more complex a system than is possessed by most species. Humanoid species are all similar. And human females are the least complex of all.”

That sounded as if you were being challenged. With the frustration stemming from your recent dry spell and the general irritation of being around Tech when he was in one of his ‘I am the god of all knowledge’ moods, you accepted that challenge. “Go on.”

“Human females share close similarities to each other, likely stemming from a narrow evolutionary path. Even ignoring the genitals, human females have a set of several extragenital erogenous zones. They are, in descending order: breasts, lips, neck, ears, and buttocks(1).”

You rolled your eyes, readjusting where your bag sat on your shoulder. “That’s ridiculous. Not everyone likes having all of those places touched.”

“Not everyone, but a majority,” Tech expanded. “And the type of stimulation can vary between each place. For example, lips are best stimulated orally while breasts can be stimulated either orally or manually. That means manipulated by hand.”

You hissed at the condescending explanation, but he paid no attention to you. Tech could get this way when he was convinced that someone would benefit from his knowledge. “And that is not taking the actual genitals into account. The human clitoris has over ten thousand nerve fibers, some of which extend into the vaginal channel to form what is known as the g-spot.”

“I already knew all of this, Tech,” you bit out. Okay, maybe you hadn’t known the exact number of nerve fibers in the average clit, but you didn’t appreciate being lectured on your own body.

Tech turned to you, raising his eyebrows. “And yet you believed those troopers were correct when they said human females were a mystery. There is nothing mysterious about the body of the human female. If given the proper stimulation, most human females can reach orgasm in under three minutes.”

“That can’t possibly be true.”

“Are you doubting the research or my knowledge of it?”

“Are you admitting that you’ve done research into how quickly you can make someone come?” you countered.

“Of course.” Tech was, as ever, matter-of-fact. “And you personally have benefitted from my research. Yet you still doubt whether I’m correct.”

“I’ve been with some talented people,” you said, making sure to emphasize the plurality so he wouldn’t think you were solely talking about him, “but I’ve never come in less than three minutes. So, according to my personal experience, you’re wrong.”

“I am not wrong,” Tech disagreed, clearly appalled. “If you don’t believe me, that is your choice, but I am not incorrect.”

You didn’t answer him, relieved when you saw the Havoc Marauder just ahead. As you had expected, you had plenty of time before you needed to go meet the others, but that meant you could put away the provisions and get some time away from Tech until he started to annoy you less.

Unfortunately, he didn’t seem capable of letting your disagreement lie. He followed you as you went to the storage room where you kept the rations. “The research is simple and well-supported. Even if you ignore anecdotal evidence, there are clear trends that prove-”

“Tech, can we just let this go?” you asked, trying not to sound overly antagonistic. “We can just agree to have our different opinions.”

“It is not a matter of opinion,” he insisted. “There is a single answer, supported by science, research, and experimentation. I can prove it to you.”

That made you pause and turn to him. “What? What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Allow me to prove that I am correct,” Tech repeated.

That was not enough of an answer, so you watched him in silence. There was a strong chance that he meant to show you the papers and studies where he had gathered his information.

When you didn’t agree, Tech apparently decided to offer more of an explanation: “If you agree, I will use the knowledge I’ve gained to bring you to orgasm in under three minutes.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea-” you started.

“I understand it can be frightening to have one’s worldview challenged-”

“Yeah, I’m terrified of an orgasm.” The sarcasm was thick in your voice. “You know what? Fine. And when you’re wrong, you’ll have to admit that your research wasn’t as effective as first-hand experience.”

“I look forward to proving you wrong.” Tech took the bag from your shoulder, tucking it neatly inside of the (little-used) produce cabinet in the ration storage room. He latched the cabinet with sure motions, turning expectantly to you when he was finished.

“Bunks,” you suggested. He inclined his head in agreement and followed you to the small barracks aboard the ship.

You shoved aside your sheets and the discarded clothing that was still tangled in them. When you had woken up, it had seemed impossible that you would be bringing anyone back to your bunk, so you hadn’t bothered keeping anything neater than they needed to be. Tech was more than a little messy, himself, so you didn’t worry that he would look down on you for it.

“How do you want to do this?” you asked, hesitating before you climbed onto the mattress.

“I do not believe that you undressing should count toward my time,” he pointed out.

“Fair enough,” you agreed, stripping quickly. You had been dressed casually to visit the nearby market, so the process didn’t take long. When you were naked, you rested your hands on your hips and tilted your chin at Tech. “Next?”

Tech swallowed hard, like the sight of your bare body had made his mouth go dry. It was a heady feeling, and your confidence soared.

“Remember what I told you about extragenital erogenous zones?” Tech asked, switching into lecture mode.

“Yes,” you agreed, adding, “which is not an attractive term, so I don’t think you’re helping your own case, here.”

“The attractiveness of the term is not what matters.” Tech stepped closer, hand rising. “The important thing is how they impact you.”

You opened your mouth to loose a sarcastic comment, but stopped short at the feeling of Tech’s fingertips brushing lightly against your bottom lip.

It was… odd, having someone touch your mouth. But the warmth and familiar smell of Tech's skin kept you where you were. You would at least let him have his chance.

His hand went to your chest, fingers splaying to cup your breast. When you were nestled in his palm, he trailed his fingers together, letting your breast slip under his fingers until they met with a soft pinch on your nipple.

Tech's head tipped closer, letting him mouth at the line of your throat. Those lips traveled upward until he could scrape his teeth lightly over your earlobe. You fought a shiver.

And then you did anyway, shuddering against him when Tech reached to run his gently squeezing fingers across your ass.

“Breasts, lips, neck, ears, and buttocks,” he murmured. “Slightly out of order, but have I managed to convince you?”

“You've managed to waste thirty seconds of your time,” you replied, fighting to keep your voice almost steady. “Two and a half minutes to go and I'm not anywhere near an orgasm.”

“Patience.”

You frowned at the chastisement, but Tech paid no attention. He guided you down to lay on your bunk, feet on the edge of the mattress supporting your half-bent legs. It left your core exposed to the chill of the air on the ship, and you abruptly realized that those simple touches had left you wet. Not soaking, but well on your way there.

You watched between your own legs as Tech studied your core. He seemed to be plotting his methods. Before you could remind him again of the time requirement, he brushed gentle fingertips over your labia.

It felt more intense than you could believe. And when that delicate touch moved to caress your inner lips, you shifted your hips impatiently.

Tech's attention turned to your clit. His first brush over it was so light that you could hardly feel anything, but he soon grew bolder in his touches. He worked you faster and faster, pausing only to sink two fingers deep into your channel.

You arched against your bunk, a shocked and plaintive cry leaving you before you could even try to bite it back.

“Good,” Tech said softly. “I want to hear you. Let me hear that you like what I'm doing.”

You weren't entirely sure how you would have responded to that, because Tech crooked his fingers inside of you and started hunting. Deliberately, he mapped your channel until he zeroed in on a rough, spongy patch on the inside of your front wall.

A slight smile appeared on Tech's face. You had a moment to think about how handsome it made him before he stole your ability to see.

He bore down on your g-spot, putting pressure on it until you cried out again. If you had the ability to remember words, you would have told him that it was too much.

Tech hummed in understanding anyway and shifted his efforts. His thumb worked against your clit as his fingers started a circular sort of thrusting motion. Your g-spot was still getting more attention than it ever had, but it managed to be less direct - and with that, less intense.

Just when you started to wonder how close you were to three minutes having passed, Tech's mouth dropped to your hip. He applied lips and teeth to the sensitive crease where your hip met your thigh.

Your orgasm rose up and swallowed you whole, and you never had a chance to fight against it. One moment, you were treading water in the assault and the next, you were drowning in sensation.

Dimly, you became aware of the fact that your fingers hurt. With that realization, you came slowly back to your body, letting your stiffened fingers uncurl from where they had been fisted in the sheets. Your thighs unclenched, releasing Tech's hand from where it had been trapped between them.

His fingers were still working gently inside of you and you gathered your strength to push him away. “How… how long?”

“Two minutes and forty four seconds,” Tech informed you, sounding obnoxiously matter of fact about it. “It likely would have taken less time if I had not stopped to test my understanding of extragenital erogenous zones.”

You would be irritated, but the strength and suddenness of your orgasm had left you largely unable to do anything but stare up at the ceiling. The heaviness of your limbs felt strange without a full buildup of activity, and it almost seemed as if your body was in a state of shock at how quickly the pleasure had been pulled from you.

“Tech, can- can you-” you trailed off, reluctant to ask him for anything else. Eventually, you settled on, “Water?”

“Of course,” he agreed, instantly on his feet and rushing to get you a canteen.

When he handed you the water, you could watch Tech eyeing how long it took you to accept it, then to raise the canteen to your lips. Even so, he waited until you had finished drinking to ask, “Is something wrong?”

You lifted one shoulder. “I- no? I don’t think so. It was just weird to come that suddenly. It’s like my body is pissed that there isn’t more.”

“Do you want me to do it again?” Tech asked.

You searched for sarcasm or mocking in his tone, but there was only patient curiosity. “Can you.. kiss me?”

“Gladly.”

He pressed a kiss to your lips. Then another, kneeling on the bed to reach you more easily. Eventually, he was lying on the bed beside you, all so he could kiss you without putting either of you in an awkward position. One of his hands gently cradled your cheek while you pressed a palm to his chest so you could feel the steady thump of his heartbeat.

You continued far longer than you had expected, past the solace of a simple kiss and into the realm of need. You didn’t think it was entirely one-sided. Maybe the kiss had started for your benefit, but nothing said Tech couldn’t enjoy it, too.

And he did. You could tell by the way he squirmed closer, by the heat of him pressed against you, by the steady deepening of the kiss you shared.

“Is this helping?” he asked.

His eyes were bright with desire, a faint but undeniable rasp edging his voice. Maybe you should let him ask, to help assuage your pride. But you took pity on him instead. “Yes, but it might help more if you made me come again. Slower. The old-fashioned way.”

Tech started to ask what exactly ‘old-fashioned’ meant. You could hear the question rise behind his parted lips. And yet it faded away before it could be asked, answered by the way you gripped his length through the material covering his lower half.

His breath shuddered out and his hips twitched, but Tech still asked, “Are you certain-?”

“Yes, if you are.”

Tech’s response to that was to reach down and grasp the back of your leg, tugging your knee up and over his hip. You were both still cradled by your mattress, but he was perfectly between your thighs.

“You are stunning,” he told you.

“You’re still dressed,” you told him.

Tech paused, glancing down with a mixture of irritation and dread. “A problem I intend to fix momentarily.”

He pulled away from you, rolling to his feet with his hands already working at the fastenings of his body glove. He had stripped it off in moments and you couldn’t help but be impressed at the efficiency of his movements.

When he slipped back into your bunk, he was all tan skin and subtle musculature. Tech arranged you both the way you had been before the interruption and, without the body glove in the way, the head of him was notched at your entrance. You were noticeably wet from your earlier orgasm, and he started to slip into you simply due to the position and your proximity.

Tech’s voice was completely unsteady as he asked, “Precisely how slow do you want this to be?”

“More than three minutes.”

It may have been a dry witticism, but Tech accepted it like it was the most sincere request he had ever heard. And you couldn’t bring yourself to regret it, not when he pushed into you in a series of shallow thrusts.

When he had bottomed out inside of you, Tech reached to brush a bead of sweat from your temple. “Slow.”

“Slow,” you confirmed with a nod.

Tech began to move. He stayed deep inside of you for the most part, using tiny pulses to keep you building toward a reasonably paced orgasm. Occasionally, when he couldn’t help himself, he withdrew further and plunged back into you. Each of those thrusts pushed the breath from your lungs, shocking you no matter how often they happened.

It wasn’t the frenetic sprint toward pleasure that you had experienced before. Rather than having pleasure ripped mercilessly from your system, Tech’s efforts were coaxing it from you.

His pelvis rocked against yours, pushing and pulling incrementally inside of you. The bunching of his muscles against your body told you how much he was holding back even as the thick press of him stretched your channel. Compared to the jarring shock of your rushed orgasm, this pleasure felt utterly lazy and self-indulgent.

And you didn’t seem to be the only one who thought so.

When Tech wasn’t watching you intently, his eyes fell closed and his brow furrowed as if he needed to concentrate so he could process everything he was experiencing. After one particularly deep pulse, your body tightened. It wasn’t your second orgasm - not yet - but it was a warning that another one was coming.

Tech’s eyes flew open and he made a rough, helpless sound. Ridiculously, that was the thing that finally pushed you over the edge. The fact that you could pull such pleasure from him even without the extensive research he had done into erogenous zones - genital or otherwise - made you feel extraordinarily powerful. And, of course, it didn’t hurt that he was such a gorgeous man.

In any case, you gasped a warning a half-second before your body clamped down around his. Tech kept going, working you through it, and it only pushed you higher. The pleasure went from silver to a blazing white, blinding in its intensity and almost painful.

It was hard to come down when Tech’s rhythm was speeding up, but you could tell he was close by the wrinkle between his eyebrows. “Where-?”

“My implant is still good.”

Tech’s lips parted and his brows furrowed, but you couldn’t see any more of his face than that. By the time he started to spill inside of you, he had buried his face in your neck. His arms wrapped around you, squeezing hard enough that it took extra time for you to catch your breath.

When the desperate thrusts finally stopped, Tech fell utterly boneless against you. You sympathized as you slumped against the bed. You dozed lightly, rousing only when you felt him pressing his lips against your shoulder.

You chuckled lightly, glancing down just in time to catch his eyes flicking up toward you. “You okay?”

“Rather wonderful, actually,” he admitted, his lips still brushing your skin as he spoke. “And you?”

“Good,” you said, wincing slightly as he moved against your core. “I’ll be sore, I think.”

“I shouldn't be surprised.” Tech gingerly moved away from you, the stickiness of your activities trying to keep you together. “I'll see if we have any bacta.”

“Bacta can't do anything about soreness,” you reminded him. Of course, as the Bad Batch's makeshift medic, he was well aware of the limitations of bacta. “Save it for the next mission.”

Tech's head snapped toward you as your eyes widened. “The rendezvous!”

Weak-kneed and as bare as the day he was decanted, Tech sprinted for the front of the Havoc Marauder.

You braced against the shift of liftoff, then started gathering his clothing and a washcloth for him. Hunter would know what had happened, of course, but there was no need to be blatant.

---

Author's Note -

I can't remember if this is a first for me, but it's definitely in character for me as a person: I referenced an actual paper posted in 2016 to get Tech's information about the extragenital erogenous zones. I'm posting the citation below in case anyone wants to read it! I thought it was very interesting, even if you just read the abstract.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to let me know what you thought!

Younis, Ihab, et al. "Female hot spots: extragenital erogenous zones." Human Andrology, vol. 6, no. 1, Mar. 2016, pp. 20-26, www.ingentaconnect.com/content/wk/xha/2016/00000006/00000001/art00004.

