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The speed at which people have been suckered into hating minority groups and doomsaying a ‘perversion of tradition’ in general is scary
Mfs just giving up their desire to coexist with other human beings
That part is really bleak
#and Im a VERY closed off person ! I am very anti social ! but this level of antisocial behavior gon get us all killed omg#too baby to cope with societal change#too arrogant to respect that there can be experiences beyond their own#now thats a double fucking whammy my guy#you have to connect with and attempt to understand people its in the contract fr idk what else to say#like once you lose that what tf do you expect to become but a person who feels entitled to the reigns of society#this whole 'we need to go back to [worse time period]' is wild like idk about yall but I have more rights now than ever so ??#not enough rights for my liking BUT enough to hope that I can bare minimum be mentally ill in peace (blackly of course!)
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The Ghost of Paradise (Exile AU)
Chapter 2: By the Minute
Rating: M
Word Count: 3,796
Tags: Mass Effect: Andromeda, Scott Ryder, Reyes Vidal, Reyder, Pre-Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Exile, Flirting, Secrets, Complicated Relationships, Eventual Romance, Rivalry, Engineer/Mechanic Scott Ryder, Jealousy
[Read it here as well on ao3.]
“Our agents say that you were speaking with Reyes Vidal at Kralla’s,” Nola said. She didn’t even give Scott a chance to breathe. The second he was through their gates —which were still a work in progress— Scott was ambushed. “Do I even want to know what you have planned?”
Scott grinned at her.
“Why must I always have something planned?” Scott asked. “Reyes is a good friend. For all you know, we could have been catching up over drinks.”
“‘Could have’ doesn’t mean that you were.”
“Fair enough.”
As she fell into step at his side, Nola led him around while they spoke, appraising their growing community with pride.
“Scott, as governor of Paradise, should I not be made aware of any transactions that might affect us?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“Tell me what I need to know then. Nothing more, nothing less.”
As if he could refuse her insistent prodding. Every time he left, he always forgot how relentless she could be upon his return, but only when it pertained to matters that could have both predictable and unforeseen effects in their future.
In a way, Scott was grateful to have someone with that type of dedication on their side. They’re going to need it.
“I swear, it wasn’t anything particularly groundbreaking,” Scott promised. “I gave him some seeds from our latest project in exchange for a long-ranged scanner modification. That’s it.”
“Hmm… A decent enough trade.”
“Glad to have your approval.”
Of course, it was too much to hope that she would leave it at that.
“What is it for?” Nola asked.
Scott knew from experience not to lie to her face.
He sighed. “I’m going to scout out some of the Remnant ruins nearby. See if I can get a read on their bots, or a turret if I’m lucky.”
She cocked her head to the side and considered that for a moment, lips pursed.
“Promise to be careful then. I know you would gladly give your life to protect any of these people, but we don’t need you to throw it away because of pure recklessness,” she reminded him. “If it comes down to an altercation, we would rather have you here than some lousy turret schematics. Besides—” She shrugged. “You would probably be the only one who could make sense of them anyways. You and that stupidly genius brain of yours.”
Scott scoffed, suddenly uncomfortable as he shifted in place.
“Got it from my parents, or so they say.”
Ellen and Alec Ryder. The woman who literally gave her life to perfect biotic implants and the man who created a whole new type of AI. Quite the legacy to live up to.
Good thing Scott wasn’t living his life based on their achievements. Andromeda was a whole different playing field compared to the Milky Way. The work he was doing with Paradise was incredible in its own right. At least, he liked to think so.
If he could change at least one person’s life for the better in Andromeda, then he considered that a success.
Based on the feedback he was receiving from the residents, he was doing a damn good job, and that was enough for him.
But Nola had a point.
People relied on Scott now. As much as he was willing to dive headfirst into danger, he needed to refrain from doing so.
“I’ll be careful,” he promised her. “If things start to go south, I’ll ping you and Nakamoto.”
“Thank you,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief.
