#hope mod’s feeling better while they’re on break

[idiotwhowritesshipstuff]

Rei Mekaru and Kanata Inori x Ultimate Nurse reader with a similar backstory to Mikan Tsumiki (but not the personality)

Note: ....I’m into DR again, I blame Danganronpa Another, god save me. I’m trying my hand in making banners as the ones Im currently using were from a request to a blog and a gift from a friend so if they look shitty in comparison to what is on this blog that’s why, I figured if Im gonna try writing again why not try to at least put more heart into it

Btw if the prompt is confusing, essentially the reader doesn’t have Mikan’s weak personality and undying need for attention that they’ll humiliate themselves for it, they’re a professional nurse with an abusive family and peers which forced them to learn how to treat their own injuries as no one else would.

- Mod Monaca

TW: Described child abuse from peers and family, Kanata’s section also contains a brief mention of spousal abuse 

She initially dismissed you like everyone else for being a prodigy who she thought didn’t have to work as hard as she did in life so she was rather surprised but pleased to discover your skill as a nurse comes from hard work and determination much like her teaching abilities.

As someone with a disappointing family, she is sympathetic to your backstory about your horrid family and is proud of you for taking the step to improve your own situation over just hoping for someone to save you from your family. She would love to hear about how you managed to get your hands on medical textbooks and equipment since your family obviously couldn’t have been the source.

If you want your family to be put away for their abuse, Rei would be happy to help with some of her connections through the students she’s taught and acknowledged as competent. She would discourage the idea of you asking Kinjo to help as even if he’s the Ultimate Police Officer, he can be a bit manic and she thinks she can help you find better people to get on the case, however she will enlist Kinjo’s help if she can’t get someone better.

If you two were put in the killing game together, she would only be willing to cooperate with you for most of the game, she’d take your autopsies over Inori’s and would help you figure out who the culprit is and how they did it but she wouldn’t spell it out for you, you’re competent enough to learn how to become a fully fledged nurse while being abused by your family at home and by your peers at school, she’s sure you’re competent enough to figure out who the culprit is from your investigations together and some hints she’s willing to give.

On days where your past is haunting you, she would help you feel better by taking you on a date in a place like the library or somewhere that you two can simply relax and chat so you can unwind from stress. It’s during dates that you really get to see Rei’s softer side and she may even open up to you about how her life on the streets affected her since she feels much more comfortable being a little vulnerable around you.

She was extremely excited to be classmates with you due to your talents both coming from the medical field. It’s extremely likely that she’s at the very least heard about you prior to coming to Hope’s Peak as people have speculated how well you two would work together as teenagers with extensive medical knowledge who outclass working adults.

Kanata’s heart would break when she finds out you gained so much medical knowledge because no one would treat your injuries. She did worry about the bandages around your body but she didn’t comment on them as they were well bandaged and she just figured they were from an accident. The fact they come from abuse from your family is devastating to her. Considering how she comes from a loving family, both biological and adopted, she struggles to fathom how someone could be so heartless to their own family though she is reminded that she’s had a few surgeries on people who were attacked by their spouses or romantic partners. It really hits her how cruel people can be when someone she’s close to is a victim of abuse. 

If you ever wanted to pursue getting your family arrested for their crimes, she would encourage you to get Kakeru on the case, as the Ultimate Lawyer, he can definitely help you assemble a case to get them charged for child abuse so you don’t have to worry about them anymore but she won’t push the matter if you want someone else to handle the case, this is your family matter after all.

She would love to introduce you to her adopted family, especially her father, as she firmly believes you deserve to experience what it’s like to have a proper family and with how selflessly the Andos were in taking her in when she had nothing, she’s sure they’ll be able to help you experience the familial love you never got.

In the killing game, you two are major sources of comfort to each other over being unable to save the lives of your classmates. As medical professionals, it’s extremely frustrating and upsetting that you two are never able to save your classmates as they continue to die one by one due to the motives given by Monokuma. When making autopsies she would love having your help so she doesn’t potentially make any mistakes in identifying injuries and causes of death, while she she is confident she can identify them, it’s always good to have a second opinion.

On days where your past is haunting you, she would try to take your mind off it going on dates with you in places like the park. She usually doesn’t go to places like these because she’s so busy with work and she would normally spend time with you talking about patient stories or general medical knowledge, she would comfort you by trying out something completely different from those activities since you may not want to discuss them when in that state. If you do still want to discuss them she’d be happy to chat about it but it wouldn’t be her first idea in helping you.

#danganronpa x reader #danganronpa another x reader #rei mekaru x reader #mekaru rei x reader #kanata inori x reader #inori kanata x reader #dra x reader

[total-drama-takes-takes-2]

tta episode 4

“Last time, on Total Takes Action: the campers found themselves in a sickly-sweet situation when they competed in a romcom-themed challenge. Kelly and Austin fell out, while Bonnie and Caesar rose to the top. Joner and Sha-Mod broke their awkward silence on Sha-Mod’s boyfriend McLovin leaving, and resolved their issues just in time to get defeated. Kellaustin were sent home as friends, not lovers, and the Anons lost two players in this special double-elimination episode. Will Scary stop being such a downer with them gone? Will Bonnie and Caesar finally resolve their unresolved tension? Find out now, on Total! Takes! Action!”

Bonnie walks into the craft services tent, scratching their throat. They take a seat next to Caesar, looking tired. He strokes their hair. “Feeling any better, Bonbon?”

They shake their head. Since last challenge, their throat has been on fire, leaving them completely unable to speak. 

Scary watches from the table across the tent, smiling. She turns to Scruffy. “Let’s hope today’s challenge is a musical,” 

They shrug. “I have no idea what today’s challenge is. I’m completely lost,” their voice is monotone, but there’s a clear tension behind it. 

The lights in the tent suddenly go out, and the windows are covered in dark tarp. The campers shout in protest as they’re shrouded in darkness. A sudden round of gunshots to the ceiling catches everyone’s attention, and the holes the bullets left in the tarp leaves a spotlight over Chris. 

He clears his throat. “For as long as I could remember, I always wanted to be a host,” 

The lights go back on and everyone grumbles, annoyed. Chris is dressed sharply in a pinstriped suit, holding a meatball sub. Scary rubs her eyes. “What was that?”

The campers glance between each other, annoyed. The camera pans over to Michela, who’s looking like she just won the lottery. O and Fren, sitting on either side of her, stare and then make eye contact with each other. 

Chris beams. “FINALLY, someone understands my references!” he tosses the meatball sub aside and crosses his arms. “Today is a guilty pleasure of mine- the gangster movie!”

Michela outright squeals this time. Everyone turns to her and she blinks, then quickly regains her cold disposition and looks away. 

---

O shakes his head. 

O: “There is something seriously wrong with this girl,”

---

“The gangster movie is one of the most iconic crime subgenres in cinema- and today, you’ll be hitting every beat. You’ll be carrying out an effective organization, smuggling and selling the recently-banned Japanese delicacy, Chef Hatchet's Total Drama Yum Yum Happy Go Time Candy Fish Tails,”

Peter raises his hand. Chris sighs. “Yes?”

“We’re not doing anything actually illegal, right? It’s just for the game?”

Chris blinks, then smiles. “Yeahhhh. It’s all fake,”

Peter sighs, relieved, while everyone else suddenly looks nervous. 

“In a classic mob movie, there’s always different tiers of power- there’s the guys on top, the boss- and the guys on the bottom, the goons. It’s up to your teams to delegate who is who,” Chris says. 

Fren looks over. “Well… Michela… would you-”

She holds up her hands. “Oh, no. Everyone knows the boss is the most vulnerable position in every gangster movie. I’ll take whatever’s lowest,”

The Fujoshis look between each other, processing her words. “Who else?”

O looks away, Peter hides under the table, and Fren turns to Bonnie and Caesar. Bonnie tries to protest, but nothing comes out. 

“What’re they saying, Caesar?” Fren asks. Caesar leans in to Bonnie and then nods. 

“No,”

Bonnie crosses their arms. The rest of the team sighs. 

“Okay, how about Bonnie and Caesar?” O offers. “That way, you can communicate what we need to do to the group.”

"I can do it on my own, you know," Caesar sighs. "Bonnie needs a break, anyway,"

Bonnie begins to protest, but nothing comes out. It's settled.

The four-person soiree at the Anon’s corner looks between themselves until Scary finally sighs. “Okay, I’ll do it,”

The remaining three sigh in relief. 

---

Chris stands before a boat at a loading dock somewhere in the heart of Toronto. It’s well after dark, much to everyone’s annoyance. 

“Alright, campers. Inside this boat are the crates of Chef Hatchet's Total Drama Yum Yum Happy Go Time Candy Fish Tails, which you’ll be transporting back to the film lot undetected,” he chuckles. “After that, you’ll be unpacking and figuring out how to market, sell, and distribute these slightly cancerous treats without being caught. The team that either makes the most profit, or doesn’t get arrested, wins. And don’t be afraid to get your hands a little dirty,” Chris winks. “We are in a mob movie, after all.”

“The fish tails are fake, right? And the police?” Peter asks. 

Chris rolls his eyes. “If it makes you feel any better. Ciao! See you tomorrow!”

The teams look between each other. Bonnie uses their hands to puppet-out a plan, while Caesar rubs his chin knowingly and nods along. 

“What’re they saying?” Fren asks, eyes carefully studying the display. 

Caesar nods one final time and then turns to the group. “I have no idea,”

The Anons are already making some progress, unloading the unmarked crates onto the asphalt of the inner city dock. Scary is making a list of things to do, and as Sha-Mod and Joner heave out the final cargo, she claps her hands. “That’s fifteen crates, so we can’t carry these. We’re going to need transportation,”

“Like, what, an Uber?” Joner asks, wiping the sweat off his brow. 

“Not quite,” Scary’s eyes drift across the dock until settling on a pile of large, empty wooden crates beside an abandoned shopping cart. 

---

“Where are we going to hire a moving service at this hour?” Caesar scoffs, flipping through a phonebook in a nearby booth. Fren stands outside, keeping a lookout, while Michela surveys the lot. Peter drags another crate outside, the only person doing so. 

Bonnie is once again trying to explain their idea to the group, but no one can understand their vague hand gestures and expressions. 

O taps his chin. “Maybe if you think about the plan really hard while you’re moving, it’ll translate through your body language and I’ll get it,” he clears his throat when Bonnie stares at him. “I’m training to become a therapist.”

Michela walks over to Peter and sees a bag of the candy sticking from one of the crates he brought down. She turns back to the lot, where a stalling truck is waiting outside a warehouse. 

“Hey, Peter, can I take this?” she asks, holding up the bag. 

---

“There!” Scary huffs, tossing the wrench aside. A massive flatbed cart, encircled by a metal caging, lies before them. “Let’s start loading.”

Scruffy, Joner, and Sha-Mod carry over the crates and set them on the cart. Scary covers them with a spare tarp and the four begin pushing their cargo back to set. 

Caesar watches dejectedly and exits the booth just as Michela returns. "Well, we're done for," he takes a seat on the curb, leaning against his palm. Bonnie sits and tries to comfort him with a pat on the back, and he smiles at them.

Michela clears her throat. “Not yet. We have a ride,”

The team raises an eyebrow in unison as she points to a truck backing over. The driver peers out the rearview mirror. 

Caesar blinks. “Where did you-?”

“There’s no problem in this world that can’t be solved with bribery or violence,” Michela says coldly, and then smiles nervously when everyone stares. “I bribed him!”

---

Scary, Joner, Scruffy, and Sha-Mod are all covered in sweat and wheezing by the time they roll up to set, watching as a large truck drops off the last of the Fujoshi’s cargo. “Oh, come on!”

As Peter and Bonnie begin to carry the crates into the film lot, Caesar turns to Michela. 

“Listen. You and I both know that this operation isn’t going anywhere with me at the wheel. You know how to get things done,”

“But-”

He holds up his hands and lowers his voice. “Listen, I only chose to do this for Bonbon. They do everything for me,”

Michela blinks, waiting for him to continue.

"...So, if it's okay with you, I'd like to relinquish my position here and help them out exclusively,"

Michela sighs. “Fine. Tell everyone there’s been a shift in power,”

---

The Fujoshis have staked out the craft services tent since they arrived first, leaving the Anons to unpack their contraband outside the trailers. 

Scary looks down at their army of candy. “Okay, we need to figure out how this is going to sell,”

“Is there an underground candy market or something?” Sha-Mod chuckles. Scary glares at him. 

“Maybe Chris is sending someone to come to us?” Scruffy asks, but then shakes their head. "No, that'd be stupid. He would've said something."

---

SCRUFFY: "I am hanging on to my sanity by a thread at the point. And not a good thread either! A tiny, fraying string of dental floss!"

---

"We'll figure it out, man," Joner says, patting their shoulder. "In the mean time, let's all take a breather. Who knew using a modified shopping cart to carry a hundred kilograms of cargo would be exhausting?"

---

“Okay, we’re going to need some people on the ground to sell these things. Now, the salesmen are probably the most important part of this hierarchy- they need to be charming, kind, and likable. Keeps them in business and out of trouble,” Michela hits her open palm with her fist. “Fren and Caesar, start staking out some back-roads candy places around town to see if anyone’s interested. Keep it vague, lead them into asking for it. Then make the deal and send them here.”

She turns to the remaining team members. “Peter, you can sort out the orders as they come in. Just organize and label them, okay? That’s all,”

He looks unfathomably nervous. “What if we get in trouble for this?”

“It was Chris’ idea. He’ll get the time, not us,”

“Yeah, while he’s escaping to Mexico,” he grumbles. 

“Nothing but organizing and labeling! Bonnie and O, you’ll be meeting with the clients at the gate and making sure the money comes through,”

Bonnie and O look at each other, and then nod. 

---

“Okay, I’ve made this schedule and this list for everything we need to do,” Scary says, passing out a few thick packets. “Since Scruffy looks like they’re about to piss themselves and Joner and Sha-Mod are essentially pets on this team, I’ll be handling sales.”

Joner raises a finger. “Are you sure that-”

“Did you want to be wandering the streets alone tonight?”

He shuts up. 

---

In the darkest parts of Toronto, Caesar wanders alone, wearing a bowler hat and long black trench coat. He narrates:

“Michela ran a tight business,”

He walks down a dark alley and comes up against the back door of a restaurant, where a man with a green mohawk is waiting outside, smoking a cig. 

“Frennie Two-Times and I handled sales,”

Caesar hands the man a thin box from the inside of his coat. 

Back at the lot, Peter keeps a record of every client’s finances, typing out on a calculator at the craft services tent table. 

“Peter “The Brains” took care of all our finances. Smart guy, but easy to push in the right direction,”

Pan over to O, carrying crates outside. 

“O Muscles was our work guy whenever Bonnie Bloodknuckles was busy… delegating,”

Cut to Bonnie threatening the same green mohawk man in the same alley, demanding money. 

“Yeah, we ran a pretty tight ship,”

The blue and red of police cars flashes behind them, and the mohawked man ducks and runs. 

“But not tight enough,”

---

“This is so dumb!” Scary kicks a crate. “How have we not made a single sale! Is threatening people with knives not enough to get this dumb candy out there?”

Scruffy cradles their head in their hands. “I don’t know. I don’t know,”

Joner pats their back. “Hey man, don’t worry. We’ll figure it out!”

“No, we won’t. The other team sold ALL of their inventory and we haven’t gotten rid of a damn bag!” Scary yells, then sighs. “Except for the ones that Sha-Mod’s been eating.”

The camera pans over to Sha-Mod, sitting on one of the crates with the candy. He chuckles nervously. “It’s salty,”

Everyone’s attention is turned to the sound of police sirens as dozens of cars drive up around the craft services tent. In a few seconds, Michela is being escorted out in handcuffs, an annoyed look on her face. 

---

MICHELA: “I KNEW I was forgetting something. No respectable mob operation goes without bribing the cops to stay quiet. Stupid!”

---

Chris adjusts the large white wig on his head in a cardboard courtroom. Chef is sawing away at some wood in the back of the flimsy building, taking measurements of the dimensions. 

Bonnie sits in the witness’ podium, looking over the crowd. Michela is seated at the fold out table serving as the defendants corner, O as her lawyer. 

“I call this court meeting to order,” Chris slams a plastic gavel on his table just as Chef pulls out a chainsaw and starts carving a block of wood. “Don’t mind Chef, we’re going to need a real set again in a few days!” Chris yells. “Anyway- Michela, you stand here on trial for bootlegging. How do you plead?”

“Not guilty,” she rolls her eyes. 

“That’s interesting. Prosecutor, your defense?”

Scary stands on the side of the room adjacent to Michela and O. “I call to the stand, Bonnie!”

“They’re already there!” Michela yells. 

Scary ignores her. “Now, Bonnie, could you please describe the operation your boss was running?”

Bonnie points to their throat, and makes a few hand gestures. Scary rolls their eyes. 

“Okay, fine. I guess that’s too difficult a question for you philistines,” she mutters. “Just point to the person who was running the damn thing.”

Bonnie looks around nervously, eyes meeting with Caesar’s. He raises his eyebrows as they make eye contact.

“To rat or not to rat?” Chris asks, watching the display with delight. “That is the question. Reminder to all participants that ratting out your fellow players gives you immediate immunity from the mob!”

Bonnie looks back to Caesar again, and he hesitantly nods. They sigh and point to Michela. Chris slams his gavel, grinning. “The Fujoshis are sentenced to an elimination ceremony for the crime of bootlegging- and ratting!”

Bonnie holds up a finger, trying to articulate. Caesar stands from the audience on their behalf. “But Bonnie has immunity!”

“No, Bonnie has immunity from the mob,” Chris chuckles. “But don’t worry. We have an excellent witness protection program at Playa des Losers.”

Bonnie looks pale as the courtroom audience shuffles out. Caesar runs over, putting his hands on their shoulders. “Don’t worry, I’ll sort this out. I shouldn't have told you to do anything, I was just trying to help,”

Bonnie looks down. A strong breeze blows away the cardboard walls, leaving them both in the rain. 

---

“Fujoshis, even though you lost… I gotta say, what a run!” Chris chuckles. Michela sits in the bleachers, hands still cuffed together. “But all good things must come to an end, so let’s get this over with. Fren, Peter, you’re safe,”

Peter sighs with relief and catches his golden Chris. Bonnie looks to Caesar, a nervous expression on their face. He tries to console them by rubbing their back, but it doesn't help any.

“Caesar… O…”

“Michela- you forgot one of the most important parts of an underground operation, spelling doom for your team. And Bonnie, you sold out a fellow team member for immunity! Not cool, dude. But only one of you is going home,”

“And that person…

…is…

…Bonnie. Time to pack your things and take some cough drops,”

Bonnie's shoulders drop and they look at the ground. 

“Can someone let me out of these now?” Michela holds up her wrists. 

“If I recall correctly, you were sentenced overnight. See you in the morning!” Chris hops off stage merrily and walks away. The rest of the campers follow shortly. 

Caesar runs over to where Bonnie is sitting as the Lame-o-Sine’s back door opens. He puts his hands on their shoulders. “Bonbon, I am so sorry. I was trying to help!”

Bonnie coughs a bit and then speaks weakly. “You didn’t have to-”

“I did, though. You’ve been saving my ass every day since we met. I thought if I could repay the favor…”

Bonnie shakes their head. “Not your fault,”

“It’s okay to blame me. I promise, I understand! I just wanted so badly to be just as good a player as you, and help you out liked you help me just by being around...”

Bonnie smiles softly and looks away (scratching their throat again). Caesar smiles back and they hug.

"You're my person, Bonbon,"

"I know," Bonnie coughs. "You're mine."

The Lame-O-Sine honks and Chef rolls down the driver’s side window, glaring. The two break apart and stare at him, both embarrassed. He honks the horn two more times for emphasis.

“Gotta go,” Bonnie wheezes, pointing to the impatient driver. 

Caesar nods. “And take some cough drops when you get there!”

“Aw, wasn’t that heartwarming,” Chris steps out in front of the camera. “Will Caesar win for Bonnie? Will we ever let Michela out of those handcuffs? Find out next time, on Total! Takes! Action!”

#tta #total takes action

[alicethemasked]

Alice’s adventures on Cheshire farm. entry 3

hi, it’s been a bit, I stopped hype focusing on Stardew for a bit, but then I saw that a new yandere mod had come out so I decided to continue again, forgot how fun it was.

as always MDI cuz this deals with yandere concepts and while it’s safe for now things are getting well spicy

Spring 8 - year 1

Monday time! A lot has happened since my last entry which is astounding, but I’ve officially lived here for a week! So first thing first, I think I have some character profiles to go through, though really they’re less profiles and me judging them after a week.

Let's start with… Harvey… he hasn’t stopped, it’s unsettling, he talks about our so called passed life all the time, I have decided to just let my sickness fade at the farm because I can not deal with him, the other towns folk have taken notice and agreed to help me avoid him as much as possible, especially Elliot. Speaking of he is an interesting fellow, I often catch him near my farm. I ask him why and he says he’s just enjoying the view. Given that the area around my farm is beautiful I just assume he’s taking a morning walk when he does. 

Ok, now I just feel like a gossip, but to be fair those two are a bit weird. I’ve been trying to make friends, the depressed man is called Shane and he seems prickly, I talked to him once and he just assumed that it was a prank! What has this man gone through to think that, he is also at the saloon drinking every night which worries me… but maybe he just needs a good friend!

Unrelated but there is a notice board that I well… noticed (I’m hilarious I know) and what is asked for on there is usually easy for me to find, so I’ve been helping around and getting small money here and there which is fun because that means I’m not fucking starving. 

Also! First harvest! I never thought Parsnips could taste so good but I guess hard work makes your food taste better, I had some Fish with Parsnips and wild leeks the other day and it is shockingly good. This week has taught me that taking a break from the horrid capitalist dystopia that is Zuzu city was a good idea. I even got to take care of most of the rocks on my farm, still need to deal with weeds and trees but I figured that taking care of the rocks was a good first step, one thing at a time. Also want to save the weeds for if I get animals at some point, might see if Robin can make a silo or something. 

I’ve noticed something a bit uncomfortable, a few of my hoodies have gone missing which I’m not happy with, especially given how Harvey has been acting… but I can hope for now that I just misplaced them somewhere…

Speaking of making me uncomfortable, the shy girl uhm… Penny seems to be more pushy about spending time with me, waxing poetic about the unity of the small town life. I was expecting her to be a lot more shy after our first meeting, but it seems that she’s not a fan of respecting my personal space…

Also? Monsters exist? Like I heard about the dwarves and shadow people war and all that, but you don’t really see them in Zuzu, but the mines opened up and I decided to try my hand I mean I’ve been taking care of the stones on my farm after all, got a few gemstones and some ore, but I’m not going to lie, fighting the slimes and giant bugs in the mines was both exciting and terrifying, I guess I will be venturing more in the future.

Signing out ~ Alice

#Alice's adventures on Cheshire farm #yandere #yandere stardew valley #the yandere is starting :) #with every yandere mod I grow stronger /j

[aziraphales-library]

do you know of any good fics where aziraphale has loved crowley since he saved the books in wwii and crowley has loved aziraphale since the garden?

This is the most common take on when these two fell for each other, so is the general basis of a large number of fics, though perhaps isn’t the focus of them. I took a look at the Post-Scene: Church in London 1941 (Good Omens) tag on ao3 to find most of the fics listed here, in an effort to focus on the moments they realise they’re both in love. Hope this is the kind of thing you were after!...

The Guise of Secrecy by IneffableDoll (T)

In which Aziraphale is terrible at keeping secrets, so, when he realizes a big one in 1941, it doesn’t stay secret for long.

All That’s Best of Dark and Bright by hope_in_the_dark (T)

When Crowley drops a bomb on a church, Aziraphale falls in love with him. This should be a secret, but unfortunately, Aziraphale's never been much good at keeping them.

Strange What Desire Will Make Foolish People Do by Fire_Traveller (T)

"Lift home?" is what Crowley offers a very overwhelmed Aziraphale in the midst of the ruins of what has been a church mere moments ago. It's 1941, they haven't seen each other for the better part of a century and Crowley is likely the last person Aziraphale expected to see. But here they are, the demon has just saved the angel's life, risking his own, and Aziraphale begins to realise a few things about his own feelings and about Crowley's. He will also realise soon enough that, for saving him, Crowley has had a price to pay.

Something to do with these sacred words by Solshine (T)

Crowley confesses early, and Crowley confesses often. Aziraphale never knows quite what to say.

Where Worlds Collide and Days Are Dark by SparkleInTheStars (E)

It’s been nearly eighty years since Crowley and Aziraphale have spoken. While working in British Intelligence, Crowley gets wind of Aziraphale being caught up in a dangerous plot. Worlds collide for angel and demon during the London Blitz, culminating in a night of passion and revelations. Demonic miracles rescue books and win angel’s hearts in the dark of night, but what happens in the cold light of day?

True Disaster by NuriaSchnee (E)

After Crowley saves him in 1941, Aziraphale realises he's fallen in love with the demon. Scared this dangerous feeling of his will cause problems to his friend, he tries to break their relationship. However, his plan to push the demon away fails and they end up admitting their feelings to each other.

To be able to be together and keep it a secret, Crowley stops time every time they meet. However brilliant this seems at first, it doesn't take long to backfire, opening new wounds and raising more barriers between them.

- Mod D

#good omens #ineffable husbands #love confessions #post church scene #mod d

[mrskodzuken]

When cuddling, Kenma = BIG SPOON. Send tweet.

#ahhhhh i miss my kenma anon #hope mod’s feeling better while they’re on break #manifesting for someone to cuddle me please 🥺👉🏻👈🏻🙈 #kozume kenma #kenma #haikyuu #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu x reader #kenma x reader

[supersupersuperdespair]

SHUICHI SAIHARA - fluff alphabet headcannons

HEY HEY!! yea i‘m alive lol

anyway heres the shuichi fluff alphabet because i love shuichi so much

anyway hope you like it :)) -Mod Chiaki

FLUFF ALPHABET - SHUICHI SAIHARA

the amount of times i said awkward in this is unmatched 😤

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

♡ SO SO affectionate.

♡ He is so kind towards you and pretty much never gets mad.

♡ This emo boy is so pure omfg, get yourself a man who treats you right.

♡ Like Shuichi eheh

♡ He would show affection through actions since he’s a little too introverted to talk 💪💀

♡ kissing, hugging, (even if it’s awkward) etc

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

♡ Shuichi would be such an overprotective “parent” best friend

♡ always checking in on you to see if you’re okay

♡ your friendship started while at the library, of course because I’m just so creative 😎

♡ i mean like, he’s a shy boy so he’s in the corner alone reading a mystery novel or something (maybe even playing danganronpa *gasp*)

♡ You walk up to him all chill and look over like, “Oh, are you reading [____] ? I love that book!”

♡ And just like that, friends for life

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

♡ nothing is more wholesome than cuddling

♡ it’s too pure i might melt

♡ most of the time, you have to initiate it, but sometimes Shuichi will

♡ favourite cuddling position would either be “sweetheart cradle” or “intertwined”

♡ Shuichi doesn’t have anything against spooning

♡ but he’s a little too tall to be little spoon and we all know he’s a little spoon

♡ something cute and intimate that doesn’t really have a top or bottom (😀✋)

♡ help i want cuddles now

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

♡ he may not be the best cook (he’s trying ;-;)

♡ but he goes full Levi Ackerman when it comes to cleaning and house chores

♡ he leaves even Kirumi quaking

♡ If you’re at work and he’s at home the whole day, expect your house to be absolutely spotless when you walk in

♡ beds made

♡ dishes cleaned,

♡ floors sweeped etc

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

♡ lots of tears

♡ shu has already lost Kaede he doesn’t need to lose another loved one

♡ “it’s not your fault, you didn’t do anything i swear”

♡ will do everything in his power to make sure you guys remain friedns

♡ if not, he’ll keep all the photos and videos of you two

♡ sad boi hours :((((

♡ still tries to check in on you

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

♡ that’s a pretty big commitment and he doesn’t think he’ll be able to deal with it, even though he’d love to

♡ but after some thinking he decides after about 3 years that he’s ready

♡ Kaito and him arrange a special surprise thingo for you

♡ knowing Kaito, it’s probably something irresponsible if not dangerous

♡ (puting the ring in your food or something like that)

♡ looked really embarrassed as soon as you see

♡ you better say yes or Kaito’s gonna throw some hands 😱

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

♡ g-gentle please s-stop with the gentle 🥺😭

♡ i’m so sorry if i could spoil things on tumblr i would but it’s not discord ;-;

♡ anyway yes shuichi a very gentle boy

♡ idk what else to write help

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

♡ again, pretty awkward

♡ at first of course, but he starts to get used to it after a while

♡ probably not a fan of PDA

♡ but if you like it, he won’t complain

♡ hugs with Shuichi last for about 10 seconds ✨✨✨

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

♡ way too long

♡ like a year or 2

♡ little detective is too nervous, there are too many “what ifs”

♡ gets someone else to tell you instead

♡ or leaves a note on your desk telling you

♡ then runs away and disappears for a couple days

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

♡ Shuichi gets jealous really easily but doesn’t like to show it around other people

♡ honestly the mere sight of you interacting with another guy brings him to tears

♡ Shuichi is a yandere change my mind

♡ he’ll bring it up with you later and make it pretty clear to you

♡ don’t forget that your HIS s/o unless you want Shuichi to stab stab stab on your best friend

♡ maybe that’s just my weird yandere fantasies but soft Shu probably just confronts you and you hug and talk it out

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

♡ lil Shuichi loves forehead and cheek kisses the most.

