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madsmilfelsen · 7 days

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Every Dog Has Its Day— (rated m for drugs and alcohol and oh homicide + 1,7k) I had about 17 things I was supposed to do this morning and wrote this instead— a brief prelude to the LOST DOGS series on ao3

[ Read on ao3 ]

tag: first impression, bar setting, murder a bit more than implied but off page, sugar known old man fucker

Rust isn’t one to chase tail, so he knew the women who spur his attraction were trouble. The double take pains him, stomach curdling at the sight he finds. She’s young enough that he’ll get over this as soon as they exchange words, likely any minute since he’s the only goddamn bartender in what feels like all of Soldotna. Maybe she was underage and he could kick her out. He wants to return to numbness as quickly as possible even if he needed to make a reason for her to get. A shot of whiskey doesn’t help none so he reminds himself to card her.

Winter kept her covered, her carhartt jacket zipped mostly up, black hair tucked in the collar. She didn’t come here with the intention to stay. In the first half hour, she doesn’t drink much at all. Nurses one old fashioned ordered and delivered by two friends she didn’t look all that friendly with. She absently stirs her drink like she’s nervously guarding it. He told himself he was only paying attention for that reason, to ensure her drink stayed clean.

Staying behind the safety of the bar, Rust isn’t close enough to eavesdrop but their faces were tense in conversation. They sat at an awkward table with poor lighting, the pendent over the pool table hardly reaching them, stained glass reds and blues in the shine of her hair. The girl rolled her eyes like she was being reprimanded by someone she didn’t respect in the first place. Rust didn’t take the two men across from her seriously either. Young bucks, didn’t tip, the shorter one talked under his breath when he ordered a beer earlier, distracting the girl from whatever the other man was saying. He thinks she tells him the shut the fuck up.

Cash is pushed across the table and she looks put out when she pockets it. Rust assumes this is what it looks like it is, but she doesn’t leave with them. Whatever transaction that occurred is of some different nature that makes her scan the room with a sigh. Her gaze lands on Rust briefly and lingers as he closed a tab, dismissing him in a smooth slide when he glances up as if she never looked at him at all. The corner of her mouth quirks in frustration, she bites down on her thumb nail about it.

“Phone’s busted, I gotta ask around,” she says over her shoulder when she hops down and walks to the door.

“How long are we supposed to wait here?” one calls after her.

“Twenty minutes, an hour, what’s it matter to you lazy fucks?” she says crassly with a shrug, voice a little husky and smoke scratched but she doesn’t bother raising it when she pauses by the door. “Tip your bartender.”

Rust pours himself another shot, nearly spilling it when outside the girl is smiling, wide and genuine. The whiskey in his mouth barely registers when he throws it back. She’s been stopped by a regular, Jack, who drinks bourbon neat, four fingers.

“She even old enough to be in here?” he asks Jack when the man sits down at the bar, accepting the glass and ashtray Rust passes to him.

“Your job to card not mine,” he replies with a blatant disregard of someone nearing retirement, that exact apathy is only reason Rust ever hoped to live to his fifties.

“She avoided the bar.”

Jack seems to look at Rust for the first time ever in a new light and laughs, “I bet she did. Don’t worry, that was my niece. I bought her first legal shot four— fuck, two?— years ago. Bailed me and her dad out enough times to owe her at much,” he tells Rust then frowns, “Kid is usually too smart to be seen in places like this.”

“With those two in the corner there,” Rust says with a nod.

“Explains why she was trying to score coke off me,” Jack says after he looks over his shoulder then assesses the rest of the patrons in the Back Bush. “Shit, I’m surprised she didn’t find any here.”

“Slow night,” Rust explains away. “Surprise she didn’t get any off you.”

“Too old to be doin’ that shit if I’m fishing in the morning.”

“Yeah, where at?”

“Skilak. Good lakers in there, takes a little more work. Want to come?”