Scott hated to worry her so, but there was that one other matter.
“If it’s any consolation to you,” Scott said, trying for a lighter tone yet failing, “Reyes offered to accompany me on the trip.”
Nola stopped short, and Scott skidded to a halt. She narrowed her eyes at him with a sneer curling at her lip.
“No, that is not of any consolation to me. Scott Ryder, you know how he is.”
“Charming and witty?” Scott tried for his best smile, but Nola wasn’t buying into that bullshit, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Flighty and untrustworthy, especially once his back is against the wall.” Then, she amended her statement, taking on a slightly accusatory tone. “That’s assuming you didn’t pay any of his ridiculous service fees.”
“Puh-lease.” Scott chuckled. “If anyone should be spending their credits, Reyes should be the one paying me for my company. I’m a treasure not many can afford.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Nola snorted, “but at least you know your worth.”
“They say that time is money, after all. I’ll make sure to charge him by the minute while we’re together.”
“Please do, and make sure to get a picture of his face once you show him that bill.”
Scott was only happy to see her smile again.
“Will do,” he said.
“While you’re at it, drop a few hints here and there that Paradise might be looking to contract out some exclusive deals with top-rate smugglers. Leave out the ‘top-rate’ part, of course. Can’t have that going to the poor man's head.”
“His ego is already insufferable enough without the compliments,” Scott agreed, “but isn’t the whole point of secrecy for you and I not to draw attention to our connections here?”
“A woman can dream though, can’t she?” Nola sighed.
“So much for Reyes being ‘untrustworthy.’”
Nola didn’t even hesitate, brushing off his attempt to use her words against her.
“Skill is skill, and we don’t exactly have the people or resources to be picky right now. Everything is a commodity on Kadara, even integrity. If he betrays us, we’ll deal with him, simple as that.”
Right.
Still, it was laughable to think that the Charlatan would take on a contract with some of his direct competitors.
Although, that sounds like exactly the type of stunt that Reyes would pull. More than likely, he’d have an ulterior motive for doing so, but Scott could see it happening.
Did he support the idea, though? Definitely not.
“I don’t know,” Scott muttered. “I couldn’t see Reyes limiting his business to one group, especially if we’re only starting to get our feet wet.”
“You would know how he operates better than I, but I suppose that attitude is understandable. Disappointing, but understandable.” Nola grumbled. “Well, if nothing else, tell him the least he could do is give you a discount.”
“Trust me, I’ve been working that angle for a while. No such luck.”
“Greedy bastard.”
As they finished up their routine patrol, they soon switched direction, heading towards Nakamoto's clinic to conclude their meeting. There, Paradise’s leaders convened. They reviewed the requests that their colonists posted on the message boards around the settlement. Together, they decided on what matters they could approve for certain and which ones would be placed on the docket for a community vote. After that, they moved on to logistics, including topics such as requisitions and inventory.
To draw the meeting to a close, Nola relayed their latest numbers for colonial development. Water production was steady. However, food stores would be struggling soon to keep up with the recent influx of residents, so security personnel and all of those who knew their way around a gun were strongly encouraged to increase hunting and foraging activities while out on patrols or while performing their daily tasks. A roster will be posted on the local message boards to look for volunteers who would like to fill a full-time hunter-gatherer role.
Hopefully, what few angaran scientists they had amongst their people would be able to process their first batch of nutrient paste after their next harvest. It wasn’t exactly the tastiest solution available, but it was a necessary one if they were to survive.
In terms of population, there was a rapid spike in enrollment when word spread that Paradise actually got shit done and held true to their promises, but they expected the effect to eventually plateau once people settled in. Angara enrollment was up at the moment, especially after Scott appointed Nola as governor, and they have even seen a few Initiative members join up, having made the journey all the way from the Nexus to be reunited with friends, family, and loved ones.
Scott asked that they spread word for people to be warm and welcoming. The request probably wasn’t necessary, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Their community would make no friends by tearing people apart, and they prided themselves on being close and tight-knit.
