#i’ll accept maybe one or two extra mods to help out <3 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dgcatanisiri · 3 years

Text

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.

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.

So I HAVE actually been working on my ongoing series of hypothetical DLC to games that I love over the last year (it was the end of January 2020 when my last one of these got posted, this is going up at the beginning of May 2021). Which, yes, some is pandemic related because *screams* but... I was looking over what I’ve been working on, and realized that I was at about the combined length of my first two of these in my present examination, and I was only about a third of the way through the ideas that I had. I could either keep going and do these all at once in a massive post in like another year or two, or I could break it up into chunks.

So instead of waiting, this is going to be Part 1 of (I hope) 3 in an examination at ideas and possibilities of what additional content could have been made for Mass Effect 2, which for some is considered the best of the series. Me, I’m a little more critical of it. To me, this game is a textbook example of bridge syndrome, of the plot spinning its wheels to hold off on the payoff until the third part of the trilogy - the Collectors are, in practice, an entirely separate threat from the Reapers, even acknowledging the connection in the plot. We see this in the impact that the ME2 characters have in the next game - most are in side missions, all perform roles in the plot that literally can have them swapped out, even if it’s to the ultimate detriment of your War Asset count.

So in my mind, there’s a lot of room to make these DLCs, these glimpses into further areas of the world of Mass Effect at large. Because for me, what ME2 SHOULD have been was about making the alliances with the galaxy at large, rather than the big set piece of the Suicide Mission. We got some of this in ME2 proper, but that’s where the core of my focus and attention is with these DLCs.

Admittedly, I am aware of the difficulties of working around ME2 having both optional companions (Thane, Samara, and Tali don’t have to be recruited at all, Zaeed and Kasumi are DLC, many missions are available before you necessarily pick up certain companions...) and the ability to hold off on doing the DLC until after the Suicide Mission, where any or all of your companions may end up dying. However, for simplicity’s sake (because these things are long enough as it is without having a dozen variations apiece), we will assume that all companions are recruited and alive for the sake of plot advancement. Minds greater than mine can figure out how these would work without a given character – me, I tend to clear out the quest log before the Suicide Mission (aside from Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival, both of which are minimal on the squadmates from the rest of the game) and rarely let myself lose someone on the Suicide Mission, and since these are my ideas, we’re working in my framework.

Also, timeline note: Like ME2′s actual DLC, the fact that these would unlock at certain points in the game’s timeline does not necessarily reflect when they would best be played in the in-game timeline. Like Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival are (as I mentioned above), at least in my personal timeline, post-Suicide Mision content. BUT, they both become available to play after Horizon. Just because they unlock at certain points in the plot, that doesn’t mean that they best fit the timeline in that point. It was just a convenient way to organize things in my notes. So there will be ones that unlock at plot point A, but probably play best after plot point B. Players would be able to decide where they fit as it works for them.

Ghost of the Machine

A phenomenon is spreading across colonies in Citadel space. Machine cultists are cropping up on planets. Shortly thereafter, these colonies go dead quiet – often overrun by husks. To Admiral Anderson, this sounds like Reaper tech, and there’s only one person who he trusts to investigate the truth of the machine cults...

(Post-Freedom’s Progress)

So back to the machine cultists. In our last installment, there was Evolution, which featured them. Here, though, we’re looking at something that kinda resolves this little storyline. Y’know, since ME3 isn’t really going to have the time for this sort of thing. Which, sure, I’m saying this becomes unlocked before you can unlock this game’s machine cultist sidequest, but shush – just because it unlocks at this point doesn’t mean it has to be played at this point. This time, it’s not just about learning about the problem, but we’re also going to see what we can do to understand it, especially since we’re now acknowledging that this is a recurring problem within the universe and maybe we want to find a proper solution to it before stumbling blindly into it gets more and more people killed.

So this takes Shepard to a planet that’s making its first steps at colonization, yet again (because I am trying to be cognizant of what practical realities exist in the game development, even acknowledging that this is a hypothetical thing anyway – early colonization means limited extras wandering around out in the open and a self-contained area to play around in). Those seem to be the places where these devices mainly get uncovered, so that’s why this is here.

Of course, we have a situation where the devices are known about, so there’s an immediate lockdown, and the reason that Shepard and crew are getting sent out is because Reaper experience is needed – in the event that this colony can have anyone saved, who is it and how do we get them out safely?

I kinda look at this as revealing the process – the previous encounters were the parts that told us the existence of the metaphorical monster of this story, here we’re getting to see the “monster” properly in action. And I feel like this should be about also introducing some of what will become ME3’s foot soldiers among the Reaper armies – we know about the husks from ME1, now we’re going to encounter another for the first time. Probably the marauders. Given that they and the cannibals (who are so numerous in part because of the batarian worlds being first in the invasion path) are the most numerous in ME3 aside from husks, we should at least get to see them be pre-established because of their involvement ahead of time – they don’t get any proper introduction as is in ME3, just accepted as being there.

The honest general idea in this one is tying off this thread that was seemingly built, by way of being a repeated thread in both ME1 and ME2, but goes entirely unmentioned in ME3. Obvious reasons are obvious, but that’s why these hypothetical DLCs “exist,” to address things that the games didn’t have time for. (And that’s a big part of a lot of these, so... buckle up.)

Obviously, we have some of the supplementary material to work off of here – I’m specifically thinking of the Illusive Man’s comic series, Evolution. (Side note, TIM’s involvement there should probably also be part of the reason he’s quick to send Shepard in here – he knows what these artifacts can do.) You can read the wiki page as easily as this, but to quickly detail the important part, we know what these are through them, artifacts meant to ease the way for the eventual arrival of the Reapers by doing the huskifying work ahead of time, without the need for things like the Dragon’s Teeth (which... I want to bring these into this in some fashion, considering they seemed to have importance in ME1, but as the numbers of husks increased in the later games, they fell by the wayside – ME3 claimed that they were basically just to increase a subject’s adrenaline and spread the Reaper tech through the victim’s body quicker from the fear of impalement, and that seems like a lot of effort for little reward, since nothing indicates a way to come back after infection anyway).

So why are these on far-flung colonies, especially when the husks definitely don’t have the mental capacity to control ships and spread out that way?

Since, again, there’s no way to come back after infection anyway, that’s going to be one of the core questions. This seems like a highly inefficient way to set about conquering the galaxy. Why spread this if there’s no reliable method of getting it to go beyond any singular world? (Obviously, the original idea seems to be a) BioWare shock value and b) something to horrify the audience with no reason attached – so it’s time to add that reason). What is the purpose?

So that’s going to be a running thread, probably the major subplot of the story. Obviously, though, the first priority is Shepard trying to escape getting caught up in this colony that is descending into Reaper control. Also, since I said we’re introducing the marauders here, I think we need a turian contact on the ground – I almost said make them a female turian, introduce them to the world of Mass Effect well ahead of the DLC for ME3 (a-HEM!), but I also think that we’ve got another situation of seeing them get infected and die as a result – it IS a consistent point in this series that coming back from Reaper infections Is Not Done. And repeating that here makes it a consistent theme, considering Nyreen.

So while I still say there should be female turians making their appearance among the turians of the colony, our turian buddy is going to be a guy, just for the sake of not stuffing another named female turian in the fridge. I’ll get to a more proper introduction of a female turian later, promise. (And, I like to imagine, with the number of DLCs I’m writing up here, there’s some kind of ability to retroactively introduce female turians into the crowds in the base game as a “patch” through at least one of them, as well as into ME3 proper... Hey, this is all fantasy as it is, let me have that one.)

Anyway, the turian contact is going to be frosty with Shepard – he (I don’t have a name for him at this point) not only doesn’t trust Cerberus, he was also friends with Saren, making him distrust Shepard. While Saren was a traitor, it’s got an element of ‘guilt by association’ to have had close ties to him, so Shepard’s kind of a living embodiment of the hit to his good name. Even if he didn’t do what he did because of Shepard specifically, they’re still associated. But he is still on a mission and Shepard is here and willing to assist him, so...

That said, he’s a Cerberus contact – Cerberus may be human first, but, given the ME2 crew, they can cultivate non-human contacts and aid, and under the circumstances of this colony, being a joint endeavor of humans and turians (probably throw in some callbacks to the last edition of these hypothetical DLCs and mention Ambassador Goyle and the Planet of Peace story). He’s been influenced by Cerberus operatives because hey, it’s good for humanity and turians to make peace if there’s a greater threat, right? Shepard meets with him on the outskirts of the colony proper – in order not to be influenced, they’re acting as much outside of the colony as possible. (Come to think about it, it might be a good idea to make recruiting Mordin a pre-req for this, at least handwave him having come up with a measure meant to protect from Indoctrination and the effects of these artifacts.)

The artifact is already influencing colonists, of course, and our turian friend is ready to write them off immediately – they’ve read the reports, and indoctrination can’t be reversed. I picture a brief discussion about how horrible indoctrination is as a weapon, making the Reapers enemies into their servants, and so warping their minds and perceptions that they’d never be able to trust that any thought they have afterwards is their own, even if they could be saved. Because seriously, that’s one of the most unsettling things for me in this franchise.

The idea is, of course, to get in to where this artifact is and destroy it unseen. That probably means a stealth segment through this colony – honestly, do it like the batarian base in Arrival, I don’t think that it would be so bad. That offered some nice variation, if a little spare on interactable things. Here are going to be some interactable things, things you can get to if you’re good, pay enough attention to the line of sights and such, but will still risk discovery.

Those interactable things are going to be some of the background of the artifact and what’s the whole deal – y’know, codex stuff, things that aren’t essential to the story but good background. Lay some groundwork for the idea of what the Reapers want out of these things being left behind.

Stealth section comes before the inevitable action section, of course. Here, the artifact is in underground caverns (like normal) and our turian buddy sets out to make some quick scans, get the information they need. And, of course, it activates at his approach, zapping him with energy. He tries to shake off any effects but... Well, I already said that he was gonna get infected and die.

So here’s where we start seeing the husks show up. It’d be really nifty if we could get them in varying states of their evolution (or devolution, depending how you look at it), some people just having glowing eyes, others being full on huskified.

And, of course, our turian contact is now in the process of becoming a marauder. I’m thinking we’re having something of the same thing as with Saren here – now that the Reapers made contact with him, they’re framing him as their “herald,” the one who’s going to act as their instrument. Shepard rightly gets to point out the comparison, which does at least get some hesitation – he’s being indoctrinated, is in the process of becoming a pure Reaper tool, but isn’t all the way there yet, the process isn’t 100% immediate.

Also I figure this is a good time to really establish (in terms of ME2’s plot) that the Reapers are so interested in Shepard and why. Like, yeah, sure, we do get Harbinger’s whole thing, but that’s not really a dialogue where we get to ask questions. It’s not even an interrogation where Harbinger demands information. Harbinger just spouts out dialogue of “this hurts you” and such. That’s not really telling us anything. So, yeah, there’s the basic “Shepard defeated a Reaper,” but hey, let’s just get a little more out of it.

I mean, we can intuit what Shepard means for the Reapers, sure, but if it’s important enough to be a major motivation, it’s important enough to say outright, you know? So Shepard is a pinnacle for this cycle – they killed a Reaper, delayed the advancement of the cycle for a few years, that’s a bit of a big deal when it comes before the harvest proper starts up – and the Reapers (like Leviathan will later) want to better understand what makes them tick. If this is unique to Shepard or the human condition, and, if it’s the later, how to break this down to its basic chemical composition and make it their own.

Turian buddy is also here to mouthpiece the explanation for what the Reapers even expect to gain from this. Slaves who can’t operate the mechanisms that they’ll be using are poor servants. I figure it’s as much an intimidation matter as anything – prompt the effective burning of a colony without deeper investigation, sow some fear about the unknown and keep people staying to the comfortable and familiar areas of the space that they live in, corral them in the familiar patterns. It’s a plan with the intent of intimidation – it isn’t until the harvest that they need the servants, so until then, they just want the borders firmly established.

Seems simple enough, sure, but this is still a mystery as far as the game proper is concerned, and I am trying to work within the established structure of the trilogy, rather than come up with some massive reveal that changes our understanding of everything – if I WERE just going to rewrite the franchise, I could do that, instead of writing up synopses of add-ons to the main game, y’know?

Of course Shepard’s gonna get free – I’m thinking that it’s a rescue effort by some of the other crew on the Normandy (because it really bugs me that, when the game is focused around Shepard gathering up the “Dirty Dozen” for their “Suicide Squad” (look, I had to get that out of my system), they only take two members out on missions at a time, so hey, look, they get up to something while Shepard’s busy doing the dirty work. This being ME2, we have to shoot our way out even further to get back to the artifact, which is where our turian ‘friend’ waits.

Paragon/Renegade choice here – do we try and reach out to him, get him to help us blow the artifact to hell, or just jump straight to the boss fight? By this point he has some additional help, by way of our introduction to a harvester – these were dropped into ME3, on Menae, with no exploration, and non-Reaper ones were meant to be enemies during the development of this game, so call this the natural evolution of matters. We’re introducing the marauders and the harvesters ahead of time, explaining the lack of fanfare that these enter the “proper” storyline with. The difference is if our turian friend is aiding us or the harvester, the harvester being our big end boss for this DLC.

The harvester gets killed, the artifact is blown up with the turian (he chooses to remain if Paragoned, a reminder of the permanent effects of the indoctrination process and how this is something that can’t be fixed – hammer home some of the fear and anguish that will be impacting those left behind from the inevitable fighting). Shepard returns to the Normandy for a debrief (I do kinda picture Miranda being involved in that, because, again, squadmates get additional dialogue here, and she IS the ranking Cerberus officer). Also some set up about discussing about Cerberus efforts to better understand indoctrination (foreshadowing for Henry Lawson’s experiments on Horizon next game).

Post Game Followups:

ME3: Indoctrination has seen further study, providing a war asset. Dialogue changes to reference Shepard having encountered marauders and harvesters before.

Commander Shepard

The Suicide Mission is coming, and the Illusive Man has asked for all of Shepard’s companions to have their heads cleared. Now it’s Shepard’s turn. Their burdens have remained – the loss of the Normandy, the death on Virmire, and their death at the hands of the Collectors. The rest of the team has to clear their heads, and now so must Commander Shepard.

(Post-Horizon)

Yeah, why is it that, while we’re dealing with having to clear the heads of our crew, our PC, who has canonically been killed and resurrected, does NOT have to do this? So, yeah, Shepard needs a good head clearing. (For the record, I have written a fic of this: Lazarus Risen, and that’s effectively where I’m going with this, so if you’re so inclined, check it out instead of reading this, since while the recap is shorter, the fic itself is not too long.)

So, if you don’t want to read that, my idea when I made the fic was to explore both the idea of “Commander Shepard’s loyalty mission,” or the one where Shepard clears their head, AND the thought of just what the heck required Shepard to take all their companions on a mission and leave the Normandy vulnerable to the Collector attack after obtaining the IFF. Now, I’m saying that this mission unlocks after Horizon, but in my mind, that’s when and where this mission takes place. I just don’t know how to implement it within the game design that presently exists, so we’re gonna leave that open to player interpretation.

So the starting point of the fic (and thus, this DLC – like I said, that’s effectively where I’m going with this) is that Kelly Chambers, in her role as the Normandy’s official unofficial counselor/therapist, has recognized that Shepard has a lot of trauma associated with their death and resurrection they have not worked through, and so that’s gone into her reports to the Illusive Man. Mister Illusive contacts the Normandy, declaring that Shepard’s going in to a Cerberus facility, along with their crew, for a full psychiatric workup – the mission is too important to not have all these issues dealt with before going into things.

A bit of fun with this, on the basis of it being why Shepard is taking their whole squad off the ship, is that there’s the opportunity for some banter and genuine crew interaction, something that is sadly missing from the base game itself. Since I’m me, and this is about what I want from these, this is also an opportunity for some character stuff with Shepard, both playing referee (maybe getting a chance to recover some of the loyalty divisions from the confrontations if need be?) and getting to be able to better build and display the growth these characters are going through from seeing their loyalty missions resolved (cuz you DO resolve all the loyalty missions before activating the Reaper IFF, right?). The whole point of doing them was to clear their heads, encourage growth, and the thing is, we don’t get much of that forward arc in ME2, with ME3 just catching us up later. At least half the point of these is some retroactive continuity to smooth out the trilogy’s edges, after all.

Moving on. The arrival at the Cerberus Station (I am assuming this is the same one from the early part of the game, the one Miranda and Jacob take Shepard after they escape the Lazarus facility, though it doesn’t have to be, just a convenient use of model reuse) is uh... complicated. After all, Shepard’s motley crew is not exactly Cerberus approved (even if TIM authorized it – remember how Brooks in Citadel will mention that “Cerberus was a human organization bringing in aliens”?). There is a stir. A handful of situations have to be defused before everything properly gets under way.

This isn’t in my fic because that was focused on the one thing, while, as DLC, this would have to fill out some additional content to justify the time spent and the resultant price tag players spend to buy it, but I kinda figure this is where we can start seeing where the dissent is for Miranda in particular (probably Jacob too), given her Cerberus loyalties. This is a Shepard-focused mission, but I do see Miranda having a relatively decent role in any sidequests, character bits, and dialogue, given that we presently have in her a Cerberus loyalist right up to the point that she sees the human Reaper in the endgame. Especially if she isn’t part of the endgame squad, I feel we should have some material that connects those dots somewhat. I mean, I expect all the characters SHOULD get some, but Miranda in specific is the one with the almost explicit arc of taking her from Cerberus loyalist to her “consider this my resignation” remark to the Illusive Man at the endgame.

The Cerberus station director (my fic said her name is Doctor Nuwali, so we’ll be going with that) tries to organize the chaos that is Shepard’s squad (Shepard being as helpful or obstructionistic as the player chooses to allow, because Cerberus and authorities figures are always fun to poke at, and we’re getting both of those rolled up in one). Building off the above point with Miranda, there’s also clearly tension between her and Nuwali – Nuwali is, in many ways, a reflection of who she was at the start of the game, the pure, uncompromising believer to the cause and the results-driven focus without acknowledging the human cost, while Miranda has been in the position of growing and developing and questioning (Like I said, connective tissue for her character arc).

Nuwali directs Shepard into a private room for their psych evaluation, insisting on the separation of Shepard from the squad. (Just go with it, it’s for plot purposes.) Within is a prothean artifact, and it begins to react at Shepard’s arrival. It flashes-

-and Shepard finds they’re now in the Virmire facility. This is the requisite combat segment stuff that I can brush past during the recapping. The point is that they’re making their way through the geth to the area where the bomb was deployed, to find Ashley or Kaidan, whoever was left behind on Virmire (even if they were left with the distraction team and Shepard didn’t go back for the bomb, Shepard is guaranteed to have been at the bomb site, not the other area, so...).

They assist Shepard in clearing out the geth and then go into confrontation mode – “you’re working with Cerberus now, what the hell?” You know all the fan debates about why is Shepard working with Cerberus, given the horrors they uncover in ME1, especially if you roll a Sole Survivor (and, considering that is the default Shepard background, that’s clearly BioWare’s preference, so it’s not even like this shouldn’t come up – DLC is better than nothing, you know?).

Yes, we’re doing a “defending your life” style thing here. Hey, the game could use that, considering how Cerberus is the bad guy and we’re working with them. We deserve a more critical examination of this concept.

It’s a bit of a verbal joust – Ashley/Kaidan question what Shepard’s doing, their purpose in working with Cerberus, why they aren’t just leaving, how they could have tried to turn them in to the Alliance and the Council after they were given the Normandy and use the information in the ship’s databases as evidence of the Collector threat? There were ways for the story to progress that weren’t this deal with the devil. Shepard gets to acknowledge their points, struggle to justify what they’re doing. Emphasizing that this IS a deal with the devil, and if Shepard doesn’t find a loophole out of it, they’ll be condemned alongside Cerberus as well – not blowing them to hell in the here and now can make them culpable for their future activities, especially if Cerberus tries to bank on the idea of “Commander Shepard worked with us” (like they do with Conrad Verner in ME3).

Call it “preempting the ‘we should have been able to side with Cerberus’ discussion” that cropped up after ME3 – people, we ARE talking about a xenophobic terrorist group, how were they EVER gonna come out of this series looking like the good guys in the final analysis?

The ultimate point is that this is not a good situation – whatever good might come of Cerberus in general, Cerberus cannot be trusted. Ashley/Kaidan point blank ask can Shepard truly justify staying with them, doing the Illusive Man’s bidding, regardless of their good intentions. And I don’t really think there’s a good answer here – again, in my head, this plays as the mission Shepard’s on when the Collectors attack the Normandy, and, because I make sure to do all the loyalty missions before going to the Collector Base, Shepard is about to cut ties with Cerberus by way of a massive explosion (because I’d never trust the Illusive Man with the Collector Base), this is basically laying groundwork for that moment.

If you don’t do things that way... Well, sorry, but this is my hypothetical DLC, so we’re playing things my way.

Anyway, this sends Shepard on their way to the next installment of “defending your life.” Because we’re absolutely following the Rule of Three here, so there’s more than just the one segment. More requisite combat stuff happens, this time fighting through the Citadel tower again. At the end is Saren. Because why wouldn’t we have an encounter with him when Shepard is doing questionable things in the name of defending the galaxy?

He, of course, is rather smug about the fact that Shepard is allying with the devil in the name of fighting the Reapers – to him, it comes across as something of a victory, because here Shepard is, the person who came after him for his alliance with Sovereign, having made his own deal with the devil. If Ashley/Kaidan were the angel on Shepard’s shoulder, the voice of their conscience, telling them that they are making a mistake working with Cerberus, Saren is here to be the devil on the other shoulder, pointing out all the value there is in working with them, in doing whatever the mission calls for to put an end to the Collectors and the Reapers.

One would hope that this kind of rhetoric from the villain of the first game would make it very clear that Cerberus are the bad guys. As if to drive the point home, Saren also brings up that Shepard was rebuilt by them – with what is certainly Reaper tech. Shepard has begun the process of ascending to the Reapers level, what’s some more, melding more with their tech, bringing that melding, that joining, that unification of organic and machine, to the people of the galaxy, of doing the Reapers a favor and acting as their instrument in raising up galactic civilization?

Things of course descend into a firefight (because we’ve got to have our action quota). This time, Shepard gets to pull the trigger and personally kill Saren – sure, I get satisfaction out of persuading him to shoot himself, and I can always take the other options if I’m really pressed to face off against him, but I want the visceral satisfaction of having Shepard standing over Saren themselves and pulling the trigger.

It’s the little things, you know?

Anyway, because Rule of Three, this proceeds Shepard to the third point. They are back on Lazarus Station. No combat this time, just proceeding through the halls until they find themselves in the spot where they met Jacob in the prologue. Here, they see Miranda and Liara, discussing the act of giving Shepard to Cerberus to rebuild. While at first they’re talking to each other (whether or not you want to interpret this as Shepard somehow having heard the conversation or this just being Shepard’s interpretation, that’s up to you – we’re already in the center of Shepard’s mind here, does that really need explaining?), eventually, Shepard gets to speak, raise concerns, raise their voice.

Shepard gets options – do they understand and appreciate what was done to them, the resurrection and effective drafting into Cerberus? Or are they angry and pissed off – they were dead, and then someone else comes along and decides not to let them rest. For me, this has always been an issue of bodily autonomy, where, with Liara using the reasoning, and I quote, that she “couldn’t let [Shepard] go,” SHE is the one deciding what to do with Shepard’s body. Whatever you might say about what that did to make the galaxy a better place... Was it what Shepard would have wanted done with their corpse, to be handed off to a terrorist group culpable in acts of horrific deeds so that they could play Frankenstein with it? This is, in the games proper, just completely ignored – the one option to be angry is about Liara hiding this from them, not about her DOING it, and in ME3, Shepard – without player input – frames Miranda and the Lazarus Project as “giving them back their life.”

Yeah, no. I can forgive Miranda’s actions, given her characterization is actively about her going from looking at Shepard as a resource to be tapped to a friend (or possibly lover). It’s not perfect, but it’s still part of her arc, and she does at least make an apology (even if the writing doesn’t focus on the part I want it to, that ME3 conversation being focused on her wanting to implant Shepard with a control chip).

But I NEED to be able to express anger at Liara in some way just to like her, considering her canonical reason for doing this is all about HER – not that she considered Shepard the only one in the galaxy who could stand against the Reapers, but that SHE couldn’t let Shepard go. When in my games, she has no right to that. She’s not the one my Shepard’s are in a relationship with. So what those who romance her probably see as an act of love and devotion, I, not romancing her, can’t see it as anything but an act of obsession. And, even if I have to limit myself to a mental simulacrum of her, because there’s not a better place to include such a thing in these DLCs, it will help me, because it’s at least acknowledgement that hey, maybe Shepard is kinda pissed about people making decisions about them for them.

*ahem*

Right, so, where were we? Right, the reaction to Miranda and Liara discussing what to do with Shepard’s body. So as Shepard reacts, this prompts appearances from Ashley, Kaidan, and Saren, all of them playing Greek chorus about the decisions made about Shepard and how Shepard is reacting to them all. And yes, now we have both Ashley and Kaidan, regardless of who was left on Virmire, because why not – if we have one of them showing up for this DLC, why NOT include both of them? You’d have both actors in the studio anyway, so... Basically this is the big character confrontation where they all make the points that fans can debate and nitpick over when they bring up this topic, until finally the question gets put as, effectively, “well, however you feel about it, it has been done, so what are you going to do now?”

And to answer that, Shepard has to reenter the room they woke up in. Because we’re not quite done here yet.

Yeah, that whole conversation piece? THAT was the third “fight” or “combat” scene of this sequence, done in dialogue. Think the Atris confrontation in KOTOR 2, a verbal standoff. The actual interaction that Shepard has to face in the operating room... is themselves.

And their mirror image is offering similar questions, now wanting Shepard to respond, rather than having other characters voice opinions for them. How do you play Shepard’s reaction to their death and resurrection? To the fact that they are spending this game working with Cerberus, who is responsible for a traumatic event in roughly one third of all Shepard histories? Who Shepard uncovered multiple instances of their mad science in ME1 that crossed every ethical line? Who have it repeated rather consistently, is a humanity-first organization who will put human interests (and Cerberus interests, claiming they’re the same) ahead of galactic ones? If the Collector Base has (or is) a Reaper weapon, do they legitimately trust the Illusive Man with this power? Does Cerberus or the Illusive Man REALLY deserve any loyalty from Shepard?

Think of this as “stage two” of the verbal boss battle.

So, the confrontation with themselves concludes with, effectively, Shepard making their decision for going forward – the idea is that it has all been a mental debate, Shepard talking to themselves and coming to a conclusion that they needed to make. The general idea probably is one that, if you’re an obsessive fan with a penchant for filling in the gaps of canon (hey how are you?), you may have imagined these kinds of thoughts and discussions and conversations happening, but isn’t it more satisfying to actually have them take place on screen? And two, Shepard confronting themselves is, in and of itself, always a big deal. As I said at the beginning, this is Shepard’s loyalty mission, done to clear their head. How could it not result in Shepard facing themselves and asking themselves these big questions directly?

When Shepard officially makes their decision for the forward march, you know, figuring out how to handle Cerberus from here on in, which basically come to, effectively, use them for their resources and cut them loose at the end of the crisis or cut ties now and let the chips fall – since, after all, aside from Miranda and Jacob, whose loyalties to Cerberus are already wavering, Shepard has a squad full of the most dangerous people in the galaxy, so they could handle a mutiny of any kind (and, on the player end, there’s the knowledge that, while all this is taking place, EDI is getting unshackled and effectively is capable of running the ship) – they’re kicked back to reality.

And yes, those are the only two results of this, because, just to hammer it home, Cerberus is NOT. THE GOOD GUYS. The Illusive Man is not secretly good, he’s just using the “humanity needs protection” line to justify his actions and attitudes that are about seizing power. And anyone who thought that we would, should, or could side with Cerberus come ME3 was kidding themselves.

Granted, with this line of thinking, I’m not sure what the motivation would be to give Cerberus the Collector Base at the endgame (I mean, I never have, so...). Maybe the idea of “indoctrinate yourself, get taken in by the Reapers, you bastard,” but... That doesn’t seem right for Shepard’s characterization. Eh, like I said, much of this is based in how I play in the first place, so if you want to try and figure that out, feel free, but my list, we go by my way of approaching things. Because that’s just how I roll.

So I haven’t explained what, exactly, this prothean artifact is. Well, it’s effectively nothing more than a plot device, but let’s say there’s a note that becomes interactable, that basically talks up the artifact as being what I’ve called it so far, something that is meant to allow the user a chance to directly interact with themselves, face the truths they deny. Again, this really is a plot device meant to allow the circumstances of the plot, and while I could go into the details of how I assume it works, it really just needs to exist, but that’s my handwave excuse to justify how it worked. It works very well, thank you for asking. The reality is the how is less important than what it brings up.

So, Shepard is back in the physical world, and sets about putting the ideas into motion – the Illusive Man wanted them here? Yeah, no. Not doing that anymore. Shepard gets their crew out of there, upsetting doc Nuwali (giving the impression that there were some sketchy ideas in mind for Shepard’s companions when they were alone themselves, invasive procedures that they’d knock them out and see if they could take them apart and put them back together, now loyal to the Cerberus banner that sort of thing) and has a brief chat with Miranda as they fly back to the Normandy.

...You know, which, based on my time table, is currently under Collector attack. Fun times!

Post Game Followups:

ME3: The artifact as a war asset, reports about Nuwali being captured by Alliance officers while in the process of having attempted some of those ‘sketchy ideas’ she’d meant to enact on Shepard’s companions.

The Lights of Klencory

The planet Klencory is rumored to hold secrets regarding ‘the machine devils.’ Admiral Hackett of the Alliance has suspicions these are references to the Reapers, and has been secretly investigating these. Now, a team of Alliance soldiers have vanished out there, and he’s calling in Commander Shepard as a specialist, along with an old friend...

Bonus Companion: Ashley Williams/Kaidan Alenko

(Post-Horizon)

So back on the old days of the BSN, before Arrival came out, the speculation was, after Lair of the Shadow Broker, that the successive DLC would feature Ashley or Kaidan, give them the same treatment Liara got by featuring them in a DLC. One of my favorite ideas featured the concept of the “machine devils” of Klencory. You know, the planet blurb from ME1 where a volus is digging into a planet in search of evidence of “lost crypts of beings of light,” the indication being that he’d had his mind scrambled by a prothean beacon. So, hey, guess where we’re going?

I mean, obviously Illium, duh.

Actually, that’s not a bad starting point. Illium in general seems to be fairly neutral territory – sure, technically a planet in Citadel space, given its an asari world, but with many Citadel laws relaxed, it makes for a place where “an Alliance operative” will meet with Shepard (We’re starting by way of a letter from Hackett, for the record) without it being considered suspicious behavior by those looking in who are not in the know about the tacit support that both Hackett and Anderson are offering Shepard. There’s a lot of questions coming into this on Shepard’s part, given that, at this point in time, they’re not really an Alliance officer, and yet this is apparently something that is getting them called on? Probably means Reapers.

It gets complicated once Shepard arrives for the meeting and finds Ashley/Kaidan is their contact.

So, before we go further, I want to acknowledge, by the nature of having any real contact between Shepard and Ashley/Kaidan between the encounter on Horizon and the opening of ME3, I am effectively breaking one of my cardinal rules for these, namely the idea of not screwing with the pre-existing structure of the games’ plots in allowing Shepard and Ashley/Kaidan SOME form of genuine contact and communication, to the point of a chance for a legitimate conversation about things and where they stand with one another (Yes, the previous entry was bending that rule, but this is an outright breaking of it).

Thing is, this is one thing that really SHOULD have existed in the games proper, I shouldn’t have to have built something up to include here, and I will 100% die mad about it. Ashley and Kaidan got shafted by BioWare’s handling of things, and I’m not willing to forgive it (if you follow my liveblogs of replaying the games, you’ll know I frequently complain that Arrival really was gift-wrapped to serve this function, and yet it doesn’t so much as mentioned Ashley/Kaidan). So yeah, we’re having an opportunity to address this stuff right off, it’s taking place in the game “proper” (for a given value, considering all of this is made up, but...). I’ll get into how this will impact their interactions come ME3 in the “Post Game Followups” section, for now, we’re just going with this.

Also on the “to note” element, I am mostly going to refer to Ashley/Kaidan in the sense of swapping them into place for one another, since, obviously, they are mutually exclusive at this point in the trilogy. But I do want it understood that I am not viewing them as interchangeable characters but as individuals. Just... If I stop to explain all the little differences of how they interact with Shepard in this, the variations of what they say and do on the character level, I’d basically be writing this out twice, which this is going to be long enough as it is, you don’t need to read the plot summary twice, and I certainly don’t need to write it twice. Assume that, even if not explicitly indicated, there ARE differences in behavior and dialogue that are reflective of them as separate characters and people, even if the overall plot must go forward regardless of how differently they’d react as individuals.

And you might want to pay close attention, since there will be a lot of use of “they” pronouns ahead, since Ashley/Kaidan is more awkward to write and I make it a point to not address the player character (in this case, Shepard) by one gender or the other in these write-ups, given that that’s variable, so things might get a little confusing if you’re not paying close enough attention to the context.

So... The meeting with Ashley/Kaidan begins... awkwardly. They’re uncertain how to really react to Shepard – sure, the encounter on Horizon means they know that Shepard is back, but now they’re really having to deal with this particular reality. So they’re going to aim to jump to business. Alliance intel has intercepted some messages from mercs hired out near Klencory, which got Admiral Hackett paying attention to things happening out there – like Shepard will acknowledge, between the circumstances of this meeting and the quick summary of the reason for the mercs all being out there, this sounds like it’s connected to the Reapers. Hackett wants to have Shepard as a “special consultant” as the Alliance has someone (re: Ashley/Kaidan) investigate (“consultant” since Shepard may not have had their Spectre status restored, so it gives them legitimacy either way). It could, potentially, just all be a massive coincidence. But since when are things ever “just” a coincidence?

Ashley/Kaidan are willing to use the Normandy as transport – Hackett figured that, between the stealth systems, and the lack of official Alliance authority in the area, the Normandy is the better option for getting there without being told to get lost. The bigger question is how they’ll be received – it’s not like merc gangs take well to outside interference, and the Alliance having any jurisdiction out there is questionable at best. But they should at least TRY to go in with civility. If this volus billionaire spending all this money on this (his name, for the record, is canonically given as Kumun Shol, so hey, less work for me, having to come up with a name!), then if he hears from someone who seems to be taking him seriously, it might get them invited in explicitly.

Obviously, though, if they’re hitching a ride on the Normandy, if things remain unspoken, the trip out there will be very awkward and seem longer than it is. So they have to address Horizon. They’re not going to apologize for not joining Shepard – Shepard is still operating on a ship flying Cerberus colors, even with good intentions, that is a betrayal of their oaths to the Alliance, Cerberus are terrorists and xenophobes, who want to secure human dominance. But they will acknowledge that they reacted to Shepard’s return in a way that wasn’t their best. I am not going all the way to “they admit that they were wrong,” because based solely on the information that they had, they handled things as best as they realistically could. But they will regret that things ended on the terms that they did.

Shepard gets to respond to that – are they accepting that it was a bad reaction to unexpected information, do they still hold a grudge, whatever. The conversation continues to a point of conclusion – Ashley/Kaidan don’t trust Cerberus, they want to trust Shepard, but the connection between the two at the moment makes that difficult, and they don’t know how to bridge that gap as things stand, but they’re going to try this.

We will be coming back to this, never you fear. But, of course, that’s more for the ending than it is the beginning, and this one conversation is far from the end.

Klencory is a world with a toxic atmosphere, so they first have to gain access to a semi-decent landing zone near where Shol has established himself. Because, naturally, he’s not interested in visitors – the brief communication we get with him is him effectively talking himself into the idea that Shepard is “the agent of the machine devils,” which... I mean, considering the prothean beacons and communications with the Reapers, it’s not crazy that he goes there, even if (by the rest of his actions), Shol’s gone a little nuts.

Shooty shooty bang bang, fight through the exterior guards and into the facility proper. Ashley/Kaidan are a little uncomfortable about what’s gone on – this really isn’t how they pictured things going, given the legitimate credentials they were supposed to be coming in with, and they can recognize the fighting is because of Shol not giving them an alternative, but it does still make them feel like they’re acting as little more than the thugs they’re dispatching.