“Nah. Workin’ til five then sleepin’ til five,” he lies, unwilling to be on the ice recreationally.

“Cheers to that, brother,” he says, clinking his glass of bourbon to Rust’s next shot of whiskey he can’t seem to down fast enough.

His sigh rasps his throat raw when she returns later with snowflakes in her hair. An unlit cigarette she got from someone outside hanging from her lip makes him pat his pockets for his lighter. Rust asks Jack as he’s cashing out, “What’s your niece’s name?”

“Who, Sugar there?”

“Yeah, what’s her name?”

“Sugar,” Jack repeats seriously.

“You fuckin’ with me?”

“Honest to God, Rust. Hey Sugar, get over here, put a drink on my tab while you got the chance.”

“You headed out?” she asks after kissing his cheek.

“It’s damn near two am, girl, how are you this perky?”

“By learning how to nap in your hunting blind, old man,” she says, playfully pushing her shoulder against his. “Um, could I just get a beer? Kölsch if you’ve got it— you got a light Uncle?”

She smiles when Rust already has his zippo open, her cheeks hallow a little but he’s smart enough to not meet her eyes that he feels on his face. Sugar catches Jack’s knowing grin and coughs as if she forgot her uncle was sitting next to her. Her cheeks get a little red and Rust is desperate for his cue to exit stage right.

“Stay out of trouble, kid,” Jack says, clapping her roughly on the shoulder.

“Like you ever taught me to do that,” she retorts behind Rust’s back as he retrieves her beer.

Jack and the other two boys are gone and she’s sitting alone when he returns from the fridge in the back room with a six pack to put in the front chiller.

Sugar smells like fucking juniper, skin like Yellow Label Alaga syrup that he remembers the taste from the tender age of two. His chin jerks up at the touch of wood smoke and vanilla as she gathers her endless hair in a fist, a silky curtain she pulls out of her collar catching on the rough edges of her jacket.

“Hi,” she says, smile purposely small when he puts a cracked can in front of her.

“You want a glass?” he asks gruffly which somehow only makes her grin bigger.

She shakes her head, takes a sip. Rust leans against the shelves of alcohol, still not far enough when she looks a little too interested over the bottom of her beer.

“I’m told you’re Sugar.”

“Yeah. You looking for something?” she asks, expression dimming a bit as if she assumes his interest in her ended with what she could do for him. Which it should, he tells himself and successfully thinks, more firmly, it does— then terribly; hell, why not. He could use the sleep.

“Quaaludes, anything barbital. I ain’t all that picky.”

She gives him the same confused look he always gets requesting blues, but Sugar seems like she sleeps through the night just fine.

“Beer is the cheapest downer there is,” Sugar points out, chewing on a nail. She’s got good hygiene, hands probably clean enough to eat out of, but still a bad habit is a bad habit, especially one that makes her bottom lip even fuller. His jaw aches. “I guess, I’ve got weed out in my truck, but ludes?” She sucks her teeth. “Hell, I’d have to drive to Homer.”

“I’ll pay you for gas,” he says. Fuck, he’d pay her to drive to Fairbanks just to have her gone longer. The door opens, thankfully pulling his attention up and over her head. Sugar doesn’t look away from him and gives a sleepy hum that tightens his gut. A decisions seems to be made with a small tilt of her head.

“You workin’ til five or are you on the early shift?”

“Five,” he replies, popping the top off a bottle for a costumer who raised his beer up and walks away.

“Gimme your address,” she says when he comes back reluctantly.

He really does not want to do that but rips a receipt in half anyhow to pen a map down for his unmarked turnoff. Sugar folds it between two fingers and gives a salute.

“See you at sunrise,” she promises and fucking winks at him.

Probably the worst thing a high functioning alcoholic can tell themself is that they know how to drive hammered. It’s a little after five in the morning, the two miles between the Back Bush and his drive way empty even of moose.