It was important that they not only claimed to be but that they acted like it as well, backing up their words with actions.
Security assignments were then posted. Patrols would have to be upped to make up for an increase that they were seeing with gang-related attacks. Once automated security measures were in place, they would revisit the matter in order to assess which sectors needed heightened security. Emergency drills would be held at the end of the week.
With all of their needs addressed, Nola called the meeting to a close.
Once the meeting was adjourned, Scott approached Nola and their Head of Security, requesting a full census to be done within a day's time. Scott needed names, numbers, faces. Each citizen’s profile needed to be updated within their database.
If Scott was going to make an effective defense matrix for the colony, then he would prefer to program an IFF system that only a select few could remotely activate. For the system to work as intended, all of the colonists' photo IDs and biometric profiles would need to be kept current and constantly updated in real-time.
Nola promised to see to it that Scott got what he needed, shooing him off.
Apparently, he was hovering, but Scott could take a hint. He could tell when he was no longer needed, and he knew that Nola worked best when he wasn’t constantly worrying after her like a mother hen.
Departing from the settlement, Scott cloaked himself the second he went beyond the boundaries of their walls.
He was almost halfway back to Port when he received a message from Reyes. Figuring that he was in the clear, Scott made sure that the coast was clear before deactivating his cloak.
Pulling up his omni-tool’s interface, Scott opened the message. Along with it, there was a set of coordinates, sent from Reyes’s location.
R: Think I’m ready to cash in on those shuttle repairs. Wouldn’t mind the company right about now.
Scott’s fingers hovered above the holographic keys, contemplating his next move before deciding to hell with it.
S: Miss me that much?
R: Am I that obvious?
He didn’t even give Scott a chance to reply before he sent another message.
R: If it’s still in question though, let me put it bluntly.
R: I want to see you.
Scott pursed his lips, cursing his stupid heart for racing in response.
S: Give me a few. I’ll be there.
R: I’ll be looking forward to it.
Before he could embarrass himself, Scott closed out his messages. He quickly made his way to Port, grabbing his bag of tools and gear before venturing back out into the badlands.
From there, Scott followed the coordinates to a cliff, overlooking a nearby valley. The sun was slowly but surely sinking down over the horizon, lightning up the sky in array of pinks and oranges and reds.
Reyes was already waiting for him by the time he arrived, the shuttle powered down for the moment.
However, the second Scott noticed that Reyes was facing away from him, he instantly slowed his walk to a crawl. He bent his knees into a slight crouch and shifted his weight with each step, toe to heel as he snuck his way up behind him.
“You look like you’re waiting for someone.”
Scott delighted in watching him him jump in shock, only to have a blade at his throat in the blink of an eye.
As soon as Reyes realized who it was, all the blood drained from his face.
“S–Scott!”
Hands raised in surrender, Scott raised an eyebrow at him incredulously.
“You know, I was kind of expecting a warmer welcome,” he admitted, careful of the firaan's sharp edge. Keema must have given it to him. “Have to say, though, would it be weird if I was a little turned on right now?”
Reyes scoffed.
Trailing the blade along the outline of his throat, Scott swallowed thickly when he eventually felt its pointed tip press underneath his chin. Reyes tilted it up, and Scott followed, lest he risk being cut.
Their eyes met, and Reyes smirked.
Bastard was toying with him.
Retracting his knife, Reyes sheathed the firaan while Scott tried to catch his breath. The goosebumps left behind in the dagger's wake soon receded, yet a warm heat lingered.
“Tsk.” Reyes huffed at him. “Ryder—”
Uh-oh, back to last name basis. From experience, that meant trouble.
“You know better than to sneak up on me!” Reyes scolded.
“I do,” Scott said, not even afraid to acknowledge it, “but I love getting a rise out of you.”
“What if I would have hurt you?”
“But you didn’t.”
Scowling, Reyes placed his hands on his hips. Shaking his head, he pinched at the bridge of his nose.
