#I call them both the Andromeda and the Milky way | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

circe-pendragon · 1 year

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I’m currently feeling many emotions about space. Let me share them with you.

That’s our Earth. Precious blue marble. Dirt orb. And our atmosphere which is keeping us all alive with a lifetime supply of free, clear air. Beyond that begins outer space.

These are our nearest neighbors in our solar system. The moon and sun, ever beautiful. Mercury, Venus, and Mars, the planets closest to us.

Going out further, beyond the asteroid belt, there’s Jupiter and Saturn, the biggest planets in our solar system. Jupiter is 1300 times bigger than Earth.

The planets furthest away from the Sun are Uranus and Neptune. And then there’s our dear Pluto, a dwarf planet - but he’s not alone in that category. There are five other dwarf planets in our solar system. The furthest of those is Eris. Beyond Eris lies the Heliopause which marks the border into interstellar space.

Proxima Centauri is the star closest to our Sun. After leaving our solar system, we might breach into the vast empty darkness of interstellar space and set a course for our nearest neighbor. If we were traveling at the (to us unreachable) speed of light, we would arrive in 4246 years.

Proxima Centauri and our Sun are two of hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Traveling from one of the Milky Way to the other (at the speed of light, which we have no way of reaching) would take 100 000 years.

Our galaxy is home to hundreds of billions of stars and hundreds of billions of planets. Only about 5000 of them are deemed habitable and potentially life-sustaining.

We haven’t found any signs of life though. Our signals have been left unanswered. Our search for a sign of an intelligent extraterrestrial civilization has so far been fruitless. We haven’t been looking for too long though, and we’ll keep looking. Against all odds.

I don’t think we’ll ever find anything.

Our communication is limited by the speed of light. If there were a theoretical alien civilization out there, even if existed on our nearest neighbor Alpha Centauri (which it doesn’t) it would take thousands of years for any of our signals to reach them. If they haven’t burned themselves out by then, their answer (if they choose to reply) will take another few thousands of years to reach us, if we still exist.

We are not going to encounter signs of intelligent alien life, unless those aliens have found a way to overcome the limit of the speed of light. But that’s okay. Let’s look further beyond our galaxy.

Our closest intergalactic neighbor is the Andromeda galaxy. I won’t tell you how far away it is from us because it doesn’t matter. We’ll never reach it, and nothing from there ever reach us except for light that’s millions of years old. Andromeda is slightly larger than the Milky Way but it’s made of the same stuff. Hundreds of billions of stars and solar systems and planets. Many of them surely potentially habitable and life-sustaining. But we’ll never know.

The Milky Way and Andromeda along with roughly thirty other galaxies both belong to the Local Group. Groups are collections of up to fifty galaxies in close proximity to each other. Larger collections of galaxies are called Clusters. These can consist of hundreds or even thousands of galaxies. And as structures in our universe that are beholden to the laws of gravity, Clusters can also form larger structures, aptly named Superclusters.

Superclusters are the second largest structures in the universe. There are estimated to be about 10 million of them within our observable universe. Try to think of what that means. Ten million Superclusters, each with thousands of galaxies and each galaxy with thousands of billions of stars and planets. You can’t imagine that. Your brain is not meant to. It’s literally unfathomable.

The largest type of structure in our observable universe is called a Filament, a group of superclusters. They are also sometimes called Sheets or Walls of Galaxies.

We have reached the edge of the observable universe. We cannot see beyond it, simply because no light from beyond has reached us yet. On a cosmic scale, the speed of light is painfully slow. But this is not the edge of the universe, only the edge of what we might potentially ever know about this part of it.

Numbers have lost all meaning at this point. It doesn’t matter how many galaxies there are out there beyond or within the borders of the observable universe. It doesn’t matter how far Andromeda is away from our Milky Way, or how far we are from such a tiny, insignificant distance as our nearest star. We’ll never reach Alpha Centauri, we’ll never reach Andromeda, or any other galaxy, or any other star aside from our own. Information or signals from these painfully close and yet impossibly far away places have no way of reaching us if they are bound to the speed of light.

Thinking about all of this has literally made me cry twice this past week. But oddly enough, it gives me hope. I can’t even say why, maybe it’s just my brains way of dealing with the impossibility and vastness of it all. But most importantly, I know life is out there. I know it for a fact. With this many stars, this many galaxies…there is no way that intelligent alien life didn’t develop on at least one of them. It doesn’t matter if we never reach it. It also doesn’t matter if it vanished millions of years ago, or will only develop a hundred thousand years in the future. No matter how far we are apart from them, divided by time and space, it exists. We are not alone.

#long post #god it feels good to have written this all out #space

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junk-jester · 7 months

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My cringe OC X Canon bullshittery has hit critical mass, resulting in a fankid, and I apologize for nothing.

Meet Krystal Sietson-Boonchuy, but their friends call them "Krys" for short.

An amateur mechanic with a surprisingly potent ego, Krys dreams of being a famous Pod Racer (y'know, from Star Wars Episode 1?) and taking on the most death-defying courses across both the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies, even if it worries their two moms to no end.

As clearly seen, they have a prosthetic arm, heterochromia and are non-binary, simply because I figured it all fit together well. Krys also built the arm themself, after getting an injury related to a faulty Pod Racer Turbine Engine.

Profile can be found [Here.]

#universe 77 #ben 10 #ben 10 omniverse #ben 10 oc #oc x canon #amphibia #anne boonchuy #fankid #oc x canon fankid #star wars mention #star wars pod race mention

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mollysworldfair · 1 year

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Space!

kind of hard for me to get that much into sci-fi worldbuilding largely because i can't really connect to the massive scale that a lot of scifi universes operate on, and also i don't find space super interesting? a lot of scifi novels/stories i've read feel like they take place in the square footage of the average medieval duchy or small university town except instead of having brooks or streams or forests in between places there's just nothingness that exists only to be traversed. i guess that's something that interests me about space: the cracks between realities or worlds that you can only move through--how can anything settle or drift there? I find the ocean a lot more interesting since it actually has character and texture to it, and endless variety and power and force, and is also made of a lot of water (i love water!).

Space from what I can see is just inert blank space, which I guess some people find interesting but I find boring. My favourite descriptions of space are from Paradise Lost where I remember Satan escapes from Hell and flies over the broiling realm of Chaos and looks over the millions and billions of worlds being formed before getting to the newly created earth (haven't read it in a while so might be wrong!). On the opposite end of creation I loved Dante's flight through the successive stages of the heavenly bodies toward the Empyrean in the Paradiso. Premodern cosmologies just feel a lot more fun to me.

I kind of want space to still be vast and terrifying, in concurrent to time, and 'dominate' people like in that thought experiment on Twitter a while back of whether rain 'dominates' you by stopping your plans from going outside, or enfold people and civilizations like the roiling ocean in Moby Dick (another really fun Biblical Chaos!).

That's a really large scale thing though and really overwhelming to worldbuild about. I remember talking on tumblr a while back about a scifi universe where polities have over millions of years grown so vast and successful that they became essentially unintelligible Lovecraftian entities that extend both in space and time, ensuring the conditions of their emergence and forming their own metaphysics, natural laws, politics, etc. This has essentially fragmented the galaxies into a mosaic of occassionally overlapping parallel realities that possess no conscious engineering of their own but a directionality to them from which societies of varying sort emerge. These celestial bodies render anything potentially conscious or animate depending on the ways in which they are disposed and formed. Space and time are conjoined and ebb, flow, are channelled, and shaped in various conscious and unconscious ways throughout the universe, in a primordial chaos of innumerable orders.

This is a super high scope idea that doesn't really make it easier to make up fun settings or stories, and will have to figure out how they function in a way that doesn't overwhelm me too much. I also don't know enough philosophy, science, anthropology, history etc to make interesting variations (i keep making up new variations of Space Dutch Republic). I'll try to zero in on particular spaces and times to make things fun, hopefully the flexibility in reality the setting allows will give me more wiggle room for fun or silly aesthetics --more space fantasy than science fiction.

Will also have to come up with what to call these large pocket realities/celestial bodies/space-time-logic worms/multigalactic polities. Maybe Geists? Imagos? Myriads? Will have to look up fun philosophy and religious terms.

Maybe a good place to start is a galaxy/Geist known as the Empyrean, formed from the agglomeration of the Milky Way and Andromeda along with several other galaxies and which itself as being the origin, source, from which all other Geists spring and which radiate outward, gaining being from its Being in a Neoplatonic way. Only the Empyrean itself is a hollow core, the material and fields through which it has reproduced and maintained itself have long gone extinct or been destroyed, creating a space of supposed chaos, with no "true laws", internal consistency, or logic, although there are many galactic powers who wish to continue simulating the Empyrean, or what they can scientifically approximate or remember what the Empyrean was. Will the corpse of the Empyrean grow and birth a new, all-encompassing Geist, or will the sum of its parts become something different?

