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grimdarkfandango · 4 months

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riley's rec list 2023

oo-er alliteration, ladidah

AIGHT SO hello so I saw a fic rec list yesterday and was like. damn son I love rec lists. and then I read a fic off it and went DAMN SON I LOVE REC LISTS so guess what y'all are getting for 2024. it's a fic rec list! congratulations release the crocodiles

these are in approximately no order whatsoever. not all of these came out in 2023, but some of them did, and I definitely read them with my eyeballs then.

I'm not bothering with a readmore you know how to scroll happy new year

One Hundred Years Past by tciddaemina | BOTW/LoZ | Ganondorf/Link | 39k + sequels Link wakes up a hundred years early. It changes everything.

y'all I only read this two days ago and I am Ob Sessed. what if Ganondorf picked Link up like a feral stray in the desert. What if he dodged calamity with the power of dick and this twink he found. What if the second story in the series was designed in a lab to make me feral. What if!

Pinned and Needled by surveycorpsjean | One Piece (manga/anime) | Zoro/Sanji | 35k Sanji struggles with an injury that prevents him from cooking. Around the same time, Zoro starts to act strange.

[deep fucking inhale] SO. sometimes you are ambling at a slowish pace through a manga with over 1100 chapters and then an author you really like drops a fic for the couple you are rotating in your head and so you go 'hey cool let me just read that' and you don't even get half the plot references in the story but it's enough because then you read 700 chapters in A Week and now you're caught up and get to read it all over again and scream even louder

like a bird on a wire by tierfal | BNHA/MHA (manga) | Endeavor/Hawks | 8k The aftermath, and the undertow, and something like a sunrise.

we still don't know what the aftermath of the war will be [stares into the middle distance about the most recent chapter] so enjoy this hurt/comfort from after ch 390!! I just... love Hawks... it's about the devotion...

I'm realising of all of the recs here this one might need the most canon knowledge to make sense but. also. what if you read 410 chapters of manga and then talked to me about it...

Facade by Hazel_Athena | One Piece (manga/anime) | Zoro/Sanji | 32k Left with only three other crew mates, it’s a ready expectation that Sanji will start fawning all over Robin in his usual obnoxious way. However, that’s not what happens. Instead, looking wild around the eyes in a way only someone who knows him well would recognize, the cook doesn’t break stride until he’s firmly within Zoro’s orbit and can wrap both hands around his upper arm, clinging tight. “Hi, darling,” he chirps, his expression desperately conveying that Zoro needs to play along under pain of death. “Did you miss me?”

ZOSAN FAKE DATING MARRIAGE LESGOOOO

this is just so much fluff and also zoro being in PainTM and I love a good trope mmkay

Carry You Home (In My Teeth) by DistortedDaytime | Stranger Things | Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson | 51k All Billy wants to do is lick his wounds and sleep off a bad night. Instead, he wakes up to find his furrier half stranded in Steve Harrington’s laundry room.

Billy the werewolf! Eddie the vampire! Steve the Steve! I am cheating a little bit because I got to cheer this on first-hand as it was being written BUT also it's just really, really, really fun. And horny. And full of Billy's Issues. Plus some neat werewolf worldbuilding and my favourite type of Deus Ex Maxine.

Everything In Its Right Place by JustSomeGuyDontWorryAboutIt | Mandalorian | Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth | 12k In which Cobb Vanth is forced off-planet, roped into a rescue mission, and made to stew torturously in his feelings. Just because you’ve spent months fantasizing about shucking him from that armour like a Sorgan krill doesn’t mean he’s thought about you even once, he reminded himself. Don’t make this awkward. Just enjoy the company while it lasts.

I, too, think Cobb should get to tap that so hard they cause an interstellar incident about it. And that's after he charms the last remaining jedi into giving the kid back.

Same As It Ever Was by QuokkaFoxtrot | Stranger Things | Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson | 62k "Deja-vu? Like you feel like you've done this before, because-" "No!" Steve snaps, feeling everyone's attention snap to him. He lowers his voice, aiming it so that only Nancy can hear. "I mean I've carried Eddie's body back to the rift in the trailer. Twice." --- Sometimes it can take a while to become the man you want to be.

Sometimes a good friend slides you a link to a fic their friend has started writing with a 'hey you ship this, check this out' and then you lose your whole fucking mind, usually directly into the comment box, until the whole thing is complete. This is the time loop fic of DREAMS. This is the GOLD FUCKING STANDARD. This has, unequivocally, REWIRED MY GODDAMN BRAIN. This is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the best fics ever written. Run don't walk.

THAT'S IT HAPPY NEW YEAR

#fic recs #long post #the fuck I'm not tagging all of those fandoms #read em or don't

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every-usopp · 3 years

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Kinda rude of them

#for anyone who wants kilos in pounds #it's equal to about 1100 pounds #i don't know about you #but my body cannot sustain that poundage #without serious injury...death maybe?#ch 125 #god usopp #usopp #one piece #little garden

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petri808 · 3 years

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my story for the @bakudekubigbang w/artist @kurisutythehero

Summary: Kitsune yokai Midoriya Izuku is a simple shrine fox protecting the Tamaki-jinjja shrine as well as the surrounding forest. One day he comes across hunters who dare to poach in his forest along with an injured wolf they'd shot. But after nursing this wolf back to health, Izuku learns... he's a yokai too.

Tags: fantasy AU, Japanese folklore, Sex, A/B/O elements, marking, elemental magic. Kitsune & Okami.

Ch 1 of 4 to be posted in completion between now and New Years 😊 and when the artist posts I’ll add a link into the story.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28352196

The loud cry of a wolf rings out through the sacred forest surrounding Tamaki-jinjja shrine. It’s spirit keeper, a kitsune fox yokai named Izuku Midoriya looks out, training his ears towards the direction it had come from. A second guttural growl pierces his ears causing him to flinch; the animal was in pain, followed by the fainter sound of male human voices. How dare! Hunters in his forest and so close to the shrine! Furious, the kitsune races through the dense brush using his keen senses to track the hunter’s movements. They would pay dearly for coming here.

In the 1100 hundred years since the shrine had been created, a kitsune yokai has protected it and all those that sought to gain enlightenment through Shugendo. Nature was sacred to these mountain worshipers and they believed that deities could be communed with there. The forest surrounding Mount Tamaki was precious to Midoriya and he didn’t care if a wolf could provide meat for the humans, they needed to leave this place in peace! He was only 200 years into this job, and he would be damned if he let a bunch of hunter’s ruin Tamaki’s tranquility.

The men were traipsing through the brush as well searching for the wolf. Midoriya could hear them talking now, the animal had been hit by an arrow twice but managed to escape into the dense underbrush. He needed to be careful, scare these men away and not become a victim too, but his cleaver and somewhat devious nature was one of the reasons a fox yokai guarded the temple. His two-tails swish excitedly as he survey’s what turns out to be only two men, one with a bow and the other brandishing a large broad-bladed knife. Based on their attire, he assumed they were most likely just peasants from a nearby village at the base of the mountain.

He needed to work quickly for the stench of blood rang true in the air. The wolf was definitely hit and bleeding badly enough for its smell to permeate the surrounding area. Midoriya turns on his invisibility magic and moves in to where the hunters would be able to see him.

“Who dares to disturb this sacred forest! We will not allow you to hunt within our territory!”

“What the hell is that?!” Midoriya sees the hunters ready their weapons and frantically scan the area. The one who’d asked the question has their bow knocked and raised.