The solar panel is covered in snow so Rust is temporarily without electricity when he chose to shovel an extra parking spot rather than climbing on his roof. His watch beeps at him but it’s the sudden static of his scanner breaking with a first responsing officer saying 10-79 which brings him out of the root cellar. The light of his kerosene lantern waning over the boxes of evidence he squirreled into the state before he pushes the trap door shut. Rust kicks the rug back into place when the 11-1 is repeated by the operator requesting backup. Routine information follows; six shots reported by a neighbor, a heed of caution for traffic stops. A second later an ambulance requested in a panic— the officer, probably a kid fresh out of the academy, voice cracking and shaken enough to abandon codes, telling them to get some fucking paramedics for the girl chained up in the basement. Rust turns the machine off, whiskey sloshing in his stomach, shoulders too tired to hold him upright much longer. Men in blue got paperwork tonight, he doesn’t envy them much all these years later.

He adds a log to his fire to counter the open door so Rust could hear the girl— woman, Sugar— pull up. The heat hikes up enough for him to shrug off his shirt before pouring himself a daycap. Through the crack with a wisp off a cool breeze, the sunrise creeps over the mountains, headlights even brighter before the engine outside is killed. Rust opens the door when the girl hops out of her truck, stumbling in the snow. In the dim dawn, she looks pallid and doesn’t seem like she can speak when he nods for her to step down into the cabin. There’s a dark bruise on her throat and her breath wheezes a little.

Rust doesn’t even notice the drugs she passes to him. He can smell her sweat and fear when she roughly unzips her jacket and rips it off. She doesn’t look scared to be here, in his home, but something spooked her tonight. The black wool shirt she’s wearing tight and damp as her lungs trip toward shallow hyperventilation. Maybe he was mistaken, though he knows he wasn’t, he recognized what was on her skin before he steps closer to confirm when her back is still to him. His mind swims in whiskey, surfacing only when he knew for sure— Sugar smells like gunpowder.

Huh. What have you been up to, girl?

#lost dogs #rust cohle #sure the middle picture is the wrong season and probably glenn allen but i’m working off vibes here #not posting this to ao3 because tomororw is already stressing me out so this is just a lil something something for me :)#tomorrow i’m not retyping all that lmao #the thing about being a young woman in Alaska is that you should have old men in your life who take you hunting and fishing #it’s necessary #personally I had Alphonse and Wes and Gary and Craig (I’m still in love with Craig)

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pebblezone · 1 year

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Girldad coded

#hellsing #hellsing ultimate #a #alucard hellsing #he’s babygirl af :>#day 1 trying not to think about fucking that old man. relapsed. relapsed. relapsed. relapsed.#I just know if I’d found hellsing in middle school he would’ve served as Amazing comphet material #I don’t think I can say the same about me Sebastian black butler he’s not fucked up enough give that man more diseases #actually no yeah he wouldn’t have been I think most of my comphet ended up being silly little butch God I wish that were me #and he’s just a lil bit too much pretty boy I would not have had the mental capacity to process that #me doing everything in my power not to draw two eyes:

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thedreadvampy · 1 day

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I GENUINELY wish I understood the appeal of Taylor Swift I really really do. many of my friends do. but it's just. I don't think a single one of her songs has ever landed above 'ok' or 'nostalgically cheesy' for me and every time I think that I feel so incredibly like I'm trying to be snobby but I'm not? it's not about not liking pop or not liking the cool thing I love pop I love cheese I just also like music that has some...I guess energy and danceability or specific and meaningful rage and I have found nothing to hook into in anything she's made. Antihero nearly works for me. Blank Space works conceptually but not in practise. but other than that the last thing she made that did anything for me even as a throwaway pop song was. god it actually might be We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together or 22 which at least are catchy but I can't say ever made it to my playlists.

I want to get it, I genuinely do. I have listened to most of her releases at least once because I keep thinking if I try hard enough something will open up for me but nah however hard I try it's just extremely mid. like yes that certainly is music. I can immediately recognise it as Taylor Swift, it's not like it's utterly generic, but it absolutely just registers to me as background music. I want so much to understand what it is about her that makes her the biggest person in music for like 15 years now.