#lots of worldbuilding rambling #Need to be working on my paper #Helps getting my thoughts down

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carewyncromwell · 2 years

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🌌 Milky Way for all of your OCs

Whoo! This'll take a minute -- let's do this!

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

Carewyn, as better explained here, is a fusion of my mum and myself as kids!

Jacob, as better explained here, was inspired by the stories my mum used to tell me about her late brother!

Erik was inspired largely by a friend of mine from high school who had this very cherubic face and also the largest, sassiest potty mouth of all of my friends. His name was also inspired by two of my favorite Broadway characters -- Erik from The Phantom of the Opera and Enjolras from Les Miserables (affectionately called “Apollo” in the book).

Ana came about because I thought an INFP Gryffindor could be a really fun contrast, but personality-wise, she really took influence from both myself and my dad as kids, since my dad’s a Gryffindor and I’m an INFP.

Farid, as better explained here, was inspired by both Newt and Jacob from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Yugi Mutou from Yu-Gi-Oh.

Jackson, as better explained here, was inspired by historical stage magician Harry Houdini!

Bat, as better explained here, was inspired by Garrett Denali from Twilight and Sirius Black, as well as other “Lancer” type figures like Ron Weasley and Jounouchi Katsuya from Yu-Gi-Oh.

Ru was an evolution of an idea I’d developed much earlier on of a serial killer kelpie that transforms into various forms to eat people, but over time, they developed a love of photography and film that’s largely like my own for film and television, and in doing so developed a much more sympathetic motivation and personality. Their particular feeling of isolation and wanting to be part of this world they could only watch from afar is a feeling I’ve felt off-and-on for years and evoked both Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Ariel from The Little Mermaid, to me.

Ed’s brain spark largely came down to me thinking it’d be fun to have a 90′s style boy band (i.e. Backstreet Boys, N*SYNC, 98 Degrees) in the Potterverse around the time when Harry and crew were at school. Backstory-wise, I took inspiration from Severus Snape, Andromeda Black-Tonks, and both Sirius and Regulus Black, and obviously Ed’s a Slytherin like Snape, Andromeda, and Regulus...but personality-wise Ed actually ended up taking some inspiration from Anna from Frozen! In fact, one of the character themes I chose for him as a child is a deleted song from Frozen that was originally going to be sung by Anna called More Than Just a Spare.

Desiree came about largely because of the creation of Jules Aquila @kathrynalicemc. His spontaneous, fantasy-loving personality was just so likable (largely because of how in-tune I was with it myself!), so when I was working on a character that I thought could be a fun contrast for someone like Jules, I settled on using my late stepmum as inspiration. I’m a very right-brained, sensitive, imaginative person like Jules, while my stepmum as a girl was a very left-brained, soft-spoken, modest, scientific, nerdy overachiever the way Desiree is. Like Desi as well, my stepmum had to find freedom and happiness by breaking away from her family and home and starting a new life apart from them. Desiree also ended up gaining flickers of my mum (who has always been very sensible and organized and shares a personality type -- ISTJ -- with Desi), as well as Elsa from Frozen, Luisa from Encanto, and Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. Both Kath and I have also found amusement at how much Juliree resembles Aladdin/Jasmine from Aladdin, ship-wise, as well.

Eli was largely inspired by comic film actors Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, as well as Robin Williams and Fiyero from the musical Wicked. Like Robin did, Eli struggles with severe depression, but works hard to keep a smile on so as to make others happy, and like Fiyero, he was the sort to “tune in and drop out” at school from an academic perspective, but he’s actually a lot deeper emotionally than he seems from the outside.

Bairn’s initial spark just came from me finding Brock O’Hurn and wanting to design a character that resembled him, honestly! 😂 I gotta thank @magical-retales for brainstorming a Renaissance-set storyline featuring Merlin, though...it was so much fun to take inspiration from different King Arthur storylines for Bairn’s character, like the Once and Future King series and Disney’s The Sword in the Stone. Bairn also took some cues from both Harry Potter and Charlie Weasley, being a Gryffindor orphan raised by uncaring Muggles with a longing for family and a love of nature and magical creatures!

Emoji Ask Game!

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theclumsyxeno · 1 year

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Future and past crossroads: Kukulkan

In a dimension where the worlds of Mass effect and SMITE have crossed, many gods have crossed to the Milky Way or Andromeda, many injured. One of them, Kukulkan, who was dealing with the ever pesky, yet dangerous Ah Puch. However, before he could stop the pesky death god, he was blasted by a burst of sand, blinding him. In turn, a donkey like god attacked Kukulkan, slashing at him with a staff that held an axe. Leaving the wind god horribly injured, and thrown through a portal…

The Tempest Crew could barely believe what they were seeing; A baby Gryphon, which was wild enough, but after meeting Horus and Neith, it seems anything is possible, but not only was the Gryphon there, but was a donkey, creature? They were falling from the sky, and the Gryphon was wailing. Before anyone could even say a word, Horus was already flying at them, his spear ready.

He shouted, “Release that baby! Your master won’t get away with this!” The set animal snarled at Horus, refusing to release the scared gryphon baby. whom was still wailing. Horus glared at the set animal and slashed at the villainous animal, causing it to drop the baby Gryphon. Horus quickly caught the Baby and flew back down to the group below. Just as Horus landed, a loud thud was heard, startling the group.

Peebee shouted, “Now what? What could it be this time?!” A rookie under Ryder’s tutelage, Russel, approached what made the sound.

He stated, “Uh guys?”

Ryder asked, “What is it?”

Russel nervously answered, “Would you call me crazy if I told you it was a huge snake with feathered wings?” The group, minus Horus, Ahava, and Lexi, went to see what Russel was talking about. There they saw Kukulkan laying on the ground bleeding out. He tried to open his eyes, but he grunted and whimpered as he tried.

Cora asked, “Are you okay?”

Kukulkan grunted, “Not really, there issss sssand in my eyesss, my body achesss.” Cora grew worried.

She shouted, “Ahava! Get over here, there’s someone really hurt!” Ahava heard Cora and patted the blanketed Gryphon in Horus’s arms.

She said, “Bye Potato,” She turned to Cora and continued, “I’m coming!” She rushed over and saw Kukulkan in a rough state. She quickly got out her Omni-tool, started using Medi-gel, which quickly started healing the lacerations all over the snake god’s body. Ahava asked gently, “Can you try to open your eyes for me?” Kukulkan tried once more, gasped in pain as he did. His eyes were bloodshot red, almost black with a slit pupil showing. Cora noticed and asked, “Did something happen? Was it some sort of attack?” He tried again, gritting his teeth, trying to keep the pain and blood at bay, but failed miserably.

He spoke, “It.. Hurtssss sssso much.”

Ryder turned to Drack, “You’re going to need to-“

Drack walked over, “Already on it pathfinder.” He picked up Kukulkan and threw him over his shoulder. Kukulkan grew confused over what was happening, due to not being able to see.

Kukulkan asked, “Wha-what issss happening?”Ahava replied, “We’re taking you to our ship to see if we can get you better treatment and help your eyes.” Kukulkan sighed, his feathered wings flopping. In turn the group went to the Tempest with both Kukulkan and Potato in tow.

Once in the tempest, They set the sleeping gryphon down, although Horus stayed by Potato’s side on the couch. Drack put Kukulkan in the med bay. Soon Lexi entered, with some eye drops.

She stated, “Okay, I will open your eyes one by one, and put the eye drops in.” Kukulkan felt a dread coming on.

Just outside of the med bay, a horrible scream rang out. Horus and Ahava quickly covered Potato’s ears, hoping to keep the baby asleep.

After the scream stopped, Ahava called, “What happened?”

Lexi replied, “Kukulkan didn’t like the drops in his eyes.” Vetra and Peebee tried to hold back their laughter. They quickly went into a room to hide, trying to make sure no one would hear them. After a bit of laughing, they decided to go back to where everyone else was. When they got there, Lexi was back in the med bay checking on Kukulkan. who was blinking like mad, trying to get the pain to go away. Lexi felt bad for causing the snake god even more pain, but she knew it had to be done. She asked, “How is it coming with the sand coming out of your eyes?” Kukulkan’s eyes were watering, but he started to feel less and less sand in his eyes.

He finally responded, “There isss lessss ssssand now. It sssstill hurtssss though.” As he finished speaking, he felt a slight headache. Ahava walked in not long later and saw the teary eyed Kukulkan.

She asked, “Do, do you know how you ended up with all that sand, and the lacerations?”

Kukulkan, despite the pain and tears responded, “I wasss dealing with Ah Puch, a death God who often caussssesss mayhem. I wassss ssssuddenly blinded by ssssand. I felt mysssself being sssslashed at and sssoon felt like I wassss falling.” Lexi and Ahava looked at each other. This was becoming more common it seemed; gods from another dimension, where they weren’t myth, are literally falling into the andromeda. They began thinking, but quickly snapped back when they realized Kukulkan was waiting for a response.