“Scott, what the hell am I going to do with you?” he asked, releasing his nose, half-fond and half-frustrated.
“I’m sure we could think of something.”
Reyes hummed in agreement, watching Scott approach the shuttle with his bag tossed over his shoulder. He dropped it to the ground, then immediately got to work.
Watching him closely, Reyes leaned against the side of his shuttle with a thoughtful look.
“Maybe I could take you on a date?”
While Reyes tried to sound confident, his attempt ultimately failed. Instead of forming the words into a bold offer, they fell flat, sounding more like an uncertain question.
Scott stopped what he was doing. He spared Reyes a brief glance, only to return his attention to the task at hand, hiding his flushed face.
“Wouldn’t Zia disapprove?” Scott asked, being rougher than necessary as he practically took apart the control panel.
Envy curled inside him, spreading like an infection through his bloodstream. There was a sharp squeeze around his heart as it was encased in the feeling.
Reyes called him out on it, way too perceptive for his own good.
“Ryder, are you jealous?” Reyes chuckled.
Scott glared, causing him to throw his hands up in surrender.
“Just asking.”
“And if I am?” Scott retorted.
“Then I’d have to put your mind at ease.”
“It’s really none of my busin—”
Reyes closed the distance between them. Reaching out, he cupped Scott’s cheek, brushing his thumb along his bottom lip. Weak as he was, Scott leaned into his touch for a split second. His eyes threatened to flutter closed, but he had to remain firm about this one matter, if nothing else.
As he started to pull away, Reyes said, “There is nothing going on between Zia and I.” Scott froze into place. “We went out for drinks a few times, nothing more.”
“You swear?” Scott asked, narrowing his eyes.
“I swear.” His voice grew heated, impassioned. “I might be a bad man when it comes to many things, but I wouldn’t ever lie about that to you.”
Scott considered that before replying, “Well, like I said—” He cleared his throat, eyes averted. “ It’s not really any of my business, so I don’t know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.”
He trailed off, uncertain why he was acting that way.
Reyes furrowed his brow.
“No need to be sorry. If you had crossed a line, then I would have said so.”
“Even then, you’re not mine. Your relationships are your own.”
“I could be.”
Scott regarded him skeptically.
“Could be what?”
“Yours,” Reyes answered instantly, staring intently at Scott. “Just say the word.”
If only they weren’t both keeping secrets from each other at the moment, then Scott might take him up on that.
Turns out, being with the Charlatan would be a huge conflict of interests. Who could’ve guessed?
Silence settled between them. It was as if the whole world was awaiting Scott’s answer with bated breath. Time itself seemed to stand still in anticipation.
“I—” He struggled to find the right words. “Give me time.”
That’s all he could ask.
Reyes’s hopeful expression fell, and that alone felt like a stab to the chest. Scott's breathing trembled a little, as if it was becoming difficult to continue drawing in one breath after another.
God, he didn’t want to hurt him, but neither of them could really afford to rush into things half-cocked.
Scott copied his earlier gesture, reaching out to cup Reyes’s cheek. The change was almost instantaneous, how the tension drained away, only for Reyes to melt into Scott’s touch. He leaned into his hand, starved for affection.
Scott swallowed thickly, unable to pull away, let alone take his eyes off of him for even a second.
“All I ask is that you give me time,” Scott repeated. “That’s not a ‘no.’ I just need to think a few things over, iron out a few details.”
Reyes listened, then agreed.
“Alright.” He pulled away with a small, private smile. “As if I could deny anyone such a reasonable request, especially you.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Returning his attention to the shuttle, Scott got back to work. After all, he didn’t want to neglect the poor bird, and it appeared that the shuttle was in desperate need of a little TLC.
His diagnostics only confirmed his suspicions.
When a couple of sparks resulted from his prodding, Scott chastised Reyes for mistreating their baby. Reyes grew defensive, both of them falling back to old habits as they bickered.