♡ He won’t complain with anything else but we all have preference

♡ However kisses on the lips can last from 5 seconds to a minute

♡ very in the moment type kisses

♡ so cute

♡ i ran out of things to say

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

♡ Shuichi (unlike me) loves kids

♡ his dream is to have one with you later 🤭

♡ kids don’t like Shuichi very much though

♡ they think he’s weird and emo

♡ but his love for the little gremlins will most likely never change

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

♡ waking up to the sweet smell of  ✨ f o o d ✨

♡ Shuichi made you breakfast ^-^

♡ as he is not the best cook, the kitchen is messy and the food isn’t top tier

♡ but it’s the thought that counts ya know???

♡ and since he pretty much knows everything about you, he knows exactly what you want

♡ you lie in bed and eat breakfast together

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

♡ cuddling and watching movies until 1 am

♡ oops

♡ mainly detective movies of course

♡ but Shuichi isn’t one to complain :)

♡ idk what to write anymore

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

♡ it would definitely take some time for Shuichi to open up about things

♡ but once he’s assured that he trusts you with personal info he’s very happy to start talking about specific issues

♡ rants at 2 am istg

♡ on the flip side, Shuichi’s always ALWAYS willing to listen to his s/o

♡ not much to say here hmm, get this man therapy he kinda needs it

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

♡ very patient

♡ and also very quiet

♡ it’s hard to tell if he’s actually being patient or just not complaining

♡ either way he’s calm and collected :)

♡ also patient when it comes to waiting in lines for food lmao

♡ i could never

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

♡ broski he’d remember everything about you

♡ from your favourite colour to your starbucks order

♡ he’d remember it all

♡ that’s a really important thing to him

♡ since it shows interest and care towards his s/o

♡ he honesty doesn’t mind if you’re forgetful pfft

♡ and as a detective he barely even needs to ask you

♡ probably just knows everything

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

♡ your first date

♡ THAT’S WHERE IT ALL STARTED CORRECT?

♡ why wouldn’t he remember it forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and- yeah you get it…

♡ you guys walking through the park, holding hands, and talking for hours

♡ that memory plays in his head 24/7

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

♡ well if we’re talking about my yandere fantasies then super protective

♡ BUT WE’RE NOT >:((((

♡ normal Shuichi is just the correct amount of protective

♡ he does give you freedom to do things with other people he’s not one of those dudes

♡ hanging out with other guys without him is a slightly different issue and it’s gonna take some time to make sure you’re trustworthy

♡ damn he just doesn’t wanna lose you that’s all

♡ anyway yeah he’s pretty good when it comes to security

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

♡ SO SO SO MUCH EFFORT OMFG

♡ literally gotta make sure everything is perfect otherwise what’s the point?!!?

♡ would spend all the money possible on dates

♡ gets you gifts every other day

♡ makes sure he puts all his energy into helping you

♡ doesn’t complain and we love that

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

♡ he doesn’t lke trying anything new

♡ so is often stuck towards things he’s already comfortable with

♡ but lots of people don’t like that

♡ he may do something slightly outside the box but it takes him a lot of courage to

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

♡ Shuichi’s a pretty insecure shy boy so he’s pretty self aware about his appearance

♡ is his hair alright?

♡ is there something on his face?

♡ is his eyeliner emo looking enough?

♡ ya know?

♡ please always assure him that he looks perfect the way he is

♡ or somethings gonna happen istg

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

♡ gurlllll what would this boy do without you omg

♡ without his s/o he is pretty much nothing

♡ it’s hard to go more than 24 hours without you

♡ #separation anxiety

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

♡ Shuichi is the worst at making that fake excited face when someone gives you a shit gift

♡ sorry but he’ll just be like, “i- um, ah thank you, i loOOOve it heh… heh… heh”

♡ like we all know just say you hate it

♡ rip </3

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

♡ Shuichi can’t really take rude jokes

♡ so if his s/o is kinda vulgar and rude to be “funny” maybe it won’t work out

♡ sarcasm is okay every now and then but it gets to a point where it’s just mean

♡ even if you don’t mean it, try not to

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

♡ Shuichi doesn’t sleep much, but when he does he sleeps for HOURS

♡ i feel like he’s also a blanket hog

♡ leave some blanket for your s/o Shu >:((((

well, that was difficult tbh

but i hope you liked it anyway!

im simp for shuichi a lot.

and the fact that him and leon have the same VA explains why i love both of them so much

anyway, ill try to write more in the future

bye <33 ^-^

#shuichi #shuichi saihara #shuichi saihara x reader #shuichi x reader #hc #danganronpa v3 #danganronpa #drv3 #x reader #x reader headcanons #shuichi headcannons #fluff alphabet #mod chiaki :)

[inumaki-roll]

i was curious how the DR (( nagito, hajime, makoto, rantaro, shuichi, chihiro, byakuya, izuru, kazuichi, & kiibo if that’s okayyahdsh sorry)) & AOT guys would react if their s/o who is selectively clingy w certain people kinda back off suddenly because they just feel.. embarrassed?? like when they were a kid people reacted negatively to their clinginess and would ignore them for it. and they just feel so dumb to show emotion & showing their clinginess? and they feel like they’re being a bother and being annoying too... & suddenly just feel like closing off from the world lol? i’ve been feeling like this recently and i’d love to see what they’d do if that’s possible please!! thank you so much!!

hi anon !! i’m this way too dw HWKWBWN 

i hope it’s alright that i only did the danganronpa boys and eren, armin, jean, + levi but if you want i’ll def redo it later with more of the boys !! i’m really sorry today has been a wicked long day for me bc of doctor appointments and i have to write an email to my principal of my school because of a certain incident so i’ve been a little stressed with that and report cards coming up </3

- mod rantaro ✧･ﾟ: *✧

➽───────────────❥

MAKOTO NAEGI

- he can completely understand 

- he’d make sure everyone left you alone and he’d let you stay in his dorm during the day and night 

- he’d love the clingyness please 

- he wouldn’t even get annoyed with it either 

- if you thought you were annoying him he’d be so panicky 

- waving his arms everywhere while frantically telling you how much he enjoys your company 

- he’d be so mad at the people who told you you’re annoying 

- constant reassurance- headpats, hugs, light kisses on your face, and lots of hand holding 

➽───────────────❥

BYAKUYA TOGAMI

- he might act a bit annoyed, but as soon as he sees your insecure about coming off as annoying he softens right up 

- he’d make sure no one messes with you because he can be quite intimidating 

- he stays by your side all the time in public 

- he would mention how he enjoys having you around him and he’s delighted that you’re so comfortable around him 

- in public hed let you hold onto his elbow if you’re feeling like you don’t belong in a conversation and if you got really uncomfortable hed leave right now away 

➽───────────────❥

CHIHIRO FUJISAKI 

- he gets so flustered when you cling to him 

- he loves it when you’re sitting right near him while he’s working on a computer 

- he gets all smiley please he’s just too cute 

- every so often he’ll turn his head away from the screen and plant a little kiss on your cheek to show that he’s not ignoring you 

- i think he’d rather just hang out with you in each other’s dorms during freetime instead of socializing anyways 

- he’d like teaching you little programming things 

- he’s worried he might bore you so he programs something to your interests 

➽───────────────❥

KAZUICHI SODA 

- HED LOVE THE ATTENTION 

- he’d literally never get tired of it bc he can be quite clingy as well 

- lots and lots of affection 

- he’d love it if you stayed with him while he worked on something 

- he’d love showing off and showing you how to do mechanic things 

- hed literally YELL at anyone who calls you annoying 

- he could never even think for a second you’re annoying or too clingy 

- he’d bop someone on a head with a wrench for you <3

➽───────────────❥

NAGITO KOMAEDA 

- omg please. 

- nagito would feel like he wouldn’t deserve your clingyness 

- he’d tell you that over and over again too 

- he’d watch his words carefully to not say something that may offend you 

- he wouldn’t even mind that you’re clingy, sometimes he might get a little like “woah this is a lot of affection for me and i’m not used to it” and may accidentally distance himself for a short time but would recognize that he did that and remembers that you need someone and hed apologize and would never leave you alone again 

- he’d smother you with affection right back 

- he thinks you’re more deserving of affection than he is, so he gives back the same energy 

➽───────────────❥

HAJIME HINATA 

- tsundere hajime would be so like 🤨🤨🤨

- he wouldn’t know how to respond at first but he’d warm up quickly because he also likes the attention 

- all the affection makes him feel so,,, special 

- he loves it even though he may need a break once in a while, due to his stress 

- he never ever even thinks of you as annoying and will argue with someone who thinks you are 

- like a full on argument 

- he’d  always tell you how much he values your quality time 

- he might sometimes accidentally mirror your actions and “cling” a bit too by subconsciously draping his arm over you when your next to him or always being able to find your hand while walking together 

➽───────────────❥

IZURU KAMUKURA 

- he’d be so confused on why you’re clinging to him, since he’s not a very touchy person

- he’d ask you this too and he’d understand that he’s special because you aren’t like this with everyone 

- he’d do anything for you to make you feel more comfortable about being a clingy person and he explains to you that it’s not your fault you’re like this and to not get mad at yourself because it’s a normal feeling that lots of people go through 

- he’d  always have a hand holding yours or an arm around your shoulder

- he’d think it’s very endearing that you’re clingy 

- so much quality time spent together finding random things to keep each other occupied 

- sometimes he can feel exhausted or just drained and will just flop himself onto you and just lay in your lap and let out a big sigh and literally lay there forever 

➽───────────────❥

RANTARO AMAMI 

- he’d also enjoy it quite a lot 

- he’d always offer for you to tag along if he’s going somewhere but he never wants you to feel out of place 

- he’d literally welcome all the affection pls 

- he’d literally go “aww” at it too 

- he’d feel so content when he has your attention 

- rantaro supremacy 

- okay why do i think he’d ruffle your hair as a way of intimacy too 

- BIG WARM LONG HUGS 

➽───────────────❥

SHUICHI SAIHARA 

- flustered emo detective

- he’d hide his face a bit when he receives a lot of attention because it gets him so blushy 

- he’d be a little hesitant but,,, lots of pecks on the lips 

- he’d also never even dream about calling you clingy or annoying because it could make you upset 

- he wants you to be content and comfortable so he’ll always let you be near him

- play with his hair while he works on a case i’m ajsjkabssk

- he’d immediately feel less stressed and worked up 

➽───────────────❥

KIIBO

- oh boy 

- he always loves the clingyness because it helps him understand humans better 

- he likes seeing all the different types of affection that you can give and will remember it and test it out on you later 

- he like offers you little things for hanging out with him 

- he’ll give you a flower for just being near him please he’s just too <333

- “y/n! thank you for your time today. i collected valuable data, now saved to my memory bank and it also let me get to know you better. i think it would’ve been a bit rude that you did not benefit from this so i hope you accept this flower as a sign of my graditude and as a thank you for being an extraordinary s/o.” 

➽───────────────❥

EREN JEAGER 

- also a bit confused 

- why do you want to cling to him ?? he can get violent and loud sometimes ?? 

- he might be hesitant to accept the affection but would warm up 

- he would be very,,, quiet while receiving affection 

- like he becomes so focused on that 

- will fight anyone who thinks you’re annoying 

- when he finds out you’re really only like this around him he’s so shocked but honored 

- he’d try his best to make you happy and comfortable 

- he’d love love love holding hands 

➽───────────────❥

ARMIN ARLERT 

- bae would be shy shy 

- he’d be so scared to mess up 

- he’d literally freeze the first time he gets affection and would melt right into it 

- like just pull him into a tight hug for the first time and he’d just freeze and go 

- “y/n.... i-i really like this. can we stay like this for a bit? please?” and would hug you back tightly 

- then he gets used to it 

- he welcomes all the affection and he smiles widely whenever you go to him and he tries to hide it 

➽───────────────❥

JEAN KIRSTEIN 

- he’d try his absolute hardest to make you happy and would cling right back 

- he’d be flustered and try to act tough at the same time akshakue 

- i think he’d like tracing his fingers around your back and arms 

- big hugs 

- you have to let go first on hugs, he never lets go [hes scared he might loose you] 

- gets a little nervous and panicky if you aren’t being your usual clingy self 

➽───────────────❥

LEVI ACKERMAN 

- he wouldn’t really respond 

- he’d let you cling onto him and will let you follow him around 

- he’d warm up to it very slowly

- and one day randomly returns the affection 

- i think he’d like little kisses on the knuckles or hands 

- he wouldnt get annoyed because he’s one of the only ones who’s treated this way by you so he wouldnt want to hurt your feelings 

- if you did get insecure he would give reassurance by a kiss and a “pep talk” 

- won’t tolerate anyone calling you annoying 

➽───────────────❥

#aot x reader #danganronpa x reader #levi ackerman x reader #eren jeager x reader #armin arlert x reader #jean kirschtein x reader #nagito komaeda x reader #rantaro amami x reader #byakuya togami x reader #hajime hinata x reader #izuru kamakura x reader #kazuichi soda x reader #makoto naegi x reader #kiibo x reader #keebo x reader #shuichi saihara x reader #danganronpa #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #mod rantaro ✧

[ray-ray-writings]

Stream Stresses-SBI Au

This is a Brother!Technoblade, Brother!Wilbur, Brother!Tommyinnit, and Father!Philza x gn!reader in the SBI inc Au. I hope that this is written how the anon that requested it wants it, but I’m not sure. So basically, the SBI is a real family dynamic, the thing is that all of Philza’s children, Y/N, Tommy, Techno, and Wilbur are all well known streamers and everybody’s fans know this and love the family dynamic that you four have, because you’re literally family. So yeah. Here you go, I hope you enjoy. 

Check out my masterlist here!

When Y/N makes fun of their brother, chat jumps to his defense by saying some not so nice things about Y/N. The mean things cause Y/N to shut down their stream with tears in their eyes, worrying their father, Philza.

Y/N’s POV

“Hello chat!” I exclaimed, adjusting my headphones as people slowly began to flood the chat, “How are we today?” A variety of responses flew through my chat before my question was returned to me. “How am I today? I’m doing good! Thank you for asking!” My eyes scanned my notification and I couldn’t help but smile at the subs and donos rolling through. I quickly thank everyone by name before clapping, “Okay chat, today we are going to be playing Minecraft. But we’re not going to play on the SBI server, no we’re going to attempt speedrunning!” I explained. I eagerly watched my chat explode in support, a lot of ‘POGS’ flying by my eyes. “Well let’s get started, shall we?” 

I quickly opened my Minecraft and adjusted my stream so that my viewers could see what I was doing. “What should we name the first world? Yes we’re naming them, what monster does not name their speedrun worlds?” Random names flew through the chat, until one caught my eyes. “Tommy! We’ll name this one Tommy so when it let’s me down it won’t be anything new!” I cheered, typing the name into the world box, giggling to myself. For the most part the chat found it funny, but I did see some people say some mean stuff for making fun of my brother. 

I quickly cleared my throat and shook it off, “Here we go chat!” I exclaimed before loading in the world. I spawn in an acacia biome next to a desert, “So far Tommy’s treating us pretty good huh?” I joked, rushing over to a tree and punching it. I gained a bunch of wood and then began running through the desert in search of a village. I found one rather quickly and began my raid. I got everything from the chests and then found the iron golem and hit it to get it to chase me so I could build up and kill it… Only problem is I wasn’t quick enough.

I let out screech as the iron golem flung me up in the air, dealing a crazy amount of damage to the point where when I landed, I died. I gave a quick huff and pout as I exited out of the world. “Okay… What did I say, should have been expected to be let down by Tommy!” I exclaimed, my eyes scanning the chat. A few people laughed, but a lot of them were calling me horrible. They were saying that I shouldn’t blame my inability to play the game on my brother. It caused a pain to strike in my heart, because that’s not what I was doing at all. Really mean names began flying through my chat causing me to clear my throat and look away. “Um… Let’s try again,” I mumbled, creating a new world. 

“We’re just going to keep going down the list” I announced, trying to bring my energy back up as I typed the name “Wilbur” into the world box before hitting ‘create world’ and loading in. I let my eyes dance back to chat that seemed to go back to normal, but there were still some really mean people in chat. This time I spawned in a plains biome next to a village. I got pretty far this time. I made it all the way to the nether, even found a fortress, but my excitement about it died pretty quickly… because I did too. 

“NOOO!” I shouted at the ‘You Died’ screen. “I didn’t even see that blaze there! Damn it Wilbur!” I exclaimed, exciting out of the world once more. My eyes looked over to chat again, praying that the haters had gotten bored and left… My prayers were not answered. Instead, there were probably the most amount of haters I’d ever seen in my chat before. Every message was filled with hate. Telling me that I wasn’t good enough, that I should just quit, that my brothers were so much better than I was and there was no reason for me to even continue. I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t help the tears that formed in my eyes and began streaming down my cheeks. 

“Ummm… Thanks for coming. I’m going to end stream now,” I sniffed, closing Minecraft and going to my streaming settings. “Bye,” I whimpered out before ending the stream. I sat there frozen for a minute before breaking down into sob. Why do they hate me?

*POV Switch*

Philza’s POV

A grin crossed my face as my phone lit up with a twitch notification. I quickly shifted my attention to my phone screen to figure out which child it was that was going live. It was Y/N! I quickly set up my phone in such a way that I could ‘watch’ their stream while I made dinner for everyone. “Hello chat!” I heard them exclaim, “How are we today!” 

It really warmed my heart to watch my children stream. All four of them had worked extremely hard to get where they are today. I did everything I could to understand the Twitch community so I could support my children as they achieved their dreams. Sure it was hard at times, me trying to keep up with everything in all their streams but also when they’re all streaming at the same time and just screaming at each other, but we make it work. 

My focus turned to the food that I was making. Footsteps entered the kitchen pulling my attention away from the stream, “Hey Dadza,” Techno’s monotone voice greeted me from behind. “Hello Techno,” I greeted back, throwing him a smile over my shoulder. “Is Y/N streaming?” Techno asked, walking to the refrigerator, pulling it open and grabbing a water bottle. I nodded my head at the question. “Yeah, they’re speed running,” I responded, turning my head back to the veggies I was cutting for dinner. Techno let out a hum before turning his attention to my phone. 

As I cooked, I could hear Techno let out small laughs at what they’re sibling was saying on their stream. Twentyish minutes had gone by before Techno spoke actual words, “What the fuck,” He muttered, getting closer to my phone. “Language… What’s going on?” I asked, still focused on making dinner. “Y/N is crying,” He explained. My head snapped to my phone and sure enough, tears were streaming down their face. “Bye” they croaked out before the stream just ended. Not wasting any more time, I grabbed my phone and I ran out of the kitchen and toward Y/N’s room. 

As I grew closer, I could hear sobs coming from their room causing my heart to sink in my chest. I gave a quick knock on the door before barreling in. Y/N was still sitting in their gaming chair, hunched over into themselves, their hands muffiling the sobs falling from their lips. “Oh honey,” I whispered, closing the door behind me. Y/N’s head shot up and their red rimmed eyes met mine. Another loud sob broke from their mouth causing my heart to hurt even more. I took a few quick steps forward to get to them and offer them comfort. Y/N rose from their gaming chair and fell into my open arms. I quickly wrapped my arms around them in a tight hug. “I’ve got you honey,” I murmured, “I’ve got you.”

At some point, I slowly made my way to their bed and sat down, leaning against the headboard, pulling them to sit across my lap, burying their face in my chest like all those years ago when they were a lot younger. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the afternoons that they and their brothers would go outside to play and ride bikes and they would come back in with scraped and bloodied knees and palms. I would pull them into my lap, dry their tears, and help them calm down. It’s a bittersweet memory. It feels nice to think back, but under these circumstances? Not so much. 

Slowly but surely, Y/N’s sobs died down into simple sniffles before stopping all together. “You okay?” I questioned softly, leaning back ever so slightly so I could meet my child’s eyes. Their puffy ears peered up as they slowly nodded, “Yeah. I’ll be okay,” they muttered out resting their head back on my shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked carefully, not wanting to upset them again. A soft sigh left Y/N’s mouth, “I suppose I should. It’s best not to bottle it up,” they thought aloud causing me to smile just a little bit. A small bit of pride welled up inside me of how grown up they sounded. 

The smile quickly faded from my lips as my child explained what had happened on their stream. How chat had turned on them and the mean things that they said. I could feel my blood begin to boil. I was extremely pissed at not only chat, but at the mods for not stopping it. But I had to remain calm on the outside, for Y/N’s sake. 

“I’m so sorry that happened honey. You don’t deserve that. Nothing they said is true okay? You work so hard and it shows because you’re so good at what you do. Your brothers are good at what they do too. You guys are on equal playing feels and are all exceptional streamers. You deserve all good things honey. And I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to mod. You’re never streaming without me modding again. Do you understand me?” I rambled, staring at my child curled in my lap. A small giggle sounded in the air causing me to relax ever so slightly. “Yeah. I understand you dad… Thank you.” 

Before I could respond, there was a small knock on the door. “Come in,” Y/N called, staring curiously at the door. It swung open and there stood my three other children peering nervously into the room. After standing in the doorway in an awkward silence for a moment, Tommy lets out a loud scoff before pushing his way into the room and crawls up on the best next to us. Tommy then surprises me by wrapping his arms around his sibling and gives them a tight squeeze, “You’re a good streamer Y/N,” I heard him mumble in his sibling's ear. “Chat can be just a little stupid sometimes.” Another giggle passes through their lips as Y/N slides off of my lap and sits in between Tommy and I. “Thanks Tommy,” they whisper back, turning their body to properly hug their brother back. 

The closing of the door pulled my attention away from my youngest two. Wilbur and Techno were now also completely in the room and were heading toward the bed as well. I moved over so that one of them could sit in between Y/N and I and the other could go sit next to Tommy. Wilbur took the place beside me, sending Techno over by Tommy. Not saying anything, Wilbur turned his body and reached over and wrapped his long arms around Y/N and Tommy, trapping them in their own hug. For the first time ever, neither of them complained. Neither told him to get off, simply just accepted the affection from their brother. 

And to my surprise and delight, Techno leaned onto Tommy and wrapped his arms around the two as well, his arms only able to wrap around Y/N. The four didn’t say anything as they laid in the cuddle pile. I couldn’t stop the tears that formed in my eyes. They hadn’t done this in years. Before Wilbur and Techno hit their teen years, the four of them would cuddle in piles like this all the time. When I couldn’t find any of them, I would only have to find one to find all of them. But once the teen years began, the two eldest felt that they were too cool to cuddle with their siblings and the piles came to a stop. It warms my heart to see them do this, even if it’s under really shitty circumstances. 

One by one, their breathing evened out. One by one, they fell asleep. Once I was sure all were asleep, I slowly and carefully got off of the bed and managed to do so without waking any of them. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, made sure the ringer and flash were off, before snapping many photos. I didn’t plan on sharing them with everyone, they were just for me to have and to hold. Maybe I’ll print one and put it in my office. 

I carefully slipped out of the room, closing the door softly behind me before heading back to the kitchen. The kitchen was exactly how I left it when I fled to Y/N’s room after seeing them cry. As quietly as I could, I put everything away. I decided I was no longer in a mood to cook. Besides, on days like today, I think Y/N deserves to have their favorite carry out… Don’t you?

I don’t know if I liked how this one turned out, so let me know what you think! Leave a like if you did enjoy it and maybe even reply or reblog or even send me an ask telling me what you thought!!

#mcyt #mcyt imagine #mcyt one shot #mcyt x reader #sbi #sbi au #philza #technoblade #wilbur soot #tommyinnit #philza imagine #technoblade imagine #wilbur soot imagine #tommyinnit imagine #platonic #technoblade one shot #philza one shot #wilbur soot one shot #tommyinnit one shot #gender neutral #stream stresses #ray-ray-writing #requested #sbi au imagine #sbi imagine #brother!technoblade #brother!wilbur soot #brother!tommyinnit #father!philza

[lovingkaede]

Rantaro, Shuichi, Kokichi, Fuyuhiko and Kaito with a super sweet and kind SHSL plushie maker? Like they love everybody! So what would their reactions be if they were found crying because some bitc- I mean very unkind and rude person made them cry?

I know I said I’d take a break but no hahah I just can’t stop myself from writing 😳 Also I’m aware this request took forever but hope you like it! 💞 -Mod Kaede

Rantaro Amami

He finds you so cute if you ask me

And thinks you are really easygoing, I mean you love everybody!

You’re just so sweet

He won’t hesitate to call you cute names, too

When he first found you crying, he was confused

What happened?

“Y/n? Are you okay?”

When you told him about it he immediately went from :0 to >:0

Big brother mode activated

Ok but he’s so understanding

100% hugging you and telling you it’s okay

Also always welcoming any hug coming from you anytime

“Don’t cry anymore, Y/n, come on,” Holds you to calm you down, ugh 😭

Next time he sees them he’ll make sure to talk to them about it

You know how serious he is? Yeah, he’s like that

But for now, he’ll just make sure you’re being loved

Shuichi Saihara

Aw, you’re so sweet for his soul

You make him blush all the time-

I mean you just care so much- it makes him want to cry

And you always give him gifts, too

Adorable

He thought no soul could be mean towards you- You’re just like an angel

But welp, there you were, crying

“Hey, Y/n! There’s-.. Y/n?”

He felt upset, I mean there were times where you pouted, but you were literally crying

“Y/n, are you okay...?”

He wanted to hug you but he did want to respect your boundaries, too

But boy, did you need it

He slowly wrapped his arms around you and let you cry it out

He listened to you carefully and he was like, how?

Tries to change the subject so your mind isn’t full of bad thoughts- Probably brings you snacks or sweets

He wouldn’t leave your side until you were feeling better!

Please stop crying, he doesn’t know how to comfort you at all- he’s trying

Kokichi Ouma

How do you stand him, just asking

You’re very kind and he’s just.. The opposite?

Well sometimes he’s so sweet but most of the times he acts like a brat

But he shows you his sweet side only? Good for you? And you’re sweet to anyone?

I’m sorry but no one’s messing with you. He’s literally the president of “Y/n Love Club”

“Y/n, what’re you doing in the dark?”

He heard your little cries

Oh no

Hell no

“You’re crying?!!??!!?”

“It’s noth-” Say no more

He isn’t leaving until you’re done crying!!

Seriously he’s so clingy lmfao spoils you with lots of love and you get flustered as hell

You two gossip about the person and he can get a bit manipulative and say stuff like “Well, I wouldn’t talk to them if I were you,” he makes jokes on purpose just to make you laugh

“Don’t worry about them, Y/n! I’ll make sure they won’t get away with this.”

Kokichi, NO

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu

If you ask me, he can’t take all of this cute stuff

You’re just so wholesome- it’s too much for him

He thought you didn’t mean this at first- how could you be sweet to anyone. But boy, were you serious

And you melted his heart, too xjtjgktgkfh

He won’t admit but he thinks you’re really cute and must be protected at all cost 💞💞 Sometimes his chest hurts because you’re just being so precious

You were really sweet to anyone,, he kind of expected you to get hurt because of this

And then he saw you crying

“Oh, they did this to you?”