Call this a reaction to the fact that Shepard doesn’t exactly get much of a differentiation in the game themselves. Particularly when they can call out looters on Omega while swiping whatever’s not nailed down.

This is another conversation that’s going to be part of that “coming back to” thing – assume there’s some kind of tracking metric for all of this in the same vein as how ME3 tracked how Ashley/Kaidan responded to Shepard as a lead in to the confrontation during the coup. Just, I’ll get to how that all plays out at the end.

Because a band of mercs aren’t enough to hold off Shepard, Ashley/Kaidan, and the third companion (yay party balance), they reach Shol’s central command. He’s a little batty, but it finally gets through to him that Shepard is not the agent of the machine devils. He is skeptical of Shepard being the savior from them, though. Instead, he wants Shepard and company to do something for him.

There is a vault. A vault none of his men have come back from. Shol declares that, if Shepard can enter, learn its secrets, and survive, then they will have proven themselves to be salvation from the machine devils. Since this is the advancement of the plot, Shepard will have to go ahead with this, even with the natural objections of Ashley/Kaidan (and, probably, Shepard themselves).

Another pause for a dialogue – Ashley/Kaidan are skeptical of Shol’s motives, and believe it may be too dangerous to just do what he says. Especially considering that he’s clearly not entirely stable. This is a situation that really calls for calling for backup. But there’s really not the option of waiting, because if they don’t do as Shol says, he’ll throw all his mercs at Shepard – even if we’re assuming that Shepard versus countless mercs ends well for Shepard (because, after all, it’s Shepard), it’s just a senseless loss of life.

Going in is a set piece of suspense. Think the Peragus mine, with a dash of Korriban for good measure, from KOTOR 2 – lot of littered corpses, this creeping and foreboding unease and feeling of being watched, this overbearing expectation of SOMETHING appearing down every dead end... Build the tension. This is a place that, the littered dead aside, no one has entered in thousands of years, it should absolutely be a place that could chill you to the bone. The examination of anything should feel like it’s disturbing the dead.

You know there’s some ancient security device active, right? I mean, something’s killing the people who trespass here. Obviously, it has to be something that will put up a fight as our end boss, and it needs to be something that is able to last a long time. I’m thinking an ancient robot (my mind is going in the direction of something similar in design to the ancient droids of KOTOR’s Star Forge), a last defense, left behind by a precursor to the protheans.

Yeah, it feels like an underwhelming result to me too, but it makes logical sense all the same – we have some evidence of things from prior cycles, not just the prothean cycle, making it through to the next ones, not the least of which is the plans for the Crucible. Seeing as how that bit of intel is just dropped into our laps come ME3, this is at least making it functionally foreshadowed, if indirectly, by actually showing us ancient technology that is still functional and viable even after more than fifty, a hundred thousand years. Plus the foreshadowing of things surviving to this cycle in the vein of Javik. Things lasting this long in forms beyond just ruins at least makes all of that happening in ME3 at least have some groundwork laid in these prior games – otherwise, we only have a few codex references to ancient civilizations, as opposed to it being an actual component of gameplay, things that the player MUST interact with.

But yeah, the threat may be underwhelming, but the payoff is what it guarded – the last remnants of this ancient culture. The corpses have been preserved, given that it’s a bunker into the planet’s mantle – the toxic nature of the atmosphere now came about because of the Reapers, though, of course, this is only spoken of in the material available as “the machine devils.” There could be a great wealth of information among this stuff.

Thing is, now that the threat’s dealt with, Shol wants his prize. He spent years of his life and a great deal of his money on this, and now he wants to use it – and, because he still is a paranoid bastard, he’s not particularly inclined to uphold his end of the bargain, having expected to have Shepard and the “guardian” of the tomb (for lack of a better term) kill each other. He just wants all of this to increase his own fortune – he’ll sell everything within to the highest bidder and damn what the Alliance, the Citadel, anyone might be able to get from the archives. Giving it to private collectors – like, say, the Illusive Man, or even any interested faction of capital-c Collectors (as in “the enemies we fight throughout ME2”) – will enrich him and it doesn’t matter what that information might do to help make the galaxy ready for war against the Reapers.

Now, normally you would think this would lead to a Paragon/Renegade choice. BUT, instead, we’re going to have a variation moment for Ashley and Kaidan. They’ll deal with Shol, but in unique ways. Ashley, having marine hand to hand combat skills (as she mentions in character discussion during the first game), manages to get close and disable the volus’s suit enough to render him unconscious, while Kaidan uses his biotics to get the same result. So they get to have a moment of protecting Shepard (not necessarily “saving” them, because a volus getting the drop on Shepard would certainly be an embarrassing way to go, but definitely helping them sidestep a situation).

NOW’S the time for the Paragon/Renegade choice, dealing with Shol himself. He is an obstacle, considering that dealing with the legal claim to this cache of information leaves the door open to some sticky situations as a result – the last thing they need is to have anything that might be useful be wrapped up in the legal battle. But he DOES have a valid claim. Just unilaterally taking this place from him is questionable at best – even if Shepard’s still a Spectre, are they REALLY able to just come in and declare the location to no longer be the property of the individual with the legal claim on it? Likewise, there’s a lot of sticky issues with the idea of killing him – after all, as mentioned above, he does have a bunch of trained mercenaries on hand, and it’s reasonable to try and walk out without adding to the bloodshed. But if it’s made clear that his madness has overtaken him (which, I mean... it kinda HAS), then there’s room for the Citadel to be able to legally seize his assets, including his claim on Klencory and its vault. But this still means institutionalizing a person because they’re inconvenient.

That’s the choice – institutionalize Shol and seize his assets, despite the subsequent legal battle that he and his kin can draw everyone in to, or cut through the red tape preemptively, kill him, and claim what amounts to squatter’s rights, since with him dead, no one else is there to take charge of the archive, whatever it contains. Ashley/Kaidan are going to say they have no intention of letting Shepard kill Shol (because that would certainly always be a line for them), but there will be a Renegade interrupt to take that choice out of their hands anyway, and Shepard can make an argument that, if they don’t do SOMETHING, Shol’s men will come in and try to kill them, while if he’s dead, that denies them their paycheck (because for one time ever, can we just have the mercs give up and run off once the source of their paycheck is dead?!). Shol certainly isn’t going to tell them to back down, and “survival instincts” have never been at the top of their hiring priorities.

Ashley/Kaidan will have some words about the decision Shepard is making, but they can be swayed to understand Shepard’s motivations, at least, in the moment, though any disagreements they have are more in the “waiting for a more opportune moment” than “what you say goes, Commander.” More on that shortly. With that matter resolved, Shepard calls for a pickup.

Back on the Normandy, Shepard and Ashley/Kaidan are having an informal debriefing in Shepard’s cabin (save the jokes for the end of the scene everyone, we’ll get to that). They do a brief discussion of what the likely followup will be – the fact is, the Reapers are probably already uncomfortably close at the moment already, so there’s not likely to be much opportunity to examine this place too much before they show. Still, every little bit is going to help.

The big thing is going to be how Shepard’s handled things through to this point. This was an accumulation metric (in the same style as Aria showing mercy on Petrovsky or not during Omega), so the various Paragon/Renegade decisions through to this point will lead to their reaction. Paragon Shepards get Ashley/Kaidan acknowledging that Shepard is still someone they respect, and that perhaps this whole Cerberus alliance was one of necessity. Renegade Shepards are leaving them questioning what Cerberus is doing to them, and are they really the person that they once were.

That leads to the question of where they stand if they’re a romance – like with Liara in Lair of the Shadow Broker, this leads to a romance rekindling, but only for Paragon Shepard, because that’s the version that has shown that Shepard is still the person they followed to hell and back, still the person they loved.

Yes, while I try and offer reasonably similar options for both Paragon and Renegade versions of Shepard, this is dependent on that. Because it’s about setting their concerns at ease, about listening to them and allowing them to be angry and upset and come around. Renegade Shepard will have shown they don’t care about that, so why WOULD Ashley/Kaidan take them back?

Anyway, insert “debriefing” joke here.

And, y’know, a reminder that, in these DLCs I’m writing, we’re going with the assumption that Ashley and Kaidan both were bisexual romance options back in the first game, and it’s an option to rekindle for both gendered Shepards.

After the interlude (however it plays out), there’s the discussion of what’s coming next for Ashley/Kaidan. They’re returning to the Alliance, of course – with Shepard’s official ties still in limbo, taking them out of the official chain, Hackett has made them a floating troubleshooter at points where he suspects Reaper involvement in some fashion, be it machine cultists and husks, Collectors, or what have you. However they feel about Shepard, Hackett is still seeming inclined to trust them on this, so they expect that the intel will still reach Shepard as they do their work. They make it clear they expect this to be the calm before the storm, and when the fight starts, they know Shepard will be on the front line. Paragons get them promising to back Shepard up when the time comes, Renegades get them hoping that they’ll still be on the same side when that happens.

Post Game Followups:

So here’s the part where, typically, I’d talk about how this impacts War Assets for ME3. But this is giving the ability to resolve the major Ashley/Kaidan element of ME3 before we even get there (like we should have in the first place...) and that means we have to deal with that. To that end, I obviously have left the door open for the lack of trust by way of Renegade Shepard, and that’ll go through things as they are, the same as if this DLC didn’t exist (I mean, it doesn’t exist anyway, but... You know what I mean!). The alternative for a Paragon completion is that there will be a distinct lessening of the tension between Shepard and Ashley/Kaidan in ME3, leading to some serious dialogue changes on Mars – more of an acceptance, instead of distrust.

I’m also thinking that, with the air cleared, there’s no moment of hesitation among them during the Citadel Coup, that it basically defaults them to trusting Shepard, regardless of how much they interact with them in Huerta and “clear the air” of Horizon. After all, Shepard already allayed their concerns with their practical involvement, gave them the chance to see them as the person they were, rather than the possibility that they were no longer the person they trusted. This changes the dynamics of their earlier interactions, and if you have rekindled the romance during the debriefing (no I’m not going to stop using that gag), then the dialogue will have more romantic undertones, the conversations more focused on matters of both them and the future together, trying to figure out if they even have a future, what with the invasion commencing, let alone where they stand with one another in that future.

I feel like I should have more done here, really, but I am really, genuinely TRYING to remain within the basic structures of the games as they are with this, because I totally could trash them and rebuild them from the start, but that’s defeating the purpose of this as additional material to the games, so that’s the most I’m offering on that. I want to do more, Ashley/Kaidan deserve a bigger and better role in ME3’s plot (which I’ll be trying to address further when we get to the ME3 hypothetical DLC, but that’s not here), but I’m trying not to totally rewrite ME3 as it is, that would probably be its own long involved project, and this is already ongoing. The original version of events can still be involved in the game proper, as the Renegade version, but that won’t be the only version any more.

Oh, and, we’re getting some war assets out of the place we discovered. That feels like an afterthought here, though. This has been about Ashley/Kaidan and their relationship with Shepard, more than anything, and we really did deserve this as much as Lair of the Shadow Broker.

The Omega Heist

An old contact of Miranda and Jacob’s draws them – and Commander Shepard – back to Omega, where, with the merc bands decimated, an old threat they thought they’d dealt with long ago has reemerged. With Commander Shepard’s help, they must try their utmost to put this genie back in its bottle before it’s unleashed on the whole of Omega – and, potentially, the rest of the galaxy!

(Post-Horizon)

Considering Omega’s status as the dark reflection of the Citadel, the answer to it in the Terminus Systems, I just really want to explore it some more. Tie in to that, Miranda and Jacob have great prominence when they’re literally your only crewmates, but the second you start picking up the rest of the crew, they start falling off the map. Given that they’re our viewpoints into Cerberus as an organization, this feels like a mistake. Cerberus spends both the preceding and following game as enemies, and I think we need to spend some time at exploring why either of them would even fall under Cerberus and the Illusive Man’s sway.

It begins with Miranda asking to speak to Shepard. I’m gonna assume that, considering the unlock pattern of loyalty missions, this is most likely going to be played post-loyalty mission for both of them, since they’re both the first to unlock. Just to firmly establish where the characterization is going in to this. So both of them are at a point where they’re starting to question their loyalty to Cerberus (hence why I’m considering it a default that, in particular, Miranda’s loyalty has been obtained).

She’s heard from a contact on Omega about something that she wants to get Shepard involved in. The meeting moves to her office, where Jacob joins them. This concerns a mission they’d both undertaken shortly after their first mission together (see Mass Effect Galaxy, the mission Jacob talks to Shepard about having lost his faith in the Alliance over). They had an assignment to dispose of a biological sample – their assignment had been not to ‘get curious’ and investigate what it was, just get rid of it. The orders had come directly from the Illusive Man, so they were actually obeyed.

Jacob had been suspicious of the whole thing – when you’re moving something that you’re not supposed to investigate, it’s usually something that could blow up in your face. He opted for a little extra security monitoring, with Miranda agreeing and having kept track of it. That’s why this is now coming to her attention. They still don’t know what this was, but they can’t imagine that it getting let loose where any idiot could stumble across it would be a good thing.

So we’re returning to Omega. Personally, I’m disappointed that there’s no real change in Omega as ME2 carries on, even though you have to both clear out merc gangs and an active plague in the course of the game – recruiting Garrus and Mordin are mandatory quests, after all, so their joining the crew, their recruitment missions, these have to happen regardless of anything else Shepard may decide to do. So we’re getting another hub area on Omega besides Afterlife and the Gozu District market place. If Omega is the Citadel of the lawless Terminus Systems, then it can certainly fit in more of this (plus give more life to this place that, we know, will have people threatened come ME3 and the Omega DLC there).

Our central hub sector will be a safehouse established near the Kenzo District (picked because beyond existing as where Garrus had his run-in with Garm, we know nothing specific about it, so it can be used however the plot needs it to be). Under the circumstances – meaning “since we stored dangerous material on Omega without even speaking with Aria on the subject” – the idea here is stealth. Shepard, Miranda, and Jacob arrived via a transient shuttle rather than via the Normandy, and did so hopefully with some element of stealth. It’s not that Aria is going to be a threat here, just that she wouldn’t be happy learning about this going on under her nose and Cerberus is trying to cultivate some of her resources (sort of tie-in to the Cerberus takeover of Omega come ME3).

Their contact is my chance to get that female turian I mentioned a ways back into things – a turian trader who I’ll name Naevia (what, I’m a Spartacus fan and the reference makes me smile). The biological sample has fallen into the hands of a gang that’s trying to take up the space left by the biggest gangs of Omega losing their leadership (I’m thinking one of the gangs from our last edition of hypothetical DLCs, from “The Clean-Up,” because continuity!).

It’s around here that Shepard does ask the most important question on the subject that I think we’re all thinking – why the hell was this dangerous and hazardous sample kept rather than destroyed? Naevia admits she thought the same thing, but she was paid enough not to care, just to watch it. Miranda states that there was a possibility of using it for something in the future – this is a sign of her beginning to waver, because she can’t really justify the use of this sample, the fact that, though they’d been told to get rid of it, the “disposal team” had kept it, and were keeping it in a place with a population.

Granted this is a long standing tradition with dangerous science, but still, it needs to be called out.

The important thing is that it’s there, on Omega, and in particular when the station is already in the recovery process of a plague that targeted every race except humanity – there is still a lot of anti-human resentment on Omega, and the last thing that Cerberus should want is a human-spawned crisis breaking out (because no matter where the sample came from, a human organization, known to have a humans-first bent to it, was the group that stashed it here on Omega). Hence our presence.

We’re gonna have plenty of time to talk with Miranda and Jacob, so assume character conversations sprinkled here throughout (much as I cite it as reason that I don’t particularly care for their loyalty missions in comparison to others, that their loyalty missions also only have one ending, that once you start the mission, the only resolution is obtaining their loyalty, makes for a useful method of characterization trajectory here). This is here for the sake of exploring and deepening their character arcs, their division with Cerberus from the endgame, given that they’re both set against Cerberus come ME3, so we’re going with that.

We also get to spend some time with Naevia and getting a new perspective with the turians – she is a free agent, sort of like Vetra ended up being in Andromeda, in the sense that she’s a rebel to the status quo of turian military discipline. She’s looser and less rule-bound. She lives on the fringe of society and that shapes her reactions. She has no need for the turian rules of combat and prefers to take preemptive action – the rules of combat are a great idea in theory, when you have enemies who will respect them. But the Terminus is full of people who won’t. And, while she hasn’t been read into the Reaper matters, she is clearly picking up on the undercurrent between Shepard, Miranda, and Jacob.

Now if you’re assuming that this is leading to Naevia turning out to be involved in matters with this sample... Well, that’s definitely going to be a thing to follow, but let’s just keep going for now.

And yes, I have been cagey about what this sample even is. Remember, that’s because it’s a mystery even to Miranda and Jacob – they were still in a point where they were willing to listen to the Illusive Man’s orders without questioning them. The assumption was that the team they were giving it off to was a proper disposal team, and the failure of either of them to investigate it beyond his word. Y’know, the idea being they’re both starting to push themselves to look beyond the word they’re officially given by their boss and question him.

So… investigative work. We’ve already been over how in these summaries, that’s not where I focus on, not having a layout or anything to work with and such. So I’ve given the core ideas of character work and plot that plays out over the course of things, let’s cut to the climax.

The sample is being held by one of the gangs and a member of the Cerberus disposal squad. Because hey, look at that, a Cerberus agent went rogue and started killing all their guys, Commander Shepard, can you take care of that? He explains just what this sample is – a contaminant that can devastate a planetary atmosphere, hence why it was being kept on Omega, a space station. Of course, the problem with it is that it won’t discriminate and a rapid atmospheric dissolution will kill human lives as well. This is one of those things that it’s actually entirely justifiable that the Illusive Man didn’t want to use... y’know, if it weren’t for the fact that he still kept it, but...

Anyway, here’s where we come to Naevia’s sudden but inevitable betrayal, citing the profit to be earned – it’s easy enough to live on ships instead of a planet, so she’ll come out of this fine. Shepard gets the chance to shoot her with a Renegade interrupt, and look at that! She WASN’T betraying the team, just pretending to in order to slide a knife in the bad guy’s gut. It doesn’t kill him, and it still leads to a fight, but it’s easier if you don’t take the interrupt (because as much as I like the interrupt system, I think there should occasionally be consequences for taking a quick and reflexive response rather than the more considerate and thoughtful and examinative approach to a situation).

A multi-stage boss fight ensues – basic ground troops, interspersed with standard LOKI mechs, a YMIR mech joining the fight with reinforcements, and then a gunship. Maybe the gunship peels off midway and lets in another YMIR mech, just to really hammer the ‘boss fight’ element, or at the least let that be a higher level difficulty challenge. I mean you can only do so much with the mechanics of the game to create boss fights, right?

Anyway, Naevia is either dying, laughing at how her turncoat act was too effective, or she’s made it through with a few scratches and is patching them up as Miranda and Jacob are recovering the sample. Here’s the expected Paragon/Renegade choice of destroying the sample or storing it somewhere else – I can even see a reasoning for keeping in the idea of ‘once knowledge exists, it can’t just be destroyed, we need to study this to be able to devise a countermeasure.’ It’s a sucky one, for the record, but it’s a way to justify the Renegade stance.

This is where you see the culmination of Miranda and Jacob’s development. Jacob is open about wanting to correct their prior mistake of leaving this sample around to be used by anyone who might try to actually use it. No matter what, he sees no possible good coming from it and wants it destroyed. Miranda is conflicted. Her trust in the Illusive Man tells her that it would be right to hold on to this, it’s a weapon that could protect humanity if the aliens were to attack them – which is something that can’t be discounted as a possibility, considering the batarian hostility and the general aggravation of other races like the turians (see the previous Hypothetical DLC entry for more expansion on why I consider that a thing gets brought up). But she also knows that if this exists, then there’s a chance humanity can’t control it. She is looking to Shepard for guidance on this – she’s not turning to the Illusive Man’s standing orders here.

When the group returns to their safehouse, they find Aria there. Because this has been happening on Omega, and it’s her business to be fully aware of what’s happening on Omega. She thanks Shepard for disposing of that little business – if the sample was spared, she does imply that she knows about it, but, so long as it’s leaving Omega, she’s not going to be concerned about it. After all, she only cares about Omega’s interests. But, as a reward for what Shepard’s done for Omega, from the plague to Archangel to this (plus, potentially, dealing with Morinth, given that was the presence of an Ardat-Yakshi on Omega), she is offering a reward for Shepard – a penthouse suite.

Yes, I’m letting Shepard get an Omega apartment. I mean, okay, having one right before the Cerberus takeover of Omega come ME3 is not exactly the most prime real estate, but hey, Shepard deserves a place to relax, right? Plus it also comes with access to a special Omega market, a place where Shepard will be able to purchase any weapons or upgrades they might have been missed in the course of their missions (and any that get added through the DLC, including these). Because really, we should be able to have access to those things somehow, as in the game as is, if you miss it, it’s gone forever.

Anyway, Miranda and Jacob will also have follow up conversations when they return to the Normandy, discuss the way that things have played out and how they’ve evolved as people in the course of the game. Because as I said at the start, the two of them, in terms of their character development, kinda falls off the map in the course of the second half of the game. So they get a little additional content that helps fit them into the big picture of their character arcs.

Post Game Followups:

ME3: If Naevia survived, she’s an available war asset in regards to her underworld connections and such to send help Shepard’s way. If it’s kept intact, the sample also has some benefit for Alliance scientists in the study of reversing its effects and how to restore ravaged worlds. Also some additional content in the Omega DLC, though I’m not sure about the details of that right now.

And, y’know, since Naevia’s existence means that we have a female turian model built and developed circa ME2, this SHOULD mean that there are female turians scattered throughout both further DLC (as in ‘assume their existence in further installments, even if it goes unsaid’) and (because now they’d “exist” prior to the release of ME3) there would be numerous turian females in ME3 as assorted extras and such. Should go without saying, but I’m saying it. There will still be a few important female turian NPCs I introduce in further installments, but these are now part the standard background NPC collection.

Battle Scars

Alliance officers on shore leave have been disappearing from the Citadel with no trace. Ambassador Anderson suspects there’s more to this than the standard dangers of a space station that’s practically its own world. Though Shepard is in a questionable position among the Council, they’re the one person Anderson can trust to solve this.

(Post-Horizon)

The Citadel being so limited a space in ME2 always bothered me. Y’know, I get the thematic idea, that ME2 was about exploring the darker underside of the galaxy at large. But I liked the Citadel. There was a lot about it to explore, all things considered – we’re talking about the galactic hub of politics and commerce. This really should be a major location, no matter the game. And as I’ve said elsewhere, there could be a whole game set on the Citadel with room for more. So yeah, we’re doing this here, exploring an area of the Citadel that we never got to see before.

There are Alliance officers going missing and Anderson gets Shepard involved. Obviously, the synopsis covered that bit. The idea here is that we’re going into areas of the Citadel that normally, Shepard has no business in, and in areas that are more like vacation areas. You know what this means? It means we’re going to have non-combat segments, in the same vein as Kasumi’s mission. There’s gonna be an extended sequence of Shepard out of combat armor in this one, because Shepard is not being called on to be a soldier but to infiltrate and be seen as a civilian more than a combat fighter. (I’m thinking this is going to involve a new casual outfit as well.)

And we’re gonna say that this is happening at an exclusive resort, meant to be a location that’s relaxing – a resort on the Citadel, effectively. It’s primarily a place for Citadel-aligned soldiers (Alliance and other races) to recover after combat, a therapeutic place for soldiers to get treatment for their PTSD (think a place where they’d probably have sent the PTSD asari in ME3 to if there wasn’t an existential war on). It’s why it’s a popular place for these Alliance soldiers to be, and we’re also going to rate it as having the highest success rate as a psychological and therapeutic facility in the known galaxy (because, being on the Citadel, why wouldn’t a place like this have a reputation of being the best, given how the Citadel is effectively the metaphorical center of the galaxy) and it’s a bit of a mixing bowl of Citadel culture, which allows for the rest of the party to come along.

I’m going to stick with mandatory companions here for a handful of reasons – one, Shepard’s got an eclectic band, and I feel like if they walk around a Citadel resort with Grunt and Legion, for example, that’s probably going to blow their cover. For two, I like the idea of mandating some pairings and developing the relationships more. Last entry was about Miranda and Jacob. Here, I’m thinking... For a resort, I honestly lean towards Samara and Kasumi, characters who, respectively, can blend in with “high society” and can pass through unseen by others. Kasumi, of course, does her cloaking to accompany Shepard – she does prefer going unseen. Samara, though, is playing at being a Matriarch – given the setting, let’s say that she’s pretending to be looking for a facility for her rambunctious daughter who is ‘disgracing’ the family name – sort of playing on her own history with Morinth (because Samara’s method that way), while still being a role she plays.

Yes, I’m aware that Kasumi is a DLC character, not everyone necessarily has her, but hey. If you’re playing DLC in the first place, you’ve probably collected other DLC, particularly a new companion, we’re just gonna roll with it, because I’m not going to develop an alternative without her, so consider them connected – I don’t know, say they got packaged in a sale together or something. This is all hypothetical in the first place, remember, does it REALLY matter that she’s not in the base game?

Shepard, of course, is going in as what they’re looking for, an Alliance officer looking for leave. This way there can be a solo segment, and the tension of “will Shepard run into trouble they can’t handle on their own before their companions come to their rescue?” Obviously, there does have to be some addressing of Shepard’s fame and notoriety, but it’s not like Shepard’s not doing other things that are putting their famous mug in places they shouldn’t be, particularly when it comes to involving Kasumi (The Hock heist, anyone? How, exactly, was the most famous human in the galaxy supposed to keep a low profile there?). So we’re just gonna handwave that, like you do.

As always when these are investigative sequences, I’m just gonna gloss over that part for the sake of convenience – the basic facts are that we have a lot of suspects with no clear motive at the outset of things. You know, get your basic archetypes wandering around – look at any show that features a recovery center, you’ll find them, I’m not gonna go into detail on the incidental characters.

The trick is that Shepard is going to be doing their initial investigating solo – they have to get entrenched before their companions show up (given that Samara’s cover is going to have her supposedly only there to look the place over, rather than sign herself in as needing “treatment” and Kasumi is going to be cloaked, searching for the things that Shepard can’t get access to – yes, for the record, I’m setting up for a Big Damn Heroes moment, I would think that would be obvious). They’ll meet with the above mentioned archetypes, learning details.

The details are more for the flavor – how well does Shepard figure out the scheme (which I’m getting to) before the villain shows up to explain in a monologue? Because, y’know, what villain doesn’t love explaining their nefarious deeds with a monologue? Shepard figuring out more and more of the plot before they confront the bad guy will impact the way the end fight goes down – figure it all out, you can sidestep the big final confrontation, figure most of it out, the fight’s significantly easier, stick to the bare minimum, it’s the hardest it can be.

This of course gets Shepard caught by our villain of the piece. So, what’s going on? Well, it’s an attempt by one of the doctors at this facility at cooking up the same shady shit Cerberus has, in the form of cyborg soldiers – the soldiers who have been kidnapped have been converted into these cybernetically enhanced soldiers. Problem is, they’re mindless automatons – higher brain functions didn’t survive the implantation process. So while these six million credit men are superior soldiers for combat, able to shrug off the kind of injuries that would cripple any other organic soldier, probably even have like nano-tech that speeds up any kind of healing and recovery process, they’re ONLY for combat, there is no human mind, no individual still alive in these shells – they’ll do as ordered because of the computer control chips in their heads, but only because those chips fire off the impulses needed.

“No glands, replaced by tech. No digestive system, replaced by tech. No soul. Replaced by tech. Whatever they were, gone forever.”

This is a point that I wanted to bring up in Miranda’s chat about “disposable soldiers” – the concept of soldiers being disposable is the kind of thought that cleans up war, something that the very idea is MEANT to be “dirty.” When you have these disposable soldiers, something that replaces the flesh and blood troops, you’re now in a position where going to war is not a difficult choice – you’re not sacrificing anything in the fight, because your best and brightest are safely out of the line of fire. When you don’t fear war, you’re going to turn to it as the first option, not the last. And, as pointed out by the use of Mordin’s quote above, at some point, your “disposable soldiers” become exactly what the Collectors are, mindless automatons who perform the duties of their masters, and, because of that distance, their masters’ own humanity erodes, because they never have to get their own hands dirty, while their servants are incapable of arguing with the orders.

This is when we get the aforementioned Big Damn Heroes moment, where Samara and Kasumi rejoin the party – since I’m assuming Shepard is being restrained at the moment, we have Kasumi Overload the controls and get them loose while Samara covers her by biotically handling the guards (because there are always guards).

So we get to that ending of how the boss fight can go down – Shepard gets to argue about the whole “disposable soldier” thing, bringing up and expanding on the above argument. If they uncovered all the details of the plot prior to the point they’re found out and taken captive, they can talk the doctor out of the inevitable fight (they still can choose to fight, of course, but the option is there to avoid a fight altogether) and have them shut down the project, effectively take their “prototypes” of these cyborg soldiers off life support and let them all die out (because, again, it’s the cybernetics that are even keeping them alive at this point), they can try and fail because of a lack of information, or they can actually agree with the idea, just that this doctor isn’t the one to be controlling them – it’s a valid choice, after all, to have a viable standing army to face the Reapers with.

I did debate making that last an option, just because I am morally opposed to the idea, but I am trying to respect that the Paragon/Renegade division was meant to be more than “goody-two-shoes versus puppy-kicking-monster,” and approach it from a level of “win with morals versus ends justify the means” – if you’re looking for something that can face the Reapers, like Shepard is aiming for throughout the trilogy, then a pragmatic approach says “we can use this resource, and I’ll deal with the moral weight of it later.”

Thinking about it, this does kinda make a flaw of the Kasumi-Samara team, because I do struggle with seeing how they’d just casually go along with Shepard saying “zombie cyborg army? Sign me up!” But maybe the Justicar code says that, regardless of origin, their existence has purpose and use, while Kasumi is horrified at the idea of using – and defiling – the dead like this. Basically, I want there to be a shoulder angel-devil scenario here, but I may not have selected the right companion pairing for this. Still, I’m not going back and rewriting this to make that work, so we’re just going to acknowledge that and move on – they’re both on the team, and there are other Renegade choices Shepard has available that they both just accept, so we’ll accept that.

And, y’know, I have a personal preference for Paragon at these decision points, and would probably stick to choosing to wipe out the zombie cyborg soldiers myself, and these are my ideas so I roll with what works for my decision making process, so nyah.

This still leads to the question of what, exactly, should be done with this facility – this is the head of the place we’re talking about as being responsible, with them out of commission (either being killed by Shepard or taken into C-Sec custody, depending on your choice), it’s entirely possible the place will be shuttered, or at least in chaos for a time, and that means all of its current residents are going to be kicked out – this is one of those “well intentions doesn’t change negative results” scenarios. Of course, Anderson will try to step in and do something, but... He can only do so much. Especially with having to clear out the devices and secret lab material and such, there’s a lot in this that just... is not going to have this place in a condition to be what it’s meant to be. Especially if things turned into a fight with the doctor and trashed the place.

Shepard themselves can only do so much – they can make a recommendation, but ultimately, there will be a board decision. They can offer a suggestion, a way for the staff to try and focus going forward, but it’s going to mean downsizing their care in some fashion – either they focus only on the immediately at-risk patients, going in the way of ‘if you’re not an active threat to yourself or others, you have to find somewhere else to seek treatment,’ or they limit themselves to just the care of a single species, because the psychological experts for multiple species is a resource drain.

And this one is NOT a Paragon/Renegade choice. It’s player’s best take on the subject, because there is no “right” choice in this scenario. Either way, someone is getting screwed over. You can hope sending the not at-risk patients won’t exacerbate their conditions, but you can’t be sure of that – especially when it comes to people who have been there for some time, PTSD and other conditions won’t just go away, they need to be managed and treated, and if you go from one facility and one medical professional to another, that can throw off your recovery. And you can specialize in the treatment and wellness of a single species, but what about the members of the other species? What about the “melting pot” nature of the Citadel and how, realistically, reinforcing those barriers between species only makes it harder for these species to get along with one another?

It’s a “no good choice” scenario, and I think it’s worth a discussion with Anderson at the end (rather than back on the Normandy with all the companions, just because I don’t think the game can really account for everyone there having an opinion). Though let’s also give a follow-up conversation with Kelly – y’know, the therapist – and let her have more to do in this game.

Post Game Followups:

ME3: If the doctor was taken in to custody, they’re among the Cerberus scientists during the mission on Gellix – Mister Illusive stepped in to get their work under his banner, and, like Gavin Archer, Shepard’s involvement eventually made them hesitate to do his bidding. If the cyborgs were kept on, they’re a decent strength war asset.

The Batarian Connection

A Cerberus vessel goes missing out near the batarian border. While the Collectors are still the first priority for Commander Shepard and company, the Illusive Man is concerned this may be the first stage of a batarian incursion of Alliance space. He tasks Shepard and company with recovering the missing ship. The batarians, however, have other ideas...

(Post-Horizon)

We hear a lot of talk about the batarians making slave grabs throughout the first two games, and the Colonist background has this as a part of the things Shepard has been through. But we don’t actually see it. And we probably can’t manage to see the absolute worst horrors of the batarian slavers, but that’s not the full point of this.

No, the point is to start showing another face to the batarians. See, we’re going in with the idea of the batarians slavers we’re after handing off the captives they take – of various races, though krogan and turian are not likely, given their own, more aggressive nature (maybe useful in gladiatorial rings... We might be coming back to that before these DLC are done), and the quarians aren’t going to be as numerous, that still leaves humans, asari, salarians, and other batarians. And we know from Mass Effect 3, having the Cannibals being introduced in the first segment of the game, the Reapers have access to a lot of batarian genetic material, so they’ve already spent a lot of time developing how they intend to repurpose the batarians into the servants they need to wage war in this cycle.

Codex material speaks of how the Collectors want certain specific types of people to collect, and that is going to be what’s happening here – while the Collectors main focus in the game is to gather up humans to turn into Reaper slurry, we’re also looking at the other races, because there’s a history of the other races being taken by the Collectors for various unknown reasons. It wasn’t clear if there would have been an intent to build additional Reapers out of the other races – an asari Reaper, a turian Reaper, etc. - or if they’d just be left to rot, possibly slurried alongside the humans and just put in the same shell. To build off the idea of “organic preservation” of the species who consist of a cycle, I’m going to assume that they would be fused into a Reaper of their own, though there’s room to argue they were going to just be pulped into the same Reaper or left as the Collectors of the next cycle. But my ideas, my interpretation of things. And if BioWare wants to fight my interpretation, hey, should have included it in the game.

So yeah, the batarian slavers we’re coming across were going to offer the Collectors more of those captives of various races and such. The idea here is to not just have a look at the horrors of batarian slavery, but also an upfront acknowledgment that the batarians do this to their own people as well. The crappy situation for your average batarian is reduced to codex and one-liners, so we don’t actually have this knowledge available for the common players, and this is a thing that needs correcting.

We’re also going to have an encounter with a different Collector ship (just to avoid too much of the whole “small universe syndrome” of the same ship dogging Shepard for two years – it wasn’t until ME3 and James’s backstory that I got the impression that the Collectors had more than the one ship, since they made this one ship out to be this major force). Because, really, if the Collectors taking colonies was something of a plan B when the Citadel didn’t open, then they should be readying themselves for more than just humanity to be taken.

Among the batarians is a sense of distrust – batarian propaganda says the galaxy hates them, and, because we get the slavers and mercs running around in the games, the audience is probably not inclined to disprove that theory (particularly if there’s a Colonist Shepard doing the run – because I say so, there can be plenty of statements from them on the subject that fit the background specifically, because it’s nice that these are all theoretical and I can throw in whatever I like). Still, the general idea is that Shepard does feel a moral responsibility to save them, even if, as in the case of Renegade Shepard, it’s just in the name of preventing the Collectors get their claws on them.