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mayhemhq · 16 days

Text

here is a fuller explanation of this weekend’s event, september 14th-15th in las vegas, nv!

first things first:

remember: pregnancies and elopements, etc, are allowed but must be approved first. do not use this trip to spring something like this without it being mentioned to us first. we’re generally okay with most things, but we don’t want 20 things happening at once. if you do any of this without approval, you will be removed.

drama is allowed and encouraged somewhat, but don’t make the trip miserable. do not make someone dramatically leave as that’s silly. we’re ALL adults and this is for fun. just be considerate and talk out any drama that can impact a significant number of individuals.

this is not just a trip for friends and lovers; this is a trip for the group and to build community. make sure you’re not staying within your ship and your friends circle this trip. use this as an opportunity to reach out and have fun with everyone.

mayhem on the strip is a charity event featuring a small convention and a game show featuring ALL of our talent competing in field day-esque activities for charity.

there will be a five-hour convention of sorts, featuring booths and photo-ops for not only wrestlers, but all of our original characters, too. then, all talent will take a break - have lunch, gather their teams to begin the games.

the games:

dodge ball: two teams of 8 players each battle it out on a court divided by a central line, with dodgeballs scattered in the middle. the objective is simple yet thrilling eliminate opponents by hitting them with the balls while evading throws from the other team. players must utilize agility, strategic throwing, and dodging skills to stay in the game. caught throws not only eliminate the thrower but also allow a teammate to rejoin the action. the game continues until one team has successfully eliminated all members of the opposing team. (8 people per team)

obstacle course: the course includes a range of exciting stations, such as towering climbing walls, muddy crawls, and precision balance beams. teams will also navigate rope swings, cargo nets, and tunnel crawls. for the final challenge, teams must solve a puzzle to reveal a golden baton, which they then carry to the end of the course. the race concludes with a high-stakes relay, where all team members must cross the finish line together. (8 people per team)

wet sweatpants relay: each player must dunk the sweatpants in a bucket of water, put them on, and take them off to pass to the next player in line. the next player repeats the process. (6 people per team)

egg and spoon race: two members from each team lining up side-by-side. each person balances an egg on a spoon and races to see which team can get all their members across the finish line first. if you drop the egg, you must return to the starting line and try again. the race continues until one team successfully gets all its members to the other side. (6 people per team)

zorb ball relay: one member at a time climbs into the zorb ball and is guided by their teammate through a demanding obstacle course with cones, ramps, and turns. after completing their lap, they tag the next teammate, who then takes their turn in the zorb ball. (6 people, 2 per team per turn which will be 3 tag in turns)

pit pursuit: the game kicks off with teams racing towards a 20ft x 20ft ball pit, just 6 inches deep and brimming with thousands of colorful balls. teams dive into the sea of balls, searching for hidden objects, each carrying a unique point value. with a 15-minute timer counting down, they scramble to collect as many objects as they can. but watch out for the “whammy” objects—they’ll deduct points from your score if you grab them! (6 people per team, each team going in 2 different rounds - not at the same time)

it will be a best out of six games, the winning team not only getting a trophy, but a large donation to their charity of choice. the losing team will also get a donation to their charity as well, as we’re not completely heartless.

** if this event turns out to be a hit and everyone has a great time, we’ll continue with more “mayhem on…” events to keep the rivalry alive and determine who will get to keep the trophy!

about the teams: aew will take all the japan based wrestlers (ddt pro, njpw, etc) while wwe will take all tna wrestlers. all ocs working for those companies as well will be on the team they work for. those of you ocs with no allegiances get to pick the team you’d like to be on out of the two. speak to those team captains!

the “home” hotel will be the venetian, that’s where everyone will have rooms and be staying for safety purposes. you can share or have your own, that’s totally up to you. the convention and also games will be done at a different hotel - the plaza hotel in different spots.

on sunday, it’s a completely free day for you to do whatever your heart’s content. however, sunday night around 8pm est will be a casino masquerade ball on the venetian casino floor to celebrate the ending of the event and a good send off for us all.

you are encouraged to wear elaborate masks, whether they’re classic venetian styles or more modern interpretations. all guests should dress in formal, black-tie attire. think classic tuxedos, stylish suits or dress shirts, and glamorous gowns, complemented with sophisticated accessories such as elegant gloves, glasses, and statement jewelry.

remember: canonically, this event will last two days, but in real time, you’ll be able to post about it for a week with the proper tag #m.event (mayhem on the strip). we will post the cutoff date when the trip starts.

#m.event (mayhem on the strip)

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nicolewoo · 11 months

Text

Super Earth Part 8

Pairing: Roman Reigns x female reader.

Warning: none

Part 8 The bet and Dodgeball

Roman and I were enjoying dinner when Dr. Zayne approached us. “Captain! Dr. Reigns!” He was overly enthusiastic.

“How can I help you Dr. Zayne?” I answered with a fraction of his enthusiasm.

Sammi sat at our table now, “I was wondering if you could settle a bet for us.”

“A bet?” I raised my eyebrow, causing Roman to chuckle. “Are you telling me you’re running an illegal gambling ring on my ship?”

Sammi went ghost white in surprise. “Illegal?”

Now Dr. Owens jumped in. “Illegal in space? Are there laws in space? I see no government to pass laws… no police to enforce those laws.”

Sammi continued “I…. Uh….Captain… it’s just a little fun. No reason to get upset…. Just a little side action during the mission.”

Roman chuckled next to me as he hid his smile by shoving a forkful of food in his mouth, but he couldn’t hide it well enough, and I almost busted out laughing; choosing to take a bite to hide my smile. “Well argued, Dr. Owens. Ok….. Let’s hear it. What bet can I settle for you?”

Sammi was flustered now, and his stammering got worse. “Well…. Now that this is public…” He motioned to Roman and I. “People… we’re just curious…. I mean…. When did you two get together?”

Ahhh I wasn’t surprised by the question, but it wasn’t one I wanted to answer. “So, not only are you gambling on my ship, but you’re betting on my love life?” I stared angrily at him, even though I wasn’t. It was too much fun getting Sammi flustered, and I’d gotten very good at it on our trip.

Sammi tried to answer, but all that came out were “Uh”s and “I mean….” And “But”

Dr. Owens took over for his tongue-tied friend. “It’s just a little bit of fun Captain.”

Roman squeezed my hand under the table, still stuffing food in his mouth to cover his laughing.

“Let me ask you this, Sammi. How much will the winner of this bet get?” I asked.

Dr. Owens was quick to answer. “$500, Cap.”

I thought for a second. “And what happens if nobody wins?”

Sammi answered, “We’ve got just about every day covered. Someone is gonna win.”

Roman had composed himself enough to jump in, “Answer the question. What happens if nobody is right?”

I added, “Can we get the pot if nobody else wins?”

Sammi and Kevin started looking at each other, having a full conversation with a few grunts and gestures. They came to a consensus and turned toward us at the same time. “Sounds fair, Cap.” Owens said.

I leaned back in my chair, folding my arms over my chest in a power move, “I’ll settle your bet…..” I paused to give them false hope. “once we are back on Earth.” A round of grunts and protests followed. Roman and I were having fun with this.

“Back on Earth?” Dr. Rhea Ripley whined from the table next to ours. “Tell us now Cap.”

“No.” Roman’s commanding tone settled some of the protests. “The Captain has made up her mind.”

When the now weaker protests continued, I added in, “It’s the day we land on Earth or not at all. Take it or leave it.”

Sammy rubbed his hand over his hair in frustration, “Ok. Ok. The day we get home.” Sammi stuck out his hand and we shook on it.

_________________________________________________________________________

Cap,” Orange was calling me.

“What’s up?” I had just showered and pulled my shirt on before I hit my video screen.

“We’ve got to adjust the relays in the gravity plating.” He paused to look at a clipboard ensign Trent “trick” Williams brought him. He nodded at Williams and handed the clipboard back. “Sorry about the interruption. As I was saying, we gotta turn the grav off for a while.” He smirked a little.

“We do, huh?” I smirked back at him.

“Before or after dinner?” He asked.

“Definitely before. We’ve got too many first timers on board. Some are bound to get nauseous.” I didn’t want a full dinner making a poorly timed reentry into the air.

Orange answered “1500 hours?”

I nodded, “perfect.”

“I’ll let doc know.” He nodded and cut the call.

I hit the ship’s intercom button. “Attention passengers and crew. I’m happy to report that we have to shut the gravity off for a couple of hours this afternoon.” Before I could continue, I heard people cheering from other rooms. “Crew, once you have secured your stations, please make yourself available to the our passengers. Ensure their projects are secure. Passengers, you are about to experience space as the first astronauts did…. Without gravity! Once your experiments are secured, we invite you to join us in the mess hall. We’re going to play space dodgeball!” I heard cheering again. “The gravity will be turned off at 1500 hours. Repairs are expected to take 2 hours.”

After turning off the intercom, I visited Carmello in the mess hall. “You gonna be ok with dinner?” I asked, knowing we were taking up his main cooking time.

He wiped his hands on a towel, “Don’t worry Cap. I’ll have time to get everything prepped before 3, come whoop your ass at dodgeball, then get the food cooking at 5. Dinner shouldn’t be late.”

“Whoop my ass?” I laughed. “Remind me again, who won last time?”

Mello interrupted me, “Hey, you had Orange and Doc on your side. You had me outnumbered.”

“You think anything will be different this time?” I challenged.

“I got Dr. Zayne and Dr. Owens on my side this time. You going down, Cap.” He taunted. My first thought was that Roman would be on my side, but I decided to keep that my secret until the game began.

@mindofasagitarius @lclb13 @serenityfiretrash @lustyromantic @reigns-5sos @bigpsychicbagelauthor @omg-im-such-a-masochist @marlananicole @wickedsunfire @starwithaheart @spookys-girl @pitlissa22 @snowpanda18 @thesamoanqueen @sassginaswanmills

#roman reigns #roman reigns fanfiction

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chokemeanakin · 4 years

Text

Patched Up- Anakin Skywalker x gn Reader

(aka ‘How To Make Your Jedi Boyfriend Simp Hardcore’ on ao3)

masterlist

Read on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24603544

Summary: Reader gets her face all cut up during a mission, fluff ensues where Anakin helps patch her up, wash up, and get fed. Just some worried, protective, adorable Anakin with lots of fluff because soft Anakin is the best Anakin :)

You didn’t know you’d been cut until the blood dripped from your forehead onto the white linoleum floor between your feet. You stared at it, shocked for a moment before you realized the bounty hunter was getting away. The bomb he had set in the abandoned pub ticked in your ear menacingly, counting down the seconds you and your team had to live.

Ignoring the obvious fact that you’d been wounded, you stood and sprinted after the bounty hunter. It was hard-- the fact that you weren’t a Jedi certainly didn’t help-- but with your learned skills from training at the assassin academy for more than a decade, you managed to corner them against a wall. A group of clones came up on either side of the bounty hunter, trapping him.

“You put up a better fight than I expected,” you admitted, walking closer to the hunter with your duel daggers out. Once you got close enough, you knocked the gun out of his hands and pinned him against the floor. The clones watched closely as you dug your knee into his back and tied his hands together. “I’m sure the Republic will love hearing how you’ve tried to blow up this secret Sepratist weapon manufacturing hub,” you added, although the bounty hunter laughed in response.

“Not ‘tried to,’ love,” he chortled. You could hear the timer tick again, then stop. Realization dawned on you, and your eyes widened.

“Get to the ship!” you yelled, and dropped the bounty hunter. The blast would take care of him-- and you, if you didn’t move NOW.

Debris shot past your head as you rocketed out of the pub, the battalion of clones that the Jedi offered you to complete the mission following close behind. They shielded you with their armor as bits of the exploded pub shot through the air, but a sharp piece of metal managed to pierce the skin of your cheek. Adrenaline numbed the pain, and you made it back to the ship breathing hard, trying to drag in as much air as you could into your abused lungs.

As the clones filed into the spaceship, you looked back at the sight of your mission. All that was left was a smoking pile of debris. There was no way the bounty hunter had gotten out alive, and although the Senate would have liked to have him stand trial, your mission for the Jedi had been completed. Destroy the weapon factory.

Now all that was left to do was to make it back to the temple, without dying of blood loss first.

Holding your hand underneath your cheek, you tried catching as much blood in your hand as possible so that it didn’t get on the floor. Not that it mattered, this ship had seen enough blood in its days, but you’d rather not add to the mess the workers back at the temple would have to clean up. Doing so proved more difficult than anticipated, as you moved to close the door and then sit down at the piloting station and start the ship. Blood ran down your face fast, and soon your hand began to overflow.

Wiping your hand off on your shirt, you then tried soaking the blood up with your sleeve, although it mostly managed to smear further across your face. You’re not sure which slasher film victim you resembled once the Jedi council picked up your hologram message.

You relayed the details of the mission, and the outcome to Yoda. He looked pleased, and thanked you for taking on a mission the Jedi could not complete due to their busy schedules fighting the war. Before the call ended, he pointed out the obvious.

“Blood on your face, you have,” he said. “Medics when you return, will be sent.”

“There’s no need,” you assure him. “It’s just a scratch. Or two. But I can take care of it, the medics should stay with injured soldiers.”

“Very selfless, you are,” he bowed his head, and the call ended. Now that no one was watching you, you leaned back in your seat and blew out a long breath of air. Time to go home.

*****************************************************************************************************

Hyperspeed brought you over the planet of Coruscant in no time. Within 15 minutes of departing from the planet where the bounty hunter had been, you landed the ship carefully-- flying ships still made you nervous sometimes, although your boyfriend Anakin had certainly helped you gradually get over your fears-- and stepped out of the ship. You dropped to the ground of the docking bay, the blood in your head suddenly plummeting. Your vision went all fuzzy and your knees went weak, so you steadied yourself against the metal of the ship. Thankfully, someone else was there to catch you before you could fall and truly embarrass yourself.

“Woah,” Anakin met your waist with his mechanical arm, pulling you back to your feet. You met his blue eyes, which were swimming with concern. “What happened here?”

You touched your cheek with your fingertips, and they came away wet with crimson fluid once again. You frowned, thinking the bleeding had at least slowed in the time it took to get back. The cut must be deeper than you thought.

“I’ll be okay,” you told him, already anticipating his onslaught of mother-henning. Anakin was a worrier, understandably so regarding what happened with his mother, but you appreciated the fact that he cared.

“Y/n, your whole face is covered in blood,” he brought his flesh hand up to try and rub some blood off your uninjured cheekbone, frowning when it proved pointless. “Those cuts need to be looked at-- you’re coming with me.”

Before you could protest, Anakin whisked you away from the docking bay. Removing his hand from your waist so it wouldn’t raise suspicion with the other Jedi, he settled for taking your bloody hand in his and pulling you all the way to his quarters. He brought you into his bathroom, sat you down on the toilet, and handed you a wad of rolled up tissue paper to hold to your face as he dug through his cabinets for medical supplies. All the while, he chastised you for… well… everything.

“What happened? Why didn’t the medics meet you at the docking bay? Does the council know the extent of your injuries?”

“Yoda offered to send medics, but I told him not to. It’s really not that bad,” your voice is muffled by the tissue paper.

“What were you thinking? What if you bled out? What if you passed out before I could catch you? You could have hit your head. How did this happen in the first place?”

“Anakin, I’m fine,” you laughed, finding his worrying adorable. “Yeah it’s a lot of blood, but it doesn’t even hurt.” You pause. “...much.”

He glanced at you from the corner of his eyes for a moment, then went ripping back into his cabinet for pain killers. Filling up a glass of water with the Force while simultaneously opening up the pill bottle with his hands, you barely blinked before he thrust them into your bloody palms.