“This land is protected by the spirit guardians of Mount Tamaki.” Midoriya sends out a blast of spiritual, blue-flamed fox fire close to the men as a warning. “Leave now and never come back or face the wrath of the kami!!”

“I told you this place was inhabited by spirits!” The second man now speaks up, punching his friend in the shoulder. “That’s why no one hunts up here, baka!”

“I don’t believe in stupid spirits!”

‘Oh, you don’t huh?’ Midoriya sends out another blast of fire this time hitting the man’s bow. The man screams and drops the weapon as the fire quickly consumes it. He takes off without a second look, running along with his friend, and heading down the mountain. “Good riddance,” the kitsune grins and turns off his invisibility. Now to find the wolf.

It couldn’t have made it very far. He tracks the trails of blood and scent through the forest for about one hundred feet back toward the side of the mountain. Perhaps it was heading for a cave? But beneath one of the ancient cedar trees, he finds the wolf barely clinging to life. One arrow had hit it in a hind leg, and the other the chest area. The frightened wolf growls at him.

“Don’t be afraid,” Midoriya shuts off his cloaking magic to show the wolf he was no ordinary human. “I am the spirit guardian of the mountain and shrine. I can help you.” He tries to reach out, but the wolf continues with a low growl. “You will not survive unless we take care of those wounds.” Frankly, until he inspected the chest wound, he wouldn’t know for sure. He lowers his ears to show concern, “please let me help you. It is my duty to care for this forest and its inhabitants and I do not want to see any die.”

Now that he was up close, this wolf was unusual for the area with its yellowish fur and red eyes. Japanese wolves were usually a brownish gray color. He kneels next to it and tries again to reach out his hand, very slowly, allowing the wolf to take in his scent. The wolf’s heartbeat was strangely calmer than he expected it to be, shouldn’t it be beating rapidly? But just as Midoriya lowers his hand again, the wolf tries to get up and run. It makes it only a few feet before collapsing with a pained cry.

The kitsune rushes over and drops next to the wolf with tears building in his eyes, its tail flicking with agitation. “Please let me help you!” He reaches for the wolf, but this time, it growls low, and turns its head away, communicating its intention not to stop him.

Midoriya assesses the wolf to determine the best way to get it back to the shrine. He would have to carry it as gently as he could. The terrain shouldn’t be too difficult for him, but ugh, it would be so much easier if he had more powers. Those came with age and experience, and at 450 years old, he was still young in the eyes of other yokai. “I’m sorry,” he whimpers as he picks the wolf up, knowing the jostling and shifting of its body would cause more pain. It shrieks, but at least doesn’t try to bite.

He takes the wolf to his part of the temple, a section reserved only for the spirit guardian where the human priests are forbidden from entering. There he creates a simple make-shift bed and begins collecting medicinal herbs to treat the wounds. The monks keep many on hand in case lost or injured travelers are found. Midoriya places a few drops of Hokuto mint into the wolfs mouth, hoping it will have the same pain killing effects on an animal as it does for humans.

“This will hurt, so I am binding your mouth and limbs to keep you from injuring yourself or me,” Midoriya explains as he wraps a strip of fabric around the animal’s mouth. “I need to remove the arrow.” Luckily, based on what he saw from the hunters, they were only using plain pointed sticks rather than full arrow heads. If he’d had to dig out arrow heads, things would be a lot more complicated.

“Okay guy, brace yourself,” he warns regardless if the wolf understood him or not. But when the wolf looks away and locks the muscles its jaw, Midoriya realizes that somehow it understood. Odd, but nevertheless a minor mental note is made for later.

Using his sharp claws, the kitsune slices through the skin where the arrow has lodged itself to make freeing it a smoother transition. Surprisingly, the wolf’s body only reacts with a slight tremor and nothing more. Animals often refrained from showing weakness, but this was strange. Shoving that intrigue to the back of his mind, Midoriya focuses on his task, removing the two arrows and using various medicinal rubs to stem the blood loss. He stitches up the wound’s gaps, then wraps bandages around the area to keep infection to a minimal.

He sits back on his haunches, twin tails flickering as he gauges the animal. “You’ll need time to heal Mr. wolf, but you can stay here where no one will bother you. I’ll have to change the ointments and bandages daily, and hopefully you’ll be back to new in no time. Until the flesh mends and the stitches are no longer required, you shouldn’t move around.”

The wolf just stares at him but makes no movement to get up from where it lay.

Midoriya smiles and chuckles, “It’s so weird that you understand me. Stay here, I’ll fetch you some food and water, you must be hungry.” Maybe it was a part of his magic that allowed animals to understand him. Wouldn’t it work both ways if that was the case? Again, he pushes the idea to the back of his mind for now. He places a bowl of water next to the wolf along with some fresh meat and goes back to his shrine duties, promising to check on him through the day.

He swore every time he entered the room where the wolf lay, it’s ruby red eyes would track his movements like a predator stalking its prey. No sounds, no head movement, just the eyes. If it was a human, Midoriya would have sworn it was glaring at him. He didn’t blame the wolf for being wary. All across Japan, wolves were slowly being hunted, and in some areas to extinction. Well, as long as there was a forest guardian, they would do their best to protect this area.

“Not hungry?” the kitsune questions the wolf when he sees the food untouched. “Does it hurt to eat? You really should put something in your stomach,” he holds the bowl closer, “to help you keep up your strength.” But the wolf doesn’t make a move. “Here,” he picks up a piece of meat and holds it next to the animals mouth, “please?”

After a couple of seconds, the wolf blows out a puff of air as if it was huffing in annoyance but takes the meat gently from Midoriya’s hand. Did it roll it’s eyes at him? Regardless, the kitsune repeats the action, and again the wolf takes the meat. Well at least this was working. He continues to feed the wolf until all the meat was gone, then holds the bowl of water close enough to the animal’s mouth so it can lap up the liquid.

“I’m going to check your wounds, okay? To make sure it looks okay.” Midoriya feeds the wolf a few drops of the mint once more, enough to last him the night. He then slowly unwraps the bandages, careful not to pull in the areas where the drying blood has stuck to the wounds.

The wolf flinches and growls lightly when he tugs to get the last of the stuck areas off. “Sorry, sorry!” the kitsune flinches too, ears drooping. He’s never endured such a wound before, so he couldn’t even imagine what kind of pain the animal might be in. When the wolf settles down, Midoriya leans closer to inspect the flesh. There was a bit of bruising, but the area was a nice pink color indicating the blood flow was good and working on healing. So far, so good, no indication of infection, and the bleeding had stopped.

He smiles at the wolf, “you’re on the road to recovery my friend.” After removing the old bandages and placing them to the side, he readies fresh ones. He wipes off the old honey and ointments gently with a wet cloth, then pats the area dry. Then he applies a new coat of medicinal ointments and honey, explaining as he goes along. “I know, it probably seems weird right?” he chuckles, “but the honey helps against infection.” The kitsune finishes securing the new bandages and sits back to admire his handywork; not bad for his first time tending to a wounded creature.

“Are you comfortable mister wolf? Hmm, you know I should give you a name.” He taps his chin, “how about Akaime?” The animal blows a deep puff of air at him and growls. “No? Okay, um, what about Tsuyoshi?” Again, the wolf just stares at him looking irritated. “Alright fine, how about Ryota since you’re such a strong one.” The wolf puts his head back down. Midoriya couldn’t tell if the wolf was annoyed, gave up, or really didn’t care. “I’m just gonna call you Ryota then.” He bundles up the old linen to wash and stands up, “I’ll see you in the morning Ryota. Good night. Oh,” he turns back around and smiles, “I’m Izuku by the way.”