“Yeah... Fuyuhiko, what’s that?”

“It’s just my gun”

I-

For now he’ll let Peko handle this

“Y/n Protection Squad”

If you need affection that moment, that’s what he’ll do

You’ll be his number one priority but the next day he’ll have a friendly talk with the person made you upset

Kaito Momota

He loves you so much!!! Ahjdjcngjdxjxjfjc!!4+-&&;&!😭😭😭

He thinks he’s dating an angel, a god, a goddess, historia reiss-

He even names the stars after you-

You’re too good for him

He gets soo cheesy with you and gives you embarrassing nicknames all the time

But you’re crying... On his sight?

Just no

He’ll freak out lmao

“Y/n?!??!??”

He gets really angry with that person-

He gives you the best comfort tbh, he’s just like that

So caring

Also is really sassy lmao

“Well, it didn’t surprise me... They weren’t worth your time anyways,”

Sigh, we all know you are just jealous, Kaito

You should hangout with him, Shuichi and Maki Roll. They’re much more interesting smh and they’ll treat you right!

Also he’ll give them death stares when they’re talking to you from now on- only if looks could kill

A body is discovered???

sighh I’m lacking motivation but I’m trying my best-- ugh, no

Well... I didn’t want to take a break before I finish this. This was saved in my drafts, I’m sorry if these are so bad I dunno what to do anymore lol I’ll be having exams after a month but studying is hard during the pandemic

Aaaanyway, requests are open, I’m writing them oldest to newest, so they might take a while! -Mod Kaede

#danganronpa headcanons #danganronpa #danganronpa x reader #danganronpa imagines #drv2 #danganronpa goodbye despair #drv3 #danganronpa killing harmony #rantaro x reader #shuichi x reader #kokichi x reader #fuyuhiko x reader #kaito x reader #rantaro amami #shuichi saihara #kokichi ouma #fuyuhiko kuzuryuu #kaito momota

[fandom-go-round]

Types of Love: Original Drider x Reader

Mod May Week One Story! I had a lot of fun with this, I hope everyone enjoys! This is a fluffy story about a modern drider x human couple figuring out their new home.The poll for week 2 will go live tomorrow.

Warnings: Implied Sexual Content

           It takes four different phone calls before you actually get past the word ‘drider’. The contractor’s website looks like its orcish run and you pray that this man isn’t just going to laugh you off the phone. That happened yesterday.

           “That’s an odd thing you’re requesting.” The orc’s voice is rough and low, sounding like gravel rolling down a hill. You give an exhausted laugh, leaning against your kitchen wall.

           “Tell me about it. You’re the fourth contractor I’ve called.” He rumbles over the phone, silence falling before he laughs loudly.

           “Fuck it? Ya know what, I’ve never built one before but we can figure it out.” You grin, face lighting up.

           “Really? Are you sure?” He snorts at your question, laughing again.

           “Of course. Give me your information and I’ll come out tomorrow to take a look.” You quickly give him your information and address, setting up a time for Luc’tic (turned out he was the owner of the company) and some of his men to come out. You hang up, feeling more hopefully than you had all week.

           You quickly move to the back of the house, tidying up as you go. You’re sure the orcs won’t care about the mess but you will, at least when they walk in. You stand in front of the wall you want blown out, letting out a slow breath.

           “Darling?” You jump at the sound of Dominic’s voice, watching as your lover comes around the corner. She smiles when she sees you, fangs exposed and black eyes crinkling. You grin back and walk over to her, standing on your toes to wrap your arms around her neck.

           “Hey babe, welcome home. How was work?” Dom sighs, giving you a squeeze and gently setting you back on the ground.

           “Work was alright, lots of people coming in. Wedding season is getting closer and I keep getting commissions.”

           “That’s great!” When she sees your smile Dom smiles back, leaning down to kiss your forehead and let out a short groan.

           “I know, I’m just tired and it means I have longer hours.” You hum, reaching around to gently rub the beginning of her abdomen. She shudders, leaning closer to you and wrapping her other set of arms around your waist.

           “I know baby. It’s exciting though, that the business is taking off.” Dom hums, nuzzling your neck and staying there for a moment before moving away.

           “So, what’s the plan for dinner? Do you want me to cook?” You hum, taking one of her hands and gently swinging her arm. Dom’s skin was soft like normal, the dark purple looking like satin in the soft light. You admire her as she begins to move back into the kitchen, her abdomen and legs moving lightly over the floor. It was always amazing to you that she was able to move so nimbly, even on the hardwood.

           “We can cook together. I want to help.” Dom turned to you with another smile, rattling off dinner ideas as she moved into the kitchen. You watched her go, vowing to make this surprise work for her. She deserved everything and then some.

                                                     xxx

           Luc’tic was a massive orc. His tucks were bigger than your head and when you opened the door to let him in, you could only see his chest until he bent over. You let him and two other orcs in, the entire group looking around as you led them into the backroom.

           Your house was far from conventional. To make things easier for Dominic, you had been remodeling the house. Mostly it was widening doorways and moving things like cabinets and the shower. There was one thing, however, that you wouldn’t be able to do on your own.

           “What did you call this thing again?” Luc’tic breaks you out of your thoughts, turning to watch the younger orcs as they begin to measure the wall. Both of them are younger, one with dark green skin and the other a lighter shade of moss. They keep elbowing each other and whispering, clearly talking about you. You watch as Luc’tic smacks them both on the back of the head and bark something in orcish. You laugh a little, answering his question.

           “It’s called a Spider Window. They’re popular in drider households and I want to see how much it would be to install.”

           “It’s just a giant window, right?” You turn to the moss-colored orc, giving a smile at his honest question.

           “Mostly. It’s a floor to ceiling window but it’s more like a dome. Some have beams so that driders can spin webs in them.”

           “What are you looking for?” Luc’tic asks, writing the measurements down as you begin to talk.

           “I know that for code reasons it can’t go all the way to the floor. I think that’s better actually because I’d rather have it span the wall, or as much of it as you can. I would like to have a frame built too, something sturdy that could hold her weight.”

           “This is gonna be a custom job.” Luc’tic looked up at you, raising an eyebrow. “It’s going to be expensive. You ok with that?” You nodded at the question.

           “Yeah, I figured it would be.” The orc nodded back, finishing up his notes and offering you a smile.

           “I’ll send you a quote. We should be able to get out next week if you like the quote.” You talk about the details a little more, walking them to the door.

           “Sounds like a plan. Thank you so much for coming out.” Luc’tic gave you a grin, taking his men with him. You watched them go, smiling to yourself and vowing that you would afford this room.

           Dom suspects something when she gets home, trying to pull you into her arms and you dance out of the way.

           “You’re in a good mood.” All four of her eyes narrow, looking over your face and trying to figure out what was going on.

           “I’m allowed to be in a good mood.” You tease back, gently flicking a towel at her as she moves closer.

           “What has you in such a good mood?”

           “It’s a surprise.” Dom hums at your response, starting to grin.

           “A surprise for me?” You laugh, shaking your head at her question.

           “You’ll have to wait until you’re back from your trip.” She groans, shaking her head.

           “That’s two weeks from now!”

           “Don’t worry, it’s worth the wait.” You wink and she chuckles, quickly moving over to you. Without a word she picks you up, moving towards the bedroom. Any cries to stop were ignored, Dom determined to make you squeal for her.

                                                       xxx

           It’s easy to hide the job from Dom while she’s out of town. You don’t mention the construction and she’s busy with her conference. She doesn’t call until the afternoon, once Luc’tic and his nephews had left. You’re exited that her sewing business is taking off, knowing that it’s been her dream for years.

           The orcs are impressive with their strength and timing; you would have never guessed they were new to building a Spider Window. It was fun to watch the boys, Kuter and Repurt argue and tease each other throughout the day. You could tell their uncle was exasperated by their puns, but it made the day go by faster for.

           The price was a little more than you wanted but this was going to be your forever home. You were going to start a family here and Dominic would be as comfortable as possible. Luc’tic was a good man under his gruff exterior and the two of you got along surprisingly well.

           It took a little over six days to get everything installed and configured correctly. There were some issues with the frame, mostly about how it was going to hold the combined weight of Dom and you but Luc’tic was able to add some more supports to make it work. The end result was perfect, a domed window that Dom could spin a web into.

           You only had a day to clean everything up and add the finishing touches, running around town to find good pillows and comfy things to add to the space. The natural light was beautiful, and you wanted to put your own style on it.

           “Babe?” You looked up from fluffing a pillow, grinning as you heard Dom begin to walk through the house.

           “Back here!” You heard her giggle at your call, moving towards you.

           “Are you with my surprise?” You laughed at her question, not able to contain your glee.

           “I am! You should be excited.”

           “I am! I really have no idea what it-“ Dom abruptly cut herself off, freezing in the doorway and staring at the window. You were grinning so hard that your cheeks hurt, moving out of the way so she could look it over. Her steps were slow, fingers gently trailing over the window and frame, front legs rubbing together happily.

           “What do you think?” Your voice snapped her out of her thoughts, Dom turning to look at you for a moment before scooping you up. You laughed, struggling weakly as she began to cover your face in kisses.

           “Silly human. You didn’t have to do this.” Her voice was thick with unshed tears, burying her face into your neck. You hummed, running your fingers through her hair, letting the red locks settle onto her shoulders.

           “I wanted to. It’s a gift, for you.” She whimpered, taking a few moments to collect herself before pulling back. She cupped your face and kissed you, hard. You moaned as she began to nibble on your lip, gasping as she began to move.

           “Dominic!” Your lover ignored the cry of her name, body quickly beginning to build a web. “What are you doing!?”

           “I’m going to fuck you in this window.” She moaned, her second set of arms quickly beginning to strip you.

           “B-babe…” You tried to protest but it was too late; she had you in her grasp and wasn’t going to let go. Not that you were going to complain. At least the window faced the woods; thank God for small miracles.

#original monster #drider x reader #drider imagine #monster girlfriend #monster boyfriend #exophilia #drider #original drider

[cuteykat]

Hello friend!! I have decided to ask something for my daddies favorite characters! If that's okay? I didn't see any rules or anything soooooo

I'mma just go on gut instinct

Maybe some fluffy cuddles with Lucci, Crocodile, Mihawk and Ace? (And anyone else you wanna throw in? Any daddies I missed) Oh and headcanons unless u wanna do scenario? Please and Thank you!!

Hello! Thank you for the request! These scenarios will be in short story form to I hope your okay with! They’re are two extra character I added in there too! I hope you enjoy

Ace: It was early morning sailing along on a winter island. Snow was failing everywhere and it was very cold. Everyone would usually be wearing something warmer, well except Ace.

Ace was walking along the ship until see you noticing how cold you were.

“ are you okay (name)?” He ask being a bit concerned

You look down before looking back up “ Ace do you think we could cuddle since it’s very cold?” You ask the fire man.

Ace was quiet embarrassed that you asked, his face turned bright red not knowing what to say at first but he nods his head walking over to you. He kneels down beside you hugging you tightly in his arms feeling like a heater

“ Thank you ace” you mumble and start to close your eyes. The man was like a living heater and you could peacefully fall asleep in his embrace. Shortly after you did fall asleep to which he smiles

“ Your so cute (name)” he picks you up gently bringing you to your bed so they could cuddle more.

Lucci: it was early morning in enbies lobby but no one could tell due to how it was always sunny night and day and the stars never showed themselves.

You were doing your regular task along the ships feeling sad. You didnt particularly know why you felt that way but you did. You kept a smile on your face to which most people would assume that you were happy except for Lucci. He could sense how you felt at any given moment, have it be due to the Neko neko fruit or just pure instinct. He wouldn’t go right up and ask but he would follow you around a bit till you were both in a secluded area. The man walks up to you having a small hint of worry on his face.

“ Something the matter?” He ask looking down at you

“ I guess I can’t really hide it Huh” you look down at the ground “ Just feeling sad, I don’t know why” you think about it till it hits you “ Maybe because I miss seeing the stars and moon. We don’t get to see it here and it’s just something I miss” you sign before smiling “ But thats okay! I enjoy being here”

Lucci nods and gets an idea “ Meet me by the gate at 7 pm alright?” He waits for your confirmation

“ Of course lucci sir” you say even though you were genuinely confused

Through out the day you felt a bit better but there were times you thought about the stars. All so beautiful in the sky.

In the afternoon lucci goes to speak with spandam “ I have something I have to do later tonight so I’ll be taking the night off” he says while rubbing hattori chin

“ What’s so important?” Spandam complains like a whiney child

“ None of your business” he retorts

“ Probably bringing (name) somewhere” Kaku says to which slightly embarrasses Lucci.

“ None of your business” lucci walks out

7 pm comes and you were standing outside the gate when seeing the man hold something that was like a picnic basket and a train comes around

“ Get on” the man instructs.

You both get on the train and it starts to ride having it be only the two of you. It was quiet but he opens up the Picnic basket to where they’re was a small home made meal along with some snacks before he opens up the window “ Take a look outside”

You mod and look outside, you were out of enbies lobby and you could see the stars. You start to cry at the nice gesture before he sits next to you holding you.

“ You said you were missing the night sky right? I thought I would let you see it again”

“ Thank you so much!”

You both cuddle and eat watching the night sky before you start to get tired.

You yawn and hug the men quietly thanking him before falling asleep.

“ If I could do this more with you I would” he puts his face into the crook of your neck as a shooting star flies by. Maybe the stars would grant that wish.

Mihawk: it was close to midnight, it was a rainy day after the whole sky be pitch black with no stars shining through at all. The whole day Mihawk had been busy running around unable to see you all day. And right as he gets a break he can see the red hair pirate walk in

“ Yo! I’m not interrupting anything am I?” Shanks says with a smile

“ Right as I get a break to. Come inside I guess. (Name) will be happy to see you” Mihawk says seeing shanks also had alcohol with him

“ Great!” Shanks says walking in going to the living room seeing you were wrapping something up

“ What are you up to (name)” shanks ask looking over

You jump looking surprised “ I’ll tell you but you can’t tell Mihawk”

The red hair man smiles “ deal!” He opens up some rum for the both of you

“ I made ( or bought depending on how you choose) this for Mihawk. I’ve been waiting till he wasn’t busy so I can give it to him but he been busy all day” you say holding the scarf in your hands clenching down on the fabric before seeing Mihawk walk in

“ Mihawk I-“

“ Sorry I’ve been quite busy today. Let’s drink alright?” Mihawk says not noticing it we’re holding something

“ y-yeah!” You put the scarf into pocket

A few hours hours and you were already drunk and leaning against the greatest swordsmen getting tired

“ mihawk~” you say looking at the men before hugging him “ love you” you fall asleep closing your eyes

Mihawk looks quite surprised only to see shanks laugh

“ What’s so funny shanks?” The man looks at shanks with his golden eyes like he was staring into his soul

“ She fell asleep before she could show you it” he points to your pocket “ Look in her left pocket”

Mihawk wonders what the hell the other man was talking about but reaches in your pocket and grabs a scarf

“ it’s a scarf”

“ Look at it closely!” Shanks laughs drinking more alcohol

Mihawk observes it and sees his name is engraved into the scarf making his face turn a light hue of red before wrapping it around his neck and hugging you tightly starting to cuddle you.

You smile in your sleep and mumble “ I love you Mihawk” you go back to being quiet

“ I love you too” he mumbles under his breathe before gently picking you up in his arms and starts to carry you to their shared room “ Goodnight shanks” he mentions.

“ Goodnight you lovers!” He laughs seeing how cute Mihawk was being to you

Mihawk sits both of you on the bed and he watches you with his golden eyes. He thought you were the most beautiful women he has ever seen.

“ Goodnight my love” he kisses your forehead and hugs you tighter falling asleep cuddling you the whole night.

Crocodile: it was about 8 Pm in Alabasta. The sun was setting meaning it was starting to get cold. The days were scorching hot and the nights were freezing cold. Crocodile had another busy day but that was usual for the man but usually once he would have seen you walking around to either have tea ( or coffee) or feeding the bananagators. He’s not one to worry much but for you it was different.

“ where could that women be?” He walks and goes to his bedroom to think but he sees you were in his bed not looking too good. Your face has a red hue to it and you had blankets wrapped around you. You looked sick but crocodile was surprised you were in his bed and not your own

“ What are you do-“ he saw that you were asleep and looking visibly in pain and before he could continue to think nico robin appeared

“ She almost passed out near your room Mr.0. I brought her here earlier this morning. She must of been asleep the whole day”

Crocoldile sighs “ Fine. Can you leave us two alone women”

Nico smiles and leaves the two of them alone

Crocodile looking at form seeing you were still shivering despite being under 3 blankets. His face had worry in it before going to the bathroom grabbing a thermometer.

You open your eyes slowly seeing the man walk over to you “ I’m sorry cr-“

“ Don’t talk” he puts the thermometer into your mouth and when hearing the beep he takes it out. You definitely had a fever. He goes to call a doctor but can feel your hand grab on his clothes

“Please cuddle with me” you ask before letting go. You were so tired that you couldn’t even keep your grip on the mans coat

Crocodile wouldn’t admit it but he did find it cute that such a strong women like you would ask for something like that. He would completely deny any one else but he sighs shaking his hand “ Alright” he gets in bed and wraps his coat around you knowing you like his coat before seeing you wrap your arms around his form and closing your eyes once again

“ Thank you crocodile” you fall asleep having your face show the real pain you were in once again.

The man hugs you lightly not wanting to hurt you but let’s put a small smile before frowning “ Your definitely seeing a doctor tomorrow. But for now I will cuddle with you. I love you (name) you are a very strong women and I can’t see you being sick” he goes and turns off the light “ Goodnight (name)” you both sleep the whole night together having crocodile keep your warm the whole night.

Sanji: it was 7 pm, the stars were shining beautifully through the night sky. Everyone had finished dinner but you had decided not to eat. You wanted to watch the stars in the sky and think about the solar system as a whole. They’re were so many theories out there but one that was always on your mind is that the people you missed were a star in the night watching over you to keep you safe. It had been a while since you were on the ship with your crew but you missed the people you love and watching the stars made you feel closer to them. You were so lost in the stars you didn’t even hear Sanji yell your name

“ (name)-chaaaaaannn!!” Sanji rushes over with food that he had saved for you but he sees that you were so intently looking at the stars that you didn’t even notice he was there, to which made him shock

“ (name)-Chan?” He says poking your shoulder to which makes you jump “ Didn’t mean to scare you but you never came to dinner so I saved you some food”

“ O-oh thank you Sanji-Kun” you smile a bit taking the food and give him a hug in thanks before eating quietly and watching the stars

Sanji felt like he could pass out at the women, your hugs were like a hug from the goddess, your smile was brighter then any star in the sky.

He goes and sits down next to you wanting to spend some time together

“ What are you thinking about cutie?” He ask to which your face gets bright red

“ I-I well” it takes you a moment before speaking again “ When I look at the stars it brings me peace. They’re are so many different things people believe in when thinking about the stars. But the first thing that comes to mind for me is the people you love, the people you miss. They are the stars in the night watching over you, protecting you to whoever may harm you. They are the guiding light in the night sky” you take a bit of your food almost chocking when Sanji hugs you close, smelling the strawberry shampoo in your hair “ Are you missing someone right now?” He ask rubbing your hair trying to soothe you

You hum and nod your head “ I love being with everyone here, it’s always a fun new adventure waiting to happen but...” you take a breathe “ I do miss some people in my life. Every day I’m grateful for being here with everyone but I do miss them”

“ It’s okay (name)-Chan. That’s completely normal feeling. Everyones loves you here but I love you more then anyone else on this ship. I’m always here for you” Sanji looks up at the stars

You finish your dinner and lean against the cook giving him a kiss on the cheek “ Can we stay like this for a bit longer? I know you have to clean up but being with you like this... it makes me happy”

“ of course darling, anything for you”

Both you and Sanji spend a long time in each other’s arms watching the stars in the sky and enjoy each other’s company.

Zoro: today had been quite a peaceful day on the ship to which was a very rare occasion but it did sometimes happen. You were able to relax peacefully, everyone doing there own things but all you could here was Zoro grunt when lifting weights. You knew he was lifting inhuman number of weights but he was being very loud today for some reason. You stop whatever your doing and try to walk to him but you start to fall off the ship and before you go overboard Zoro had dropped his weights and grabbed you quickly

“ Z-Zoro...” you look at the man “ T-thank you”

Zoro humans but starts to hug you tighter while putting his face into his shoulder seeing some of his crew mates staring

“ Zoro is something wro-“ before you could continue Zoro quickly lifted you up your feet and carried you both to your bedroom placing you on the bed

“ Zoro what’s going o-“

“ I want to cuddle with you (name)” a light blush forms on his face “ I wanted to all day but I couldn’t get the words out. But seeing you almost fall off the ship it-“

You go and kiss the swordsmen cheek smiling “ It’s okay. I would love to cuddle with you”

He grins and gets in bed with you. He wraps you both in a blanket before hugging you tightly. One big arm wraps around your body while the other plays with your hair. He loved you so much, toot smile, your laugh, the way you shine in the sun, the way you could make his day with a snap of the finger. Zoro would never have thought of falling in love but with you, it was a whole new feeling, one he would never want to stop.”

“ I love you (name)”

“ I love you too Zoro. Thank you for cuddling with me”

He hums and the rest of the day you both cuddle and talk having it be a peaceful but very nice day, to which you both will hold dearly in your hearts

Im sorry if there are any grammar mistakes as I didn’t check before hand due to it being my birthday and I wanted to get this out as quick as possible! Again I hope you enjoy!

#zoro headcanons #zoro x reader #sanji headcanons #sanji x reader #rob lucci #rob lucci headcanons #rob lucci x reader #Mihawk headcanons #mihawk x reader #crocodile headcanons #crocodile x reader #ace headcanons #ace x reader #one piece headcanons #one piece #one piece x reader

[sdr2lovemail]

I just noticed that you are alive again! So um.. I've been thinking for QUITE a while of a relationship Ultimate Impostor x Ultimate Leader (in the killing game ig?), idk why. If the requests are closed feel free to ignore this. Thank you!

You could say that I am a fan of Imposter's work. Even tho there is not a lot of content about them out there I still love them dearly.

And yes I died for a minute but have risen from the grave to continue my writing career. I hope you enjoy what I have written my friend because I absolutely love it.

⚔Mod Peko⚔

Spoilers for chapter 1

The Ultimate Imposter disguised as Byakuya Togami and the Ultimate Leader butt heads but also kinda wanna kiss each other

Teenagers and a killing game are bound to fall into chaos. Teenagers, a killing game, and no supervision will cause more chaos. That’s why they need a leader. Someone strong and brave to guide them. However two ultimates wanting to be that leader, teenagers, a killing game, and no supervision will cause even more chaos.

Breakfast was a usually calm time. Everyone just wanted to eat and get on with finding a way off this forced school trip. However there were some mornings where everyone seemed to be full of energy. Akane and Nekomaru were engaged in a fierce 1v1 training session. Chairs, tables, and food flying throughout the air from the power of their moves. The restaurant was in total disarray and with your talent of being a leader you must do something to calm the crowd. Standing up you set your arms behind your back and call out to your classmates.

“Everyone! This is-”

“Sit down, common folk. You will all cease this foolish behavior and stop wasting food.”

“Huh?”

At the mention of wasting food Akane quickly stops her fighting. She then pulls up a table and chair from the mess of the restaurant and begins to chow down. You look at where the voice came from and see Twogami sitting at a table with a plate. Just because this guy is loaded he thinks he can be a better leader than you? Oh you will just have a quick word with him to set the record straight. With quick strides you tap him on the shoulder giving him your best stern look. This look helped you strike the feeling of order into people. But Twogami doesn’t look impressed at all?! No you can’t let him see you falter. Standing up straighter than ever you begin to speak.

‘Hey what’s the big idea? I’m the Ultimate leader. I don’t need your help guiding our class.” You told him with a grim expression. Twogami gave you a look over before setting down his fork. He wipes his mouth off with a napkin before standing to face you. His intimidation factor was off the charts. Can money buy such a scary aura?! After adjusting his glasses he begins to speak with a sigh.

“Listen I, Byakuya Twogami, am much better suited to be in charge. You may have your impeccable wits and title but that is nothing compared to being next in the Togami line. Now are we done here? I would like to finish my food”

Not even giving you a chance to respond he goes right back to eating. Even with your ultimate status this guy intimidates you a lot. But you will not be backing down. He thinks he’s so high and mighty you’ll show him high and mighty.

The days feel like they’re getting heavier. Monokuma’s annoying voice rings in your ears. There’s no way you’d believe that memory loss garbage….And even if you did, you had to stay strong for everyone. Twogami’s party did nothing to calm the tense feeling in the air. You decided you were going to check this abandoned building from top to bottom before anyone steps foot inside.

You do not see Nagito when you first step in. Maybe he’s cleaning somewhere else. Teruteru was said to be in the kitchen. Entering the main room of the building you see Twogami rifling through what looks to be a metal case. Hearing the floors creak under your weight he looks over. Upon seeing you he sends a glare.

“And what are you doing here? I don’t remember you having to prepare anything.” There was a doubtful tone to his voice. Twogami was trying to let this party go off without a hitch. And he wasn’t going to let some commoner ruin his plans. Though behind the rich boy costume Imposter did feel kinda bad. They felt like they were trampling all over your pride with their Byakuya act. However this was their ultimate. And as Twogami….No. Just as themself, if that even existed, they will keep their classmates safe. Even if they have to hurt some feelings.

“As a leader it is my duty to keep everyone in order and assure maximum safety. I plan to do a total sweep of the place before the party.” And like he did to you, you did not give him a chance to answer. You quickly turn around and exit out into the hallway missing the look of awe on Twogami’s face. Walking past the fire door you come up to the kitchen. Before you can reach for the door it swings open revealing Nagito. Strange….If Teruteru was already in the kitchen there was no need for Nagito to be in there. The lucky student passed by with a smile yet spoke no words towards you. Also strange. Nagito usually said something when passing. He deemed it rude not to say hello to an ultimate.

Entering the kitchen you see Teruteru at the counter. He doesn’t seem to notice you coming in. The usual smile on his face is replaced with a look of fear and he’s shaking like a leaf. Stepping closer seems to have caught his attention as he jumps. The look of fear is swiftly changed into a smile yet he’s still shaking. Teruteru then grabs a knife and begins chopping at some vegetables. Seems as if he’s trying to make it seem like he was simply taking a break.

“W-Why hello there. Heh, what could I do for you?” He’s shaken up quite a bit. Not a single flirty remark in that sentence and Teruteru sure did like to tease about your strong authority. You stand tall and look down at the chef. He visibly shrinks back. Looking him dead in the eye you start to command him.

“You will tell me what you have discussed with Nagito Komaeda.”

This caused Teruteru to tense up. Setting down the knife he grabs a comb from his pocket and begins to bring it through his hair. Though there isn’t a hair out of place on his pompadour. Appears to be a nervous habit.

“I uh….I have no idea what you mean mon ami~. We were simply discussing plans for the upcoming party.” Teruteru had tried to come off as collected but you knew better. He wasn’t making eye contact and he was constantly fidgeting. Nagito told him something and you were going to find out what.

“Teruteru Hanamura! I command you to tell me what Nagito had told you. Simple party plans would not have such an impact on your demeanor.”

This seemed to have caused a reaction in him. He began to blubber as words poured out of his mouth like a dam cracking under pressure.

“He came in here and told me that he had plans to murder someone at the party with the knife he had hidden under one of the tables in the dining room. He planned to overload the breaker in here with irons in the storage room to cause a blackout so he could grab the knife and kill someone during the party. I-I begun to form my own plan of stopping him….by….killing him?” The last part of his word vomit stuck with Teruteru. He would’ve had someone’s blood on his hands and would send the rest of his class to their own demise. “Oh my god I was going to kill him!” Teruteru then sinks to his knees before you.

Your face softens as you see the mess of a chef on the ground. Nagito was planning a murder? Why would he share this information with Teruteru? Dropping down to his level you set a careful hand on Teruteru’s back. “Listen. I’m going to go grab Twogami and you’re going to tell him what happened. And we’ll come up with a solution.” You normally wouldn’t call for backup, but as this was his party you felt he had the right to know.