“Down the hatch. Now.” he ordered, and watched with his arms crossed as you slipped the pills past your lips and sipped the water. You laughed all the while, although it looked more like a grimace due to the fact that you couldn’t move your face much without a piercing pain. Once you swallowed, he knelt down to your level and gently covered the hand holding the tissue paper to your face with his, peeling it back to see the damage. You watched his eyebrows draw down, his lips curve into a pout as he inspected your wounds.

“You’re cute when you’re worried,” you tease him, hating the fear that flashed through his eyes.

That did the trick-- he flicked his gaze up to meet with yours, his annoyed glare hard and unyielding.

“Can you blame me for being concerned? I was waiting for you to come back so I could take you to a picnic I set up in the gardens, only to find you falling out of the ship, covered in blood, your face all slashed up, and on the verge of collapse. Anyone would be a little upset.”

“A picnic?” Your voice raised hopefully. “Ooh, that’ll be fun. I’ve never been on a picnic before.”

“Yeah, well, we’re not going anywhere until you’re all patched up. And even then, you’ve lost a lot of blood. Maybe we should push it back for sometime else.”

Anakin took the tissues from you and threw them in the garbage bin. He wet a cloth in the sink, then came back to stand in front of you. He tilted your face up to look at him as he began running the cloth over your face, gently cleaning the blood away.

“Where in the gardens were you thinking?” you ignored his plans on cancelling.

“The south end, with the red flowers you like so much. I moved some stuff around to block the path and shield us from view, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Always one step ahead,” you close your eyes so he can get your eyebrows and eyelids.

You could feel Anakin’s cool breath wash over your face as he sighed. The cloth moved to the injured half of your face, slowing and dropping in the pressure used as he cleaned around the cuts. Your eyes were closed, but you could practically sense the look he had on his face right now.

“You still never told me who did this to you.”

“The bounty hunter,” you kept your eyes closed, fighting back the urge to wince as the pain in your face heightened. He was being astronomically careful, but the wounds had to be cleaned and that meant pain, unfortunately for you. The least you could do now was mask it so that Anakin wouldn’t feel bad for hurting you. “He threw a knife at me and it hit me in the forehead. Then he blew up the pub and a piece of shrapnel hit my cheek.”

“Force,” he muttered under his breath. “You know I know you’re capable of carrying out these missions, but I still don’t like the prospect of you getting hurt like this.”

“I know, Ani,” you open your eyes to look at him. His face was as expected-- drawn eyebrows, pouty lips, dark curls shining in the bathroom light. He was beautiful, protective, and all yours. “I don’t have to remind you how hard it is to watch you leave for missions. You’re fighting a WAR out there.”

“So are you, now,” he dabbed at a spot of blood on your temple. “This mission with the weapon hub was the first of many for you. The council says so. They’ll only get harder from here on out, and I just don’t know how safe it is…”

“I’m no Jedi,” you tell him softly. “But I am a fighter. I can handle myself, you know. Plus, I have you to patch me up if I ever get hurt again.”

He rolls his eyes at your crooked smile.

“Plus,” you continue. “Maybe now they’ll send us on a mission together! Imagine us, side by side, kicking some Separatist ass. That’d be kinda cool, wouldn’t it?”

At this, Anakin rewarded you with a small sideways smile. “It would.”

Deciding your face had been cleaned as much as it could, he dropped the dirty washcloth into the sink and grabbed a tube of some kind of antibacterial ointment. He used his gloved hand to tilt your chin back up again, and began softly running his real finger over the cut on your forehead, spreading the ointment along with it.

“They don’t look deep enough for stitches, and I don’t think you’ll have any scarring. You got lucky in that case,” he mumbled as he concentrated on keeping his touch feather-light. “However, these aren’t just ‘cuts.’ They’re deep, and they’re gonna take some time to heal. Tell me if I’m hurting you.”

“Aye aye, Captain.”

Anakin captured your chin between his thumb and pointer finger, moving it so the injured half of your face was closer to him. You took the opportunity to shamelessly stare at your beautiful boyfriend, studying every flawless inch of his face. Sometimes you wonder why someone like him would choose to be with someone like you. He was never shy to tell you time and time again how beautiful YOU were, but you always rallied it back on to him in which he just laughed and shook his head at you. Stupid, protective, heroic, reckless, kind, stubborn, beautiful boy.

As Anakin smoothed some ointment over the gash on your cheekbone, you couldn’t help but flinch at the sharp stinging pain that flooded your face. Obviously the cheek had gotten hit the worst, and as the last of the adrenaline wore off, you were beginning to feel your whole face come alive with a pulsing sting.

“I’m sorry,” Anakin murmured, moving quickly to get the hard part over with. “The painkillers should start kicking in soon.”

“It’s okay,” you reassured him. “I can handle a bit of pain. Now, let me see how gorgeous I look.”

You pushed his hands off you and stood, swaying slightly on your feet but hiding it by gripping onto the sink under the mirror. With one look at yourself, it was hard to keep yourself from cringing at the gory mess your face had become.

Anakin was right-- the gashes on your skin were deeper than they seemed, and were a bright angry red. One ran from the middle of the your hairline to the edge of your brown, and the other started at the outside corner of your eye and travelled diagonal to the corner of your nose, then down near your mouth.

“It got your dimple,” Anakin frowned, washing his hands in the sink while studying your reaction in the mirror.

“I have another one,” you point to the uninjured side of your face.

He responded by kissing it softly, before moving past you to throw the empty ointment tube in the trash and to grab the gauze from the sink counter. He held it up and smiled with the corner of his mouth.

“Ready for the fun part?”

“Make me look cute, baby.”

He huffed at the pet name, but muttered anyway, “You always look cute.”

You stuck your bottom lip out and scrunched up your eyebrows. “Aaaaaww. You’re the sweetest! The sweetest little baby. Thank you, Ani.”

“Careful, or I’ll take it back,” he warned, carefully placing a square of gauze on your forehead. He ripped some tape off from the roll with the Force and gently smoothed it over your skin.

“So about this picnic,” you moved your face when he nudged your chin with his finger again. This had you staring at the wall now.

“Not happening.”

“Why?” you whined.

“You can barely stand without falling over. You need time to rest and heal up. The picnic can wait.”

“You don’t STAND at a picnic, Anakin.”

“You won’t be able to walk all the way there. And I can’t carry you without people asking questions.”

“I can make it there just fine! Plus, I don’t want all your hard work to go to waste.”

“Please,” he chuckled. “Moving a couple flower pots was not hard work.”

“But all the food you got…”

“I’ll have Obi-Wan retrieve it and bring it back for us. We can just stay here and eat it. Besides,” he used the Force to change the window from white to show the outside city of Coruscant. “It looks like it may rain.”

“Oh,” you study the gray clouds outside. “I love rain.”

“I know you do,” he smiled softly, smoothing down the last piece of gauze and tape on your cheek. When he finished, he enveloped the sides of your neck in his hands, using his fingers to push your head down. He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the untouched skin on your forehead, breathing in your scent.

“I love you,” he said lowly before pulling away. You can’t help the grin that broke out on your face, the warmth from blossoming in your chest.

“Ow! Don’t make me smile,” you laugh through the pain, but bring your hands up to hold onto his wrists to keep him there anyway. “But I love you too. I really do.”

Anakin’s eyes shift to your hands holding onto him. His face darkens again, and he moves to hold your palms in his. “You’re still covered in blood. You wanna wash up here?”

You nod, and then lean back as he gets up to throw the rest of the supplies in the cabinets and then start readying the washing area. “Shower or bath?”

“Mmmmm bath please,” you decide, rolling your shoulders and feeling the uncomfortable stiffness plaguing your movements. Between the blood loss and your sore muscles, you don’t think you’ll be able to stand for very long.

While Anakin twisted the knobs in the shower to start the bath, you pushed yourself to your feet and pulled the ponytail from your falling-out hairdo, shaking your messy locks. A cute look, for sure-- all gauzed up like a paper mache volcano, hair falling wildly around your face like a lion’s mane, hands still caked in dried blood. A damn catch, if you’re being honest.

Anakin turned and moved toward the door to give you some privacy. “Uh, shampoo and everything is in there, towels are over there, just turn the bottom knob all the way to the right when you want the water off.” He opened the bathroom door and stepped out. “Shout if you need anything.”

As soon as the door closed, you yanked off your nasty shirt, followed by your bra and pants and underwear. It seemed like your blood had gotten everywhere on your clothes, even your boots, and you suddenly realized you didn’t know what you would wear when you got out.

A problem for a different moment, you decided, and stepped into the warm bath. Immediately, it was pure bliss, soothing your muscles and washing the sweat and dirt away. You got to work scrubbing the blood from under your fingernails first, then carefully dunked your hair and shampooed it to get the dried blood out of there too. Once you lathered your body up in soap, you decided to just soak for a while, turning the knob to slow to a trickle so the bath wouldn’t overflow.

Outside, you could here Anakin talk to Obi-Wan over hologram.

“--Yeah she’s here, pretty beat up but otherwise she’s fine. Hey, can I ask you a favor--” he then requested Obi-Wan clean up the picnic he had set up, being the only one who knew of your relationship, he was the only one who could without being suspicious. Obi-Wan agreed to bring the food over, and Anakin thanked him. A moment after they hung up, you heard a soft knock on the door.

“Y/n? I have some of the clothes you left here to wear, if you’d like.”

“Oh, yes please,” you closed the shower curtain so Anakin could come in without seeing your bruised body in all its naked glory.

“I’m leaving them on the counter,” he informed you. You could see his silhouette bend down to pick up your dirty clothes and boots, and then he left again. You sunk further into the water, the bubbles in the bath tickling your chin.

He was just so damn sweet.

You don’t know how long you stayed in the bath. Honestly, you think you might have fallen asleep at one point. You just loved being able to relax, knowing Anakin was right outside as you let the dripping water lull you into a peaceful meditative mode. The stinging in your face had dulled-- not disappeared, but it wasn’t a constant hum of pain anymore. You could honestly stay here like this forever.

However… the water was getting cold. And the darkening sky outside told you the rain would start soon, and you wanted to be in Anakin’s room where he had a big window overlooking the entire city to watch the storm.

Careful not to slip, you maneuvered your way out of the tub and wrapped yourself in a towel. You pulled the drain and made sure the water disappeared as you got dressed in the sleep shorts you kept in Anakin’s dresser for when you wanted to sleep over, as well as one of your sleep shirts and even a pair of your socks. You towel dried your hair, folded it up, and then hung it back up on the wall before opening the bathroom door to Anakin’s quarters. He was sitting on the couch, watching the skyline through the window when you walked up behind him and wrapped your arms around his neck, resting your chin in his soft curls as you scanned the storm clouds with him.

“Obi-Wan’s coming with the food, he should be here any minute now,” he told you, bringing a hand up to cover your own. “You wanna take this to the bedroom?”

“Oh, would I,” you waggled your eyebrows, smirking with the good half of your face.

He chuckled and stood, keeping your hand in his. “You know what I mean.”

“Take me, Anakin Skywalker,” you begged wistfully as he walked across the apartment to his bedroom with you in tow. “You know you want to.”

“I know I want to,” his tone was serious despite your joking one. He closed the door behind you with the force, and then led you to sit on his bed. You crawled up onto the covers and crossed your legs, wondering where he was going with this.

He stood before you and rested his hands on your knees, keeping you rooted to the spot. You watched his chest get closer as he leaned in close, his lips near your ear, and you could feel his breath tickle your neck, raising goosebumps on your arms. You sat, wide-eyed and staring at the golden skin of his collar bone, barely breathing, awaiting his next move.

“Too bad Obi-Wan just got here with the food,” he whispered, and planted a warm kiss underneath your ear before pulling away. He left with a cocky grin, leaving you frozen on the bed so he could retrieve the supplies from Obi-Wan.

“Jesus…” you muttered, pressing a hand to your chest to stop your heart from beating so quick. No doubt Anakin could sense it.

Once the heat from your cheeks cooled and your heartbeat returned to normal, you laid back on Anakin’s bed and stretched out like a starfish. Your muscles protested, but it felt good to be on the soft, cushiony material of his bed.

“Some food for you, m’lady,” Anakin held a sandwich over your face when he returned, and you lifted your hands to take it from him. You immediately began eating it, not realizing at first how hungry you were. It had been over 24 hours since you’d left for the mission and had last eaten.

As you ate your sandwich, Anakin picked at some grapes and walked around the room, waving his arm over the wall to switch it to the window. Rain pattered against the glass now, droplets racing each other to the bottom. He adjusted the temperature in the room, and then began fiddling with one of the many new contraptions he’d been tinkering with, and then began to undress. You tore your eyes away from the storm clouds to watch him set his lightsaber on the desk, then unclasp his belt and set it beside the saber, followed by the tunic which left him in a loose fitting shirt and his pants.

He ran his hands through his curls as he walked the clothes over to his closet, and then started messing with the thermostat again.

“Would you just come here and sit with me already?” you moan, throwing your sandwich scraps in the trash. Anakin turned to look at you from his place across the room.

“One moment…”

You waited patiently, and soon you felt the bed dip beside you and you sat up to scooch over and give him more room. He passed a cupcake your way-- chocolate, your favorite-- and then brought a glass of dark red liquid up to his lips.

“Is that wine?” you laugh through a mouthful of cupcake. He narrowed his eyes, but smiled at your awkward facial expression anyway.

“Am I not allowed to drink wine in my own home?”

“You are, I just didn’t peg you as a wine type of guy,” you admit.

Anakin shrugged, then brought the bottle over to his free hand with the force. “You want some?”

You and Anakin then sat and watched the storm, sipping wine and eating chocolate cupcakes. A perfect way to end a shitty mission.

#anakin #anakinskywalker #injured reader #whump #caretaker anakin #blood and injury #soft anakin #secret relationship #fluff #worried anakin #protective anakin #playful reader #rain #baths #cupcakes #wine #badass reader

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intubatedangel · 4 years

Text

Cold Snap: Chapter 1

I’m back, again, hopefully a bit more consistently. This time returning to the world of Anna Swift with a story that’s been an idea for almost 2 years but couldn’t quite come together. No resus in this part, just setting up the scene, but I hope you enjoy.

----------

Shona dragged her large suitcase up the ramp and onto the lower deck of the old water taxi. It had become almost like an old friend to her over the last few years, the point of seperation between home and college. She turned and waved to her parents, who stood back on the quay, watching thier daughter leave for the last semester of her college life. In truth she wasn't going all that far. Only a dozen or so miles as the crow flies, and within the limits of the same greater city area. But while the city had grown and expanded to absorb her old home town as a mere suburb, the city's transport links had not kept pace. While the rail network ran along each side of the river, it didn't cross at this end of the city. There were plans for new bridges, but they never materialised. And so, instead of taking a 3 hour trip on the city metro, Shona would take the trusty water taxi that had been crossing the river back and forth for as long as her mother remembered, and be at her dorm within 40 minutes.

A good idea really, she thought, pulling on the suitcase behind her, trying to get it rolling again. She cursed internally at her professors for giving them so much work over the spring break, the suitcase weighed down with what felt like half a library. A gust of cold wind blasted her face, and she thought of another curse, this one at the northern climate. To many, spring break was about running around on beaches nearly naked having parties and getting tanned. To say it would not be advisable here was an understatement. This far north, winter was still clinging on, to the point where snow lay on the ground just a few weeks ago.