But, thing is, ME2 offers no ship piloting mechanic, and I’m not bringing that in. And, y’know, I still get war flashbacks of getting ambushed by Sith fighters in KOTOR. So that means that the Normandy heads off, Shepard ordering them to find help (we’re gonna say that this is taking place somewhere near the batarian-turian border, so the Normandy can go find a few turian ships – going back to my idea of “shaking up companions” concept, I don’t have any particular choices to go with Shepard this time, but this makes it almost mandatory for a companion other than Garrus to come along, since Garrus can sway the turians to come to the rescue of alien nationals – and this ship ends up crashing, with Shepard and companions still on board – as are the freed slaves.

And we’re not crashing on a habitable planet. Because while there’s the helmets and all, I feel sometimes like the franchise as a whole underplays how much the atmosphere of planets being conducive to life as we know it is kind of rare. So while the cargo hold, settled in the heart of the ship and surrounded by the various additional decks of the ship, makes it through, there are portions of the ship that have been vented into space.

And the Collectors are coming.

Shepard gets to make a Paragon/Renegade “inspiration” speech to the captives, recommending that they get to trying to save themselves. Paragon will get a majority on their side, Renegade only a particularly brave soul. This one would be the Paragon’s contact/coordinator, just so that I can have a clearly identifiable person to turn to. And, yeah, we’re punishing Renegades here, but here’s the thing about this – we have stolen people, taken prisoner, made into slaves, about to be handed off to aliens who are only known to the galaxy as kidnapping and experimenting on people who never return, and then crashed on a deadly planet, with their only shelter pocked with holes letting out the valuable atmosphere that keeps them alive. I’m sorry, but being an asshole to these traumatized people? Even in the name of saving their asses from said kidnapping and experimenting aliens, they are NOT going to be ready to take up arms and fight. Read the room.

So, it becomes a game of causing enough losses to the Collectors for them to retreat for the Normandy to arrive with rescue vessels. Cat and mouse combat, with interspersed dialogue with our batarian coordinator (Making a name up on the spot... Kahvahr). That’s giving the expansion on both him as a character, talking about himself – a political exile, he spoke out against the Hegemony’s attitudes and practices, that they are so isolationistic that the necessary trade with the Citadel races, trade that could reduce their reliance on slavery, is killing them, which led to him attempting to leave, an attempt that ended up putting him into the hands of the slavers he argued against, and he’s certain that the Hegemony’s leaders basically gave him up. Talk about the beauty of Khar’shan, as a planet and place, something more tangible for us the audience of this place that we never get to go – he speaks longingly of these natural wonders he doesn’t expect he’ll ever see again.

The aid of the batarians Kahvahr leads can offer some combat segments getting avoided, but I do want to include some elements of the Collector faction from ME3 in combat segments all the same, the Collector Captain in specific. Because these things never appeared in ME2, so let’s remedy that.

And our end boss is going to be some variant of the Collector drones we see in Paragon Lost, which are these giant sized Collectors. So they get some additional tricks and are a clear case that Shepard is now facing the worst forces the Collectors can throw at them. Because I figure you can give them some interesting additional boss tricks.

The turians arrive and the Collectors withdraw, so Shepard gets to pass on what to do with these batarians – treat them as refugees who are seeking asylum in Citadel space or ship them back to batarian space. Because the thing is... batarians in Citadel space are probably not going to have things pretty well. Like there’s a reason we see batarians on Omega but not the Citadel. And a lot of these batarians still have families in the Hegemony. So there’s a very real argument to the idea that they’d be better off going back. It’s probably bull, considering the Hegemony’s leadership (and definitely bull on the basis of the Reapers being about to steamroll the batarians in between games), but... It can be made.

And it also speaks to how well Shepard is responding to Kahvahr – Kahvahr makes it clear, batarian slaves tend to be those who speak out. How much good can they really do going back to the Hegemony? Sure, you can argue that it’s in the name of encouraging rebellion against the Hegemony’s leadership, but realistically? It’s signing a death warrant – if this attempt at silencing him didn’t work, the Hegemony will likely just go straight to killing him.

And maybe Shepard’s okay with that – the whole reason we’re doing this is because the portrayal of batarians through the rest of the series is almost exclusively them as an always chaotic evil antagonistic force. What do they contribute to the galaxy, right? But this whole thing has been to help paint the batarians in a new light – now, shipping these batarians back to their people isn’t a mercy but a death sentence. What can I say, I like that script-flipping. But, as always, it is a choice for Shepard, for the players. Because apparently, people who play these games like the chance to play the asshole. Fine, you can, but you’re definitely getting judged for it.

Post Game Followups:

ME3: If given asylum, a batarian militia will have formed, both the survivors of the crash and of batarian refugees, wanting to aid the Citadel forces, Kahvahr himself as an asset.

Shadow Dance

Shepard’s connections to Cerberus have not gone unnoticed. A Spectre – Vexx Liranus – has decided that they are a key component to Cerberus plans (not untrue) and that their capture or death would be useful in combatting Cerberus (definitely untrue). With a fellow Spectre nipping at their heels, Shepard has to face what should be a comrade in arms in a deadly game of cat and mouse!

(Post-Horizon)

We meet three other Spectres in the trilogy, and only one of them, Jondum Bau, in ME3, is actually an ally. This is turning that on its head – all things considered, Vexx Liranus should be an ally. After all, we’re talking about a fellow Spectre, working for the Council, and Cerberus IS using Shepard for their plans, so taking Shepard out would make sense.

It’s just Shepard is a good guy, working with Cerberus as more an alliance of necessity, rather than any ideological alignment. And while I’m sure if you had a chance to sit down and talk to another Spectre, they’d probably eventually come around to the idea, well... Where’s the fun in that.

So Vexx. We had Naevia above in “The Omega Heist” as our “first” female turian for the trilogy, though she does potentially get killed. So we’re gonna have another female turian here, just to really sell the “no fridging female turians” concept. She is a badass turian soldier, like I want a planet with an “r” name to say she had a major incident on so that she can be “the Raptor of [wherever].” Because I love alliteration. I picture her being voiced by Claudia Christian (who was a favorite of mine to voice a female turian back before we knew anything about Mass Effect Andromeda, and while I’m absolutely a fan of Danielle Rayne’s performance as Vetra, I still regret that lack, so I’m making this happen here).

As for the actual plot, we’re gonna start on a small waystation location. It’s a standard resupply place, in the vein of like those Fuel Depots or something, a place like the Citadel but smaller. Because I think that space stations are an underdeveloped aspect of the Mass Effect universe. Like in Star Trek, there are Starbases and Deep Space Stations (such as DS9). Surely the various militaries of the Citadel races are doing the same, building their own stations that act as refuel and resupply, as well as standard rest and relaxation – Spacer Shepard will talk about living on ships, but I don’t see a child actually being raised on military vessels. But a space station that acts as a rallying point and home base for a vessel? That I’ll buy.

So this begins with the Normandy pulling in to one of these types of stations. You know, a little bit of a supply run, something simple. Things do not go according to plan, though, because, y’know, why would they, we wouldn’t have a plot if they did.

It begins simply. They settle in for a resupply, Miranda suggesting that the operational crew get a chance for some break time, Kelly adding that crew like Rolston and Hadley should have an opportunity to contact their families. That’s how we get here. As Shepard proceeds to look through the market, we get other angles of Vexx monitoring and observing Shepard. Shepard will begin to get that feeling of being watched, and that’s when she makes her first strike.

Now, yeah, I say right off in the synopsis that Vexx is a Spectre, but in the story proper? This is going to be kept quiet for a while. Sorta like how Vasir gets this intro that kinda clearly marks her as someone who we’re going to have to fight later, Vexx is getting the appearance of being a straight up antagonist. Because in her mind, she IS an antagonist to Shepard. She just believes that she’s the protagonist of the story, specifically because of Shepard’s ties to Cerberus, coming to this place in a vessel flying Cerberus colors, operating with a Cerberus crew. In her mind, she has discovered a threat to the Citadel and the Council.

While I’m still on the “give the companions more of a role” train, in this case, we’re going to see Shepard cut off from the crew – they come under fire from Vexx, they give the command to evacuate the station, return to the Normandy, and get out until they give the signal. Paragon Shepard wants to minimize casualties, Renegade Shepard wants to handle this themselves – Vexx interrupts their leave? It’s on now.

This leads to a chase through the station, and finding that she’s gotten things pretty well set up for this chase – I figure at some point, Shepard comes across like a secured bunker she’d been using as a command base, finds logs that have been tracking them since they landed on Omega at the start of the game. (Timeline being what it is, meaning as variable as it is, I’m gonna say that this is taking place functionally around, say, the Collector ship mission.)

That discovery is also when her Spectre status is made clear. Now, while there’s a good chance that Shepard’s had their Spectre status reinstated (thank you Dad!miral Anderson), well, we still need a plot here. Vexx doesn’t believe Shepard’s claim to have Council approval – after all, she certainly can’t just casually check this out while on a mission, Spectres are supposed to function independently of the Council. And she’s pretty good with the “better beg forgiveness than to ask permission” approach – Shepard helping Cerberus, even as a double agent, is a threat (for a less competent example of why, see how Shepard helping Cerberus in ME2 leads to Conrad Verner preaching Cerberus values in ME3).

The hunt continues. I’m basically picturing this functionally working a lot like a lower-levelled version of Arrival’s Project Base level, just with like security drones and such, and Vexx popping in and out of combat range. This is a hunting mission, on both sides, and the idea is that Shepard (and, by extension, the player) should feel like Vexx or her drones might show up around any corner. If nothing else, call it useful practice and experience.

Now, I said before I wanted to avoid stuffing our first female turian in the fridge. While Naevia could survive, she also could die. So I want to guarantee that at least one female turian of prominence is introduced without killing her off. That means that we’re going to have to find a peaceful resolution, as well as an alternative that allows the bloodthirsty playerbase to be satisfied.

That means an outside agent, a third party, getting in on this. I’m thinking a krogan merc with a grudge and a krantt and a blood oath against Vexx he’s more than willing to extend to Shepard, the Spectres, and the Council – with Vexx, it’s personal, having tangled with her before, with Shepard, they’re in the way, and with the Spectres, they work for the Council, and the Council gave the go-ahead on the genophage, so hey, it’s a good day to be him.

This eventually leads to, after some three-way combat, Shepard suggesting a truce for the time being – the krogan (Vargan, for want of a name) is a bigger threat to them both at the moment, since he’s distracting them and endangering the station as a whole. Vexx sees the wisdom in this and is willing to work with Shepard.

This gives a little more time to explore her, now that Shepard can talk to her. Vargan’s grudge stems from her disbanding his merc pack a while pack – they had ideas similar to the Blood Pack and Clan Weyrloc (re: Mordin’s loyalty mission), just without the aid of any salarian scientists. Maybe they’d sought out Okeer (possibly part of the reason that Okeer became a “very hated name,” as Wrex puts it? I don’t know, I’m spitballing here). Whatever the goal, however, she managed to put a stop to it, enough that Vargan was stripped of his clan name – given the structure of krogan society, I figure that in doing that, a krogan loses all right to even attempt to mate with the females, a big blow to a proud krogan leader, basically leading him to a voluntary exile from Tuchanka. That he still has a krantt after that still speaks to his skill and prowess, but also makes it clear that these are his only allies in the galaxy.

Shoot-y shoot-y stuff happens, yadda yadda... We’ve been over how writing about combat in these write-ups is boring. End result, we learn more about Vexx, develop and establish her further, give her this likeable air now that we’re on the same side, and get to Vargan, taking out his krantt in the process. Now that he’s alone, he is ready to die. He got everyone loyal to him killed, that means he’ll never regain a clan name now. He wants to die.

Typically, Paragon/Renegade decisions are a clear binary of “good means letting people live, bad means letting people die!” But here, Paragon is understanding the krogan mindset – he wants to die because he will never have a place in krogan society if he lives. He got his krantt killed, so he will never be able to gather a krantt again. He will never have that trust again, and so his death is the only way he can have an honorable ending. Meanwhile, Renegade is saying “no, I’m not going to grant you the mercy of death, live with your failure.” And doing that will likely mean he will strike out and go on some kind of suicide run (indeed, I picture that result being a news announcement overheard on the galactic news points).

Because I like the idea of twisting the Paragon/Renegade assumptions around – the idea behind it is supposed to be more nuanced than “good = blue, bad = red,” but in context, a lot of the use of the system through most of the series is a lot more binary. So this is showing the flip side of both ideas’ general attitudes – you are saving more lives and respecting his attitudes and beliefs by killing him, while knowingly leaving a threat to others that you KNOW he’ll act on by keeping him alive.

Vargan defeated, it comes back to Shepard and Vexx. She’s more impressed by Shepard at this point. Paragon Shepard showed an understanding of non-human mindsets, and that more than anything makes her hesitate to paint them with the same brush as Cerberus. Renegade Shepard showed enough martial skill that she’s concerned that things will only reach the point of a stalemate, and likely do too much damage to the station for it to continue operation.

So she offers Shepard what she’s going to call a deal – keep to the Terminus Systems, like they have been, and she’ll let things stand as they are, with the added note that, if their Council reinstatement is genuine, she’ll also send a letter with a fuller apology after the DLC concludes. Yeah, it’s basically going back to the status quo, but one, I’ve been clear that my goal is to make these slot in comfortably with the existing game, and two, back to the in-universe justifications, it also means that she can prevent other Spectres from coming after Shepard – after all, we learned with Saren, the only real way to respond to a Spectre going rogue is to send another Spectre after them. If Vexx is in Shepard’s corner, it prevents other Spectres from coming after them later.

Probably should lead to a line or two in reference to Vexx from Tela Vasir, depending on when Lair of the Shadow Broker is played – alternatively, I suppose Vexx should have some comments about Vasir’s death as well, but I did say above that I see this functionally being roughly around the point of the Collector Ship in the timeline, and I always view Lair of the Shadow Broker as taking place after the Suicide Mission, and my write-ups, my timeline. Moving on.

Shepard has to agree to this, because see above: not fridging female turians when the trilogy is so bereft of them in the first place. We don’t kill Vexx. Because, really, that would mean that Shepard would have killed three of the four fellow Spectres they encounter in the course of the trilogy, and their numbers are said to only go to about a hundred or so. That’s a three percent fatality rate for the Spectres, and a seventy-five percent fatality rate of meeting Shepard. Someone has to think those numbers look bad. So, in accepting the deal, Vexx walks away and Shepard calls the Normandy for a pick up.

Post Game Followups:

ME3: Vexx has a sidequest on the post-Coup Citadel, regarding her work with the unifying of turian and krogan forces. Given Shepard having contributed, she’s asking them to join in her efforts. Complete that and she gets to be an asset and there’s a boost for both of those groups as well.

Underworld

Illium is home to many elite in the galaxy. It’s called the gateway to the Terminus Systems. But it’s equally a warning that there is as much danger in Illium’s shadows as on Omega. And now a high-profile Alliance official goes missing there. Ambassador Anderson asks Shepard to investigate as he keeps the disappearance quiet, and Shepard gets drawn into a web of conspiracy...

(Post-Horizon)

Illium seems like it should be a bigger deal, don’t you think? I mean, in ME2 we get three hub worlds in Omega, the Citadel, and Illium, but Illium is introduced after Horizon, being locked to (on console) disc two, and, while Lair of the Shadow Broker gave us more of Illium in general... Hey. Let’s explore more. Cuz now we can open up some new areas that can stick around and still be explorable after the DLC ends.

We open with a message from Anderson – “one of our people went missing out on Illium, I’d like you to look into this as a favor to me,” that sort of thing. This official is an ambassadorial figure from the Alliance to the asari (so, for the sake of a name, I’m in a Power Rangers mood right now, I’m gonna call her Kimberly Hart). She’s been attempting to shore up some diplomatic ties – I’d figure this would include matters like getting stronger ties between the asari in the name of gaining access to teachers for Grissom Academy, better relations in the name of biotic rights, that sort of thing.

Illium, being a free trade world, is a place where these kinds of negotiations take place without government oversight – I figure, based on things like the asari on Noveria in ME1 who wants to protect asari patents by getting Shepard to help her engage in corporate espionage, the asari government is extremely strict about their “secrets” while humans, who are still struggling to get a handle on what to do with first and second gen biotics, are willing to take on free agents more than like the commandos and such. Also, don’t want a repeat of Vyrnnus, so the turians are definitely out. It’s “asari free agents” who they’re looking at bringing on for this.

But with her having gone missing, that’s concerning – again, we have the asari being fiercely protective of what they view as their copyrights (which I do want to have a running theme here surrounding the idea “how do you copyright something that has this melding with the life it is bonded to?” – amps working as they do, mapped to biological systems as they are, this seems like it borders on trying to patent people in the process, since they’ll gain full maps of the people those amps are implanted in). Anderson wants Shepard to go in, since they’re off the official books.

Now we return to that earlier concept of mandatory companions. Because of the matter of biotics, this feels like a mission that Jack pushes her way in to – both because she’s been the subject of biotic experimentation, and she wants to ensure that this doesn’t turn in to the Teltin facility all over again, and to help give some foreshadowing for her becoming one of Grissom Academy’s teachers next game. Additionally, I’ll go with Thane as the other companion for this – he’s done work in Illium’s criminal underworld.

Now then, to our central hub of Illium. We’re on a different city than Nos Astra, but it’s going to have a similar flavor to it, in the same way that Azure still felt like it wasn’t all that out of place alongside the trading center. Nos Vidia, I’ll call it (sounds suitably asari, anyway). It’s not as major a hub of intergalactic trade and commerce, meaning that Shepard and company are going to stand out in the crowd.

This is also one of the more “crime” areas, where the black market has moved in. We have Eclipse symbols on the wall and, while they’re not wearing the uniform, many of the people around here are obviously in the gang. Which also makes Shepard stand out. Thane, however, manages to bring up a former contact, someone who has been able to stay alive this long, meaning they’re skilled enough that they’ve survived.

The contact is an asari I’m gonna call Kassria. Kassria has picked up some Eclipse chatter that references our missing ambassador. That means Eclipse has her, but it’s not clear so much if her being taken is because of her getting in the way of Eclipse as a gang or if the Eclipse are working for some asari company.

We pause for some talk about the various asari copyrights, explore that conversation, with Jack having quite a few words on the subject of trying to make people property. That kind of thinking creates situations that create the same kind of science as Teltin. Thane offers something of the drell perspective – he’s the one who argues that he was raised and trained as a weapon for the hanar, and that he was not responsible for the lives he took. Who owns the abilities, the user or the one calling for their use? (I mean, there’s an obvious answer, but Thane’s bringing up the alternative to this – the people who are broken down and made into weapons at the hands of others.)

Like actually, let’s make that aside a point of having Jack and Thane – in Jack’s eyes, Thane’s attitude towards the people he’s killed is much how Cerberus would have wanted her to have ended up, as a weapon for them to point, pull the trigger, and give no concern for the ways that it impacts the person who acts because of that order.

It’s the same argument that we have with Miranda – the idea of “disposable troops” does not make it a matter of saving lives, just a matter of how war becomes easier, having these weapons to unleash upon others with no risk to the people who are supposedly being protected by them. It’s a way of absolving yourself for creating slaves by giving them some higher purpose.

This really is going to be a turning point with Jack’s arc proper, with how it leads to her being a teacher, because she wants to protect the young biotics. It’s not just about her protecting the kids at the Ascension Project from ending up tortured like the kidnapped victims at the Teltin facility. It’s also about reclaiming and maintaining personhood.

And while it’s hard for me to really give the separation theory Thane speaks of (we ARE going to come back to issues of the drell in general a few DLCs from here, so consider this to be foreshadowing and set up for that bit), I’m going to try and offer his point of view – that of “if you hone someone to only be a weapon, to only look at the world from that perspective, is it really on them as an individual that they proceed to see the world from that viewpoint?”

Of course, yes, I’m aware that the inherent flaw of ALL of this is that we’re not talking about drell youths giving themselves up to the hanar in the fulfillment of the Compact or with “different brain structures” to humans. It’s the tangent that they end up on because they’re along for the ride, and Shepard eventually has to get them back on track – finding Ambassador Hart. Whether or not the asari corporations are intending to use people as weapons, the Eclipse sisters presently have her held captive, and this means staging a rescue operation.

I want to take this chance to get a better idea of Eclipse’s organization (which, by extension, showcases the ideas that are moving the other merc gangs in the series). Like, what goals do they really have – Blood Pack are basically chaotic berserkers who want the world to burn (which, fitting, considering the general krogan mindset following the genophage and the vorcha having a complete lack of survival instincts because they never needed to evolve them), while Blue Suns have the veneer of respectability, acting as private security. But when we meet Jona Sedaris in ME3, she’s a raving psychopath, ready to kill anyone in her way. So what does the Eclipse gang want? I mean, besides the obvious of money.

Kassria is a former Eclipse sister, so she offers this insight – Eclipse doesn’t even really know itself. The non-asari members are almost leaning towards biotic extremism, given how the other races tend to mistreat and look down on the biotics among them, which makes them angry and want to lash out at those who’ve hurt them. Meanwhile, the asari who join in are often driven by other motivations, given that all asari have biotics – some are outcasts (purebloods, in pureblood relationships, or people with the Ardat-Yakshi mutation – let’s just assume Samara will have shared about her loyalty mission by the time this mission is unlocked so we don’t have to have the characters explain this to Shepard), others are maidens looking for glory (think Elnora the mercenary from Samara’s recruitment mission), some are obsessed with killing (like Sedaris), and some are just looking for a purpose.

She suggests that, if given something better, Eclipse might be a valuable asset for Shepard – not just in biotics, but also in their mechs. It’d be something to use when the Reapers come calling, not that she knows about the Reapers, just that she can figure that whatever Shepard’s up to, they’ll want an army at their back (because we’re still ME2 here, so this means we don’t know that Aria will be assembling the merc gangs under her banner).

This leads to an assault on the Eclipse base and trying to reach Hart before anyone proceeds to try and kill her or worse. As we continue, we find out that there is a high-ranking Eclipse member among this group – Jona Sedaris.

Yes, that’s right, we’re going to be responsible for her getting locked up come ME3. Obviously, this does mean she’ll survive the inevitable conflict and boss battle, but hey, we’re gonna have other things to deal with in the final analysis, so hold all questions to the end.

The Eclipse sisters and the techs with their mechs are heavy throughout the place, but eventually, we reach the place they’re holding Hart. She’s been roughed up a bit, but she’s alive. She’d made contact with an asari firm who’d claimed to be willing to trade some “asari patents” in the name of cross-cultural cooperation, but Hart got suspicious of what was happening. Turns out, she was being used – the company (a minor company, not one of our major equipment suppliers from the actual games, that she had gone to them in the name of avoiding those big names) was going to give her access, only to revoke it and claim that she had stolen these patents. That would give them an opening to start consolidating biotic patents in a human market, because humans would now be running amps and implants with copyrighted asari material, and, by extension, that would mean the company would own those human biotics.

That, of course, gets Jack’s ire up, and she’s ready to tear the place apart – people aren’t things to be owned. Even Thane’s ready to join in – even accepting his claims of lacking a responsibility for the lives that his employers hired him to take (again, we’ll be digging deeper into this in the future), this is trying to force people to be under the control of this company – based on his reaction when Shepard suggests that the Compact between the hanar and the drell constitutes slavery, Thane’s definitely not on board with that idea. And even on Illium, a planet with legalized “indentured servitude,” this contract is definitely sketchy – but it would be just legal enough that the company leadership would be able to get their foot in the door, and make it harder for human biotics to be able to exist without “company oversight,” giving them access to the human biotics before they have a chance to stabilize their position in human society.

It’s some further asari haughtiness, the idea of asari like Erinya, the lawyer who holds the contract to the Feros colonists, that the asari are “better” than the other races. The asari in charge of this company are of the belief that only the asari “deserve” biotics, and want to keep all biotics in the galaxy under their control. These asari in particular don’t see any race other than asari as even deserving of evolving out of the primordial muck. Not a mainstream view, but one that we do have foundation for existing in the universe proper, and, let’s be honest, it’s not hard to imagine this being a thing anyway based on our world (We’ll touch on these themes in more detail later). And this idea, especially combined with the asari willingness to indulge in “indentured servitude” on Illium, if no where else, gets taken to its natural endpoint – they see human biotics as little more than pack mules, livestock.

Short step from there to going along with batarian or Collector ideas, but really, it’s not like we don’t know exactly where that endpoint is from our history.

Obviously, Shepard is a walking contradiction to those ideas, so combat is the only way through. Sedaris might be an unrepentant murderer, but we do still have to take her into custody – this is where Kassria comes in, taking her down and intending to hand her over to the authorities in the name of getting a slice of the Eclipse pie with her out of the picture. It won’t be a clean takeover, which will justify why Sayn is running things for Sedaris outside of prison instead of Kassria (who would DEFINITELY just leave Sedaris to rot and probably arrange an ‘accident’ for her), but it’s getting her more power.

As for the company, they’re JUST on the side of legality – the efforts of Eclipse on their behalf were by way of verbal contracts, and no lawyer on Illium is going to take the word of a mercenary over those of these high-ranking business officials. Hart swears that she can make things hell for them, lose them some very lucrative contracts with the Alliance. Thing is, that also makes her job all the more difficult, now that she’s been found out having attempted to make these grey legality ties for the sake of “getting an edge” in the biotics market – they have the resources to make this a fight that, meanwhile, would set the cause of human biotics back. (Which, as we’ve been over in other write-ups, actually is a bit of a thing that has some deeper ties in to the overall universe that the people of this setting are still working on figuring out.)

The Paragon/Renegade choice here becomes the rather obvious “do we take the option that handles this cleanly but lets the bad guys escape responsibility, or the messy alternative that may not even get the result we want?” choice. Because the thing about asari litigation is that they can afford to tie things up for decades without concern for the “short term” consequences. So if this DOES go to courts, they can wrap things up and keep them there for a long time – which will impact how things go for the human biotics, the whole idea of ‘owning’ people because they have these abilities. Because then their legality, their agency, their right to choose for themselves would be being litigated, and being done so in the court of aliens.

It doesn’t feel GOOD to me to have it left like this, honestly, but I don’t really see this as something that is supposed to have a conclusion that feels good – we’re talking about issues of corporate ownership of individuals, and the truth is... that exploitation just goes on, it doesn’t resolve itself with a few showy displays of violence. It gets caught up in red tape and paperwork, and people lose, even as they win. And the point of this has basically been, at its heart, to show that the “underworld” isn’t the black and grey markets that scrounge a semblance of society. It’s the businesses who will crush people underfoot then complain about the mess they stepped in. The design of a lot of the locations introduced in ME2 had this cyberpunk dystopia look to them, but only really focused on the criminal gangs – the core of this is approaching the white collar criminal element that was not shown off as much, how it encourages both further street crime and the depersonalization that comes from treating humans as a commodity.

Jack is pissed either way because this is all kinds of bullshit – it’s Shepard who points out that as angry as Jack defaults to, this is, for once, her being pissed at something beyond herself, where it’s not just that she wants to cause mayhem, but that she wants to make things different for others. To do something to protect future human biotics, kids who are in need. It’s her actively wanting to find a way to make a different, not just chaos.

As for Thane, he is still drell, still a proponent of the Compact (again, we’ll be coming back to this issue), but he does understand how easy it is to see something ostensibly done to the benefit of people turns around and is used by malicious actors to take advantage of them. It’s one of those things that he certainly understood in the abstract, but it’s another thing to see in practice. He leaves it on the note that “this has given me much to consider.”

As for Ambassador Hart, she knows that either way, she’s tanked her chances for getting the instructors that she’d been hoping for. Basically, the diplomatic ties she’d wanted from the asari government are off the table, given the combination of asari tied to the company and just general political embarrassment at the fact that all of this even happened – they want to ignore it, paint things over in pastels, and she is a living embodiment of the event to the asari, able to bring up the reality at a time of her choosing. The asari would rather that this go away, rather than have this constant reminder. Still, she’s grateful for Shepard’s rescue – the Eclipse might not have actively been planning on her death, but it wasn’t a good position. And, at this point, she can at least salvage a career going forward. Maybe not with the asari, but there’s a chance that relations with the turians have thawed out some.

Post Game Followups:

ME3: The fate of the company plays a part in War Assets – being tied up in legal red tape, they’re not able to contribute to the war effort, or, in a magnanimous show of “inter-species cooperation,” they’re sharing some patents with the other races. Additionally, Ambassador Hart shows up for a sidequest after the Cerberus Coup, making another go at the effort, now that Grissom is gone and the human biotics are here – might as well make the effort to get these asari instructors anyway, and she wants Shepard to help her out with smoothing the ruffled feathers (since this would still be in that period of time where the asari are still trying to avoid joining the active war effort).

Also, while this wouldn’t really impact anything via saved game import, I also figure this would at least tie in to Andromeda, that several human biotics joined the Initiative in the name of getting away from the corporations who want to hold them as “patented property” and such. Probably would be a way to help at least make Cora’s arc tighten up a little – it’s not just that she thought she’d only be a “useful freak” as a human biotic, as opposed to an asari commando or an Initiative Pathfinder, but that in getting away from Citadel space, she’d be allowed to just be, to find out who it is that she is beyond her biotics, rather than have to have her biotics “registered” with a corporation who’d exploit them and her. Not sure how to incorporate that into Andromeda proper, but it’s something that would be acknowledged.

End of Part 1, link to Part 2 forthcoming.

#dg's hypothetical dlc #mass effect #mass effect meta #mass effect 2

8 notes · View notes

turning-dreams-into-chaos · 4 years

Text

Banished (Part 51)

~Banished~

Word Count: 10K

~Master~

*Based off episode 4x06 of the 100, We Will Rise*

*Bold/Italics are Trig!*

Previous episode...

---

The fire on Alpha station was put out as your people worked together, the rain falling from the sky providing help as well. Jaha stood in the middle of camp, looking at the destroyed ship with a somber face as Jasper walked up.

Jasper looked up into the sky, the rain falling on his face. “It’s not black rain.”

Jaha continued to look at the Ark, broken to pieces and no longer offering survival. “It will be colorless when it comes.”

“How are we gonna know?” Jasper asked him as he continued to look up in the falling rain.

“Pain.” Jaha sighed. “Chaos. Death.”

Jasper rolled his eyes as he listened. “Same old, same old then.” He smirked before looking around. Children were curled into their parents, some coughing and some sleeping before Jasper saw the frown still on Jaha’s face. “Jeez, cheer up Jaha. Once you accept there’s nothing to be done, there’s nothing to worry about.” Jasper didn’t find one problem with Alpha Stations destruction. He had no plans to be inside when Praimfaya hit anyways.

There was a group of men, stock piling parts of the ship that had fallen and still reusable as Jaha watched on. “We’ll find a way.” He said before Jasper chuckled.

“I found a way.” He whispered. “If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.” Jasper jokingly quotes Dr. Seuss as he walked away, leaving Jaha to mull over his words as the man pulled out the pendent from the dead man you all found in the bunker. He’ll find a way to survive

---

Following Ilian’s decision to set fire to the ship, he was put in the cell to keep him safe and to make sure he doesn’t pull another stunt. Kane stood next to you, asking if you were alright from your coughing when the angry mod ran past you. It didn’t take a genius to know they were going for Ilian. Kane called for the guard as you both ran after them. By the time you arrived, Ilian was already being beaten, covered in his own blood as you and Kane both tore people off him. One man hit you in the mouth and kicked your left foot out from under you, before you realized Kane pulled out his gun. Yet you had already landed on your knee, laying on the ground with a split lip and a throbbing leg.

He fired 3 shots into the air.

The shouting ceased as everyone looked to Kane. He aimed the gun at the crowd, getting them to backup from Ilian. “I will shoot the next person who touches this man, so help me!” He threatened as people looked around deciding it wasn’t worth it. Kane stuck a hand out to you, helping you off the ground as you touched your lip, feeling the slight blood coating as you patted it away. Kane continued to look at the crowd, daring anyone to attack, but they didn’t and chose to leave. “Good choice.” When the last person left the room, including the guard, Kane dropped the gun and looked to see your lip. “Go check with Clarke, let her take a look at you.” He told you but you shook your head.

“I don’t need to get checked out, it’s just a lip.”

“And your leg?” He motioned down at you limping enough for him to notice. You sighed and avoided looking at him. “You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine, Kane.” You told him, getting him to stop worrying. You nodded towards Ilian groaning on the ground. “But he might not be. Let’s just get him to the med bay.” You started to help Ilian up before realizing Kane was helping. He was too busy just watching you, noticing how tired you were. “Earth to Kane. You planning to help or are you just going stand there and let me do all the work?” Sighing lightly, he put his gun away, and threw Ilian’s other over his shoulder as you dragged him to the med bay.

---

“Stage two re-entry in 5” The computer informed Raven before it started to count down. She was sat in the rocket, looking at the screens in front of her as she worked the shaking rocket.

She pushed herself on. “Come on, you can do this.” She muttered, more focus than ever.

“Main booster engaged. Fuel levels critical and dropping fast.” The computer was finished counting down as Raven looked to the fuel, seeing it at 20%.

“No, no, no!” She chanted, trying her best to push on despite the warnings being yelled at her. The fuel hit 0% as Raven grunted, trying to make the rocket last.

“Warning. Brace for impact.” Raven was still stressing, hoping the rocket would pull through. Fire exploded on the screen in front of her as she groaned and leaned back in her seat, the lights in the rocket turning off. “Mission fail.” The screen lit up red as Raven read over the report of her failed simulation. “Exterior damage 100%. Cargo Damage 100%. Fatality 100%”

“Way to go, Raven.” Murphy was outside the rocket, playing with a toy car as he spoke over the speaker in his ear to the one in Raven’s. “Nuclear death wave 42, mankind 0.”

Raven rolled her eyes as she turned on her microphone. “Do you want to get in here and try it?”

“Nah, kind of busy out here.” He told her, focusing on his toy car. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to be responsible for everyone in the world dying.”

Raven was getting irritated by Murphy’s presence as she went over her failed simulation. “Abby said you had to watch. No one said you had to weigh in.” She reminded him.

Murphy chuckled softly. “That’s me, always going above and beyond. Speaking of, you keep starting your fuel at 75%. Maybe that’s your problem.”

“Pay attention. 10 barrels of hydrazine is all we have at Arkadia. If there was more, then I wouldn’t be having a landing problem.” Her sentence stopped as a headache ripped through her brain, making her pause and hold her forehead. “Damn it.” She groaned.

Murphy stopped playing with the car, looking back to the rocket. “You okay in there?”

“I’m fine. Shut up.” She snapped at him.

Murphy wasn’t deterred from her attitude. “Do you want me to wake up the doc?”

Raven’s headache started fading as she denied his question. “I’m good.” She said. She started to set up the simulation again, setting the fuel gage to 75%. “I’m running it again.”

Murphy sighed. “Sure. 28th time’s a charm, right?” He joked sarcastically as Raven ignored him, starting the simulation up again.

“Simulation starting.” The computer told her before the rocket on the screen launched into space, letting Raven try again.

---

Clarke woke up in her bed early the next morning, forgetting any idea of sleeping in. She reached over to her nightstand, grabbing her shirt that sat on top. She was about to pull it over her head before seeing a drawing she had done ages ago of Lexa before she passed hung onto Clarke’s wall. A pang in her heart caused Clarke to stop, just living in the memory of her deceased ex-girlfriend.

“Don’t you sleep?” Clarke finished throwing her shirt on before turning around and smiling at Niylah laying in Clarke’s bed. “Everyone needs rest, Clarke.” Clarke sighed in content as she moved across the room to pick up her pants. “There she goes.”

“I have to.” Clarke reminded her as she slipped on the last article of her clothes. “Going to the island today to bring rocket fuel to my Mom and Raven so they go into space to make Nightblood. It’s now officially our only hope.”

Niylah nodded softly, feeling the guilt in her. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop that boy from destroying your home.”

“It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have left you and Octavia.” Niylah was about to object but Clarke didn’t let her get a word in. “Besides, now we don’t have to worry about kicking 450 people out when the death wave hits or sharing it with Azgeda.” Clarke assured her, remembering when you had told her about promising half of Alpha to Ice Nation, not that it mattered anymore.

“Lexa would be proud of you.” Niylah said as Clarke stopped dressing for a moment, sparing a glance up. “We’re all your people. She believed that, too.” Niylah stood out of the bed, walking over to Clarke. “She lives on through you.” Niylah was trying to get Clarke to understand, but the look on Clarke’s face told Niylah she was thinking of something else. “What is it?”