You cautiously leave the kitchen and begin to look for the blond. Not able to find him in the building you exit to the hotel grounds. Noticing the while suit and blonde hair you call out to him and ask for him to come back. Leading him to the kitchen where Teruteru still sits slumped on the ground he listens to what you already know.

A look of disgust crosses Twogami’s face before he sets off to the main room. After announcing your departure to Teruteru, you follow him. Nagito is there setting up tables and dusting the furniture. He was about to offer the two of you a cheerful greeting but is cut off by your demand for him to exit the grounds. Not wanting to upset an ultimate that is clearly in higher ranks than he is, Nagito does not question it. He leaves the abandoned building to rest in his cottage to wait for permission to be allowed back in.

Looking under the tables you find the knife that Teruteru had mentioned. Grabbing it proceeds to coat your hand in wet paint. So Nagito had just planted this. But what’s the paint for?

“Set the knife in the duralumin case I brought on the left. I am currently using it to store anything I deem unsafe.”

You let out a scoff before setting the knife in the case. He sure does love bossing people around even in dire situations. Well….I guess that’s your talent so you can’t really speak. After doing a check of the rest of the tables, Twogami walks up to you with something in his hand. It’s a handkerchief with the Togami family crest. Imposter spent many hours perfecting the stitching of the symbol. You give him a confused look about the offering. Seeing the expression he rolls his eyes.

“Close your mouth before flies start to swarm. This is to wipe your hand off. I don’t need paint smears ruining the image of my party.”

“What? I can’t wipe paint on something as expensive as that. That handkerchief probably cost more than my house. I’ll just go wash it in the bathroom.”

Upset by your stubborn nature, Twogami grabs your wrist and begins to wipe the paint off himself. After your hand is clean he drops the cloth into your hand. “I expect that to be washed before it’s returned to me. Now I have some important matters to discuss.”

Stuffing the handkerchief into your pocket you give Twogami your full attention.

“I have decided that after this little incident we need to up the security. I would ask Nekomaru but I wish to keep this between us. Letting the public know that two people were planning a murder would cause chaos. When it’s time for the party you will help me conduct body searches. I’d like for you to keep an eye on the party with me to make sure no suspicious activity is at play.”

While normally you would make a fuss about him bossing you around with people’s lives at stake it was simply not the time for that. Nodding once he finishes speaking, you and Twogami complete one last look of the place before the party starts.

It’s time for the party and the two of you are set up outside of the abandoned building. After checking everyone and confiscating anything deemed dangerous, the party is in full swing. Everything is going smoothly. 11:30 was nearing and at the corner of your eye you see Nagito inch closer to the table. Knowing you shut the irons off you pay this no mind. There’s no way he’d try to pull anything when everyone can see him. A quick look of confusion crosses his face as the lights are still on. The confused expression is swapped for one of despair. There’s a creepy smile on his face and his eyes are clouded. Even if the blackout did not occur Nagito can still pull through with his plan.

He suddenly flips the table cloth over and goes to reach for his knife. Everyone at the party has eyes on him. Before he can fully register that his knife is in fact missing Nagito is pushed to the ground. His arms are pressed against his back and his face is squished into the floor. Multiple confused cries echo throughout the dining hall. Nagito recognized this tactic. After hours upon hours of researching the ultimates he’s sharing a class with he could easily tell that this was your work.

Twogami with Nekomaru in tow walks over to you and the detained lucky student. An agitated expression is on the heir’s face. He looks down at Nagito.

“You dare to think that I would let your plan continue? [Name] and I knew about your scheme and were quick to put a stop to it. And the fact that you would try to pull through with it in broad light is despicable.”

Anger, disgust, and confusion are present in the crowd of your classmates. Trying to make sense of it all Akane speaks up.

“I’m so friggin’ confused. What plan did Nagito have? Need me to beat him up for ya?”

You were quick to diminish the violent thought. “No, that will not be necessary as he has already been disarmed.”

“Nagito had planned out a murder.”

Twogami’s words caused a commotion in the dining hall. After hearing the noise from the kitchen, Teruteru cautiously enters the room fearing the worst. Though a feeling of relief washed over him after seeing Nagito on the ground.

Nekomaru lets out a strangled noise. His teeth are clenched and his fists tightened.

“You were going to murder one of your classmates? THAT’S INEXCUSABLE! Please [Name] allow me to detain him somewhere away from everyone. SOMEONE LIKE HIM CANNOT WALK FREEEEE!”

Looking over to Twogami as if silently discussing what to do he sends you a nod. Removing Nagito from your grasp he is quickly put into Nekomaru’s. The coach is quick to remove him from the premises. With a sigh Twogami faces your classmates. Pushing his glasses up he begins to apologise.

“I am sorry you all had to see that. And I am sorry that my exquisite party must draw to a close here. Exit the building and head to your cottage for the night.”

Though shaken, everyone proceeds to leave in groups. No one wants to walk back alone fearing that someone will try something. With just you and Twogami left he turns to face you.

“That was quite impressive. What you did back there was helpful in getting Nagito detained. I believe that we should come to an agreement. Yes we are fine separately but together I feel that we could do an outstanding job at keeping everyone safe.”

Twogami extended a chubby hand out for you to shake. This handshake would seal the two of you into a partnership. One of which would keep your class safe. Looking from his hand to his face then back to his hand you sit there in thought. This could be a wonderful idea. With two people working together that’s like double the safety. With a smile you shake his hand giving it a tight squeeze.

“I think I’d like that Twogami! From here on out the two of us are now Jabberwock Island’s health and safety committee.”

#ultimate imposter x reader #danganronpa x reader #imposter x reader #byakuya twogami x reader #ultimate imposter #byakuya twogami #super danganronpa goodbye despair #danganronpa #danganronpa imagine #sdr2 x reader #sdr2 #danganronpa fanfiction #danganronpa imagines #x reader #insert an original name here #Jabberwock Island Health and Safety Committee

[dgcatanisiri]

Welcome to DG’s Listing of Wish These DLC Existed, where I theorize, speculate, and just kinda generally throw ideas at the wall about DLCs for games I love that never happened and never will happen, but damn, I’d like to see them anyway.

Because I have ideas, I can’t get them made as mods, I don’t have time to make them into fic, and they’re never going to happen anyway, so why not put them up in a public place? After all, they’re tie ins to games I have no control over anyway, so it’s not like I’ll ever make money off of them anyway. And, as I’m not bound by any hardware limitations in terms of crafting ideas, or production cycles dictating when the game’s endpoint is, these can and do go on a great deal longer than the standard lifespan of a game.

A review of the format: There will be a name for the DLC, a brief synopsis, a reference to when this hypothetical DLC would become available/if and when it becomes unavailable, and then an expansion/write up of the ideas going in to them. Some ideas will have more expansion than others, because I’ve just plainly put more thought into them - in a lot of cases, I wrote them down just on the basis of ‘this idea seems pretty cool,’ and then gave them more context later on.

I try and keep these as consistent to the original games as possible, in that, like most DLC tends to be, the game is not completely upended by the playing or not playing of these stories. These are expansions on ideas or explorations of concepts and stories that I feel were not explored to their fullest in the official games. If I wanted to rewrite the whole game outright, I certainly would, but the idea here is to come up with expansions and concepts that fit within what the game is, rather than rebuild it entirely, even if the end result is that I come up with at least another full game’s worth or story and mission.

Feedback is welcome! Like an idea? Don’t like an idea? I welcome conversation and interaction on these ideas. Keep it civil, remember that these are just one person’s ideas, we can discuss them. Perhaps you’ll even help inspire a part two for these write ups! Because I do reserve the right to come up with more ideas in the future - these are the ideas that I’ve had to this point, but the whole reason this series exists is because I come up with new ideas for old stories.

Ah, back again. Here to continue with the Hypothetical DLCs of Mass Effect 2, and this is entry two of four, because there are just that many ideas I’ve had. Might as well just get used to this, since ME3 is at least as long if not longer. If you need a refresher of the prior entry in this series, here, have a handy dandy link. I’d hoped to only need three entries for this game, but it reached a point where the break would either have to be much further in or I could have a fourth part, and I reached a rather natural break for this.

That break being that all of the DLCs here would be immediately accessible for the player after Horizon is completed, while the others are either set to be accessible followign the Collector Ship or even explicitly post-game. That’s not to say that, in terms of where they fit in to game play, they play best after Horizon, just that, in the same way that Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival become available after Horizon, while in terms of their story and the overall portrayal (plus original release) they came after the base game and the Suicide Mission.

This arc, for lack of a better term, of ME2 DLC ideas are very heavy on the concept of developing and expanding on the various races of Citadel space. Because ultimately, I tend to feel that ME2 really is the weakest of games in the trilogy - I’ve said it elsewhere, it feels like it suffers heavily from bridge syndrome, telling an isolated story in the middle of the trilogy, the plot spinning its wheels in the name of holding back the payoff for the finale, rather than telling the natural development. So the focus in this branch of things is primarily focused on giving us an expanded look at the various peoples of Citadel space. Shepard is, by nature, meant to be as much a diplomat and representative of humanity as a soldier, and we’re here to, at least thematically, focus on that aspect.

I say “arc,” but these are still unconnected with each other. I do have ideas that are episodic or sequel-like, but when I get to those, they’ll be clearly marked. No, it was just thematic to group these all together, rather than have them tossed around in my notes.

Proud Soldiers

There’s trouble brewing on Palaven, the turian homeworld. The military forces there are beginning to show signs of tension between them and the government. With the Reaper threat imminent, the last thing the galaxy needs is the strongest military force weakened with dissent. Garrus asks Shepard to help out his people before the galaxy loses the war before it starts.

Sure would’ve been nice to actually SEE Palaven proper, wouldn’t it? Yeah, we’re fixing that.

Obviously, this is a Garrus-centric DLC. Cuz we can’t well visit the turian homeworld without taking the time to focus on our resident turian, right? While I’ve looked at the mandatory companions in pairs so far, I’m only really gonna focus on Garrus for this one.

Now the motivation here is actually building off of a comment from ME3 – when Victus is declared the next Primarch, Liara mentions his actions on Taetrus during “the uprisings.” Having not paid any attention to the Cerberus News Network (which, y’know, doesn’t even really function now anyway, so newbies probably also have this issue), I was deeply confused. So we get to have Shepard be involved. Because, really, what event can happen in the galaxy that doesn’t involve Shepard? But, seriously, it is good optics from the perspective of getting the galaxy to ally in the name of the coming war with the Reapers – humans and turians have had their relationship diplomatically described as “tense” since the First Contact War. If a human intervenes in the name of aiding the turians, that offers something to build on when the Reapers actually do show up.

Which, y’know, if the Council wasn’t saved in ME1, that might be a good thing to do.

Granted, I’m gonna take some liberties with the idea, and it’s probably not gonna tie in to the CNN thing very much because of my lack of familiarity (yes I do have the wiki articles open in the other window as I write this, but I’m not gonna be bound to this supplementary material that is functionally going to be replaced by my work here, so...).

Garrus does take point, since turians aren’t going to be all that appreciative of a human ship showing up uninvited and wanting to land on Palaven, especially a human ship flying Cerberus colors. This is where Spectre status can help smooth things a little – if Shepard has maintained their status, they can leverage that to get clearance. Otherwise, Garrus leans on the port authority – apparently someone he served with back in his military service. Because turian military service is compulsory, so there should be a great deal of people who he knew in the military before his C-Sec service.

While I’m not gonna to make her mandatory, I will say that Tali probably will get a solid position as the other companion in this – it’s a good way to create banter opportunities, both of them are already popular characters who people will enjoy having the chance to spend more time with, and it gives us some room for the building blocks of their potential hook-up in ME3 to get teased as well. Sure, there’d be the people complaining about one of them flirting with the other when they’re in a romance with Shepard, but I really don’t care about the people who are going to be assholes like that, they know it won’t go anywhere if either is romanced by Shepard, but it might be that Shepard isn’t romancing either of them and deserve to be able to find happiness if Shepard isn’t gonna date them, so the people who complain about it can shove it.

This really is our chance to get a better glimpse at the turian culture – you know how, in the Omega DLC, Nyreen brings up how her biotic abilities got her sidelined by the military? Yeah, that biotic discrimination among turians is something only really mentioned in codex entries, which might not really be something the player interacts with, doesn’t get to really see that the turians, culturally, look down on biotics among themselves (which, to be totally honest, seems a little odd to me as is, considering how pervasive biotics are, given that they’re an extension of Element Zero and all the developments around... well, the mass effect as a phenomenon), so we’re gonna give it a big deal here. These turian separatists are giving turian biotics a place of belonging so we can actually discuss this in game.

While I mentioned Victus’s actions on Taetrus being part of the inspiration, that is still going to be something happening offscreen, because, obviously, we’re on Palaven, not Taetrus. But that’s something that’s happening in like background news reports and maybe some incidental dialogue. Mostly because I’m sticking with Shepard not having met Victus prior to ME3, as their introduction there indicates – again, I am TRYING to weave these into the fabric of the existing game, rather than upending that applecart in its entirety.

And I want it to not go missed that Garrus, being from this culture, being a proud member of the turian race, being a member of a military-focused culture, is not going recognize the flaws right off. See, one of my things about Garrus in ME2... He doesn’t really get much character development. First of all, if you took the Paragon path of ME1, he’s actually REGRESSED in character when we start ME2, him having left C-Sec is saying that, once again, he got fed up with rules and regulations, even after Paragon Shepard made him realize that they all had their place in the chain. Secondly, we get no follow-up with him and Sidonis, even though there are varying results of that mission.

So the idea I’m going with here is to address that Garrus is a flawed person and needs to grow and develop over time, rather than just comfortably slot in to the role of “Shepard’s best friend.” And not just because occasionally I’d like to roll a Shepard where that isn’t the case. Plus there’s the fact that, in ME1, in the elevator conversations, he makes a lot of little micro-aggressions born of privilege in Citadel societies – turians are pretty much second only the asari in terms of popular perceptions, and he says a lot of things that are in the “you are a credit to your race” to Ashley, Kaidan, Tali, and even Wrex in the first game. Make this a genuine character trait and character flaw, you get a character who learns and grows.

So initially, no matter his stance on alien biotics, Garrus is going to be unfazed by the way that turian biotics are treated, which prompts a conversation from Shepard, one with some specific dialogue if they are a biotic, and if they’re in a romance with him – it’s like a neon sign of “CHARACTER ARC AND DEVELOPMENT” so far as this DLC is concerned y’know? Where he has to come to learn about how the turians’ way of life is actually flawed, that it’s not that he’s a bad turian but that the turians perpetuate bad ideas and ways of life. That it is, in many ways, the turians who need to learn that they’re not always right, and how to correct their behavior.

Y’know, make a point to Garrus that the turians are the problem, that it’s their cultural attitude and perceptions that need to change, not that he’s wrong – because I find a supposed military-focused society who reacts to the mission with Tarquin Victus in ME3, ready to hang him or put him in front of a firing squad, for the crime of looking at a situation, deciding that it will be certain death for his men, and trying something unconventional in the name of being able to accomplish their mission by actually getting to the battlefield... That reaction is one that has never failed to drive me up the goddamn wall. I the untrained civilian know the first axiom of battle is “no plan survives contact with the enemy.” Why don’t these soldiers from an explicitly militaristic society recognize this? We might not be able to influence the society, but we should see Garrus learn this lesson. Because I’m pretty sure that his characterization in ME3 is him doing this... but that’s not really what his ME2 character arc centers on.

Anyway, we experience some stuff with turian politics and stuff, while getting a chance to run around on Palaven itself – let’s make this part of the record, we have a long non-combat section here, because a human in a ship flying the colors of a known xenophobic alien terrorist organization running around the capitol world of a sovereign military culture who still hold grudges for the events of a conflict only thirty years prior... Letting Shepard walk around Cipirtine, the capitol city of the turian Hierarchy, with the armory that is their loadout in ME2 strapped to their back (particularly soldier class Shepard), is ASKING for them to get put in jail. So at most, they might be able to walk around with a sidearm. AT MOST – I figure that it’s not unreasonable for the turians to allow Shepard – especially a Shepard who still has their Spectre status or saved the Council in ME1 – to have their standard body armor and SOME weapons, but not the mobile armory they generally strap to their back. Through most of this, Shepard only has their pistol available, and much of their interactions are more about dialogue than combat (like there MAY be some street violence or something, some scuffles with the separatists, but not enough to justify breaking out assault rifles, sniper rifles, the tactical nuke, etc).

This is as much about immersing us in turian society and culture as anything else, so that’s where any little side quests are, again, I’m not devoting time to those, these go ON as it is already.

Back in the main plot area, we start seeing the simmering resentment among turian biotics to the turian military’s attitude towards them. That’s why we’re having Garrus be blind to the flaws of his own society – Shepard will eventually have to call him out, I like to think even sooner if they’re a biotic. Because as we call out this behavior, we’ll see some advancement and growth from him over the course, and yes, I know I’ve said this already, but dammit, it really needs to be reiterated, because Garrus really DOESN’T grow over ME2. And I am here to address and fix this problem.

The core is to acknowledge that turian society is making mistakes (just like any other) and, on a metaphorical level for “what is this saying about the world we live in?” is asking the audience to address their cultural biases – it is easy for people to look at other cultures and say something is wrong. We as humans easily do that with the turians. So having Garrus look at his culture and realize that something is wrong and that he has missed it, that he’s let his biases blind him to those problems is suggesting to the audience they do the same with their society.

Okay, back to the plot stuff. Turian politics, blah, blah, blah. This eventually turns into a more combat orientation (because this is still a shooter video game, the weapons do have to come out eventually). I know I said that Shepard is leaving a lot of their armament on the Normandy, but we can have the shuttle fly in and let them have a proper fitting of weapons when things start hitting the fan. What I’m thinking is that a group of these rebels who are uprising decide that they’re going to storm a turian government building.

I know I said that I’m not looking at a companion here other than Garrus, but, especially if Miranda, Jacob, or Jack (the human biotics) are there, but even without them, if Shepard is the only human biotic, I want to explicitly have a callback made to the side mission in ME1 that featured Chairman Burns, the guy who was taken captive by L2 biotic extremists. This is about people who don’t feel they’re being heard, lashing out against those who have ignored them.

The turian response is to lash out at them – put this down, squash the rebellion. Shepard (or Miranda, if she’s there) gets a comment on how ‘yeah, because that worked so well when you did it to humanity in the First Contact War.’ Because there’s legit a lot to question with the whole concept of ‘shoot first, ask questions after the orbital drop.’ Considering that’s turian SOP with regards to military action, it’s likely to not end well if things keep on this – some of the more reasonable members of the turian government think that this is going to just create a schism, one that Garrus, development kicking in or not, is quick to point out can only end in a weakened turian military, right as the Reapers roll in.

So Shepard offers to be the diplomat and find a way to resolve this without storming in, killing everyone, and sparking a civil war. Because, like I said, the turians fracturing like that is the kind of thing that is bad when the Reapers come along – they have one of the galaxy’s most powerful militaries, even with the awareness that conventional combat and tactics won’t win the day, a unified turian military certainly won’t hurt anything.

Being able to resolve matters peacefully will require having done the various little sidequests that were over the rest of the DLC, which offer more expansion of the turian culture and people, basically rewarding you for going out and investigating and interacting with the world. Or, if you’re Renegade, you can cut right through this, and have the big fight scene. The idea is that learning about the turian people will reward players with a peaceable alternative, something OTHER than a shooting gallery.

Because that really is one of my most frustrating things with ME2, that all the RPG elements fall in to the background in favor of the shooter stuff. Y’know, we have a game billed as an RPG, but the rails seem pretty firmly placed on who we can have Shepard be. So having a story that is relatively major (in the way that DLC tend to be, and in the way that this will have some broad impact on the future of the series, even, again, acknowledging the inherent bind of these as hypothetical DLC ideas) that can portray Shepard not as the unstoppable juggernaut of force but as the diplomat who resolves the impossible... That’s a pretty big deal for an RPG.

Garrus also offers an assist on this – he’s been recognizing the failures and problems of turian society because of the various callouts he’s gotten, the dysfunctions he’s been exposed to now that he has recognized as wrong. It’s not that he’s going to be a changed man as a result of what he’s experienced, but this is the story of someone from a privileged background and society having his eyes opened to the fact that his society is deeply flawed and full of problems and is willing to stand up and argue with the status quo.

Because you know... I’ve been pretty quiet on Garrus’s family in the midst of this. Well, this is going to lead to us to a proper introduction with Castis Vakarian. He’ll be among the turian response team who arrives once Shepard has wrapped up the hostage situation, and he’ll be the voice of how things were handled. Remember how Garrus said in ME1 that his father wouldn’t like Shepard because they’d been given the Spectre wings? Yeah, well resolving things peacefully shows him that at least SOMEONE with that authority is using it wisely – it’s easy to run in, guns blazing. Finding a better solution takes more work, shows more willingness to listen and find a good solution, rather than a quick one. He won’t be outright antagonistic if Shepard does things the non-peaceful way, but he will be chillier.

There’s also some bits of Garrus having some family time, including, for a romanced Garrus, a chance for him to introduce Shepard to his father as his partner. Because whatever you might want to say about offering a character unbalanced content in the series (and I’ve said plenty myself), once we’re in the situation, if it makes sense in character, they SHOULD get that content.

And so after some fade to black to act as the offscreen character interactions, we return to the Normandy and have a conversation with Garrus about how his views of the turian people has shifted, now that he’s really had a chance to see how flawed his people are, especially in the face of the various other races that he’s serving alongside and how they handle similar situations.

Oh, and, like Tuchanka is in the game proper, Palaven remains a small hub area afterwards, so that we get some furthering of the connection that Shepard has with the planet and the devastation happening there next game has actual emotional weight to it.

Also, while we “have” Garrus’s VA in the studio for this, I want a new conversation patched in that acts as a proper response that varies on the basis of how the Sidonis mission is handled. Because the fact that the end of Garrus’s character development in the base game has no response to the mission with a variable result, just cutting to the whole “reach and flexibility” thing... BUGS me. Especially since, if he’s not romanced, that’s the end of his “character development” in ME2. So we’re patching that while we’re here. The existing conversation can wait an extra mission while we acknowledge the growth and development of Garrus as a character, giving him reactions to whether or not Sidonis was killed and actually getting to hear what he thinks about what happened. Give that mission with a variable ending some actual fallout, emotionally speaking, considering that we’re distinctly lacking that as things are now.

Post-Game Followups:

ME3: Bonus dialogue with Garrus about his father and family, preferably with a cameo of some sort from Castus (don’t worry – Garrus’s sister is featured in the next game’s edition of these). In a peaceful resolution of events, the turian have a stronger military presence due to an increased position of biotic operatives. If violence was the solution, they’ve taken damage to morale and are weaker in war assets.

Eternity’s End

It’s said that civilization in the galaxy began on Thessia, homeworld of the asari. Now, a doomsday cult has formed there, believing that the end of the galaxy is upon them. The asari are trying to keep this quiet, but rumors still reach Commander Shepard, and they’re suspicious about how much this sounds like a cult of Reaper worshippers...

So, about a year ago, I made a big rewrite of Thessia in ME3. One of the points I hammered in during that was that Thessia, as we see it in ME3, means absolutely nothing to me, since the first time we ever set foot there, it’s already in the midst of the Reaper invasion. Y’know, showing up to Atlantis as it crumbles in to the sea does not make me feel like I’m personally responsible for said crumbling. That’s what Thessia is to me.

So priority one here is to visit Thessia at a point prior to Priority: Thessia in ME3 and make this a place that actually means something to the player. At least if we can think “I’ve been to that place, and that place that I really liked there is now being destroyed,” it offers some kind of connection to Thessia, rather than just “hey, this place being harvested should make you feel bad.”

Now, while Samara is certainly an obvious option for a companion during this, I do feel like she isn’t in the same position as Garrus was in the last write-up. Unlike Garrus, Samara has a full character arc that goes through the whole of the base game, it doesn’t just abruptly stop after the conclusion of her loyalty mission. That said, I think there’s room for a subplot that explores the Justicars in greater detail – this is a cultural facet for the asari that really doesn’t have the opportunity for play elsewhere, given that Justicars do not leave asari space. But, as a subplot, that’s not the heart of this write-up – I’ll offer it some expansion after the main plot write-up because it’s a character spotlight, but it’s not what we’re here to focus on.

As for the prospective cult, yeah, this is a concern about this being another of those machine cults like we see in the game proper and in the prior “Ghost of the Machine” entry. And this is where we talk up the importance of Thessia – the asari, having had their headstart granted by the protheans, not that we know that here, have “the seat of galactic civilization.” This is supposed to be the proverbial center of the galaxy – the Citadel is the melting pot of the galaxy, but Thessia is the origin point.

Also, going back to the earlier entry of “Underworld,” this is going to be asari-centric attitudes on display and being called out. Because there is plenty of casual arrogance in the asari cultural attitudes – they have thousand year lifespans, they can afford to take the long view of matters, the “everything will unfold as it should” approach. They might be able to survive the issues that come up, but waiting a couple of centuries for the legislation to wind its way through doesn’t work for the other races, at least, aside from the krogan. After all, the salarians and the vorcha have a shorter lifespan than humans. Humans hit about the average – the other races don’t GET centuries to consider things.

That is, ultimately, the asari’s big flaw, how much they favor “the long view” of matters, while ignoring the damage that is done in the short term. Which wraps us around to the original idea going on here – the people being drawn in by this doomsday cult are the ones who are more open to the idea that the rest of the galaxy can’t just wait out matters, that they require action more than contemplative consideration.

Unfortunately, if you have a desire for meaningful societal change, there’s going to be someone who’s going to prey on that concept. This version has managed to get the desire for change to be conflated with the idea that the asari are actively responsible for galactic civilization stagnating. That the arrival of humanity and their drive for advancement has shown that the asari may have begun “galactic civilization” as it’s known today, but it’s not the asari’s responsibility to drive it forward, that, for the good of the galaxy, the asari should step back from being the ones acting ‘at the forefront,’ that their involvement just calls for the galaxy to stagnate, taking a view of things that slows so much, no advancement will ever truly be made because the people pushing for advances end up dying off from old age before they can do anything.

Not inherently bad to start from, though still carrying that patronizing benevolence – they are CHOOSING to step back and away, they are giving the ‘younger’ races the opportunity to take the center stage. But this group has been twisted in to the idea of the asari themselves are hampering galactic development with their involvement. This is actually going to build on the idea Morinth brings up – she claims that she is “the genetic destiny” of the asari, a statement that Samara calls a sign of her delusion, because ardat-yakshi are sterile. Since BioWare never returned to this idea, I’m working it in that the ultimate idea there is that the “genetic destiny” is less “genetic” and more “destiny,” re: extinction. We’ll build more on this idea in a later story, but this is addressing it again, at least broadly, to remind people that this idea exists.

The way that this is working out is that the concept is that these asari are being suckered by a concept that they should die out in some manner – this is convenient to the (obviously Indoctrinated) leader, because the asari, for all their value as eventual Reaper juices (ew), are a powerful force to be reckoned with, and so something that depletes their strength, such as taking a chunk out of the younger generation of asari (which, given the length of a generation for the asari, is not an insignificant number), is valued by the Reapers. They may not be a full on extinction cult (at least, not at this point, but having the potential for it to get there), but they are saying that the asari are TOO present in galactic affairs, and that, if the Matriarchs aren’t going to withdraw from these matters by choice, take that choice away.

This is all part of what we piece together through investigation – the cult itself is an underground thing, and, especially because Shepard is a human and not an asari, it takes effort to uncover them and gain access to where they are keeping all of the information. This runs Shepard all over the capitol city of Armali, because we should have some connection to the place when it ends up destroyed next game.

The leader of the cult is a former member of Benezia’s commando unit who I’m gonna name Naiya P’Vari. Seriously considered making this a return for Rana Thanoptis, since I was disappointed at her offhanded email death in ME3, and, considering that the mission on Korlus has to be completed and has to be completed before Horizon, I could have made the argument for her to be responsible, but she can be outright killed in ME1, so making her an arc boss is too tricky. Plus Rana’s a scientist, not a soldier, and wouldn’t be much of a threat as an end boss. So it’s an original character. P’Vari ultimately emerges in the name of responding to Shepard’s meddling.