He finishes tidying up, depositing the soiled linens into the laundry pile, washing the food bowl, and putting away the medicine jars. After one last look at the wolf who appeared to be asleep, Midoriya grabs his candlelight and moves into an adjacent room to set up his futon bedding. It had been a tiring, but exciting day for sure and he was ready to get some sleep.

Part of him wondered if the wolf had been waiting until the cover of darkness to sneak away in the middle of the night. It wouldn’t surprise him considering it was a wild animal that shouldn’t be very comfortable around a human establishment. But then again, in its condition Midoriya also knew it wouldn’t be able to get away very quietly. Judging from the fact it hadn’t moved at all through the day, not even to adjust its position, the wolf had to still be in a lot of pain.

‘I wonder if there are other wolves in the area?’ These animals tended to live in packs, but where was Ryotas? It wasn’t impossible for it to be a lone wolf, just odd if it was. Maybe because he looks very different from the others… In fact, why was it a different color? Is there something special about it? All the questions that had concerned him were coming back up as he tried to get to sleep, but probably the biggest one was why did it seem like the wolf understood what he was saying? ‘I’ll probably never get an answer,’ considering the animal couldn’t talk.

Guess it can’t be helped.

As the week went by, each day Midoriya would dutifully care for the wolf’s injuries, making sure it was fed, and carrying it outside whenever it needed to take care of bodily functions. It was a strange little relationship that by the second day, the monks were aware of the animals presence in the shrine because the kitsune required extra meats and supplies. Not that they questioned anything, nor would they dare to venture too close, but it was unusual.

Slowly but surely, the wolf was getting better. By the end of the week, it could limp outside to do its own business, and yet would still return to the bed Midoriya had made for it. This only added to the kitsune’s confusion, confirming that the animal truly understood it was being cared for. Confused, but it brought a smile to his face to know he was doing something truly good. Under his tender care the wound was almost fully closed up and soon the wolf would be able to return to the wild good as new.

But another part of him wasn’t happy about that idea. It was almost a full two weeks since the day he’d saved Ryota from those hunters and the wolf was becoming like a roommate to the kitsune. Even though the animal couldn’t talk back, it didn’t stop the forest spirit from conversing with it, sharing things that happen at the shrine or just things about himself. It passed the lonely hours away especially in the evenings and he looked forward to hanging out with the wolf once his shrine duties were finished. He couldn’t tell for sure and yet it felt to him as if the wolf was tolerating it... maybe even enjoying the company too? Yeah… he was sure gonna miss his new friend when it left.

“Well, Ryota,” Midoriya sits back after unwrapping the last bandage, “you’re pretty much all healed up now.” A bit of moisture gathers in his eyes. “You could go home now, wherever home may be.”

The wolf looks at where the injury had been as if inspecting it for itself, giving it a sniff, before looking back to the kitsune. After a minute, it stands up, stretches it’s body and legs, then bolts out of the door into the night.

Midoriya hangs his head, wiping the fresh tears away. Knowing this day was coming didn’t make it any easier, but hey, ‘you did a great job,’ he assures himself, ‘you saved that wolf.’ “I know,” his voice murmurs out to no one but the empty room. Maybe he’ll see the wolf around again. “Goodbye, Ryota.” ‘I’ll miss you.’

For the rest of the night, Midoriya putters around through his normal routine. He disassembles the makeshift bed the wolf used while under the kitsune’s care and disposes of the soiled linens. When he was finished cleaning up, it was as if Ryota had never been there at all. With a heavy heart, Midoriya climbs into his own bed and closes his eyes. Tomorrow will be a new day. It was time he resumed his normal life once more.

“Mmm, warm…” Midoriya mumbles and wraps his arms around the furry warm body. His mind was only semi lucid and certain it was a dream, but a really amazing one for Ryota had come back and curled up next to him in his bed. “Missed you…”

When he opens his eyes the next morning, Midoriya yawns and stretches, reaching out but finding nothing. He frowns, it really was just a dream that felt so real! Wait a minute? The kitsune sniffs at the bedding. It smelled like Ryota! The wolf had come back in the night but left before he woke up. Why had it done that? This wolf brought about a plethora of unanswered questions for the kitsune and even after two weeks he really knew nothing.

Days turn to weeks as a strange new routine takes root between the kitsune and the wolf. On random nights the wolf would return after Midoriya has gone to sleep to curl up with him in bed. There was no rhyme or reason to these visits. Sometimes the wolf would sneak in for several nights in a row while at other times it would disappear for many days. Always waiting for him to be asleep and always gone by morning, leaving only his scent and the lingering warmth he’d brought to the kitsune. It was odd to say the least, like having a ghost for a pet.

Life at the shrine could get lonely at times, so these gestures filled Midoriya’s heart with happiness. He hoped Ryota was doing it because he cared for the kitsune. Sort of like accepting him into its pack. His only wish was that it would show itself when he was awake. So many nights would go by with Midoriya’s last thoughts centered around the wolf and those ruby red eyes that almost peered into your soul.

But this wasn’t the only change in their relationship.

Because of the shrines location set away from urban settlements and knowing that visitors would leave money in the offering box, wayward robbers would occasionally pass through and break into the prayer box. It happened so infrequently, that Midoriya and the priests didn’t try to stop them because it would require someone to be on guard all night, every night. All that would remain was a broken box empty of its contents.

“What’s this?” Midoriya surveys the broken offering box laying on the ground that morning. It appeared to have been cracked open, but the money was still in it. He looks around curiously and notes a few more signs of the intended robbery. The gravel area next to the box was disturbed as if a scuffle had taken place as well as finding several drops of blood still tacky to the touch along the stone walkway leading away from the shrine.

Someone or something had evidently thwarted the robbery. The kitsune tips his nose to the air scenting for any other traces, then follows it to a nearby shrub. There he finds a tuft of yellowish blonde fur stuck to the brush. “Ryota?” Midoriya looks around even though the wolf’s scent was no longer in the immediate vicinity. Had the wolf stopped the robbery? And where were the robbers? He hoped the wolf had not killed them, for even though what they did was wrong, he didn’t believe in killing unless absolutely necessary.

A part of him wanted to search for his missing friend, but his duties at the shrine were more important for now. He washes the blood off the stone walkway, smooths back out the gravel of the garden, and takes the offering box to his rooms to fix. Ryota’s scent was definitely on the box, so it must have touched it at some point during the fight. Was this the wolfs way of paying him back for his kindness? If it was such a gesture, the kitsune was appreciative and so were the priests.

Almost a month later, a similar incident is discovered bright and early one morning. Another broken offering box, another thwarted robbery. This time the thief had gotten farther than the last one. There were coins scattered across the stone walkway, but the bulk of it remained inside the vessel. To Midoriya, it looked as if the box had been dropped, perhaps when the savior had caught the robber in the act. He gathers up all the coins, placing them back into the box before taking it back to his room to fix, while another priest takes care of cleaning up the area.

As he works on fixing the wooden container, Midoriya can’t help but think about what’s been going on. He was certain that Ryota had snuck into his room last night… and come to think of it, the wolf had been here during the previous robbery as well. It didn’t necessarily mean anything, only that it made the thwarted robberies easier on the wolf to deal with. “Maybe that’s why he comes here?” He thinks out loud. “So, he can be closer?”