Ahava responded, “This might sound crazy, but your not the only one who fell through a portal and ended up somewhere strange.” Kukulkan raised an eye brow at Ahava’s statement. Ahava stated, “Well, two Egyptian gods and a baby gryphon appeared here.” At first, Kukulkan thought it must be a joke. But then, he remembered how he ended up here in the first place. Neith and Ryder walked into the med bay.

Ryder asked, “How’s our patient? I heard him shrieking all the way from my quarters.” Kukulkan grew embarrassed by Ryder’s comment. He groaned and slowly sat up, or at least, as well as a large snake could. With great effort, he attempted to sit upright, but found himself unable to do so. Ahava walked over to where Kukulkan laid; She helped prop the giant snake up.

Ryder asked, “Is that better?” Kukulkan nodded at the teenage human.

Back outside of the med bay, Horus stayed by Potato, holding him in the blanket. However, Potato started making noises, causing Horus quickly look down at the baby. Potato lifted his head and nibbled Horus’s armored talon fingers. Horus giggled at the baby Gryphon. He finally noticed the baby’s eyes weren’t open yet. Potato’s tiny wings didn’t have any feathers either. Not longer later, Ahava came back out of the med bay and sat next to Horus.

She stated, “Looks like Kukulkan is getting better, but how is Potato?”

Horus replied, “He’s calmer and even a bit playful.” Ahava giggled.

She replied, “That’s good to know. He’s so cute. It hurts knowing anyone would want to hurt him.” A frown appeared on Ahava’s face, with her eyes watering at the thought. Horus stared at the teen girl for a moment before asking, “Hey, are you alright?”

Ahava gave a fake small chuckle at the concerned question, but the chuckle faded, she turned to Horus and replied, “Yeah. I just… I don’t know. I…” Ahava tried to shake the memories from what happened on her home planet. Horus took note of her struggle and wrapped a wing around her, pulling her close. Ahava rested her head on Horus’s chest and cried softly while she hugged him tightly. Potato heard Ahava’s cries and tried to crawl up Horus to reach Ahava. In turn, Horus lifted Potato closer to Ahava.

Horus commented, “Looks like Potato wants to see if you’re okay.” Ahava opened her teary eyes and saw the baby gryphon trying to muzzle her face. Ahava weakly giggled and leaned closer so Potato could nuzzle her. After Potato finished, He turned to Horus and started to Chirp at him.

Awhile later, Kukulkan was shown around the Tempest. He looked at all the different parts of the Tempest curiously. He noticed how wildly different it was there compared to the jungles of Maya. Cora was the one showing him around the ship.

She explained to him, “The Tempest has three main floors, two decks, a central control room, and three passenger cabins. The second floor is the mess hall, dining area, kitchen, living areas, etcetera. The third floor is the med bay and storage bay.”

The last thing she said, caught his attention; “And the fourth floor is what humans call the bridge.” He tilted his head.

Cora continued, “Up there is the command room, the communications console and many other things you could never imagine. Also down below is the engine room and cargo bay. It’s pretty big though. There’s lots of places for us to explore, Anywhere you want to start?”

Kukulkan thought about it, placing his feathers wing under his chin, similarly to how a human would put their index and thumb under their chin. Then Kukulkan replied, “No.”

Cora laughed. “You don’t have to decide now. There’s nothing wrong with walking around.” Kukulkan nodded and hovered around the ship. He was very curious about everything in front of him. The snake god wondered what life was like in this futuristic place he was now residing in. He also wondered why humans could fly through the space between worlds. Did they ever fall off their ships? The idea of a flying craft that could go into outer space perplexed Kukulkan. He couldn’t believe the humans he had taught to about the elements could pull all of this off. A smell soon grabbed his attention, and the snake god flew to find the source of the smell. He found the kitchen, there Ryder was teaching Neith how to use the oven and stove. The food appeared to be a spaghetti of some kind. He landed behind them and watched silently; not wanting to interrupt the two. After Neith put the sauce with the beef in the pot, Ryder taught the archer goddess how to use the timer on the stove. Neith put thirty minutes on the on stove timer.

Neith stated, “Thank you for teaching me how to use this… This… Stove! Right, stove.” Neith grew slightly embarrassed and blushed gold as her face flushed. Ryder chuckled slightly at the archer goddess. Neith then started laughing. Kukulkan became confused by what was going on. Then it dawned on him, and he smirked slightly watching the pair. He flew away before they could see him. After the pair stopped, their cheeks were both flush and covered in blush. They looked away from each other while still blushing.

Once the embarrassment wore off, Ryder spoke again, “So… You ready to make the noodles?” Neith nodded with a giggle.

Kukulkan was still watching the pair from outside the kitchen, reveling in the moment. He snickered slightly at them.

Once he heard their conversation he decided he’d come back once the noodles were cooked. While the water cooked, Kukulkan decided to look over the ship’s other spaces and soon found Horus and Ahava with Potato. He was surprised by how tiny the baby Gryphon was. Kukulkan also noticed Ahava’s puffy eyes.

He asked, “Are you alright?” Ahava’s eyes darted up at Kukulkan, she sniffed slightly. She nodded at the snake god. Horus also noticed Kukulkan.

The falcon god stated, “Glad to see you’re up and around,” Potato chirped once more at Horus and nuzzled against his face.

He replied, “I am feeling much better now, but hope to never, have to have eye dropsss ever again.” Horus and Ahava giggled slightly at Kukulkan. As they did, Potato began to open his eyes. Horus turned to Potato and saw his large golden eyes.

Horus smiled, “Well hello there Potato.” Ahava sat up, while still under Horus’s wing and saw Potato’s open eyes as well.

She cooed, “How cute are you.” Potato continued to chirp at Horus, as if he wanted something.

Horus asked the baby, “What do you need little one?” Potato turned to see Kukulkan and squealed, hiding in the crook of Horus’s neck. Kukulkan grew saddened by the fact the baby was scared of him.

Ahava saw Kukulkan’s sad expression and stated, “It’s alright, maybe when he’s older, he’ll realize you mean no harm.” Kukulkan nodded at Ahava’s statement and flew away, as soon as he did, Potato popped his head out and started chirping again at Horus.

Horus responded, “Are you hungry little one?” Potato’s chirps became louder and in turn, Horus and Ahava went to the kitchen get the baby Gryphon food. Once they got there, Ahava pulled up her Omni-tool and looked up ‘how to make baby gryphon food’ She managed to pull up the instructions, and got to work making the baby food, while Horus tended to Potato. Finally, Ahava finished and handed the bottle to Horus, and he in turn fed the very hungry gryphon. Potato chugged on the bottle, and nearly got covered in the baby food. The gryphon chirped happily as he drank the food. The pair giggled as they watched Potato guzzle down the food. Eventually, the baby gryphon fell asleep after finishing the bottle. Horus then placed the empty bottle down next to the baby Gryphon and wiped the drool off of his muzzle. Ahava smiled as she took the bottle to the sink. Horus held Potato close to his chest with one hand and gently stroked his feathers, and with the other he held the baby Gryphon. Ahava sat back one time to Horus and joined in on petting Potato. Soon enough, It was quite late, and many of the crew members of the Tempest had already gone to bed. Ahava yawned and did her best to stay awake.

Kukulkan had already headed to the guest room of the ship and slivered under the covers. The snake god got comfortable in the bed. The snake god closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Kukulkan woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. As the snake god opened his eyes and got out of bed. He hovered over to where the smell was coming from. He saw Ahava cooking breakfast; which was a nice surprise to him since he hadn’t seen her cook anything besides griffin baby food in his entire stay on the Tempest. He quickly noticed Ahava’s little Pokémon, Zorua trying to eat the bacon that was finished. He also saw Cora and Neith trying to stop Zorua, which made him chuckle.

Neith pointed at Zorua and said, “Don’t touch that!” Zorua continued trying to jump onto the counter. Ahava tried to hide her snickers as she cooked breakfast.

Kukulkan flew over to the counter and attempted to grab Zorua’s tail, hoping to help, despite the absurdity of the situation. Zorua snarled at Kukulkan and tried to break free.

Ahava stated, “Zorua, you know you can’t be on the counter.” The Pokémon reluctantly agreed, causing Kukulkan to release his tail, and he hopped down onto the floor. Not far was Horus with Potato, who was a bit bigger now, and had his big eyes set on the breakfast cooking. Zorua took notice and snickered, he hopped up on the table Potato was sitting at.

Zorua whispered, “Hey kid, you want that food as much as I do, right?” Potato nodded softly at Zorua. Horus grew concerned by Zorua, but tried chose not to press. Zorua smirked at the baby gryphon. Not long later, Zorua initiated his plan. Zorua leapt off the table with Potato on his back, landing on the floor. Horus watched the pair, hoping they were only playing. Zorua soon put Potato down. Zorua stated, “Before our plan can start, you need to learn how to walk.” Potato nodded happily. In turn, Zorua started teaching the baby gryphon how to walk, although at first Potato look like a puppy with swimmers syndrome, with his legs splayed out, the little gryphon soon got the hang of it. Zorua cheered, “There ya go kid!” Potato chirped happily at Zorua. Now their plan for the breakfast food could begin. In turn, Zorua and Potato snuck around to the counter, trying not to make the other crew members curious as to why they were sneaking around. Ahava continued cooking, without a clue that her Pokémon was about to mess with her. Zorua and Potato climbed up on the counter, the pair went to strike, when Horus saw them.