Clarke looked her in the eyes. “I want you to stay here. You can stay in my room until I get back.” Clarke said but Niylah just shook her head.

“Clarke, I’m not asking for anything more than this moment. That’s how I live.”

“I know.” Clarke said as she grabbed her hand. “But Niylah please, once we solve Nightblood, it’ll be distributed to Arkadia and Polis first. I’d feel better knowing you were here to get it.” Niylah stayed silent, thinking over Clarke’s offer before smiling with a nod. “Good.” Clarke smiled as well. “I’ll let med bay know they have an extra hand.”

After Clarke threw her jacket on, she pulled Niylah to her, embracing in a kiss before pulling away. “Now go save us all.” Clarke nodded, sharing one last look with Niylah before leaving.

---

The plan for today was for Clarke and Bellamy to take the hydrazine to the lab. Roan was going as well to supervise, not trusting Skaikru not to betray him. Right now, you were listening to Monty tell you, Bellamy, Kane and Roan about the outcome of yesterday’s disaster. “Sectors 3, 4 and 5 had sustained the most damage. We lost the server room, all of our processors, life support systems, and half our living quarters. Backup power will keep the lights on at night in the room that survived, but there will be no heat or running water. And no way to restore it or reseal the ship before the radiation gets here.”

You nodded your head, trying to keep yourself from biting and hurting your cut lip more. “Is there any good news?” Bellamy asked as you agreed, not at all seeing a good part to this.

“No one died.” Kane said as you turned your head to look at him, seeing him staring past you to Bellamy.

“Forget the Ark.” Clarke called out as you all turned to look at her. She stood next to Kane. “It was never going to save us all anyway. We need to focus on the Nightblood situation. Is the fuel loaded?”

“It’s in process, but Clarke, it’s not going to be an easy ride.” Bellamy told her and you nodded slowly, looking towards Roan.

He met your eye briefly before Clarke caught on, growing concerned. “What don’t I know?”

Roan cleared his throat. “With the secret of Praimfaya out, I sent Echo and my army back to Polis to keep peace.”

“That’s good. We can’t distribute the cure without peace.”

“More than half of them deserted along the way. With the end coming, they want to be home. I don’t blame them.”

Clarke nodded, her face falling somber. Bellamy jumped into the conversation. “Do you blame them for burning Trikru villages on the way?” He asked and you smacked his arm lightly enough to get his attention, sending him a frown.

“That’s funny coming from you.” Roan spit back and your frown shifted to him.

“Stop, both of you.” You said to them, crossing your arms in front of you. Bellamy’s eyes furrowed as he watched Roan stare at you but you weren’t focused on him, instead your attention was on Kane as he spoke and put a hand on your upper back.

“We know the woods are a war zone.” He looked down at you, seeing you subconsciously rub a finger across the split on your lip as you listened. “After what happened to Ilian,” you tore your hand away, now aware of your actions as Kane looked up at Bellamy, “I can’t spare many of the guard to protect you.”

Bellamy sighed, giving him a thin smile as Roan spoke up. “My security detail can protect us.” He offered.

“Thank you.” Kane told him. “That’s very generous.”

Roan nodded looking around the table before ending at you. “We’re all in this together now.” He said before walking out.

Bellamy watched him leave, not missing you watching as well. “I’m going to go say goodbye to Octavia before we leave.” He muttered and you gave him a short smile he returned before leaving and Monty followed behind.

You were about to leave as well before overhearing Kane and Clarke’s conversation. “I’m going with you.” He said to the girl as you stopped right outside the doorway, out of view from Kane and Clarke.

“You can’t.” you silently agreed with Clarke as Kane reminded her that he was Chancellor. “That’s why you can’t go. After everything that happened this morning, out people need you here, now more than ever.” The look in Kane’s eyes made Clarke know why he wanted to go so badly. “I know you’re worried about my mother.”

Kane took a deep breath. “She’s going into space in a 100-year-old rocket. Do you have any idea how many things could go wrong?”

“Raven says the rocket’s intact.” Clarke promised. “She’d like a little more fuel, but as long as we get her what we’ve got, she said she’ll get them both back down safely.” Kane still wasn’t convinced as Clarke gave him a smile. “Look, we have to try. I’ll send her your love.”

You inhaled sharply, listening to Kane agree to Clarke’s statement. Did Kane love Abby? As long as you’ve known him, Kane’s never been in love before, or at least, you didn’t think he had.

Inside the room, Kane and Clarke shared an awkward hug before Kane walked out of the room, not seeing you as he went the other way down the hall. As soon as he was out, you walked back in, catching Clarke’s attention by your sudden reappearance.

“You got enough room for one more?” you asked as she furrowed her brows. “I figure it’s worth going. Roan doesn’t trust anyone but me, and I don’t think Bellamy’s so keen on the idea of Roan being there in the first place.”

“You don’t want to stay here?”

“Yeah, I think I wanna risk getting a black eye to match my lip.” You joked and chuckled, but Clarke didn’t laugh. She couldn’t even offer you a smile and you knew she was worried about the trip. You put your hands on her shoulders. “Look, I know you don’t trust Roan, and I know you don’t trust his men, but the only way we’re getting through this today is letting them protect us. Abby and Raven need the hydrazine. I’m not seeing another option here.”

“You’re right.” She sighed and you dropped your arms. You gave her one more grin before leaving her alone.

---

Octavia laid on her side in the med bay, facing away from the entrance as she watched the numerous people bouncing around and helping the people wrapped in bandages. Bellamy walked inside, immediately seeing his sister as he stood behind her. “You gave us a scare.” He said, trying to break the ice. He was immensely happy his sister was alive, but she didn’t anything to do with Bellamy choosing to ignore him instead. “You saved so many people, O. Without you getting here to warn us Azgeda was coming, we’d be at war.”

“Get out.” She growled at him.

Bellamy took an unsteady breath. “Octavia, I thought you were dead.” He kept his voice soft, quiet to not crack.

“Octavia is dead.” She mumbled, staring straight ahead, numb to the emotions she should be feeling. “She died when you killed Lincoln.”

Bellamy’s heart was breaking. “Please don’t say that, O. I’m your brother.”

She turned around, slowly looking Bellamy in his eyes. “Why do you think you’re still alive.” When she turned back around, Bellamy could feel his chest constrict and he couldn’t be in here any longer. He left his sister in the med bay to hate him as she stared off, detaching herself from the world.

---

The rover was being filled by Monty and a few Arkadia soldiers, Roan watching them as you tried not to limp up to him, your arms crossed in front of you when you got his attention. “Bellamy, Clarke, and I are riding in the front. You and your men will ride in the back with the fuel.”

Roan nodded his head, but one of his men listening in didn’t like the idea. “The King of Azgeda follows no one.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “He will if he has no plans on dying today. Besides, I think your King can speak for himself.”

“It’s all right, Seiku.” Roan interrupted, raising an eye at you. “Best we stay out of sight for now.” Seiku nodded, sending you a slight glare you gave a sarcastic smile too.

As Seiku left, Bellamy walked right past you, looking upset but he didn’t stop to talk, only saying it was time to go. The last barrel was put in the rover as Monty jumped off and Clarke walked up, joining you and Roan. “We ready?” you asked as Monty nodded.

“Locked and loaded. I do, however, feel the need to reiterate, you’re about to drive the last 10 barrels of hydrazine known to man, a cargo which Raven needs every last drop of, through hostile territory packed with warring clans, over uneven roads where one serious bump could cause an explosion that would not only kill all of you but wipe out mankind’s only remaining chance at survival.” Monty’s words weren’t comforting at all, every bad situation running through your head.

“So, no pressure?” you joked obviously feeling all sorts of pressure.

Roan looked to you, Monty doing so as well as his face remained stoic. “No, Y/N. Lots of pressure.”

You sighed, nodding your head just a little. “That was a…” Monty didn’t let you finish before he walked away. You watched him leave as you finished your thought. “joke.”

Roan watched your face fall. “Everything okay?”

You looked up at him, nodding your head as fast as you could. “Yeah! Yeah, I’m- I’m fine. Just uh, I’ll be right there.” You didn’t wait for Roan to answer as you took off after your friend. “Monty!” Monty let out a huff as he stopped walking, turning annoyed to see you jog up to him. “Are we good?” you asked as you stood in front of him.

“Fine.” He shrugged but didn’t spare a glance to you.

You waited, just a second to see if he’d add more before you let out a rather sad chuckle. “Really? Because a week ago if I asked you that, you would’ve given me more than just fine.” You waited for Monty to say something more again, but he stayed silent, only making eye contact. You sighed, remembering the one thing that had changed since a week ago. “If this is about me shock lashing Jasp-“

“You didn’t need to shock him!” He interrupted you, yelling a little and catching the attention of a few people around, Including Clarke, Roan and Bellamy who watched from the rover at Monty’s voice.

You swallowed, keeping your voice calm. “I’m sorry, Monty. He was going to read the list out, at the time-“

“It seemed like the right thing?” he stopped you, filling in the rest of your sentence. You couldn’t look at him, knowing he was hitting the nail on the head. Monty scoffed at you. “You know, Clarke and you aren’t the only ones doing what they think is right for the people.” Monty backed away from you and you felt completely awful.

You turned around, frowning when you realized Bellamy, Clarke and Roan were all still watching. You took a deep breath and approached them. “What are we waiting for? Let’s get this show on the road.” You climbed into the front seat without another care, hearing the door close before you let out a shaky breath and closing your eyes as Bellamy got inside, Clarke jumping in the backseat.

While Bellamy was hurting himself after talking to his sister, he comforted you, taking his hand in yours as you sat in silence and waited for Monty’s all clear before he steered out of Arkadia.

---

Continuing his amusement while Raven worked, Murphy was throwing a ball against the wall, catching it as it bounced back. After another failed attempt at the simulation, Raven let out a scream. Murphy wasn’t surprised as he talked to her over the earpiece. “All work and no play makes Raven a dull girl.” Murphy mumbled as he tossed the ball again. Inside the rocket, Raven was growing mad at Murphy as she climbed out. Murphy furrowed his brow. “You alright?” He asked but Raven was furious.

“I’ve had enough of your stupid, little jokes!” She yelled and pushed his chest away, moving past as Murphy watched her.

“Why don’t you take it easy, huh?” He told her. Raven stopped in her tracks, turning to look at Murphy with a glare.

She narrowed her eyes as she stepped closer. “Well you’re just a self-loathing bottom-feeder. Abby’s an idiot for trusting you.” Raven got in Murphy’s face, trying to intimidate him as she spoke. “She doesn’t know you like I do.” Murphy scoffed, turning away to not let her get the satisfaction her words were getting to him. “You’re a leech, Murphy. Sucking people dry and taking whatever you can so that you can survive.”

Murphy wasn’t going to sit there and let Raven berate him like this. “At least I’m not a mental patient like you, Raven.” He pushed past her but Raven didn’t let him get far.

She grabbed his arm, pulling him back and as he was forced to turn, she swung her fist into his face. “I hate you!” She screamed over and over again, her fist laying into Murphy repeatedly. The only way Raven stopped hitting him was when Luna, who had woken up at the sound of Raven’s yells, wrapped her arms around Raven and pulled her away. “Get off me!” Raven shouted as she tried to fight the hold.

Luna brought Raven to the ground, making Raven fall into her lap. “Breathe!” Luna stressed to the angered girl. “Breathe.” Raven still fought back, was Luna was getting through.

“Should I go get Abby?” Murphy asked as he watched Luna calm her.

“No.” Luna said, looking up briefly at Murphy before focusing on Raven. “Listen to my voice Raven. Breathe in, breathe out.” She took a deep breath before speaking in Raven’s ear and rocking Raven back and forth. “I give myself to the miracle of the sea.” She whispered. “Say it Raven. Say it. I give myself,” She paused, waiting as Raven repeated after her, “To the miracle,” Raven repeated again, “of the sea.” The calming technique worked as Raven cried silently in Luna’s lap, sitting up and feeling Luna’s gloved hand rub her shoulder. “I know the darkness.” Luna said to assure Raven it was alright. “It’s okay.”

Raven took a moment to herself, running her hand over her face before her wet eyes met Murphy. Slowly she rose to her feet, Murphy eying her carefully. “Let’s go again.” Raven told him before she took off for the rocket.

Murphy scoffed softly, not surprised in Raven’s apology absence. “She’ll be alright.” Luna promised him and Murphy held back an eye roll. “Will you be?”

Not sparing her a glance, he answered. “The darkness can kiss my worthless ass.” He muttered before ripping the communication piece out of his ear and tossing it to Luna. “You’re the new Raven-sitter.” He told her before walking off, laying a kick to the remote-controlled car he was playing with earlier before leaving, completely down with Raven and her rocket.

---

Bellamy had let go of your hand a while ago to be able to drive and the three of you stayed silent. You’d been driving for a while before you finally spoke up, turning to look at Bellamy with a frown. “You want to talk about it?” You asked, seeing his face fall slightly. You spoke softly, hoping Clarke wouldn’t listen in from the back, but not particularly caring if she does.

“Keep your eyes on the trees.” He said, trying to avoid the conversation, but you wouldn’t let him.

“Well, I want to talk about it, whenever you do.” You could see Bellamy processing your words as he reached over, taking your hand and squeezing slightly before grabbing the wheel again. You bit your lip. “She’ll forgive you. It’ll take time, but she will.” This wasn’t the first time you had to assure him, but it wasn’t that easy to Bellamy.

“We don’t have much time left, do we?” He raised a brow at you and you swallowed thickly, letting your gaze fall from Bellamy.

“Yeah, you were probably right, better not to talk about it.” You muttered and looked out the front window. Bellamy turned to you, feeling bad for making you even more upset than you were after speaking to Monty. He was about to say something before the road turned and you happened across a group of grounders. “Guys.” you said, shifting in your seat to look between them and him. Clarke moved to look between you guys.

“What is it?” She asked as you all stared out the window.

Bellamy put a hand on your lap before grabbing the radio to speak to the rest of the convoy. “Hang on. We’ve got a situation.” He spoke into the radio as you sighed, realizing what it was. “Looks like a Trikru checkpoint.” Bellamy said, sharing a look with you. In the truck with the fuel, Roan and his men stood up, aware that the truck shouldn’t have been stopping.

“They have wounded.” You pointed out, sharing a look with Clarke in the back. “It’s not a checkpoint.” You both started out of the rover before Bellamy stopped you.

“Y/N, no.”

You looked at him and let out a surprised scoff. “They could be hurt and you’re saying no to helping them?”

Bellamy’s face soften, realizing what it sounded like. “No, I’m saying you can’t help them. Besides, what are they going to do when they see Skaikiler?” It was then that you both realized Clarke had already left the rover to check out the wounded. “Clarke!” Bellamy called after her, groaning when he realized it was worthless. The guys in the truck behind you called up, asking what Clarke was doing as Bellamy gave you the side eye. “Being Clarke. No one gets out.” He told them before throwing the radio down and looking at you. “Stay here.”

You couldn’t get a word in but as soon as Bellamy was out of the rover you huffed. “Screw this, I’m leaving the rover.” You muttered and opened your door, sliding out as Bellamy turned at the sound, his face falling when he saw you join them.

“Wanheda. Skaikiler.” One man said, his eyes wide as they looked between you and Clarke.

“What happened here?” Clarke asked.

The man sighed and his face fell completely. “Azgeda burned our villages to the ground. My father caught an ax with his leg and we can’t stop the bleeding.” Clarke, the man, and Bellamy all rushed over to the older man laying on the ground. You stayed back, watching from a far as well as keeping your eye on the other men and women around. Some of them seemed to be watching you curiously as Clarke tried to help.

You tried to avoid the stares you were getting as you turned back to the convoy, seeing a little boy looking at the back truck. This wasn’t going to end good. “Bellamy.” You mumbled, getting his attention as he turned, eyes widening as Clarke and him both saw the kid. You started back to the rover

“There’s nothing we can do.” Clarke told the man as she stood up, Bellamy and her asking for the road to be cleared as the man shouted for his people to move before asking for a ride to Polis. You watched the kid carefully, making sure he wasn’t going to check the back of the rover where you had Roan and his men hid, but the kid made no plan to move.

“Hey kid!” You shouted as he stopped walking and looked at you heading towards him. “Why don’t you get away from there.” you called out but he just took one big step back, looking right into the back.

“Azgeda!” He shouted as your eyes widened. A hand landed on your arm and you were about to push it away before seeing it was Bellamy.

“Get in!” He yelled at you. You opened up his door and Bellamy helped you in because of your leg as you pushed your way through to sit in your seat as Clarke climbed in the back and Bellamy took his own seat. You were moving as fast as you could but Trikru grabbed their weapons and shot towards Roan and his men in the back.

As soon as it was clear, you leaned back in your chair, letting your eyes close as your calmed down. “Well, that went well.” You joked. In your head, you were thankful you got out of the rover, if you hadn’t seen the boy, who knows when or even if Clarke and Bellamy would’ve. Bellamy didn’t say anything, just looking at you out of the corner of his eye, seeing your eyes closed. You groaned as you felt the rover stop and opened your eyes. “What now?” You asked before seeing the running water.

Bellamy picked up the radio again, telling the other truck about the problem. The three of you climb out of the rover. “Murphy didn’t say anything about a river.” Clarke pointed out as you licked your lip feeling the healing split. You pulled your leg up a little, feeling the discomfort in your knee before letting it fall again with a huff.

“What else could go wrong?” Bellamy asked sarcastically. You turned around at the sound of another footsteps, seeing Roan join you three.

“The ice melted.” He pointed out as you sighed, running a over your face. “I’ll find us a place to cross upstream.” Roan offered and started up the rivers side.

He didn’t get far before Clarke stopped him. “Take the rover. You’ll cover more ground and it’s safer.” She looked at Bellamy at the end of her statement, meaning she was suggesting Bellamy go with him.

“With him?” Bellamy clarified.

“Bell, we have to get across the river.” You reminded him, offering a sad smile. “I’ll go with you.”

“You should stay here.” Clarke pulled you aside as she gave you a look.

“I can go.”

“You should rest your leg.” You scoffed and raised your brow at her. She just rolled her eyes at you. “I know it hurts Y/N. Just stay back with the truck, I’ll watch them.”

Your face softened, knowing she was right and your leg had been bothering you since you were rushed into the rover. “Alright. You got a deal Griffin.” You smiled at her before looking to Bellamy. “I’ll guard the fuel.”

When Bellamy realized you wouldn’t be going with him, he didn’t like the idea. “You’re staying here?”

You nodded and looked at Clarke. “I’ve been benched.” You joked, seeing Clarke smile momentarily before returning to her intense demeanor. Bellamy put his hands on his hips and looked at you. “I’ll be fine. Will you?” Your eyes flickered to Roan before back to Bellamy and it didn’t take Bellamy much to know you weren’t just talking about his safety.

“We won’t be gone long.” He told you and you narrowed your eyes slightly at him, seeing him crack a smile. “I’ll be fine.” You nodded, grabbing his hand briefly once Clarke and Roan had walked away and Bellamy climbed into the rover.

Roan walked around, taking your spot but before he could get inside Seiku stopped him. “My King, we should be going with you.”

Roan shook his head. “Nothing is more important than this cargo. Keep it safe.” He ordered and Seiku nodded and watched Roan climb into the rover and Clarke got into the back like she had earlier. Bellamy’s grip on the wheel was tight as you stood outside next to him. He looked out the window, seeing your attempt at a smile before he drove away, leaving you and the men with the fuel until they got back.

---

Murphy was having a hell of a good time in Becca’s office, repeating what Luna had said to Raven earlier. Only, he wasn’t doing so great. “I creep on myself… for the miracle… of a horny mistake.” Murphy mumbled, trying to figure out why it didn’t sound right. “I creep on myself…”

Luna entered the room, raising a brow at Murphy’s failed attempt. “It’s the intention that matters.” She spoke up, getting Murphy’s attention. He sighed as she got closer. “Raven needs you, John. She’s been in there a long time.”

“In case you haven’t realized, Raven hates my guts.”

“I don’t think that was her talking.” Luna told him as she replayed Raven’s outburst in her head.

“Oh, no it was.” Murphy stopped her. “You know that little limp she’s got? Yeah, that was me.”

“I don’t think she hates you as much as you hate yourself.”

Murphy didn’t want to listen to her talk about self-hate against himself. “Why do you even care about this? You’re the miracle, right? You’re gonna live through all this radiation either way.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be the last person on earth.”

“Why not? Because that kind of sounds nice to me.”

Luna shook her head at him before moving about the room. “I don’t believe that.”

“Then you don’t know me that well.”

Luna sighed and looked at him. “I know you stole that medicine for Adria.” She began. “I know you saved Raven from the drones.”

“I’m definitely rethinking that one right about now.” He interrupted her.

Luna’s face turned blank, done with Murphy’s attitude. “I know what it’s like to hate yourself John. Because of the color of my blood, I was raised to be a killer. The Flamekeepers harnessed my rage and taught me it was nobility. For years, I reveled in death and violence. I killed my own brother. Trust me when I tell you, if I found peace, so can you.”

Murphy was listening to her words, each one of them, but he wasn’t going to accept it. “I think peace is overrated.” He told her. “It’s the fighters that survive.”

And damnit, John Murphy was going to make sure he survived.

---

Octavia’s recovery in the med bay was getting better as Niylah helped her, stretching out her muscles in her leg by the limb to her chest. Octavia was holding her breath, trying to keep her pained expression neutral until Niylah pulled her leg away. “Stronger already.” Niylah smiled as Octavia finally breathed out. “You’ll be running around in no time.” The silence in the med bay felt weird to Niylah as she as looked around, only seeing Ilian handcuffed to a bed on the other side of the bed lines. “Where’s his guards?” She asked Octavia who shrugged, not caring enough about Ilian. Niylah sighed and slowly lowered Octavia’s leg. “That’s enough for now. I’ll come back soon.” Octavia nodded and let Niylah leave the room.

As soon as Niylah was left from the room, Ilian spoke up. “I’m glad you’re alive.” He told Octavia as he played with his ties.

Octavia clenched her jaw. “You won’t be soon.” She told him. “Jus drein, Jus daun.”

Ilian rolled his head to look at her before looking at the ceiling. “I killed no one.”

“Wrong. You killed them all.” Ilian swallowed thickly at her tone. “And now they’re gonna kill you.”

Ilian paused for a moment, thinking about his options. “I didn’t know about Praimfaya. You can tell them that. I never meant to hurt anyone.”

“The sword doesn’t care about what you meant.” She stopped him. “It just cuts.” The silence before them settled and Ilian knew he was in danger.

---

The search for another way across the river came to an end as Bellamy, Clarke and Roan found a shallow path, enough to drive the rover through. “This will work.” Roan told them as they nodded and Clarke looked up to Bellamy.

“Radio Y/N and tell her?” She asked him and Bellamy agreed and pulled the radio from his pocket.

“Y/N come in. We found a crossing. Over.” He spoke directly into the call and waited to hear your voice, only it never came. “Cargo one, can you hear me? Over.” The three of their worries were increasing as you failed to respond again, Bellamy’s worries easily becoming the worst and by now they knew you weren’t alright.

“Something’s wrong.” Roan told Clarke and Bellamy as the three of them rushed to get into the rover again, heading back to see you and the fuel hopefully safe. Bellamy was driving as fast as he could to get back to you.

They reached to where they knew you were left with the truck, but you weren’t there. In fact, no one was there. “Be careful.” Clarke told Bellamy and Roan as they climbed out of the truck, looking around for any indication you were alright.

Bellamy pulled out the radio again, his voice frantic as he called you again. “Y/N, come in. Please tell me you’re alright. Over.” As the trio was looking around, Roan’s eyes flashed into the river, seeing a sack caught onto the rotted tree stuck in the ground.

“Over there!” He shouted and the three of them took off running. They were all equally worried as they drug it out from the water, knowing there was a body inside and terrified of whose. Bellamy stared at the symbol on the front before tearing the bag away. Inside wasn’t you, instead it was one of Roan’s men. “Seiku.” Roan mumbled and looked at his fallen soldier. He looked to Clarke and Bellamy. “We all know who did this.” He growled at them. “Trikru.”

“Where the hell are the others?” Clarke began looking around, walking into the water a little way to see if more body bags were caught.

“Where’s Y/N?” Bellamy filled in his desire to know, eyeing Roan carefully.

“They took the truck to Polis.” Roan reminded them of Trikru’s ask to join the convoy earlier. “That means at least one of yours is still alive.” They all exchanged glances before rushing to the rover and taking off. There was hope you were alive and that was enough.

---

In Arkadia’s dining hall, Jaha was sat at the bar, nursing a cup of moonshine as Hardy and the men behind him spouted off about Ilian, finding the fact he’s still alive despicable. “How much longer do we let them protect that son of a bitch? This ship was supposed to keep us alive and now we’re all gonna die.” Hardy shouted to his following as Niylah walked in, stopping in her tracks slowly as she took in the scene. The man was still talking as Niylah spotted Monty listening in.

She made her way over and whispered to him. “The boy he’s talking about is in med bay with no protection.” She told him. Monty’s eyes widened before Jasper passed him, holding a cup and moving to get more moonshine.

Monty tried to stop him before he could pour it. “You really think that’s a good idea?”

Jasper looked at him and shrugged. “Moonshine? Absolutely.” Jasper walked off, refusing his best friend’s help at recovery. Monty turned back to the crowd, talk of labeling Ilian’s actions as a hate crime and demanding he be killed for it.

Moving across the room, Monty sat beside Jaha, using a whisper voice to talk. “Are you okay with all this?” He asked knowing the people listen to Jaha.

Jaha just took the last sip of his drink. “They’re just blowing off steam.”

The statement earned a scoff from Monty as he got closer to Jaha. “Blowing off steam like we were when we strung up Murphy for killing Wells?” Monty knew it was a low blow and the look of anguish on Jaha’s face let him know he struck a nerve. Jaha asked for a refill on his drink as Jasper obliged. Monty was growing irritated as the group grew more determined for Ilian’s head. “They listen to you. Say something!” He begged. Jaha however, turned his back on Monty, refusing to offer help. “With all due respect, your son would be ashamed of you.” He headed towards the door, muttering to Niylah along the way. “I’ll get Kane.” She nodded and he was gone.

---

In an attempt to calm Raven down, Luna sat next to her in the lab, repeating her meditation mantra for Raven to hear, but the girl was not stopping. “I’ve strained the air brakes, adjusted the grid fins and I’ve reversed the thrusters.” Raven looked at the screen, hoping her changes worked but it didn’t. “Damn it! What am I missing?” Luna tried speaking louder, hoping to get in Raven’s head but Raven just groaned at her. “Mediating isn’t going to help me land this stupid ship.” She pointed out.

Murphy had left Becca’s office, standing above the lab as he watched Raven’s freak out. “No but it might keep your brain from blowing up.” He shouted as he made his way down the stairs.

At his voice, Raven’s head begun hurting and he pressed her hand to her forehead, scrunching her face up. “Oh good, he’s back.” She grumbled before focusing on the screen again. “Okay, think. To land this ship in one piece, calculating the re-entry trajectory has to be perfect, deploying the thrusters has to be perfect, the burn rate has to be perfect.”

Murphy looked to Luna with an amused smile. “Maybe perfect is your problem.” He blurted out.

Raven stopped her work. “What?”

Murphy rolled his eyes and moved closer. “Perfect sucks. Why care about perfection if Abby and you walk away with the magic potion, right?”

“A controlled crash is still a crash.”

Luna sat up from her spot and joined the duo. “Swim away.”

Raven’s head picked up as she caught on. “A controlled crash into the water. Luna, its brilliant!”

“I’m sorry, Luna?” Murphy asked taking offense in the fact it was basically his idea.

Raven ignored him as she checked to see if a water landing would work. “Damn it. The computer won’t let me execute a controlled crash.”

“Screw the computer Raven.” Murphy stopped her from getting upset. “Fly it yourself.”

She looked back at Murphy who nodded to the computer, waiting for Raven to try. “Switching to manual.” She told the computer. The computer accepted the manual override as Raven gasped and made her way to the rocket. Murphy sighed and he started to walk the opposite way, but Raven’s voice as she turned around stopped him. “Murphy! Thank you.” Murphy didn’t reply to the girl’s gratitude, not at all expecting it. He watched Raven climb back into the rocket, preparing the simulation to manually land the rocket in the water.

---

Bellamy was driving the rover even faster than he had before, this time knowing for a fact you were in danger. Roan sat in the front seat, Clarke poking her head between them as she gripped the seats.

“We have to get to them before they reach Polis with the fuel. They’ll use it to make bombs and kill everyone.” Roan told them as Bellamy scoffed.

“You mean they’ll use it to kill Ice Nation.” He corrected Roan with a side glare. “All you care about is your own people.”

Roan shook his head. “Like you’re any better. That’s all anyone cares about.” Roan paused for a minute, thinking about everything you’ve done for his people and him. “Except maybe Y/N.” he mumbled.

“Can you guys not fight about this right now?” Clarke asked as she kept her eyes out the front window. Bellamy sighed, remembering his promise before he left of being fine, meaning he wouldn’t be fighting with Roan exactly like he was now. Coming to a fork in the road, a body laid on the ground and the rover came to a halt. Bellamy was about to leave the rover before Clarke grabbed his shoulder. “Bellamy, wait.” She stopped him.

Bellamy didn’t understand why he was stopping. “They left a dead body, we can pick up their trail.” He started out again but Roan stopped him this time.

“Trikru burn their dead.” He reminded Bellamy, knowing Clarke had caught on already. “They’re still here. Back up now.” Roan ordered.

Bellamy just groaned, letting his head fall back against his seat before looking out his window. “There’s no one here. They’ve taken the truck, the fuel, and Y/N!” Bellamy reminded them both, looking at Clarke on your name for the sake of her knowing what it meant to him to find you. Turning to Roan, his voice turned cold. “If you’re such a good tracker, go track.”

It took only a second before the rover was being attacked. Trikru men jumped on the rover, rocking it enough for Clarke to stumble in the back. “You were saying?” Roan asked sarcastically to Bellamy who sent them a glare.

The Trikru grounder Bellamy spoke to earlier came running at Bellamy’s door as Bellamy pulled out his gun and pointed it at him. “I don’t want to shoot you.” Bellamy warned as the man put his hands in the air. “Where’s the truck? What have you done with it?”

“Give us the king.” The man told him and Roan was figuring out what happened.

“Bellamy.” Roan mumbled and got both Clarke’s and Bellamy’s attention. “The truck’s not here.” He told them. Bellamy’s gun was still trained on the man as he looked at Roan.

Clarke was confused as well. “How do you know that?” She asked.

“Because everyone does what’s best for their own people.” He mumbled, recalling the point of their argument just minutes ago. “It was my men who took it.”

While Roan’s back was turned, a man tried to thrust his sword through Roan’s window but Bellamy warned him, giving him the opportunity to move. At the same moment, the back door to the rover opened and Clarke jumped out of her seat to the door. The man who had opened it trying to get inside as she kicked him in the chest, sending him to the ground and he rolled off to the side. Clarke closed the door and locked it before facing front. “Bellamy. Drive!” she shouted and Bellamy didn’t need to be told twice before he backed up, knocking off a few of the men before the rover took off. The rest fell to the ground, staring off as the rover disappeared past the trees.

---

Octavia let her leg dangle off the edge of the edge of her bed as she swung her knee back and forth. She glanced over her shoulder to Ilian who laid unmoved on the bed as Kane walked in, Monty and Sgt Miller and a few more guards following after him. “Lock this room down. They’re right behind us.” The door was closed per Kane’s orders.

Monty looked at the empty room. “Where is everyone?” He asked Octavia.

“They’re out there with them.” She told him seconds before pounding occurred on the now locked door.

“Open this door!” Hardy shouted at them. Kane and David positioned themselves between the door and Ilian.

“Sir. Maybe we should reconsider.” David wasn’t so keen on fighting the mob against someone who most likely doomed humanity. Kane turned down his mention, not up for surrendering. “On the Ark, we floated people for less.”

Kane snapped at him. “Mob rule will not dictate justice in this camp.” Hardy knocked again hard, his demand for the door to open not changing.

Monty joined the men, knowing the mob wouldn’t let up. “We can’t let them in here, they’ll kill him.”

Kane took a deep breath and pulled out his gun to check the bullets. David was quick to put in his objection but Kane disagreed. “If we let them descend into darkness, there’s no coming back.”

Octavia had been listening in to everything. A dilemma was playing in her head. “It’s the end of the world Kane.” She said and everyone looked at her. “Darkness is all we have.” She stood up from her bed and hit the button to open the door despite the cries of no from Monty and Kane. Hardy and his crew filed into the room and Kane was quick to point his gun at their heads.

David was going through a dilemma of his own as well. Follow orders or do what he feels is right. His breath exhaled as slow and he pulled out his shock baton, pressing it into Kane’s back as the man fell to the ground. “I’m sorry.” He told Kane who was groaning on the ground.

Hardy grabbed Kane’s now discarded gun and stepped over him. Octavia didn’t let him get going, putting a hand on his chest. “You can have his blood, but the kill is mine.” Hardy took a moment but nodded in agreement and Octavia let him go.

Hardy’s men cut Ilian free and hoisted him to his feet despite Ilian being too weak to stand himself and they carried him out, following as Octavia now led the mob out of the med bay.

---

Since discovering it was his people who stole the truck and you, Roan and Bellamy hadn’t fought anymore. Clarke also provided a level head on their hunt as the three of the them kept their eyes sharp. Coming upon a field, Roan was the first to spot the truck driving through. “There they are!”

Bellamy sped up, stepping on gas in hopes to catch up to the rover and find you alright. What he didn’t know was you were the one sitting in the driver’s seat, one of Roan’s men sitting next to you as you drove. You were terrified but you refused to let them see it, remembering the knife you were threatened with earlier sitting in his hand. Movement caught your attention in your side mirror and after a double take, you realized your friends were coming to save you. You started to let your foot off the gas, hoping to give Bellamy enough leeway to catch up but you were caught. When the man sitting next to you saw your foot easing off the gas without a reason, he looked behind the truck, seeing the rover peak through from behind the fuel containers.

“Stop them.” He told his buddy in the back before pressing his foot on top of yours, making the truck speed up. “Keep going.”

Roan, Clarke and Bellamy watched as the man in the back started to grab the fuel barrels, bringing them to the edge of the truck as much as he could. “What the hell is he doing?”

“He’s weaponizing the fuel.” Clarke told them as her eyes grew wide.

Roan glanced back at her. “I thought you said we needed every drop.”

“We do!”

Roan turned back to Bellamy. “Get me as close as you can!” He shouted before climbing into the back. Clarke moved out of his way before shifting into his seat next to Bellamy.

“You gotta be kidding me.” Bellamy grumbled as Clarke watched Roan climb out of the top hatch.

Bellamy pulled the rover up to the side of the truck and Clarke’s eyes went wide at the sight of you driving. “Y/N?”

You looked out the window briefly, meeting Bellamy’s eyes as a knife was pressed to your neck and you were forced to look away. “Now! Roan, do it!” He shouted and Roan made his leap into the truck before Bellamy sped the rover up ahead of the truck after Clarke and him came up with a plan and he yelled at you to give him a clean shot.

Roan landed on the back with his hands on his own man and the fight begun. Roan was pinned over the barrels before he pushed the man away shoving him, but the man tripped him and Roan was pinned once again. A knife was pulled on Roan but Roan kicked it away and the man stumbled backwards as Roan got up. The fight went on, neither person winning as the fuel dragged to the edge of the truck slowly shifted every time the truck rumbled until it was hanging off. Roan had finally got the upper hand, shoving his thumb into the man’s eyes. He screamed and let his guard down enough for Roan to grab his knife from him and shove it into his chest. The man’s fighting stopped as Roan killed him, whispering traitor in his ear before kicking him off the truck. When Roan noticed the barrel moving, he grabbed it, saving it from falling as well.

One man was dead but the other still held a knife to your throat, forcing you to keep driving. You watched your boyfriend and Clarke drive ahead, you didn’t know what the plan was, but Bellamy wanted a clean shot, so obviously he had a plan. Right?

The rover stopped ahead of you, right in your path and your stomach dropped. What was he doing? When his door opened and Bellamy pointed a gun at the truck, you understood.

Bellamy hoped his plan would work, talking it over briefly with Clarke before he jumped out. His gun was pointed on the grounder, but he needed the shot. “Come on, Y/N. Come on, Baby.” He muttered to himself as he got ready.