(I could say the same about Beyoncé who if anything lands worse for me. Break My Soul owns, but other than that I have landed everything I've heard of hers since like 2008 firmly in the Do Not Relisten pile it just lands like a ton of loose sand for me. and this is not mentioning the actual crime against music that was Jolene bc I don't think that worked for most people tbf. and again it's not that I don't like pop or r&b or rap cause that's like. between those genres about a third of the music I listen to. but her work is just so unengaging to me personally and I don't know why and I wish I got it)

#red said #~oh you just don't like things that are popular~ i LIKE liking things that are popular!#i like lizzo! i love lil nas x! i think billie eilish is amazing! i think I'm too old for olivia rodrigo but i get the appeal!#i think with taylor and possibly also beyonce though there's like a level of calculated pose that makes their music feel like work #like it doesn't. to me. feel like it connects because it feels like a product put together as a marketing persona #and not in a fun way like Katy Perry used to but like. Taylor Swift's music is extremely thought through. even the missteps.#and musically it feels really uninteresting and emotionally it feels like the IDEA of emotional relatability not any kind of insight #it's very middle of the road to me. even when it's taking risks it's not taking risks.#and tbf if i was gonna guess at why she's as popular as she is I'd say it's that. it's sustainable and marketable and well planned.#like Montero was a fucking phenomenal album because it was incredibly honest and creative. but tbh has Lil Nas X had the same impact since?#no not really bc he put EVERYTHING into that album and now tbh he's putting out new music that's fine but not earthshattering #whereas Taylor definitely knows how to market herself and how to change her brand incrementally without having to get more vulnerable #but like. her whole thing is kind of as a confessional singer songwriter vibe. which needs vulnerability and messiness #and to me it always sounds very very managed and very defensive and that is. flat.

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yourlocaldisneyvillain · 8 months

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i wish there was a space for actual adults within this fandom. i guess i will have to create it, even if it's just me and other five people and a shoelace. i wonder how this whole thing is gonna develop!

#personal #the entire internet but also this fandom specifically is infested with ppl whose reading comprehension is lower than a 6th grader's #can't a gal enjoy a middle-aged actress without being pestered by toddlers with pitchforks #and i know i'm the pettiest bitch but i am ANNOYED esp when i see how old these ppl are. if you're over 25 you have no excuse daskjfhg #like i have cut my audience in half at least! if not more with this fic #but i'm happy bc i'm producing content i wanna produce #i wonder how my new fics are gonna be received #after i finish “particular” i have another thing coming up that ppl probs won't like lol #but i think it's important i post it #and then we have murder mysteries and gothic horror and wooooo you know #it's gonna be fun! and a bit disturbing!#wonder if imma be dragged on twitter again lol #but i sincerely hope no one will care lol #honestly i never expected ppl to care THAT much but i guess they did #it also annoys me that a concerningly small amount seems to care abt the actual quality of writing #and i'm over here agonising about Stylistic Choices(TM) lol #i feel like it flies over ppl's heads and they just wanna read abt larissa weems fucking them with a shapeshifted dick #which okay i guess but also what abt Literature #you could do smth creative with a shapeshifting character just saying. and include your magic cocks or whatever tf you're into #ah i am fuming in vain i will just write my lil fics and hope i don't get a new influx of kys messages lol

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hood-ex · 1 year

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I love all of Dick's kids. Mar'i, Jake, Tommy, Elainna, Damian, and Brick 😌.

#dc please give me an elseworld story where i can make mar'i the oldest sister. elainna the middle child. and tommy the baby.#no bc tommy is a lil meow meow who's stuck in a 16 year old's body. he still calls dick ''daddy'' for christ's sake #mar'i and elainna would Destroy anyone who messed with him #ugh. please. i need this family dynamic in my life.