But on the third incident a few weeks later, that logic doesn’t apply. Ryota hadn’t made his nightly visits to Midoriya for several days, and on the night of the latest attempted theft, the wolf never came to his room. Yet it was clear based on a few strands of fur left behind, it was Ryota that had saved the offerings once again.

#bakudeku big bang 2020 #bakudeku #bkdk #bakudeku fan fiction #bakudeku fan fic #bakugou katsuki #midoriya Izuku #katsudeku #ktdk #kitsune midoriya #okami bakugou

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joy-girl · 5 months

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One Piece 1100 // ASL brothers

#when was the last time we saw all of them in one chapter??? 😭😭😭#one piece #one piece spoilers #op spoilers #one piece 1100 #one piece ch 1100 #one piece unreleased #one piece chapter 1100 #op 1100 #guya reads one piece #guya posts #asl brothers #monkey d luffy #portgas d ace #sabo #revolutionary sabo #monkey d. luffy #portgas d. ace

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thesafetystudent-blog · 5 years

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Gothic Week 15- Ch 13 Blog Post

Gothic art/cathedrals are most pronounced across Europe, constructed from the mid-twelfth century through the sixteenth. Gothic cathedrals are recognized as some of the most elaborate stone monuments. Abbot Suger is to credit for the creation of the Gothic style, he was appointed to work on the change and enlarge of the church of Saint-Denis. His intense studying lead him to the style known as Gothic, he wanted to harmonize the parts of a building and the “mystical effect of light” to represent the relationship between God’s presence and light in a “distinctive way”.

Some of the main features of the Gothic architecture are the rib vaults, piers, pointed arches and the “skeleton” as well as stained-glass windows. All of these elements added to the iconic and pointed structures involved in Gothic architecture. Many of these elements combined create art on their own, stained glass especially, with many ornated pieces of colored glass held together to create images and display light and colors.

During the late 1100’s building cathedrals became a huge economic enterprise during the Gothic era, seating for the Bishop by definition and is aesthetically pleasing, the cathedral was of educational and religious importance. For the towns they were built in and their surroundings, their construction created many jobs and instilled much pride in the trades people who invested their time and skill within the construction of the symbolic cathedrals. Personally, I feel that the detail and mass construction has lost its relationship with a sense of community like it did during these times. I feel like there is only one thing driving the economy now, money. Rather than the religious and community focused efforts during the Gothic era.

In the late 1300s the construction of the cathedral in Chartres began, many wealthy families contributed to the construction which took place from 1134-1220. The construction of the church had social and economic impact on the French society. The cathedral was constructed to be highly visible and was in line with Suger’s attraction to height and light, which he related to the presence of God. I feel that the attraction to sunlight and natural lighting and its relation to God is definitely something that is still found in today’s society, I can recall times when my son would see rays of sunlight coming through the clouds and say, “God is shining his light again”.

A lot of the intricate windows and designs within the Chartres chapel can be associated with and referenced to Christ. For example, in the text some of the arrangements of geometric shapes there are three groups of twelve elements that surround the small central circle, referring to Christ and his twelve apostles.

The construction and preservation of these chapels is historically and religiously important, it offers a view of religion in a prior century, the many facades are adorned with other religious statues of importance.

The Gothic style spread throughout Europe and many epic cathedrals were erected. This time period was relatively short, however, left a dramatic impact on its societies for generations to come and the beauty of the art and construction are still observed today.

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dearlazerbunny · 6 years

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Blue Bottle Beer; Ch. 8 of 11

“Can I help you?” Poe Dameron x Reader; 1100 words

Requested Tags: @agirlinherhead

Based on this list of prompts. Click HERE for Chapter 9.

You spent the night together, just talking and laughing and enjoying being in each other’s company. He told you about his childhood. You told him why you moved. He finally coaxed the Steve Buscemi story out of you, man, that was a doozie. And yes, there were many, many repeat performances of the earlier evening’s entertainment. You finally convinced him to let you have a go at him, and from the way he ground out your name from clenched teeth as he came, it didn’t sound like he regret the decision.

You were almost worried when you woke to a cold opposite side of the bed, until you found a note tucked just under your pillow where you would see it when you woke up. Had to open early today, don’t worry. See you soon. There was a ridiculously doodled smiley face at the end of the page, belying who the note is from even without his signature. You clutch the note to your chest as you stare at the ceiling, wondering how your life got this good this fast.

In a rare moment of genius, you hop out of bed and throw on some jeans and a shirt. You’d go surprise him at D’Qar this morning. Maybe with some breakfast? It was only 7am, he must’ve left pretty early. Yeah. Breakfast would be good.

On the walk over you picked up some sandwiches from a nearby bodega before heading to D’Qar. It was empty, but the door was open, so you went in with a grin on your face, expecting to see Poe with some wicked bedhead- all the more satisfying to know that you had done that to him.

Instead, you were met with a young man stacking bottles on the counter. It must be Finn, the other bartender you hadn’t met. He looked absorbed in his work, so you gently clear your throat to get his attention.

His head pops up. “Can I help you? We’re not actually open, you’ll have to come back later.”

“Oh, that’s okay, I was actually just looking for Poe…?”

“He’s in the back with a vendor.” He eyes the bag you have draped over your arm. “Can I take a message?”

“Oh, no, that’s okay. I’ll just wait if you don’t mind. You must be Finn.” You offer a hand for him to shake. “I’m Y/N. I’ve heard a lot about you, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

He doesn’t take your hand.

“Y/N. Yeah, I bet you’ve heard a lot about me.”

Your eyebrows crease at his tone. “I- I’m sorry?”

The man doesn’t look surprised. “Oh, so he hasn’t told you. Great. That’s just like him actually. Sorry if I’m not tripping all over myself to meet Poe’s latest conquest.”

“I’m sorry, he hasn’t told me what?”

“That he’s totally on the rebound. We only broke up two weeks ago.”

Time seems to slow down for a bit. “You… what now?”

Finn leans forward and talks slow, like you’re stupid or hard of hearing “He’s. On. The. Rebound. From me.”

“”You dated.”

He snorts, and sets down two bottles much too hard, causing the rest of the stack to rattle. “For two goddamn years.”

Two years? “And you just broke up?”

“Yup.” He smiles, but there’s ice underlying the nicety. “He didn’t tell you that, did he? I know he spent the night with you, he came in with that… look on his face.” He spits out the word look like it’s the dirtiest thing he ever said. “So let me give you a piece of advice. You’re a rebound. Temporary. And once he’s done with you, he’ll dump you just like he did me. Only you won’t have two years of history backing you up so you can stick around.”

This is all way too much information to process, and unfortunately you don’t get a chance to before Poe is coming in from the back, wiping his hands on his jeans. His face lights up when he sees you. “Y/N, hey!”

“You son of a bitch.” Finn throws down the bottle he’s holding, causing it to smash against the concrete floor. You flinch, and back up a few steps away from the both of them. “You’re over me that quickly, huh?”

“Whoa, hey- what is going on here?”

“Y/N and I were just having a nice little chat.” The malice in his voice is undeniable. “Surprised you didn’t tell her about us, honey.”

“What is there to tell? We’re over, Finn, we have been for a while.”

“A while? You call two weeks a while?!”

Poe goes a little white in the face. “I…I thought it was a month.”