This was the type of work that Scott did on the Nexus after he got sidelined and shafted. Systems repairs, shuttle repairs, routine maintenance… That sorta thing.
It was how he met Reyes to begin with. Few pilots had the energy to hang around and talk shop with Scott while he worked, especially since a lot of them had only recently returned from failed colonization efforts. Understandably, most people didn’t want to entertain idle conversation after watching their friends die out in the field.
That was fine by Scott, but Reyes had always gone out of his way —even then— to make sure that Scott had anything and everything that he needed.
They might have taken his shuttle out on a few joyrides together, gotten in trouble for wasting fuel, but Scott wouldn’t trade that time they spent together for anything in the galaxy.
Even now, it felt natural to settle back into their old routine. While Scott worked, Reyes watched, and they talked about anything and everything.
Time passed, and Scott only got deeper into the repairs and modifications. Despite the setting sun, he still broke a sweat, a light sheen glistening upon his skin.
Eventually, he had to take off his shirt, leaving him in a plain tank top that quickly got dirty along with his hands.
Swiping at the perspiration beading at his hairline, Scott grunted as he came to a stopping point for now. He reached for his bag, but what he was seeking wasn’t there.
“Shit.”
Turning towards Reyes, Scott huffed at him.
The bastard wasn’t even trying to hide his staring. Face flushed, he was biting teasingly at his bottom lip, brown eyes dark as he watched Scott through a hooded gaze.
Getting to his feet, Scott crossed his arms over his chest.
“See something you like?”
“Definitely.”
“You’re shameless.” Scott shook his head in disbelief, tsking under his breath. “You’re just as bad as that one time when Gil Brodie asked for a ‘second opinion’ on some fix he made. Turns out, I ended up doing almost all of the work while he sat back and watched.”
“Smart man,” Reyes noted, giving Scott a thorough once-over. “This Gil must have great tastes.”
Scott snorted.
“Flattery will get you nowhere. If you really want to make me happy, then you would grab your water bottle for me.”
“Did you forget yours?” Reyes asked, slightly concerned. After all, being caught out in the badlands without water was just asking for dehydration or heat stroke.
Nevertheless, he got the bottle for him. Scott placed his hands over Reyes’s, shrugging with a flustered blush.
“Yeah,” Scott sighed. “I thought I had packed it! I don’t know where it could’ve wandered off to.”
“Perhaps you were in a bit of a rush to get here,” Reyes said, trailing off suggestively.
Scott figured that he would allow that.
“Perhaps,” he agreed, “but what else do I keep you around for, if not the water? You wouldn’t want the guy repairing your shuttle to get dehydrated, right?” Scott smirked. “I could get delirious, and it would be very unfortunate if I just so happened to forget to install an essential component.”
Reyes gasped dramatically, relinquishing the water to Scott, who was quick to take a swig.
“You always have to watch out for the pretty ones,” Reyes grumbled. “Always causing trouble, keeping secrets…”
There it was again. That sense of knowing , that sense that both of them were holding something back. It was left unsaid. Neither confronted the other about it, but they knew that the secrets were there.
Before the sudden lag in conversation could get too awkward, Scott took another swig of water and asked, “So, you think I’m pretty?”
Reyes chuckled, glad for the change of subject.
“Kian seems to think so,” he muttered. Leave it to him to avoid the question. “He keeps asking when you’re going to start working for him at Tartarus.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“As a dancer?” He had to make sure he was hearing right.
“Yep.”
“Could you imagine?” Scott scoffed. “Me, shaking my ass for money? A tempting offer. It would probably be more profitable than the odd jobs I take on here and there, but I think I’m fine where I’m at.”
“Damn,” Reyes sighed, “what a shame.”
Scott raised an eyebrow in his direction.
“You saying you would have come to watch me?”
“Not only that, but I would have paid to watch you,” Reyes said, “especially if I could have gotten a private show out of it.”
Scott tried to imagine it, grinning in spite of himself.