Now, obviously, of course, she is indoctrinated, that she was sent back from the forces that Benezia had with her when she joined with Saren and Sovereign. She’s heard the voices of the Reapers, has set out to stop the asari from getting involved in the coming fight. I’m also inclined to say that she’ll also be able to hint at how the Matriarchs are sitting on a prothean beacon at the expense of the rest of the galaxy as well, though that’s the kind of thing that will need to fly past Shepard in the first playthrough.

She was sent back, specifically, with a Reaper artifact, the thing that has indoctrinated her lieutenants, other former commandos – the idea here is for her to plant the seed of paranoia, because she could have indoctrinated others as well, made them also servants to the Reapers. There could easily still be asari commandos who are acting among their fellows, acting normal, just waiting to be unleashed when the Reapers arrive and betray their fellows.

Obviously, it eventually devolves into a fight. It’s a full on case of Shepard versus an asari commando unit. Because the game itself already calls back to Benezia asking if Shepard had ever faced such a thing. Plus I did find the biotic enemy combat in ME2 to be some of the better upgrades between the two games, so let’s take advantage of that with a full field of biotic opponents, a real combat unit of asari commandos who are ready and able to fight to the death.

After the fight’s over, the question becomes first, what to do with the remains of the cult – they’re still the asari’s disaffected youth, and they’ve got to be encouraged to try out some alternative to just letting the Matriarchs do as they’ve always done, put that passion to better use by suggesting that they give it new focus. Paragon/Renegade choice of how to motivate them, by encouraging more new forms of scientific discovery and exploration (in the vein of how Matriarch Aethyta had commented about how she’d gotten the blue laughed off her ass for suggesting they work on developing their own research into Mass Effect Relays and trying to figure out the secrets of the tech that they rely on), or to put the focus on military and combat strength.

But the second, and more pressing question is what to do about the possibility of indoctrinated infiltration of the asari military – that could undermine the eventual war effort before it gets off the ground. Here, there is no Paragon/Renegade choice – We’re not offering a strict morality dichotomy on this one, you have to guess what’s best, and who knows for sure if your guess is right? Maybe you’re acting to prevent indoctrinated troops, outing those who P’Vari had been in contact with as possible security risks, but maybe you just had some of the best military operatives in the asari ranks sidelined and questioned and put on a permanent suspicion/surveillance listing, just because you took seriously the ramblings of a madwoman. You don’t get to know (at least, not until ME3 impacts the War Assets).

And, as Palaven before it, we retain the ability to visit a small segment of Thessia afterwards in the same way that Tuchanka and Illium exist in the base game. Because after all this development of the connection with the planet, we should be able to return at least a little.

As for the matter of the Justicars (I told you we’d come back to this after the main plot), we’re going to be taking the opportunity to expand on them as a part of asari culture – because they have a Code that demands that they see only black or white in a universe full of gray, this is obviously going to be butting up against a lot of reality. To the Justicars, according to Samara, their purpose is to bring order to a universe that laughs at the notion. And by having given her oath that she will allow Shepard’s morals and actions guide her while she is working with them, Samara would, by a casual interpretation of the Code, be violating that.

We’re going to be at odds with another Justicar – I’m thinking Phora, who is mentioned on the datapads in the Ardat-Yakshi monastery in ME3 who has been terrorizing those she brings in. Because if she’s an issue there, and the Justicars aren’t supposed to be very numerous, why not connect the two. Phora’s opinion is that Shepard is a problem.

Shepard is, she believes, pushing Samara into acting against the Code and its teachings, and that makes Shepard both a problem and a threat. Because here’s the thing about black and white mindsets: Once you are in them, you are in the right, and anyone who is not in agreement with you is in the wrong. So Phora is going to be pushing and poking, trying to create a situation where Shepard will call upon Samara to break her Justicar oath in the name of following her oath to Shepard.

Phora is a zealot, who believes unquestionably in the moral rightness of the Code. So Shepard bringing Samara, one of her sisters, into their world of the moral grey, the place where these squiggy questions of subjectivity come in to play... That threatens her mindset – if one Justicar even seems to be considering how “right” the Code is, surely more questions will come. The zealots want to “defend” their faith at the expense of anyone who does not view things from their specific lens, which, for Phora, means that she can only view Shepard as a threat.

This culminates in a confrontation between the two, Phora and Samara. Phora is swayed to back down because of Samara calling her to the carpet – her ideas only really worked in that either/or stance that ignores the element of Samara’s choice – she chose to undertake the oath that she swore to Shepard, that bound her to their morality. The Code even allowed for this, an interpretation that Phora is resistant to accept, because it is a bending of that rigid morality.

Phora will withdraw, but I see her having room to reappear in, say an ME3 installment (see, this is what we call “foreshadowing”). Meanwhile, Samara is... not shaken, exactly, but perturbed. One of her Justicar sisters was interpreting the Code in a way that diminished it. How is it that, even among the asari, whose civilization has stood firm for millennia, there is this gap? It’s the same kind of question that is facing the main plot of this DLC – conflict among the asari is unusual, normally they just debate things out and agree on the best course of action, but this is those debates taking an actual cost in... well, okay, not quite lives, this wasn’t a life or death situation, but it is actually reshaping the ideas that the asari are following by having people come to blows on the matter, reach a point where they would draw a weapon upon one another in service of resolving their problem.

She will express some mild belief that some of this is simply the spread of new ideas from sources like the other races, and humanity in particular – like she says, if three humans are in a room, you’ll get six opinions – but that this is, ultimately, an asari issue, down to the culture of their people. That the asari haven’t just trained themselves to believe that this black and white dichotomy is good and ‘just’ (hence it being the moral code that the Justicars are all sworn to), but that they are often forgetting even one of their own tenants in diplomacy – how to compromise within those varied opinions.

This is some further cultural building for the asari – something that better justifies things like (as I mentioned in the first Mass Effect write-up) Liara being the only proponent of the cycle theory, despite the two thousand years of study. The asari are not just set in their ways, they are refusing any change, in a way standing in the way of progress – new ideas must be talked about long enough to become old ideas before they will even start to take them seriously, let alone implement any change that they might cause. That’s what Aethyta is certainly implying when she says that she got the blue laughed off her ass for suggesting that the asari build their own Mass Effect Relays. The asari don’t WANT to progress. And the point here is that we’re calling this out because it’s the kind of situation the Reapers are easy to take advantage of.

Samara is going to acknowledge that she too is set in her ways with the way that she is and the way that her society is. But for the future, the asari must foster that change, rather than attempt to stifle it. And it may call in to question even the idea of the Justicar order, because of the rigidity that they adhere to. Samara will not be able to change the world or the order. But she may attempt to apply this within the Code and how she follows it.

Because this is laying groundwork both for the response of the asari in ME3 and how Samara handles matters at the monastery.

Post Game Followups:

ME3: The asari military is weakened no matter what Shepard chose – there WERE indoctrinated agents among the military, but not as many as would be displaced by exposing P’Vari’s plants, which means that their military either has to fight among itself or has lost many of the best operatives they had. There will be asari who confront Shepard over this choice on the Citadel, either way. And, like I said, Phora will be back in a future installment.

Moon Crash

A Terminus colony world sends out a distress beacon – their planet’s moon has abruptly entered a decaying orbit, threatening to shatter their world. Because of the human population there, the Illusive Man is determined to send Cerberus to the rescue, and who better to handle this than Commander Shepard? But how and why did this happen – are the Collectors involved?

So let’s just answer that teaser question first: No. This is not the Collectors. They’re not responsible and we’re not dealing with them. This is not their MO, and we’re not going to go in the direction of that changing. But it is a legitimate concern for Shepard and company – they are acting to protect these border colonies from threats, and this is a colony world in danger, the kind that SHOULD be easily avoidable. After all, we get several planet descriptions that talk about projected lunar collisions with the planets they orbit, even a few that have anticipation for selling tickets for the event.

Which means that, when Shepard and company arrive, this is something that they really do need to do, regardless of Collector involvement or Cerberus’s stamp on the orders. The colony may have refused to be a part of the Alliance’s official register, but they’re not turning away help in their time of need – Shepard’s reputation is good for something here, with the fact that they were the one who is named as the one who saved the Citadel as reason for them being accepted as assistance right off.

I’m leaning towards saying that we’re not going to be requiring any particular squadmates this time out, just on the basis of this being a crisis that takes whoever we get in terms of who Shepard is bringing with them. Bring anyone, game mechanics say you can’t bring everyone – though, because I think that it’s kinda crazy that in a game with twelve possible companions, Shepard only ever runs around with two of them at a time, we will put the understanding that it’s explicit that the other companions are running efforts at evacuation. This is absolutely busy work, but in bringing up it’s acknowledged that this is about making it so that the people don’t panic.

The first thing that happens is a run through the colony’s main area, helping with the evacuation efforts. Yes, this is busy work, but it’s because while Shepard and company are doing this, EDI can assist the colonists in tracking mysterious signals (because there are always mysterious signals on missions like this). There’s a signal that Shepard is able to track within the main area of the colony that acts as their link – there’s an object emitting a signal that’s pulling the moon in, and it’s got a counterpart on the moon itself.

This means that Shepard and company head up to the moon, hoping they can stop it before the moon’s orbit decays too badly – it’s not clear at this point if the moon’s orbital decay can be undone, though Shepard is going to be acting on the idea that either a) if the orbit can be artificially knocked out of whack, it can also be restored OR b) at the very least, they can have enough time to properly evacuate the colony.

(For the record, I’m imagining this as a colony of a few thousand – too many to load up on the few cargo ships available to them, but not enough that it would need like a fleet the size of the quarian flotilla or something to evacuate.)

So Shepard heads up to the moon, finding the counterpart emitter, but can’t just shut it off – it’s unknown tech, just straight up shutting it off might mean it never comes back on and can’t be used to put the moon back into place.

This is when we meet the true source of the moon being knocked out of orbit. An AI, left behind from a prior cycle, even prior to the protheans. It takes some work to get it to translate in to Standard, given that it was programmed for languages dead for over a hundred thousand years, and when it does start speaking understandably, it’s not particularly interested in talking – apparently, it’s seen enough of the Reaper cycle that it’s ready to simply consider the Reaper invasion a fact of existence.

And the terrifying thing of what it is doing is that it believes that crashing the moon into the planet below is doing a kindness to these people. Because it’ll be a swift death. These people settled on a world so close to the time of this cycle’s Reaper invasion, the AI simply can’t consider it “good conscience” to allow them to survive just to be made into husks – or, if this is played post-game, orange goo for the human!Reaper.

I’m looking at this from a foreshadowing perspective – this is an AI convinced that it’s doing the right thing, despite the damage it inflicts upon the individual people. It’s thinking is that it is preventing a greater evil by doing this damaging thing that the people who are being sacrificed would certainly not agree with on their own.

The core of the AI is inaccessible – everything that Shepard can interact with is just the shell that it inhabits, it has preserved its core functions in places that are burrowed in the rock around them. What we get instead are a series of combat points that lead to dialogue that accumulates “points,” the same system we see with like Omega and Aria, trying to sway the AI towards letting the people survive, putting the moon back in orbit. This is one of those things that the goal is the same regardless of positions on the dialogue wheel, it’s just how you handle it, and you accumulate enough “points” in the dialogue that it unlocks the final persuasive dialogue once you make it through the gauntlet of combat.

So when Shepard reaches the access point that the gauntlet is leading them through, it’s a choice time. Not just does Shepard argue with the AI and sway them that there may be a chance for this cycle, and, if there is, then the AI is not sparing these people pain but killing them because of its own fear, but does Shepard even see the value in arguing – this is an AI, an artificial life form. It could be said that, afterwards, this was a program that believed itself sentient, but still bound to its programming that told it this.

Indeed, while I am not mandating a companion to join on this mission, I feel like EDI in particular (and Legion, if they were kept and activated) would have some things to say in the aftermath. Legion might be able to offer some additional dialogue points, but I feel like the focus is on EDI, and not just because there’s no way you could even start this DLC without having access to her. It also builds in to her eventual ME3 arc. EDI is going to be the one who speaks with Shepard afterwards about what they did and the why they did it.

Obviously, killing the AI is the easy, straightforward option, and how things are handled if Shepard doesn’t earn enough points through the dialogue choices. If they do convince it to back down, though, well, first of all, there is still an option to shoot it. The AI, having built itself into the interior of the moon, is not something that can be just taken from this place, and will need aid to be removed, a difficult task on its own, but also an AI is illegal in Citadel space, which means that the experts who could help download it to a more proper shell, get it out of the moon and take it somewhere else, are going to be hard to track down and be convinced they won’t get locked away for their efforts.

Resolving the issue of the AI is not going to be enough to stop the moon from colliding with the planet. But it does slow it down so that the colony can be evacuated, down that, really, they’ll get a handful of decades out of the planet itself before the collision happens. And I want to see some aftermath – some colonists are certainly getting the hell out, but some are going to stay until the crash comes. It was one thing for it to be a sudden event, but now there are people who want to catalog the planet’s uniqueness for history, an archive that says that this was once here.

Because that’s the counterpoint to these AI intelligences that say they are “preserving” life or “sparing” people. One of the things with humans (and so we extend this into our fiction to be a part of being organic) is that even when something is hopeless and doomed, we can decide that we will act to preserve it, even if it is just in the name of making sure it’s something that can be remembered. Whether or not something continues, we want to memorialize and remember things. This planet’s unique flora and fauna will be cataloged by the colonists who remain, conservation efforts made.

And, back on the Normandy, that conversation with EDI is waiting. She is asking the questions that react to Shepard’s choice – why did you kill/spare the AI? She is curious about how AI is handled in Citadel space, and how it will be impacted, both in eventual aftermath of the Reapers’ coming and in her own contributions. (I figure there are a few differences depending on if this is played pre or post Suicide Mission.)

Post-Game Followups:

ME3 – Destroying the AI provides some actual advancements in the realm of AI, which is suddenly all the rage come the invasion. The field is getting some real study now, which provides a boost in war assets. The AI being kept intact is providing historical information, details that are useful as the Citadel races are trying to map the course of the invasion, and offering some ideas on what order the Reapers will hit things, giving a defense boost in war assets. There’s also a bonus quest of trying to convince AI experts to get involved in the Crucible, and Shepard gets a bonus to convincing them to join in if they spared the AI – it says to these scientists that they won’t be clapped in irons for their work when civilization is saved (assuming they pull it all off, of course).

Dying Gasps

The drell, as a species, are in peril. Their numbers, low already because of the limited numbers the hanar were able to rescue, are nearing the tipping point between survival and extinction. With the debt the drell feel towards the hanar, they won’t leave Kahje, even as the planet’s aquatic nature threatens them. Commander Shepard and crew make the effort to intercede...

In the first part of these write-ups for ME2, I make mention of how we’re coming back to issues with Thane? Yeah, here we go.

I have been over before that I find the hanar-drell Compact to be sketchy as fuck. In the drell, you have a species native to an arid and dry world. When the hanar discover them and rescue them from their self-destructing society, the hanar take them to THEIR homeworld, a planet 90% water. The hanar, who are big stupid jellyfish, suddenly have a species who feel indebted to them who fit the general shape, body, and build of the other major species of the known galaxy. The drell are then chosen to train as assassins for the hanar from childhood, a choosing that is considered among them a great honor that they’re technically free to refuse, but how often do they?

So we have a species in existential debt to another, act as their assassins, and they feel compelled to give up their children for this duty? While living on a planet that is actively hostile to their own biology, while apparently all that is being done to try and cure Kepral’s Syndrome is to have ‘the greatest minds in the hanar Primacy’ work on it, as opposed to... y’know, giving the drell their own planet better suited to their biology? This is not right. You cannot convince me it is.

And I think that Thane is considering it at least by the course of ME2, but not quite able to admit it aloud. He will apologize to Shepard, say he’s given them the wrong idea, when Shepard calls out his use of the word “investment,” and then gets almost angry when Shepard compares the Compact to slavery. Except... How is this NOT slavery? Just dressed up to seem “nice” by providing a veneer of options – if the drell consider the selection of a child for this duty under the Compact “an honor,” then they’re compelled to give their children over for this.

It seems like this is something that IS on Thane’s mind by the time that Shepard asks about it, given how defensive he sounds about it, as if he’s busy trying to talk himself out of asking the questions that Shepard’s comments are bringing up. So instead, we’re here to tackle these questions head on.

What’s happening is that Thane hears from some contacts back in the Kahje system, that there’s some discomforting rumbles beginning to happen around Kahje, about how the drell – in particular, the youth of the species – are starting to wonder whether or not the “greatest minds in the Primacy” really are putting in the work to resolve Kepral’s Syndrome, and maybe the drell would be better off leaving Kahje entirely.

Thane’s initial response to this is to be all generationally frustrated – “this is just the anger of the youth, lashing out at the established systems, darn those kids and their rap music and their pop culture and their 23-skidoo!” Shepard gets to be the one who brings up that often, when the next generation is complaining about the way that things are, it often means that the prior generation is stuck in their ways and negatively impacting the future by clinging to the past (real world commentary, what real world commentary?). There may well be something to the complaints of the young, and it couldn’t hurt to actually listen and acknowledge them.

So, I know that the ending of Thane’s loyalty mission is variable – if Shepard loses sight of Talid during the tailing sequence, Kolyat is able to kill him and get away. But we’re just gonna assume that things went well here, again for simplifying my role as expositor, seeing as how, much as I enjoy the failure possibility of Thane, Samara, and Tali’s loyalty missions, I don’t fail those, not even intentionally – the only reason I see to do that is to get them killed on the Suicide Mission, and I prefer to find ways to do that that don’t leave me feeling shame for doing nothing to make the lives of my friends better just to follow that up with getting them killed. So we’re going from that understanding.

This means that Kolyat gets to greet us on Kahje (at what I’m going to refer to as “the drell enclave,” but assume it has something nicer and more distinct as a name) and act as the voice of the young drell who are becoming resistant to the hanar. (He’s been doing community service on the Citadel under Commander Bailey, but the idea here is that he has done enough to earn a bit of a reprieve, leading to him being called back by his own friends on Kahje – he’s not the only young drell with a family member who’s contracted Kepral’s Syndrome, and he IS feeling skeptical.

This is going to start the butting of heads – Thane reflexively takes the side of the hanar in all this, because he’s had to go along with the Compact for years, but Kolyat has the element of righteousness, since he’s JUST gotten his father back in his life, and now he wants to see if there’s anything that can be done to extend his life (Shepard – romanced and non – will have a response to that as well, though Thane will be more accepting of any comment in agreement with Kolyat from a romanced Shepard).

This is going to be another investigative focused story, because that appeals to me and these are my ideas. Mostly because the real drama is in Thane and Kolyat bouncing off each other – their story in the base game is about a father reaching out to his son, but the point here is that the grand gestures are the easiest part of making amends. It’s the little things, such as can Thane recognize Kolyat as a person who is thinking for himself and coming to his own conclusions rather than just following the crowd, or can Kolyat see his father as the flawed mortal he is, rather than the extreme of being the father who abandoned him and regrets that he prioritized that.

Our drama is in the human element, even in the fact that this is a pair of aliens interacting. The thing for me is that even in the game proper, Thane acknowledges that he and Kolyat need time to patch their relationship, and time is a resource that Thane has little of, not just because of Kepral’s but the Suicide Mission – which, let’s be clear, Kolyat is going to have a few additional words towards Shepard on the subject of. Shepard can take the lumps he throws at them, though Thane will try to intercede.

We’ll also be expanding on the drell and the hanar – the hanar themselves only have a minor cameo in ME2, as non-interactable figures in the Citadel docking bay. But the hanar are for the sidequests of this DLC, where they get to give Shepard the chance to explore their society and culture – somewhere in this, surely, is the quest about learning the soul name of a hanar, and further exploring why it is that the hanar have this distinction. Plus some further expansion into the hanar’s version of the protheans, the Enkindlers, and show some of the ideas that the hanar have of them, the kind of ideas that Javik’s existence in ME3 will either prove or disprove.

The big combat portion that we have to go in to (if we must, we must) is that there will be call to infiltrate a research facility. It’s on an isolated base, beyond any of the hanar cities or facilities that are traditionally given to house any non-aquatic life. The drell separatists (for want of a better term) believe that the hanar have been hiding additional research and information down there, things that the drell deserve to know, about the research into Kepral’s Syndrome and other things related to the drell living on Kahje, and they’re begging Shepard to go with them. Thane will accompany them in the name of finding a way around this. (Kolyat will be remaining behind – Thane insists, wanting to keep his son out of combat.)

However, as it turns out, this particular facility has mercenary guards, rather than the expected drell operatives. That’s already setting off alarm bells, and Thane’s connections only get them access so far. Once it’s clear that the information they’re looking for is not going to be given over easily, things will devolve into fighting.

Thane is not pleased at whatever is coming out of this – it’s going to be causing upset no matter what, that the hanar have trusted their safety with mercenaries loyal to a paycheck, and, by using these mercenaries, it makes it seem likely that the youth are on to something with the recognition that something doesn’t seem right among the hanar-drell relations.

In terms of design, I’m thinking this place is kinda like the Sith base on Manaan in KOTOR (updated to the engine used in Mass Effect, obviously), and uses similar puzzles (because this is still a video game). The puzzles and combat all lead to the lead scientist of the base – a drell. Who is actively dissecting his own people in his studies of disease.

Yes, the horrors are being done by a drell, who is studying the effects of Kepral’s and other similar diseases that the drell have developed. His studies began under the allowances of the hanar, and have been growing out from that point. He’s basically been given a blank check and a blind eye from the hanar, to study these things and investigate further. And it’s around this point we realize that it’s not dissection – it’s vivisection. His present subject is still alive, if only barely.

(If he’s part of the party, Mordin has some choice words for this mad science, and even Miranda, the woman who led the team to rebuild Shepard, is discomfited at the idea.)

We’re killing this bastard, let’s just be clear on that. There is a morality choice here, but it’s not in letting a guy studying still beating hearts up close live.

No, what it is in detailing what has been going on here. Because this is going to shatter the image that the hanar have for many drell. Rather than protectors and friends, this will reveal the hanar as having been unconcerned to handle this themselves, and let a madman do unspeakable things to their family. Learning about this will be devastating to the drell overall, and perhaps undermine their standing among one another. Thane has to question how this is going to impact his people. If Shepard reveals this to the drell, it’s going to make the drell question their place – and perhaps do damage to any hope of Shepard having the drell and hanar as allies, because Shepard becomes the one who blew the lid on this.

That’s the choice – tell the drell what the hanar were allowing to be done in their name because they just... didn’t bother to take this responsibility on themselves, leaving it in the hands of a complete monster, or keep this secret in the name of preserving the hanar-drell relations. Thane is willing to leave this in Shepard’s hands – he is too conflicted, and he can’t settle his emotions enough to make the decision. Much like Mordin and the genophage data, he is willing to let Shepard make this decision rather than make the choice himself.

Afterwards, he and Kolyat get to speak to one another, spends some time together, as Shepard gets the ability to go around, do the various sidequests and stuff – again, I’m not covering that here, but this is our only real chance to visit Kahje, so let’s get to explore it a little and do things. At this point, with the main plot resolved, Kahje’s a bit of a hub world for Shepard to do things and learn about the hanar people and culture, as well as the drell.

But afterwards, back on the Normandy, Thane is still rethinking the cultural mindset that the drell have towards the hanar. This has, regardless of how the other drell are reacting, shaken him, putting forth the fact that the hanar may not be the strong friends and allies that he and the drell in general have always believed them to be. This is a major blow to him, because the hanar were saviors to the drell, and that these people have been his friends, and yet... to an extent, they haven’t really CARED. Maybe individually, but on the whole...

For Thane, this is one of those moments that really makes him reconsider things – he was at peace with his death before. But now, knowing that things aren’t as assured as they were, he’s considering the world that will be left to go on without him – the world he’s basically leaving his son to at this point. It makes him care a lot more about firmly reconnecting with Kolyat, encouraging him to have knowledge and awareness of the things that consist of the drell culture, so that the old ways aren’t going to die with him (and giving more significance to Kolyat reading from the prayer book in ME3, “speaking as the priests do”).

Oh, and consider that drell enclave a remaining minor hub to visit. Bit of a running theme, I know, but it does help make these homeworlds of the races of the galaxy seem to have a little more to them, that we can visit them and subsequently want to see more of them.

Post-Game Followups:

ME3 – First off, I do want to point out that there’s going to be another drell-hanar focused DLC when I reach ME3, so there’s a lot that will likely come in to play there that probably lean on what happened here. But until I reach that point in my development, I don’t know the specifics yet, so just understand that there’s some flux happening here.

More specifically, though, I want to at least hear of, if not actually see and assist with, some efforts of drell to leave Kahje, appear on the Citadel – either they’re the growing dissident movement, now that the hanar’s failures have been exposed, or they’re part of the dissatisfied drell youth who are leaving Kahje, and their people, behind. At one point in ME2, Thane mentions that the old ways of the drell are dying, so among Shepard’s fetch quests is to do a flyby of the original drell homeworld, Rakhana, and receive a cultural codex of some kind that can be passed on to those trying to recover anything of the drell ways prior to the encroachment of the ideology of the Enkindlers. This gives a boost in war assets, and unlocks a Kolyat-centric side mission on the Citadel after the Cerberus Coup, something that effectively checks in on him and his plans following the death of his father. Because really, where was he after Thane dies, anyway? (Not anything major, just a “put feet to the fire in the research of Kepral’s Syndrome after his father dies saving the salarian councilor” kind of thing that has Shepard go to Valern/Esheel and make a point of bringing this up – this has the same kind of element of the side missions with Kasumi or Zaeed, in that it’s got a choice that having completed the DLC will have Kolyat there and it resolves things with both war assets and Kolyat.) 

Succession Crisis

A renowned salarian Dalatrass abruptly dies, and with her death, Sur’Kesh is in an uproar, seeing many of the lines of salarian breeding suddenly upset. Mordin suggests to Shepard that this would make for a chance to build allies among the salarian leadership for when the Reapers arrive. He is not the only one who has this idea, however...

So some codex talk here: There’s an offshoot of the salarians only referred to as the Lystheni. That’s all the information that we really get about them, save that they’re apparently unwelcome in Council space. I see this “offshoot” as being, in effect, the same kind of “offshoot” as Star Trek’s Vulcans and Romulans, where the Lystheni have an ideological conflict with mainstream salarian society, that a schism formed between the two and the Lystheni have left Sur’Kesh to the salarians, that they began as a political group, but because of their conflict with mainstream society, they’ve taken their political label as their race name. Though, obviously, not as separated as the Romulans and Vulcans, but probably separated by a few centuries, which, given the salarian lifespan is only about roughly forty years, is still multiple generations more than it would be for humans.

Now, how does this all tie back to the above blurb? Well, this death of a Dalatrass is a big deal. Think of “Britain after the Queen dies” big deal. Not necessarily THE “Queen” of the salarians, but a really big deal, and it creates a lot of chaos. Not just the “one of our leaders has unexpectedly died” kind of chaos but the upset this is going to shake up their various breeding strategies, which we know have a high level of importance among salarian culture (see the side quest on Illium), in that her line was one that many were angling to be a part of, and, with her gone, now there’s a political gap, the kind that can only be filled by multiple people, rather than just one individual replacing her at the top of the proverbial heap, and so that’s going to impact who’s going to be in charge on Sur’Kesh.

Y’know, it’s the “now that we CAN have a better position in society, we damn well deserve it” kind of thinking, and it’s hitting with several of the various political factions and families across the planet.

Mordin’s idea that Shepard get involved stems from a handful of matters – of course, there’s the obvious fact of there being a crisis among the salarians that needs to be resolved, and, as with the above situation with the turians in crisis, it’s about preemptive coalition building. In assisting here and now, there are going to be salarians in general and families more broadly who are going to owe Shepard one, and a salarian owing you a favor is always handy on a rainy day.

Again, this allows an opportunity to explore Sur’Kesh some, since we basically just get to see a single building (or block of connected buildings) in ME3 – I have words about the smallness of the maps in ME3 in general, but for a major Citadel race planet, Sur’Kesh offers so little, it’s disappointing. So yeah. We get to play around in the salarians playground.