Shona pulled her scarf up a little further as she dragged the suitcase toward the door at the rear of the cabin, where luggage could be stowed out of the way. She pushed it open then spun to grip the suitcase handle with both hands and haul it over the small threshold, staggering back a little as the wheels finally rocked over. A gust of wind sucked the door closed with a loud bang and shone flinched, glancing around to see if anyone noticed. Like public transport in most cities, no one so much as glanced at her.

She ducked into the luggage area, and her heart sank. All the lower shelves were full. She walked over, wondering just how she was going to stow the case. She vaguely heard the door behind her, then the sound of rolling wheels that approached and stopped beside her.

"Erm, would you like a hand?" A male voice said. Shone turned to him. He was young, maybe a similar age to herself, with black hair in that intentionally messy style. He raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. "Not infering anything about the strength of your gender...You just looked... and I need to..." He glanced at his own case, similar sized to hers.

Shona shook her head "Sorry, yes that would be great." She smiled. "We can each lift half." She commented, prompting a grin from the young man. Together they lifted her bag. Well, Shona steadied it at least.

"Student?" The young man asked, with a slight pant from the effort. Shona nodded, and opened her mouth to reply. "Wait, let me try and guess. Your on this taxi, so you must be studying at Central. That amount of books, over spring break no less, narrows it down. Medical students are already back, my roomate's doing Chem and says all the natural sciences work is based on their own labs now. And, I haven't seen you in any of my classes or on my floor of the library, so by process of elimination I'm going to say... History."

"Impressive." Shona told him with a grin. "You must be studying literature." She grinned at his shocked face. "My roommate is in that course. She can almost quote the entire works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at this point, and she told me that almost everyone goes through a Sherlock phase in that course."

He chuckles. "Well played. I must know the name of the lady who bested me." He said, with a mock bow.

Shona couldn't help but chuckle too, though it was drowned out by the horn of the water taxi, as it gave it's last call. Shona felt the familiar rumble as the engine got into gear and began to ramp up in power. "Shona. Shona Smith-Carlson. Yes it's double barrelled. Ardent Feminist of a mother refused to give up her maiden name."

"Well theres nothing wrong with that. Though by the look on your face you aren't too happy it."

"It's not that," Shona shrugs. "She just never shuts up about it. Still loves dad though." She trails off, the silence starting to become awkward. "What about you?" She re-directs. "I'm guessing your name isn't actually Sherlock."

He smiles. "Jack Davidson. Not literally, My dad's actually called Mark."

"You must have practiced that line." Shona said, trying not to laugh at the perfect delivery.

"Maybe once or twice, but it's a good ice breaker, don't you think?" He replied with another dazzling smile.

It was a nice smile. The boat jerked slightly as it left the quay and started its journey across the river. Shona rocked a little, Jacks arm moved, lifting a little, not quite reaching out, but ready to steady her if she had stumbled, and Shona suddenly realised he was flirting. Why did this always happen? She fought to not roll her eyes. Her girlfriend was going to rib her again. She would have to let him down gently. She took off her scarf, wrapping it and putting it into one pocket, and then unzipped her coat. She caught his eyes flick down as all men’s do, then slightly to one side, catching sight of the rainbow badge.

He blew out a breath, then nodded with a wry grin. "That's a good move. I am out played once again. Though I suppose we aren't quite playing the same game are we."

Shona shrugged. "Sorry." She mumbled.

Jack waved his hand. "Don't be. Not like you can change who you are. How about we get my bag stowed and then we grab a coffee on the upper deck?" Shona looked at him, puzzled. "Your roommate. From what you were saying she's a year ahead of me. A bit of early information is always good."

Shona considered it for a moment. He wasn't being pushy or angry like one of those guys. And she was planning on getting a coffee. So she shrugged. "Why not, company is always nice."

Together they lifted Jack's case, a little lighter than her own, and placed it in the rack. But as he was checking it was secure, Shona felt a rumble. A different rumble, one that she had never felt before on over two dozen journeys. If she'd been outside, she would have seen a plume of black smoke rise out the tall exhaust stack. If she'd been in the cabin that qualified as the bridge of the boat, she'd have heard voices filled with panic as alarms squarked.

Shona and Jack started up the stairs in front of the luggage compartment, when there was another rumble, and a strange noise filled the passenger cabin as the whole ship vibrated. Shona stopped halfway up the stairs, looking behind her. Jack turned to her, three steps higher up.

"What is it?" He asked

Shona shook her head "The boat. Somethings wr..."

Her voice was totally drowned out by the noise of the engine exploding.

**********

Officer Matt Jones sat on the small river patrol boat, bobbing slightly against it's mooring. He glanced at his watch. Just another 7 hours and 50 minutes of his 8 hour shift. He sighed, feeling that boiling anger as he rembered getting busted down to river patrol. Not even standard beat cop, river patrol. In March, in this city, where even the foolish wouldn't think of getting in the river. Only the desperate. But this section of the river didn't even have any bridges, ruling that out too.

"So..." The old timer, Winston, who was now his partner muttered. "Who did you piss off to land yourself here?"

Jones breathed out slowly, sending the anger with it. "You know Dean Campbell?"

"The head of HR Dean Campbell?" Jones nodded, Winston whistled. "What did you do?"

"I may have pointed out that he was... inadequate for the position. In somewhat more forceful terms. To his face..."

Winston spat into the river. "That would do it. Not that you are wrong of course, that little weasel has done nothing but damage to the department, but, not exactly the wisest decision.

Jones nodded. "What about you?"

"I asked to be here." Winston replied, prompting a look from Jones. "Coming up on retirement. The last thing I wanted was to be that stereotype. Always liked fishing, figured I'd get some boat time and avoid anything likely to finish me off before my service is done."

"That's fair enough I guess." Jones told him, sipping at the coffee, watching the old water taxi make it's way across the river. He noticed the black smoke, but thought nothing of it. "Does anything interesting happen here?"

"Wouldn't have picked this spot if it did." Winston replied. "Occasionally that floating wreck needs a hand when it breaks, but that's about it." He says turning to look. "Speking of which, that exhaust don't look too healthy." He said a moment before the radio squarked, lighting up an indicator on the emergency channel.

"This is the Beetle, may-day, may-day, our engine is...." The radio cut off as a gout of thick black smoke burst from the exhaust tube, and the distant boat seemed to lurch. A split second later the sound wave of the explosion reached them.

"Get us moving!" Jones shouted to Winston, as he grabbed at his own radio. "This is officer Jones, Badge number 4582. We have a major incident in progress on the river between....between..."

"Between North Inglebank and Trippers point!" Winston shouted.

"Between North Inglebank and Trippers point. Explosion on a water taxi, we are en-route, unknown casualties, unknown situation, requesting additional backup for evacuation and medical assistance!"

"Acknowledged Officer Jones. Relaying now."

Winston had gotten the speed boat unmoored, tossing a high-vis life jacket to Jones, before he gunned the motor and they began to cut through the waves, heading for the vessel that was now smoking from more than just the exhaust.

(Edit: Fixed some errors and details. A little out of practice.)

#medical drama #cpr #defib #resus writing #Anna Swift

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theres-no-protocol-for-this · 4 years

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Connectivity

My one-shot has become a two-shot somehow. So here’s the continuation of yesterday’s ‘humans adopt a CombatUnit’ story. You can read the first part here.

(Cass)

"Shit, Kris, it's basically a toddler." I sucked in a breath and muttered curses at deities unknown.

Our newly adopted CombatUnit sat in the co-pilot's chair, eyes closed. It remained aware of the world around it, tensing when Kris accidentally dropped a wrench, but it no longer responded to our voices in any meaningful way. Its brainwaves looked like spaghetti, and the rest of its vital signs didn't fare much better.

I pulled up one of the modular cushion chairs and sat down next to the construct. I touched its chest through the blanket, and when it didn't startle or pull away, I rubbed large, slow circles across its chest. That seemed to calm to the Unit, though it still occasionally tried to break free of its restraints.

Watching it struggle broke my heart.

Serenity worked overtime to establish some kind of connection between my augments and the construct, which would hopefully resemble the brainwave patterns and data flow of a handler and stabilize the Unit. It was a hack job with a high probability of failure, but it was still better than letting the construct suffer.

Kris leaned over my shoulder like an asshole and peered at the SecUnit. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it was manufactured less than three years ago."

"Deity! Why the hell was it out there by itself, then?"

I shrugged and gestured at the news feed with my free hand. "Your guess is as good as mine."

A moment later, Serenity notified me that the connection framework was in place and my augments were functioning within reasonable limits. We'd see how long that lasted, but for now they wouldn't fry me or the SecUnit.

"All right, show time." I looked up at Kris. "If anything happens, Sere can disconnect us. But give it a few moments before panicking, all right? This is all jury-rigged, so it might take time for everything to kick in."

Kris pulled back and stared at me. "You're doing something dangerously stupid for a machine, love. This could give you a permanent lobotomy or a heart attack." He frowned and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Bringing this thing on board was a terrible idea."

I kept my voice low, but anger simmered under the surface. "So what was the alternative? Leaving it out there to die?"

"You know what I meant, Cass."

I thought I knew what he meant, but before I could say anything else, the world briefly fell away in a shower of sparks. My augments logged so many error messages at once that the log filled up instantaneously, but they managed to achieve calibration, and suddenly I was aware of another mind existing alongside my own.

The sensation was uncomfortable but mercifully brief.

Unlike me, the CombatUnit had all the appropriate wiring for a brain-to-brain connection, and it was designed specifically with a handler in mind. So, it had less trouble accepting the connection or responding to Serenity's commands to align itself with me.

I felt its fear and confusion and loneliness.

"Shh," I whispered, hopefully out loud. "It's all right. You're safe. You're aboard Serenity. Do you remember what happened?"

The construct blinked a few times before its eyes focused on me. Waves and waves of raw data — information about previous missions, vital signs, other statistics, and outputs from its diagnostics and governor module — flooded into my system. I backburnered all of it because I'm only human, and I would need time to review the data.

Lots of time I didn't have.

"Was that the answer to my question?"

The construct nodded.

Meanwhile, Serenity began parsing the vast amounts of data provided by the Unit. The ship's bot wasn't sentient by any stretch of the imagination, but it had enough pattern-matching and data-crunching modules that it put humans to shame.

A message from the ship popped up on my heads-up display, complete with a timer and dozens of lines of code I couldn't parse. The Combat SecUnit has relayed a concern regarding its continued functionality. There appears to be a countdown to its termination. Connecting to your augments has halted the countdown for an unknown amount of time.

"What? What? What the actual fuck?"

Brow furrowed, I stared at the results scrolling across my display surface and couldn't make heads or tails of them. I know how to repair a ship, not how to mind-meld with a human-bot hybrid created by some corporation with a negative amount of morals.

Kris joined in a shared workspace and also perused through the documents. "I've heard of this," he explained after seeing my stricken expression. "SecUnits have distance limits, I think. If they get too far from their clients, they governor module fries their brains."

"I didn't want to know that, but keep going anyway. How much worse could it be?"

My companion chuckled darkly. "It looks like the Combat models don't have a distance-to-client limit, per se. Instead, they rely on regular check-ins from a handler. Each time a handler contacts the Unit, the time to termination is reset. If the timer gets down low enough, the governor triggers a countdown to a shutdown sequence. Looks like there's a number of intermediate steps, but that's the gist of it."

I was absolutely lost for words. "We do this to people?"

"Yeah, Cass, the Corporation Rim does all kinds of awful things to people." My companion pulled back and paced the room. "It's why I escaped when I could."

"I didn't… know that."

Kris shrugged. "I don't usually talk about it." He waved the topic away with a careless hand. "Let's deal with the SecUnit."

I looked up at the construct and found it watching me with those unreadable eyes. The blank, neutral expression on its face might have belonged to a statue. At least its vital signs were slowly returning to more appropriate ranges, and it was no longer fighting its restraints.

"Try asking for its performance reliability?" the light-haired pilot suggested.

"What's that?"

"An overall measure of how well a construct is doing, usually."

I took a deep breath and squeaked, "SecUnit, what is your, uh, performance reliability?"

What I wanted to do was hide in my cabin for a few hours and maybe cry into a pillow, but we didn't have time for that. Not when we were authorized to leave the station in under three hours. This would be a bad time for a mental breakdown.

In the feed, the construct answered, 72% and holding steady.

That didn't sound like a canned response, which gave me hope.

#fanfiction #murderbot #The Murderbot Diaries #combat secunit

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precisionlogictech · 3 years

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a-student-out-of-time · 4 years

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Twisted Sister Aftermath Review Part 1

Hai hidey do everyone, it’s your friendly neighbourhood Review Anon here! Another Arc has come and past us and as such it’s time to review it! Hopefully I don’t end up with 5k worth of words here and have three megaton submissions here (and from now on I am not going back to using asks, why the heck I used asks beforehand is beyond me) Speaking of, I have a question, do you want me to go back and review previous arcs? Probably won’t do this until we have any kind of break or hiatus so to not break flow? But that’s enough time being wasted, we have the Twisted Sister Aftermath Arc here, and this review isn’t going anywhere so let’s get right into it!

Relationships and Reflections

So, when we last left off, Hajime passed out from inhaling too much smoke while saving Tsurugi from the bomb explosion and as it turned out he has been asleep for a good 8 hours! Its Monday but despite that the school is shut, which is understandable given that we had criminals running around and a serial killer attacking the school the previous day, Hope’s Peak seems to be more sensible than my previous school which didn’t shut down even when one of the main buildings got flooded (long story there). But the good news is that nearly all the criminals were captured by the QC and the police and are back where they belong. The bad news is that 3 criminals are still at large. 2 of them are petty criminals that have nothing to be concerned but there is one criminal who IS a big concern. You have 3 guesses who that person is and the first 2 don’t count. Yep, its Maverick Storm alright.

So, time for a bit of a confession here, Maverick as a character…isn’t all new to me. For some of you old timers here there was a blog called ‘Despair Kids’ which started out as Class 78 asking questions and then it evolved into an AU with lots of OCs, so many that it got too overwhelming and I lost interest in it. But there were a few I generally liked, and Kyoji’s and Maverick’s characters really stood out to me. When I started to read the enormous backlog of this blog, (I wish the best of luck to all newcomers and try to not binge it, even if you are a fast reader), and Umeko showed up during the Practical Exams arc, I got a sense of Deja vu, as I recalled hearing that character’s name before. But I didn’t think much at the time, not helped by the fact that Umeko was a pretty minor character in the Despair Kids, even when Maverick was on his self-imposed challenge to kill all of his class, Umeko evaded him by just dimension travelling to another universe, so her character didn’t have much impact. But as soon as I heard Kyoji and Maverick mentioned I thought ‘Oh…OH IT’S THE SAME PERSON WHO MADE THOSE CHARACTERS!’. And as mentioned, I really liked those OCs anyway so that as well as using Another characters really got me invested into this blog. And with all that said, let me reassure you guys that Maverick is a bastard with a capital B. The stuff he gets up to in Despair Kids, where he was a member of Despair, but secretly plotted to overthrow Junko, even the other Mods/Role-players were disgusted by it. Now Maverick is probably going to be going through some changes as the Mod’s OCs in this blog aren’t the same as the characters from the Despair Kids. To give some examples Kyoji’s backstory doesn’t mention Mikan, Kyoji isn’t into Mikan, he’s more into Miaya, Maverick got jailed etc. So, I won’t be surprised when Storm starts pulling shit, probably not as bad as Despair Kids as he isn’t under Junko’s thumb here…but hard to tell at the moment. But yeah, you have been warned, I consider Maverick a villain as bad as Junko and Mikado, and you will soon see why.