The truck was still driving straight, your direction unmoving and as soon as the grounder saw Bellamy’s gun, he tried to turn the wheel. You threw your elbow into his nose, sending him away from you and Bellamy had his shot. The bullet pierced through the man’s head as you watched. Realizing the truck was still going, you slammed your foot onto the break, watching as Bellamy backed himself into the rover with Clarke in fear but you didn’t let it touch him as you brought the truck to a quick stop.

Once you got over the terrifying part about this situation, you couldn’t look away from Bellamy. You smiled at him, seeing his as well. Bellamy was relieved and proud at the same time seeing you drive the rover. He’d know you’d tell him they did all the work and you just managed to get kidnapped, and he was right, but he would still be proud of you.

---

Octavia was leading the mob out of the Ark, the people dragging Ilian behind her and once he was outside people began yelling at him, telling him he’s dead and supporting the mob. Monty and Kane followed the mob as well, keeping an eye on Octavia and Ilian.

“How do we stop this?” Monty asked Kane. Kane didn’t have an answer for him as Ilian was forced to the ground. Monty took off running to Octavia, hoping to break through to his friend. “Octavia, please don’t do this. You’re not a murderer.”

Octavia didn’t look as Monty as she mumbled and cocked her gun before aiming at Ilian’s head. “You’re wrong.”

Ilian looked up at her, right past the barrel of the gun. “Get it over with.”

From the door of the Ark, Jaha and Kane had a plan. “Sound the alarm, now.” Jaha spoke into his radio as Kane nodded at him. The alarm sounded in the camp, alerting everyone of the fake black rain.

“Black rain!” Kane yelled his lie as people started panicking. “Everyone get inside!” Kane and Jaha ushered everyone inside the ark until it was finally Kane, Jaha, Monty, and Octavia still holding a gun to Ilian’s head. Kane approached Octavia carefully. “Octavia. Put the gun down and come inside.” He said to her but she wouldn’t listen, her gun not leaving Ilian’s head. Kane tried something else. “They put Lincoln on his knees, too.” Octavia sucked in a breath as the memory of her deceased love filled her thoughts. “Pike stood right there where you’re standing when they put the gun against his head.”

Octavia’s hand started shaking as she thought back, remembering Lincoln falling to his knees, how he looked up to her, speaking his last words to her before Pike killed him. “I was there.” Her voice betrayed her as she let her eyes close and Lincoln’s face was all she could see.

When she opened her eyes again, her hand shook more and Kane tried again. “If you do this, you’re no better than he was.” Octavia couldn’t take holding her emotions anymore. She let them break free, dropping the gun to the ground as she sobbed. Kane jumped into comfort mood, holding her arm and mumbling assurances to her. “It’s okay. It’s okay Octavia.” Octavia ripped her arm from him as she continued to cry, needing to separate herself. She headed to the gate, starting to run as she heard Kane chase after her. “Octavia, wait! Where are you going?!” He yelled but Octavia didn’t stop running.

Kane didn’t chase her far, hoping she’s alright, but knowing she needed to be alone. He turned around in time to see Jaha cutting Ilian’s bonds and he asked Jaha what he thinks he’s doing. “Saving our people.” Jaha answered. “Same as you.” He pulled Ilian to his feet, whispering in his ear. “You should run.” Ilian nodded and groan as his feet started running, taking him away from the camp in the direction Octavia ran. “From the ashes we will rise.” Jaha spoke to Kane and Monty as they watched Ilian disappear, knowing the rest of Arkadia isn’t going to like the fact Ilian was gone.

---

After you and the fuel were saved, Clarke and Roan rode the rest of the way in the truck with the fuel as Bellamy and you rode in the Rover together. Bellamy hadn’t let go of your hand since you started the ride this time. Clarke and Roan rode in awkward silence before Clarke sighed. “You’re a good King Roan.” She said as Roan disagreed.

“A king who runs an errand while his people are at war in Polis.”

“This errand is the most important thing right now and you know that.” Clarke stopped him from hating on himself.

Roan still wasn’t at ease. “If we do save everyone, then what?” He asks, making Clarke think. “What happens once we’re all turned into Nightbloods? Do we just keep killing each other?” Clarke didn’t have enough time to answer before Bellamy spoke on the radio, telling them you’ve made it.

You jumped out of the rover once it came to a stop, looking out in the water. It was beautiful, the horizon meeting the sky seamlessly as you grinned. Roan offered to unload the fuel with Clarke giving her help as Bellamy approached you. He stood next to you, both of you staring out as he grabbed your hand.

“I’m gonna take the Rover back to camp.” He whispered as you broke out of your staring and furrowed your brows at him.

“You’re not coming with us?” you asked sadly, not wanting to leave him. He shook his head, his frown enough to tell you why. “It’s Octavia, isn’t it?”

“It’s pathetic, right?” He laughed at himself softly as you turned him to look at you. “She hates me but I keep coming back.”

“She doesn’t hate you, Bell. She’s your sister. She’s just,” you stopped yourself, trying to find the right words, “She’s just confused right now. She knows how special you are and how important you are. She’ll come back to you.”

Bellamy’s hand squeezed yours as you smiled, hoping he’ll see you were right. He hated thinking about leaving you, he wanted to stay with you and Clarke, but he knew he had to go back for his sister, unaware of the fact his sister just left the camp.

“You’ll come back to me, right?” His voice was quiet as you smiled and brought a hand up to his cheek, cupping it and running your thumb across it.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Blake.” You joked and Bellamy laughed, feeling slightly better in the promise you were coming back to him. You leaned up, pressing a kiss to his lips as he held your waist, pulling you into him. It was a goodbye kiss and an I’ll-see-you-soon kiss all in one, but one that was also broke apart by Clarke calling you both. You separated, sharing confused looks before jogging back to the rover.

Roan and Clarke were in the truck bed and moved one of the barrels, it wasn’t until it was done moving before you saw the arrow piercing through the bottom. “Trikru arrow.” Roan said before kicking the barrel out of the truck. It clattered to the ground as you looked up at an equally defeated and stressed Clarke. You had 10 barrels and you needed every last drop.

---

“Manual override.” Raven spoke to the computer as she grabbed the rocket’s controls.

“Manual Override engaged.” The computer told her and she let out a steady breath to hype herself up. “Landing pad within range at 600 feet.” She focused on the screen, watching as the water came in view, the rocket heading right towards it as the computer prepared her. “Brace for impact.” The rocket simulation ended once she hit the water. “Mission failed.” Yet Raven wouldn’t consider it failed just yet. “Exterior damage 15 %. Cargo destruction 0%. Fatality 0%.”

Raven was shocked as she read over the outcomes again. “We’re good.” She mumbled. She started to unbuckle herself, a smile spreading on her face as she spoke louder. “We’re good!” She repeated herself happily once more as she stepped out of the rocket. “Took every last drop of fuel, but I did it. I can put her down on the water just offshore.” Murphy and Luna approached her slowly with frowns. “We can survive.” When their expressions didn’t change, Raven’s stomach dropped. “What’s wrong?”

“Clarke just radioed. They lost a barrel.”

“What?” Raven gasped out.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered but Raven couldn’t hear him. She started sucking in for a breath, her head paining her as she clutched it. “Raven?”

Raven’s seizure caused her to collapse on the ground. Murphy took off running, calling for Abby as loud and as fast as he could. Luna fell to the ground as well, trying her best to protect Raven’s head before seeing her mouth starting to foam. “Raven, it’s going to be okay. It’s okay, Raven.”

10 barrels.

Make that 9 now.

A/N: If you hadn’t, be sure to check out the Bonus Chapter!

Tags are open!

Permanent: @literal-fand0m-trash @just4muggles @nathaliabakes @colored-confetti @wiseeggspickleslime @btsiguess-kpop @galacticstxrdust @independentgirl @hollymac79 @delicately-important-trash @emcchi @rauwz @herondalescecilys @chewymoustachio @smilexcaptainx @faith-quake @clarkesplaylist @johnmurphyisbisexual

Bellamy: @jodiereedus22 @mysterioustruffle @danielabetancourth @a-sweet-little-fangirl @werosies

Banished: @strangerliaa @peter-parker-tony-stank-trash @abysshaven @poisoned-girl @captainam-erika-trash @annoylinglyaries @peqchynero @buckysjuicyplums @your-typical-giggle @thelastdragon6 @savannah0111 @mckeeee-1 @disneychic8 @hyperion-moonbabe-art3mis @oopsiedoopsie23 @crashlyrose @miindfvl @hurricane-abigail @thebookisbtr @txladyj-blog @lauren-100 @mrsjandrews @astroninaaa @broco8 @kittymcdougall12 @capsheadquaters @mikariell95 @acciowinchester @samustar @trashmouth-lizzy @where-are-you-everywhere @smol-book-nerd @cashmereandtears @lilacs-lavender @itsthelastcatastro-phe @sireddobrev @fashion-travel @awkwardspontaneity @jacobblacksbitch @livlynn24

#bellamy blake x reader #bellamy blake imagine #bellamy blake series #bellamy blake #bellamy blake the 100 #the 100 x reader #the 100 imagine #the 100 series #the 100 #banished #banished part 51 #part 51

81 notes · View notes

oldnintendonerd · 5 years

Text

Season 3 in full swing - But first... the Pre-Season

Alright, I’ll admit it, I’ve been slacking here. It takes time to write these up, and time is something I have not had as much of as I’d like. We made it to the very end of 2018 in the last blog post, and we had a whopping $103.68 in the game hunting money stash. I’ll tell you what too, it gets even better. One of my first finds of 2019 was at the Goodwill, and it wasn’t even a game, but boy did it help the game hunting money.

A decent condition TU-2 Tuner pedal from Boss. I actually have one of my own and didn’t need one at all, but at TWO BUCKS? I couldn’t pass it up, knowing it’d have to be easily $40 at minimum, without even looking it up. It was a little dusty, and had a few dings and scrapes, but man, these things are tanks. Anyone familiar with this will recognize it as really good condition. I’ve seen them with massive amounts of rust and nearly no paint left and they still work like a charm.

Little before and after for you here:

Sold that son of a bitch for a cool $58.99 on eBay. After listing fee, PayPal fee, and shipping we add $44.06 to the game hunting money, totaling $147.74. A new record high!

That was in early February. Deep winter is terrible for finds, and it wasn’t until late March, on the 22nd, until I found even SOMETHING. A Wii sensor bar for $0.99 at Goodwill. No pics of that, it’s a sensor bar. It’s... yeah. A sensor bar. I needed them though, I have like 6 extra Wiis. Been waiting to get a couple complete systems so I can sell, or mod and sell each one. In any case, totaled $1.06 out the door. We drop to $146.68. Moving on.

March 26th, once again, at the Goodwill. Knocking on Spring cleaning’s door and I spot a blue Dual Shock 2 controller. Sitting in the toys section, not electronics. Not by the video games. In the toys section. This is not the first time this has happened, finding something game related in the toys section. Last time I think it was a few actual PS2 games.

Tiny bit of dust in some of the nooks and crannies, but man is it in good condition. Sticks are 9/10 easy, and buttons are nice and crispy. My new favorite PS2 controller right now. This one set us back $3.99. Or, $4.29 out the door. This takes us to $142.39.

Great find, I only had one DualShock 2 controller when I found this, so really couldn’t have been better timing. Having two again makes the system feel whole again somehow.

Moving into April, we ran across an unusually valuable title. Now I don’t mean it is worth $100 or anything, I just mean it is one that you would liken to be being something along the lines of maybe $5 complete.

Wheel of Fortune for PS3 - Found at Goodwill 04.12.2019

Again, not a hundred dollars but it was still worth $13.95 on Pricecharting. Usually that tells me it is a least worth a play. So I snagged it. This was Goodwill again, so $2.99, and $3.21 out the door. Takes the hunting money down to $139.18.

on 04.15.2019 I hit a flea market. Really not much there, one guy had a completely obliterated Sega Dreamcast I didn’t even look twice at. That was it, other than a guy with a small bag of DS and GBA games. He wanted $30 for the whole bag, and I’d never heard of any title other than this one...

Snagged it for $4 just by itself. It looks like its going for about $12 loose, so I thought that was acceptable. I don’t have a DS to test it on (yet), but cartridges almost never fail really. So fingers crossed this one is fine. Takes us to $135.18.

A couple weeks later, it is still not yet really Yard Sale season. There has been a sprinkling, and by this time I have visited a handful, but with no luck finding anything. The next find is still a thrift store find. I’ll admit I probably paid more for this than I should have, Pricecharting has this one at $5.69 complete. I paid $3.92, which brought it to $4.20 after tax.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception - Found 04.28.2019 at VoA

I don’t mind paying a little more for games when they have been tough to find, or if they are going to my collection. This one is both. The Uncharted series, ever since I found out about it, and that it was generally well received and liked, I’ve been looking for copies. I knew they were cheap and the only time I’ve run across any copies was at GameStop, and they were $4.99, and disc only. I’m like I am not paying $5 plus tax, for a disc only game that is worth pretty much exactly that CIB. I want the box to put on the shelf! So when I saw this in the thrift I grabbed it anyway. Still under retail price, or at least what I’d pay on eBay to have one shipped. Most were around $10, give or take a dollar. So half price? Not bad, and in decent condition.

The $4.20 takes us to $130.98.

Now, we are at least into the current month. I walked into The Salvation Army store on May 9th and spotted this...

A Sega CD. Not easy to find or come by, especially in the box. However, not being a Sega guy (obviously), and because of that, not having looked at prices for Sega CD really ever, let alone recently, I guessed at it being worth about $100 to $120. I thought the condition of the box was a little rough to be asking $69.99, so I left with only the photo on my phone.

Later that evening I looked on eBay sold listings and was a little surprised. Ones without the box were going for what I thought the CIB one would be worth. I posted the shot I snapped above on my Instagram and asked my followers their opinion: Would they have picked it up?

Overwhelmingly... yes, they would have!

So I stopped in the next morning after they opened and asked to look at it. It was indeed CIB, though the box had seen better days. Even the carton inside had a few rips. but it was all there, and still held everything securely. I asked if it had been tested. The guy at the front said yes they test everything they get. I said oh, you guys have a Genesis to hook to this? Could I see it work?

That was met with a blank stare. Another guy that does the testing actually admitted that it was not tested. So I said how about $40 then, since I’m taking a risk here. They said they can’t adjust the price, only the manager can do that. I asked if the manager was in and after a little chasing, they found her and she came up to the front to talk to me. I explained that this is an add-on system, not a stand alone console and it is not tested, I’d like to get it for a little cheaper to account for the risk I’m taking if I buy it. She lowered the price to $49.99.

I bought it.

Everything is there, the extension piece, the adapter, the manual, both RF shields, and the plate used to attach the extension. There was even a game in it!

The disc is VERY rough on Ecco, but it does play. I know this because a co-worker helped me out, gave me his Genesis and it fired right up on the first try, and booted the game with no problems. I tried a few more times just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, even let it run for a while, and played a bit of it. It did struggle here and there because of the scratches, but otherwise played fine!

Could not be happier. I plan to clean it up a bit, as you can see it does have some dust and grime on it.

But once that’s taken care of I think it will be a great looking Sega CD. I will probably offer it up to Instagram first before trying it on the ‘bay. if anyone is interested please let me know on Instagram, I’m just @oldnintendonerd.

The price isn’t set yet, I am thinking somewhere between about $175 and $200. The last one that sold on ebay went for $300 shipped. better condition box though, so that’s why i’m thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 to $230 shipped. I’m open to opinions if you have them, comment here or DM on IG.

This purchase, after tax was $53.74, taking us down to $77.24. however, this was bought SOLELY to flip. I do not collect for Sega, so this is entirely for profit to help buy more Nintendo stuff. I have no problem with Sega, I do not view it as trash or anything, I just didn’t grow up with it, and my heart belongs to Nintendo. There is only so much room in my home, and in my budget, so it must go.

We’ll call it there for this one, hopefully I’ll have another post up much sooner than every three months or so. Summer months should yield higher finds so I can detail stuff here more often. I hope.

2019.05.29

1 note · View note

toumakibangs · 5 years

Text

°*TouMaki - Advent Calendar 2018*° DAY 06 - “LIGHTS” by @grimelius

Mod’s Note: …remember what I said about ActualChristmasTree!Makishima being universally accepted as canon? Good. Please enjoy this winter trip to Toudou-an - the season really becomes the place and its inhabitants! Thanks, @grimelius, for sharing!**

Author’s Note: Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your year ends well!

Makishima stepped off the train platform at the Hakone station and took a deep breath as he tried to force himself to relax. There was nothing strange about spending time with a friend over the winter break and since he was going to spend New Years with his family, that meant that the most convenient time to go visit just so happened to be Christmas. One of the more romantic holidays, spent with Toudou Jinpachi and the rest of his family.

Makishima figured it would either be a complete wreck or extremely entertaining and he was hoping for the latter. The real issue that worried Makishima was between him and Toudou. After all they were… what exactly? Makishima sighed and hitched his bag up and headed towards the exit, following the stream of busy people.

Neither he nor Toudou had actually talked about what was happening between them. They were now far beyond friends but neither had said that word and it was looming over both of them, creeping into the silent spaces whenever Toudou or Makishima couldn’t find something to say.

It had almost been enough to make Makishima decline the invitation when Toudou had called him up a few weeks earlier and told him that winter break was a perfect time to come down and spend time relaxing at an onsen and no one in their right mind would pass up a free stay at a spectacular historical inn and wasn’t Maki-chan lucky that he could go for free and so on and so on.

But he did want to go, nerves aside and well, if he was being practical, the two of them really should talk. And he wanted to do it in person, not over the phone and-

“Maki-chan!”

Makishima almost jumped out of his shoes. He looked around surprised since he’d expected to be tackled but where was Toudou? The exit was full of people rushing in every direction and Makishima didn’t see Toudou anywhere.

“Over here! Quick!”

Makishima swiveled to follow the voice and finally saw it, a small white pickup truck and looking out from the drivers’ side; two nearly identical people were waving at him enthusiastically. Jinpachi and his older sister Nana. It was unnerving how similar they looked even though they were siblings, though Nana didn’t share her brother’s obsession for headbands.

“Toss your stuff in the back and hop in” Nana called out and Makishima obeyed before cramming himself in next to them and they took off down the road.

“How was the train down?” Toudou asked.

“Quiet. Nothing really happened,” Makishima replied. “Which is how I like it.”

“Well prepare yourself for chaos because we’ve got a Christmas on a weekend this year so the inn is extra busy. Not that you need to worry about that, but I have to work a little,” Toudou admitted.

“Heh, I don’t mind helping out if you need me too. As long as it’s not guest relations,” Makishima offered.

Both Jinpachi and Nana laughed at the suggestion. “Don’t worry, Makishima-san. We’ll save that for the fifth time you come to visit,” Nana teased him and Makishima grinned a little. Next to him, Toudou slipped his hand into his and squeezed.

Between the two over-talkative siblings, it was almost impossible for Makishima to get much of a word in but he didn’t really mind. Hakone was as beautiful as ever and Jinpachi and Nana took the opportunity to point out every interesting or historical thing they drove through town. It didn’t take long for them to reach the inn and as soon as they got up to Toudou’s room, he pulled Makishima’s bag away and slipped into his arms, and kissed him. Makishima wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him closer until they broke apart and Toudou nestled in closer, resting his head against his shoulder.

“Finally some privacy. I missed you! I don’t get to see you enough now that the season is over,” Toudou complained.

“Mmmm. The season hasn’t been over that long,” Makishima replied but he would be lying if he said that he didn’t miss seeing Toudou constantly at races. Finding the time and energy to get to Hakone or Chiba was always easier said than done.

“Long enough, plus you were supposed to come down sooner than this,” Toudou replied as he stepped back. “Let’s get you settled in for now” and he grabbed Makishima’s bag and set it out of the way by his bed. “I’ll grab a futon and bedding for you later.

“Thanks.” Makishima looked around at Toudou’s room. It looked like Toudou had put a little tree on his desk but otherwise it was as Makishima remembered, a small bed against the wall, a mirror next to his closet, dresser drawers, a desk and a ridiculous amount of biking and mountain posters. It was small and cozy, so different from Makishima’s own large and fancy house.

“Maki-chan, are you listening?”

“Hmm?” Makishima turned his attention back to Toudou who looked a little annoyed.

“I was saying texts and phone calls aren’t the same and that we need to work harder if we want to see each other during the off season,” Toudou pointed out.

“Oh, yeah. Okay,” Makishima agreed.

“Well, make yourself at home,” Toudou offered. “Are you hungry? Do you want a drink or anything?”

Makishima shook his head and sat down on the bed and Toudou regarded him carefully before sitting next to him on the bed.

“Are you okay with spending Christmas with us?”

Makishima thought about it. “It’s fine. We usually just have cake and junk food and stuff. My sister likes to decorate a little but that’s about it. Sometimes our parents get us presents. It’s not a big thing for us,” Makishima explained. “I just don’t want to get in the way.”

“Don’t worry,” Toudou reassured him, “You’re a guest. And my parents only put their own children to work so you’re safe.”

“You don’t want me scaring away your guests?” Makishima teased him.

“There is proper way to treat guests at Toudou-Ann and if you want to work with them, you’ll have to go through training, Toudou said primly. “We have a high reputation to maintain. Now it’s my turn. Did you get me a Christmas present?”

Makishima was surprised by the sudden topic change but he nodded yes.

Toudou looked absolutely delighted and Makishima said quickly, “It’s nothing too fancy or anything. Just so you know.”

“I’ll love anything you give me Maki-chan,” Toudou promised him. “I got you one too.”

“I hope you like neon,” and he smiled a little when Toudou rolled his eyes and elbowed him in the ribs.

“You ju-st got here, don’t make me kick you out so soon.”

Makishima laughed and let his head fall onto Toudou’s shoulder and he felt his chest swell when Toudou leaned his head against his and wrapped an arm around his waist.

———-

Makishima spent the remainder of the day visiting with Toudou’s family, getting introduced to some of the staff, helping out around the inn and hoping they would get to into the baths that evening. Toudou insisted that Makishima could sit and relax while he finished up his chores but Makishima liked having something to do and after all he was there to spend time with Toudou even if that meant folding his own weight in pillowcases.

“Usually we’re not this busy at Christmas time but as soon as it’s a weekend, everyone decides to turn it into a trip,” Toudou complained, glaring at the vast piles of folded sheets and bedding all over the huge laundry room. Makishima kept folding what felt like endless piles of pillowcases, the static in the air making his hair frizz up.

“It should be quiet for New Year’s right? You guys aren’t as busy then?” Makishima asked, pushing his hair behind his ears for what felt like the thousandth time.

“Well we technically shut down for the 1st through the 3rd so we’re not busy, we’re just closed. Some places stay open but for us, it’s one of the only times we close during the year. Maybe we’ll get snow this New Year? he wondered.

“Do you get snow for Christmas?” Makishima asked.

“I think it’s happened once or twice in my life before but not usually,” Toudou replied thoughtfully. “We usually get snow further into winter.”

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?”

“Hmmm, well you can sleep in if you want; I have to help with breakfast prep. Then we can go into town and or do whatever we want, Toudou suggested. “We can hang out here if you want. Maybe go hiking? I’m sure we’ll need to go to the store for some reason. We’re doing presents for sure though!”

The next day, Christmas day turned out almost exactly as Toudou had predicted. Makishima woke up to busy inn, staff members busy at work and members of the Toudou family scattered all over the premises. Makishima took the time to eat, read and then soak in the baths, enjoying himself but also trying not to add more work to the already busy family.

Finally in the late afternoon, Toudou and Makishima managed to sneak off to Toudou’s room to exchange gifts.

“Me first! I want to open mine first, the suspense is killing me. After what you said, I need to know the color!” Toudou demanded impatiently.

Makishima laughed but went and pulled a vividly wrapped present from his bag and tossed it to Toudou. “Merry Christmas Jinpachi. I uh, I hope it fits?” he said hopefully. “We’re the same height so…”

Toudou didn’t bother with finesse; he tore into the present scattering paper everywhere and yanked the box open as quickly as he could.

“Oh my god, look at this!” Toudou gushed and held up the shirt so he could see it better.

Makishima had bought Toudou a long sleeved shirt with different traditional Japanese patterns crisscrossing each other. The fabric was light grey and the patterns were printed in dark red, orange and black.

“I love it! I would never have bought this myself but I love it! It’s a weird mix of traditional and crazy.”

“That’s what I was going for, said Makishima, happy that Toudou liked his gift. “It’s traditional but also not.”

Toudou’s gift on the other hand was very practical; a book about long distance cyclying, with a special section focusing on the Tour de France. Makishima had never read this one so he was very happy with his gift.

“I got you one more thing to celebrate Christmas with but you have to wear it today okay? Otherwise it doesn’t make sense,” Toudou added, dragging Makishima’s attention away from his new book.

“Okay?” Makishima said hesitantly. He acknowledged that Toudou’s typical fashion sense was all right, but not his holiday one which could be a little more ahem exuberant than usual. And Makishima knew exuberant for crying out loud.

“Close your eyes,” Toudou ordered and Makishima sighed but obeyed.

“Aaaand open! Tadah!” Toudou crowed. “Christmas lights for your hair!”

Makishima grimaced as he looked at the headband in Toudou’s hands. It was white with a little present on it but dangling from the side was what looked like 30 white lights on a copper wire. Apparently the present was a battery pack that let you turn on the lights. At least they weren’t shaped like Christmas tree lights. Makishima shuddered, that would be even worse.

“You do know that you’re like the 10th person who’s told me to decorate my hair like a Christmas tree right? And that I’ve said no to every person who suggested it?” said Makishima, a little annoyed.

“Let me French braid your hair! Please?” Toudou pleaded. “It’ll be awesome. And not like a tree at all.”

“Why do you know how to braid anyways?” Makishima asked.

“My sister.”

And that was the only explanation that Makishima needed, but he kept protesting.

“I’m going to look ridiculous. My hair is barely long enough to braid anyways.”

“Excuse you! This summer your hair was just a little further than your shoulders and now it’s way past that. It’s going to be by your waist by the summer interhigh if you don’t cut it soon. You’re the hairiest guy I know!”

Makishima glared at Toudou who shrugged and added sheepishly, “You know what I mean. It’ll be beautiful.”

“Nothing can make me beautiful, let alone a weird braid,” Makishima thought dryly but it was Christmas and only Toudou would see him and he’d already taken it out of the packaging so…

“Fine,” he agreed. “You can braid my hair but don’t even think of hanging ornaments off me. Or anything like that.”

“I hadn’t even thought of that; that’s a wonderful idea Maki-chan,” Toudou said cheerfully.

Makishima groaned but sat down on the floor in front of the bed so Toudou could scoot behind him and still reach his hair. It didn’t take long for him to relax under the feeling of Toudou’s hands as he brushed his hair out and then began to braid, carefully weaving the lights into the long strands until Makishima’s hair was tied into an elegant braid, with the copper wire making his hair look even more iridescent than usual. Toudou tied the braid off with a hair tie and sat back so he could admire his work. Makishima reached up and tried to feel his hair but Toudou swatted his hands away.

“Hold still! Let me turn on the lights then you can look, okay?”

“Hurry up then,” Makishima complained and he twisted and turned around trying to see his back.

Toudou clicked the switch on the headband and Makishima tried to crane his neck to see but it didn’t matter. He couldn’t see but he heard Toudou gasp and he reached out to grab his shoulders to pull him around.

“You look amazing. It’s gorgeous! Here, go look in the mirror.”

Makishima went over to the full-length mirror that hung next to the door and tried to get a better look as Toudou hounded his steps.

Well it was certainly… something. His braided hair did look attractive and the lights scattered throughout it made him think of a Christmas tree but it also made him look almost ethereal, like a forest creature. Well, as ethereal as one could look wearing grey plaid lounge pants and a white t-shirt that said ‘Climb High!’ in neon blue letters. It wasn’t the worse thing that he’d done with his hair, Makishima decided.

“Pictures! Come back over here so I can get some shots.” Toudou waved him back over to the bed with his phone in his hand. Makishima knew better than to protest and he went where Toudou directed him and obeyed as Toudou pushed him into different poses and took pictures from every angle possible.

“I’m tempted to put you in some of my clothes but I don’t think that would really capture you. Besides, you look beautiful like this.”

“What?” Makishima said incredulously. “I’m in lounge pants and an oversized t-shirt. There’s nothing beautiful about me.”

“I disagree,” Toudou said. “I think you look beautiful. And I know plenty about beauty since I’m at the top of the scale. Why? You don’t believe me?”

Makishima shrugged him off. “I believe what you say, not what you see. That’s all.”

Toudou sighed and set his phone down. “Fine, let me show you then.”

“What are you talking about?” Makishima mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

“Let me show you,” he repeated and he went over to the door to turn off the lights, plunging the room into darkness except for Makshima’s hair. The tiny lights illuminated everything and yet nothing. Toudou came back to sit next to him and he reached out to cup Makishima’s face with his hand. Makishima had barely a moment see his face and all the tiny lights reflecting in his eyes when Toudou kissed him, gently at first but putting some pressure behind it until Makishima began to kiss him back. Then Toudou reached out and wrapped his arm around Makishima’s waist but unlike every other time, he slipped it under his t-shirt and across the small of Makishima’s back, running his hand down his side.

Makishima felt his brain short circuit as he suddenly realized what Toudou meant by ‘show you’ and his stomach clenched from nerves. He froze up, not sure if he wanted Toudou to keep going or if he wanted to push him away. Fortunately, Toudou noticed his reaction immediately and pulled back.

“Don’t worry. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I promise. You set the pace,” Toudou reassured him gently.

“I want- I’m not sure what- do whatever you like I guess…” Makishima mumbled, his tongue thick in his mouth, making it even harder to speak than usual. Ever since they’d started getting closer, he’d thought about them doing things, very specific things but it had always been hypothetical, not really something that he ever expected to happen and now he was sittin in the dark, on Jinpachi’s bed with his hands under his clothes and his hair providing otherworldly light it as moved and unraveled around them both.

This was not how he expected to be spending his Christmas but he was not complaining either.

“Do you know what you’re doing at all?” Makishima asked, half shy, half embarrassed by his own lack of experience.

“Not really,” Toudou admitted cheerfully. “I just like touching you. It’s nice.”

Makishima blushed so hard it felt like his entire chest on up was on fire. He didn’t know how to react. A small part of him wanted to curl up and pull away but a far larger part of him desperately wanted Jinpachi to touch him more, to cover his entire body with his hands and mouth and the heat of his body.

It was terrifying. And wonderful.

So Makishima decided to be bold. He scooted backwards until he had a enough space so that he could lie down on his side and Toudou moved with him, lying next to him so they were pressed together or as closely as they could be as they awkwardly jostled each other trying to figure out how they could fit their bodies together but not accidentally elbow one of them in the face or gut. They almost cracked heads at one point and Toudou had to get off Makishima’s hair so it wasn’t crushed underneath them.

But then they were together, face to face, chest to chest, their legs intertwining and hands carefully reaching out to touch, trace and creep under clothing. Toudou kept kissing Makishima on his lips, his face, his neck, his hair and it made it hard for him to him to focus on anything. He was certain that he had a hand wrapped around Toudou’s back, clutching at his shirt but where was his other one? Maybe he could pull Toudou even closer? The sudden need to get even closer consumed Makishima. He ground his hips against Toudou and he heard the groan slip from his mouth and there had to be some other position that would let them get closer and-

All the warning they had was a loud bam against the closed door but it was enough. Toudou flung himself so far away from Makishima that he fell over the side of the bed with a loud crash. Makishima managed to push himself into a sitting position and pull his shirt back down as Hana swung the door open, stopped in apparent confusion then flicked the lights back on.

“Come on you two! It’s snowing and it’s is starting to stick. We need you two to help sweep it up before it gets really bad. Also salt. Everyone else is already outside! ”

Then she noticed her brother laying on the floor, clutching his head and swearing loudly.

“What are you two doing up here?” she demanded, looking suspiciously between them.

“We were exchanging gifts before you decided to interrupt!” Toudou snapped at his sister. Makishima tried to avoid Hana’s gaze, certain that his bright red face would give both of them away. What if she figured it out? This was not how Makishima wanted anyone to find out about their relationship.

“Well, wrap it up! And stop spreading your ridiculous headbands around. The poor guy looks like a walking Christmas tree. ”

“My headbands are not ridiculous. You’ve told us what’s up now go away!” Toudou yelled.

“Both of you get downstairs then!” she snapped back. “You look very cute Makishima, but don’t let my brother corrupt you too much” and she winked.

“I’ll try not to,” Makishima muttered under his breath.

“Let’s get shoveling then its dinnertime and cake,” and she headed back out the door leaving them both to fully recover from the shock.

Toudou sighed and hauled himself to his feet. “I know what I want for Christmas this year, a lock for my door,” he grumbled and slammed his door shut.

“I’m surprised you don’t have one already,” Makishima said weakly flopping back onto the bed and trying to calm his racing heart. He was so relieved that they hadn’t been caught that he didn’t care in the slightest that the mood had been completely ruined.

“Our house is really old and I’m at the dorms most of the time now. But I think it’s time to ask for one.” Toudou turned and offered a hand to Makishima. “Shall we? Before the rest of my family comes in?”

Makishima reached out and Toudou pulled him to his feet but kept holding his hand.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you move that fast outside of a race,” Makishima teased him lightly.

Toudou snorted. “Careful. I’ve got ornaments somewhere. We can still deck you out for Christmas.”

“How about we switch?” Makishima suggested instead.

“Hmmm?”

“Later tonight, you can wear this ridiculous hairband and I’ll kiss you.”

Toudou’s entire face lit up and he pulled Makishima in for a hug. “Well I do tend to look better in headbands than you, so I guess that’s fine with me. You have to take some picture though. Oh! And I can try on my new shirt for a few and…”

Makishima grabbed Toudou and yanked him in for a kiss to shut him up. “We can figure it out later,” Makishima promised. Okay? Before you sister drags us out?”

“Okay,” Toudou agreed happily. “Let’s go. Merry Christmas Maki-chan.”

“Merry Christmas, Jinpachi.”

#toumaki advent calendar 2018 #submission #toumaki #grimelius

11 notes · View notes

minrcrafter · 6 years

Photo

ImagineCraft [Semi-Vanilla][SMP]{Whitelist}{1.12.2}{17+}{Community}{Dynmap}{Anti-Grief}{Multi-World}

Description

ImagineCraft is a whitelisted MineCraft server established May 25th, 2015. Most of our player base is within the USA and Canada; however, we do have numerous Europeans (~30% of the player population) (Brits, Dutchies, Irish, Finns, and Swedes) along with a few Aussies. We typically have around 5-10 players online during peak times and even more during special events. We would love to have you join us in our very community-minded MC world.

Perks

Your base is protected from griefing.

Newer Map! ImagineCraft is now on what we refer to as "Season 2" after a map reset on Dec 14, 2016 after just over 1.5 years of play! So if you're looking to not be far behind on player economy and still want to contribute in a positive manner, there is room to do so! We performed a map reset for technical reasons as our old map was 45Kx45K and disk space became an issue as well as needing to increase the borders due to game updates introducing new chunk generation behaviors. The community voted for and ultimately approved the map reset. Going forward we are making efforts to future-proof the map from resetting by utilizing a smaller border that expands as chunk generation behaviors change with game updates.

Go Exploring! The world is adequately sized with a reasonable border that allows for plenty of room for exploration and contains a vast variety of unique biomes! Feel free to claim an area or two to call your own or take the time to get out there and explore for whatever it is you're looking for, whether it's a specific biome or just a really cool landscape with an awesome view of the setting sun. If you find something cool, let us know!

Quick Travel - In Season 1, we utilized a warp system that relied on players having a set point to warp to as well as warp from...which was a big boon on a 45Kx45K map; however, with our Season 2 update and utilizing a smaller map, the community has installed an outstanding nether hub transportation system that allows for very fast travel using ice and boats, or jumping, or even minecarts to get where you need to go. You can quickly get from one end of the map to another in mere minutes.

MultiWorld - In addition to having an awesome survival world, we also have a creative world (inventory does not transfer) for testing purposes (palette schemes, redstone, etc).

TeamSpeak for voice chat so that you don't have to worry about typing "Creeper" when one is barreling right for your friend and flashing. ssSsSSsSsS BOOOOOM!!!