Same as our prior forays into Palaven and Thessia, I’m not going to get too in depth in what we get to see, but this should give us a little more grounding into Sur’Kesh in general. And, like Palaven, Thessia, and Kahje, Sur’Kesh will have a small hub accessible after the conclusion. Again: Themes, connections to the homeworlds, so on, so on. Also, obviously, Mordin is our primary companion in this mission, though, for the record, I honestly see a place for Miranda in a secondary position, during the subplots and such, which I’ll come back to closer to the end, once the main plot is out of the way.

It’s here that we get out introduction to the Lystheni. They have an emissary here on Sur’Kesh, and they’re looking to find some way back in to the mainstream of salarian society. We get some briefs on the differences between them and the salarian majority – I’ve said it’s a political divide that led to them separating enough to consider themselves almost separate species, so it’s gotta be more than the simple thing of like “we want war! We want peace!” and the like. Going back to the Vulcan/Romulan comparison, that was a divide over the philosophy of logic and the suppression of emotion – the Romulans took issue with the idea of Surak’s philosophies, they made a mass exodus of the planet. So this is something that is a divide on a deeply cultural level.

So I’m thinking that the divide has a lot to do with the hierarchy of the salarian people – we know that the leaders of the salarians are the Dalatrasses, who get described in the codex and reference materials as heads of dynasties and kingpins. Taking this to an extreme, this seems like it’d be sort of like a mafia family, only with Godmothers instead of Godfathers. Part of the Lystheni’s grievances with the mainline salarian attitudes is going to be the fact that it’s frequently the Dalatrasses, who are making decisions for the culture at large, when the male-to-female ratio is about 9:1, and basically leaving the males out of decision-making, even on matters that have direct concern of them.

Yeah, yeah, there’s a lot to discuss about Mass Effect tackling the subject of sexism, especially through a lens of “reverse the dynamic.” Let’s just put that aside for now, huh? We’re in fantasy realm, and this is where everything works the way that it should. And we also are going to involve an element of pointing out that, even in this leadership structure that favors women in power, Valern got made a Councilor over any of the qualified women. Despite the Lystheni’s claims, the salarian government may be made up of mostly their rare women, but it is not actively blocking the advancement of men.

But that’s where the big polarization between the two groups comes down – the Lystheni want this to be an opportunity for the salarians to put their money where their mouths are (or utilize a more appropriate cultural metaphor). With an abrupt opening in the local hierarchy, the Lystheni are saying “this would certainly be the time to have a male Dalatress, prove to us that all this business of the salarian leadership being open and free for all isn’t just words.”

While the Lystheni are going to play a part in this, thought, they are only a part of it. We’re here to get a grip on the salarian political situation – again, the dalatrasses are something of a mafia structure, and that means there’s a lot of jockeying for power and skullduggery taking place, so the Lystheni are basically going to be sharing time with the main plot – just because they feature, they’re not the stars here. It’s the salarian politics that we’re focusing on first and foremost.

Because the thing about this kind of a gap in the salarian leadership, the heads of the families, is that usually, they’re seen coming in advance and that head has an opportunity to groom their successor. Here, however, there are a few qualified candidates – let’s go with three, as a nice, simple number. Two are the dalatrass’s daughters, which, having multiple female children is part of why she’s managed to be such a voice among the salarians, the other is her son.

Yes, we’re going for a big family squabble here. Mordin explains some of the family dynamics – salarians, being born in clutches of eggs, have close ties to the mother who birthed them (well, laid... You know what I mean) and to the siblings from their clutch. This is a typical triad in personalities – the conservative, the revolutionary, the middle ground (the daughters as the conservative and middle ground, with the son being revolutionary, considering the dynamics of salarian politics). I would assume that there’s also a strong tie to those who are from the same clutch, which makes this the mother of all sibling rivalries – all three want to assume the role of leadership, all three have political beliefs that will exclude or diminish the role of the others.

The thing that they’re all coming back to is disbelief that this was a natural death – it was unexpected, how does a salarian not see a medical issue coming, etc. etc. That’s actually probably the thing that they’re all unified on – if this was a murder and one of them killed their own mother, then that individual has no business taking her place in salarian politics, which is spiking the tensions between the siblings, and it quickly falls on Shepard to act as the neutral third party to investigate the matter – even salarian law enforcement is not going to be very trusted at the moment.

So this becomes a matter of exploring the salarian attitudes (hence Mordin’s involvement, offering the perspective and being able to be clinically divorced from it – and yes, as things go on, his calm is damaged, because this is his people, his planet, and he does have an emotional reaction).

Investigate and explore, you know how this works by now. The end result is that Lystheni (who the son has been favorable towards, though keeping his connections to on the downlow because it wouldn’t reflect well on him) were NOT responsible, and it was the ‘middle ground’ daughter who set about finding a way to eliminate her mother – this is an instance of trying to set the others at their throats and make it so that she comes out seeming better in comparison.

I see this having a resolution in the same manner as the Dragon Age Inquisition Winter Palace segment – the boss battle of the DLC is one you CAN have, but if you take the right dialogue options, you can also resolve matters without having to fire a shot.

As I said in my ME1 write up, Shepard is supposed to be incredibly good at what they do, and this includes the art of diplomacy. I know this is an action-adventure sci-fi shooter RPG and all, but considering how much galactic level issues Shepard ends up resolving over the course of the trilogy (particularly ME3), they need to have their credentials of talking on display as well.

The issue with this, however, is that with her out of the picture, the salarians have only the extremes as options, and look to Shepard to help cast a vote. Do they upend everything that has guided their society and have a massive cultural shake-up on the cusp of war with the Reapers, a war that will likely bring its own upheavals, or do they stick to the status quo and leave the fostering resentment?

Once again, I’m looking at this without the Paragon/Renegade distinction – even aside from the fact that just in general, I think the Paragon/Renegade scale is a holdover from the days of KOTOR and its light side/dark side mechanic, this is a political decision, and if IRL has taught us anything about politics, it’s that, when it works (let’s not get into how well it accomplishes this), it’s a matter of picking from various lesser evils. I think there’s more of BioWare’s much touted “grey morality” when there isn’t a clear cut right or wrong.

Sure, Shepard isn’t going to be the only voice offering an opinion on the matter, but, like getting the human Councilor in ME1, they’re influential enough that it sways public opinion – the endorsement is the kind of boost that makes a difference.

Going back to the Lystheni, they are something of a barometer of the future of salarian society. The obvious reactions are obvious – there is a great deal of frustration at the absolute failure to change if the conservative daughter was chosen, and expectation of opportunity if the son was. I know they haven’t exactly been much of a player in this, but part of the point of their involvement here is in the name of expanding and exploring the salarian culture in how the cultural rebels have built themselves up – these are the counter-culture, balanced against a shift in the mainstream culture. They don’t know what’s next, and they want to make their voice heard – despite the schism between the two groups, they are still family (yes, I want to use the “house divided, family split asunder” with the Dalatrass’s children as a metaphor for the salarians and Lystheni).

Mordin is not silent in all of this, of course – he’s going to have his own thoughts on the matter. My Mordin voice is presently unrefined, but his opinion will have something of a ‘my people have much dysfunction, perhaps an outside perspective will do some good’ attitude to it. That said, he also ends up having a push-pull to deal with of his own – his family’s mating prospects are damaged in the revolutionary coming to power, and yet he sees it as a good for the greater whole, that the salarians need some kind of change – a species who stagnates doesn’t evolve. (Yes, we’re planning seeds that pay off with the salarian-krogan arc in ME3, give it some better foreshadowing. Because I can do that here.)

While I’m here, I also want there to be some exploration of Grunt as a companion. I’m not saying it’s mandatory, because bringing a krogan out on the town on Sur’Kesh could easily qualify as A Bad Idea. But if you DO take him out, I want it to be discovered that there’s a questline for him specifically – just as much as a krogan on Sur’Kesh is a bad idea, it’s an interesting encounter at the same time. Grunt is also a source of interest for the salarians, being tankbred by Doctor Okeer.

Grunt is not impressed by the salarians, of course, and has no particular interest in them, but does get perspectives on the genophage – one of the things that comes across to me, hearing about it, is that the genophage isn’t JUST a fertility disease. It’s the biowarfare equivalent of a dirty bomb inflicted on a populace, because of the stillborn factor. It’s not that they can’t reproduce. It’s that they can’t give birth to living young.

To a lot of the salarians, the krogan are a distant threat – anyone living on Sur’Kesh probably doesn’t even get the chance to meet a krogan. And so here we see a representative of what the krogan get driven to because of the genophage. It’s the kind of experience that I think would challenge the beliefs of a lot of the salarian people, actually having a krogan on Sur’Kesh, interacting with them.

Post-Game Followups:

ME3: Impact on the salarian political situation – Dalatrass Linron will have her hood in a snit either way, but there’s a new short questline on the Citadel about the Lystheni, featuring her as the obstructive diplomat as they argue for rights. The conservative leader has them on defense and basically pushing to be recognized as a separate people from the salarians, while the reformer is pushing for peace talks and questions of rejoining the populace. Either way, Linron is objecting to even hearing their proposals. Mostly, this is me thinking that Linron needs to be taken down a peg, given how she’s the one talking about “a bully has few friends when he needs them most” while being the only one at the conference engaging in bullying behavior. Here, we get the chance to professionally undermine her. Because it’s satisfying.

Frozen Blood

Red sand is illegal throughout most of Citadel space. Given the way it impacts biotic abilities, it’s incredibly dangerous. And now, it’s managed to spread through a major Citadel port. Although it’s smaller scale than most of the threats on Commander Shepard’s plate, both Miranda Lawson and Admiral Anderson suggest they do something to stop it.

Red sand gets brought up on enough occasions in the games, I kind feel like we miss out in not getting to actually have any practical experience with it in the games proper. So, yeah, we’re doing a drug bust storyline here. It’s mostly about expanding the lore in terms of the underworld of the universe – as much as BioWare claims that Omega is the seedy underbelly of the galaxy, it’s still pretty clean for the most part, all things considered. Granted, it may just be that my millennial sensibilities, knowing that I’ll never own a home, are envious of those studio apartments we ransack through in the quarantine district in Mordin’s recruitment mission, and don’t understand why those places are said to be in the slums when, while small, don’t exactly look like unpleasant living spaces. Anyway...

So this is gonna start with Anderson contacting Shepard – I feel like it’d be nice to see Anderson communicating with Shepard in the Debriefing Room instead of TIM. Miranda will be along as well, because this is “an opportunity to make in-roads with someone in the halls of power” and that such rubbish – remember, Miranda is still the Cerberus cheerleader, and she is only seeing the good of what Cerberus can accomplish, thinking of it as the Alliance’s answer to the asari commandos and the salarian STG, or even the Council’s Spectres. That’s what Cerberus is TO HER (even if it isn’t in reality, that’s just how she views it at this point in time). So she wants to take advantage of the opportunity to legitimize it.

We need to pause and define the properties of red sand, just so we’re all on the same page going forward – it’s supposed to allow non-biotics a high that allows them to feel something akin to having biotics, even being known to allow non-biotics some biotic abilities. Also, to date, humans are the only race known to be impacted by red sand, which honestly makes me think that its legality on Illium is another sign of the casual anti-human tendencies of Council space – this is going to come up as we go on.

Anderson is concerned about a new strain of red sand that’s been found in a presently-comatose Alliance marine. More potent, giving the users more of a high, more of a biotic kick, and more of a risk of a damaging crash. Miranda has also heard rumors about this – because of the effects red sand has on humans and only humans, it’s something that Cerberus monitors (I say take the opportunity and give Miranda and Anderson some chance at a back and forth – for Anderson, his disgust with Cerberus is on full display, and he’s making it clear that he’s not enamored of Shepard’s alliance of convenience, meaning that we’re disappointing Space!Dad in working with Cerberus, as a reminder to those who thought this alliance could last beyond ME2, while Miranda gets to show off her character growth, depending on the completion of her loyalty mission, that a pre-loyalty Miranda spouts the party line, while post-loyalty Miranda focuses on the fact that she – not Cerberus but Miranda – wants to help).

So with them on the same side of the argument, it’s pretty much inevitable that Shepard should go ahead and investigate. They’re gonna start on the Citadel (because, as I’ve said, the Citadel has a lot of areas to explore – you could probably set an entire trilogy of games here), doing more investigative work. And yes, I know, I lean on this a lot in the name of keeping things hazy, but (incoming soapbox) this is part of my problem with Mass Effect 2 on the whole – so much of this game is oriented towards combat. While I understand that in terms of being an action-adventure RPG, the thing for me is that Shepard needs to do more than “shoot good.” We need to see them as an intelligent person as well, giving them mysteries to unravel that involve finding and uncovering clues and putting pieces together, rather than just have answers to questions handed to them and being told their ability to shoot things makes them “the greatest EVAR!” Shepard’s abilities should be more than just the shooting.

The shooting will come, though, rest assured. Just... I want more to Shepard’s skill than their ability to fire a gun. And Mass Effect 2 is not given to these kinds of missions very often – Samara and Thane’s Loyalty Missions are about the only opportunities for this, along with a couple of non-combat missions through planet scanning, but still that’s like... five total, maybe – out of HOW many missions, exactly, in the whole game? – and I want more of that, and these are my DLC ideas, so what I say gets to go.

Back to the plot. The Citadel investigation leads us to our drug middleman. I was tempted to say that this leads us to Harkin again, but... eh, I don’t think we necessarily need to go there. I would have liked to have made this a cameo appearance from some minor ME1 character, but I can’t think of anyone who’s a real fit for it. So unless I come up with something better, we’re just going with random salarian person. They provide the next step – the drug factory itself is out in the Traverse, he just sells it on the Citadel.

The pause allows us a chance to meet with the victims of this drug – although there’s a coma and death involved in its side effects, we get to meet the people being impacted by this. I’d like to also get the chance through this to humanize the victims – y’know, we opened with concerns about a bunch of nameless, faceless others, it’s about trying to make connections, giving the audience a reason to care.

The Normandy heads out to the drug factory, and I picture this as a big set piece for the DLC. If you’re familiar with Star Wars Bounty Hunter, I’m thinking something like the deathstick factory level here. Because, sure, my critique of ME2 in general is that it’s too combat oriented, but you know something? Every now and then, you DO just want to shoot something, and my DLC ideas so far have been heavy on the investigative stuff. This is combat sequences in some inventive new areas, and it is mostly combat-centric, as opposed to a deeper and more intricate story with a great deal of choices. Nothing wrong with that every now and then.

And, on the thematic level, it’s a reminder – not every threat to the galaxy out there is something like the Reapers. There’s always a domestic threat to deal with, people with bad intentions out to hurt people in order to make a little cash. They’re a problem as much as the big level threats.

In point of fact, that’s what both the encounters with the people being impacted by the friends and family of those impacted by this red sand do AND the discussions with the crew – this isn’t an instance of having set companions, but I do expect them all to have comments during the stages, and Miranda gets a full conversation – her work with Cerberus, and even the Lazarus Project in specific, had her investigating red sand and its effects on biotics as a part of working to reanimate Shepard’s dead tissues (kinda want a comment here if Shepard has changed class between ME1 and ME2, and that the use of element zero in the process influenced that, though I’m not sure if that’s something that’s supposed to be acknowledged in universe... Whatever).

So the overall big bad is not some particular mastermind with dreams of galactic domination and such. It’s just some drug peddler who came up with a particularly potent product. But, in the end... That’s the point here. This is some lowlife who has no particular scheme beyond enriching himself. He HAS no connection to the greater story – or to the greater galaxy. All he is doing is thinking of himself. In a story about showing the importance of connection, he stands out for failing to have any, and considering it a strength – he’s claiming to be on top because of his lack of connections, his inhumanity towards others.

Shepard is proving him wrong.

And we’re also going to be addressing that, to the greater galaxy, this is a matter of “human-on-human violence,” that, because red sand only really impacts humans, it’s something that the other races don’t really pay attention to. It’s not that they’re encouraging it, but they don’t see it as a problem, because this isn’t impacting anyone but humanity.

It’s another sign of humanity being seen as the uppity attention grabbers of the galaxy, that, since humanity wants to be on this stage at a time when they’re “not ready” for the big leagues (even with being on the Council – remember, the Council is saying that all those human colony worlds Shepard is investigating the mass disappearance of isn’t worth their attention, even though humanity basically ends up taking over the primary fleet defense duties in the aftermath of the Battle of the Citadel), then humanity can solve its own problems, don’t look at us aliens.

This drug problem gets as big and as bad as it does because of the broad apathy towards human-centric issues in Citadel space, and, to build off of that connection theme, speaks to a disconnect on both sides, human and alien, where neither group is all too invested in one another – while I harp a lot about how the Citadel races have that subtle negative attitude towards humanity, it also feeds a negative attitude towards the other races in humans as well, and in this instance, it does need to be a case of both sides trying to listen. The problem both groups are having now is that humanity’s issues aren’t really being heard, and that closes humanity off to the issues of these others.

In this instance, I don’t think we really need a Paragon/Renegade conclusion – not just that this is a smaller scale story, in opposition to the bigger threats or connective stories of these other hypothetical DLCs, but the point of this whole story is in its themes and the message it is sending in talking about the importance of connection.

And it’s why we do get to have a follow-up with Miranda, since she is the character who began this DLC among our crew. Her whole façade in the beginning of the game is about being this dispassionate, rational, logical being, and she herself says that she cut most of her ties to her life before Cerberus (barring Nikket, who, I actually would like another conversation on the subject of, particularly in exploring her feelings surrounding his death and whether or not she was the one who pulled the trigger on him, so let’s patch that in as well while we hypothetically have Yvonne Strahovski and the Shepards in the studio). Miranda has been disconnected through much of her life, but, with Shepard, she’s forging new ones – while I did bring up above that there would be a pre-loyalty mission variant of Miranda’s dialogue, I do think of this as a post-loyalty mission DLC, and that should be reflected in her discussing the connection of being involved with Oriana and having built up relationships with the Normandy crew. She IS connecting, and she’s beginning to see the importance of that.

I was going have Anderson’s involvement be just an e-mail, let the character who’s here for character development and is part of the crew be the big focus, but I do figure we’ll also touch base with Space!Dad after this, hear from him about the approach that he’s going to take with regards to addressing red sand – our drug dealer was a lowlife, but his operation involved more than just humanity, which means the production of red sand is not limited to “human on human” issues (I didn’t particularly pick a species for the big drug boss here, but, to build on the whole theme of “connection” and it impacting the galactic level issues, I’d think the drug peddler with a potent product would likely be a turian – I feel like it would HAVE to be a member of a Council race for the impact I’m going for with this theme). This is becoming a much bigger deal than something that limits the spotlight in humanity and human issues. It needs to be acknowledged by the Council as an issue they need to be getting involved in – not just because human lives are impacted by this, but because LIVES are impacted.

If the theme is connection, it needs to be acknowledged that we need to connect, regardless of how different the others in question are. This isn’t a “well, we must listen and acknowledge both sides” kind of situation, it’s a “your indifference to the situation will only make it worse, and there will be those on ‘both sides’ who use your indifference to their advantage, so stop acting like you’re not involved in this at all.”

Y’know, I feel like Shepard kinda needs to say that, considering the whole “ah yes, Reapers” business...

Post-Game Followups:

ME3: The red sand facility has been seized, and, while red sand itself is still illegal drugs and such, having the files available has offered some upgrades in biotic amps for a war asset boost. Also there’s a drug recovery ward at Huerta (what, we can totally add some to the Huerta map in ME3, right?) where there are victims. I’d also say that there should be a fetch quest in that ward, something surrounding the idea of getting the patients something that helps them through their withdrawal symptoms, which can also be adapted to help with soldiers who are getting hooked on the pain meds, though this would be something I’d say would be available regardless of DLC, the same way that the batarian terrorist on life support in the Wards after the Coup is available regardless of if Shepard completed Arrival or not.

Zeroed Out

Eezo is the lifeblood of Citadel space – both what allows FTL travel and the generation of biotics. With recent concerns about dark energy and lingering resentment from human biotic extremists, a major security presence has been mandatory at many refineries. And the Illusive Man thinks Commander Shepard’s presence might be a help...

We’re going to an eezo mine! Obviously, this is Mass Effect “MacGuffin,” the thing that does what the plot needs it to – eezo is to Mass Effect as dilithium is to Star Trek, it’s the handwave that gives us faster than light travel, propelling us forward with the power of pure plot convenience. But we know enough to know that eezo can be mined out of places.

The moon Arvuna was apparently supposed to be a scannable planet in ME2 but was cut (eventually appearing in ME3 as a site we can scan for Doctor Garneau during Leviathan). Well, we’re putting it back in and having an eezo mine there being where we’re going. A Cerberus operative is given Shepard’s contact info by the Illusive Man (we really need to have a chat about how freely Shepard’s number is given out to random strangers, don’t we?). This operative, who I’m going to just go ahead and name Operative Piper for want of a name, is currently operating out near the eezo mine there and is concerned about some rumblings she’s been hearing through the proverbial grapevine. Considering the importance of securing eezo, since it’s what’s necessary for FTL travel throughout the galaxy, with or without a Mass Relay, this is something that she finds to be important to be monitoring and something that having the assistance of someone like Commander Shepard in keeping secure.

Going back to my habit of having mandatory companions on these, despite that it runs the risk of overusing them, I think Miranda and Jack will be the best fit here – both are human biotics (because eezo influences biotics), they represent opposing ends of the Cerberus spectrum... They make for a good spectrum of attitudes in the matters of things related to eezo and how it impacts people and Cerberus itself. Not sure HOW we’re arranging having them specifically locked in as companions, particularly given the loyalty conflict and how that might have locked Shepard out of one or the other’s loyalty

So Shepard arrives at the mine and meets with Piper, who is not thrilled to be calling in help, especially from an outside “contractor” like Shepard. Consider this another instance of comparing and contrasting Miranda at the start of ME2 to her development over the course of the game, going from Cerberus loyalist to “consider this my resignation.” Particularly since here, it allows Jack to be able to (grudgingly) acknowledge that Miranda, the Cerberus cheerleader, is not actually as pro-Cerberus as she could be and is actually somewhat on the level in terms of what she’s doing (Again, Jack is grudging about this and I’m basically expressing the gist of any comment she has to say about it).

Since Piper’s going to butt heads with Jack and Miranda, even if Miranda is more sympathetic to her point of view, it’s going to lead to Shepard acting as the voice of reason and compromise (because, as I’ve said before, Shepard’s diplomatic skill honestly NEEDS to be front and center in the course of this series, given what they’ll be called on to do in ME3). So I expect a lot of little moments of debate that utilize the dialogue mechanic in the same vein as the crew conflicts. I’d particularly be interested in having some kind of tracking meter of the way Shepard handles things that could potentially restore the character’s loyalty if it was lost in that conflict, though I’m not so sure about the proper implementation (and, personally, I aim to time my completion of their loyalty missions so that I have enough points to resolve their conflict peacefully, so I’m not even sure if that would be content I, the writer of these, would interact with anyway... moving on).

Piper’s concern is that the eezo mine is going to be coming under assault by biotic extremists, that plot thread we never really saw appear after the first game. Shepard will, of course, raise the obvious point – shouldn’t the appearance of Shepard disrupt any plan they’re up to? And that’s going to lead to her second concern. There’s a fluctuation within the eezo being mined. It’s ostensibly nothing to worry about, a variance within the standard deviation and blah blah blah. Piper’s superiors at the facility (the ones who don’t know about her Cerberus ties) believe it’s nothing to be concerned about and that it’s all just expected. Except she’s finding this variance consistently, and, if it keeps going, something will happen to eezo. And, of course, while the civilizations of the galaxy in this cycle have been using eezo to go faster than light for a couple thousand years, how much do they REALLY know about eezo? As we frequently see in this franchise, the galaxy’s races like to leave the unanswered questions alone, even if they probably should try to get a better grasp of the things that make civilization as they know it go round.

So to sum up: Human biotic extremists, demanding better treatment may be looking to take over the mine (reasons will be discussed shortly) and something is unusual about the eezo itself as it’s coming out of the mines.

And we are going to get some idea of just how bad it can be in these eezo mines – y’know, ME3’s Omega DLC will talk up about the mines in the station, but we don’t actually get much about the work and process of eezo mining, which is going to be our focus here. The way we’re going to see and hear about it, this particular mine is not the worst of operations in terms of safety, but it’s also not the safest, either, and it is getting worse over time – that the mining is wearing away things, and no one is particularly invested in upgrading things, that things are reaching their breaking point, but there is no one in a particular position to make the effect to increase the safety standards – this is a place willing to accept the hazards as just how it’s all done, and hey, if there’s any exposures, well, you can survive it, right? And the asari are evidence that there are species who are going to be better off for exposures, so why prevent it?

Investigation happens, you know how this part works by now. Now, as it turns out, yes, there ARE biotic extremists among the people here, but they’re not BIOTIC extremists, but the FAMILIES of biotic extremists, who are convinced that the mines across the galaxy are not safe from biotic exposure – they’re specifically using the asari as an example, since the asari, being a naturally biotic race, are “unconcerned” with the hazards (this is immediately debunked by Miranda – asari have the most stringent safety standards in the galaxy, even acknowledging that humanity could learn more from them than they have).

But... Well, I think by this point we’re all aware of that segment of the population who are determined to not be swayed by facts and reason on what they claim as a moral crusade to protect the children. And, in the Mass Effect universe, I think there’s a fair attitude to have in assuming that, due to the applications of biotic abilities, there is no particular emphasis for preventing biotic exposure – biotics are insanely powerful, but they also have extensive drawbacks – Kaidan himself says that he’s lucky to get off with just the odd migraine, and since biotic exposure is effectively inducing mutation during gestation, odds are there are additional health issues and even birth defects that take place because of it.

So legitimate medical concerns here – like, I was a little worried as I started piecing this together that this would be framed as being approving of something like “curing” autism, so trust me, I’m aware that this is stepping on eggshells here in terms of metaphors made and drawn from all of this. But in this case, considering that we’re talking about something that (as we have an example of in Jack) is explicitly manipulated by horrible people as an active weapon... I think there’s the reality of biotics in-universe that gives it a different feel to the IRL comparisons that one can draw. In the case of biotics, we DO know that there is an external cause for them, and it is something that I can easily see being misused – even Kaidan and Shepard can bring up the potential of Conatix possibly intentionally exposing people to element zero. So there ARE canonical questions surrounding the idea of “[thing] causes biotics, people are actively exposed to [thing], corporations are actively trying to expose more people to [thing].”

So while the metaphor CAN be brought up, it also is refuted by the context that the universe has applied previously – we KNOW that IF a mega-corporation (particularly one given monopoly) can do something underhanded to cut corners on the budget and do something sketchy in the name of profit, it’s done it before I even started this sentence. So it’s never confirmed but almost certain that there ARE instances of people being intentionally exposed to create biotic abilities, and it also has been known to just as likely cause brain tumors and other defects. This is a legitimate concern within the universe that something is being done without concern for the health impacts it has on fetuses in utero. It’s a legitimate question to ask “are the glowing space ninjas we get as a result of this worth the babies with brain cancer?”

Thing is, some of these people are genuine about thinking that there need to be better protections, some are just looking for the local cause to create chaos, and some are out for blood.

That last faction is where the problems are at their peak, because they’re the ones who are causing mayhem for the sake of mayhem. They want to make things worse.

The idea is to destabilize this haul of eezo, and make it cause problems – ostensibly, it’ll make the demand come for a great deal more safety regulations to be imposed upon the efforts to mine eezo, but, really, the actual effect is going to be more damaging in ways that have nothing to do with the people who are supposedly being “helped” by these efforts. Damaging eezo damages all interstellar commerce and travel. It won’t lead to better safety measures, but it will lead to the overall disruption of space travel... And it won’t actually do anything to prevent any exposures. It might even make more exposures possible, the kind of exposures that result in too much exposure and the death of the person who has been exposed to the eezo. And these people do not care – they WANT the disruption, because to them, the important part is the attention, not the results. And, I’m sure, they’re so interested with the chaos that they’re more interested in destruction with a veneer of purpose.