But enough about a character who hasn’t officially shown up yet, let’s focus on a reformed villain and that is the new and improved Kanade! I feel mixed upon this new Kanade as part of me wants to love her as in this state she is so sweet and innocent, which is what people probably thought of Kanade when they first saw her in SDAR2, and I did at first, my thoughts about Kanade at the time were ‘It’s almost as if Hiyoko and Mikan are siblings, let’s hope Kanade doesn’t go crazy like Mikan did’ and that statement aged like milk. When Kanade became suspiciously smart and helpful during the Class Trials I was kinda sus because normally with the Trial Point Getters there is normally some logic to why said character is good in the Trails, like Koroko being a Psychologist can analysis people’s feelings and deduce who the culprit, and Syobai’s background means he has to use his brain quite a bit, but Kanade is supposed to be a Guitarist in a Pop band, she shouldn’t be this good. But my theory was she was lying about her talent, because that’s nothing new in Danganronpa, but ho boy was that a mistake. But at the same time as much as I want to hug this new Kanade, I’m also hyper conscious that the mindwipe might not be a permeant solution as well Junko got mindwiped in the OG timeline and we all know how well THAT ended. Then again, the relapse didn’t fully occur until Yasuke decided to kill Ryoko so as long as nobody tries to strangle Kanade, we should be good. It also means that Hibiki gets the little sister that she thought she had back, and you can tell this a new stage of development for her. Hibiki has grown as a person since back in July but while that part of her character development has finished, a new part starts as she tries and rebuild a proper healthy relationship with Kanade because Hibiki wasn’t completely innocent in the reason why Kanade became a monster. Granted, a lot of it was Kanade being twisted to begin with but had Hibiki been kinder and not been a total bitch to her, I don’t think Kanade would have gone fully down the deep end as it seems her psychopathic behaviour is more of a nurture rather than nature thing. Something I believe will be explored a bit more once Junko enters the scene because well…Kanade is basically Junko on easy mode. The real deal will be a lot harder to handle. And naturally Kyoji has offered to take care of her…I don’t know why Kyoji has turned into the guardian of reformed little girls, but it’s a welcome surprise to be sure. I just hope Kanade doesn’t get wrapped up in Storm’s schemes because given that Kyoji is his arch-enemy…

We can make sure Kanade is a good girl now but there’s still the small issue that she escaped from jail and the police are looking for her so one needs to fake her death. This is a joint operation by Kyoji and Nikei as Kyoji cloned some of Kanade’s body parts and left them near where a bomb went off to give the impression that Kanade got killed during the Prison Break, and judging from Tsurugi’s reaction, it seems to have worked. Speaking of Tsurugi, he is resting and due to his injuries is desk bound for a couple of weeks and receiving care from Mikan. Mikan caring for Tsurugi helps in two ways, as firstly being the Ultimate Nurse, she would be qualified to help make sure nothing serious happens to Tsurugi and Tsurugi doesn’t know that Mikan is part of the Quantum Crew and working with Kasugano, so it means someone is near Tsurugi who can relay information to Kasugano and co. That’s two girls with ties to Kasugano that Tsurugi has interacted with and he doesn’t suspect a thing. Okay to be fair with Akane when he first met her, she was an independent force and wasn’t working for Kasugano at that point but my point still stands. Not much to talk about our police boy here aside from Mod confirming that Tsurugi x Kouhei is going to be a thing in this blog. To be fair everyone could see the sexual tension between those two and that’s why people felt funny when Kanade mocked their relationship as they wanted to ship the two but it meant siding with a demonic guitar child. But said demonic guitar child is no more so no need to worry about shipping! And as for Nikei, he is writing up an article detailing Kanade’s demise as to throw the media off Kanade’s scent and then it’s just waiting for all the media hype around Kanade to die down and once that happens, she can be transferred to one of the many care facilities that Kyoji knows. How many does he know at this point? And while we are on the subject of Newsie here, it’s time to discuss a growing friendship, and possible relationship that is developing between him and Akane.

I had my suspicions for some time by their interactions but it was Akane’s and Nikei’s interactions in this Arc which solidified my viewpoint on their relationship. And that is Akane is more or less a foil to Mikado. Think about it for a second. They weren’t founding members of Void, they both grew up in hellish orphanages, got out of said orphanages thanks to Utsuro, ended up meeting the man himself at some point and inherited his Divine Luck at various points, though Mikado only succeeded in a Bad Ending. But at the same time, they both have different motives for going after Utsuro, Akane wanted to thank him for what he’s done for her and when she did successfully meet him, dutifully served under him, even when Junko came and corrupted them both. And while Utsuro had his crippling trust issues and constantly worried if Akane would betray him at some point, the fact that he gave Akane Divine Luck after she took mortal damage protecting the other survivors from Monokuma, showed that at some level he did care for her. Mikado desired the Divine Luck for his own personal benefit, burned down several orphanages to trigger another encounter and upon meeting with Koroko, hatched a horrible plan to ‘revive’ Utsuro, then Mikado would kill him and steal the Divine Luck for himself. Only reason it backfired was firstly because Mikado (both real and AI) didn’t realise Utsuro gave the Divine Luck to Akane, who was then later used to create Sora, and secondly Syobai betrayed him by siding with the Kisurugi Foundation. Their clashing roles can be no better illustrated then with their relationship with Void’s leader, Nikei. We don’t know how Nikei reacted to Mikado initially because it’s still a lot of unknown factors until the Onmake mode comes out canonically, but while wary at first because of how extreme Mikado’s plan was, was probably willing to trust him. And then as Mikado undermined him and usurped the role of leader from Nikei, that relationship quickly soured and a rotting despairing sense of hatred and revenge grew within Nikei, eroding away his humanity (from reading LINUQ’s blog, where he goes into detail regarding the various characters from SDAR2, he states that Nikei used to be a lot more warm-hearted before Mikado came along, but his hatred for the wizard made him much crueller) And it got to the point where the lines between Nikei and Mikado got blurry, and I’ll say that Nikei ended up being no different from Mikado in the end. And thus, he died a broken hateful mess. Now as for Akane, she and Nikei got off on a bad note; she kicked Nikei in the stomach, he responded by almost blowing Akane’s brains out, fun stuff like that. But once the misunderstanding and proof that Akane was good arose, a friendship of sorts started to develop between the two. The first signs we saw of this is *sigh* Oncoming Storm Arc. Among the hot pile of shit that Arc was, one of the VERY, VERY few good parts about it, was that when some Anons unintendedly hit a trigger phrase for Akane, which was mentioning older men, she went into a panic attack and out of all the people who could have comforted Akane during this moment, it was Nikei who did so. And now in this arc, we are seeing that Nikei is a bit more open with Akane then he is with other non-Void members of the Quantum Crew. He’s not taken the news that he snapped back to his old self during the Massacre timeline well, and bemoans that it shows he hasn’t changed, but Akane reassures him he has and that the timeline can serve as a lesson to improve oneself from and mentions she had trust issues initially but thanks to Utsuro, she is very much a people person now. And of course, we get the cute wholesome scene of those two cuddling each other, can someone please make fanart of these two cuddling, we need it. Mikado brought the worst out of Nikei and eventually led to his death, whereas Akane brings out the best in Nikei and would possibly help him into living a full refreshing life. Sora is more or less the third wheel in this relationship.

Annnnddd…I have talked for way too long. That’s part 1 of the review where I talk about relationships regarding all the characters but when we come back its when the plot comes back in when Class 77-B gets debriefed on the truth and a shocking new discovering on Time Travel is revealed. Stay tuned as we won’t be away for long! - Review Anon

#submission #a student out of time #review-anon

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starstruck-xavier · 4 years

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[4] 5 Times Someone Stopped Virgil From Self-Harming and 1 Time He Stopped Himself

it’s time for janus!! this one’s centred around getting good sleep and not pulling all nighters but there’s some discussion of other s-h methods so just still be warned. i’m finishing up the last chapter and i cant wait to finish this fic aa!!

1 - Logan || 2 - Roman || 3 - Patton || [4 - Janus] || 5 - Remus || 6 - Virgil

ao3 || wattpad || fanfiction masterpost

words for this chapter: 1001 ships: platonic anxceit warnings: mentions of cutting (not described or actually done within the chapter)

“Virgil, you are not staying up all night.”

Janus sighs, leaning on the doorframe as some distant church bells somewhere in the city chime midnight. Virgil is sat at his desk, donning his smudge guard, his pen gliding across the tablet screen tirelessly and showing no signs of stopping.

“Virgil.” Janus tries again to get his attention; this time, he’s met with a tired stare. "Is your deadline set for tomorrow?" He waits for a moment before Virgil shakes his head. "Then you have no reason to rush. You’ve had a long day, just try to get some sleep.”

There’s a few seconds in which they stare each other down, but then Virgil finally gives in, saves his files and shuts off the monitor with a sigh, or maybe it’s a yawn. "I wanted to just get it out of the way, not worry about it.”

"Yes, I understand, but you could finish your art at a much higher quality tomorrow if you get some good sleep." The corners of Janus’ lips tilt into a sympathetic frown as he walks over to Virgil’s bed and sits down, patting the spot next to him. "Come here, tell me what’s wrong.”

"But I—“ Virgil blinks confusedly and hesitates for a second but still complies, setting the smudge guard and pen down and moving to sit next to Janus. "How do you know something’s wrong?”

Janus hums nonchalantly. "I think I've spent enough time with you, I can just tell. You seem a little… mentally exhausted.”

“I'm gonna assume you can tell by being a psychology student and not by my outward appearance.” Virgil rubs at his eyes self-consciously, well aware of the dark shadows that are always there, but continues. "I guess it’s been a weird week. On Monday I got startled by some dumb driver in a sports car and nearly cut again but Logan helped me calm down, and later that day Roman told me that I shouldn’t be so hard on myself when I'm dancing and to take a break before I hurt myself again, which— I— I didn’t know I was even doing that. On Tuesday I didn’t do much except go to class, I guess I was feeling a little depressed that day, but then yesterday Roman and I were doing relays together and Patton came to watch. He brought me some food and then I realised just how hungry I was. I keep… realising that maybe I'm hurting myself in more ways than I first thought, and it’s making me anxious, so I was just trying to get other stressors out of the way, like this art project.”

As he’s listening intently to Virgil telling him about the week, Janus remembers those short moments that he’s seen in the past few days - like when Logan and Virgil returned to the dorms before their class was even over and Virgil took a quick nap between then and his dance class. When he returned again with Roman late that night, looking fatigued and dozing off on Roman’s shoulder while they both watched Youtube videos together on the couch. As well as that, while Janus was happy to see Virgil eating a full meal yesterday evening like the rest of the roommates, he did think that it was a little unexpected, and perhaps somebody had encouraged him to do so.

"I suppose me telling you that you look tired wouldn’t help with those anxious feelings, hmm?" He smiles faintly when Virgil shakes his head again. "Realising your unhealthy habits are just the first step to overcoming them. Maybe discovering many of them in a short amount of time is a little overwhelming, but you can work on them one at a time. You still have your timer going, right?”

Virgil reaches for his phone on the corner of the desk and opens it up to the timer; it’s a sobriety timer meant for people trying to quit drinking, but it works as a great ‘days since cutting’ timer as well. "Two months, fourteen days, five hours and thirty-one minutes.”

A look of proudness overcomes Janus’ usually neutral features. "That’s almost two and a half months, you’re doing amazingly. See, all you have to do in regards to trying not to cut again is to remind yourself of how far you’ve come, and to use those other techniques you’ve learned to lessen the urges." He places one arm around Virgil’s back comfortingly. "We can talk about those other habits you have some other time, but for now, it’s time to sleep.”

“I'm not tired, though.” Virgil attempts to protest, but Janus is already standing so he can pull back the bedsheets and wait for him to lie down.

"I can stay with you if you want?”

Virgil seems to think for a moment, fidgeting with his hands, but then sighs and starts to move. "Okay, fine.”

Once the two of them are underneath the heap of blankets and bedsheets that litter Virgil’s bed, Janus reaches to turn off the bedside lamp and then wraps his arms around his friend’s waist from behind so that he’s spooning him. "Just lay here long enough and you’ll feel tired soon." He mumbles into Virgil’s hair.

It feels extremely comfortable for Virgil to lay there with his back pressed against Janus’ chest; he feels the previous anxiety and tension draining from his shoulders and his breathing becomes softer, slower as he relaxes and sinks into the touch. Janus is right, he thinks to himself, sleep should be able to help him concentrate more on his art once he wakes up again tomorrow, or rather, later in the morning, as midnight has already passed. He’s about to question himself on why he hadn’t thought of that before, but then figures that the anxiety had his thought process set on other things.

Hopefully, he can try to feel this relaxed more often, for it only takes another few minutes for him to drift into a deep sleep.

(let me know if you want to be tagged for the other chapters!) @underestimatemethatwillbefun

#self harm tw #anxceit #platonic anxceit #sanders sides #sanders sides fanfic #sanders sides fanfiction #xavier's fanfiction #virgil sanders #ts virgil #janus sanders #ts janus

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durrzerker · 4 years

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Taskmaster: The Line. Chapter 7: Play The Fools

As the ragtag party of children and their eclectic assortment of guardians climbed the stairs leading to the roof of the old Masters of Evil mansion, Wolverine was starting up a conversation with Akeja, who had been openly admiring her fighting style and claws all night. Eric, somehow, had become the favorite of almost all of the other kids; the Scions were warming up to him, whatever crime that Mara claimed that he and Taskmaster had committed against them all but forgotten as they asked him about what it was like to shrink, how it felt to be a giant, and if any of them would ever be twenty feet tall.

"Maybe!" Eric replied. "I've seen crazier things." He was clearly enjoying the attention, carrying the wounded boy whose name Tony had already lost across his shoulder like a sandbag, yet even taking the time to ensure his broken leg wasn't bouncing around. He was clearly enjoying the positive attention, and Taskmaster didn't blame him; there wasn't a whole lot of that in Bagalia.

For his part, though? Tony wasn't taking his eyes off of Spymaster, and it wasn't just because she had a sweet can (she did). He wondered if she knew, like Black Ant seemed to, that The Hub was apparently his wife. How common was this? Was it even a secret, or were they all laughing behind his back? Resisting the urge to corner Eric about it right this moment - not the time - Tony glanced back over his shoulder. The only one of the children who wasn't with the rest of the group was Cassandra, who was watching him as intently as he was Spymaster.

"What?"

"Waiting for ya tae run away."

"Very funny, and not happening," he scolded her.

"Did last time."

Not having a response to that, he fell silent until they reached the helipad. With a button on her wrist, Spymaster de-cloaked the quinjet that she had waiting for them; sleek and black, it looked to Taskmaster like a stolen SHIELD prototype; he could even get a sense of the missing markings on the wings. "You appropriate this yourself?" He asked curiously.

"Maybe. Not like SHIELD's intact anymore, what use is it sitting in some hanger?"

"I'm sure Uncle Sam would find use for it."

"Considering our current situation, I don't really give a fuck what Uncle Sam finds a use for," she replied harshly. "You've been thinking about what I told you, right?" Opening the kamikaze door of the quinjet, she started gesturing the children closer. To Tony's surprise, Mara stopped in front of him.