“Of course you did.” Finn gives you a scathing glare. “Well by all means, don’t let me get in the way of a happy reunion. Looks like she brought you something. Breakfast, maybe? Remember when you used to do that for me?”

“Finn-”

“No, I’m done. I’m fed up with this bullshit. I quit. Never should have stayed on for you anyways.” He steps out from behind the bar and shoulder-checks you on his way out. “Oh, sorry, Y/N. Have fun with used goods.”

And then he was gone.

You turn to Poe, eyes wide. “Poe..? Is all that..?”

“Y/N. I’m so sorry you had to hear that.” He goes to get a broom and dustpan for the broken bottle. “I had no idea he was so bitter, I thought we’d talked about it-”

“You’ve only been broken up for two weeks? After- two years?”

Poe shakes his head. “I swear I thought it was longer.” He laughs nervously. “Always did have a shit memory.”

“And a shit sense of humor.”

“What? Hey, Y/N- what’s wrong?”

You try to ignore the tears brimming in your eyes, but one burns its way down your cheek, making you blink and your heart drop. “I really am just a rebound.”

“What? No, Y/N-”

“No, shut up. You can’t date a person for two years and then suddenly be over them in a matter of weeks. Were you even going to tell me?”

“I- I didn’t think I needed to-”

“Right.” You drop the bag of sandwiches. “And you didn’t fire him as soon as you broke up. What were you hoping? To keep him around on the side?”

“No! I just didn’t think it was fair to fire him just because-”

“Well you thought wrong.” You wipe away a tear. “I- I need to go.”

“Y/N-”

“No. Just- just stop.” You run out the door, only looking back to see a stunned Poe and bits of smashed blue glass covering the floor.

A/N: Poor Finn always ends up being the bad guy in my stories. Sorry buddy!

#star wars #Star Wars fanfic #requests #star wars request #poe dameron #poe dameron x reader #poe dameron x you

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esprit-de-corps-magazine · 6 years

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Operation Nanook - Exercise Soteria (Major Air Disaster - MAJAID)

By Richard Lawrence

Operation Nanook is an annual Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) exercise held across the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Labrador with the goal to show sovereignty in the north, improve its ability to operate in the Arctic, improve coordination with indigenous, territorial, and federal governments and partners, and work with mission partners to respond to safety and security issues in the north. It is the latter, safety issues, that are of interest this year as exercise READY SOTERIA 2018 (RESA 2018) was put into action as part of Op Nanook to validate whether this particular contingency plan is appropriate and meets the needs for which it was developed. For interests sake, SOTERIA is the Greek goddess of safety and deliverance from harm.

RESA 2018 was held in Yellowknife, N.W.T. from the 17th to 21st September, 2018, to test the contingency plan for dealing with a Major Air Disaster (or MAJAID) in the far north with the actual simulation held further south. For the purposes of the exercise simulation, the MAJAID scenario was an airliner crash with 199 persons on board with the forward base in Sach’s Harbour on Bank’s Island (about 2130 km north-north-west of Edmonton) and the crash site about 470 km further north-east on Melville Island. In reality and for exercise purposes, the forward base was setup in the Yellowknife Airport with the incident site at the territorial gravel pit on the Dettah Road about 19 km from Yellowknife by road, or 6.2 km by air.

RESA 2018 was never meant to be a test of the overall, whole-of-government response, as parts of that dynamic had been tested prior to this exercise. RESA 2018 was only meant to be a tactical exercise for the CAF to test the Air Task Force piece of a MAJAID response to a major crash, independent of any other factors, so that they could streamline their processes to fix anything that didn’t work according to plan as well as practice the plan. To that end, the critical pieces are the initial response by search and rescue and their Canadian Army Advance Warfare Centre (CAAWC) security teams as well as the deployment of the MAJAID Kit along with the deployment and workings of the HSS.

The MAJAID Kit is a palletized set of equipment that consists of tents, sleeping bags, food, water, heaters, generators, and a couple of ATVs. It can be deployed by air insertion within 24 hours from Trenton and has enough equipment and supplies to support 320 people for 72 hours. It is accompanied by SAR techs and a security team from the CAAWC who jump in with 24 hours of personal supplies. As a note, the transit time from Trenton to Sach’s Harbour would have been eight hours.

THE THEORY

In such a disaster, the first notification would be to one of three Joint Rescue Coordination Centres (JRCC): Halifax, Trenton, or Victoria. The JRCC would then launch the primary Search and Rescue (SAR) assets, such as Search and Rescue technicians (SAR techs), helicopters, and/or CC-130 aircraft. Normally there would be two SAR techs to an aircraft but in this type of emergency all SAR techs would be recalled and as many as could fit into the aircraft with their equipment would be sent. So, instead of two SAR techs the initial response could be 6 – 10 with equipment. Other primary squadrons from around the country would fly in their assets in a second wave of response as soon as they could be gathered and moved.

Once the initial response has started it would be recommended to the SAR Regional Commander that contingency plan Soteria be activated. This recommendation would then go to the Commander of Combined Joint Operations Command and then to the Chief of Defence Staff for approval after which Soteria would be activated. An Air Task Force commander would be appointed as well as a forward base

location identified (locations are already identified in the plan so it’s more of a selection) and the wider response would start. The Air Task Force (ATF) commander for RESA 2018 was Maj. Rich MacEwan who commanded the exercise with Maj. Carly Montpellier (2 Field Ambulance, Petawawa) commanding the 35 medical personnel of the MAJAID Health Services Support (HSS) unit, both operating from the Yellowknife airfield. The HSS unit was capable of handling 100 casualties.

Once on the ground and setup, the SAR techs would do initial triage, separating the victims into green, yellow, red, and black categories, depending on the type and severity of the injury (green = good, black = dead). As this is happening, air resources are brought to bear to evacuate the injured to the forward base where they are again triaged (ratings may have changed during the time between initial triage and arrival at HSS). The HSS responsibility is to setup at a forward base and keep people from dying (triage and treat), and manage pain before onward evacuation to regional hospitals or medical facilities better suited to treat the injured.

It was noted by LCol. Jay Steele, Search and Rescue Advisor at the Combined Joint Operations Command (CJOC), that in all likelihood, the CAF will not be the first responders on scene but rather Canadian Rangers, hunters/trappers, mining company staff and/or local communities will be first to the site. He further stated that one thing you cannot do in the north is stop people from helping because it is in their nature to do so. It doesn’t matter what the problem is or how severe, the people of the north rush to the cause to provide whatever assistance they can. And because they know the area and are used to any weather conditions, that help can be invaluable. However, the CAF “may be the only ones that can come with that much force or that much material to help out”.

BGen Dave Anderson, Deputy Chief of Staff - CJOC, made the point that this type of scenario is not a CAF problem but a problem for the province/territory in which the disaster occurs and that the CAF works with them. It is not the job of the CAF to come in and take charge of everything, as that is not helpful, but to co-ordinate with the local/regional authorities and provide whatever assistance that they require. In essence the CAF is in a support role to the governmental authorities and other agencies.

THE EXERCISE

DND has a tradition of inviting media up north to view some of these exercises and this year was no different as a group of about 6-10 media types and about 30 VIPs (government officials mostly with a couple of defence attachés and Coast Guard) were at the Canada Reception Centre in Ottawa at 0930 hours to catch a RCAF CC-150 leaving at 1100 hours for Edmonton. We arrived in Edmonton (actually Nisku about 20 km south of Edmonton and not near anything) about 1300 hours local time where we checked into the hotel for the night (not at DND’s expense). At 0700 hours the next morning we were on the shuttle bus back to the aircraft for the final leg up to Yellowknife, leaving at 0830 hours and arriving 1030 hours. I was excited to be in Yellowknife as I’ve always wanted to visit but coming from Ottawa to Yellowknife was a bit of a weather change from 28 degrees and sun to -2 degrees with overcast and wind.