Server Admin/Owner and Mods that play the game just like you do. One of the largest complaints I've seen about other servers is immature staff. You won't find that here and we all know the line between staff duties and being a player so our powers are not abused. Myself, the owner, is 34. My Admin team is composed of players aged 23, 25, and 35. While age may just be a number, these individuals are very mature and conduct themselves in a professional manner while representing Staff functions.

There is always a contest, game, or special event that is occurring. We have held build contests, theater events, treasure hunting contests, trivia, and other assorted events. View our video of the Ghast Gauntlet Race or check out our YouTube channel for the most recent videos.

Community Wiki. Ever join a server and not know what has been done or where to go? Don't worry about that here with ImagineCraft. The entire community maintains a wiki that will help you get started, point of locations of interest, plugin commands, farm locations, pvp arenas and how to access them, etc. Plus you also get a tour when you join to show you the important things so you'll know what's what.

Be Yourself!. Nothing says be yourself than hanging out on TeamSpeak voice chatting with everyone and chilling inside dubtrack (plays songs for everyone simultaneously). Some of our most fun moments on the server have involved karaoke moments. Check out ImagineCraft sings Aqua's Barbie Girl and a new hit (I didn't even know I was being recorded by one of my players), me singing Ekzim sings Call Me Maybe. On a side note, it's a good thing I'm better with computers than I am at singing, hah.

Rules

As of Nov. 7th, 2015 we only accept players that are 17 years of age and older..

No malicious activity which includes griefing, hacking, or theft. We average one ban a month since May 2015. With theft being the leading crime, followed by x-rayers.

Player mods that defeat the challenge of playing on a semi-vanilla server are not allowed. An example would be running an x-ray mod or modified resource pack for direct access to ores.

Players are encouraged to lend a helping hand and to do things together like exploring, building, working on large-scale projects, etc. We get that sometimes it's cool to be solitary, but we're trying to avoid the lone ranger types that just go off and you never see them again. Why bother playing Multiplayer?

Be mature (as in, the opposite of immature, not meaning mature as in Rated-R mature) and remember the golden rule, do unto others and you'd have them do unto you. We are all about a positive experience on ImagineCraft and any negative behavior (aside from tasteful pranks) will result in you being banned.

Chat is to be kept family-friendly. TeamSpeak has a 17+ channel so you can be "adult" in there if you'd like, but our in-game chat is kept clean as we have a few under 17 that were here before the rule was passed to admit only 17+. Don't worry, they're exceptional and completely awesome.

Server Plugins

I do my best to preserve the vanilla feel as much as possible while allowing for certain plugins to be utilized to help enhance your experience. Here are some of the extras:

Dynmap - It's like Google Maps but for a Minecraft server. We even use it for some of our neat treasure hunts, such as Geocaching. Video here if you're curious about how we do geocaching on ImagineCraft.

PvP Plugins(2): We do have quite a few players who like to mix up the PvE experience with some PvP. Globally, PvP is disabled so unless you go to these areas, you won't have to worry about PvP. We have various arenas setup for Free for All as well as Capture the Flag. If you enjoy PvP and want to build arenas, I'll work with you to make it happen. The great thing about these plugins is that you can PvP without having to worry about losing your gear as your inventory is saved prior to playing and replenished after the match has ended. Kits are provided.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) - Ever wish you could still keep in touch with those in game when you're out and about? No problem. We have an IRC bridge in place that will allow you to keep in touch with those in game on various devices and platforms. You can even just use a web browser instead of an actual IRC application. If you don't know anything about IRC, don't worry, our Wiki will walk you through everything you need to know to get started.

Server Specifications (Great Performance!)

Located in Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Intel Xeon Processor E3-1220 3.10GHz

Ram 32 GiB

Disk 240 GB SSD

Bandwidth 1 Gb Port

33TB Bandwidth transfer/month

Additional Information

Community Outreach Blog started April 14, 2017. The purpose of the blog is to give you additional insight into what is happening on ImagineCraft and to learn about our players.

Ongoing Reviews - All I did was ask for honest reviews from my players. You can read through the feedback there if you are curious about the server from a player perspective and why they enjoy the server as well as what would they change if they were the owner/admin.

We conduct surveys periodically to continuously drive for improvement on ImagineCraft. The latest survey, March 2016 had 42 total responses. These surveys cover everything from play experience, community feel, evaluating staff, and even staff feedback related to their job functions. If you really want to know what we're about, if you go through this, you'll know exactly what you're getting into. I'm a huge data nerd and this captures ImagineCraft completely. ImagineCraft is seriously dedicated to improving and ensuring a positive play experiences for everyone. Past Survey: Dec/Jan 2016

Interested in Joining ImagineCraft?

Come by www.imaginecraft.org and put in an application. Once approved, your access on the forums will be upgraded and you'll see the server information for Minecraft as well as TeamSpeak for voice chat. If you don't receive an activation email upon registering, check your spam folder. You will be presented with one anti-spam challenge question during registration that is minecraft related. I have listed the possible questions along with their answers below.

Q. What grade of pickaxe must you use to mine obsidian?

A. Diamond

Q. What are the first 3 letters of our minecraft server name combined with the last 3 letters?

A. Imaaft

Q. A creeper hit by lightning becomes a _____ creeper.

A. charged

Q. Don't pick on these guys in the Nether or they'll gang up on you (2 words, plural)

A. Zombie Pigmen

Q. Zombies can sometimes drop what awesome food item?

A. Carrot

Thank you

Thank you for reading over this posting and we hope that you are interested to come check us out and join a community of like-minded gamers with talent! We are excited to be able to provide a great environment for you to play without worry of your creations and we'd like to see you develop and cultivate your skills. Whether you are a newbie or an experienced Minecraft player, we'd love to have you be involved with our community.

Thanks again!

#Minecraft servers #minecraft

1 note · View note

lindseyluvsdrag · 7 years

Text

Letters From My Glass Jar Ch. 7

Warning: Writing is not fundamental. Ignore the typos.

Ch. 1

Ch. 2

Ch. 3

Ch. 4

Ch. 5

Ch. 6

“Have a drink with me, grandson,” the man said as draped his arm over Oliver's shoulder. He led the boy to the kitchen and pulled out the Bourbon. “So, where'd you meet this girl and how is the sex?”

The boy nearly choked on dry air.

“You know those are the two most important things in a woman. Meeting her at a decent place and wanting to keep her because she performs well. You can always buy food but good sex is priceless.”

The boy groaned and quickly suppressed the horrific combination of his 'grandfather’ and 'good sex’ in the same sentence. “We met at school. Our friend introduced us.”

“Sounds good,” the elderly man said as he grabbed two shot glasses. He opened the top and filled the crystal to the brim before handing one to Oliver. “And the sex?”

The boy quickly downed his shot and groaned at the burning in his chest. “We don't have sex, Grandpa.”

“What?! Here's another.” The man filled the glass once more. “Is she not putting out or is this your doing?”

“I'm not ready for that yet. I still have two surgeries to go.”

“Does she know?”

“Of course she does. She knew before we started dating.”

“Ahh, so she accepts you for everything even if you sometimes don't accept yourself.”

Oliver smiled. He was always amazed at how easily his family saw through him. “Yeah, she's amazing.”

The man handed him the second shot. “To amazing women.”

“To amazing women,” the boy repeated before downing the Bourbon.

---

The elderly woman pulled Ronis into her bedroom and towards her closet. “The cut of your dress is very mod but the plain red just doesn't work. Mod is about bright colors and fun geometric shapes.”

“Well, the red was for Christmas.”

“Ugh, conforming to think a color is designated for a specific date is just stupid.”

“Um...okay. I respect your opinion.”

“It's not an opinion, it's a fact.” The woman then began to pull box after box from the top shelf of her closet.

“Do you need help?”

“Duh! I'm sixty-eight years old!”

The girl quickly rushed to the woman's aid and was immediately choked up by the layer of dust that had settled on the top of the cardboard. “What is all of this?” she wheezed.

“Fashion! Not that you'd know anything about that,” she said as she popped the first box open. The woman pulled out the canary yellow boat neck midi dress with short black and white striped sleeves causing Ronis’ jaw dropped.

“That's stunning.”

“I wore this to the Princess Margaret luncheon in 1966 a week after giving birth to David.”

“You were this tiny a week after?!”

“Of course! I didn't eat with a shovel while pregnant. David ruined my flower, he wasn't about to ruin swimsuit season too.”

Ronis laughed, slightly uncomfortable but she'd never let the woman see it.

“And this,” she said as she pulled out a short and sheer dress composed completely out of red, black and white poker chips, “was worn when I met Tina Turner. She said she liked it and I said 'your legs are nice and all but there's no way you can pull this off’. I got kicked out of the club shortly thereafter because Tina's a jealous bitch.”

“You met Tina Turner?!”

“I threw a drink on Tina Turner.”

“Oh my God. That's bonkers.”

“I caught her as she was exiting the club, threw the drink and ran before her security could catch me. I mean, I think Ike had the right idea because that bitch is evil.”

“Well, domestic violence is never okay,” the girl defended.

“Bullshit! Some people just need to be hit and other people crave being hit. Early in our relationship, my husband and I dabbled in the drug scene. We'd get high, fight over any little thing that'd escalate to goddamn boxing match, have the best sex ever, smoke a cigarette, go to bed and then do it all over again the next day. That’s the best kind of violence, but we’ve calmed down. No more cocaine and punches, just weed and a few spanks.”

The girl pursed her lips and thought about kittens to block the imagery from her mind.

“Alright, you. Open that box, let's see what we got.”

Ronis simply shock her head as she opened the box and gasped when she saw the fuschia and green checkerboard trench coat with fur lined cuffs. “This is so perfect! I love fuschia and green together if you couldn't tell,” she said as she batted her eyelashes to show off her creative makeup.

“Yeah, saw it. Hate it. Mod is black liner and or white liner, maybe a little pearlized white shadow with bold lashes. Other than that, the face was clean and free of all that extra nonsense.”

“Well, Mrs. Riddle, with all do respect, this is my style. I take inspiration from the sixties and the nineties and make it my own. I'm not trying to live in the past.”

“Well living in the past would do you some good because what you're doing now isn't working.”

“Well,” Ronis emphasized, “what works for me typically doesn't work for everyone. I can admit that my style is unique-”

“Unique is a delicate way to put it.”

“It is a very delicate way to put it and it's the only way I'll put it because I'd never conform to a set era or style. Maybe I feel like wearing all neon one day and maybe I feel like wearing a cat snuggie next. Style is subjective but a bad attitude is just toxic,” the girl ranted, doing her best to keep her tone at a respectful level.

“Ughh,” the woman groaned. “So political.”

“I was raised to stand up for what I believe in. And I don't think you have to tear other people down to validate your style.”

“My style doesn't need validation!”

“It doesn't, but you clearly do!” the girl exploded before covering her mouth, regret instantly washing over her.

“How dare you disrespect me in my own home?!”

“I'm truly sorry. Because you're Oliver's grandmother, the last thing I wanted to do was disrespect you but you've insulted me since I walked through those doors and I gritted my teeth but you're just a bit much.”

“Pfft, I know that!” The woman folded her arms. “Well nobody has ever said it to me but I know it.”

The woman's husband rushed into the room. “Is everything okay, honey?”

“Yeah, just getting put in my place by this bitch,” she sighed. “All of the other ones just kinda cried to the boys after meeting with me. But this one is feisty, I'm not sure I can handle that.”

“Well, if you want me to leave or whatever, I will,” Ronis offered.

“No, no. If you leave now you'll lose the respect that you've just earned.”

The girl grinned.

“Wipe that smirk off of your face because you only get a little respect. I'll never fully respect f that makeup.”

“And I can respect that as long as it's delivered as constructive criticism and not attacks.”

“Don't tell me not to attack! You...you...ah fuck it, where's the blunt?”

Her husband quickly lit a fresh blunt and handed it to her just as an anxious Oliver appeared in the doorway. “Is everything okay?”

“Where did you find this girl?” the woman asked. “I’m trying to give her my vintage shit and she's busting my chops in here.”

“Really?!” the girl squealed. “I'd love some of your vintage pieces! Literally nothing would make me happier, oh my Godddd-”

“Alright, alright, calm the fuck down. You're killing my buzz.” The woman took a deep inhale of the blunt. “After dinner or whatever the fuck we're doing, you can go through the boxes and take what you want. It's all too small for me and I'd rather it be in the hands of someone who'd wear it terribly than collecting dust.”

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Riddle,” the girl said excitedly.

“What are you a cop? Call me Pam.”

“Grand, your name is Mary,” Oliver said, slightly concerned.

“Well, I like the name Pam!”

“Okay, fine.”

“Let's go open these motherfucking presents.”

Ronis practically jumped into her boyfriend's arms. “Did you miss me?”

“Every second that we're apart.”

“Aww.” The couple shared a kiss before their fingers were interlocked as they made their way back into the living room. As soon as they turned the corner, the boy was ambushed by three small children.

“Oli! Oli! Oli! Oli!” they chanted as they clung to his back and legs, nearly tipping him over.

“Whoa, be careful,” Ronis got out as she nervously watched the boy secure his hold around Oliver's neck with one hand and pull at his nose with the other.

“Ow, Juju that hurts!”

“Give me some candy and I'll leave you aloneeee.”

“I don't have any candy! Go ask Uncle Duke!”

“Liar!” the girl wrapped around his right leg accused. “Uncle Duke said he gave all his candy to you!”

The third child reached into his pockets and pulled out a handful of chocolates. “Found it!”

“Hey, get off of me jerks!”

Ronis quickly retrieved the remaining candy from her boyfriend's pocket and placed it in her purse. “You now have your share. This is Oliver's and I will hold onto it for him.”

“Who is this arsehole?” the youngest child demanded.

“Oh my God, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“Ew, no! I kiss my girlfriend!”

The girl laughed in disbelief. “Well you put me in my place.”

“Ronis, little cousins. Little cousins, this is my girlfriend.”

“Ewwwww!” they said in unison. “Who would date you? You pee in the bed!”

“I do not! That was twelve years ago and you guys weren't even born.”

“My sister told me!” said Juju.

“My brother that if we kicked you in the bollocks that it wouldn't hurt cause you don't have any,” the girl added.

A pained expression crossed Oliver's face and Ronis fought the urge to rip the children off the boy.

“Where are your parents?” she demanded. “Would they like to know how you speak to people?”

“It's okay,” Oliver mumbled. “Guys, I'm gonna go to the bathroom really quick. Do you mind getting off?”

“Bryan said you have to sit to peeeee.”

“No I don't,” the teen practically whimpered.

“Then let us see!”

Ronis had reached her limit and pried Juju off of her boyfriend's neck.

“Stranger danger! Don't touch me!”

“Oh, you've yet to see dangerous,” she assured. “You two, get off of his legs.”

They blew raspberries at her.

“I'll give you each a chocolate ball.”

The kids quickly obliged and let go as she reached into her purse. She grabbed the sweetz and tossed them across the room causing all three of them to chase after the treats.

“Good riddance,” Ronis said with a scowl as she turned to her boyfriend. He was clearly defeated as he stared down at his shoes but she simply smoothed his hair. “Look at me.”

Oliver slowly met her eyes.

“You are perfect.”

The corners of his mouth curled but it wasn't the smile that she wanted.

“Let's play a game,” she said as she grabbed a third piece of chocolate from her bag. The girl unwrapped the foil and placed the candy in her mouth. “Want it? Come and get it.”

The boy couldn't help but grin as he pulled her into a tender kiss.

“Tossing the candy across the room was genius,” a female voice said from behind Ronis causing her to break the kiss. “I may try that sometime.”

Oliver groaned. “Go away, Alice,” he warned the sixteen year old. Before Ronis could question it, her boyfriend led her into the living room, only to freeze at the sight of the group of teenagers and young adults sprawled across the sofa.

“Well if it isn't little Oli!” Bryan shouted as he placed the blunt to his lips. “Got a dick yet?”

Ronis’ jaw dropped and before she could say anything, the boy did. “Got rid of your STDs yet?” he retorted.

The twenty year old quickly quickly pushed himself off of the couch. “Is it illegal to hit a lady?”

“Is it illegal to spray you in the eyes with Mace?” Ronis growled.

Bryan chuckled before giving her the once over. “You're pretty cute. How about I show you what a full length Riddle looks like?” he asked, tone and every inch of his body smug.

Oliver saw nothing but red as he shoved the boy back onto the couch and before Bryan could retaliate with a punch, Pam entered the room carrying an armful of presents.

“The fuck is going on in here?”

“Oliver pushed Bryan,” said Alice.

“Oliver, keep your filthy claws to yourself!”

“He said something inappropriate to Ronis!”

“Who the fuck do you think you're shouting at?”

The boy instantly composed himself. “Sorry, Grand.”

“Now if Bryan said something, this girl can handle herself. I don't need my grandkids pushing each other like sissys. You should've just punched him, I would've respected you more.”

“Yes ma'am,” he said quietly.

“Who's punching who?” David asked as he entered the room with a full turkey leg in hand.

“None of your fucking business,” his mother groaned. “Get your brothers so we can open this expensive shit that I still have the receipts for.”

David turned around and shouted back into the house. “Little bitches! Mummy wants you!”

His three younger brothers rushed into the room.

“Who are you calling a bitch, bitch?” Dylan retorted.

“You who takes it up the ass, bitch.”

“You smell like ass, bitch!” Duke randomly added to whoever would fight him for the statement. Daniel quickly pulled him into a headlock while David twisted Dylan's arm behind his back just because.

“Hey, you little shits! Stop it now!” Pam said in a tone they'd feared since childhood. They immediately obeyed. “You're killing my goddamn buzz!” Her husband handed her the blunt from earlier and she took a deep puff. “Each of you, go sit by your motherfucking spawns so it can make this gift giving easier. Although none of you motherfuckers deserve anything. Goddamn pussy mouth motherfuckers.”

Ronis covered her mouth to suppress the laughter at the way her new militant friend ran her household.

David wrapped his arm around Oliver and kissed the top of the boy's head. “How are you?”

“I'm fine.”

The man froze. “Who did it?”

The boy tried to pull away but the man's hold was unbreakable. “Did what?” he groaned.

“If anyone's fucking with you, you need to let me know because I'll drop any of these motherfuckers. Except Grand, she terrifies me.”

“Nobody is bothering me, Dad,” he sighed in exasperation.

“Except someone who needs to learn that what's in someone else's pants isn't any of their business,” Ronis grumbled. Oliver nudged her side.

“What was that?” David pressed.

“Nothing,” Oliver rushed. “And no, Ronis didn't do anything either.”

The man gave the girl a look before turning his attention to his brothers who tried to squeeze onto the couch with their children. While Dylan stood in the corner with his new lover sharing a blunt as they blew smoke into each other's mouths.

“There he is blowing shit again,” David joked to which he simply got a middle finger.

Daniel squished himself between two of Oliver's older cousins, Alice and one of the boy's Ronis had gotten rid of earlier while Duke was buried in Juju and his three other young children while his older sets of teens and young adults stood brooding in the background.

“How many fucking grandkids do we have?” Pam asked her husband.

The man quickly did the math. “Fourteen and they're all here besides Jackie.”

“Well, did you call her?”

“Yes! She said she'd come a bit later.”

“You guys invited Jackie without telling me?” David asked.

“Duh! She's my granddaughter and just because you don't get along with her doesn't mean I don't.”

“I get along with her but ugh, Mum, it's just complicated. She's a bigot.”

“Bigot or not, she's your daughter and you'll deal with it!”

“Not when she's being cold to my son!”

The woman responded by slapping her son across the face. “Don't you dare raise your voice at me!”

“Yes Ma'am.”

“Now my grandchild was invited to my house and when she gets here, you and Oliver will be nice to her.”

David gritted his teeth but didn't protest any further.

The woman placed the blunt between her lips. “Okay I got whore dolls for the girls and bebe guns for the boys. If you're under twelve, come and get it.”

The small group of children charged the woman as she handed out the sloppily wrapped gift boxes.

“Grand, why don't we have a tree?” JuJu asked.

“Because I smoked them all, sweetheart. Next! I have wine flavoured blunt wrappers and tequila samples for everyone between twelve and eighteen.”

“She can't be serious,” Ronis whispered in her boyfriend's ear.

Clearly embarrassed, the boy nodded. “She is.”

“Which one of you wanted the Xanax?!” Pam hollered.

“Me,” Bryan said before the woman tossed him the pills. “Thanks, Grand.”

“You're welcome, you little shit. Um, who needed spray paint?” Another of them raised their hand and quickly accepted the can. “Don't use it in my house and don't be huffing that shit.”

Oliver and Ronis were handed blunt wrappers and three small bottles of tequila.

“I really can't accept thi-” the girl got out before her boyfriend frantically pressed their lips together to silence her.

“Excuse me?” Pam asked, glaring down her nose at the couple.

“Nothing, Grand,” Oliver assured.

“Alright you little shits, start exchanging gifts.”

“Did you get your kids anything?” Duke asked.

“Yeah, I gave you the gift of life, motherfucker. Be grateful.”

Moments later, the room grew louder as the family began to exchange gifts that Oliver practically had to shout so that his girlfriend could hear him. “Telling her that you didn't want the gifts would've opened up an entire new can of worms.”

“But Oli I can't pretend to like something that I don't. Whatever it results in, I'm honest.”

“I know, babe, I know. But I want you guys to like each other. I'm stuck with her and I'm obsessed with you so I really need to make this work.”

The girl grinned as she kissed him. “So I have your first gift with me, but you have to promise not to be upset with me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “It depends.” She frowned and handed him the gift bag. The boy reached inside and pulled out the card first and began to read aloud. “To my boyfriend who likes handing out candy like he's the goddamn Easter Bunny. Love Ronis.” Oliver made a face as he retrieved the bunny ears and pale pink bucket.

“I'm sorryyyy,” Ronis offered. “I was still really pissed at you when I bought it. Your other gift is at the dorm.”

The boy chuckled before placing the ears on his head. “You could've at least gotten me candy or carrots or something.”

The girl giggled.

“And the only person I'll be giving my candy to is you.”

“Promise?”

Oliver extended his pinky and Ronis grinned as she wrapped her finger around his. “Oh!” he gasped as if he'd remembered something. The boy pulled a few loose papers from his coat pocket and handed them to the girl. “Merry Christmas.”

The girl scanned over the information, lists of names and phone numbers but she couldn't make sense of it. “What's this?”

“I took it upon myself to call Jaylen and get the name, address and phone number of every stadium he plays at and every club in the area. I called one and told them that we're an awesome, London based band and the guy said the next time we're in America, he'd love to meet with us.”

“Oh my God, really?! Babe, that's amazing!” Ronis squealed in excitement as she threw her arms around his neck.

“Roli is gonna be so real.”

“Roli is already real! They'll write fanfiction about us one day.”

The boy chuckled and kissed the girl, only to freeze when his grandmother shouted across the room. “Hey, Jackie!”

“Hi, Grand!”

“Hi, Grand!” three little voices clamored.

“Ah, damn, honey why didn't you remind me that we had three great-grandshits?!”

Oliver's blood turned to ice. “Oh God.”

“What's wrong?”

“I haven't seen Jackie in person in nearly three years...and I've never met her kids,” he whispered in a blind panic. “Oh God, I can't breathe.”

“Babe, it's okay,” Ronis cooed. “Let's go to the terrace.” As the girl led the boy towards the back of the flat she glanced over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of the hazel eyed brunette whose beauty nearly took her breath away.

Making it onto the balcony, Oliver snatched off his bunny ears as he continued to gasp for air and David was seconds behind him.

“Oli, Oli, it's okay buddy,” the man rushed as he pulled an inhaler from his pocket and handed it to the boy. Oliver placed the pump to his lips, taking two deep inhales as he pumped.

“Better?” David asked.

The boy nodded as he returned the inhaler.

“If you don't wanna see Jackie, you don't have to.”

“Dad, it's not me that doesn't back out of plans or rushes off of the phone when we speak,” he wheezed.

“I know, I know. She's a bitch. So just stay out here and take a Xanax or something. I'll be right back. Ronis, take care of my boy.”

“I will,” she promised.

David smiled, the sincere most sincere gesture she'd ever seen on the man since they met, before returning into the flat. Oliver covered his face into his hands and without a word his girlfriend wrapped his arms around him and pressed her cheek against the warmth that emanated from his chest.

“Your heart is pounding,” Ronis sighed before kissing his neck, allowing her to finally hear the sobbing that he was doing his best to conceal.

“Babe, it’ll be okay,” Ronis cooed but was taken aback when the boy snatched away from her.

“Stop saying it'll be okay because it won't! It hasn't been okay for fourteen years, what makes you think it'll all of a sudden, magically, be okay?!”

The girl had never seen the boy so upset but his shouting made her defensive. “I don't know, Oliver! Maybe a fucking Christmas miracle! I'm only trying to help make you feel better!”

“Nothing's going to make me feel better, Ronis! It fucking sucks! It sucks to have memories of your sister being nice to you and then her hating your guts all of a sudden! I haven't even met my nieces and nephew! I'm not a murderer or a child molester but I can't be around them. I see all this shit on social media and they're so beautiful and I can't even be around them,” he choked out before breaking down again; sobbing into his hands.

“Babyyy,” Ronis said helplessly as she wrapped her arms around the boy. The girl didn't know what to say so she remained silent as she figured the best thing she could do for him is to just be there.

Despite the icy frost searing his tears to face and his girlfriend's comforting hugs, Oliver continued to weep uncontrollably and it brought up all the vulnerability that he hated. The boy felt sick to his stomach and lightheaded. “I c-c-can't br-breathe.”

“Oh my God, babe no, please calm down.” When the boy continued to wheeze the girl did her best not to panic as his face grew paler. “Oli! Where's that inhaler thing?”

“Da-Da-”

The girl quickly rushed back into the flat in search of the boy's father.

---

After leaving his son in Ronis’ care, David made his way through the flat to the living room. When he made eye contact with Jackie, he smiled without showing his teeth. Before either could speak, the man was ambushed by his grandchildren.

“Grandpa! Grandpa!” they squealed.

“Hey, guys! And what did I tell you about calling me Grandpa? It's Big Daddy D to you.”

“Mum said that we can't call you that,” the boy informed.

David exaggerated a gasp. “Why not?”

The smallest of the children urged him to lean down so that she could whisper in his ear. “Because it sounds in-sa-ppropriate.”

The man gasped even louder. “Oh no! Not in-sa-ppropriate!”

“It's pronounced, 'inappropriate’. Josie just has a speech impediment,” the oldest retorted.

“Hey, there's nothing wrong with speech impediment, Jaz. I've been known to slur my S’sss,” he said in an over lisp that made the kids giggle. “So I guess you can call me Super Dragon Emperor of the World. Is that appropriate?”

“Yes!” they cheered in unison.

“Awesome! How about you guys see what your cousins are doing? I heard that Great Uncle Duke gave them candy.”

“Candy!” The kids all rushed off in different directions.

“Hi, Dad,” Jackie sighed.

“Hi,” David replied as he wrapped his arms around his daughter. Whenever the man got the chance to hug her, he was taken back to a time to when she was still his little girl. “How are you?”

“Besides Grand’s threats for me to come, I'm good. And yourself?”

“I'd be better if I could celebrate Christmas with both of my children.”

“Well, isn't J-”

“His name is Oliver,” he aggressively corrected.

The woman took a deep breath. “Well, isn't...Oliver...here?”

“He's on the terrace.”

“Then there you have it. Both your children are here.”

“Jackie, I'm not going to play these games with you. You know exactly what I mean.”

“I don't know what you want from me, Dad.”

“I want you to talk to your brother!”

“I don't have a brother!”

David quickly pursed his lips to prevent himself from saying something that he knew he'd regret. “Jackie,” he said quietly. “I-”

“David!” Ronis panted as she sprinted towards the man. “Oli needs that inhaler! He can't breathe and he's pale in the face and-”

Before she could get another word out, David was practically knocking the girl over to get to the terrace. Ronis turned on her heel to follow him but was stopped by Jackie's inquiry.

“Um, excuse me?” she politely began. “What's going on with...Oliver?”

“He's having a panic attack. He's upset that no matter how hard he tries, some people just won't accept him. Even people who should love him unconditionally,” Ronis said underhandedly.

Jackie raised an eyebrow. “And how do you know J- Oliver?”

“I'm his girlfriend,” she chirped proudly.

The woman immediately wrinkled her nose in disgust. “You do know that 'he’ was born a she, right?”

“Oh, I'm well aware of what Oli is. And more importantly, I'm aware of who Oli is. And that's the most amazing person that I've ever met in my entire life. You don't even deserve to have the same blood in your veins as he does because you're simply despicable. I don't know how you live with yourself, with all that goddamn venom swirling about inside of you and I literally hope and pray that none of your children have to go through what my boyfriend's going through right now because of you. Ugh,” Ronis groaned. Sick of looking at the woman, she turned on her heel ignoring Jackie's shouting behind her.

“Who do you think you are?! Don't you dare mention my children ever again, bitch! Jaz, Onyx, Josie let's go!”

“Aww, Mum! We're playing with our cousins!”

“And we just got here! Why do we have to leave?”

“Who's leaving?!” Pam demanded as she rushed back into the living room. “Not before we eat and shit or whatever’s left!”

“Grand, that stupid bitch, that lesbian!” she screeched in hopes that Ronis would hear, “practically called me a terrible mother! She doesn't know me and I won't tolerate this sort of disrespect!”

The elderly woman kept a calm tone as she spoke. “Jackie...you have two seconds to compose yourself and stop yelling in my goddamn face. You're killing my fucking buzz.”

Her husband rushed to her side and placed the blunt between his wife's lips. She took a deep inhale, held it in her lungs for ten seconds before blowing the smoke into her husband's mouth.

“I love you,” he slurred before rushing away just as quickly as he'd appeared.

The woman exhaled loudly. “Sorry, Grand

But she's a goddamn stranger and has no busy speaking on my children.”

“When was the last time that you called or stopped by to see me?”

“What?”

“You have no place calling someone a stranger when I don't think I've seen you since the little one was in shitty diapers.”

“Grand, I'm busy.”

“Busy doing what? Sitting on dicks that aren't attached to your husband?”

“Whoa, no, I-”

“You have three children by two different men and you're on your second husband who's such a fucking loser who can't see right through your bullshit.”

“Grand, I don't have bullshit.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up. I know a whore when I see one. And there's nothing wrong with that, you're my granddaughter and I love you. I just wished you'd visit more often.”

“As I said earlier, I'm busy and if you think I'm such a whore then why would I wanna be in your home?”

“Because no matter who or what you are, you're still my goddamn family! Just like your brother. He's my family and I'd never turn my back on him! Do you not understand that concept?!”

Jackie pursed her lips as she stared down at her leather boots.

“You know what, if you wanna leave, go ahead. I don't want that shit in my house. I'm happy. I just got off probation, I have an amazing buzz and all of my family that wants to be here is here, but I don't need that bigot shit in my house. I went to Woodstock for a reason. You get that nasty shit from your mother and I never liked that fucking bitch. So gather up your little shits and get the fuck out.” Pam turned and made her way towards the kitchen. “I'm gonna cut the ham and shit, anyone who's hungry follow me! Happy birthday little baby Jesus!”

“Kids get over here, now!” Jackie shouted, ignoring their overlapping protests. “Hush.”

“Mum, why can't we stay? We love our cousins and we never get to see them,” Jaz whined.

“Because they're crazy. And bound to be unhappy,” she ranted as she tightened the scarves around their necks.

“Everyone here is having so much fun,” her son retorted.

“We're the only ones who are unhappy,” Josie sniffled.

Jackie paused. “Really?”

“Yes!” the three of them said in unison.

“We have Peter and Julie, but do you know how weird it is to have an aunt and uncle in your age group?” Jaz asked.

“Yeah, they try and boss us around,” the boy added.

“Well-”

“And since they're always out of town, we hardly see them either. The only kids we're around are the ones at school, but nothing compares to family.”

“Where are the glasses?” Jackie heard Ronis ask from the kitchen. “Oli needs water.”

Jackie sighed. “Um...hang your coats. We aren't leaving yet.”

“Yayyy!” the three of them squealed as they tossed their jackets to the floor before taking off.

“Hey, I said hang, ugh, nevermind...have fun.” The woman hesitantly hung her own coat on an available hook by the door before slowly making her way through the place.

“Niece!” Duke shouted as he pulled her into a tight bear hug. “I'm either super fucked up or you're actually here.”

“No... I'm...here,” she gasped. “You're...squeezing... too...tight.”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” he said as he released her. “How long has it been?”

“Oh, I don't know, Uncle Duke. A few years? But you Skype me all the time!”

“I shouldn't have to Skype you when we live in the same city,” he said as he finished off his fifth beer.

“Yeah... I guess you're right.”

“So what's up? Did you just come to pick up your presents and leave?”

Jackie frowned. “The fact you think that about me is pretty upsetting.”

“You've yet to show otherwise.”

“Well, this year is different. It's about family.”

“All of your family or the family that fits into what you think is socially acceptable?”

“All of my family.”

The man smiled. “Good to hear. Wanna do a line with me?”

“Um...no thanks,” she said before making her way further into the flat.

“Whatttt? I thought Christmas was about family!”

Jackie chuckled as she shook her head. When she arrived at the patio door, she hesitated, took a deep breath and even contemplated running before she stood her ground and knocked.

---

Oliver clung to the icy metal railing of the terrace as he did his best to breath when his father rushed out to his side.

“Buddy, sit down,” David ordered as he helped the boy into the frost covered patio furniture. The man handed his son the emergency inhaler and the boy took the usual two puffs but it wasn't enough so he took a second and a third. “Damn, Oli I may have to get you more than an emergency one. You aren't even asthmatic but this shit happening more often. That panic shit is no joke.”

After a fifth puff, the boy was finally able to accept oxygen into his lungs. He took an appreciative deep breath.

“Are you okay?”

The boy nodded.

“Let's go inside.”

“I don't want to.”

“You're gonna die of frostbite.”

“Seems fitting,” he sighed.

“Please don't say shit like that son. I know this is tough, but at the end of the day, you gotta stay tough.”

The boy's insides felt like they'd burst into flames as he suppressed his tears. He hated crying in front of his father more than anything in the world. Dad’s given you everything, why are you bitching like it isn't enough? he thought. And just before a tear could spill onto his already frost whipped cheeks, to his extreme relief, his girlfriend returned. He was instantly comforted by her presence.

“Ugh, what a bitch,” she grumbled.

“What's wrong?” Oliver asked in attempt to distract himself.

“Nothing, baby. Are you okay? Do you need water or something?”

The boy nodded and the girl rushed back into the flat to return moments later with a glass. She handed it to him and Oliver took a sip before placing it on the table.

“Better?” she asked as she knelt by the boy's chair.

“Yeah, I'm okay.” He grabbed the girl's hand and guided her into his lap.

Ronis affectionately wiped the boy's cheeks to free him from his tear stains before running her fingers through his hair. “I love you.”

“I love you,” he replied before risking his life to rustle the girl's hair.

“Babeeee,” she groaned unleashing a barrage of pinches onto his arms and belly.

“Ow! Owww!” the boy giggled. “Okay, okay you win!”

“Of course I win! Don't touch my hair, jerk!”

“I won't,” he said mischievously.

“I'm going to slaughter you,” she warned.

Oliver grinned before kissing her twice.

“I hate to admit it but you guys really do look great together,” David said with a light chuckle.

“Oh my God, Dad,” the boy gasped in complete embarrassment. “I totally forgot that you were out here.”

“So did I,” Ronis sheepishly admitted. “Sometimes when I see him it's like everyone else around us disappears.”

“I appreciate it,” the boy's father said. “I have to get used to the idea that someone may love my son just as much as I do.”

The girl's cheeks turned a rosy hue.

“Oh, you have a lot of work to do, woman. That position comes with tons of responsibilities. You have to do his laundry, take care of him when he's sick, blow on his soup if it's too hot-”

“Dad,” the boy protested.

“No, no, I fully accept the 'loving Oliver’ package and everything that comes with it,” Ronis assured.

“You have to make a blood oath! I have a scalpel in my car and-”

“Dad!”

“I'm just sayinggg. It's gonna be hard relinquishing control.”