"You think we should go with her?"

"I think so, yeah." He didn't hesitate; it seemed clear enough.

"...You're a weird guy, Taskmaster. I mean, the costume really gave it away, but...I hope you understand that what's coming next for you isn't your fault. That doesn't mean you can't take responsibility for it, though." The way she stared up at him as she spoke took the witty retort right out of Tony's throat. He lingered for a moment, watching this strange little child with the wisdom that she had no business displaying like this, before she turned and promptly boarded the quinjet.

When Taskmaster and Eric went to follow, Spymaster stopped in front of the both of them. "We need to split up. Taskmaster, I have a location for you to go after Ross. He's going to send an extensive force after both of us; he's almost as angry at you as he is eager to get the kids."

"Now hold up a minute, lady," Taskmaster complained. "WHY? What the hell did I actually -do-?"

"I don't have time to explain, and a short version will just make you more curious," Spymaster replied. Before he could speak again, she cut him off by grabbing hold of Eric by the collar. "You and Wolverine are with me. Need your abilities, and the kids like you more." Laura didn't protest; it was obvious that she was always going to

"Yeah!" Black Ant cheered, hopping on board the quinjet. "Hear that, Tony? I'm the MvP."

"No, that's TESS-one, but she's too heavy for the plane," Spymaster assured him. As Eric slumped his shoulders, she brought the rest of the children aboard and turned her attention to Taskmaster. "Masters, this is important: You're going to find out what happened here soon. I -promise-. But trust me, because this comes straight from the Hub: You can't know until the children are safe. She asked me to relay that, and for you to keep believing she has your best interests in mind -- because she does." Ensuring that all the children were on the quinjet, Spymaster climbed on as well, grabbing the sliding door to start closing it until she was stopped by Taskmaster's harsh words.

"If she cares so much, why the hell hasn't she told me she's my WIFE?!" he snapped.

Glancing back at him, somehow sounding sad even through her voice scrambler, Spymaster shook her head. "...Oh, Tony. She has."

And then they were gone.

Standing there in the midst of a warm Bagalia night, clear skies offering a lovely view of stars that he had no interest in seeing, Taskmaster took a moment to collect himself. The violence and hedonism of his current lifestyle was effective at drowning it out, but in quiet moments like this, he could feel it; a deeper guilt, a hungry and gnawing void of self-loathing that threatened to consume him if he didn't feed it.

'Why do you think he takes these jobs?'

By the time he opened his eyes, the quinjet was gone. No Spymaster, no Wolverine, no Black Ant. He tried to reassure himself that this was a good thing. He worked better alone anyways, and the kids needed the backup the most.

"At least I got you, Tessie." He looked up to the gargantuan adamantium robot, who was still dressed like a twenty foot french maid. It was dusting the roof.

Taskmaster's mission, ultimately, was simple: he just had to follow the Wrecking Crew. Doing so with Tessie as his backup would be easier said than done, considering that even with the robot's prototype flight technology, it was still something of a massive and loud target. Instead assigning it to follow at a distance, he descended into the garage of the old Masters of Evil headquarters, heading for the vehicle bay that he'd had installed shortly after he had taken over. As tempting as his over-designed blue-and-orange motorcycle was, he needed to take a different approach; even idiots like the Wrecking Crew would know when they were being followed, if only because Ross was likely reminding them to check.

True to Spymaster's assessment, they were clearly hustling to get out of the city. The tracker she'd given him displayed them as making a beeline for the Marina; they were rapidly navigating the city's dense streets with superhuman jumps from the way the display 'bounced'. Considering his options, Taskmaster eventually left the garage not in one of his well-armored war wagons, but a simple and sleek black ferrari. This would require a different kind of approach.

Piledriver grumbled as he approached the marina's reception center; this place was pretty damn high security, which was unsurprising considering what kind of goods Bagalia both imported and exported. Checkpoint, checkpoint, ID card reader, ticket salesman, weird demon that only spoke backwards, checkpoint -- but after nearly half an hour, he was finally through and had passes for each of the rest of the Wrecking Crew. "You wouldn't believe the fucking wait out here," he grumbled as he started handing the entry badges to his companions. "Come on."

By the time he'd gone back to get the rest of the crew and headed into the marina, Piledriver could tell that something was amiss. "We're in Dock 3...wait. Whose is -that-?" What should have been their empty spot was occupied by an enormous and garish yacht, white and blue with a massive statue of a posing siren on the front.

"What an ugly piece of shit," Wrecker grunted. "Hey! Who the hell's in our spot?! We got a ride coming! You gotta move!"

"Tally HO there, friends!" Came a booming voice. Emerging from the deck of the yacht, a thin and older-looking man planted his hands on the rails. "Say I parked in your spot, eh? Didn't mean to! I've been making this my 'marina marination' center for the past ten years, though, ha ha! Didn't think they'd rent it out to anyone else!"

Exchanging looks with each other, the Wrecking Crew shook their heads before Piledriver spoke back up. "Hey, idiot! We ain't here to chat about it! Just move your ugly fucking ship unless you want us to destroy it!"

"Oh, I sure don't want that! Let me just come on out of here...." He started towards the steps.

"Don't come out here!" Wrecker complained. "Just -- just move, man! We're not kidding!" He sighed in frustration when the elderly gentleman ignored them entirely, making his way out from the yacht onto the ship and approaching the four supervillains with oblivious cheerfulness.

"Well now, I'd be remiss not to shake your hands for the warning first! No need to rush, no sir...name's Art Vanderbilt! Don't know art, never built a van, but I stand behind the nom de guerre nonetheless! You all attending a costume party, then? Why wait for your vessel? You should ride with me instead! The Painted Pomegranate's a class act of a ship, yes sir; once made it around the coast of Somalia in only four days!" He boasted.

"...That don't sound very fast, old timer," Bulldozer chimed in. "Look, you seem pretty nice, and we ain't in the business of beatin' up random old people, but you really got to go. Our ride's gonna be here any minute."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll see me and wait their turn!" The gent replied, dismissively waving a hand. "Come, come, you'll love the Pomegranate! Sweet as her namesake, and twice as juicy! You may be asking how a ship can be juicy, but no sir, I won't spoil the mystery! You'll just have to find out for yourselves!" Whirling a ruby-headed cane, he started back towards the yacht. Wrecker raised his weapon, eyes bulging with rage, but Piledriver stopped him with a hand.

"Wait. This old coot's clearly lost his damn mind," Piledriver whispered. "We follow him aboard, maybe we can rob that ship before we sink it. We got time before Ross shows up."

His irritation giving way to a smile, Wrecker nodded in agreement. "Best idea you've had all day. I could use some cheering up after that hide-tanning we got back at Zemo's. Come on, then. We'll knock him out when we get on board, then loot to our heart's content."

All feeling very smug, the Wrecking Crew boarded the yacht behind Art.

"This here's the deck, where I like to play shuffleboard with the missus," the elderly man droned on as they circled around towards the cabin. "Are you gents and ladies feeling parched? I've got a 1912 Vermouth that you wouldn't believe; goes down smoother than my morning medication, that's for sure!"

"I could use a drink," Demolisher eagerly replied. "You hear that, -gents-? I'm a lady. No one ever calls me a lady; I think I like this old guy!"

"Oh, I like you too!" Art replied, opening the door to the cabin. "Remind me of my daughter; professional weightlifter. Built sturdy like yourself." As they all filed into the luxurious room, with leather seats and a large navigator's table that seemed to meticulously track the location of every brothel between Bagalia and California, the garishly dressed elderly man retrieved a large bottle and five glasses, pouring each halfway full and passing them around.

"Classy place," Wrecker complimented, his eyes already roaming over an expensive-looking statue above the steering wheel. "All these trinkets must cost a fortune."

"Oh, you'd best believe it! Never settle for less than the best; that's what father always taught me," Art replied. "Four million dollars worth of furnishings in here alone!" He didn't seem to notice the greedy smiles traded by the Wrecking Crew at that. Raising his glass, Art toasted the group, then took a deep draw. Everyone else did as well, with only Piledriver hesitating briefly to make sure that the old man was actually swallowing his. Figuring that meant it was safe, he drained his glass.

"Wow, that's good stuff," Demolisher complimented. "I had my doubts considering this ugly ship, but you've got decent taste, grandpa."

"Thank you!" Art puffed out his chest happily.

"Shame we're gonna have to take it all from ya," Piledriver said ominously. "You offered us a ride - think we're gonna take it. This vessel's ours now. You gave us a drink, so if you ask real nice, we'll let you off without any broken...broken..." Mumbling a bit, the man touched his tongue. "...Ith numb...my tongue numb."

"Hey...yeah...I don't -- I don't feel good," Wrecker grunted, blinking rapidly. "Old...old bastard poisoned us. You son of a--" He took a swipe at the elderly man, but with surprising quickness, Art simply ducked back, smiling innocently.

"Oh my...has the wine gone bad?" He took a sniff, then sipped it. "No, seems good to me."

Collapsing against the table, Piledriver watched the rest of the Wrecking Crew start to go down. Demolisher sat heavily in the captain's chair, already unconscious; Bulldozer was trying to make himself throw up, but faceplanted before he could. "How...?" Piledriver asked. "I saw you...saw you drink."

"Sure did, slick. Didn't poison the wine. Like I said...it's fine." Dropping his disguise, the impression of an old, frail man giving way to the skull-masked visage of the Taskmaster, their host threw his head back and drained half the bottle in a single go, belching as Piledriver lost consciousness.

"It was your glasses. I told you D-listers not to fuck with me."

It had been about four years ago that Taskmaster had come up with the 'Art' persona. From body language to facial expressions, his photographic reflexes allowed him to impersonate just about anyone and anything he could physically copy; what most people didn't realize was that this allowed him to take on other identities. From the accent to the walk, he could become someone else entirely at the drop of the hat. With his image inducer, the design of which he'd been improving every year since the first time he'd picked it up, he could even alter how he felt or how much he seemed to weigh; it was amazing what you could accomplish with enough stolen Stark tech and a willingness to get your hands dirty with it.

Vanderbilt, specifically, was known as a bit of a ponce around these parts; that was just how Tony liked it. If there was one lesson that Taskmaster had taken from Deadpool - not that he would ever admit it to the lasagna-faced bastard - it was that people were inclined not to take you as seriously if you acted like a complete fucking idiot all the time. 'Art' was as close to Wade as Tony would ever act, and that was an act of great pain for him -- but the mission demanded it this time, and the Crew had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker; not that he'd ever consider fooling these morons a real achievement.

Crouching down to dig through Wrecker's pockets, he retrieved the tracker that Spymaster had placed and then swiped his cell phone, checking for text messages. Nothing. "Damn How am I supposed to know when Ross is comin--" He didn't even finish the thought before the yacht began to shake. "What the fuck?" He glanced out of the window; waves were rising far too fast to be natural, and nearly six other vessels, spaced out as far as half a mile away, were starting to capsize as if something under the surface was lashing out at them from below.

He knew better than to stick around; no sooner had the floorboards began to crack and snap than Taskmaster dove out the cabin window onto the deck, then sprang over the railing back towards the dock. His haste saved his life, as he'd barely made it in time to avoid an enormous metal form crashing through the edge of the walkway and through his very expensive, very nice Painted Pomegranate. In place of the wrecked ship, torn apart like so much paper, was a gargantuan nuclear submarine, pitch-black and twice again the size of an aircraft carrier, the likes of which Tony had never seen before.

Yet something about it felt incredibly familiar.

#taskmaster #tony masters #marvel comics #fanfiction #wolverine #laura kinney #x-23 #eric o'grady #black ant

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thesevenseraphs · 5 years

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Update 2.6.1

Below are the Patch Notes for Update 2.6.1!

It’s a little lengthy!

FESTIVAL OF THE LOST

2018 Masks

Owners of 2018 Festival of the Lost masks automatically receive the associated ornaments to be used on the 2019 Festival of the Lost helmet

COMBAT SYSTEMS

Abilities

For developer commentary, please see the This Week at Bungie – 10/17/2019 blog article.

Striker—Code of the Juggernaut (Bottom Path)

Trample:

Reduced amount returned possible per kill from 15% to 13% (before diminishing returns)

Reduced the low end of the diminishing returns from 5% to 3.25%

Changed the kills for the diminishing returns by splitting them out between players and combatants

Was previously 15 kills; is now 14 combatant kills or 7 opposing Guardian kills (opposing Guardians count 2x toward diminishing returns)

Tuned the amount of Super energy returned per kill

Cost of Light attack in Super increased by 50% from 2% to 3%

Regeneration on kill no longer procs on Super kills

Dawnblade—Attunement of Flame (Bottom Path)

Everlasting Flames:

Increased the low end of the diminishing returns from 0.75% to 0.95%

Changed the kills for the diminishing returns by splitting them out between players and combatants

Previously it was 30 kills. Now it is 21 combatant kills or 7 opposing Guardian kills (opposing Guardians count 3x toward diminishing returns)

Tuned the amount of Super energy returned per kill (handled differently than Striker as this attack is an AoE)

Sentinel—Code of the Protector (Top Path)

Ward of Dawn:

Armor of Light timer now correlates with the life of the Ward of Dawn

Particle FX move more rapidly toward the end of the Ward of Dawn's life

Nightstalker—Way of the Wraith (Middle Path)

Shattering Strike:

Shattering Strike lasts the proper 9 seconds once again

Fixed a bug in which Shattering Strike activation window was reduced to 3 seconds along with Truesight

Shoulder Charge

We’ve removed a bug that allowed players to shoot immediately before activating shoulder charge, which allowed players to apply the 1–2 Punch damage buff to shoulder charge.

Weapons

Exotics

Jötunn

Fixed an issue that caused this weapon to impact multiple times at close ranges

Divinity

Increased the Weaken effect from 25% to 30%

NOTE: The Weaken effect from Judgment is not intended to stack with other Weaken effects. This issue will be fixed at a later date. The "cage" will still appear and act as a precision weak point in these cases, but the multipliers themselves will not stack.

Fixed an issue where Destiny 2 would crash if this weapon was combined with target-marking effects such as Vengeance (One-Eyed Mask)

Deathbringer

Fixed the reload timing on this weapon

NOTE: This also affects other Rocket Launchers that share the same reload animation

Legendary

Adhortative

Fixed an issue that would cause the leaves on this weapon to distort visually

Prophet of Doom

Fixed an issue with the placement of shells during the reload animation

Hush

Fixed a bug that prevented Archer's Gambit from activating if the player manually un-draws their Bow and starts sprinting at the same time

Armor

Sealed Ahamkara's Grasps now have a short cooldown period between perk activations

Stats and Perks

Armor 2.0 mods that trigger on orb collection or using your class ability now no longer stack with their pre-Armor 2.0 versions

Pre-Armor 2.0 Exotics now have correct stat packages

Armor 1.0 Traction perk applies +5 Mobility, in line with Armor 2.0 Traction mod

Steam

Blocking communication with players in Steam will now block/mute players in Destiny 2

Added functionality for /addfriend and /removefriend commands

/addfriend [ PlayerName ]

/removefriend [ PlayerName ]

Note: Players must be in one of your rosters (fireteam, friends, or clan) in order to add/remove them as a friend.

Added functionality for /invite command

/invite [ PlayerName ]

Note: Players must be in one of your rosters (fireteam, friends, or clan) in order to invite them by player name.