Horus shouted, “What are you two doing?! Don’t touch anything!”

They froze and jumped off the counter. Ahava grew confused by what just happened, while Kukulkan laughed at the situation. Ahava questioned Horus, “What, what happened?” Horus sighed.

He picked up Zorua and Potato stating, “These two tried to steal breakfast.” Ahava sighed at the two.

Zorua sheepishly smiled at Ahava, “Surprise….?” Ahava shook her head, and Potato bit Horus, almost as if in a motion of, “you’ll never take me alive!” Causing Horus to drop Potato and free Zorua from the falcon God’s grasp and the pair ran away, with Zorua snickering as they went. Horus cursed to himself from the pain of the bite. Kukulkan snickered as well and said, “You would think thesssse two would know better than to try and sssssteal breakfassssst, esssspecially with that many wittnessss.”

Cora huffed, “One would think so.” Ahava walked over to Horus and rested her hand on his arm where he got bit, she smiled softly as she used Medi-gel. Horus couldn’t help but smile back at her. He knew he had to keep her safe, she was too sweet and gentle. After Ahava finished healing Horus, she went back to wrapping up breakfast. Kukulkan and Cora looked at each other. They shared a knowing glance, it was obvious how Horus and Ahava interacted. But it seemed neither was brave enough to make a move. Before Cora and Kukulkan could think further on it, the rest of the tempest crew arrived for breakfast. The two decided to drop it for now and join the others. After Breakfast, Kukulkan left the kitchen, he had enjoyed the meal, as well as the presence of the tempest crew members. He sighed contently as he went to lounge, planning to get to know his new crew mates.

#Mass Effect #SMITE #SMITE Kukulkan #Mass Effect andromeda #crossover story

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incognito-insomniac · 2 years

Note

Pathfinder asks for Axle and Anthony! 2, 8, 13, 16, 27, 36, 47 please :)

So many! ^_^ THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I don't think I've ever posted pictures of these two so here they are:

Alexis "Axle" Ryder

Anthony Ryder

2. How did your Ryder feel about the Initiative prior to leaving the Milky Way?

Axle

She was less than pleased. She really only joined the Initiative after her brother wore her down. She had a good set up going back in the Milky Way. Although her actions as a mercenary-for-hire may have also been catching up to here. As her crew starting vanishing off the map getting out of the galaxy started to look pretty good.

Anthony

Obligation and loyalty are powerful motivators. Regardless, Anthony was a rising star in the military before his father's antics tarnished his image. Joining the Initiative seemed the only route to further rank. And of course no one would look down at his father's transgressions here.

8. Any tattoos or piercings?

Axle

A handful of tattoos across her back and left arm, mostly commemorating big jobs or close calls. On her right shoulder she has a bouquet of gardenias and lavender in memory of her mother. On her left forearm there is a tally of sniper kills. And she has a matching sparrow tattoo to her brother on her left shoulder blade.

Anthony

None. He's far too straight laced for that......Except for the tattoo of his first squadron on this right bicep. What can be said about peer pressure, lots of tequila, and a pretty squadmate that hasn't been said already?

13. What's their relationship with the crew? Both when they first met and at the end of the game.

Axle

Axle is pretty open with her crew about her intentions, her feelings, and her worries. She won everyone over fairly quickly. And by the end they had become a family.

Anthony

Prickly Pear. Grumpy Gills. Fun Police. Asshole. All names which have been attributed to him (mostly by Peebee) and many more. He did not win the team over quickly. It was through good leadership, decisive action, loyalty, and a bit of luck that the whole crew eventually comes around to him. But it took a lot of time. And few consider them his friend. He's the boss. And most days it's how he prefers it.

16. What's Ryder's combat style? Fighting fair or fighting dirty?

Axle

Dirty. Gorilla warfare is an art she is well-versed in. But also silent and deadly. There are days the sniper rifle is the tool required and other it's a pistol and a flash bang.

Anthony

Precision (there is no fairness on the battlefield). He prefers to rely on a good midrange assault rifle. But tech and hand-to-hand with an omnitool can also dispatch an opponent just as effectively.

27. Who did they romance? What drew them to that person?

Axle

Reyes. At first the mystery and danger. After that it was his heart and attention to detail.

Anthony

Vetra. Her calm demeanor and no-nonsense attitude. And eventually her ability to draw him out of himself and also tp force him to slow down and appreciate the thing and people around him.

36. Any unusual talents or skills? Or just anything that might surprise the people around them?

Axle

Can twist a cherry stem in a knot with her tongue. Scary good at games like five finger fillet or mumbley peg. Knife throwing in general.

Anthony

Can play the guitar but rarely does anymore, primarily because he did not bring one to Andromeda. But alse he played mostly for his mother. The memory of her loss keeps his fingers still.

47. What does Ryder dream of after their Pathfinding work is done? What's their happy ending?

Axle

She hasn't thought that far. She never does. But probably something with Reyes on Kadara. Maybe start a baseball league. Have a couple kids. Pick up distilling. Who knows. It's gonna be fun though. That's for sure.

Anthony

Exploring the planets with Vetra. Someone needs to continue to catalog viable planets. And it would give them good time to enjoy the varying landscapes and each other's company without the immediate threat of death.

#ask game #my ocs #oc axle ryder #oc anthony ryder #my pathfinders

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spacetimewraithwrites-archive · 2 years

Text

Writeblr Re-Re-Re-Intro

Hi folks!

It’s been about a year since my last re-intro post, so here’s a mildly updated version that I’ll also pin to my blog.

who am I—

➳ my name is Donovyn! you can call me Donovyn or Don, either is fine. ➳ I’m 31 years old as of this post ➳ I’m Black, neurodivergent, and disabled ➳ I’ll have been married for 9 years in April ➳ I got a neurodivergent kid who’ll be 6 in May ➳ Favorite bands are currently VHS Collection and The Birthday Massacre ➳ I am a masc-leaning non-binary..."human"...my pronouns are they/them ➳ please don’t call me an enby. personal preference. thanks!

what am I doing—

⤑ The Thriving Series sci-fi | ten installments across two arcs (and one spin-off installment) | The dramatic collision of Orthrive’poliea’s vehicle with a nearby lake upends Warren Cougar’s life more than he ever expected. Along with conspiracies, intergalactic war, and tumultuous dealings with interspace politics, he has to survive a hostile alien army and a semi-omnipotent sentient darkness doing everything in their power to destroy Earth and the rest of the Milky Way—and Thrive’s native galaxy, Andromeda. Navigating their way through seemingly endless battle after seemingly endless battle, Warren and Thrive also find they must navigate themselves as well as their growing relationship with each other.

⤑ The Partners Trilogy historical fiction | three installments (and three spin-off installments) | Reagan Gilmore and Ben Murray have been best friends since early childhood and singer/pianist duo Gilmore & Murray since their mid to late teens. Navigating their professional lives both together and apart throughout the 50s and 60s proves not be nearly as hard as navigating their suppressed feelings for each other over the course of four whole decades. And outside of involuntarily entangling with organized crime, living on separate continents, falling into the traps of depression and drug abuse, and taking their act all over the world, everything is just fine. It’s fine!

⤑ To Annex the Kid Western | first of two | The dusty town of Winslow, Nevada held their golden boy on a pedestal, singing Russell “Kid” Corduroy’s praises and finding him every bit as charming as he was sweet. Until the eve of his twentieth birthday when a traumatic event causes him to pack his things and bolt away on horseback without a word, leaving his family, his friends, and his sweetheart behind for fifteen years. The whispers of the West question his motives, his whereabouts, and whether or not he’s even still alive; meanwhile, he finds much-needed companionship in the company of a band of outcasts operating under the careful leadership of one Jack Stranger. Their ideals clash but one thing they can agree on is that people need to know that someone cares. And perhaps, sometimes, people can care a little too much.

⤑ The Invention of Fire Western/Victorian | second of two | After the dust of Winslow settled, Kid Corduroy and Works McCoy, along with young Cady Joy, set off for a chapter of their own, taking on industrialized civilization and the world of science and engineering. As Kid is dealing with his and Works’ still-new feelings toward each other and tries to navigate his own traumas, Works is called upon to present at a conference in England to discuss the changing American West. But Kid soon discovers everything is not what it seems, and his world is knocked off of its axis almost as soon as it’s been righted.

⤑ Silent Magnets general fiction/historical fiction/romance | standalone | The telling of an alternate dimension; a “what if” story about a love that never was and couldn’t be. A fictionalized tale bringing two souls separated by time and circumstance in the real world together as they should’ve been. Devin moves into the cabin community of Lakewood Forest with one thing in mind, and that's getting as far away from the tragic accident that took their friends as humanly possible. Living alone isn't all bad, and the neighbors are nice enough. One in particular, however, captures their spirit immediately and becomes a fast friend—Everett, another loner who does a rather impressive job of hiding his own tragedy behind a cheerful and warm exterior. We also leap all the way back into 1975, another life, another universe, where Devin and Everett are attempting to navigate the country in search of love and home...which could very well be with each other.