Upon arrival in Yellowknife on the 18th, we were immediately bused out to the incident site (gravel pit) as the initial response SAR techs and CAAWC security teams were being parachuted in from a CC-130J. It was easy to tell the two groups apart as the security team was dressed in camouflage and carried rifles whereas the SAR techs were dressed in orange and carried big kit bags with them. The MAJAID Kit was in the process of being deployed as it was previously air inserted, followed by security and SAR techs, and

then broken apart for setup. It is important that the tents get setup immediately and heaters started so victims can be brought in from the elements which, that far north, can be harsh on a good day. It seemed from the exercise that security put up their perimeter on the site and setup the MAJAID kit while the SAR techs started to triage the victims. Once available for occupancy the less serious cases (green, yellow) were moved into one tent and the more serious (red) into another where the SAR techs continued to provide medical care to the injured. While it seems unemotional and cold, the dead were left on stretchers outside and covered up as there was nothing to be done for them other than to protect them from animals.

As this initial response was well underway, a second wave of SAR techs parachuted into the site simulating the arrival of resources from other than the primary SAR response units. After a time, a CH-146 Griffin helicopter arrived and a couple of stretchers were flown out but this is a small aircraft and of limited use because of the small load it carries. Still later, a CH-149 Cormorant came in and evacuated a larger number of casualties back to the HSS.

All in all we spent about 90 minutes observing the scenario as it unfolded. Everyone was very committed to the exercise, including the simulated victims who moaned and cried and complained. Only the dead were stoic but even they looked up occasionally to see what was going on or to adjust their blankets to keep warm. The SAR techs/security teams dutifully attended to all victims and got the MAJAID Kit setup in short order and started moving the victims to a more hospitable environment out of the cold. Once the helos arrived, they were very quick to get people loaded and away from the site to the HSS.

The only real hiccups at the incident site came with the initial parachute drop and later with an equipment drop from the CC-130J. In the initial parachute drop of SAR techs/security teams, the wind kicked up a bit and a couple of people found themselves heading for the trees and power lines by our bus. Everyone managed to “shorten sail” as it were and landed short of the trees and cars so this was possibly more real-life than they were hoping for. Later, a CC-130J was doing a parachute drop of supplies and the directing staff thought that it would be a good idea for everyone to vacate the lunch tents to observe. They also instructed everyone to identify and watch the package all the way to the ground in case the wind caught it and it came near them or the tent. This was a good idea as the package did get caught in the wind and landed closer to the lunch tent than I’m sure staff would have liked.

After our time at the incident site, we were bussed back to the Yellowknife Airport to observe the HSS team in action. This team was situated in the old fire hall and commanded by Maj. Carly Montpellier of 2 Field Ambulance, Petawawa. The HSS consists of medical officers, nursing officers, medical technicians, preventive medicine technicians (look after camp hygiene, water, food, etc.), a pharmacy tech, and two members with an aero-medical evacuation specialty. The primary role is to provide life-saving intervention and pain management prior to evacuation to a higher level of care as well as rearward tracking of the patients.

We were able to observe patients on the tables being assessed and attended to as well as watch new patients just off the CH-149 from the incident site be re-triaged and moved into the building. The HSS building was small and everyone was packed in. It seemed well organized although we were told that they had been almost overwhelmed earlier because the short transit time from the incident site (5 minutes) allowed the patients to be evacuated to the HSS in a much shorter time than would have been normal in a real disaster.

The last stop was to the Air Task Force Command Centre where we were briefed by Maj. Rich MacEwan, the task force commander. His role was to coordinate the CAF air assets to provide the rescue and evacuation to medical care at the forward base and subsequent airlift to higher medical care. They also look after all liaison with regional and territorial organizations, and logistics and administration. At its basic level, the command centre is a room/tent with a bunch of computers and comms equipment with groups of officers handling all aspects of coordination, liaison, logistics, and administration.

As stated by Maj. MacEwan, initially at a forward base, there may be nothing on the ground for an ops centre and they need to get in with ops officers, communications (telephone or sat phone) and whatever else may be needed. If required, they can go in with a more army setup with modular tents, generators, and cots but there is a need for some basic infrastructure to support re-supply and HSS as well as a way for a CC-130 to take off and land. As the SAR response starts, a list of already vetted forward bases is reviewed and one of those would be a first choice, depending on the proximity to the incident site.

BGen. Anderson talked about some of the take-aways from this exercise with his first comment regarding the amount of time it takes to reset the MAJAID Kit once it has been deployed. In short, it takes 90 days before the MAJAID Kit can be used again and should another disaster occur during that period, the kit is not available. The easiest fix to this is to have a second MAJAID Kit ready to go. As well, the tactical operators are looking at the kit during this exercise to make sure its components are appropriate to the job, especially if the CAF is going to purchase a backup kit.

He also felt that the command and control of the scenario was overcomplicated with the ATF commander working for the MAJAID Task Force Commander who works for the Commander 1 Cdn Air Div (Winnipeg) who is also the air component commander for MGen Rouleau who works in Ottawa. He suggested that as the Joint Task Force North (JTFN) has already established links to governmental and other agencies that perhaps the MAJAID Task Force could deploy liaison officers who would then go in and meet their counterparts in the territorial or provincial operations centre thereby taking some of the workload off the MAJAID Task Force, who are already busy.

Lastly, BGen. Anderson commented on the lunch supplied to the group which was military IMPs served in an unlit tent at the incident site. He said, “ … poutine in a bag – that’s an abomination! It’s an offence against humanity … it never should have happened.”. BGen. Anderson is from Montreal so I guess he’s entitled to an opinion.

THE END

In the end I can only comment on the seriousness with which everyone undertook to do their jobs despite this only being an exercise. And it wasn’t just those directly involved in the scenario but those who provided support to the exercise, right down to the stretcher bearers lined up inside the HSS hut waiting for the next inflow of casualties and the victims categorized black (dead). Although some may shy away from the expense of doing an exercise like this in the north, just think of the expense if the CAF wasn’t ready to respond or the plan actually had serious flaws that hadn’t been worked out prior to a real disaster. And just because this exercise is in the north, the MAJAID Kit and all the associated personnel are capable of being deployed to any area in Canada, not just the north and not just for an airplane crash. The equipment and lessons learned here can be applied to any multi-victim disaster such

as train derailments, boating disasters, bridge collapses, floods, etc. Training in a harsh environment only makes sense if one “plans for the worst and hopes for the best”.

At 1530 hours we re-boarded the aircraft, after five hours on the ground, and headed back to Ottawa. After two days of travel, and seeing an airport and a gravel pit, I can still say I’ve never been to Yellowknife.

All images from the trip can be found at:

http://www.richardlawrencephotography.ca/rlpgalleries/2018/soteria

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cars4starters · 7 years

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What is it?

Toyota’s funky new urban escape machine. A colleague described the CH-R as ugly, a rival for the infamous Pontiac Aztek. I’m not familiar with that particular piece of Americana, but I think he was being a tad harsh. I’d prefer to describe the styling as striking, a stand out in a sea of bland. The name CH-R stands for Compact High Rider, Cross Hatch Runabout or Coupe High Rider – depending on who you’re talking to. Sitting below the RAV in terms of size it’s targeted at the young and young at heart, but is sure to have wide ranging appeal.