/invite [ SteamID ]

Note: You can invite players by SteamID, regardless of whether they're in your roster or not.

Players can now /invite and /join another player regardless of their Steam online status (online, invisible, or offline)

/help description updated to reflect new changes to commands

INVESTMENT

Ornaments

When an ornament has been applied to a weapon or armor item, its icon will now update to reflect the currently equipped ornament

Universal ornament packages that have been purchased but not opened now properly indicate they are owned in the Eververse store

Season Pass

The Vow's catalyst quest step now properly references "strike playlists" rather than the erroneous "strike activities"

The Season Pass bonus Catalyst quest boost omega now properly describes is progression acceleration as "quadruples" rather than the erroneous "triples"

The Exotic ship Never Live It Down now properly displays its name in the lore tab title section

Power and Progression

Exotic quest “Symphony of Death” awards more XP than intended; set this to be the same as other Exotic quests

Exotic quest “Make Bows, Not War” awards more XP than intended; set this to be the same as other Exotic quests

Increased the Power of gear awarded by “Invitations of the Nine” bounties “Into the Unknown” to be powerful

Nightmare Hunts

Increased the damage multiplier granted by Unstable Essence at difficulty levels Hero, Legend, and Master

Adjusted Unstable Essence to be significantly more effective against Nightmares than Nightmare Bosses

The Swordbearer Nightmare's Sword in Nightmare Hunt: Despair now drains half as fast once a player equips it

Navigation waypoint added to Nightmare Hunt: Servitude to help guide players more effectively toward the final encounter

Hunts now have idle protection; idle players will not receive rewards

Raids

Garden of Salvation

Encounter rewards are now delivered as engrams instead of directly granted in the loot feed

Fixed an exploit where Cyclopes could be knocked off of their towers in the final encounter

Increased the radius for Relay Defender and Enhanced Relay Defender mods

Fixed an issue where music would not start properly when players enter the final boss arena

Fixed an issue where Consecrated Mind could slam into walls during DPS

Fixed an issue where geometry in the final encounter space could appear completely black when being removed or recreated

Fixed an issue where weekly challenge rewards could be re-earned repeatedly by deleting and creating new characters

Last Wish

Apprentice Guide and Journeyman Guide emblem variants will appear in collections after players discover them.

Destinations

Moon

Fixed an issue where the first Shadowkeep campaign quest step "In Search of Answers" could go to Postmaster if player's quests inventory was full

Affected players can now recover the Shadowkeep campaign quest from Eris in the "Abandoned Quests" section

"Essence of Vanity" pursuit now displays number of Sniper Rifle kills required for completion; it will now display progress out of 25 instead of just progress

Lost Ghost Traces will no longer drop after all Dead Ghosts have been found; extra Traces will be removed from inventory when the last Dead Ghost is found

Fixed an issue in which using the Firewall Data Fragment in the K1 Revelation Lost Sector didn't have a chance of providing a Cleansed Essence after three weeks of completions

Fixed an issue where Cross Save-enabled players could turn in a cleansed Essence to the Lectern of Enchantment and receive no rewards

If playing on a platform on which you don't own Shadowkeep, the Lectern will no longer show the Essence reward screen

To receive the reward, log on to the platform on which you own Shadowkeep and visit the Lectern

Fixed an issue where daily bounties for both Eris and the Lectern of Enchantment were rotating weekly instead of daily

Fixed an issue where the Moon bounty "Tidal Lock" would progress only in Nightmare Hunts; it will now progress anywhere on the Moon

Phantasmal Core stack cap raised from 3 to 999

Triumph “Lore of Luna” now progresses when scan patrols are completed in Sorrow’s Harbor.

Removed blank, unobtainable page from lore book “Unveiling”

Fixed an issue where players who finished their bunny collection faster than expected weren't awarded with the "Lunar Gloom" shader

On login, affected players will have a stack of five of this shader in their inventory and unlocked in Collections

Black Armory (Misc)

Quests for Gofannon and Izanami forges still existed on veteran characters who were on steps that could not be progressed; those steps have been removed from the players inventories

Fixed an issue where players could not acquire nor complete the Key Mold quest for Izanagi’s Burden

The Lock and Key (Mysterious Box) quest can be abandoned; players can reacquire the abandoned quest at Ada-1

The “Harvest Time” bounty will now progress when collecting Helium Filaments

Dreaming City

Balanced Awoken Talisman has been removed from veteran players' inventories; it is no longer needed to access Dreaming City/Shattered Throne/Wish Ender quest

Fixed a bug that allowed players to loot the Orrery chest an unlimited number of times

Shattered Throne

Fixed an issue where, upon defeating Dul Incaru at the end of Shattered Throne, players could return to orbit and have a checkpoint for the activity; defeating the boss will now immediately complete the activity and award credit

Nessus

Exodus Black world quest turn-in step can be recovered from Failsafe if players abandon it

Mars and Mercury

Heroic adventures will now be available on their respective destinations when Mars or Mercury are featured as a Flashpoint

EDZ

Fixed an issue where the “Enhance” quest was no longer available

Reckoning

Fixed an issue where Warlocks who wagered Weak Motes in Reckoning were incorrectly being rewarded Titan gear

Increased stack size of Gambit Prime Synths to 999

Crucible

Fixed an exploit in Countdown that allowed the defending team to get free wins by continuously swapping gear between rounds

Fixed an issue that prevented some players from earning the Silimar's Design Iron Banner Triumph; the Triumph will be awarded retroactively to any players who encountered this issue

Vendors

Benedict 99-40

Removed initial Vendor Challenge from Benedict 99-40

Ada-1

Removed challenge from Black Armory Forge unlock quest

Weekly Black Armory bounties now award Black Armory armor pieces

Yuna (IGR Only)

Yuna's inventory is now updated to vend Armor 2.0 versions of Exotic armor

Eris and Rune Table

Daily bounties will now rotate daily, as opposed to weekly

General

Fixed an issue where Gyro Ghost Shell's rings would animate improperly when summoned

Increased idle protections across numerous PvE playlists

Play the game, get rewards

Seriously, just play the game

Don't leave your team hanging

It's not very nice

The Traitor's Fate sword is no longer marked as "Requires Exclusive Item" and can be successfully equipped

Lore Tabs

Added Lore Tabs for the following Shadowkeep rewards:

Legendary Garden of Salvation rewards

15 unique lore tabs

Divinity

Monte Carlo

Deathbringer

Leviathan’s Breath

Eriana's Vow

Assassin's Cowl

Phoenix Cradle

Stormdancer's Brace

Never Live It Down

#long post #Destiny #Destiny 2 #Destiny 2: Shadowkeep

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brandyxlynn91 · 5 years

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Galaxies Together pt. 4

They had arrived on Noveria. As soon as they stepped out, they were greeted with guards demanding that they relinquish their weapons. Jane just held her gun up and pointed it at them as if it was instinct. Garrus immediately followed suit. Well at least things are never boring with Jane he thought. She told them she was a spectre and she wasn't giving up her guns. They didn't seem to believe her. He guessed the news hadn't reached here yet. Just when it looked like things were going to get fun, the guards received word that she was telling the truth and they were allowed through. They found their way to the chief of the port, a sketchy salarian. Of course all salarians seemed sketchy to Garrus. They were the ones that created the genophage. He refused them passage saying a storm was causing unsafe conditions and their destination was a secret, private facility. Even Jane's charm didn't work on him and Garrus thought she could charm the pants off anyone. Upon leaving the office, the salarian's assistant told Jane to meet her by the hotel bar. There she told them she was investigating her boss under cover and told them to speak with a turian who had evidence against him and she would give them a garage pass if they did. He knew she could easily trade the info of the hanar smuggling for a pass but she chose to help bring down a corrupt business man. She really was about justice. He was really starting to admire her. Once speaking with the turian they learn his evidence is in his office which he's been kicked out of and the chief has guards in there. Jane agrees and they go into the office. Yet again, they quickly dispatch the guards. Garrus briefly got distracted by watching Jane and narrowly dodged a bullet. He quickly regained his composure and went back to shooting. He didn't understand why he felt compelled to watch her other than to watch her back. Jane grabbed the evidence and they returned it to the turian. She once again turned on her charm to convince him to testify against the chief too. After seeing the salarian arrested they got their pass and headed towards the facility. On the road there, Jane took out geth with the mako guns. She smiled and laughed while shooting them down. Now that was his kind of woman, he thought. Once inside Jane had to restore the systems manually which she did with relative ease. Garrus couldn't believe it. She was strong, charismatic, smart and beautiful. Wait he thought to himself. How could he think a human was beautiful? He didn't think bad of humans but he never found one attractive before. He was confused. He found his composure again once they saw these huge spider like creatures coming towards them. Him and Jane quickly shot them down, Liara even got a few hits in with her pistol. But then Jane spoke up.

"Were those... rachni?"

"That's not possible" Garrus replied. "They were eradicated by the krogan during the rachni wars"

"Well, something's up. They look just like the vids. But we need to find Benezia. Let's go"

Garrus knew she was right. But again he told himself that rachni were extinct. They fought their way through more rachni like creatures until they reached a room with some guards. A man introduced himself as Captain Ventralis. Upon Jane asking about what's going on he just told her they were on lockdown.

"Do you know where Matriarch Benezia is?" Jane asked the captain.

"I believe she headed over to the hot labs. Take this pass to used the elevator." The captain replied.

Jane turned to Garrus and Liara and said

"I wanna check on the other employees first."

"You sure?" Garrus asked. "We should hurry to Benezia."

"We can't just leave people if they need help. Besides I wanna find out what's really going on." She told him.

He knew she didn't use her charm on him but he felt inclined to agree and trust her decision. After talking to a scientist and helping him make a cure for an illness, they finally took the lift to the hot labs. There they met a scientist. Upon asking he said Benezia wasn't there. Something's up, Garrus thought. He told them that they found an ancient egg and once it hatched they found out it was a rachni queen. He said they separated her eggs from her hoping to control the hatchlings but it didnt work and they attacked the facility. He also told them that they were beyond saving and they needed to activate the neutron purge to get rid of them. Jane told him to do it. As he got up to go to the console, a rachni claw all of a sudden pierced through his chest from behind. Jane quickly shot it down and searched the body to find the activation code. As soon as she punched it into the console, a 120 second timer popped up and rachni flooded the area. They raced towards the elevator while shooting them down. One almost got it's claws on Jane while she was helping Liara but Garrus shot it. You're not taking Jane he thought. After getting into the elevator, they went to confront the captain. He pulled his gun and told them that Benezia gave them orders to not let them live. Obviously, they had to dispatch of the guards and afterwards headed to the one place left. Upon reaching the secure labs, Benezia sicked her asari commandos on them. After dispatching them, Benezia spoke differently. She told them that Saren had used his ship, Sovereign to take over her mind and was sent here to get the location of the Mu Relay from the rachni queen in order to find the conduit. She then turned to Liara and told her she didn't have much time and just muttered out she was proud of her before turning hostile again. They had to kill her and after she fell, Jane went towards the confinement tank she was at. As she peered through it, a dead asari suddenly rose and spoke to her. It turned out to be the queen speaking through her. She told them that her mother's song was "turned sour" by some unknown force therefore they weren't fully responsible. She pleaded that she wanted to peacefully rebuild her children. Jane asked if she promised to disappear and not cause another war. The queen agreed and Jane then released her. Garrus really hoped that it wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass but admired her compassion. They decided to return to the ship. In conference, Liara asked if she could try and help Jane figure out what her visions were and touched her head. Garrus wondered what they were talking about but decided to say nothing.

#jane shepard #garrus vakarian #shakarian #fanfic #mass effect

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voidendron · 6 years

Text

The Outside: Chapter 54

Series Ask Blog: @asktheoutside FYI: I now tag “egoship /” for those who don’t like it! If you want to avoid Ego shipping stuff, please blacklist that tag, forward dash included!

This chapter fought with me a lot. :/ I knew where it needed to go, the words just wouldn’t cooperate. In all, though, I honestly think some of the descriptions in it have been my favorites to write so far! :D

Chapter 54: Locked On Chapter Warnings: Severe Burns, Major Character Injury

March 23, 2031, 9:20 PM Brighton, England

Marvin had been working tirelessly when he was allowed to. Doing everything he possibly could to try, try, to get a lock on Schneep’s card. He was getting so frustrated. He’d had no luck. He just…he wanted to bring Schneep home. They didn’t know what kind of situation he was in. They didn’t know where he was, what kind of people he might run into. Hell, as far as they knew he could be dying right then. They needed to bring him home.

But they couldn’t do that if Marvin’s magic kept failing.

A frustrated shout left the magician as he threw his mask aside.

“What did you do to your card?” he whined, gripping Schneep’s tightly between his fingers. What had he done? Why couldn’t Marvin find it? It had never been this hard to get a lock on one!

When the bedroom door was pushed open, Marvin scrabbled to wipe away his tears. Don’t let Jackie see. Don’t let him see.

“Hey. You need a break?” the hero asked as he seated himself on the bed to Marvin’s right. He wrapped an arm around Marvin’s neck, and the magician curled into the embrace with a tiny nod. “How’s your ring?”

He offered his right hand to Jackie; the silver ring with the bright green band running through reflecting brilliantly in the room’s bright light. It had been fitted almost three weeks ago, fit perfectly and he hadn’t taken it off, but Marvin knew the other was just trying to distract him. He tucked his head under the hero’s chin; relaxed into Jackie’s hold as scarred fingers ran over the ring, his knuckles, soothing circles on the back of his hand.

“Why don’t we get you somethin’ to eat?”

A shake of the head. “M’not hungry.”

The magician whined when Jackie proceeded to stand up anyway, dragging him right along. “You need to eat.” Jackie’s voice was soft but firm, and Marvin’s shoulders drooped. He knew not to argue with Jackie, but he also didn’t want to leave the room. It was quiet; away from everyone else so he could focus solely on his magic. He could pace the room without someone getting in his way. Bim and the King couldn’t startle him with a random attempt at conversation, Horatio couldn’t scamper across his cards to send them astray, he wouldn’t have to worry about his creator’s worried looks as he wore himself thin.

“Jackie, I jus—”

“Marvin.”

The hero tugged Marvin along before he could attempt to argue further; closed the bedroom door behind them and cut a beeline for the kitchen. “You gotta eat,” he said, “you’re gonna make yourself sick again.”

Marvin…really hadn’t realized how hungry he actually was until the food was right there in front of him. His cheeks brightened as his stomach growled, and he ducked his head at the way Bim arched a brow from the opposite across the table. Had Marvin known they were waiting for him to start eating, he would have been a little quicker to follow Jackie.

He pulled his mask off and set it above his plate and unbuttoned his sleeves so he could push them up to his elbows. He didn’t feel like getting sauce on the pale blue fabric.

It didn’t take long for the tension in his shoulders to ease with the conversation drifting about the table. He even found himself smiling; laughing even. For the time being, he was able to push his worries to the back of his mind and focus on the now. Was able to focus on how Bim waved his hands about in grand gestures as he relayed some joke they’d all heard before; how the King’s eyes and nose scrunched behind his glasses as he laughed. Horatio chittered from somewhere under the table when he wasn’t allowed up on one of the chairs, and both Jackie and Seán were grinning.

They were right. Maybe he was overworking himself a little.