So we’ll have Miranda and Jack talking about what biotics are in practice – these people are honestly approaching biotics more as a theory than in the practical, because, as I said above, these aren’t biotics pushed to extremism but non-biotics who are, in degrees, there more about how biotics are impacting THEM, not the actual biotics. Where Jack is there to bring up the hardships of being biotic, to show that it’s not about how it interrupts their lives but impacts the people who have this gift and burden, Miranda can bring up the more positive elements of biotic abilities, because her issues have not been because of her biotics.

I know above there was the mention of comparisons to autism, but I’ve also said before that I can see some parallels with same-sex attraction with biotics (parallels that are text within the franchise, what with Cora using that line “what if someone had told me ‘that’s okay’?” in reference to her biotics, which... I’ve had words, I’m not going to go into that here and now). Here are Jack and Miranda to show the various ends of the spectrum – Jack is someone who was mistreated and is finding herself in this identity that she has learned to love about herself despite the damage others have inflicted on her for being different. Miranda is someone who has struggled, but not because of her biotics, even found her place because of her biotics (even if that place is, at this point in time, an illegal terrorist organization like Cerberus).

That’s their purpose here. I would like Shepard to, if they have a biotic class, to be able to acknowledge them as well in dialogue and interrupts (in the way that ME3’s Omega has Engineer Shepard bypass the choice of sacrificing civilians to help Aria and Nyreen), though that involves mapping this out in way more detail than I intend to here. So the idea is there and would grow if this were not hypothetical.

Of course, we do still have to come down to the bang-bang shooty stuff. Because this is a mining operation, I expect a lot of mechanic labor – the enemies here would likely mostly be reprogramed mechs, think something akin to the mining droids from the Peragus level of KOTOR 2. The big boss battle would be a reprogrammed mining mech that’s responsible for creating the variance in the eezo. Like, I’m thinking some kind of spider-like mech – I already mentioned the droids from KOTOR 2’s Peragus level, this one I’m thinking has more in common with like the crab droids from the Clone Wars material, or possibly the Terror Walker from the Force Unleashed 2. I do not know how well that translates into the game engine for Mass Effect, but dammit, it’d at least have uniqueness as a boss fight.

I sort of lost track of Cerberus operative Piper in the course of this, but she’s going to have been a part of matters all the same. Checking in a lot over the course of things, and being opposing talk in conversations between Shepard, Miranda, and Jack – not that she’s arguing in favor of the extremists, since she did call Shepard out there, but she’s looking at this as a pure results manner, to get these people out and shut them down, not listen to their issues and problems, just get them the hell off her rock.

And she’s where there’s a final choice – obviously we do shut down the mining mechs that are causing the problems, but she’s ready to kind of approach this as ‘okay, now let’s get these people off my rock, I don’t care what they have to say, they’re jackasses who tried to blow up the ability to travel through the galaxy, they’re in no position to tell me or anyone else anything at all.’ Shepard has a choice about addressing that – they DO have a legitimate point, since we’ll have seen how this mine is not entirely up to code and no one is really ready to put in the costs to put it back together.

Like, in the earlier entry of “Frozen Blood,” I brought up the idea that the greater galaxy isn’t concerned about this mostly human-centric issue. Here’s a similar perspective, that the exposure to eezo is kinda the “ultimate evolution” of civilizations, that everyone should be biotics. Like, the reason we have human biotics find their way into the Alliance is that this gives them a place to be able to contribute, so humans are seeing biotics as a place to have humanity compete on an even footing with aliens and their advantages. So it’s an idea that humanity is improved by biotics, and, as she’s a Cerberus operative, she’s content to see more exposures and more biotics among humanity, because it advances human interests.

Shepard gets to argue with her about the cost in lives because of the damage done, that eezo exposures can have benefits, but they should still be the exception, not the rule, at least until it can be controlled enough to not have the damage to those exposed to eezo, the mutations and stuff, or agree with her about the human advancement idea, that humans need the benefits too much to make an issue of things. And there are after-mission conversations with Miranda and Jack specifically, talking about their experiences and opinions of how Shepard handled things.

Post-Game Followups:

ME3: The eezo mine itself is a war asset if Shepard didn’t argue for new safety standards, because it’s putting out the eezo that the Alliance needs in the course of the war effort, despite the various complaints about the worsening safety standards – the unfortunate reality is that the war cause needs eezo, and they’re not really going to ask questions about how safe the mine is. Alternatively, if Shepard was more focused on the safety increase, while the mine is at decreased production in the name of putting in these updated standards, the Alliance has had a more positive reputation with human biotics, who are seeing the Alliance (as represented by Shepard, who presumably had Anderson pushing the agenda) as more of a place of acceptance.

We also end up with an encounter with Piper on the Citadel, prior to the coup attempt – she’s claiming to having broken ties with Cerberus and is also there to speak for the miners to the Council. If Shepard argued for the human cost of the safety standards needing to be increased, she’s there genuinely, and ends up injured during the fighting, and can be seen in Huerta afterwards. If Shepard agreed with her about the eezo was necessary regardless of the safety concerns, though, she was a Cerberus operative all the same, and gets confronted after the coup as having assisted in the Cerberus forces getting aboard the station (The idea here being that Shepard’s stark reminder of the value of human life makes her reconsider Cerberus, but, if they don’t make that remark to her, she ends up staying with Cerberus long enough that she gets the Reaper augmentation like their troops).

Security Breach

Commander Bailey of the Citadel Security forces reaches out to Shepard. He’s becoming suspicious of a problem within the C-Sec ranks. He is concerned it’s related to rising tensions between humans and Citadel races, and isn’t sure he can trust his people, human and non alike. Shepard may be his best resource to find the conspirators before chaos breaks out on the Citadel...

It’s gonna be an awkward one here, folks, considering C-Sec are cops, and... I mean, all cops are bastards. We’re all aware of this aspect, and it’s an awkwardness we just kinda have to roll with, given how the narrative is already set. C-Sec is part of the setting and treated as more or less good guys, and I can’t just excise it because I want to. And Bailey himself is not exactly the kind of character who comes off well in an ACAB-world or viewpoint, given that whole “make him scream a little” comment when we first arrive in the C-Sec station.

That all being things we’re aware of, I want it understood that the games clearly treat Bailey as a good guy and on Shepard’s side, in both ME2 and ME3, and we’re going to stand by that here. If you’re not particularly a fan of Bailey, yeah, you’ll probably want to skip this one, because I’m accepting him as a good guy for the sake of this.

We’re kicking off by having a new area on the Citadel being available, a not-quite Presidium environment, some place that would seemingly allow for a more relaxed atmosphere. “Seemingly” because when does Commander Shepard ACTUALLY get to relax?

As they’re trying to relax, they come across a protest. Remember how Thane’s Loyalty Mission centered on Kolyat being hired to kill a turian politician who was running on an openly anti-human platform? Yeah, this is more of those types. While this is still one of those that can be played anywhere after the unlock point, I see it best as after that mission, where Joram Talid has been dealt with – he can end up dead at the end of that mission or he can have had his life threatened by an assassin hired by a human criminal. Both are being held up as banner pieces of evidence of why humans are seizing power in the Citadel from those who’ve lived there for decades.

Shepard gets into an argument with the leader of this protest, another turian who I’m gonna call Gaius Crassus (because when I need to name turian characters, I basically use a grab bag of character names from Spartacus). He’s functionally replacing Talid, who may die by the end of Thane’s Loyalty Mission and I don’t want to deal with one of the major players of this DLC being potentially dead, but we are going to connect the two characters and say that Crassus has taken his position in the race (because, basically, I’m assuming that what Shepard and Thane discover about Talid in that mission functionally tanks his campaign if he survived the mission, and, if he didn’t, obviously, someone else has to run for that seat).

It’s your typical human versus alien argument in this universe (the kind that has been a running theme throughout these DLC ideas, because I think it’s an important detail of the relationships between the races in the Mass Effect universe). Crassus also brings up Shepard’s involvement in Talid’s absence from the election, whether it’s that they were spying on him (conveniently forgetting that it was in the name of preventing an assassination) or they actively killed him.

Eventually, though, C-Sec shows up to break up the protest – this isn’t the first, and the last one turned into something more than just shouting words, so the officers are taking preemptive action to break this up now. This is when Bailey shows up and speaks to Shepard and brings up the fact that this is spreading beyond the Citadel’s general population. He’s noticed it among the officers as well. When we meet him properly in ME2, he’ll bring up that the C-Sec losses during the geth attack allowed a lot of human C-Sec officers to rise through the ranks, that the upper echelons of turian, asari, and salarian officers had gotten decimated, letting the humans get the positions now vacant.

And that’s where there’s some issues in C-Sec, because Bailey believes that this tension is getting into the ranks. It’s something that he needs to address – C-Sec is supposed to be keeping the peace, if the C-Sec officers are getting wrapped up in these activities, it erodes the public confidence.

A-HEM.

Look, I said that the game portrays C-Sec and Bailey as predominantly positive forces and that I was ultimately going to maintain that attitude for the sake of internal consistency with canon, I didn’t say that I was going to approach it entirely uncritically.

Now, because we’re getting involved with C-Sec here, Garrus is an obvious companion to be brought along. To offer an alternate view of C-Sec, of the professional authority figures, I think Kasumi would be a reasonable addition. She’s a thief with a heart of gold, the Robin Hood type (as we see in Citadel, where she assembles a gang to rob the casino, since it’s overflowing with cash while refugees are struggling). While she’s not above taking a bit of a score for herself, she’s there to voice how the “proper authorities” are often no better than thugs with a badge, and that some people go outside the law to do what it fails to do with regards to helping people.

Obviously, Shepard can’t just go undercover here – they’re too well known for that much. So Kasumi is going to lead Shepard through an observation mission in the same way that Thane does in his loyalty mission, having discussions with Garrus along the way about the way C-Sec does things. This is our first bit of questioning the status quo, because Garrus, even if he counts as a “bad” turian, he’s still from a society that doesn’t question authority like C-Sec, like something with that kind of military structure. Orders, commands, discipline, that sort. That’s the environment he knows, that’s the worldview he was raised with.

And sure, Shepard is part of a military themselves, but Earthborn Shepard would know how bad cops can be, and Colonist Shepard was born outside of the military structure. Even Spacer Shepard would have learned about the ways to get around the rules, having been a kid of military parents. Because humans in general are shown to be more initiative-driven than the turians, Shepard has room to push against Garrus’s ingrained ideas of “when a bad order is given, it reflects poorly on the giver, not the one who carries it out.” That’s one of the things that we briefly touched on in the above “Proud Soldiers” entry, but it wasn’t the big focus of Garrus’s time. Here, it is.

Back into the plot stuff, the observation leads Shepard and team to discover that there are basically two types of C-Sec officers, at least among the non-humans. There are the kind who are kind of annoyed about the whole business, but they’re willing to wait until the humans screw up to swoop in and show that they’re in over their heads, and there are those who want to do something about it. Most of the officers are the former, and those “former” are excusing the latter. And that there’s a trend among the humans (because we’ve been observing C-Sec offices, so there’s mingling) to be resentful of the aliens resentment – a sense of “finally, we’re getting to do what we should have done, while the aliens have been focused on the humans as problems and not as victims.”

Like I said, I may have to approach C-Sec as ultimately part of the good guys, but we’re still being critical of the institution – the people who go into C-Sec, into cops as a career, are often people who want the ability to have authority over others, and, as a result, be the people prone to abusing that authority in various ways. Humans may have been discriminated against, but cops are, ultimately, the real bastards in this, and, by being cops, these humans are choosing to be bastards.

Now we get some interplay with Garrus and Kasumi – where Garrus is the cop, she’s been a thief, she’s worked on the margins. She knows what the cops do that make things worse, and she’s bringing up all the issues that need to be when it comes to cops – sure, ideally, they’re there to protect people, but... I mean, if we’re talking ideally, why do we even need cops? And I feel like this would be a good place to insert some backstory for them both that I am completely making up here and now, but I don’t think it’s anything that damages canon. I’ve been trying to avoid anything like this to this point, but it’s in service of the plot here, and, again, I don’t think this is knocking anything particularly of out whack.

I’m saying that Kasumi was, at one point a few years back, part of a group of thieves that C-Sec broke up. Most were arrested, some (like Kasumi) got away. This group furthered that whole “Robin Hood” thing – they stuck to hitting casinos (a la her meet in the Citadel DLC), or swiping the “priceless art” taken by collectors (small “c”) from their “primitive” societies who “can’t take care of them themselves.”

Yes, I’m here, calling out the British Museum via sci-fi metaphor.

Anyway, her group was going after mega-rich people who weren’t hurt by the crime. But C-Sec still decided that THEY were the ones to punish. And, in that C-Sec raid, was a young Garrus Vakarian. She’s never said anything because Kasumi’s just chill that way – she knows enough about Shepard coming in to the squad that she can put aside any old grudges, and I think Kasumi in general keeps loose ties to anyone else – it’s what made her relationship with Keiji so important to her, that he became someone who she would regularly partner with or care about the long term fate of. Likewise, the fact that he didn’t catch her back in the day means that he didn’t realize she was involved.

But the point of this is for her to be able to call out his attitude of “C-Sec is always the good guys, if C-Sec is after someone, they must have done something wrong.” Because, despite having been frustrated by the rules and regulations, Garrus still has that belief in his mind, that there is no real occasion where C-Sec AREN’T the good guys. And he needs to accept that. Shepard’s here to moderate the discussion, and, ultimately, this IS a case where I think that it NEEDS to be Paragon to side with Kasumi’s take over Garrus’s – Garrus is effectively saying “authority is always right by virtue of being authority,” while Kasumi is saying “systems are flawed creations enforced by flawed people, sometimes they’re making mistakes.” In this argument, Garrus is on the side of blind adherence to authority, and Kasumi is on the side of both nuance and trying to make punishments suit the crime – punishing someone who stole food to feed their family is inflicting cruelty for the sake of cruelty, meanwhile the business mogul who cut their wages just pocketed his eighty-fourth billion and demands they be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

The general idea of these discussions is one we’re in the process of having – how does the law work FOR EVERYONE. Garrus, being former C-Sec, being a turian, sees the law as a strict binary, a black and white view of “break the law, you’re a criminal and deserve to be punished.” Kasumi is able to bring in the nuance of crime is defined by people, and laws are fallible. She exposes the flaws in the system with her actions – as much as theft is about the artistry with her, that she seeks the jobs that put her skills to the most challenge, she also sees a connection between the things she steals, the people she steals from, and the laws that protect them – the people she steals from can afford to take the hit. They aren’t losing something. And Kasumi might keep enough funds for a solid nest egg when her days in the biz come to a wrap, but she’s always felt like someone who gives anything she doesn’t need to others.

Okay, that’s the character development stuff for now. We’ll be back to it come the wrap up, now back to plot. As we see, these anti-human elements are working with Gaius Crassus to try and reclaim a position for non-humans in the local political scene. It’s a small scale thing, they know they’re not going to get humanity off the Council or anything, but they’re all being very ‘put them back in their place.’

This all being said, though, in this instance I do want to be clear – there ARE C-Sec officers who are trying to build bridges. But they are not particularly open about this, BECAUSE the culture of C-Sec at this point seems VERY oriented towards resentment. And it is resentment on both sides of the divide, because the humans know that there are those who are against them having any advancement of their rights – it’s common through the series, the non-humans are quick to call humans bullies, and the humans are kinda hotheaded about these things. Both arguments are being represented here, though, because this is a messy situation – although there’s the obvious metaphors to draw, with C-Sec as cops, and talk about the IRL situation (that, admittedly, was not as forefront in our minds when ME2 was released), we do still have to recognize the elements of the fictional construct that are involved.

Okay, I swear, we’re working our way to the inevitable combat segments.

Crassus is able to uncover that Shepard and gang are there, and he’s... not happy to be overseen. He’s basically looking to have his people among C-Sec stage a revolt of some sort – ostensibly, he wants it to be peaceful, but, given how many guns are at his disposal in this facility alone, it’s obvious he’s preparing for conflict. A conflict he intends to pin on humans – if humans had just stayed in their place, this wouldn’t have happened, humans have forced their way onto the Council, shouldn’t the other races do all they can to force them off?

Garrus and Kasumi have a brief bit about the optics of gunning down a bunch of cops, considering Shepard and Kasumi are humans against a bunch of aliens. Garrus wants to make an appeal to the officers, but he might just be seen as a traitor to his kind and no one will listen, while Kasumi thinks she can set off an EMP that’ll shut down their weapons long enough to decide what to do, but she’s working on the fly with material that she questions the suitability of, and it might do more than just knock out the electronics in the place.

I’m leaning towards THIS being the big Paragon/Renegade choice of this DLC, rather than anything else. Does Shepard trust in the system that an appeal to the better nature of these officers implies, or do they make a decision that acknowledges them as a threat that needs to be stopped. Because it’s going to say what Shepard’s opinion of C-Sec is overall – is it a necessary system that can be fixed, or does it need to be rebuilt from the ground up?

I mean, the fact that I’m questioning it at all probably should say where I stand on the subject, but, see again, C-Sec is a part of ME3, it can’t be disbanded entirely.

Garrus can’t persuade everyone to lower their weapons, and Kasumi’s EMP overloads some weapons enough that they blow up in the hands of their users, so there’s drawbacks either way. And, because there are engineer officers among the C-Sec officers, while the biotic officers engage Shepard, they can get their weapons back online enough to be a threat.

This does, however, give Shepard, Spectre status or no, enough room to arrest Crassus, effectively quashing his attempts at a political career, and, by extension, making his anti-human efforts dead in the water, at least for the time being. This comes back to a conversation between Shepard, Bailey, and Executor Pallin, discussing how all this went down. Neither’s particularly happy of things, calling it subversion of C-Sec’s authority and credibility. They do acknowledge that Shepard did the best that they could under the circumstances, but it’s still made C-Sec look bad at a time when they’re needing to appear more unified, what with the whole “politicians openly campaigning on anti-human platforms” thing. Both of them doubt that this is where it all ends, even if Shepard’s done their part.

And, back on the Normandy, we get a follow-up conversation between Garrus and Kasumi, chatting in the mess hall, talking about how things went down and whether or not the other was right, as well as discussing their history. Garrus gets to bring up his whole “I don’t know what to do with grey” thing, acknowledging that, while he wouldn’t have joined up with a guy spouting the rhetoric that Crassus did, he has carried these ideas of the superiority of turians. Kasumi, meanwhile, has just seen her opinions of C-Sec reinforced, though she is willing to acknowledge that, if these organizations are going to stick around, they need people like Garrus, now that he’s asking the questions, to guide them to better places. And they need people like her to keep them on their toes.

Post-Game Followups:

ME3: C-Sec has taken a bit of a dip in their ability, given the numbers who’ve been fired and arrest for their involvement in the subversion attempt. But, if Kasumi’s EMP went off, some of the tech people at C-Sec will boost War Assets, having been working to address and patch up the holes her EMP exposed in their tech. We also get a follow-up sidequest after the Coup, a Presidium protest and counter-protest over how there are humans in C-Sec facing pushback because of pro-human Cerberus acting, while they’re countering with how the aliens would have seen them reduced in numbers anyway, allowing Cerberus less of a fight in their attempt to take over the station that leads to Shepard either siding with one or the other or convincing them to disperse/threatening to arrest them for public disturbance.

Market Crash

The volus are responsible for much of the Citadel’s economics. They have kept the Citadel running, in monetary terms. But, despite being responsible for this, the volus are still considered a “lesser” Council race, clients of the turians, who came later. Now, a group of volus on the Citadel have acted to wrest control of the markets on the Citadel, and the situation is only going to deteriorate...

The volus kinda get the short end of the stick, don’t they? Like listen to their history, they were one of the first races on the Citadel. It’s because of their efforts there even IS a galactic economy. And yet, despite that, not just are they not represented on the Council, they are a CLIENT RACE to the TURIANS, who didn’t even join the Citadel races for about a thousand years after the volus made it to the stars. Sure, the ostensible reason is that the Council doesn’t want to impose “undue burden” by making species responsible for matter beyond their ability in the event of an emergency, such as, for example, a planetary evacuation of people who have entirely different atmospheric and even pressure needs, but... It’s still saying that this species who’s been part of the galactic community for near two thousand years isn’t worth putting on the Council, on the governing body of the galactic community.

Din Korlack being pissy when we meet him in ME1 makes total sense. He’s just taking out his anger on the wrong person. Humans aren’t advancing too fast, they’re just the only ones who are willing to break with the accepted social contract among the Citadel races of accepting the status quo.

So the point here is that a group of volus are taking matters into their own hands and saying “no, we’re not putting up with this second class citizenry when you all depend on us to keep your markets open.”

This is something that’s honestly the kind of question that I’m legit surprised isn’t being asked as things stand in game. So what we’re going with here is that Shepard gets an email from Barla Von, the volus from the Presidium who works for the Shadow Broker in ME1. He’s noted several major volus investors have suddenly been making particularly odd purchases, the kind that can be indications of things like setting out to cause problems. Because the volus MO tends to be to complain without taking action, Barla Von finds this questionable (and, in the event that the player has gone through Lair of the Shadow Broker by the time that they start this mission, he’ll also mention that the Shadow Broker specifically suggested Shepard look in to this, otherwise it’s just his own initiative).

The first stop is the Presidium, which, if it wasn’t clear by now, we are DEFINITELY getting an expanded map for that – I’ve said often and repeatedly, the Citadel could absolutely be home to an entire game (or more), and we’ve just had little slivers of it in the base game. What I’m looking at here is a grander version of the financial district that the Citadel surely has. Basically, we’re going to Citadel Wall Street.

That means that weapons are meant to stay holstered, of course. Shepard is a Spectre (more or less, since the Council may not uphold that, but that’s temporary anyway, since they get the status back come ME3, so we’re just gonna handwave that away if a player hasn’t been reinstated), so they and their companions are authorized to have them, but the whole point here is to have the challenge of NOT busting out the weapons.

So it’s a variant of my general attitude here – you CAN break out the weapons to resolve things (when applicable – the standard game mechanic of ‘designated combat areas’ is in effect, where we can’t have Shepard bust out weapons in, say, the Illium market square or something). It’s just gonna lock you out of the golden ending. There’s a challenge in both finding the peaceful solution and in talking things out.

In this case, the initial work is even finding out about the volus syndicate we’re looking for. After all, given all that the volus do for the Citadel, they’re very capable of covering their tracks. This means investigative work (so this is our usual ‘not where my development focus is on, due to it being based mostly in gameplay) to even discover them, but the more Shepard uncovers, the more that they’re going to tip off the volus.

This is part of the dynamic – It benefits Shepard to be thorough, but it also means that they’ll have a harder challenge because the volus know they’re coming. Pick your poison – information or secrecy, having one means the other side has it as well. Not all the information will be necessary for the quote-unquote golden ending (for whatever value you attach to such things), but you don’t know where it is (at least on the first play – of course, as ever, knowing what is coming and where to find things will obviously streamline and assist in later replays), so you have to seek out what you’re looking for throughout the trading area and sift through what is and isn’t important.

So investigation through the financial district. I’m not mandating squadmates on this one, though I do imagine that Kasumi and Miranda would likely have some commentary to add about the commercial trade floor, a hub of galactic economies.

The information that Shepard finds is, when assembled, able to paint a picture – a pact of volus have come together (I’m gonna call them “the Clan of Righteousness,” but I want to make that clear that it’s a translation of a volus term that’s more unique. But, since the volus language hasn’t been established, and I’m inclined to think that it’s awkward for most humans to speak in whatever is volus-generic, that’s the term I’m using). Their goal is to, rather obviously, make the volus position among the Citadel races have more weight – with how quickly humanity ascended to a seat on the Council, they damn well believe that it’s time that they were as well.

And y’know, Shepard definitely should have the option to agree with that concept – call me America-centric and all, but... Well, “no taxation without representation” feels fitting to apply here. I think it’s reasonable for Shepard, and, by extension, players in general, to be kinda not-okay with the fact that the Council excludes the volus from the halls of power and thinks this is a situation that does need to change. Have some discussion with the companions on the subject – again, I expect Miranda to have some comments on this particular subject, given that it’s humanity’s advancement that sparked this behavior from the Clan, a commentary about how humanity sparked a demand within the galactic community to change.

The information also points Shepard to their next target – a volus trade world, though there’s a space station in orbit for non-volus, considering its economic functions on the galactic stage. Granted, there’s still the reasonable expectation that there are volus operating on the planet below, but the idea is to at least start in the atmosphere that Shepard and company can breathe. Start with the easy place before actively making it harder on matters.

On the station is the payoff to the information seeking – if you sought out everything, the search tipped off the Clan, and they have a whole host of mechs on hand, including some top-end experimental types (re: new mechs beyond the FENRIS, LOKI, and YMIR models, one that I’m gonna dub the BALDR, which I envision as something of a mid-point of the LOKI mech and the Rampart Mech from ME3’s Omega, and another dubbed the FRIGG model, which is basically a support unit for any mechs in the area who reinforces them with shields, sort of a prelude to the Reaper barrier engines in ME3, only supplying local mechs with shields). If you didn’t seek out anything beyond the bare minimum, the place mostly consists of the standard civilian crew – keep the weapons holstered, and Shepard has freedom of movement, at least to a point. And the “golden” zone of knowing exactly where to look and how much looking can be done will lead to some LOKI mech patrols that are not immediately hostile – the Clan suspects that there may be someone investigating them, but they aren’t certain and can’t just shut everything down on that basis.

And that allows Shepard options – they CAN go in guns blazing, but it will tip off the Clan, allowing them to dump evidence and throw up enough of a smokescreen that they can slip away, plot and scheme to return another day. They can get on board, posing as a trader and make their way into the areas of the station that are housing the heads of the Clan, but, of course, the more the Clan’s tipped off, the more they’re aware of someone coming for them. The information that Shepard found (or didn’t) allows them to know where on the station to gather the evidence they’d need to take the members of the Clan to whatever court of justice is applicable (remember – the reason Barla Von sent Shepard in was because nothing had actually been done YET, but the supplies had been taken and indicated a plot to make some kind of attempt). It’s possible that they can talk them down entirely (as I said, the challenge is in finding the peaceful solution).

So getting through the station, whether shooting everything that moves or through stealth, leads Shepard to the heads of the Clan. They are pretty straightforward – as we determined, they’re out to secure a place for volus at the table, and they want it whether or not the Council will agree, hence the threats of violence. They’re also ready to move on the Citadel – their supply of mechs are going to help with this, prove that they have the ability to back up their talk with firepower. And, like Din Korlack, they’re not very fond of “Earth clan,” given that they’ve managed to secure in years what the volus haven’t in millennia. So Shepard has a bit of an uphill climb to get them to listen.

Still, it IS possible – obtain the golden information search result, enter stealthily, and generally stick to the idea that what Shepard is trying to do here is make peace between the frustrated factions, they will be swayed by an argument of how assembling what they have is starting that conversation already – they won’t get what they’re trying to obtain at gunpoint, because the Council will just make the appeasing motions until they can gain the upper hand, and, with both the turians and humanity to oppose them, just these resources won’t be enough. But it’s not that they need to be “model minorities” or anything, but rather they need to come to the table arguing that they should be seen as equals, not a “lesser species” (the term Avina uses when explaining why species like the volus aren’t on the Council) and not a “client race,” or an attempted invader causing a hostile takeover. All this done and it’s entirely possible to never fire a weapon once.

But, of course, there’s also the alternative, which is them sending in waves of mechs to take Shepard down, and blowing them all up – at that point, they’ve lost the most potent weapons in their arsenal. And, if the player is very determined to cause violence, there would also have been the option to plant some explosives and cause further destruction of their resources. They basically HAVE to surrender at that point.

Afterwards, Barla Von invites Shepard to their office in the financial district on the Citadel to discuss how he sees matters of galactic economics shifting, dropping some hints about the Shadow Broker having begun preparations for the Reaper invasion (stronger ones if this follows having played through Lair of the Shadow Broker). And, of course, he gives Shepard a reward for their troubles.

Post-Game Follwoups:

ME3: Depending on how Shepard resolved matters, the volus, having made in-roads with the Council, will be using the crisis of the invasion to prove their worthiness for greater galactic recognition, so their space stations are open to house refugees and their mechs and in use for the war effort. Alternatively, with the depletion of their resources and material, the volus have raised prices on any product from Irune and the volus colonies, as well as any economic service they offer, and their prices remain elevated even with the new crisis of the invasion.