⤑ The Increasingly Disastrous Continued Existence of One Misfortunate Sol historical fiction/murder mystery/thriller/comedy? | standalone | So there’s a guy, an average guy, named Solomon Maxwell Iron and he goes by Sol and boy he is…unfortunate! He’s…well you see, he keeps moving in with strangers because he has nowhere else to live and he doesn’t make much money but his living companions keep having fatal accidents. He’s gone through four roommates…the cops—they don’t like him! He knows he’s innocent but does the detective? Does the big burly detective know? I don’t think so! I think he thinks Sol’s up to no good! Sol’s got no choice but to take a job at a big hotel so he can live there. Detective Calvin Logan follows him there to make sure he doesn’t blow up all of the guests or something and…things get weird! The owner of the hotel basically traps all the guests in the hotel and I don’t know man, something fishy’s going on. Are they evil? Are they just ✧･ﾟ:*eccentric*:･ﾟ✧ and having a fun party? Why are people suddenly getting murdered? Why does it seem like EVERYONE wants to get into Sol’s pants? Where is this going? Do I know? I doubt it!

also?????—

you can buy the first AND SECOND books of the Thriving series!

Thriving on Amazon (paperback and e-book) Thriving on Barnes & Noble.com (paperback only)

Thriving: Destiny on Amazon (paperback and e-book)

#writeblr intro #writeblr #writeblr community #I have a site listing my WIPs but it is in serious need of updating #long post

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dilfgmancoolatta · 3 years

Note

can yuo write angsty freelatta........-benryphobic

@benryphobic

Gordon looks down at the half-eaten pizza, his appetite almost completely gone. He was initially suspicious of it- as much as he trusted Tommy, he had no idea what Mr. Coolatta’s intentions were. But after seeing everyone else dig in (well, everyone who had made it out of the boss battle alive), he let himself give in. It was horrible, but horrible in the way that most Chuck E. Cheese pizza generally is. Mr. Coolatta pulled out all the stops for this one, huh?

He sighs, gently nudging his paper plate away. He’s not really sure what to do. He doubts Mr. Coolatta would react well to being asked when they could leave- he seems really protective of his son.

Gordon decides to get some fresh air. Quietly pushing in his chair, he sneaks away from the group, Mr. Coolatta and Bubby seemingly distracting by a story Dr. Coomer was telling from the Engineering department.

He breathes a sigh of relief once the door closes behind him. He looks up at the sky as he slides down the wall. It’s strikingly beautiful, yet chilling. It’s a sky Gordon’s never seen before, with a large spiral galaxy, that definitely wasn’t the Milky Way, taking up much of it. Planets upon planets and stars upon stars that Gordon couldn’t recognize.

“That’s Andromeda o- up there, by the way.”

Gordon jolts, feeling his heart rate spike, before laughing. “Tommy, don’t scare me like that, man. Kinda still on edge.”

“Oh-” Tommy covers his mouth. “I’m sorry, Mr. Freeman, I thought you knew I was out here.”

Gordon waves him off. “It’s not a big deal. Just- Thought I should let you know.” Tommy nods. “Andromeda’s a lot bigger than I remember.”

“Mmhm! I told my dad once that Andromeda w- is my favorite galaxy. And after that, he always made sure Andromeda was the biggest thing in the night sky in his pocket dimensions.”

“That’s… honestly pretty sweet.”

Tommy nods, sitting down next to Gordon. “My Dad’s a good guy, even if he is pretty weird sometimes. Though I guess I can’t talk.”

“I don’t think you’re weird, Tommy.”

Tommy looks at him in disbelief.

“Mr. Freeman, I wouldn’t be so sure-”

“Listen, we’ve got a lab grown human, a man who’s been cloned, like, 1000 times, and then there’s you. I don’t think the identity of your dad makes you weird.”

Tommy looks like he wants to say something, but seemingly decides against it. Instead, he decides on a simple “Thank you.”

The two sit in silence for a few moments, staring up into the night sky.

“Did something happen at the party?” Tommy asks. “I hope my dad wasn’t being weird about the Chuck E. Cheese debate-thing.”

Gordon shakes his head. “No, I just needed some fresh air. Gordon sensory overload time was coming up, I could feel it. Wasn’t that hungry either.”

Tommy nods. “I understand. That… happens to me too. The only reason I could handle the arcade inside is because my dad makes the machines quieter-” He frowns and scrunches his nose. “But you don’t want to hear about all that.” He waves him off.

And there it is.

It’s a pattern Gordon’s noticed throughout their time in Black Mesa. Every time Tommy seemed like he was about to express any negative emotion, he’d change the subject and say something about Gordon not wanting to hear it.

So he takes a chance.

“But what if I do want to hear it?”

That wasn’t the answer Tommy seemed to be expecting.

“I mean- there’s not much more to it. It’s just me not e- liking loud noises. Nothing all that interesting.”

“It’s not about it being interesting, Tommy. You don’t have to dismiss your own feelings.” Tommy looks at him, his eyebrows furrowed in an unsure look. “You’ve been, like, my emotional rock throughout Black Mesa. You’ve gotta let me return the favor.”

“I d- really don’t want you to think any less of me.”

“Why would I?”

Tommy looks away from Gordon. “I’ve learned from experience, Mr. Freeman. There isn’t r- any way for someone like me to be upset without being treated like a child throwing a tantrum. And then they talk about you like you’re not even in the room-”

Oh.

Unfortunately, the experience is all-too-familiar to Gordon.

“I’ve gotten the same shit- it’s awful.”

“You... have? I never thought that of you- I mean, anyone in your situation might- would be a little on edge.”

“I mean, even before the Black Mesa incident. People would either use kiddie gloves around me or flat out tell me I was overreacting whenever I was slightly upset. So I do somewhat get it, and you don’t need to expect anything like that from me.”

Tommy nods, a small smile beginning to form. It’s a very nice smile- No, Gordon, now is not the time for gay thoughts.

“And I know I shouldn’t have let them win, and I really did try to not give in, but it just got so ti- exhausting going to work everyday with people who saw you as an overgrown child.” Tommy brings his knees to his chest and rests his head on them.

“I mean, I don’t think you ‘should’ have done anything in that situation.” Gordon shrugs. “I don’t think making a statement is worth more than making things bearable for you. It’s not your job to ‘show them who’s boss’.”

“Mm,” Tommy hums, taking his right arm off of his legs and putting it in between them. “It just doesn’t sit right with me that I ba- essentially taught them that that behavior works.”

Gordon gives his hand a comforting squeeze. “You didn’t teach them anything. They were shitty people to begin with, and even if you refused to ‘give in’, I doubt they would’ve changed their minds. You just would’ve been even more miserable.” He feels Tommy shift his hand so their fingers are intertwined. Don’t blush, don’t blush, don’t blush- “If you don’t mind me asking, couldn’t you have told your dad about it? He doesn’t seem like the type to let that slide.”

Tommy shakes his head. “He’s not, but…” he trails off. “Listen, my dads a go- great guy. If I had told him about how I was being treated at work he probably would’ve… either got them fired, at the very least, or have locked them in a void for who knows how long to ‘teach them a lesson’.” Gordon can’t tell if that’s a joke or not- from what little he knows about Mr. Coolatta, it probably isn’t. “But I’m a 37 year old man. My dad wants to protect me from the world, and I don’t really blame him for that, but I need to fight my own battles. I’m not going to be the kind of person that calls their dad at the first sign of danger.”

Gordon nods, brushing his thumb across Tommy’s hand. He understands where Tommy’s coming from. As a father himself, it’s been very hard to ignore his immediate impulse to protect Joshua from anything that could potentially harm him. He can’t imagine what it’ll be like a few years from now when there are dangers Gordon couldn’t protect Josh from even if he did try. “I can’t blame you for that. But I hope that line of logic hasn’t lead to you refusing to ask anyone else for help.”

“Well…”

“Tommy.”

“I’m gonna start trying to change that behavior, I swear!” Tommy laughs, doing an ‘x’ sign over his heart.

“Besides, considering the whole Resonance Cascade thing, I doubt your shitty ex-coworkers will be able to be shitty to anyone else.”

Tommy laughs, shaking his head. “You’re right about that, Mr. Freeman-”

“You can call me Gordon, you know.”

“I- Are you sure?”

“I think, after everything we’ve been through together, we’re well past the awkward coworkers stage of friendship.”

“I mean, if you’re sure about that… Gordon.” Never before had hearing his name filled him with more joy. “But… I don’t know. It’s st- silly, but I still feel bad that they died? Even though they were awful to me.”