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themyscirah · 19 days

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This is technically a Diana's age poll but I framed it partially around Julia's rescue because that's the event I need to contextualize and whether or not Diana is a thing yet is p important for my purposes. I would keep the Pérez run and postcrisis continuity in mind when answering this bc that's when this is relevant but I'd keep in mind that even though Diana is very young there (like early 20s) we don't know I don't think if she ages differently as a child (esp as a themysciran AND being made from clay) and in some versions she is older than she looks and was made earlier

Edit: I accidentally logic-ed this out in the tags lol 🤦‍♀️but feel free to still vote however you want. Going to publish this anyway bc I think I made some good points later in my tags

#blah #the 45 years is a guesstimation of julias age w her being in her late 40s #bc she has a middle school aged daughter which would make you lean a bit younger but shes also highly respected prof at harvard (is she the #dept head? i think so. and has a career that would suggest older. and shes also drawn middle aged so 🤷‍♀️#i would say late 40s early 50s for her honestly. but i moved it down a lil bit bc of vanessas age #wait shit i may have contradicted logic here bc wasnt the diana trevor stuff supposed to have happened before dianas birth. and that was #wwii. which would be btwn 42 and 45 years. BC PÉREZ!TREVOR IS OLD I FORGOT THAT #okay so actually there still could be a question of what happened first the timeline would just be much shorter #but then wouldnt julias family be boating during wwii? that makes no sense #im definitely thinkimg too hard about this probably. logically it would make the most sense if diana was like 20smth in reality. but thats #its own basket of worms honestly. like what do you mean hippolyta only had like 20 yrs w her daughter out of a lifespan of thousands of #years. what do you MEAN she became champion and ambassador so young like #like also thats the point though. she had to wear a mask in the challenge for a reason. her inexperience with men is what makes her the kind #of ambassador they need. and her youth and relation to hippolyta and role as the baby of the amazons is one of the things that makes her #ambassadorship SO important is bc she fulfills that role in an ancient sense. where it would be a sign of great trust and respect to send #someone close to the crown as an envoy bc it shows you mean business and arent going to reneg on whatever the deal is. bc if you do they #shoot the messenger #god anyways i very much answered my own question here in the tags like 100%. esp in regards to the pérez canon bc he very much laid this out #and i was trying to weasel my way out of it. only that didnt work and the decisions he made he made for a reason and they have huge #narrative importance. damn. okay then #i always write the shittiest posts and the best tags and then have to keep the post to keep the tags #i rlly need to make these tags posts ugh. anyways keeping this up bc of my tags abt diana and ambassadorship #also sidenote I LOVE HIPPOLYTA #just though id mention that. i love how much shes motivated by love and i also love when she makes fucked up decisions bc of that and has to #live with them. woman of all time FOR REALS #god this is making me want to reread historia again lol bc its the one ww comic i own. also its fire. and hippolyta gets to make shitty #decisions motivated by emotion and live w the consequences. and the comic is actually good unlike when that happened in the messner-loebs #run. which was the other instance of that ive read rlly. 10000% sure there are others but i havent fully gotten there yet.#i mean ive read other comics where she makes painful decisions thats like her whole deal but there are different vibes to those than the two #i mentioned. like the exile thing in ww year 1 or rlly anytime she has to send diana away