#dg's hypothetical dlc #mass effect #mass effect meta #mass effect 2

[honey-coloured-passion]

It’s A Secret (Sapnap x Reader)

first fic first fic!

summary: Dream convinces you and Sap to join a competition where the loser gets exposed, but nothing ever goes as planned when your favorite boy is involved : )

“That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard in my life.” you laughed, rolling your eyes at Sapnap and Dream’s antics. “C’monnn it’ll be so funny the viewers will eat it up!” Dream cooed while you groaned “you say that cuz you always get like more views than Sap and I combined!” To which Dream choked out laughter through his familiar wheeze. “Oh come on, how much money for you to do it?” you heard Sapnap die from laughter over the call at Dream’s bribe before he piped up, “whoever gets exposed you’re buying dinner Dream,” and Dream immediately agreed. “Absolutely worth it, you in y/n?” and you shook your head, “why the hell not I guess.”

You started up your stream, adjusting your headset nervously as you watched chat speed up at the title “Least viewers gets exposed vs Dream and Sap” all confused as to what was going on as their three favorite streamers all went live simultaneously. “Gooooood day chat what’s up!” you grinned, thanking a couple gifters and waiting to see Dream pop up in team speak to give the challenge information. “You guys better stick with me today, I don’t wanna lose the secret challenge,” you laughed, noticing Sap and Dream joined the channel.

“Ready to learn the rules dear viewers?” Dream laughed maniacally. You watched your chat going absolutely crazy. 

“Here’s how it works, we are gonna stream for thirty minutes doing everything we can to get the most viewers, then the person with the least at the end has to tell a secret they wrote down on stream, and trust me guys they’re all sooo good.” Dream wheezed while Sapnap chuckled before continuing. “We all told our secrets to George who didn’t want to stream with us cuz he’s lazy but it works cuz now he’s our keeper, so it’ll be fair and George can confirm all the secrets are crazy,” Your chat was losing it’s mind asking you what your secret was. 

“So let the view-competition begin” and with that, Dream left the call. “Sap you gonna stay and hang or leave?” you asked, racking your brain to find a way to get hella viewers as soon as possible. “I’ll hang” Sapnap answered to your relief. “Good I can farm your viewers then,” you teased with a giggle. Then your phone started to buzz, and you saw Dream was tweeting out the information and begging for people to come to his stream. “Oh hell no, chat help me out!” you laughed, going to tweet on your own account. 

10 minutes in: Dream 68k, You 43k, Sapnap 39k.

“Sapnapppp I’m so excited to learn your deepest darkest secret” you cooed with an evil laugh while Sapnap punched your minecraft character. “Whatever I’ll clutch up, work smarter not harder dear y/n,” you could hear the playful tone in his voice, swallowing the butterflies that kept trying to surface. “How can you work smarter if you barely have a braincell dork!” you teased, beginning to crit out his character when he realized, pearling away with a screech. “You do NOT want to play this game with me I’ll destroy you,” he ate a golden apple then began running towards you axe in hand while you screeched, running away. 

15 minutes in: Dream 65k, Sapnap 45k, You 44kk.

“Sapnap how the hell did you convince four different channels to raid you in the past five minutes WHAT” you pouted with a laugh, knowing you could beat him in viewers if you just got one or two more raids. “Mhm a magician never reveals his tricks,” you rolled your eyes though your chat kept spamming “why is y/n blushing so much?” and “SIMPNAP SIMPNAP” because Sapnap was helping you decorate and finish the design of your house. You had to agree with chat, he was adorable, bringing you flowers, collecting the exact type of wood you needed, helping to fill your chests, you were beginning to forget about the competition and just enjoy his presence. 

20 minutes in: Dream 68k, Sapnap 46k, You 45k.

“Oh my god it’s so close between you guys” Dream wheezed as he joined your voice channel. “Hey Dreammm wanna send me some stray viewers?” you giggled while Dream denied you. “Mhm no but maybe you can ask Mr. Simpnap to send you some of his? Heard it’s not the only thing he’s been giving you and I figured I’d crash the date.” Dream teased, his tone dangerous while Sapnap exclaimed, “hell no I’m not losing this competition and I am not a simp, especially not for y/n” Sapnap drew out your name, you could hear the smile you adored dancing on his lips. Chat was going crazy, though it was pretty well known how close you and Sapnap were due to the two of you always being on call together and just being found on the SMP hanging out, it was rare the two of you gave the fans this much flirting in one stream. Not that there weren’t hundreds of Y/N x Sapnap compilations on youtube of people pointing out how you and Sap had been in a TeamSpeak room together alone for five hours straight, or him getting defensive of you on the SMP, or him constantly complimenting your skill during MCC’s. Not to mention you always asking where Sapnap was, or someone else asking and you answering quickly, showing how frequently the two of you talked. Needless to say, he was one of your best friends, but that wasn’t gonna stop you from destroying him in this competition. 

25 minutes in: Dream 78k, Sapnap 54k, You 51k.

“Hello to my new viewers! Glad you came back to support! Huge shoutout to Niki for the raid and all the raiders who stayed I love y’all!” Your palms were getting sweaty, you needed to get 3k viewers in five minutes or George was gonna drop one of your most embarrassing secrets to the world. “How are you feeling Miss Y/n?” Dream teased, he knew he was safe. “Shut up Dream if I lose I’m ordering some expensive ass food for you to pay for,” you shot back, making him die of laughter. “At least I’m not the one who’s gonna get exposed in front of like 180 thousand views,” you flipped off the camera with a grin, hoping he was looking at your stream. 

28 Minutes in: Dream 78k Sapnap 55k, You 51k.

“Man I think it’s over what do you think Sap?” Dream teased while you laughed, still hopeful that something could happen in two minutes. “Eh I say give it another minute then we call it. You never know” Sap replied cooly. “Shut up you’re like 4 thousand people ahead it’s over for me” you pretended to cry, making Sapnap and Dream break into laughter. “You really don’t wanna lose huh.” Sapnap said, “um duh, this sucks,” you answered, quickly refreshing your view count. 

Then something crazy happened. 

~Sapnap is raiding with a party of 55k~

30 minutes, time up: You 110k, Dream 78k, Sapnap 0.

“WHAT” Dream was the first to scream. You did a triple take before screeching into the mic “SAPNAP WHAT ARE YOU DOING” to which he quietly replied, “I didn’t want you to be sad.” making your cheeks flush to an ungodly warmth. “Oh- uh does this still count? What’s happening?” you reached for your water bottle when George joined the call. 

“Interesting ending, but I know the secret so I guess I’d say it makes sense” You froze. “What the hell does that mean?” You said, noticing Sapnap had turned on his camera function in the call. “O-ok, George you gonna announce his secret?” Dream tried to take control, noticing his chat was spinning out of control. George piped up, "I think it’s better Sapnap says it. I’m just here to make sure he doesn’t chicken out,” Then Sapnap cleared his throat. “Well so uh, I guess my secret is...” You saw him look straight into the camera, his eyes felt like they were meeting yours.

“I like you y/n. Like a lot.”

Your jaw fell open, George and Dream began screaming and whooping, and your chat absolutely lost it’s mind, going so fast your chat function crashed. Your immediate reaction was to mute yourself on stream. “I’m muted now- Sap- Nick, are you serious?” you gulped, staring at Sapnap’s video while he couldn’t stop grinning. “You really think I’d do all this just to lie? No chance in hell. We can talk about it after stream but I thought it’d be fun to do it live. I can help you end stream if you want?” Your brain was flying high, your heart beating out of your chest, and your mods were begging for help. 

“O-okay. Uh hey chat! Nice stream today, record high viewer ship thanks to uh- Nick- Sapnap, thanks to Sapnap um, I’m gonna get off now,” You took a few deep breaths, gaining your traction before continuing. You hovered your mouse over the end stream button but decided you had one more thing to say. Leaning close into the mic with a smile you whispered, 

“Oh and Sapnap, I like you too” 

~live ended~

checkout my other sapnap fic!

#sapnap #sapnap x reader #dteam #dream team x reader #dream #georgenotfound #dream team fanfic #dteam fanfic #mcyter #mcyters #mcyter fanfic #dream x reader #dreamwastaken

[multiplefandomsblog]

Nagito x Autistic!reader HCS

request; Oh okay, awesome!! I just wanted to make sure before I requested anything :) If you don't mind, could I request headcanons for Nagito with an autistic s/o who is really helped by him? Like they're really comforted by him and helped by what he does for them, even though he doesn't think he's helpful at all? 

warnings; autistic!reader(not rlly a warning), gn!reader, unedited, sensory overload, harmful stimming, kinda kinda long? I got a bit carried away.. But oh well! 

note; I’m still kinda anxious that I could’ve offended autistic people somehow with these hcs, so if I did something wrong, please don’t be afraid to let me know! I tried doing a bunch of research as to understand it and write better, and so I hope that these hcs were somewhat accurate! I’m honestly kinda mad at myself for not knowing more about autism, so i’m really glad you requested this and pushed me to be more aware >:D tysm for requesting and, ily <3<3<3(oh and sorry for the long wait D:) 

- mod chia 

◊ Frankly, Nagito understands your autism. He, himself has some problems with understanding social cues and honestly, just talking to someone without accidentally offending them is tough for him. He is very unaware of how the things he does and says could potentially offend or disrupt others.

◊ So he can relate to you on a level.

◊ If you ever started to stim—but in a unhealthy way, like punching yourself, banging your head, just ways that can potentially harm you—, he’d take your hands and let you fidget with them instead. He knows stimming is something that you do to cope, and that’s okay, but he doesn’t want you to hurt yourself by doing so. 

◊ So he encourages punching and banging his head instead- Which, of course you say no to! Instead you settle for squeezing his hand and swinging it whenever you felt anxious. He won’t say anything about it but, he actually really enjoys it when he feels you playing with his hand. It makes him feel more secure. To him it meant that, if you were touching him, you were protected and still alive- that sounds bad. Basically, he enjoys the reassurance that you aren’t leaving him or getting hurt from his luck. 

◊ Eventually you became more reliant on Nagito, needing him to be there with you whenever you felt uncomfortable or when you needed to listen to his voice rather than what sounded like thousands of other unfamiliar voices around you. And that isn’t a big worry for you because he is always by your side. He doesn’t like leaving you either, because you seemed to be the only one who truly understood him. 

◊ Every time the Monokuma body discovery announcement came on, you got triggered, not only did it mean another person died, but it was also obnoxiously loud and bringing your stress levels through the roof. It seemed so loud that it started to echo inside your head, Monokuma’s shrill voice rining through your ears. When Nagito saw you cover your ears(or any other signs of sensory overload), he immediately springs into action and goes to you, doing his best to calm you down.

◊ If you need to be in a tight space to feel safe in, he will find you a place and let you stay in there. If you just needed him, he’ll always be there for you. If you needed music or a relaxing video to watch, he somehow already has it due to his luck. 

◊ Instead of you rocking yourself back and forth, he would offer to rock you himself in his arms, unless you didn’t want to; then that’s alright too! He just wanted you to be comfortable.

◊ If you were feeling disturbed by nearby loud noises, he’ll find the perfect place for the both of you to relax in silence together, or by yourself if that’s what you needed. He knows all the best places to escape because of his shared hate with you of loud places. It makes him incredibly happy to have someone to share these places with. Though he’s in such a beautiful place, he can’t seem to enjoy it completely due to the void in his heart; loneliness. He’s really really glad he is able to share what seemed like a beautiful secret with someone as hopeful as you. 

◊ He’s careful to not say anything too self-deprecating when you want to be alone, because he knows you aren’t isolating yourself from him because you didn’t like him, you were isolating yourself because you needed to, to help yourself. So he definitely avoids saying stuff like, “I see, so you’re leaving because I’m trash, huh?”, he doesn’t want to make you feel guilty for something you can’t control. Instead, he kisses your forehead gingerly and leaves you be.

◊ He believes his actions in helping you isn’t as helpful as you think. He thinks that he’s just being overbearing or selfish when he does things like this, though when he sees you looking less stressed after his actions, it makes him happy. So maybe it was worth it. 

◊ He’d insist the things he did weren’t helpful, and that he couldn’t see how he helped you at all but when you tell him how much he has helped you cope, and go into every detail, he feels his heart go doki doki(lmfao).

◊ He’s overjoyed to know that the things he did helped you, it assures him that the things he does, doesn’t annoy you. 

◊ I headcanon that when you first met, Nagito never realized you had autism, and so he had went on one of his usual hope rants, unknowingly stressing you out with the overflowing amount of dialogue spilling out from Nagito’s lips. When he finally snaps out of it and sees you stimming harmfully and covering your ears, it’s like something was activated in him? He immediately realizes what was happening and he does his best to try and calm you down, apologizing quietly as to not disturb you more. 

◊ Somehow, he already knows all the things that help you destress. Whether it’s repeating a phrase over and over, just talking in general, counting, reading a book, he’ll help you in whatever way. Although his voice had stressed you out earlier, it actually soothes you now. His voice is surprisingly comforting when spoken with softly. 

◊ Once you had calmed down from it, he started apologizing frantically, his voice still at a soft tone. You thought it was adorable and very thoughtful of him to speak at such a small tone for you, heart fluttering as he continued speaking. 

◊ Despite wanting to talk more about hope, he promises not to ever again in front of you- But! You stop him. You explain to him that it’s not that you don’t want to hear it, it’s that the way he explained it was too much for you. 

◊ So he tries to slow down his hope rants and dial it down to a good 3(the og being 10-). He’s extremely happy to hear that you actually want to continue hearing about hope, despite breaking down from it earlier. He thinks it’s very hopeful of you.

◊ When you avoid eye contact while listening to his hope rants, he confronts you about it bluntly and suddenly. I don’t think he knows much about autism, only hearing about it and reading a few articles about it, but never meeting someone autistic in real life. So you’d have to explain a lot of it to him, including the lack of eye contact during conversation. Once you explain everything to him, he understands waaaay better and you start to notice positive changes to his behaviour around you.

◊ Honestly, you being autistic kind of works out perfectly for him because of how blunt and honest he can be at times. His bluntness helps you out, finding it easier to communicate with Nagito then others because he doesn’t use any confusing social cues, he just tells you what he needs to say rather than hinting at it. He’s glad that his blunt behaviour that others seem to hate, helps you understand him better. 

◊ You both have strange humours that no one really understands, so when Nagito tells you a joke that you don’t understand and vice-versa, neither of you laugh but you still appreciate the effort.

◊ It’s kinda like, “That made sense, and it was a good joke, but it wasn’t funny.” and you’re both alright with that.

#mod chia #nagito imagines #autistic!reader #nagito komaeda #nagito x reader #nagito komaeda headcanons #nagito #nagito komaeda angst #nagito komaeda fluff #nagito komaeda x reader #nagito oneshots #super danganronpa 2 #super danganronpa goodbye despair #danganronpa oneshot #danganronpa imagines #danganronpa fluff #danganronpa headcanons #danganronpa #sdr2 komaeda #sdr2 x reader #sdr2 #Nagito x autistic!reader

[prettytoxicrevolver]

Five Times Colson Baker Almost Kissed You and the One Time He Did

Requested? For someone else maybe (i’m sorry LMAO)

Warnings? None? 

Summary: You and Colson have been best friends for years now and had feelings for each other for what seems like the same amount of time. However, you always seem to be missing out on one another. 

Word Count: 2,902 (it’s so long but I promise it’s worth it)

One

“One hour,” Colson says, trying to convince you. 

“No.” 

“Please? We can get food after,” he begs and you consider it for a moment. 

“Alright.” 

Colson cheers loudly at this, picking you up and spinning you around before throwing you back onto his king-sized bed. He heads to his closet, sorting through his clothes to find something to wear and you roll your eyes at your best friend. 

Colson had been begging you practically all week to go to a party that Pete Davidson was surprisingly throwing. You had always wanted to meet his best friend but had never gotten the time to do so. That was the main reason you said yes to going to the party and the other was Colson was Colson and you couldn’t say no to those big blue eyes.

“One hour,” you tell him when you arrive at the house. 

“One hour,” he repeats pressing a kiss to your cheek before heading into the party. 

You head in slowly, making your way to the drink table first and pouring yourself something before figuring out what to do next. Just as you’re about to walk around in hopes of finding someone you know, you hear someone call your name. 

“(y/n)?” you turn to see Pete standing a few feet away with a smile plastered on his face. 

“Hey! I’m Pete,” he says offering his hand to shake. “I didn’t mean to sound weird knowing who you are, Colson talks about you a lot.” 

“Good to know,” you joke, and Pete smiles. 

The two of you end up talking for a while, getting to know each other, and trading secrets about Colson. You don’t realize how fast time is going until a drunk Colson finds you. 

“Darling!” he calls, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and leaning his head against yours. “You met Pete?” 

“Yes, love. And you’re wasted?” you ask. 

You turn your head to the side to look at your best friend when it occurs to you how close Colson is. An inch rests between two of you, and your eyes flicker between his and his lips. Your eyes land on each other and for a moment something passes between the two of you. 

"Y'all gonna kiss or what?" Pete says from in front of the two of you. 

You and Col both laugh, and your head rests on his chest. The two of you cast another glance at each other before you maneuver so your arm is around Colson's waist and his slips around your shoulders. 

"Let's go, big guy." 

Two

"Fuck!" Colson curses loudly while messing with the pearl-like necklace. 

You stand from your spot on the couch and head over to your frustrated best friend. As you walk up to him, his hands drop and you stand in front of him. You offer a small smile and reach up to click together the confusing necklace. 

“I’m nervous,” he admits as you work on the jewelry. “Why the fuck am I nervous?” 

“Because it’s a VMA and you’ve been working your ass off and you deserve one.” 

“But I don’t care if we win or lose,” he insists and you nod. 

“I know. But you still care a little bit.” 

After fastening the necklace, you fix it so the bullhorn is at the center of his neck. Once finished, your hands fall to his chest and you look up at him. 

“You’re gonna win.” 

Because of restrictions, you sit to the side of the room as Colson heads in front of the cameras to talk to the interviewer. You sit back and admire your best friend’s success, proud to have been able to watch how far he’s come and how amazing he’s done in his career, vma or not. 

“What I wanna let you know, you won the vma. I have somebody bringing it in for you right now.”  

Just as Colson begins to freak out on camera, you immediately start to jump up and down for your best friend. You want to run up and hug him and tell him you knew it but you refrain wanting to hear what he says in his acceptance speech. 

He runs through the og’s, Casie, his family, Travis, and Mod, and just as he’s about to stop, his eyes land on you. 

“My beautiful best friend. Just before this, she was reassuring me that I was gonna win and I trust her with everything. Thank you for always believing in me.” 

A happy tear falls as Colson continues to cheer and you watch until the interview is over and the crew cuts the camera. As soon as they’re finished, Colson beelines straight for you. 

His arms wrap around your waist and yours slip around his shoulders and you can feel the excitement and love radiate between the two of you. He picks you up and spins you around unable to contain the happiness and you’re both practically screaming in the tiny backstage area. 

“I won!!” he yells. 

“You won!!” you echo and you’re both laughing out of pure bliss. 

He sets you down and you take a step back, your hands moving from his shoulders to his face and you cup his cheeks and see a beaming smile greet you. 

“I’m so proud of you Col,” you say and he laughs lightly still not believing this all. 

You stay there like that for a moment, gazing into each other eyes and your heart beats fast as his striking blue eyes study yours. Your thumb absentmindedly strokes the side of his cheek and he leans into your touch. You’re certain he’s leaning in and you’re getting closer when someone interrupts you. 

“Colson? Is it okay if we get some pictures?” 

Three

“Okay, we’re gonna sit here and get all of our work done even if it kills us,” you say turning to your best friend and laughing. 

“Or, we could go to this party in the hills?” Kells asks, offering you puppy dog eyes. 

“Absolutely not. You have to finish that song and I need to write this paper. We can get it done together.” 

The older boy gazes at you from across the room and you meet it with ease. After a moment or so, he breaks and you giggle lightly knowing you won. 

You and Colson both had been putting off your respective work for days now. You were both born procrastinators, having bad habits for waiting till the last minute to get things done. When you met each other, it got a little bit easier to finish things though when you had to do it together. 

However, sometimes you got things done much later in the night than the two of you would have liked. Currently, it was almost 2:30 and neither one of you had made much progress. 

“Okay, I’m done,” Kells says coming over to your spot on the couch and laying down. 

His head falls into your lap and you instinctively let your hands fall to his hair. Your hands card through the soft blonde locks that fall into a messy mohawk formation on his head. You watch as Kells eyes fall shut as your nails scratch the sides of his buzzed hair before running through the locks once more, 

“Hey,” Colson says and you look down at him. You smile lightly at the older boy and he sits up at the action. He props up on his elbow, one hand reaching up to twirl his fingers through your hair and you hum at the action. Your eyes trace over his features, committing each perfect detail to memory. 

You suddenly realize you’re both moving closer and closer to each other until you’re centimeters away from each other. Your heart is nonexistent and your eyes shut in anticipation at the closeness. 

Suddenly the loud sound of your alarm goes off and the two of you split. Colson falls back into your lap, his head hanging lowly and sighing quietly. You scramble to turn the alarm off, completely forgetting that you turned it on in case you took a nap during your work. 

“So close,” you hear Colson whisper before he stands and goes back to his work and you find yourself smiling. 

Four

“I suck,” you tell him. 

“You don’t suck,” Colson reassures you. 

“Please? It’s one song, the last song! Please?” he begs taking your hands in his and tugging at them lightly. 

“Fine.” 

“Let’s go!” Col cheers letting go of your hands to pump his fists together. 

Colson had come to you when he was almost finished with the album and had only a few songs left to mix and go over to make sure they were perfect. After going over the album and the deluxe over and over, Colson finally realized what he was missing. 

“It’s just this part at the end, me and Dom already did it but I think adding a high harmony will be perfect,” Colson explains, leading you into the small recording booth. 

He wanted to add you onto body bag, one of your favorite tracks off of Col’s new album that he recorded with none other than YungBlud. The two finished the song, but Colson insists the ending woahs need a harmony. So, he came to you which you still didn’t understand in the slightest. 

“Are you sure you want me to sing? I’m gonna ruin the whole song.” 

“Definite. I’ll sing with you if that makes you feel better,” he reassures and you nod. 

The two of you get set up, Col explaining the process along the way and you try to follow along to the best of your abilities. After putting on your headphones and you both step up to the mic, your nerves start to kick in. 

“I promise it’s not bad. And we can always redo it.” 

You nod at your best friend and he smiles before giving Travis the thumbs up to start the audio. The backing of the song begins and out of habit, you begin to dance to the song. 

Just before the part you’re supposed to sing hits, Colson taps you and you look over at him and he nods as you’re supposed to come in. The two of you sing together, you hitting a higher harmony and Colson smiles wide at you the entire time. 

“It’s perfect guys,” Travis says when you’re finished. 

“We finished!” Colson yells. 

“You did it!” You yell back. 

It hits you both at the same time, the fact that Colson had finished something so close to him and your best friend had achieved something so great. 

You jump into Colson’s arms, your legs wrapping around his waist and your arms wrapping tightly around his shoulders. He catches you as if he’s done this a million times, his arm circling your waist and he pushes his face into your neck. 

You pull away, about to tell Col how proud you are of him when you’re struck by the proximity of the two of you. You both smile widely at each other, radiating complete and utter joy. You move closer, wanting to finally close the gap, wanting to enhance this moment when you’re interrupted. 

“Uh, guys?” 

Five

“Colson,” you whine from across the room. 

“Yes?” he asks looking up at you. 

You give him a look, the look you’ve perfected between the two of you that is always understood whether you say something before, after, or nothing at all. It always means I want food. 

“We just ate!” he exclaims and you burst out laughing. 

“We ate preppy award show food! I want Mcdonald’s,” you say in between laughter. 

“I mean,” he says, shooting you the same look and now you’re both cackling together. 

You grab your phone and Col grabs his keys and the two of you head out together. Some days, going to McDonald’s and just hanging out was the best for you and Colson. You got to relax, spend some genuine time with each other and do whatever you wanted. 

As you drive, you and Colson sing along to your throwback playlist and talk about the award show you just attended together. You two were getting tired of award season, and the speeches and the tiny food. However, you always promised that if you had each other you’d bear every award show. 

“Usual?” Col asks when you pull up the speaker. 

“Yes please,” you answer. 

Colson orders your food and as you pull up to the first window you try to hand him your credit card. 

“Venmo me,” he says. 

“I..” you begin and he tilts his head to the side in confusion. 

“Have no money in my bank account currently.” 

The two of you burst out laughing, the worker giving you confused looks as Colson hands him his card anyway and you try to protest but nothing comes out between the giggles. 

After Colson pays and you pick up the food, you tell him to pull over somewhere so you can eat. He ends up finding a secluded parking lot for the two of you to chill. 

As you eat, you two talk about random things, from stories from the week to past dumb things you two have done. You end up laughing and enjoying your time well past when you finish your food. 

“Remember when you fell at that award show?” kells asks and you begin to laugh.

“It was one time!” 

“You face planted!” he reminds you and you’re both laughing all over again. 

“You didn’t even try and catch me,” you whine. 

“I’ll always catch you I promise,” he says and you look over at your best friend. 

Kells wears a serious expression replacing the bright but rare smile on his lips just seconds previous. Your eyes search his, uncertain of the meaning behind the words. His hand takes yours, his thumb rubbing over the soft skin and his eyes stare into the distance as he does the action. 

“Col,” you whisper, trying to get the older boys attention. 

His eyes snap to yours and his hand moves from yours to your cheek. His thumb traces your features, trailing from your jaw to your lips and you’re breathless at his touch. Just as you inch closer and closer, your lips ghost over each other’s, and your breath hitches. 

You think you’re about to meet, a long-awaited connection when a horn blares out of nowhere, scaring the two of you apart. You both settle back into your seats, a soft chuckle emitting from your best friend as he shakes his head. You bite your lip, a hand coming up to feel the skin where his fingers gracefully touched and you can’t believe your moment was ruined once more. 

And One 

“Hey I’m coming over in 5,” you say greeting Colson from the view of your car. 

“Uh why?” he asks peering into the phone to figure out why you’re headed over to his place so late at night. 

“Cause there’s a meteor shower and I wanna watch it from a good view,” you explain and Colson laughs at you. 

After a quick drive, you’re walking inside of Colson’s house with blankets, pillows, and tons of snacks. When Col sees you, he hops up from the couch and helps you with the stuff. 

“You seriously drove all the way over here for a meteor shower?” 

“It’s a better view over here!” you defend and Colson laughs. 

Together you bring the stuff upstairs and manage to bring it out onto the rooftop. You set up, laying blankets over the rooftop, setting up pillows, and laying out snacks. 

“When is the shower supposed to start?” Col asks as he climbs back onto the roof next to you. 

“I think like 10 minutes?” 

Colson nods in response, settling in next to you. He lays down, his hand slipping underneath his head to prop himself up slightly. You lay down next to him, relaxed in each other’s presence as you wait for the meteor shower to begin. 

As you sit and stare at the stars, your mind wanders to the boy next to you. As cheesy as it was, you’d always be grateful to have Colson Baker in your life. No matter what happened, knowing him and gaining life experience together will be something you always cherished. 

You feel Colson moving next to you, and his hand slowly trails down until it meets yours, interlocking your fingers with ease. Your heart pounds slowly in your chest and you’re surprised Colson can’t hear it. 

“Hey,” he says and you turn to look at him. 

His hand comes to meet your cheek and you search his eyes. You sink into the feeling of his hands on you and nothing feels better in the world. As he moves closer, your breath hitches and you’re mesmerized by his stunning blue eyes. 

Then his lips are on yours, and the long awaited connection has sparks lighting from end to end. He moves slightly so he’s facing you, one hand holding your waist as the other caresses your cheek and you’re relaxed into his touch. 

As he pulls away, he places another chaste kiss to your lips and you’re left smiling wide. As you stare into Col’s eyes, you can’t help but giggle as the ultimate feeling of happiness overwhelms you. 

“Fucking finally,” he says and the two of you are really laughing now. 

#colson baker #machine gun kelly #mgk #kells #colson baker imagine #machine gun kelly imagine #mgk imagine #kells imagine #imagine #bravebesson