Gordon shakes his head. “I don’t think it’s silly at all, man. Feelings are really fucking complicated- Not to mention you’re probably not mourning them specifically, just the fact that people died. You’ve got a big heart, there’s nothing silly or stupid about it.”

“You do too, M- Gordon. You’re a very kind person.”

They stare at each other for a few moments, both of them red as a beet.

“I think…” Gordon gulps, hoping how flustered he is isn’t that obvious. “I think I’m ready to go back inside.”

Tommy nods, standing up and pulling Gordon up with him. They both turn their heads to look inside the Chuck E. Cheese, seeing Mr. Coolatta somehow playing a perfect game of Skee-ball while Dr. Coomer and Bubby cheer on. Gordon looks at their hands, still intertwined, then back up to Tommy.

“C’mon, before the pizza gets cold.” Gordon opens the door with his shoulder, grinning at Tommy.

Tommy follows him in, and the Birthday Party At The End of the World continues on.

#freelatta #gordon freeman #hlvrai #tommy coolatta #nhlvrai #gordos feetman #halflife vr but the ai is self aware #I TRIED TO MAKE THIS ANGSTY BUT IT ENDED UP BEING VENTY SORRY

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moonculus · 3 years

Text

andromeda and circinus - dream x reader

angst

warnings: weapons, slight nsfw (kissing), manipulation, mentions of death

pronouns used: they/them

part I: here

.+*cause if i could see your face once more, i’d die a happy man, i’m sure*+.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

II.

you snuck through the portal after tommy, making your way inconspicuously through the prison. you could tell sam thought something was up; he was continuously looking around himself. every time you would hear from tommy slurp down another potion, you prayed sam wouldn’t hear.

as you neared the main holding cell, your palms began to sweat. was this really what you wanted to do? when you saw those emerald eyes, you would you even be able to go through with it?

“clay, please. these are your friends! they’re just children,” you begged.

you two had been at this all evening. dream wouldn’t tell you his plan, all you knew was it was going to reign absolute destruction on the smp.

“no one is innocent. you should know that better than anyone,” he sneered.

you were taken aback by his statement. what did he mean by that? what was he hiding from you?

“i’m not the first person to say this, and i certainly won’t be the last. you’ve changed, clay. you’re not the sweet boy i’ve always known. he would never treat his friends this way. he would never treat me this way-“

“it’s dream! my name is dream. who are you to tell me i’ve changed? you know nothing about me,” he shouted.

your stoic expression faltered for a second, but you quickly regained your composure.

“if that’s how you want to play, dream, then so be it. but, mark my words. when all else fails, i won’t be there to pick up the pieces for you. i will do everything in my power to make sure you never cause harm to my friends again.”

“alright, ghostbur. move with the platform.”

you hoped tommy was following you as you stepped behind the ghost, heeding sam’s instructions.

the infamous white mask came into view. dream’s arms were crossed against his chest, leaning on the barrier with intrigue. you could’ve sworn he knew you were there- you played it off as a figment of your imagination. your adrenaline clouding your senses.

you were so close, mere feet away from the end of your mission. this was it. this was your final destination. you were meant to kill your best friend. alas, not all wishes are able to be granted.

“STOP! who’s there!?”

you slowly turned to your side, catching a glimpse of tommy’s axe. your heart dropped. you still had a good five minutes left with your invisibility, you could kill him yourself given the chance.

ghostbur was clearly panicking as tommy stepped back on the platform. it all happened too fast, dream had his arm to ghostbur, threatening his life if he wasn’t let free. your weapon was at the ready, but you couldn’t draw it without drawing attention to your presence. and then, the lava curtain began to fall.

your heart stopped as you lunged forward, sword unsheathed. you were seconds too late.

WilburSoot was slain by Dream.

tommy’s cries were drowned out as the sizzling of the lava curtain stopped moving. you slowly turned around to see the masked man drumming his fingers against his arm.

“who’s there?”

you stayed silent. your final invisibility potion was wearing thin. you could start to see the very faint outline of your fingers.

“i saw your blade. i hope you haven’t come to try and kill me. everyone has been unsuccessful. you won’t make history today.”

the last bits of your invisibility potion wore off. you stepped forwards into the cell, your sword held tightly in your dominate hand.

“it's been a long time, dream.”

you could see his arms tense a bit, but almost immediately it was replaced by his usual powerful stance.

“what, after all this time, no clay?”

“only your friends call you clay, no?”

“ouch. you know, you haven’t visited me once since i’ve been here. that hurts, y/n. truly.”

“take off the mask and maybe i’ll believe it.”

“ever so cunning,” he stretched, leaning against the wall.

“ever so maniacal.”

dream scoffed and pushed himself off the wall. he took three long strides to you, your faces near enough to share breaths. if there wasn’t a lifeless mask acting as a barrier between you two. you refused to show him any fear as he looked over you.

“i’ve missed you,” he began.

“don’t. don’t say that.”

“why not?”

“because you don’t mean it, dream.”

he reached a hand behind his head, unclasping the white mask and letting it fall to the floor. those terribly familiar jade eyes searched your face. his dirty blonde hair was tousled, his boyish features gone- replaced by angular bones. and those faint freckles, your kryptonite.

“wait, wait! wait for me.”

“oh, hurry up, you slow poke,” you shouted behind you.

“not everyone had the training you had!”

“no excuses!”

you flopped onto the grassy hill, the clear night sky painting your features lighter. the boy laid beside you, staring upwards. you let your gaze wander to the side, where he was already studying your face.

“you know, your freckles look like a constellation.”

“oh, really?” he smiled. “so, you could say i’m your universe, huh?”

you rolled your eyes, scoffing. “i said a constellation. not the entire solar system, genius-”

dream caught your final words with his lips on yours, his hand gently placed on your jaw. you barely moved, taken aback by the sudden demonstration of affection. he pulled away, a slight smile on his lips which immediately dropped when he saw your confusion.

he abruptly sat up, as did you. “jeez, i’m so sorry. i-i didn’t mean to- i just got carried away and-”

he was the one to be caught off guard when you slammed your lips against his with gusto, the two of you lying back. you hovered over him, teeth clacking as the both of you smiled into the kiss. you pulled away from your friend. a small pout sat on his lips as he gripped your hips.

“you can be my milky way, if i can be your andromeda.”

“god, no. yours sounds so much cooler!”

“fine. you can be my circinus.”

“circinus and andromeda.”

“andromeda and circinus.”

“i’ve missed you, andromeda,” he repeated.

“dream...”

“i know why you’ve come here. if your face is the last i’ll see, i’ll die a happy man.”

“no, no. you’ve caused my friends so much pain- you’ve caused me so much pain!” you shouted, backing away from him. you thought you saw true pain in his eyes, but you couldn’t decipher his lies anymore.

“you’ve lied to me. you don’t understand how many lives you’ve ruined, dream.”

“i do, and i’m so sorry about what i’ve done to you.”

“stop lying!”

“i would never lie to you. not anymore.”

you took a second to look at him and breathe. this wasn’t him. this was a shell of the man you once knew.

“what happened to you, clay?” your voice broke as tears began to run down your face.

his pain filled expression was replaced with one of minor rage as his chest rose and fell fast.

“you don’t get to feel pity for me. you did this! you did this to me.”

“clay, listen to yourself! you broke me. you only care about power. where is the boy who kissed me on that hill? where is the one who i grew up alongside? where is the boy who taught me how to love?”

“dead! he’s dead. and you need to leave.”

“look around, dream. there’s no where for me to go.”

dream launched forwards, his hand gripping your weapon and tugging it from its sheath. you fought him, but he had the upper hand. he drew your own weapon on you, forcing you to the ground as he placed your blade under your chin. his eyes held almost no emotion, but you swore you could see them watering.

“one of us isn’t leaving this cell alive, y/n.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#dsmp #mcyt x reader #mcyt x you #mcyt x y/n #c!tommy #dsmp x reader #dream x you #dream x y/n #c!ghostbur #dsmp x you #dsmp x y/n #dreamwastaken x you #dream x reader #dreamwastaken x reader #dsmp x gn!reader #dream x gn!reader #c!dream #c!sam

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bluerose5 · 3 years

Text

The Ghost of Paradise (Exile AU)

Chapter 1: Exiled

Rating: M

Word Count: 3,791

Tags: Mass Effect: Andromeda, Reyder, Exiles AU, Pre-Relationship, Drinking, Mentions of Recreational Drug Use

[Read it here on ao3.]

If there was one thing Scott used to his advantage, it was the fact that people always seemed to underestimate him. They thought him to be that sweet, lovable guy that almost everyone got along with. To them, he was simply a normal, everyday soldier who bought the Initiative's pitch like everyone else and took the leap across galaxies on a hunch.

Granted, most of that was somewhat true, but not entirely.

Like the other exiles, Scott didn't exactly wait around for someone else to come swooping in to save the day when the Initiative went to shit. Given that he was part of the original Pathfinder mission team —sent ahead on the Nexus to help prepare for the ark's arrival— he was supposed to have more say, should worse come to worst.