Marvin smiled into his glass as he lifted it to his lips. Maybe he’d just…try to get a lock for an hour or so after dinner. If it didn’t work, a break wouldn’t hurt him, right? Join the others for the movie they’d been talking about. Apparently it was a classic from even before the Irishman’s YouTube days. That would be…nice.

But… No, no. He needed a breather. If he made himself sick again, that wouldn’t help anything and just hinder his magic as he ran low on energy. Take a break, he told himself. Tonight you can curl up on the couch with Jackie and watch whatever movie they’ve decided on. It’ll be good for you!

He glanced up when Jackie stood and pressed a quick kiss to Marvin’s temple with almost too many dishes in arm to rinse off and put in the machine. The magician couldn’t help but laugh when Jackie juggled with them in a near-miss attempt to get them all in the sink in time before there would be shards scattered about the floor. They nearly did anyway; a few glasses slipping from the sauce-slicked plates and tumbling to the floor just as Marvin lifted a hand. His aura enveloped both him, and the offending objects, to stop them midair.

“Jackie,” he scolded. He could hear the King and Bim snickering like school children.

All the hero could offer was a practically whined, “But they were closer to the edge than I thought…”

“Yeah, yeah.” A shake of the head. Marvin moved his hands so the glasses would come to a rest gently on the counter beside the sink. Speaking of glasses… “Jackie, you gotta get your eyes checked. Your mask had that special…whatever, so maybe wear it again ‘til you get glasses?”

At the face the hero pulled, even Seán couldn’t help a snort at his creation’s expense. “But I don’t want glasses.”

“Just think about it.” With his place already cleared by Jackie, Marvin didn’t have anything he needed to clean up. He stood, wincing when he knocked his knees against the underside of the table. Tall wasn’t fun, he mused with annoyance as he rubbed a hand over his left knee. He vaguely wondered if they’d end up bruising from that. Probably.

Seán perked up as the magician went to leave. “Where’re you going? Movie night, Marv!” The man tried to smile, to be inviting, but he deflated at the shrug the Ego offered as he slipped his mask back on.

“I know. Just…gimme like an hour. I wanna try again with Schneep’s card, but then I’ll join you!” …If he remembered, that is. Then again, one of them would probably set a damn timer for an hour on the dot. That really wouldn’t surprise him.

Closing the bedroom door behind him with a soft click, Marvin huffed through his nose and pulled the offending card from thin air. He glared at the symbols in those opposite corners; glared at the way their colors were no longer correct. One muted, one over-saturated. Something he’d never seen with the cards, but whatever the cause was why it was so hard to get a lock on the one the doctor hopefully still carried with him.

He had to still have it on him. Marvin was getting readings from the card whenever he tried to lock onto it. That wouldn’t happen if Schneep had placed it somewhere off his person. Marvin just…couldn’t get the lock itself.

Taking a deep breath as if to ready himself for another failure, he climbed onto the bed and sat with legs criss-crossed. In moments, his aura was surrounding him, surrounding the card, and both were levitating above the bed. The card drifted up, eye-level, and Marvin reached a hand out. His fingertips rested gingerly over the minimalist bust of the doctor. Rested at where the eyes in the image should have been, over his chest where a heart would lay hidden under flesh, bone, and muscle.

Breathe in. A part of his aura split off to spiral around his arm and fall to a rest where his fingertips met bright paperboard.

Breathe out. The card seemed to absorb that tiny bit of his aura, and the blank area where Schneeplestein’s eyes should have been lit up with the sparkly blue light.

Breathe in. Another tendril of his aura moved to his fingertips; lay trapped between them and card, waiting to be released.

Breathe out. It seeped into the card, the glow finding the doctor’s chest. Glowing, where his heart would be. The aura, the magic permeating it, pulsed in that small spot like a heartbeat. At this point, he didn’t know whether it was Schneep’s or his own.

Marvin pressed against the eyes and the heart. Closed his eyes and kept his breaths calm.

It was always a strange sensation when he tried to Track a card. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be used to it.

He could see the card behind his eyelids; dark and nearly impossible to see if it wasn’t for the bits of his aura glowing within it. There was a weightlessness about it, but so different from teleporting, or levitating. Fingers pressing harder against the card, he waited for the tingly feeling of them phasing through it and curled his hand into a loose fist as soon as he had. The eyes and heart of the card were closed protectively into his palm.

Marvin swallowed. Here was where his magic would fizzle out, or zap him, or drop him from the air and knock the wind out of him.

Stay calm, he told himself. He took a long pause to steady his breaths again. Took a long pause to channel more of his aura to surround the card.

A deep breath.

He tightened his fist through the pins-and-needles feeling of the card it was phased through. It was like part of his hand was numb; the part in the card tingling uncomfortably. Another breath, fist tightening until it turned his knuckles white and he could feel the eyes and heart pressing into his palm; finding the creases and digging deeper into them. It hurt, almost. They felt sharp, even though they were parts of his own aura. They shouldn’t have been sharp. That was the problem.

They should have melted back into the rest of his aura, but they wouldn’t.

Deep breath. Stay calm. He curled his fingers to press them deeper against his palm; swallowed and grit his teeth against the worsening pain. Tears pricked his eyes and he knew, had those been anything other than little bits of his own aura, he should have been bleeding.

Was the pain from his hand, or the aura he was currently trying to crush? It shouldn’t have been hurting, whichever it truly was. It had never hurt like this until Schneep did…whatever he did, to his card.

Marvin gasped when the pain ebbed and disappeared. When those bits melted into his hand and climbed back up his arm and return to the rest of his aura.

His eyes flashes open then; his free hand shooting out to his side. His fingers were splayed wide as magic practically shot from them. They were creating a form. The same form he was starting to see in his head.

“Schneep?” The name was choked as Marvin felt close to tears. The magic-created form was in real time. He knew it was. That was Schneep? The bright blue form’s eyes glowed, as did the spot on its chest that kept pulsing. It was moving as if climbing a set of stairs despite the fact it didn’t move from its spot.

Even if he didn’t look like Marvin remembered, the magician recognized the way Schneep’s brows furrowed with annoyance and worry, the way he frowned as if disappointed.

…Wait. That meant he was with someone. Who the hell—

The magic-formed apparition of the doctor was panicking. Scrabbling for something. Rambling things that Marvin couldn’t hear from the silent form. He was looking for something. What was he—

Marvin’s stomach twisted when the doctor pulled a crumpled ball of…of…

He only knew it was his card because of the way his aura was radiating off of it. Didn’t Schneep…didn’t he want to be found?

Swallowing, Marvin twisted his other hand into the card as he worked on locking the location. Schneep was still in Los Angeles. He was positive of that now. But he needed to narrow it down. Get an exact lock on his location.

Schneep was looking up at something—someone?—just then. His panic was gone in an instant, and he was…

Marvin cried out when Schneep’s apparition passed his card off to someone and Marvin’s was suddenly on fire. It felt like it was eating away at the flesh on his hand; the very hand still phased through the card that was burning. The edges turning black and falling away. He choked on a sob as the apparition faded away with broken focus; as the fire climbed up his sleeve.

It was too hot to be natural. Too hot to be the color it was. It should have been blue or white; not orange. It burned through his shirt too fast; climbed his shoulder and singed his hair before he’d even landed on the edge of the bed and fallen to the floor with a heavy thud.

The card was long gone; burned to ash. But the fire still climbed as he felt a dull ache somewhere in his aura. Had part of it been burned?

That… It…

He was crying, unable to form a proper thought. It wasn’t normal fire. It couldn’t be. An Ego. An Ego, it had to be the cause.

His breathing growing rapid and shallow with panic. It wasn’t natural fire. It moved, burned, far too quickly. Within what could have only been a few minutes, Marvin was already gasping for breath as it stole away his oxygen to feed itself.

Jackie, he needed Jackie, oh god—

The others hadn’t heard Marvin’s cries over the movie, hadn’t heard him hit the ground. They’d only realized anything was wrong when they smelled the smoke in the air.

Jackieboy had used his Screech to break the damn door down when he’d realized it was locked; the others flinching away and covering their ears. Bim had shoved the others aside to put the fire out with his magic, but quickly grew pale from both the effort of stretching his weak magic to such a degree, and the smell.

The King and Seán gagged, while Bim pressed his face into his elbow and scurried from the room with the King in close pursuit.

The smell of burned flesh hung heavy in the air.

And Marvin wasn’t moving.

Jackie hit his knees at the magician’s side before their creator could even fish out his phone for an ambulance. The hero’s breathing was heavy, his eyes wide, as he cupped Marvin’s chin. He used his free hand to try and push the mask off, but yelped when the melted plastic stuck to his fingers and burned. It was only then he noticed the strings of white plastic dripping down Marvin’s face to turn it an angry red; catching in his hair, and the ruined carpet.

“Marv?” the hero choked, his voice cracking. He touched uninjured fingers to one of the few places on Marvin’s face not burned. It was alarming how few of those areas there was. “M-Marv?”

The magician’s chest wouldn’t rise or fall, and panic started clawing up Jackie’s throat.

“Ja…Jack. H-he’s not breathing!”

#writersofjack #jacksepticeye #marvin the magnificent #jackieboy man #bim trimmer #king of the squirrels #sean mcloughlin #fanfic #youtube #au #chapter 54 #the outside #blitz indites #marvelsepticeye #burns /#major character injury /#egoship /

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arbourne-dynasty · 5 years

Text

Nostalgia

Main Timeline Gliese 581c, Gliese 581 System 72 ADE (2276 AD)

_____________

Gunfire rattled through the air somewhere off in the distance. The constant pop of explosions accompanied that gunfire, together they were a symphony that every battlefield sang. Every once in a while, the loud hum of a dropship delivering supplies and reinforcements would cut out the rest of those sounds. Even more distant still was the low rumbling of capital ships entering the atmosphere to provide fire support. It was a battlefield like any other over the last two hundred and fifty years.

The forward command camp was as busy as it could ever be. The Emperor of the Golden Empire frowned at the dusty hologram table before him. It displayed all of the Empire’s assets on the battlefield, right down to the last man. Field relays set up by scouting teams allowed it to display enemy positions also, though the signal wasn’t too clear. The little holograms representing enemy assets flickered and sometimes disappeared entirely. This made it difficult to plan strikes at times, but thankfully the Emperor and his second were very good tacticians.

The Emperor was what citizens in the Empire called an “Ancient.” That is, he’d been alive to see Earth before it was blown to space dust. Only to Imperial citizens was he the Emperor, to his friends and family he was simply Tyler Arbourne. Everyone within the man’s circle was an Ancient and they were the best warriors the Empire had ever seen even before it had become such a political power. In their prime it was a war on Earth fought between the Golden Legion and the Shadow Walker menace. At the climax of the second war, the conflict had consumed every resource on the planet and the Legion was forced to destroy the planet in the hopes of ending the war.

Humanity settled in a distant system where planets were terraformed and colonized giving rise to the Golden Empire and the people wanted Tyler as their Emperor. Until that day Tyler had refused to take full command of the Legion, he had never imagined himself proper person for the job. As luck would have it, he was actually doing quite well, except for the major fact that they had not, in fact, beaten the Shadow Walkers. Instead their enemy followed them and colonized a planet in a nearby system, quietly, undisturbed. The Walkers waited thirty years to make their first strike, and four years later they were here, engulfed in a new war with the same old enemy.

Tyler had been advised by his, well, advisers, not to set foot on any battlefield behind Walker lines. Everyone seemed to think the Emperor was too important an asset to lose. While they were right in a sense, Tyler knew that the Empire would be in capable hands should he finally be killed. The Emperor, however, was never a man to sit around while there was a war to win, and so he went anyway. It was this attitude that brought he and his brother and second in command Isaac were on an enemy owned planet attempting to take it from them. Both men frowned further as another enemy asset disappeared off of the hologram table.

“You’d think this far into it we would have better relay equipment,” Isaac said, folding his arms across his chest.

“Yeah, I really think we need to up the range on those things. Our field equipment is becoming outdated– Oh hey an opening!” Tyler said gleefully and moved a hologram of a group of friendly units across the table through an opening in enemy defenses and rested them on a specific target. The table then auto-transmitted orders to that squadron leader’s CDD, or command data display. The CDD was a holographic projector every soldier wore on their wrist as part of their combat armor. Battlefields were so much easier with those in your arsenal. They were highly resistant to projectile damage, though they had problems with laser fire.

Tyler and Isaac could see nearly the entire battlefield from where their command camp was; a higher part of the mountain so that they could see straight down into the battlefield. The two watched the team they’d selected as they made their way to their objective and watching them work was a delight, indeed. The skill of this group was unquestionable as they worked in tandem with one another covering all directions around the squadron efficiently. They killed Shadow Walkers easily and slowed only once they’d reached their target. The objective was to take down the enemy’s primary power pylon. It was a large tower structure that fed power to all of the enemy’s systems. It had been heavily defended but over the past three days the Empire whittled that defense down until this moment.

“How long were their timers set for again? I can never remember.” Isaac asked.

“Thirty seconds, pretty sure.” Tyler replied as the men moved away from the target and worked their way back behind friendly lines. Isaac was audibly counting to thirty.

“Thirty one… thirty two… thirty three. I’m starting to think it’s not going to happen.” Isaac said with a frown.

“Do you think they armed it right? Because I could have sworn it was—” A bright flash and a loud boom cut Tyler off and a huge eruption of fire and blue energy shot into the air. “—Ooohh, it was forty five seconds. Sorry.” Tyler said with a laugh.

Isaac was holding his gut, he was laughing so hard. The staff that worked the camp was cheering as the the lights on the enemy side of the battlefield started to go down. Without even having orders issued, Imperial forces advanced on the enemy camp and with little opposition began to secure the area. Tyler almost shed a tear.

“I’m so proud of our little ones, Isaac, they’re growing up. I didn’t even have to issue orders, look at that! Beautiful!” Tyler exclaimed, resting an arm on his brother’s shoulder.

“Well, your highness—” Isaac started

“You know I hate that–” Tyler said. Isaac ignored him.

“—It’s because you’re a great leader, maybe we’d be a little better off if you’d taken command, I don’t know, a hundred and fifty years ago?” Isaac chided. Tyler rolled his eyes.

“I’m sorry! How was I supposed to know I would be good at it? Who else would even know if I’d be good at it or not?” Tyler retorted, folding his arms across his chest and frowning at his brother.

“Uh, no one except EVERYONE!” Isaac waved at all the staff around the camp and motioned to their men on the battlefield. “Well, maybe not the younger ones but you know what I mean!” He finished.

Tyler simply stood there and smiled at his brother as a dropship landed near by and Tyler’s wife stood in the loading bay with a frown on her face. Once again, Tyler hadn’t told her that he’d be running a battle again and now he was in trouble.

Liana approached in a huff, hands on her hips. “Your daughter–”

“Ooohhhh….” Tyler and Isaac said at the same time, interrupting her.

“What?” Liana barked.

“Nothing… I just thought you were mad at me,” Tyler said with a chuckle.

“Oh not at all, sweetheart, how was the battle?” She replied with a smile.

“I’ll tell you about it in the ship, Isaac lost a bet anyway he’s got clean up, come on.” Tyler said and escorted his wife to the dropship.

Isaac shook his head and sighed returning his attention to the battlefield, noting that the enemy base was completely secured. “I gotta stop making bets with that asshole…”

#scifi #short story #original content #science fiction #writing

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