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rosicheeks · 8 months

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🎶

#ok super random rosie post #not gonna explain but I feel a lot more free to do what I wanna do now #and it’s fucking amazing #but but I’m thinking about starting a tik tok for like idk singing and cover videos #maybe art who knows #but I don’t even understand how to USE TikTok let alone how to make shit on it #(just realized the first time I used TikTok it was ‘tick tock’ and I find that super funny #but also shows that I’m really really not on it at alllllll)#I only use tumblr #for years now I guess?#I still have a fb but it just makes me sad going on there lol #never been into twitter or x or whatever the fuck and instagram never really stuck for me #so here I am #but I’ve been really wanting to make music videos and I feel like that might be the best way #fun rosie fact of the day #I used to really want to do covers and music on YouTube #like back in middle school #I even did a few videos and I’m terrified to look to see if they are still up #but most likely they are 😂😂😂#lil rosie at like idk how old are middle schoolers? 10?????#anyway getting super distracted #but I’ve been singing my musical theater songs and oooooofda I love it so so much #kinda wanna try and do like a duet with myself #like if I’m doing wicked #I’ll do half my face like elphaba and the other like Glinda #orrrrrr I’ll figure out how to edit videos and do different ones and idk the right word right now connect them hahahaha #yes I might be a littttttle high #but I’m doing goooooooood also running out of space so the main reason for this super long tag post if anyone cares or sees #if you know or use TikTok and wanna help an oldie (even tho I’m 25 I feel like I’m so old 😂😂)#shut up rosie

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nerdie-faerie · 18 days

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Seeing what presents my baby sister gets and realising I really drew the short straw by being the firstborn

#Demon Spawn #+Extras #tell me why this three year old got a pet budgie for her birthday? she cant even spell yet #none of my siblings have ever had personal pets i wasnt allowed a hamster when i was 12 and neither was anyone else but the 3 year old??#she got her own heat pool for her birthday as well and a barbie dream house taller than her for Christmas #and what did i get childhood trauma perfectionism a fear of failure and anxiety #my mum always goes over the top with the youngest girl it happened with my middle sister in that 5 year gap before my mum got pregnant again #i didnt even make it 2 before my mum was pregnant so i never really got to reap the rewards of being the youngest #the lil ones get spoiled to hell and they get a mum with a fully developed frontal lobe and chiller parents #being the oldest sucks there are no benefits to it only responsibilities #btw im not mad at my sister or whatever its nice for her that she gets to have these things #but what do you mean i got the shtty childhood parents and i still have to argue to be allowed to bare minimal at 23 when the 3 year old #gets special treatment that the rest of us wouldnt even bother asking for cus we dont have all the things that came before that point #my issue is that the preferential treatment she gets is useless to her. she didnt ask for a barbie dreamhouse and she cant even play with it #because shes too short whe doesnt need her own pool because she cant even swim yet she doesnt need her own tablet she cant read yet #she shouldnt have her own pet when she cant understand what it means to own a living creature #especially when we dont currently have any other pets in the house #my issue is that the spoiling doesnt even make sense for her age she cant enjoy it cus it doesnt make sense yet doesnt mean anything to her #my mum wants to spoil her cus shes her littlest girl but shes had 7 kids before this she knows whats age appropriate and this isnt

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spookyvalentine · 1 year

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mass effect au: sports coach

During the nightmare on Akuze, N7 Mercy Shepard hears of a name--Cerberus. In the aftermath, Shepard joins Alliance Intelligence to lead the hunt for the terrorist group. Lately, children have been going missing from certain schools across the Citadel. Their next mission? Placed undercover at Presidium Academy as the new middle school coach

Nihlus, the high school coach, has never seen such a consistent turnout of parents to not just the games, but the practices too

ART BY ‼️🔥 @naarisz 🔥‼️

canon, crime lord, white collar

fic under the cut!

When James makes it to the park to meet his commander, someone has beaten him.

“I hope to see you around more, coach,” says a quarian that he is nearly very certain is Admiral Shala’Raan. He’d never forget that throaty voice.

“Please,” Mercy says, dimpling. “The kids call me coach. I’m just Mercy to you.”

“Mercy,” she purrs, it’s insane, really. She gives James lingering once-over as well. “I see someone wants your attention.”

It feels nice, how much they perk up when they notice him.

“James!” They greet, and sling an arm around his shoulders. It takes a lot to make him feel short, and Mercy does it easily and comfortably. “This is James. He’s the coach at Citadel Institute.”