“What’s so funny?” Reyes wondered.
“Nothing, nothing,” Scott said, brushing off his concern. “That just made me remember a thought that I had earlier.”
“What about?”
“Oh, you know.” Scott gestured vaguely. “Just that I should start charging you a fee for when we spend time together.”
Reyes winked at him.
“It would be worth every credit.”
#mass effect#mass effect andromeda#scott ryder#reyes vidal#reyder#mreyder#my writing#my fanfic#scott ryder x reyes vidal#exile au#hopefully tumblr doesn't screw with the order of my paragraphs again :/
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always ready to clown w/ u 💖 (fr tho i was thinking along the same lines as u on the yt vid being released but i also dont wanna hope so imma remain skeptical as hell
but i hope its true it would be so nice if the music industry got its own lil upheaval but i feel like w/ just rebecca it doesnt seem too likely to happen yk? like she needs more ppl to start speaking out not only that but she needs someone who's internationally known so that it can be the whole music industry nd so that more artists start feeling safer to speak out, safer as in they won't lose their careers their labels won't drop them etc.
if one of the 1d boys did i feel like that would hv a huge impact but the likeliness of that happening are slim to none so its interesting to think abt what the video actually means in terms of if they are in contact w/ her does that mean one of them is gonna speak out? already we know theres an insanely low chance of that for multiple different reasons (likely including but not limited to their contracts)
so does that mean that they are in contact with her in the way that they are helping her w/ this? as in they're convincing more artists to come forward? but i feel like thats risky as hell especially if they're not saying anything themselves bc they could be sending these artists to their doom if not enough ppl come thru or smth yk? so that might as well be ruled out too
or maybe they're in contact w/ her in the way that like they're helping her and other artists that wanna speak out? maybe helping them to figure out how to give them a larger/better voice? but i feel like that would likely fall on PR ppl that they hire
but if one of the 1d boys is in fact in contact w/ her dont u think there could've been a subtler way to tell us? I mean the tweets are already not subtle (the ones by rebecca) but i also understand why that is but its im sorry this is so frustrating and my mind is going a thousand miles an hr and im just so frustrated w/ all this bc none of it makes sense and i feel like there smth happening we dont know abt and i just wanna know and i wanna know if we can do anything to help and i just want them all happy and to be ok and i'll stop talking now
anyway sorry for bothering u - defintly not expecting a reply lol ik u said u didnt wanna talk abt it so i hope its ok i sent this in)
have a good night/day lots of love 💖
helloooo bb!
its totally fine for you come into my inbox and vent/speculate anytime you need. i dont mind at all! i only feel bad when i can't get to everyone (i see you and im sorry!) but always feel free to word vomit, lol
i don't blame you for going back and forth a lot. especially with the idea of the boys speaking out about the mistreatment as it's been very hush hush on their end for many years! however, i dont think its quite as unlikely as many make it seem.
just look at the last year and how much liam has spoken very plainly about the abuse and mistreatment the boys suffered. he has been very candid and it's only been increasing over the last year. we've also seen several other people connected to x factor and syco speak up for the first time over the last 7 months.
a lot of the things cumulatively that have happened over the last year make me think that perhaps several of the boys will speak up, will make a fuss, and do so at the exact right time. i think whatever is going on right now is very strictly planned and has a very particular timeline. and a lot of it might be happening behind the scenes (especially if they are attempting legal action) so we wouldn't know until it all came out (in the wash).
we won't know until we watch it all unfold, hindsight is 20/20. this will all make sense one day when we look back. but i'm gonna try to put some pieces together in the meantime because that's what this fandom is built on: noticing patterns and calling them out even when others say it's a reach or a coincidence. we didn't recognize rbb & sbb for what they were by going on about how "it's probably the sound guy" and "it's just a coincidence they are reading those books"! we got here by calling out weird shit even when we end up wrong.
and, as for me, i choose to believe that louis wouldn't purposefully mislead us with his overwhelming positivity over the last six months.
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