What’s it cost?

Prices start from a reasonable $26,990 for the two-wheel drive manual, with an additional $2000 for an auto and $2000 for all-wheel drive. The better spec’d but more expensive Koba two wheel drive version with an auto is $33,290. Top of the line Koba with auto and all-wheel drive rounds out the range at $35,290 – all prices plus onroads. Koba adds leather, larger wheels, keyless start – but not much else really worth having. The level of safety across the board is high too, with a pre-collision safety system, active cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure alert with steering assist and reversing camera. As you can see the price quickly builds and there’s still plenty of options you can add to change the look of the car.

What’s it go like?

We clocked up more than 1100 back-to-back kilometres in the manual and auto. All models are powered by the same 1.2-litre turbocharged four, with 85kW of power and 185Nm of torque – the latter delivered between a useful 1500 and 4000 revs. Belying its tiny engine capacity it actually gets along quite well. The 1.2 turbo is paired with a either 6-speed manual or CVT style automatic with seven steps or gears. Although the two-wheel drive manual felt more than adequate, it can if you’re inattentive be caught off boost at times, resulting in little or no throttle response. Putting it in sport mode makes a discernible difference and that’s where you’ll probably want to leave it most of the time, but you have to keep engaging sport mode every time you start the car. Of the two we much prefered the CVT, which was smoother and overcomes this problem – it really hits the sweet spot. The manual is rated at 6.3L/100km, the CVT 6.4 or 6.5 depending on whether its front or all-wheel drive (we were getting around these figures with both). You’re probably wondering do I really need all-wheel drive? No, not really – it’s overkill.

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What we like?

Standout styling

High level of specification

Digital speedo for ready reckoning

Auto lights, wipers and mirror

All in one head unit includes navigation

What we don’t?

No torque off boost

Have to keep selecting sport mode

Poor over the shoulder vision

Plunging roofline makes rear access difficult

Console cupholders difficult to access

Glovebox cheap and difficult to open

Door pockets thin and shallow

What are the alternatives?

The aging but still smart looking Mitsubishi ASX continues to lead this segment, based mainly on price and looks. From $25,000 it remains a very appealing package.

Others worth a look include:

Honda HR-V, priced from $24,990

The HR-V is a very underrated car and one of our favourites in the Honda lineup.

Mazda CX-3, priced from $20,490

Love the styling but based on the Mazda2 it’s actually quite small inside.

Nissan Juke, priced from $23,490

Now this really is ugly. I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on it at some motor show overseas.

Deal or no deal?

CH-R is not our cup of tea, but there’s no reason not to give it a look. Try the two wheel drive with CVT first, then go for a run in the entry Koba for $3000 more – the big difference for us was in the ride quality which was oddly much better in the Koba despite lower profile rubber.

Toyota’s CH-R dares to be different What is it? Toyota’s funky new urban escape machine. A colleague described the CH-R as ugly, a rival for the infamous Pontiac Aztek.

#CH-R #Toyota

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strainofthestress · 7 years

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Fanfic: Somebody to Share it With Ch. 4

Havarl, 1100 Hours

The lush jungle was awash with sounds of life, birds – or as close as his planet came – flew overhead as a very bruised and tired pathfinder made his way through the dense underbrush. It had been two days since they had landed on that planet, and three hours since they had activated the vault. In that time, Wes had lost track of how many bites, scratches, bruises, mauls, decapitation, infections, attacks and falls he had avoided on this planet. Jaal had been annoyingly at home on the planet, jumping deftly out of the way of whatever predator had decided they had lunch written all over them, laughing slightly as he did it. Vetra had been less at home but still adept, her jump-jet rarely idle and her trusted cyclone now accompanied by a small Asari shotgun she “picked up from some raider back in milky way” (whatever that meant). But Ryder… This planet had taken a clear toll on him. His armor was grimy and muddy, showing the result of many dives into the soft ground below; he limped slightly after his ankle was banged up by “whatever the hell you call those awful dinosaur things!” (creatures Jaal informed him were actually called “Rylkor”); and his jump jet was sparking from an unfortunate tumble in the Vault. Still, Ryder was walking through the jungle, towards the nav-point Vetra had given him.

“This better be worth it” he muttered under his breath, stepping over a particularly large rock only for his foot to get sucked into a knee-deep puddle of mud. The hardsuit kept him dry, but the sensation was still unpleasant.

A dual-toned voice crackled over the coms. “What was that pathfinder?”

“Oh, nothing, Vetra. Just saying how much I still love trudging through this swamp-hole of a planet.”

“Come-on, Ryder. Weren’t you the one who was saying you wanted adventure? Exploration? To see a whole new galaxy?”

“Yes, but I didn’t want an entire planet designed to kill me!”

Moments passed as Ryder continued to beat his way through the undergrowth, curses and exasperation abound. Eventually he came to a small clearing, the trees avoiding what looked like the remains of a remnant road. Vetra stood on one side, two weapons laid at her feet. On the other were what looked like three sim targets, their blue glow blending in with the soft bioluminescence of the foliage behind.

“Ryder, how nice of you to join me.” Turian mandibles flared in amusement as human eyebrows dived in consternation.

“Yeah, yeah. So what did you need, Vetra.”

“Well, after the past two days, I thought you could benefit a little bit from some training.”

A scoffing laugh sounded through the air over the hiss of Ryder removing his helmet, the damp, natural air flooding in to replace the sterile smell of the hardsuits filters.

“While I appreciate the thought, I do know how to handle a rifle.”

Vetra bent over, picking up one of the weapons at her feet. It was oddly geometric, glowing blue along the seams and seemed to hum as it moved through the air. There was what looked like a handle, in front of which was an oddly angled grip. The stock was split, as if it was designed for your shoulder to fit inside of it, and the barrel was split as well – the top sporting what looked like stubby vents, the bottom looking like a single piece of metal.

“No, Ryder, you have alliance training on how to handle a rifle. But, frankly, I’ve seen you use one. And while I’m all for learning by doing, there are a few things I could teach you that could keep your ass a bit more alive out here. Now, this…’ Vetra tossed it to Ryder as she spoke, before picking up her own usual weapon. ‘… is what the eggheads are calling a ‘Sweeper’. It’s an assault rifle based off remnant tech, highly experimental. But, for a few favors and a case of Angaran Ale, they let me get one.”

Wes looked down at the weapon, feeling it vibrate slightly in his hands as the weapon seemed to emit energy. His hands tingled as he pointed the rifle down-range, the metal quickly warming up in his hands. He brought his head down to where he would imagine the sights would be, and as he did so a set of holographic sights rose from the top of the weapon, a stark blue diamond with a dot in the center.

Behind him, Vetra was loading her own weapon, giving it a systems check as she spoke to Ryder.

“Now, from what I’ve seen of you so far, sink-changes are your biggest hang-up. Good news: this thing doesn’t have heat sinks. It operates off of an internal sink, like the old Kassa Breakers. You shoot, you wait, you shoot again. It shoots in three shot bursts with minimal recoil, so you’ll probably be able to put all three rounds on your target…”

“Vetra, why are you doing this?”