Shala’Raan nods at him, and turns back to Shepard. “I look forward to Tali’s next game.”

“See you then, Admiral,” they reply with a smile.

“Bro, are you serious,” James hisses, uncertain if he’s about to shake his commander like a ramen seasoning packet, or continue gaping after the outrageous set of hips on the quarian aunty swaying off the sports field.

“You should come to one of my practices sometime,” Mercy laughs. “I think there are more parents than kids.”

James believes it, oh boy does he believe it, as Mercy stands in front of him gleaming like a shiny trophy under the floodlights. Being out in the artificial sun has darkened their skin and the freckles have multiplied. They’ve been growing their hair out for this role—brightening into a surfer blonde, and waving thickly to their shoulders.

He’s not even going to comment on their silky little shorts.

“I’ve got my own practices, remember?” James says. “But let’s switch schools, hey? You’ve got the one with all the hot parents.”

Mercy opens their mouth to respond, when James notices Dr. Solus and Dr. Chakwas escorting Jack.

They dart from his side, and runs for her.

With a holler, they slide to their knees in time for Jack to fling her arms around their neck for a hug.

The two clutch at each other, and Jack looks incredibly tiny in Mercy’s big hands.

Abruptly Mercy stands, bringing Jack with them. They hold her out by the armpits, with their long arms fully extended to beam up at her, like some Lion King shit—and then swings her around.

Jack shrieks with delight.

Some pebbles and bugs rise from the grass in little blue bubbles.

Mercy guides her into some simple stretches as Jack babbles about her week with the doctors. They correct her form easily, and well, it’s a lot to see such a big body be so flexible.

He watches as Mercy leads Jack into running a lap together, admiring his commander’s easy loping athleticism. Jack laughs, giggling and tripping a little when they hoot out with joy and starts running circles around her with the ball.

Every time Jack laughs, it’s like a sip of good, cold beer with a fat slice of lime after a hard workout. The first time they finally got that kid to warm up and crack a smile, was also the first time James saw his commander cry.

The pair passes the ball between each other, Jack copying Mercy’s increasingly elaborate tricks sometimes so seriously she locks up rather than be loose—but she’s improved a lot since that last time James saw the kid.

“Shepard would do well in this career,” Dr. Solus says, as they watch Mercy divebomb Jack with a shout and scoop her up. “If chose to retire from intelligence. Is very good with children.”

And his commander does look right, as they jog up to James and the doctors with Jack sitting on their shoulders. Their hands wrap around the kid’s chubby shins entirely.

“Time for nachos, yes?” Dr. Solus says, and briskly taps his fingers together

“Nachos, nachos!” Jack chants, Mercy quickly joining in and bouncing.

“That can’t be the only thing for dinner,” Dr. Chakwas says, smiling too much to pull off stern. “What else?”

“Mangonadas!” Jack hollers, grabbing fistfuls of Mercy’s hair, which they gamely accept with a wince.

“Tamales!” She leans down and shouts into their ear.

His commander has turned down their hearing aid in time, judging by their serene expression.

“Which ones, mija,” James asks. Is this paternal pride? He would lay the world down at this kid’s feet. “¿Cuáles quieres?”

“De rajas,” Jack says with relish, nailing the accent. “Con queso.”

“I like the ones with raisins,” Mercy hums.

“We’ll get those too,” Jack reassures them, patting their cheeks with her little hands.

#this fucking picture of mercy always knocks me tf out #do you see those tattoos #that nose that smile THOSE LEGS??#look at lil baby Jack I weep I WEEP #mercy rescues her from pragia as one of the intelligence ops when Jack is about five years old and adopts her #vega is on their team and is posed at the rival school as their coach #parents that come to flirt w mercy when they see James are like you’re single right. you’re not dating that meatball right #jokes on all the parents mercy has a big fat crush on the middle school art teacher #oc: mercy shepard #sports coach au #mass effect #james vega #mordin solus #karin chakwas #jack subject zero

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