“You have plenty of time to adjust. I'll be around for awhile,” she promised. “And I make really good chicken parmesan.”

David smiled. “I will hold you to that.”

The girl turned to her boyfriend and winked. Oliver wrapped his arms around her, laying his head on her chest.

Ronis laughed. “Such a cozy spot right?”

“Mhm. You're warm.”

“Thanks, babe.”

“Oh! I have to get your gifts.”

“Aww, David you didn't have to get me anything.”

“Ugh, I know,” he groaned, “but Oli insisted.”

“What?” the boy interjected. “No I didn't.”

“I'm jokingggggg,” the man cackled just as a knock sounded at the patio door. “Who the fuck knocks to come outside? Who is it?!”

“Jackie,” the woman replied.

Oliver became stiff in his seat as he glanced over his shoulder at the edge of the balcony; the only exit.

David and Ronis scowled. “What do you want?” the man asked.

“I’d like to talk to Oliver... if that's okay.”

The man turned to his son who was visibly uncomfortable. “You don't have to speak to her if you don't want to, Buddy.”

“Um... I-I-I-” the boy stammered.

“Whatever you decide, I'll be by your side. I'd never leave you alone with her,” he practically snarled.

Oliver gulped and nodded. “Okay.”

“Come on out, Jackie.”

The boy's heart pounded against his chest as he anxiously watched the doorknob turn.

Ronis kissed the top of his head, reminding the boy of her presence and he quickly took advantage of it by grabbing her hand. “Do I look okay?” he whispered.

“Is that a serious question? You're way too perfect for that word,” she said, repeating what he'd told her earlier.

Oliver smiled and stole a kiss before his stomach went into a frenzy at the sight of his sister.

“Hi, everyone...hi Oliver,” she said quietly.

“H-H-Hi, Ja-Jackie,” he stammered as he peaked around his girlfriend's chest like a small timid child. Ronis gave his hand a firm squeeze.

“Can I have a hug?”

“Jackie, let's not push it,” David growled.

“It's okay, Dad,” the boy exhaled as he eased the girl out of his lap. After standing, Oliver quickly smoothed the wrinkles out of his slacks.

“Oh my God, you're so tall now!”

Oliver instantly turned bright crimson. “Yeah,” he said bashfully. “I get my height from Dad.”

“Six foot two baby,” David said proudly.

Jackie extended her arms. “Get over here.”

He slowly approached the woman and she met the boy halfway. After she wrapped her arms around her brother, Jackie immediately began to cry. “You're so handsome, Oliver. You have a mustache and a goatee. My husband doesn't even have hair on his chin.”

The boy chuckled. “Thank you.”

Jackie broke the hug and wiped her eyes only to break down again. “I missed you.”

If Oliver was being honest with himself, the spectacle made him uncomfortable and confused. “Really?”

She nodded. “I've been thinking a lot and I just really have so much to get off of my chest.”

“Um, okay,” he said nervously, wiping his hands on the sides of his trousers to keep the sweat at bay.

“And I was wondering if we could speak alone.”

“No fucking way,” David protested. “That's not going to happen.”

“Dad, I'm not going to do anything,” Jackie said defensively. “I won't hurt your precious baby.”

“Nothing has stopped you before,” he retorted.

“Dad, it's okay,” Oliver said quietly, barely believing the statement himself.

“Are you sure?”

The boy hesitated but nodded.

David went to protest but quickly obliged, making his son suspicious. “I'll be...right inside...if you need me,” he said before entering the flat and immediately pressing his ear against the door.

Oliver turned to his girlfriend. “Do you wanna go inside too?”

Ronis folded her arms. “No.”

“Babe-”

“No, I'm just not buying this shit. A minute ago she was calling me a lesbian and now all of a sudden she wants to be all in your face like she's sincere.”

“This is a family matter and it doesn't concern you,” Jackie growled.

“Ronis has been more family to me than you've ever been,” Oliver defended and a pained expression instantly took over his sister's face.

“I'm sorry,” she sniffled. “I'm embarrassed enough as it is and I'd like to tell you how I feel without additional judgement from a third party.”

The boy looked at Ronis.

“Please,” Jackie pleaded.

“Two minutes,” Oliver said sternly.

“Okay.”

Ronis sighed before they shared an extra tender kiss. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

The girl then made her way towards the flat, shooting Jackie a scowl as she passed the woman. When she opened the door, David was conveniently tying his shoe. Ronis chuckled to herself as she entered and closed the door behind her.

“Hey, that's my spot!” Oliver heard his father say.

“Well, scoot over,” Ronis groaned.

“Diana Ross, your hair is in my way. Tame that shit!”

“Never.”

David gagged. “Oh God, a piece just went in my mouth.”

“Maybe if you'd stop talking it wouldn't! And ew, I totally have to bleach my hair now.”

“Sssh, they'll hear you!”

“Pfft, you're the loud mouth,” Ronis retorted.

“True.”

Oliver suppressed his laughter. “That's as alone as we'll get.”

“I guess I'll have to take it.”

“Do you want to sit?”

Jackie shook her head. “I'm sure standing is way warmer than sitting on a frost chair,” she said through chattering teeth.

The boy frowned. “Where's your coat?”

“Hanging up at the front.”

“Take mine,” the boy offered as he removed his jacket.

“Oh...are you sure?”

“Yeah, I insist.”

Jackie pursed her lips as she accepted the coat and slid it on. “Thank you, Oliver.”

“You're welcome. I have to admit that you calling me Oliver is kinda strange.”

“Yeah?”

He nodded. “Versus 'kid’ or 'hey you’. Definitely.”

“And I'm really sorry about that. I just...there isn't a really good excuse but growing up, it was just Mum and I.”

Oliver cringed at how easily she could refer to the woman.

“As a young doctor, Dad was always working and for years I'd only see him for like ten minutes a day. So Mum and I-”

“Could you please not call her that?”

“Sorry...um, Jennifer and I developed such a strong bond. Just like the one you and Dad have. So when they started to argue more and more over you and inevitably the divorce came about, it was like I was forced to choose between them. And I had to side with the person who was always there for me, ya know?”

“I guess,” he sighed.

“And at the time I was like 'no, this child can't even read, how is she gonna demand that we accept an entire new identity?’ We figured that it was a phase, you know kids put on an Elsa costume and suddenly they have ice powers for a few days. But when a few days turned into weeks then months, Jennifer started to get annoyed. She wanted her little girl back but Dad would practically tell her 'our child is transgender. Deal with it.’ And Jen's just like, ‘no, this child isn't going to tell me what to do. I'm the parent’ and Dad would come back with 'we want him to be happy’ and then the 'she’s four! Tons of things make her happy! She got excited over finding a lego the other day!’ And it got worse and worse and they'd just blow up on each other all the time. It was tough.”

“I'm sorry,” Oliver said quietly.

“Oh, please don't apologize. It wasn't your fault.”

The boy wanted to object to the statement but he remained silent.

“When the divorce happened, Dad essentially said that if I didn't accept you as my brother then he wanted nothing to do with my bigotry and that really hurt me. Just because I didn't accept or hell, even understand this trans thing, doesn't mean I didn't love you. Oliver, I love you,” she sniffled. “I've always loved you. Over the years I did make attempts to see you in person when I wasn't busy with school but did you know that each time I tried, Dad would pull that overly protective shit and tell me that I didn't deserve to see you and would hover over me as I played with you? On top of that Jen would say 'oh, you wanna be over there with him? Fine.’ And even she'd stop talking to me for weeks on end. So it just really sucked. And as you got older and lost interest in toys, I grew more uncomfortable with just trying to talk to you while Dad was scowling at me. So I gradually decreased it to just phone calls and even then I could hear him in the background scoffing. He's just not the easiest to deal with sometimes.”

“Trust me, I know. And Jackie, I had no idea that it was like that for you...but I have a question.”

“I'll answer any questions you have.”

“How come you never let me meet the kids?” he asked, trying to mask his trembling voice.

“To be honest, I didn't want them to be confused. I still don't understand the trans thing myself and how would I explain to them your baby photos to you being their uncle now, ya know? I showed them our pictures from when we were younger and the next time they saw Jen they asked about you and she was like 'yeah, I had another daughter once.’ and then whenever Dad comes around and he talks about you alllll the time and I really don't think they'd get that you're the same person... I don't know what they're little minds are capable of. They actually just told me off before I came out here so,” she chuckled. “I think it's time that you met them… if you want.”

The boy froze. “Um, I-I-I don't know. Wh-What if they get confused and th-their little heads start to hurt? I-I-I don't think they'd li-like me-, um-”

“Well, if they get confused, we'll do our best to explain to them what's going on. It's about time we all become more educated on this.

Although I never thought of you as my brother, I always loved you as my little sibling. I'm really sorry for that. You deserve an identity.”

“It's okay, Jackie. I'm really glad we could have this conversation.”

“Me too,” she said with a smile so genuine that for the first time the boy was comfortable around her. Oliver extended his arms and without a word or awkwardness, the siblings shared a hug. “Come on. I want you to meet the kids.”

The boy took a deep breath and allowed the girl to lead him to the door. As soon as she opened it, Ronis and David spilled out onto the terrace but to their surprise, the man was gagged with a Christmas stocking and practically hog-tied as Ronis restrained him further by sitting on his legs.

“What the-”

“He tried to interrupt your beautiful moment! I mean, I still don't like you for being a bitch to me but it was only fair that Oli got to hear your side of things and every time you said something remotely negative about this one, he was ready to break down the door,” she panted.

“Babe, you can take my dad?” Oliver asked, clearly impressed.

“Yeah,” she said bashfully. “Krav Maga, the official self-defense system of the Israeli army. Maybe I'll show you sometime...if you think you can handle it.”

The boy gulped. “Sure.”

“Crazy thing is, so many people walked by as I was sitting on him and they didn't say a thing. Pam even laughed,” she said as she finally released the man and helped him up.

David spat the stocking at her. “You goddamn lunatic! I'll with you later,” he turned to Jackie, “but you! How dare you tell my son all these lies about me?!”

“Cut the bullshit, Dad! You practically cut Mum and I out of Oliver's life after we wouldn't accept the trans thing! We tried to still be there but you literally wouldn't answer the door!”

“Why would I want you bigots to be around my child?!”

“Dad, I'm not a bigot! No, I don't understand this stuff but it doesn't mean I'm not willing to learn! You just told us 'his name is Oliver and he's a boy’ without any explanations, how else were we supposed to take that?!”

“Just accept it!” David exploded, vein in his neck ready to self destruct.

“Dad,” Oliver intervened. “Calm down.”

The man looked at his son with rage filled eyes before punching the patio door, missing Ronis by a few inches and effectively putting a massive dent in the lumber.

“Oh my God,” the girl gasped as she made her way out of the path of any future blows.

The boy quickly grabbed his father by the lapels of his coat and slammed him against the stone walling of the side of the flat. “You almost hit her!” he growled.

The duo had never put their hands on each other before and David did his best to suppress his demolished feelings. “You're gonna attack me

.. over some girl?”

“She's not just some girl! And if you would've hit her, I would've never forgiven you!”

“Oh, but she can hog-tie me?! Fuck that bullshit, Oliver!” David wanted to leave, but couldn't bring himself to push the boy away.

“You seriously need to calm down! Why are you so defensive?! Because what Jackie said is true, isn't it?”

“Yeah, it's true that I protected you from people who wanted to force you to be something that you're not!”

“But Dad, they probably would've understood it more over time if you would've given them the chance! You can't just cut people out of their family's lives because of a misunderstanding! My mum wanted to see me and you wouldn't let her!”

“At the end of the day, she still abandoned you, Oliver! Do you not understand that?! Someone could lock me in a cage and I'd saw off my own fucking limbs if that's what I had to do to escape to see you again!”

“But-”

“But she doesn't give a damn about you! They had ample opportunities to see you over the years and they didn't. I've been there since day one and now this bigot comes outta nowhere and you wanna just take her side! That fucking hurts, Oli!”

“Dad, I...I don't know.”

“Clearly!”

Without another word, the boy released his father and grabbed his girlfriend's hand before storming into the flat.

David instantly regretted the entire altercation and quickly chased after the boy. “Oli, wait.”

Oliver stared at the floor as he spoke through gritted teeth in hopes that his tears wouldn't spill over. “Dad, I really think that things are a little tense right now, um,” he got out before his voice got caught on the lump in his throat. “We've never

...fought before…and I-I-” The boy shook his head before tightening his hold on his girlfriend's hand as he rushed towards the flat's exit.

“Whoa, where are you going?!” Pam shouted. “Why are you cryin- hey don't walk away when I'm talking to you!”

The boy would deal with his grandmother's wrath at another time but he couldn't get out of that house fast enough.

Ronis wanted to say some comforting words, but based on the Oliver's expression, she decided to remain quiet as he led her through the parking lot to the curb. When the combination of tears and the icy winds that made them freeze-dry to his cheeks became too much, the boy sank to the curb.

“Babe, get up, it's cold and don't have your coat. I don't want you to get sick.” Bordering on hysterical, the boy didn't care what happened to him but he didn't protest when Ronis grabbed his arm and used all her weight to pull him to his feet. “Let's go to my dorm. I'll make you cocoa stuffed with marshmallows.”

---

“David!” Pam shouted. “What's wrong with Oliver?!”

“We got into a misunderstanding,” he grumbled.

“Misunderstanding?” Jackie scoffed. “More like Oliver found out that Dad's been portraying me and Mum as the face of evil when really we've been trying to be in that kid's life since the beginning.”

“What?!” the woman shouting before slapping her son. “Why the fuck would you do that?!”

“I was only trying to protect him!”

Pam slapped the boy again. “Watch your motherfucking tone!” David accepted the blows allowing the physical pain to match the way he felt on the inside. “You motherfuckers are killing my buzz. Go find him and make it right!”

“Yes ma'am,” he mumbled weakly before making his way towards the exit.

The man made it to his car and immediately called his fiancee. When it went to voicemail, he called again. Then again.

Hi, you've reached Lisa, I'm sorry I missed your call. Feel free to leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!

“Babe, please call me back,” David sniffled. “I just got into a fight with Oli and I just-” his voice hung on the lump in his throat. “I just really need your voice telling me it'll be okay right now. I love you,” he got out before breaking down completely.

---

“Sonique is spending the night at her parents house for Christmas so we have the place to ourselves,” Ronis said as she led her boyfriend into her dorm room. “Hell, I think the entire campus is empty right now but we'd never get away with cuddling at my house,” the girl giggled as she removed her coat. She turned to her boyfriend who had pressed his back against the door. The tears were long gone, but the boy hadn't uttered a single word since they'd left his grandparents home. Ronis sighed as she dug through her drawer to find her favorite pug mug before heating water and making a mix of hot chocolate. She stuffed it to the brim with tiny marshmallows and walked it over to the boy. He accepted it but didn't take a sip. “You don't want it?”

“Um, yeah,” he said quietly. “Thanks.”

Hearing the boy's voice made her smile. “Sit, sit so that I can give you your gifts.”

Oliver took a deep breath and made his way to the girl's bed. He sat on the edge and took a miniscule sip before Ronis handed him a small box.

“For me?” he asked dryly.

“Yeah I think you'll like it.”

The boy popped the lid of the box open to what he thought was a stapler.

“It's a pick punch,” Ronis chirped. “Like a hole punch but for things like old credit cards and stuff to make picks for your guitar.”

Oliver smiled without showing his teeth. “Thanks, babe. I love it.”

“Yayyy.”

He kissed the girl before she reached underneath the bed. “I have something else for you.” Ronis pulled the wrapped box from its hiding place and handed it to Oliver. “Open that and I'll be right back,” she said, doing her best to contain her excitement. The girl pushed herself off of the bed, grabbed a bag from the closet and quickly rushed into the bathroom.

The boy sighed and slowly ripped into the winter wonderland themed gift wrap to reveal a plain white box. Oliver undid the flap at one end of the box only to find it stuffed with a gift bag.

“What the hell,” he mumbled to himself. The boy pulled the red gift bag out of the box before yanking the white tissue paper off of the top, revealing the even smaller gift bag underneath. Oliver smiled as he shook his head and dumped the contents of the second bag onto the bed; a small wrapped box. “You're killing me!” he chuckled loud enough for the girl to hear.

“It's the build up to something amazinggggg,” Ronis replied.

“What are you up to, woman?”

“You'll see in a secondddd. Are you feeling any better?”

“Yeah... I just don't wanna think about it.”

“Well, I hope that this gift offers enough of a distraction,” she practically purred.

“I'm sure it will,” he said as he tore into the small wrapped box. It was a small plain white box. Oliver quickly snatched open one end only to find yet another wrapped package. “Ronis!”

“Whatttt?” she asked innocently.

“What is this?”

“Did you open it yet?”

“I'm trying but you have a million packages, boxes and bags!”

“Patience is virtue, my love.”

Oliver took a deep breath. When he ripped into the wrapping he'd lost count of and saw the plastic, the boy grinned. “Finally!” He tossed the paper over his shoulder before turning his attention to the casing in his hand, raising an eyebrow at the small pink device inside. “What the-” the boy said as he read the label. “Frisky Fingers Vibrating Sleeve…”

At that moment, his girlfriend emerged from the bathroom.

“Babe, what the hell is-” The boy's eyebrows shot up when he saw Ronis leaning against the door frame dressed in nothing but a sheer red negligee trimmed in white fur and cinched under the bust with a thin strap that resembled Santa Claus’s classic black belt. Her wild curls framed her face had been washed of all her holiday makeup, allowing the natural glow of her mocha skin to shine through.

“Ho, ho, ho,” she said seductively.

“Whoa,” was all Oliver could manage to say, eliciting a giggle from the girl as she sauntered towards him.

“You like it?”

“Like is a fucking understatement,” the boy exhaled. “But what the hell is this?” he asked as he held up the sex toy.

Ronis settled onto the spot next to him. “It's a vibrating finger cozy.”

“And you want me to...use this on you?”

“That was the plan,” she bashfully admitted.

“So this was literally just a gift for yourself,” Oliver said teasingly.

“No, I bought it for you...to use on me. I mean, it's not like you'd let me use it on you.”

The boy quickly changed the subject. “I really liked my pick punch. It'll come in handy if I ever lose a pick or if I wanna make a collection of picks made out of random materials. I really think a pick made out of titanium would be really cool, although-”

Ronis silenced him with her lips. “I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I didn't mean to make uncomfortable. I just want to make you feel as good as you make me feel.”

“Seeing you feel good makes me happy. That's all I need.”

The girl smiled as she slid onto the boy's lap, straddling him before she wrapped her arms around his neck. Oliver gently cradled her ass in his hands as their lips connected.

“Grab it harder,” she demanded, prompting the boy to give her cheeks a firm squeeze as they continued to make out.

Oliver's hands eventually moved to girl's chest and he let out a low groan. “Your boobs are softer than Clair de Lune and Moonlight Sonata’s first movement put together.”

Ronis cackled. “I love it when you speak music to me.”

The boy laughed before he kissing her and rolling her onto her back against the cool teal satin sheets of her small bed.

“I don't want a lot for Christmasss,” Ronis sang in a low, sensual voice. “There's just one thing I needdd.”

Oliver smiled. “You're giving me goosebumps.”

“That's not all I'm gonna give you,” she growled as she pulled the boy down into a kiss.

“Herpes?” he mumbled against her lips.

“Fuck all the way off!” she laughed, giving his chest a shift shove while he laughed at his own joke.

“I'm kidding.”

“I don't forgive you.”

The boy raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?” he asked, taking the statement as a personal challenge.

“Nope.”

Oliver kissed the spot on the girl's neck that he knew drove her crazy. “Do you forgive me now?”

“No,” she exhaled.

The boy moved to her chest, gently kissing each of her boobs. “What about now?”

“Nuh uh.”

He raised an eyebrow before he kissed her jawline while his left hand traveled to smooth, sheer red fabric of her panties. The boy allowed his fingers to slowly dance around her sensitive spot and he smiled as the girl wriggled beneath beneath him. “Do you forgive me now?”

“Yesss. Just fuck me,” she pleaded.

“Not so fastttt,” her boyfriend teased. “You stepped your game up tonight and I'll try to do the same.” Oliver walked his fingers up from between the girl's legs to the fur bow that was holding the negligee closed across the girl's chest. He slowly tugged at one end of the bow and each half of the fabric to fall to girl's sides, exposing her perfect supple breasts.

The boy placed his hands over each boob and gave them a gentle massage.

“Mmm, that feels nice,” she exhaled.

Oliver kissed each soft mound before kissing her lips, then jaw, then neck; moving further and further down, leaving a trail of kisses until he reached the top of her underwear. He hooked his fingers into the sides of the thong and waited for the girl to lift her hips, allowing him to pull the small piece of fabric down her smooth legs and off completely. The boy pretended to tuck them into his pocket.

“What the- oh my God you're such a dork,” his girlfriend giggled. “That's your real Christmas present.”

“The best gift ever,” he growled before kissing her ankles, then calves, then inner thighs as he made his way up to the tender spot between the girl's legs, stopping a few centimeters shy of her bundle of nerves.

Ronis let out a feeble groan as the yearning to be touched grew stronger and stronger.

“You okay?” the boy teasingly asked, knowing exactly what the source of her strain was.

“You're driving me insaneee.”

“Am I?” he asked innocently as he moved agonizingly slow, gently tracing the perimeter of her box with his fingertips.

“Fuck me, babe. Pleaseeee.”

Oliver flashed a devilish smirk and continued to tease the girl.

“You know what-” Ronis growled as she sat up and snatched the boy's vest off. She tossed it to the floor then swiftly ripped into his red dress shirt, sending buttons flying about the room in every direction.

“Hey, this is Egyptian cotton! “I'll buy you another,” she panted as she stripped him of the fabric, throwing it over her head prior to grabbing the boy's belt buckle. Ronis managed to undo the latch before Oliver grabbed her wrists and pinned her back onto the bed. Surprisingly, the boy didn't find himself upset that she'd attempted to get into his trousers, but more so that she was impatient and hijacked control of the situation. He frowned as he held her into place. “I'm only going to say this once,” he said in a low, commanding voice. “Patience is a motherfucking virtue, my love. Don't leave this bed again.” “Yes, sir,” she said innocently. “I've been a very naughty girl and I deserve to be punished.” “You do,” Oliver said as he bit his lip and daringly rustled the girl's hair with both hands. “Ugh!” Ronis snarled as she pounced on her boyfriend but he quickly overpowered her and pinned her again. “Something wrong?” the boy teased. “I'm gonna kick your ass.” “Ooo, so violent. That's kinda sexy though.” “Babeeee,” she whined as she wiggled against her restraints. “Whatttt?” “I'm horny as fuck and you're driving me crazy in the wrong way!” Oliver released one of her wrists and moved his grande to her boob, giving her nipple a small pinch. “The wrong way?” Stubborn as ever, the girl bit her lip as she nodded encouraging Oliver to take the other sensitive nub between his fingers; giving them gentle twists and pulls. “Mm, oh fuckkk.” “The wrong way?” the boy asked again. “No, that feels really gooddd.” Oliver's grin was smug as he kissed her. “But I need moreee.” He chuckled as he pushed himself off of the bed. “Where are you goingggg?” “Stop whining,” he ordered. Ronis pouted. “I touched your hair so I have to wash my hands before I proceed with anything else.” “Are you trying to say that my hair is nasty?” “Yes, Ronis,” he said sarcastically. “Your hair is a dirt motel with germs and lice living there.” She scowled. “Oh, you can fuck all the way off for that.” “You don't mean that.” “Yes, I do. You're an arsehole.” Oliver raised the sex toy that the girl had gifted him and displayed it with a cheesy smile as if he was in an infomercial. “Okay, okay,” she whimpered. “I didn't mean it.” “That's what I thought. Besides we came in from outside and got right to business, I needed to wash my hands anyway.” He entered the bathroom and opened the device before washing his hands. “Plus your hair smells like weed.” “Oh my God, ew! That’s not attractive! Why didn't you say something?” “It's oddly comforting,” he laughed as he emerged from the bathroom. “Okay, let's figure this thing out. It's not gonna chop my finger off or anything, right?” Ronis giggled. “No, you just slide it on your index finger and turn it on.” “Is this for the outside...or inside?” he asked barely above a whisper. “Both I suppose. But you've never penetrated me befo-” “Okay, okay,” the boy rushed to avoid the embarrassment. “Babe, we should be able to talk about our bodies to each other. Especially since you've seen every inch of mine.” His cheeks flushed bright crimson. “True.” “Would you prefer to say penetrate or finger?” “Oh, God,” he sighed. “Um, finger. No, penetrate- ugh-” “Let’s put it this way, bear Oli hasn't entered the Ronis cave yet.” The boy's skin could've been comparable to a barrel of hot coals. “That works…” “And I'm not opposed to bear Oli exploring said cave today.” “Will it hurt?” “Maybe. But we won't know unless we try.” The boy frowned. “Please, Oli. Just try.” He nodded and she quickly pulled him into a kiss. The couple made out for several minutes before Oliver moved to her neck then breasts gently kissing each one to show his appreciation. The boy then took his time making his way down the girl's stomach until he reached her waistline, he gave Ronis a smug look that made her giggle. “I love you,” she said softly. The boy replied by kissing her inner thigh, causing a shiver to trickle down her spine before gently touching the girl's love button. Ronis gasped at the contact and prepared herself to get used to the feeling of his fingers when the boy wrapped his mouth around her sensitive lady parts. “Oh my God,” the girl moaned as she arched her back. Oliver pressed his forearm over the her hips to hold the girl in place as he began to build up a rhythm as he worked his tongue on and around her love button. “Holy shit, babe, that feels amazinggggg. Ah!” she squealed when he started to do something new that she couldn't pinpoint. “Fuckkk, oh my God.” The boy pulled away. “Told you I'd try and step my game up,” he chuckled before returning his mouth to her aching mound. Ronis tangled her fingers into the boy's brown tresses as she continued to moan and before long she could feel the tingling brewing from the pit of her stomach. “Oli, I'm gonna come.” Oliver began to work with new vigor and soon after, his mouth was flooded with the sweet and tangy taste of his girlfriend's cum. The boy lapped up every drop before grinning. “Still just as good as candy.” “Dork,” she panted, still too lost in the ecstasy to respond further.

The boy grinned but soon his heart began to race. “Um, I guess I can try the...cave thing now.” “Okay,” Ronis said excitedly. Oliver gulped and gently pressed his index finger at the girl's small opening. He paused. “It's okay,” she assured. The boy slowly pushed his finger inside the girl and made a face at the hot, wet flesh that surrounded it. “What?” Ronis asked, quickly growing self conscious. “It feels like warm mush or lumpy pudding.” The girl gasped. “Thanks,” was her dry response. “Well not in a bad way! You know that slime putty that kids play with to make fart noises? It's like that but warm.” “That description makes me feel real sexy,” Ronis said, sarcasm evident. He frowned. “Why are you upset?” “Because your descriptions suck!” “Well, have you felt it? It's kinda hard to pinpoint exactly what it feels like. Help me out here.” “I want my vagina to be described as crushed velvet, not lumpy pudding.” “Crushed velvet works! But ya know...moist.” Ronis rolled her eyes. “No matter how you describe it babe, it still feels awesome.” She sighed in exasperation. “Thank you, Oliver.”

“You're welcome,” he chirped before turning his attention back to the matter at hand by slowing pulling his finger out of the girl then gently pushing back in. He did this several more times prior to picking up the pace. Ronis exhaled. “That feels kinda nice.” “Just kinda?” “Yeah...like I feel the movement but it's not necessarily bringing me pleasure.” “So what should I do?” “Try curving your finger up, maybe you can find my G-spot.” “Your what?” “Oh my God, how are you so innocent?” she practically cooed. The boy blushed. “I have my finger in your vagina. I'm not innocent.” “If you say so, babe. But a G-spot is just like a sensitive bundle of nerves at the roof of the vagina I think. And if it's stimulated, the orgasms are said to be amazing.” “Okay,” the boy said simply as he processed the information. He curled his finger upward while he continued to slowly move it and out. Ronis' reaction was nearly instantaneous. “Ohhh,” she moaned lightly. Oliver sighed in relief and picked up the pace. “No, no. Go slowwww.” “Okay,” he said, slightly embarrassed. “It's like a deep tissue massage...you don't wanna rush that.” The boy cracked a smile. “Good to know.” He kept his strokes slow and sensual, growing more smug as he sat up and watched the girl's face as she deprived so much pleasure from his touch. When Ronis felt eyes on her, her lids flew open. “Whatttt?” she bashfully asked. “Nothingggg. My face is usually between your thighs. I just never get to see you from this angle.” The girl covered her face with her hands. “Stoppp, you're so beautiful.” “Then take a picture,” she joked. “Seriously?” he gasped as he clawed for his phone. Ronis cackled. “Nooo! Just imagine if that got in the wrong hands.” “Like mine,” he chuckled. “Knowing something like that is on my phone...I wouldn't be able to focus on anything else.” “You're silly.” “I'm in love.” A rosy hue took over her cheeks as Oliver leaned down to kiss her. The new angle of his hand allowed more pressure to be applied to the girl's sweet spot. “Oh my God,” she moaned out, wrapping her arms around his neck as she stared into his bright hazel eyes. It was the most intimate they'd ever been and Ronis felt like this was true love making. To avoid crying, she kissed him but it didn't stop her from tearing up. “I'm gonna come,” she whimpered against his lips. There was something in the girl's tone that tugged at Oliver's heart strings and as the muscles of her sugar walls tightened around his finger, he knew that this Christmas had been a milestone in their relationship and he wanted to do something special for her. “Fuck,” she panted weakly. “It doesn't look like it, but that was probably the most intense orgasm I've ever had.” “Really?” The girl nodded. “It was like a ray of heated unicorn sparkles brewed in the pit of my stomach and slowly spread throughout my either body.” “Wow, that sounds magically.” “It was,” Ronis exhaled before tenderly kissing him. “Do you want me to use frisky fingers now?” She shook her head. “Maybe next time. I just want you to hold me.” “Okay...um, do you think I can take a quick shower first?” “You don't have any clothes here.” “I know…” Ronis raised an eyebrow. “Of course…don’t take too long.” He pressed his lips against hers before pushing himself off of the bed and into the bathroom, locking the door as his heart raced at the thought of what he was about to do.

Despite the snowy winter weather, Oliver turned the shower nozzle to cold. The boy quickly disrobed and stepped into the path of the icy spray. He shivered at the initial contact but swiftly welcomed the chilly fall as it calmed his senses. “It’ll be okay,” he mumbled to himself. “Ronis loves you.” Oliver splashed his face one last time, turned off the water and exited the shower. After patting himself dry with a towel, he wrapped the fluffy cotton around his waist. The boy glanced at his pale reflection in the mirror and before the chagrin could set in, he made his way to the door. With a shaking hand, Oliver slowly turned the knob and exited the bathroom. His heart pounded against his chest as Ronis watched him through heavily lidded eyes. “Hi,” she said softly. The girl must've gotten cold while her boyfriend was away because she had pulled on his red dress shirt. Two sizes too big, the fabric draped over her breasts and thighs in that perfect way that guys liked when girls wore their clothing. Oliver swore that he'd go into cardiac arrest at any moment. “H-Hi,” he stammered. The girl seductively beckoned him over with her index finger. “Okay...but um, first. I have something to say.” Ronis sat up on her forearms. Oliver cleared his throat. “Um, since you always tease me about my songwriting skills, I wanted to say something really poetic but I'm just drawing a blank. So I'll just...do it,” he practically whimpered as his nerves began to overwhelm him. But the boy bravely dropped the towel, subjecting himself to the most vulnerable position he'd ever been in since informing the girl that he was transgender. Ronis’s eyes were wide and curious as she took in every inch of her lover's body. Although only a few seconds had gone by, it felt like an eternity to the boy. He fixed his mouth to say something but Ronis bet him to the punch. “You're perfect, Oliver David.” The words seemingly lifted the weight of the world off of the boy's shoulder as he relaxed for the first time since entering the bathroom. “Can I see your bum?” Ronis asked with sheer excitement underlining her tone. Oliver blushed. “I don't have one of those,” he sighed as he turned around. Although on the flat side of the spectrum, the boy's cheeks were still firm and desirable enough for any butf lover to grab on frisky nights.

“Babe, you have a great ass!”

Made even more bashfully by the compliments, the boy grabbed the towel and returned it to his waist. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

“Get your sexy self over here.”

The boy smiled as he made his way over to the bed. He climbed in next to the girl and wrapped his arms around her.

She kissed the back of his hand. “You know, there's an invention that's been out for a few centuries called a razor. I'm not sure if you've heard of it buttt,” she teased before the boy laughed.

“I'm only hairy on my face, pits and lower body, jerk.”

“I knowww. It's so hot…although, I'm going to convince you to shave your legs one day.”

The boy gasped. “Why?”

“Because I wanna see what it'd look likeeee.”

“How about you shave your head then? I wanna see what it'd look like.”

Ronis quickly pushed the boy away. “That's not even the same thing! Your leg hair would grow back in a week!”

“Probably,” the boy said with a shrug.

“So why would you even say something like that? The fact that you even uttered the words ‘shave my head’ is so asinine, just-”

The boy silenced her with a kiss and then she exploded in giggles when he boldly licked her cheek.

“Eww!”

“You want me to do it again?” he threatened.

“No!”

“Then calm your ass down.”

“Yes, Sir,” the girl said as she returned his arm around her. “Just tread lightly when you talk about my hair.”

“Pfft, don't tell me how to tread.”

Ronis found herself being turned on all over again as the boy continued to assert himself. “Yes, Sir...but ugh, don't lick my cheek again, pig.”

“Fine.”

The girl frowned. “You're not gonna...chastise me?”

“Nah. You've put up with enough tonight. I'm... I'm just happy that seeing me naked didn't make things like...uncomfortable between us.”

Ronis sat up. “Why would it make things uncomfortable?”

“You know…”

“No, I don't know. But if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then you need to snap out of it. Nothing physical about you could never deter me. You could get acne, you could turn green, you could grow a third eye...wait no, not-”

“Nope! You said it, you can't take it back,” he said be with a playful chuckle.

“Fineee. I'll even love you with a third eye.”

“Thank you, baby.” The boy pulled the girl into a kiss.

“You are such physical perfection...that if you'd let me... I'd fuck the shit out of you right now,” she whispered against his lips.

Oliver gulped as the blood began to flow throughout his entire body, warming particularly in his groin. “I-I-I-I need to shower.”

Ronis kept her hold on the boy's arms tight. “Babe, it's okay,” she cooed. “It's okay to feel things. I know it's strange but it's natural.”

“I’m not ready,” he whimpered.

“Oliver, I'm not pressing you to do anything, I just don't want you to ever feel disgusted in your own skin. Never. Okay?”

He nodded.

Ronis comforted him with a tender, loving kiss. “Alright, booger. Go have your shower.”

The boy quickly pushed himself off of the bed and entered the bathroom, pressing his back against the door as soon as it was closed. After turning on the shower, the boy took a deep breath and opened the door. “Um...do you wa-wanna j-join me?”

“Absofuckinglutely! But are you sure?”

“Do you really want to give me time to change my mind?” he chuckled.

“No!” Ronis squealed as she jumped off of the bed and into the boy's arms. “As long as I get to touch your ass while we're in there.”

“Sure...as long as it doesn't get weird.”

“I promise it won't. I'll just play them like bongos.”

The boy laughed. “We'll take this thing day by day.”

“Day by day,” she repeated before Oliver blindly walked them backwards into the bathroom while Ronis kicked the door shut, leaving them in the privacy of the steamy room to enjoy the remainder of their Christmas.

---

Jason sighed as he climbed into the back of the limo. “So where is this house?” he asked Lucian.

“Upstate.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah, the owner wants to meet you before he lets you rent it.”

“Ugh, why?”

“Maybe because he doesn't want some teenagers destroying his mansion.”

“It's not ‘some teenagers’. It'll just be Matt and I for two nights.”

“How romantic,” the man said dryly. “So what do you have planned anyway?”

He scoffed. “What do you think?”

Lucian rolled his eyes and stayed silent for the remainder of the ride.

“Oh my God, this looks like a fucking castle,” the brunette gasped as they pulled up the winding driveway to the massive estate.

“It kinda is. It has fifty bedrooms and seventy-two bathrooms.”

“What the fuck! That's insane.”