Yeah, because that turned out so well.

It wasn’t for lack of trying. When it was clear that the arks were delayed, it fell to Scott and the others sent ahead by their Pathfinders to call the shots on that end. That was what they had agreed upon per protocol before departing from the Milky Way.

Of course, Nexus leadership had something to say about that. They backtracked hard, citing inexperience and the lack of SAM as reasons to keep the Pathfinders' Nexus representatives from gaining power.

All Tann seemed to worry about was maintaining control over the populace, even when his choices didn't seem to be in everyone's best interests.

One after another, every attempt to establish an outpost failed. Naturally, hope began to dwindle over time, as would be expected after so many failures. It was brutal to watch, especially since Nexus leadership absolutely refused to send any of the Pathfinders' designated representatives. Scott didn't fully understand that decision. Maybe Tann thought that if he gave them an inch, then they would take a mile. Perhaps he was intimidated by the very thought that they might vie for the Pathfinder position yet again.

In the end, it didn't matter.

Scott didn't leave because they refused him the fancy title and its accompanying throne.

No, Scott left because of the utter incompetence. Kesh could handle her own as superintendent, but Tann and Addison were both a piece of work in their own right, making idiotic decisions yet never owning up to their mistakes. Making decisions that affected everyone yet never listening to the opinions of the public.

It was maddening, and Scott's eventual departure was inevitable.

Joining up with the uprising was one thing he couldn’t bring himself to regret. Scott fought to get innocent people off that station and to safety. Not everyone who left was a criminal, and they deserved better than what they got.

By the time they made it to Kadara, Scott was already tiring of Heleus. He helped take down the kett, didn't really get any credit for doing so, and jumped ship as soon as he could.

After Sloane took control of the port, Scott escaped into the badlands every now and then, only returning on occasion. She might have had good intentions in the beginning, but Scott didn’t like the direction her leadership was taking in regards to their future.

Besides, with trouble brewing between the Collective and the Outcasts, it seemed like he took the right step in venturing out on his own.

At first, he kept to himself, but it was impossible to ignore the people in need of help.

Seeds of corruption were already planted in the Outcasts' organization. Not that the Charlatan and their Collective were much better. Everything about the two factions' activities spelled trouble for all of the "little people" getting caught in the crossfire.

Scott had to do something. Ignoring the problem would only make it worse, leaving it to fester and spread like an unwelcome infection.

The gangs could beat each other up as much as they liked, but Scott was determined to make the planet safe for those who merely sought shelter from the madness. It took weeks of scouting out areas with a decent enough bedrock, weeks of surveying the angaran filtration systems, to even have a blueprint for a working water filter.

Of course, being an engineer had its perks.

Eventually, Scott managed to rig his tactical cloak for prolonged use and infiltrated one of the angaran hubs out in the badlands. He made it out with no collateral damage, taking off in the dead of night with scans of their systems. It gave him enough of an understanding to integrate their design into his own plans.

Did he feel bad for stealing as he did? Yes. Could he afford to linger on the guilt, knowing that those angara were denying the Milky Way species access to their plans? No.

Not when survival was on the line.

It was either keep giving them insane amounts of credits and supplies in exchange for a measly cup of water or take it for himself.

Scott was only glad he got in and out undetected. He would fight if he had to, but he wasn't bloodthirsty to the point that he actively sought out confrontation.

Building and perfecting his own filters took time and resources, even more so than usual since he was careful to keep any transactions out of the port under the radar. It was worth it, though. Before long, Scott had a working filtration system under his control.

And on Kadara, where there was fresh water, people soon followed.

Any exiles without gang affiliation were welcome. Most were wary to move to the area at first, understandably so, but Scott didn't force the matter. After all, it was difficult to verify whether or not this new town was a trap or the real thing. How could the exiles guarantee that it wouldn't turn out like all the other towns trying to get a start in the badlands? There one day, and burned to the ground by the next.

Hell, Scott didn't even attach his name to the place . Taking a page out of the Charlatan's book, Scott preferred a more discreet approach to leadership.

However, even Scott knew that, if he was ever going to get the place functioning properly, he would need to win some people over to his side.

Dr. Nakamoto had been the best person to off start with, and Scott didn't regret choosing him for a second. In exchange for retrieving his formula for Oblivion, Dr. Nakamoto promised his services as Scott's resident physician.

Luckily, his patients were more than happy to follow. Some even stayed, and word soon spread.

The rest, as they say, is history.

The locals started calling the place Paradise. A cheesy enough name, but it came down to a vote so Scott allowed it.

Compared to the surrounding cesspool that was the badlands, Scott figured he could understand why they would call it that. It felt like an oasis in an otherwise desolate wasteland, a place where one could go and catch their breath.

As for Paradise's "elusive leader," there was just as much speculation around their identity as there was around the Charlatan's. Although, unlike the Charlatan, all of the residents under Scott's care have met him, and all remained tight-lipped about who he was.

He was grateful for their loyalty. He never asked for it, but he was grateful nonetheless.

It prevented the gangs from painting a target on any one person's back. There were the occasional attacks on the community, but their people were stronger and smarter than the outlaws gave them credit for.

As stories of Scott's ventures spread, infiltrating and sabotaging both the Collective's and the Outcasts' operations to provide for his own people, Kadara Port started to buzz about this mysterious third party that joined in on Kadara's power play.

Truth was, Scott wasn't looking for power or influence.

He was simply looking to protect and provide, no matter the cost.

The Ghost, they called him, known for sneaking in and out without a trace.

And any time he was detected, there were never any witnesses left to tell the tale.

Those at Paradise always got a kick out of the nickname, refusing to let him live it down.

That was fine, though. Scott would rather be the people's boogeyman than to let their opposition think that Paradise will just roll over on their backs and let everyone else fuck them over without retaliation.

On Kadara, it was a dog-eat-dog kind of world. Any sign of weakness will be quickly taken advantage of.

But Scott played his part well.

Nowadays, he lived in the port more often than not, putting up with Sloane's ridiculous protection fees in order to keep the suspicion off himself and those around him.

At the slightest hint of trouble, Paradise had an emergency beacon equipped that would ping Scott's omni-tool at a moment's notice. He had the utmost faith in their capabilities, but he would be there at the drop of a hat, should he be signaled.

For now, it was time he sat back, kicked up his feet, and listened.

Crazy all the things you could find out just from listening to a conversation here or there.

As soon as Scott sat down at the bar in Kralla’s, he asked Umi for his usual.

“Starting a tab?” she asked as she wiped down the bar.

Scott was almost afraid to ask if that was blood or wine staining the rag that she was using. Then again, ignorance was bliss.

Such was the way of life on Kadara.

Scanning the area, Scott eventually nodded.

“Might as well.” He gave a long, drawn-out sigh. “I’m meeting with Reyes soon. Cheap bastard never pays for his drinks.”

“Yet you keep letting him get away with it,” Umi noted.

Scott chuckled.

“Best not to burn bridges over a few drinks,” he said, “especially when this bridge in particular filters a large majority of the goods coming in and out Kadara.”

“Whatever floats your boat, Ryder.”

While Umi continued to mix his drink, Scott tuned into the conversations around him. One caught his attention right off the bat, focused on the latest topic of discussion that was making its rounds throughout the Port.

“I’m tellin’ ya!” the human griped, words slightly slurred. “That damn place is a cult. All exclusive-like. I swear, that lot would rather sacrifice their firstborns than give up the name of their precious leader.”

“Hmph, doesn’t matter,” their salarian companion muttered. “If the outlaws in the badlands don’t take care of that group soon, chances are that Sloane or the Charlatan will, leader or no leader.”

Heh, Scott would like to see them try.

Speaking of the devil himself, Scott tensed the second he felt hands upon his shoulders, only to relax once he heard that familiar voice whisper in his ear.

“You look like you’re waiting for someone,” Reyes breathed, his lips brushing lightly along the shell of his ear.

Without missing a beat, Scott brushed him off with a playful glare.

“You’re late,” he scolded. He tried his best to sound indifferent, unimpressed. His relationship with Reyes has always been complicated at best. “As always.”

Releasing Scott from his hold, Reyes claimed the spot at his side, pretending to look properly chastised.

“I swear, it won’t happen again,” he said. He even made a show of crossing his heart. “I promise.”

“And yet, I don’t believe you.”

“Well, that’s because I was lying.”

Scott snorted, “At least you’re honest about something.”

That’s not even taking into account the whole Charlatan business, something that Reyes seemed to hold extra close to his chest with Scott around. Scott couldn’t tell if it was because Reyes had his own suspicions about him, or if he withheld that information for some other reason unbeknownst to Scott.

Either way, it took Scott a while to put the pieces together himself. Not too long, considering that the majority of the port was still puzzled over the Charlatan’s identity, but it was long enough for Scott to be as certain as humanly possible without having Reyes spell it out for him.

It was simple, really, once Scott knew what to look for. How Reyes slipped up one time about where the Collective’s base was, only to brush it off as mere rumor. How, on any job they took together, Reyes was the first to volunteer to follow up on any Collective leads. Or, better yet, how he seemed so certain whether or not an incident coincided with the Charlatan’s MO if the Charlatan was the one being implicated.

Safe to say, spend enough time with the man, and it became rather obvious over time.

As Keema was all too eager to point out, Reyes liked to think he was so subtle when, in reality, he’s not. Well, not as much as he assumed, at least.

On the other hand, maybe the Charlatan’s secret identity only became apparent to Scott because Reyes wanted him to figure it out.

If that was the case, then Scott would have to open that can of worms another day.

Right now, he needed to focus on why they were here.

Clearing his throat, Scott waited until Umi passed them their drinks and left, moving on to serve her other customers.

Scott grabbed ahold of Reyes’s sleeve and tugged. He waited until Reyes met his eyes, then jerked his chin in the direction of a nice, secluded table.

“Shall we?” he asked.

Reyes hummed, eyes twinkling mischievously.

“Trying to get me alone, Scott?” Resting against the bar, Reyes leaned in close, but Scott refused to move a single muscle, holding his ground. “You need only ask.”

“I’ll keep that in mind then,” Scott said. He gave Reyes a blatant once-over, sparing his lips an appreciative glance. “It’s not every day that I get the great Reyes Vidal all to myself.”

“Keep buttering me up, Scott,” Reyes teased, “and I might just give you that discount after all.”

“Really?”

“No.”

Scott huffed.

Picking up their drinks, they soon settled in at the table that Scott had pointed out. From where they sat, they had a whole view of the bar.

Scott took a swig of his beer, and Reyes instantly followed suit, unable to take their eyes off of each other for even a second.

They sat their glasses back down with a solid thunk.

“Okay,” Scott started, “let’s get down to business.”

“Just like that?” Reyes laughed.

“Just like that.” Shuffling in place, Scott reached into his pocket and removed a small pouch filled with seeds. At Reyes’s curious expression, Scott explained, “My payment. A rather generous one, if I do say so myself.”

After Scott tossed the pouch onto the table, Reyes picked it up. He let its weight rest in the palm of his hand for a moment before loosening the ties to sneak a peek.

His brow furrowed in confusion.

“Seeds?” he questioned, cocking his head to the side.

“Yep,” Scott said, popping the ‘p’ for emphasis. “Seeds for a ‘medicinal herb.’ My scans confirmed it. It develops antibiotic-like properties as it matures, along with some other, more recreational effects.”

And by scans, Scott meant Nakamoto. Their resident doctor was quick to jump at the chance to study the plant’s effects, especially if it could help fight off future infections in Andromeda.

Scott had started off by “borrowing” a few plants from some of their local cultivators, returning the samples to the greenhouse that they had established in Paradise.

Their latest harvest yielded a surplus, so Scott figured that any leftover seeds would be a profitable bargaining chip for trade.

Turns out, he was right.

Reyes tightened his grip upon the pouch and pocketed it, now that he knew what he was getting out of their exchange.

“A valuable product,” Reyes acknowledged, “if what you say is true.”

Smirking, Scott leaned back in his chair, hand over his heart in mock offense.

“Now, Reyes, would I ever lie to my favorite smuggler?”

“True enough. You do have a soft spot for me.”

“You’re that certain, huh?”

“As a betting man, I would say that I’m confident in my chances of being right.”

He even had the gall to throw in a wink for good measure.

Scott’s face warmed, but he ignored the sensation, trying to calm his racing heart.

Of, if only he knew…

Clearing his throat, Scott returned their focus to the topic at hand.

“Also, with that herb, you don’t have to worry about any of those nasty addictive effects like with Oblivion,” Scott continued. “I guess the high you get from it could be considered slightly addictive in more of a mental sense, but it’s relatively harmless on a physiological level.”

Reyes raised an eyebrow at him.

“Sounds like you know from personal experience.”

“I, uh—” Scott stammered, caught red-handed. “Well, what kind of salesman would I be if I didn’t sample the product for myself?”

“A poor one, indeed,” Reyes agreed. “I’m only offended that you didn’t think to invite me to the party.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time I feel the urge to smoke the space weed,” Scott deadpanned.

“Please, do.”

“Okay, okay.” Scott did his best to hide his laughter. His lip quivered at the corner. “Back to business, mister. You’re not taking my goods and leaving me with nothing again.” Reyes had charmed his way out of one too many deals with him in the past, but not anymore. “Where’s the goods?”

“Scott,” Reyes gasped. “I am offended you would think that I would stoop so low as to steal from my favorite exile.”

When it was clear that Scott wasn’t buying it, Reyes surrendered.

“Alright, here. One long-ranged scanner, ready for use.” Taking out a small package, Reyes pushed it pointedly across the table. Scott took it instantly, unable to express his gratitude in that moment. “Sorry that I didn’t have a chance to giftwrap it. My best only deserves the best, after all.”

Scott felt his heart skip a beat.

“Don’t think anything of it.” Scott shook his head, clutching tightly at the package. “This should be enough.”

“Glad to hear it.” Reyes paused, hesitating before coming out with it. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s it for?”

“What else would I use a scanner for?” Scott countered. “I wasn’t on the Pathfinder’s mission team for nothing. We have a whole bunch of unexplored ruins scattered all over the surface of this planet, and I plan on getting some readings.”

To be more specific, he wanted a reading on their turrets if he could examine one at a safe distance. Even the beam technology from the Observer bots would be useful in formulating a defensive matrix for the t—

“You what?”

Uh-oh, someone was upset.

Scott grimaced. He carefully avoided Reyes’s gaze, filled with heat and disapproval.

“Reyes, come on,” Scott sighed. It was weird to see him so fiercely protective, to see him act like he cared about anything other than the next job he had lined up. “I’m a big boy. I’ll be careful.”

“Kadara’s most experienced scientists were careful,” Reyes snapped, “yet that didn’t stop the Remnant from butchering them like animals. Scott, there’s a reason why even the angara avoid those areas like the plague. The security measures alone…”

Could be what kept Scott’s people safe.

Sitting up straight, Scott held his head up high with renewed purpose, meeting Reyes’s eyes with a stubborn glare.

“I’m going,” he stated, “whether you like it or not. The information stored there might be vital to our continued survival. We can’t pass up an opportunity to learn the Remnant’s secrets.”

Reyes pursed his lips, but eventually acquiesced.

“Fine, but I’m accompanying you when you go.”

“That’s not your decision!”

“You’re not changing my mind.”

They stared each other down, caught at an impasse.

After a moment of tense silence between them, Reyes grumbled. Since that argument was obviously far from being over, he was more than willing to change the subject.

“I have another exchange for you.”

Now, that got Scott’s attention. Setting the scanner aside, he would make sure to install the upgrade into his omni-tool later, curious about this second trade-off.

They didn’t have anything else planned for today, and Reyes wasn’t usually the type to drop something like this on a client at the last second.

Whatever he found, it had to be huge.

“What is it?” Scott asked, wondering what the Charlatan himself had up his sleeve.

“A little bit of intel,” he offered, keeping his reply as vague as ever.

Still, if Reyes was offering the information, then it must be important. As shady as he could be at times, information was his forte. When Reyes used it as a bargaining chip, he meant business, and chances were that it was reliable.

Scott simply wondered if he actually wanted the news that Reyes had to offer.

“What’s the catch?” Scott asked, because nothing on Kadara came for free.

Reyes shrugged.

“My shuttle needs some repairs, and I only trust one person to fix her up. Mind coming by tomorrow?”

Scott pretended to consider his offer for a moment, but in the end, he could never say no to working on that old bird.

“Name the time and place.”

“I’ll send you the details later, but don’t make me wait up.”

“And deny you of my presence for even longer? That would just be cruel.”

“Glad we can agree on something.” Reyes’s smile soon twisted into a frown. That solemn expression certainly didn’t do any favors to ease Scott’s nerves. “As for that intel, you’ve heard of Vehn Terev, right?”

“The poor, unfortunate soul whose head is next up on Sloane Kelly’s chopping block?” After all, she couldn’t afford to upset the angara, not after word spread of Vehn's betrayal. That would threaten the balance of power too much, at least in her eyes. “I might have heard a thing or two.”

“Well, you’re about to hear much more in the coming days,” Reyes explained, watching him closely for any sign of change. “I recently received a message from Evfra. Apparently, Vehn has some useful intel of his own, intel that could potentially cripple the kett’s operations in all of Heleus for good. Evfra has arranged for me to meet with one of his contacts about securing Vehn’s release from prison.”

“A difficult feat if Sloane won’t comply,” Scott noted, “but I still don’t see why this information would be of any use to me.”

“Scott—” Reyes hesitated.

For once, he seemed genuinely nervous, which in turn caused Scott to panic a little on the inside.

What he said turned Scott’s entire world upside down.

“The contact is Pathfinder Ryder.”

#mass effect #mass effect andromeda #scott ryder #reyes vidal #reyder #mreyder #exile AU #my writing #my fanfic

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