“Yeah, I'll let the owner tell you the rest if the details.”

“What? Why? I thought this was just a 'hi, nice to meet you. I won't destroy your house’ type of meeting?”

“Just come on,” the man groaned in exasperation as he climbed out of the limo. “And fix your hair.”

Jason rolled his eyes and followed Lucian’s lead, quickly hopping out of the vehicle to rush through the frigid air.

“Come on in,” a vaguely familiar voice offered.

The brunette looked up and met the brown eyes of Mark Diller. Stunned, confused and speechless, the boy had no idea what to think.

“Hi, Jason! You seem a little shocked.”

“Um…yeah. I didn't realize that this was your home.”

“Oh, yes, this is one of my childhood homes actually. So take really good care of it,” he said light heartedly.

“Well, I'm not really sure if I'd be comfortable staying here…”

Mark frowned. “How come?”

“You proposed to me,” he reminded. “And I'm looking for a house to celebrate my anniversary...a little awkward, ain't it?”

Lucian quickly intervened. “What he means is that he can't fully make a decision until he sees the entire estate.”

“Um, no,” the boy hissed. “I meant what I said.”

“And so did I,” Mark replied. “My offer still stands. But in the meantime, if you like the house then I can definitely be professional.” The man extended his arm. “May you do me the honor?”

Jason thought for a minute before sighing. “Well, it is an exquisite home...and pretty much exactly what I'm looking for.” He reluctantly wrapped his arm around the man's before Mark began to lead him through the foyer and down a long corridor. When they passed a large Versailles style mirror, Jason regretted not fixing his hair when his manager had told him to. He self consciously smoothed the wild waves.

Mark smiled. “So, the house, or chateau if you will, was built in 1919 and it was originally a hotel exclusively for the rich and famous. But my great great grandfather bought it and turned it into a single family home. Summers here were always amazing and I hope you and Matt have just as much fun as I did.”

Jason paused. “I'm sorry, I just can't do it. This is way too weird. Besides your house is probably way out of my budget.”

“Lucian didn't tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I'm letting you stay here for free, of course.”

“But... I- why?”

“I could never make you pay for anything, let only what my family typically charges to rent this place out.”

“Oh...um-”

“I mean, you could still say no and find some place that's the same price and half the size with owners not even half as friendly or cute as me,” he chuckled.

“That's true,” he sighed.

Mark grinned.

“I meant the pricing and size thing, not the cute and friendly thing. Well, no, it's not that you aren't friendly- I, ugh.”

The man laughed. “Well, the house is yours if you want it.”

Jason pursed his lips as he weighed his options.

“There's a theater, four pools: two inside, two outside. There's a race track, stables and a helicopter pad with a pilot on speed dial to take you on tours of the cityyy.”

The corners of the brunette's mouth curled upwards but he fought it.

“Staff will wait on you hand in foottttt,” Mark added.

“Mark, I-”

“There's also the music room.”

“Music room?” he asked, curiosity obviously peaked.

“Allow me to show you.”

Jason obliged as he followed the man to the nearest elevator. He sequestered himself in one corner of the lift while Mark occupied the other. To avoid the awkwardness, the man spoke.

“So how have the fan interactions been on your tour thus far?”

“Pretty interesting. Although, nothing has topped a marriage proposal,” he chuckled.

Mark laughed. “So how did Matt take that? I hope you didn't get into trouble.”

“He doesn't know.”

“Whatttttt, I thought-”

“Well, it wasn't something I thought was a big deal.”

“Hmm I was the most interesting fan interaction and yet you didn't tell him?”

The brunette scowled. “What I do and don't do with my boyfriend is none of your business.”

“Fair enough,” he chuckled.

Jason huffed out a stiff exhale.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.”

“I'm not upset,” he snapped back before sighing. “I just don't like being grilled about stuff, ya know? Especially when it pertains to Matt who does have his issues, but I deal with it because I love him.”

Mark pursed his lips.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he chirped just as the elevator doors slid open.

Jason rolled his eyes and followed him down another corridor, admiring each ornate detail carved into the crown molding and wainscoting along with every expensive piece of art.

“The music room is this door coming up on the right. I'll let you do the honors.”

The brunette excitedly opened turned the knob and his eyes honed right in on the massive piano in the corner. “Oh my God,” he gasped as he rushed over. “This is a Steinway & Sons Rococo Model D Victorian Grand! What year? 1880?”

“1871,” Mark informed as he approached. “With carved Brazilian rosewood.”

“She's beautiful. I never thought I'd ever seen one in person,” the boy exhaled, hands hovering over keys. “May I?”

“It may be out of tune. But I'd be honored to have Jason Dardo play the piano in my house.”

The boy eagerly sat at the leather stool before his fingers danced across the antique keys producing a rich yet hollow sound. “Yeah, she could definitely use a tuning but, ugh, you almost want to leave it like that because she's seen so much and you just have to respect it.”

Mark smiled admiringly. “The way you speak about the piano, like it's a person, is so eloquent.”

He blushed. “I just love this instrument so much.”

“May I?” he asked as he gestured towards the spot next to the boy.

“Sure.” Mark sat down and moved his fingers across the piano in a lighting fast flourish that made Jason's jaw dropped. “I didn't know you could play. And really well at that.”

“Of course not. You don't know me,” he said as he slowed the melody down to a soft sensuous number. “And you didn't never called to get to know me.”

“No I didn't,” Jason admitted. “But your Wikipedia said that your hobbies included 'attempting’ to play the piano.”

Mark grinned. “You looked up my Wiki?”

“No, no,” he said defensively. “Lucian did.”

“Hmm,” the man hummed before singing one of boy's hit singles in a pitch perfect voice that shocked Jason even more. “If I could turn back the hands of time, oh you ,my darling, would've always been mine,” he sang, tweaking the words to match how he felt. “You'd never have to be scared or cryyy. You'd never have to scream or wonder why, if I could turn back the hands of time.”

Jason was immensely moved by the rendition that he barely noticed when the man began to lean in. And when he realized, the mesmerized boy closed his eyes as he felt Mark's slow breathing against his lips.

“Strictly professional,” the man whispered before quickly pushing himself off of the stool. “Like I said earlier, if you want the house for the weekend, it's your. I just...I just can't do this,” he rushed with a lump in his throat before exiting the room.

Extremely embarrassed, Jason took a deep breath and shook off the tense interaction before pushing him off of the stool and out of exit. He retraced his steps down the corridor and up the elevator until he found Lucian in the living room. “Yo, what the fuck did you do to Mark?”

“Nothing,” he said, questioning in his tone. “Wh-What did he, um, what did he say?”

“He gave me the keys and said that he was going to catch a flight to Barcelona because it's warm there. But he looked a little upset so I asked him what was wrong and he said that he didn't want to be the source of your regrets.”

“Oh,” Jason said quietly.

“What does that meannn?” Lucian pressed.

“Nothing,” he snapped. “Let's get this house ready for tomorrow. I need a ride arranged for Matt, chocolate covered strawberries, alcohol free champagne and like ten thousand roses. Go to every florist in New York if you have to.”

“News flash, I manage your career. I'm not your assistant.”

“Then hire me an assistant and get this shit done!”

Lucian smirked. “Aww, poor baby. Are you sexually frustrated? Displacing your tension with Mark onto me. Classic.”

The boy scowled. “I don't have tension with Mark.”

“Well after he turned down my advances, I truly began to see the undeniable chemistry between you two. It's kinda hot to watch.”

“You're disgusting,” the boy said as he stormed out of the house.

“I know that!” Lucian chuckled. “I'll get right on making this place a sex dungeon for you!”

---

Despite being the disaster that happened the last time she'd seen her son, Lisa was extremely excited to see Matt that Christmas for dinner. The duo was joined by Josh, Lace and even one year old Anais.

“Her being here doesn't make you uncomfortable, does it, Mom?” Josh asked. “As I was leaving Dad's, she didn't want me to put her down so I just brought her along.”

“Oh, no it's fine,” Lisa assured. “She's a innocent little angel.”

“Angel,” the toddler repeated.

“Yes! You areee,” Matt cooed as he fed his sister more peas.

“So, I wanted to talk to you guys about something,” the matriarch began. “David and I being engaged.”

Matt acted like he didn't hear the statement as he continued to coddle and feed the girl.

“What about it, Mom?” Josh asked.

“What do you think? Am I rushing-”

“Yes,” her younger son quietly interjected. “You got divorced two seconds ago and now you want to subject yourself to all of that vulnerability again? I just don't get it.”

“But David and I have a connection. If you know you want to be with someone for the rest of your life, why wait? Especially at my age.”

“Especially at your age, you should know better,” he retorted.

The woman frowned.

“All I'm saying is think about it,” the boy said, tone uncharacteristically understanding. “You wouldn't be asking us if we think it's too soon if you didn't have concerns of your own.”

Lisa's expression slowly morphed into defeat. “Yeah... I do.”

“Like what, Mom?” Josh asked.

“A few things. I have no idea where we'll live, he has his practice in London and I have my office here and we haven't discussed it, but I'm not sure if either of us is ready to move across the world.”

“But can't you open a office in London or vice versa?” her son continued. “I just think that if you don't have small kids in the house and you're so in love, distance isn't a problem.” His wife gave him a gentle nudge in the side and they shared a kiss.

“But she hasn't even known this guy that long,” Matt retorted. “What if you move and discover that you hate it there? Or his family is crazy as fuck.”

“Matty, don't say fuck at the table.”

“Sorry, but it's true.”

“But if that's what Mom wants to do, even if it all fails, we'll be there for her because we're her kids Matt,” Josh said. “We don't agree with some things you do but we support you because we love you.”

“I guess,” the boy mumbled.

“Although, I'd prefer if you got David to move here. I don't think I can live without your beef wellington Wednesdays.”

“I've gotten all of his favorite meals mastered except for that one!” Lace exclaimed. “It's so difficult. You just have to to share your secret with me.”

Lisa giggled. “Well according to Josh, if I tell you my secret, I won't be useful anymore.”

“Mom, that's not true. We'll need you for a lot of things.”

“Like?” the woman pressed.

“Cooking...telling us how great we are...um,-”

“We'd really miss you,” Lace added.

“Thank you, Lace,” the woman said, clearly unconvinced.

“How about we open presents?” Josh asked in attempt to ease the awkwardness.

“Yes!” Matt cheered as he grabbed his little sister. “I got the coolest stuff for you Anais.”

He rushed to the living room followed by the other three adults.

“Did you miss being on the Christmas card this year?” Josh asked his mother.

“The Christmas card thing is a Lent tradition. I'm no longer a Lent, therefore, no. Besides, I think it's such a lame thing to do. 'Oh let's all put on goofy sweaters to take pictures to send to everyone, meh’,” she mocked.

Matt cackled. “That's amazing.”

“Yeah we just weren't feeling it without you being included,” Josh admitted.

“Well that's sweet of you but because I'm no longer associated, doesn't mean you need to cut that side of your family out.”

“We won't,” he assured.

The group quickly went through the gifts underneath the tree, sharing 'thank yous’ and hugs until Josh grabbed the last box from underneath the tree and handed it to Lisa.

“Aw, what's this?”

“Just open ittttt.”

The woman obliged, lifted the lid and began to read the card inside. “Thank you for always being there for us, we'll always support each other. We need your help now more than ever because you're about to be a grandmother!” she read, barely getting through the last line without bursting into tears. “A grandmother!” the woman wept as she threw her arms around the couple.

“Yeahhhh, I totally almost ruined the surprise at the table,” the man chuckled. “We'll need your help with everything.”

“I don't know how to change a diaper,” Lace whimpered in embarrassment.

“Oh, sweetheart, you'll learn! I'll teach you everything I know. Oh my God, I'm going to be a grandmother!”

“I'm going to be an uncle,” Matt pondered. “Cool.”

“How far along are you? Do we know the gender yet? Can I be in the room when you deliver? Oh! The nursery! What color scheme-”

“Mom, mom, you have to give us time to answer the question before you ask another,” Josh chuckled.

“Sorry, sweetheart! I'm just sooooo excited.”

“I’m 13 weeks. We don't know the gender yet but we'll find out soon. I'm not sure if you'd want to be in the room when I deliver, my bum isn't the prettiest sight and the nursery, well, I was hoping that you'd help me fix it up. I know nothing about interior design.”

Lisa squealed. “Yes! Do you want to wait before or after you find out the gender? You know, we can always go gender neutral.”

“I'd like that,” Lace sighed.

“Babe, sit d-”

“Yes, Lace sit down and rest,” Lisa rushed as she lead the girl to the couch. “There's no such thing as too much rest for a pregnant woman.”

Lace shot her husband a wide eyed look but Josh smiled, assuring her that it was okay.

“Mom, your phone's ringing,” Matt announced.

“Oh, it's probably just David. I'll call him back later,” she said dismissively as she sat next to her daughter-in-law. “So have you thought of any names? What hospital will you be delivering at?”

Matt shook his head as he approached his brother. “Are you really going to let her hijack your wife's womb?”

Josh laughed. “I think all grandmothers do.”

“I guess. Congrats, bro.” They shared a hug before Matt checked his watch. “Jason should be here any minute.”

“Oh, yeah. Have fun. Happy anniversary.”

No less than five minutes later, there was a loud horn that sounded from outside.

“So is Jason too big of a star to come in and say hello now?”

“Mom, just stop,” Matt sighed as he opened the door. Instead of his boyfriend's Honda, there was a sleek white Rolls Royce waiting in the driveway. A massive grin spread across the boy's face until a stranger climbed out of driver's side.

“You Matt?”

“Yeah.”

“I was sent to take you…” he checked his script, “‘on a night of magical events that you'll never forget’,” he recited dryly before opening the door to the back seat.

The boy cleared his throat and made his way to the vehicle, thanking the man as he climbed inside.

Matt rubbed the smooth leather seats that he would've appreciated much more had Jason been there with him. “So where are we going?”

The man checked his script. “'To a magical place...far...far...away’.”

“Nice…” the boy sighed as he pulled out his phone to send his boyfriend a message.

Matt: What are you up to?

Jason: I can't wait to see you ;)

Matt: Babeee

Jason: ❤

Matt tucked his phone into his pocket and subjected his attention out of the window. Watching the snow covered evergreens pass by over the next twenty minutes as his medicine kicked in made the boy drowsy. After they pulled up the winding driveway of the Diller mansion, the man opened Matt's door, offer him a helping hand so that he could exit with ease.

“Holy fucking shit,” Matt drawled as he approached the house, leaving the driver to mumble about how he was cheap for not tipping. The man quickly sped off before he had to recite another cheesy line from the script Jason had prepared for him.

Matt rang the doorbell to the estate and he was greeted by Jason's voice. “Come on in, daddy. And follow the rose petals,” he said seductively.

The boy turned the antique doorknob, entered the mansion and was instantly greeted by the aroma of fresh rose petals emanating from the bright red path that led as far as his eyes could see. The petals were lined with gold candelabras varying in heights that offered a soft, luminous glow which reflected off of any glass or metallic surface, turning the luxurious mansion into a palace of romance. Matt did as Jason was told, following the petals until he reached the foot of the large curving staircase where he saw the sparkling blue gift box with his name on the tag. He picked it up and opened it.

“Wow, a rolex.” The boy immediately slid the expensive accessory onto his wrist before continuing his journey up the stairs when he came across yet another present. Yawning as he opened it, Matt chuckled when he saw the riding crop, ball gag and handcuffs. He entered the corridor and had to admit that the large, empty mansion was slightly eerie but he made his way atop the petals until they ended at a door towards the end of the hall.

Matt opened the door and the sight of his nude boyfriend covered in rose petals and illuminated by soft candlelight was heavenly.

“Happy anniversary,” Jason said softly.

“Happy anniversary,” the boy chuckled in disbelief. “This is incredible.”

“I'm glad you like it because it's all for you.”

Matt grinned.

“Get over here.”

The boy approached, placed his stuff on the nightstand and after kicking off his shoes, climbed into bed with the brunette. “So whose house is this? I know you wouldn't buy anything like this without telling me.”

“That's not important,” Jason said as he straddled him. “The important thing is making this a magical night to remember.”

“I swear if I hear the word 'magical’ again, I'll die,” he chuckled.

Jason's face fell a little. “Well, I just want everything to be special.”

“It is, babe. You look incredible.”

“Thank you, baby,” the brunette said before kissing him so passionately that he became even more turned on by the smooth texture of his Matt's mouth. “I have something for you,” he whispered against his lips.

“Jason, I don't need anything else. This Rolex is just incredible.”

“You like it? It has black diamonds.”

“It's fucking amazing. And speaking of bling,” he said as he dug into his pocket and pulled out the gold band with three small diamonds set into it. “Give me your hand.”

“Matt..” Jason sighed, slightly uncomfortable with the situation.

“You don't want it?”

“Of course I do. It's beautiful...but I'm just not ready for what comes with it.”

“Well, it's a promise ring. I just want you to let you know that I'm doing my best to stay good and I want us to continue working on us. I love you and I wanna be with you. Forever.”

“Forever is definitely a goal I can work towards,” he giggled.

“Then give me your hand, dork.”

Jason held out his right hand and Matt slid the gold onto the boy's ring finger.

“It's so beautiful.”

“Yeah? I did good?”

“You did amazing, baby. I love it.”

“Good,” he said, stifling a yawn. “It'll only cost me ninety-nine bucks per month until it's paid off.”

“Aww, babe, how much is it?”

“None of your business.”

“But I don't want you wasting your money that could be going to your school stuff for on a ring for me.”

Matt shrugged. “That's my choice.”

“Babe, how much? Let's just pay it off now.”

“I don't have the money to pay it off now and I refuse to let you pay for your own gift. That's ridiculous.”

Jason sighed. “I'll get the information eventually and-”

“Babe, I really don't have the energy for this,” he yawned as he slid the boy off of his lap.

“No, no, no please,” the brunette whimpered, wrapping his arms around the boy's neck. “I'm sorry.”

Matt cracked a soft smile.

“I love you so much,” Jason said before pulling him into a steamy make out, unbuttoning the boy's shirt while his tongue fought for dominance. “You've been a very naughty boy this year. But inside of a lump of coal, I have something else for you.” He popped the remainder of the buttons open and went right to the boy's trousers, quickly undoing the belt and tugging at the hem. Matt lifted his hips to make for a seamless removal.

Jason bit his bottom lip in anticipation only to have his face fall when the usually ready boy was still soft. He sighed, gently took the member into his hand and began to stroke.

Matt closed his eyes as his head fell back onto the pillow. With the brunette's touch, the boy became hard within seconds.

Jason grinned. “So you just needed a jumpstart,” he whispered before kissing the tip of his boyfriend's dick. Matt shuddered at the pleasure and relaxed into the bed as his boyfriend worked his mouth along him.

“That feels amazing, baby,” he mumbled.

The brunette pulled out all of his best tricks, taking the cock completely into his mouth and getting as much as he could pass the threshold of his throat before adding a hand to massage the base while his teeth gently grazed the shaft which added an entirely new sensation. This was usually a surefire way to get Matt moaning and groaning, but when the boy remained silent, Jason continued to stroke him as he pulled his mouth away. “Babe?” When Matt responded with a light snore, Jason scowled. “Matt!”

“Hmm?”

“I'm giving you a fucking amazing blowjob and you fall asleep?!”

“I'm not asleep,” the boy slurred. “I was just resting my eyes. It feels so good, baby,” he exhaled before snoring again.

“Matttttt,” the boy whined as he shook him.

“What?” he snapped.

“Wake up!”

“I'm up!”

“No you aren'tttt. It's our anniversary and I wanna fuck.”

Matt groaned as he stretched and kissed the boy before pulling the boy on top of him. Jason quickly grabbed the condom and chocolate flavored lube that he'd tucked underneath the pillow, ripped it open and slid it onto his boyfriend's dick. The brunette cracked half a smile as he placed his hands on Jason's waist, helping the boy balance as he slathered his cock with the sweet lube before lowering himself.

Jason's breathing was labored and he winced as he adjusted to the invasion.

“Told you I was up,” Matt chuckled weakly.

“You weren't at first, asshole,” the brunette groaned as he began to rock his hips.

“I wassss,” he sighed as his eyes rolled back in pleasure.

Jason lifted himself up and then back down, repeating the motion as he worked up a rhythm. “Fuck,” he moaned. The boy was able to get about five minutes of pleasure before Matt's hands fell from his waist to the bed and the familiar snore sounded. “Matt!”

“Hm?”

“Wake up!”

The boy nodded but didn't open his eyes, forcing Jason to think of the ethical code that came along with fucking someone in their sleep. Matt would've wanted me to get off, he thought as he picked up the pace. But it's not as fun without him enjoying it too. Well, it's only fair. I put all this shit together for him. The boy didn't have to debate much longer as he felt Matt's cock soften inside of him.

“Ughhhh,” the brunette whimpered. He slapped the boy across the chest.

“The fuck,” Matt groaned.

“I hate you,” Jason sniffled as he dismounted the boy.

He mumbled something unintelligible as he turned on his side. Self confidence virtually demolished, Jason wiped his eyes from their brewing tears and grabbed his robe from the floor. He snatched the promise ring from his finger and threw it across the room before exiting the chamber of romance altogether.

The boy made his way back down the corridor and blew out all the candles just as the estate's phone began to ring. Unsure if he should answer, he cleared his throat and did so anyway.

“Hello?” he answered, voice more shaky than he anticipated.

“Jason? It's Mark. I'm not sure if they told you, but you don't have to worry about any of the alarms. I have my guys at the north and south security gates so just lock the front door and you'll be fine. If you need them just dial nine on any of the phones.”

“Okay..thank you.”

“Are you okay?”

“Um, yeah. Just, um, a little tired.”

“Oh, shit I'm so sorry for interrupting. Merry Christmas,” he rushed before hanging up.

“No wait- ugh,” the boy sighed as he returned the phone to the receiver.

Jason made his way to the first bedroom that he found, a sophisticated cream and mahogany themed room that offered the calming effect he so desperately needed. He flopped onto the bed and immediately melted into the cloud like mattress. Still semi hard, the boy exhaled as he removed his robe and wrapped his hand around cock. Filling his mind with what he had hoped his anniversary night would've been like, Jason began to stroke himself as he imagined his boyfriend's mouth around him; clear blue eyes looking up into his.

“Matt,” he panted softly before picking up the pace. The boy's strokes matched the timing of the dick he pictured slamming in and out of his ass. “Fuckkk,” Jason moaned right before coming, sending his hot cum onto his stomach and down his hand. He revelled in the orgasmic feeling for a few minutes prior to entering the ensuite to shower.

Afterwards he returned to his bed and began to scroll through Instagram. He liked a few of Oliver's music quotes and a picture of the boy dressed as the Easter bunny on Ronis’s page.

@roniselizabeth You guys are so dumb lol, he commented before intense curiosity suddenly struck him. The boy scrolled to the search bar and typed: Mark Diller.

Jason clicked on the man's account and as he swiped through, he quickly came across a picture of himself with the caption: Can't wait to meet this amazing artist! @jasondardo

“He tagged me?” the boy asked himself before remembering that his notifications were turned off due to the high volume of likes and comments he received. Jason liked the photo and continued to scroll through the man's page. Despite being a billionaire, there was nothing overly flashy about his current home, the clothes he wore or the cars he drove. The thing that did catch the brunette’s eye was the fact that the man was a thrill seeker who traveled to the far corners of the world in search of crazy and unique things to do. A photo posted just days earlier depicted the man bungee jumping at the Grand Canyon. “Oh God, I'd neverrrr.” And when he came across the man's underwater selfie with a shark. The boy was quick to comment: @markdiller you're insane!

The man's reply was swift. @jasondardo you call it insane, I call it living life to the fullest

@markdiller well at the way you put your life at risk, I'd hope so

@jasondardo yeah. I think the most dangerous stunt I've ever pulled was proposing to someone who I knew would say no

The brunette sighed in exasperation.

@markdiller foolish, yes. Dangerous? No.

Jason anxiously waited for a response but when the small notification popped up, he clicked on it on to realize that it was Ronis replying to him.

@jasondardo takes a dummy to know one :P

The boy did his best to convince himself that he wasn't disappointed as he returned to Mark's page. He noticed that the man had posted something new only minutes ago; a photo of the empty space on the bed next to him captioned: I wish you were here so that I could tell you how I really feel

Jason had no idea what to think but he was extremely grateful when he saw Ronis’s number flash across his screen.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Hi, my love! Merry Christmas/Anniversaryyyy!”

“Thank you, Ro Roooo. Merry Christmas to you too.”

“I debated calling because I knew you'd be like knee deep in ass,” she giggled.

“Oh my God, I wish! Matt fell asleep and I had to jerk off just to stay sane,” he admitted to his best friend without embarrassment.

“Oh nooo.”

“Yeah, I had this house all set up with candles and roses and then he comes in, gives me a promise ring, I go down on him and he falls asleep. And he's like 'what?! Nooo I'm just resting my eyesss’,” Jason mocked in a lazy drawl.

Ronis cackled. “He did not!”

“He did! So I'm like fuck it, I need to get off before he falls asleep again. I start riding him and he starts snoring again and believe it or not, I kept going.”

The girl gasped. “How does that even work?”

“Well it didn't for long because he went soft after a few minutes. I was so pissed that I threw that stupid promise ring across the room and just left him there.”

“Aww, come on JJ don't be like that. Matt loves you.”

“If he loves me so much then why am I having to masterbate on my anniversary? Ugh, I wanted to slap him.”

The girl laughed.

“You're so evillll. It's not funny,” he said, chuckling himself. “Probably because you already got some tonight.”

“I did,” Ronis admitted, trying not to sound braggy.

“How was it?”

“Jason!” the girl gasped. “It's so unlike you to want to talk about sex.”

“I couldn't give two shits right now. I'm so horny!”

“I love it! Okay so Oli’s in the shower so I have to make it quick because he's too bashful to talk about sex but I saw him naked for the first time today and O-M-G his body is amazing. He has a perfect ass and I probably shouldn't even be telling you about my man while you're horny but I'll let it slide this time because he's just so perfect.”

“Okay, okay. Speaking of guys with nice bodies, you know how I told you about that billionaire guy?”

“Yes! How could I forget?!”

“I know right. But yeah, I go to rent out this house and he's the owner!”

“Oh my God, crazyyy. That's a sign, JJ.”

“A sign of what?”

“A sign of something that needs to chill the fuck out because I ship you and Matt.”

The boy laughed. “Fair enough. But he's really nice and he knows music!”

“Oh God,” Ronis groaned. “That's the fastest way into your panties.”

“Is not! Well…”

“JJ,” she said sternly. “What did you do?”

“I didn't do anythingggg but I may or may not have leaned in for a kiss as he played the piano.”

“Did you kiss?!’

“Nooo. Like you could tell he wanted to but I guess he has amazing self control and left quickly thereafter.”

“Good!”

“Well yeah. It would've been a mistake but, like I said, he's really nice and is staying here for free.”

“Okay, the house is free but what do you think he'll want in return? Ass?”

“Honestly, if he wanted ass he could have it right now.”

“Oh my God, shut upppp. You don't mean that.”

“My mouth doesn't but my hole does.”

Ronis cackled. “You're terrible! No, but you're just really cranky cause I know how much tonight meant to you and how much planning went into it. So it's okay to be pissed but don't do anything that you'll regret, okay?”

The boy sighed. “I won't. I'll probably just watch some teacher student porn and call it a night.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Alright. I love youuuu.”

“I love you more, JJ.”

“Not even,” he chuckled. “Bye.”

Just to tease, the boy went to Mark's page, took a screenshot of one of the man's shirtless photos and sent it to Ronis.

Ronis: Noooo! Well... I mean...maybe- No! Just no!

Jason cackled and then sighed. He watched the first porn video he could find and went for rounds two and three before passing out.

---

The next morning, Matt awoke with an extremely dry mouth, something that he'd gotten used to as a side effect of his medicine. The boy stretched and winced at the long scrape on his chest that was tugged when he moved. “How did that get there?” he rasped before simply shrugging. He sat up to retrieve his trousers. “Jason?” the boy called as he pulled on his pants. When there was no answer, Matt walked towards the exit of the room. On his way out, a glint of something shiny caught his attention. The boy knelt down to pick it up and discovered his promise ring was now missing one of its diamonds. “What the fuck,” he gasped.

Matt clutched the gold band in his hand and quickly stormed out of the room. “Jason!” he shouted, retracing his steps down the path of roses to the living area and then kitchen where he smelled bacon emanating from it. He found the boy seated at a breakfast nook, eating fresh fruit as he scrolled through his phone while a man dressed in full chef attire worked diligently at the stove. “Good morning,” Matt said to the man.

“Bonjour,” he chirped.

The boy made his way next to Jason and without a word placed the promise ring on the table. Before either could say anything, the chef handed Matt a menu.

“Oh, um, mercy.”

“It's merci,” Jason corrected under his breath.

“No, it's why did I find this ring on the floor and missing a diamond?” he asked through gritted teeth, doing his best not to raise his voice.

The brunette looked up from his phone. “I didn't know that a diamond popped out.”

“Popped out? What the hell did you do to it?”

“I threw it across the room,” he calmly admitted.

Matt felt as if someone had spat in his face. “Why?”

“Because I was pissed. I set up this either nice scenery and you fell asleep during sex. Like, I really felt like shit, Matt.”

“Well, I'll admit to being fucking exhausted but I can't help it. My meds make me drowsy.”

At that moment it all clicked for the brunette. He hadn't been around a steadily medicated Matt and the drug's effects were completely unknown to him.

“I mean, I'm trying my best here,” the boy continued. “I mean I could ask my doctor for a lesser dose b-”

He was silenced by Jason's lips against his. “I'm sorry. I totally forgot about your meds and the libido thing... I've unknowingly been an bratty asshole and I'm really sorry.”

“It's okay, babe. So...you destroy things when you don't get sex?” he asked, suppressing his chuckle.

Jason turned bright red. “Well, I get upsetttt. I mean it's becoming a grave need of mine. Almost like an addiction. And if I don't get it, I get hostile,” he bashfully admitted.

“That's so fucking hot.”

The brunette turned even more crimson before Matt kissed him. “Don't worry... I'll make every...thrust... up to you,” he whispered against his lips.

“Promise?” Jason exhaled.

The boy nodded.

He bit his bottom lip in anticipation. “And I promise to get my ring fixed. I'll go crawl on my hands and knees around that room to find the missing diamond.”

“Crawl on your hands and knees and you'll definitely find more than a diamond,” the boy joked.

“Show and tell?” the brunette giggled.

The couple shared a kiss before the chef approached. “Avez-vous choisi?” he asked as he gestured towards the menu.

“Umm,” Matt hummed as he quickly flipped through the booklet. “Strawberry crepes.”

“Crepes?”

“Sí.”

“Babe, it's ‘oui’,” Jason giggled. “'Sí’ is Spanish.”

“My badddd. What'd you order?”

“An omelette. Although I didn't see the crepessss.”

“We can share.”

The brunette raised an eyebrow. “So, what's yours is mine?”

“Mhm and what's yours is also yours.”

“Pfft, you know if I make it, you make it, babe. If you ever need or want anything, it's yours.”

“Nah, I'm fine. Working at the bookstore is enough for me.But I do love seeing how far you've come and I'm so proud of your success. From eating in the back of the lunchroom together to eating crepes in a goddamn mansion.”

“From being chased by bullies with fists to being chased by bullies with cameras,” he giggled.

“Right! This past year has really been something...and you deserve every minute of it the love and success.”

“Thank you, baby.”

They kissed and soon after, they received their food. As they ate and shared samples, Matt finally noticed how often the boy's phone was buzzing. “Is that work?”

“Um, no, it's the owner of the house.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. He's just checking in and making sure the staff is okay and stuff.”

“And it takes more than like two messages to accomplish that? Do you know them.”

“I do actually. We met at one of my fan meet and greets and um, he was really nice,” he informed, omitting the fact that the man was open about his crush on him and his distaste for Matt. “And Lucian told me later on that his name was Mark Diller.”

“The CEO guy?”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “How'd you know?”

“We talked about his grandfather a little in marketing. How he came to America with like eighty dollars and a dream that he turned into a multi billion dollar company. I googled a little and saw their wikis awhile back. It's crazy that you know him, they're beyond loaded.”

The boy chuckled. “That's one way to put it. He actually let us stay at this place free of charge.”

“Holy shit, that was generous.”

“Yeah, he said that he just couldn't make Jason Dardo pay.”

“Aw, look at you being influential.”

“Mhm. So, he's just a rich guy who's a big fan so I'm trying to be nice.”

“Nothing wrong with that. You have to be nice to the fans. I mean, as long as they don't cross any lines, I'm cool. That guy who changed his name to Matt was fucking crazy though. If I ever see him out and about, I'm going to beat the shit out of him.”

“Matt,” the brunette went to protest but he grabbed the boy's wrist and began to examine the fading, yellow remains of the bruise the man had left.

“Too far. You are not to be touched. Your security really fucked up. The second he started to act weird, they should've gotten him out of there.”

“Well it was the first time, baby. We learned a lot since.”

“I think they all need to be fired. I could do their goddamn job myself.”

Jason smiled at the boy's protective rant. “You probably could but I'd rather you not be in harm's way like that.”

Matt scoffed. “But it's okay for you to be?”

“Yes because this is the career path I've chosen and I knew it'd be a little crazy.”

The boy groaned. “I knew I'd have to share you with the world eventually, but can I cover you in bubble wrap first?”

Jason giggled and kissed the boy just as his phone went off again. When he saw the message, his face instantly lit up.

“Is that guy still talking about the house because the way you're smiling, like someone told you that you just won the lottery, is-”

“This is Ronis,” the boy said defensively.

“Oh... sorry.”

The brunette rolled his eyes.

“Don't roll your eyes at me.”

“What are you gonna do about it?” he challenged.

Without another word, Matt grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him along to the first room that he saw, the same room the brunette had christened the night before. He pushed Jason onto the bed and the boy landed in a seductive pose. “I had to resort to fucking myself in here last night.” Matt straddled the boy and kissed his neck. “I'm sorry, baby. For what it's worth, I dreamt about you all night.” “It's not worth much if you can prove your love in reality.” “Ooo, you got a smart ass mouth,” Matt growled as he gripped the boy's jaw in his hand. He kissed him. “A pretty mouth.” “I know that.” Matt tightened his gripped on his boyfriend's jaw. “Did I tell you to speak?” “No.” “You'll speak when spoken to and you'll obey my orders.” “Yes, sir.” “Take that fucking robe off.” Jason immediately obliged and untied the fluffy material and let the robe slide off of his shoulders. “You're so fucking beautiful. But you're a slut aren't you?” “Yes,” the boy panted, growing more and more turned on by the second. He didn't know if Matt's dilated eyes were from the medicine or the intense enjoyment he was receiving from dominating him, but as long as he continued without issue, the brunette didn't mind. Matt shoved Jason's torso onto the bed before wrapping his arms around his thighs, aggressively pulling him to the edge of the bed. “You're mine. Don't you ever forget that shit.” “Yes, sir. Show me how much you own this ass.” The boy quickly gripped Jason's fragile throat. “Did I tell you to speak?!” “No,” he rasped. “Then why are you talking, let alone telling me what to do?!” “Cause I'm tired of waiting. Fuck me!” Matt applied more pressure to his grip. “You disobedient little shit! I'm-” “Yamaha,” Jason faintly gasped as he grabbed his boyfriend's wrist to pull it away. He quickly dropped his hand. “Baby, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?” The brunette sat up and rubbed his neck as he nodded. “It just started to hurt and I couldn't breath for a second. I'm fine though.” Matt shook his head. “The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you...but I'm always fucking up,” he mumbled. “Jason, I'm so sorry.” “Shit happens. That's why we have a safe word. Now, come on little bitch,” he said in attempt to antagonize the boy, “fuck me.” Matt placed a gentle kiss on his boyfriend's lips as he returned the robe to his shoulders. “What are you doing?” “I hurt you... I just-” “Nooo, Matt please don't do this. I'm fine!” “No, Jason you aren't fine! It'll probably bruise and people will ask questions and take pictures and it'll be on the tabloids and it'll be this big issue for you and it's all my fault and-” he took a deep breath. “I'm gonna take my other pill.” Matt turned and exited the room, leaving Jason to weep into his pillow. >>>

#letters fic #pearlet fanfiction

5 notes · View notes