Wes’ question interrupted Vetra’s train of thought and she stopped, looking almost dumb-founded, at Ryder.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean why are you training me like this, getting me a special weapon? I know how to handle myself. I won’t pretend to be some super badass who can nail a fly at 40 yards with a pistol, but I can handle myself nonetheless. Do I look that incompetent? Am I that… bad?”

The pride was almost palpable in Ryder’s voice as he felt frustration which had been kept on a simmer for weeks now come to the surface, despite his best efforts. He stowed the rifle on his back and continued, pride turning to frustration, bleeding into anger. Vetra’s mandibles flared in confusion as she stowed her rifle on her back, her head tilting to one side as she listened to Ryder.

“Look, I’m not my dad, alright? I know this. It’s been made painfully obvious to me. In more ways than one. But, I do know how to handle myself, at least a bit. If I look that bad, or that incompetent, tell me. If I seem like I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t. But if there’s one thing in this job I might know something about, it’s what I learned with the alliance. And everybody loves to tell me I’m doing fine, but I know I’m not. I know I’m not who you, or Cora, or Jan, or anybody wanted. If I look bad, if I need to do something tell me. But just… don’t bullshit me.”

Silence fell between the two as Ryder’s sudden outburst floated away. Birds flew overhead and both of them could hear a Rylkor stomping around 40 yards away. Vetra spoke first, her voice softer, slightly concerned.

“I didn’t mean to hit a pressure point. Sorry…”

Ryder bowed his head, and closed his eyes as gloved hands massaged his temples. His voice was quieter, almost regretful.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that. These past few days have been… stressful. And I guess I’ve just been more worried about… all that, than I thought. You didn’t deserve that.”

Again, heartbeats of silence.

“Bit of a hair trigger, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“For what it counts, I can’t tell you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Ryder looked up with one eye, an eyebrow shooting up in skeptical curiosity.

“Really. I can’t. We’re all a little lost out here, Lexi might even tell us we came out here to be lost. But none of us know what we’re doing. Out of all of us, though, you’re the one who seems to pretend like you know what you’re doing the best. So, really, I can’t tell.”

As both eyes opened, the pathfinder’s head came up, his face pulled to one side as he considered what his coworker, growing friend, told him, his eyes darting back and forth. Eventually he took a deep breath, his hands slapping the sides of his legs. Vetra continued.

“Look, Ryder. You’re right, you’re not your dad. And yes, we can all tell. But that doesn’t mean it looks like you don’t know what you’re doing. You have your own way of doing things, you are your own person. And, right now, that’s the person we’re all looking at to get us through this mess. Even if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re putting on a pretty convincing act. But here’s the thing about an act – there’s always at least part of it that’s real. So, at least part of you knows what you’re doing.”

“Thanks? I think?”

“You know, that was meant to be a bit more reassuring. Words – these kinds of things, aren’t really my strong suit. I guess I’m trying to say you’re doing just fine, we all trust you, and you’re doing good stuff.”

Ryder laughed, wryly. “I certainly hope I am.”

“I know I am. Now, you want to relax by shooting some stuff?”

“You’re still pushing this training thing, aren’t you?”

“No, relaxation through shooting.”

“Vetra, when have you ever pushed anybody to relax.”

Vetra’s mandibles hugged her face as she opened her mouth, the Turian equivalent to sticking out her tongue. She reached over her back, her rifle deploying into her hand as she started talking, Ryder following her lead, the new rifle still feeling alien in his hands.

“Alright, now right now you’re shooting with your body turned to the side of your target. While this provides you with a smaller presented target, it’s not nearly as quick to change targets. So…”

Pathfinder’s Quarters, 1945 Hours

The stars shot by the ship with technological ease, the blue aura around the window bathing the cabin in similar fashion. With their nose squarely pointed for Voeld, the crew had settled down for three days of FTL travel. Lexi was sitting in her lab running tests, Cora had set up a mini biotic training station in the cargo. Liam was watching movies with Drack, and Jaal was still pouring over historical records in his adopted Quarters. And ryder stood in his cabin, enjoying a cup of steaming black hazelnut coffee as he watched the universe slide by.

Vetra’s boots sounded from the down the corridor as she knocked on the door, entering the cabin timidly.

“Ryder?”

Ryder looked behind him, smiling at the Turian before gesturing her towards him, stepping to the side so that she had room to enjoy the view as well. In her hand was a similarly steaming cup of… something, Ryder didn’t know. It had a slightly off-putting dark green color, and appeared slightly thicker than water. The smell of it was.. not unlike that of scrambled eggs, and he could see the small rivulets of steam rising from the three-fingered mug. Vetra stepped astride of Ryder, looking forwards with him as they both, fairly simultaneously, took a drink of their respective “coffee”.

“Vetra, what can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if you could… well, if you’ve got the time… I was thinking we might need to…”

Ryder tilted his head at the Turian as she spoke with an uncharacteristic lack of confidence, the normal semi-swagger which had developed over years of self-sufficiency suddenly gone as she stared straight ahead. Her voice wasn’t panicked, but it wasn’t the normal semi-sarcastic totally sharp play of tones he had gotten used to, either.

“Are you… bored?”

Vetra’s sudden sigh was exasperated to put it mildly as her mandibles flared out as wide as Wes had seen them. Her voice now had a strong overtone of resentment, laughable reluctance to admit the fact that she was, in fact, bored.

“Gil said that, after that encounter with the Archon, and given the mission we’re on, we had to turn off coms, go ‘silent’ – as if there’s noise in space. “

At this point Wes couldn’t help but giggle a little bit under his breath as Vetra Nyx, the workaholic of the Tempest, didn’t know what to do with herself when she couldn’t work. A light swat on the arm met his laughter.

“…aaand I concluded all the work I could do for deals until we get back into contact. So, I’m done.”

“You didn’t bring a book or anything?”

A bitter sip from what looked like bitter Turian coffee.

“I did. I just would much rather talk to people. Liam and Drack are watching movies, spirits punish me if I interrupt them. Jaal is doing his whole ‘study all the milky way’ act. Lexi is, of course, running tests. Gil is… well, I don’t actually know where he is, don’t know if that’s comforting or concerning. And Kallo and Suvi are talking about the ship’s specs – interesting, but not what I’m after right now.”

“Well, glad to see I’m top of your ‘talking to’ list.”

“That’s not what I meant. We’ve got a crew of introverts. And, well, I like people.”

Wes gestured over towards the couch, Vetra’s longer legs taking her to her seat faster than him on long strides.

“Well, I happen to be a person. So, feel free to come in any time to talk.”

“Don’t you have pathfinder work, or something?”

Ryder laughed, sipping his coffee as his eyes darted subconsciously to his terminal, the new-email light flashing for the 11th day in a row, still unchecked.

“Yeah. But like you, I like people. I’ll get around to that later. There is one condition, though.”

Vetra’s head angled to her left as she sipped her drink again, cupping the mug as she finished. “What’s that?”

“You have to come with a story.”

“A story, huh?”

“Yup. If we’re gonna talk in-transit, I might as well get to know my new friend.”

Vetra’s playful laugh echoed through the cabin, a welcome respite from the monotonous drone of the HVAC system.

“You think we’re friends, do you?”

“I think at the very least I’d like to be.”

Vetra’s expression was almost… shocked. Like a flashbang had just gone off in her face. Instants later she shook her head, the expression becoming thoughtful as she examined the bulkheads above her, thinking. Eventually, after Ryder had downed half his cup of coffee, she spoke.

“A story, huh? Alright, Ryder, here you go. So, about 2 years ago – well, I guess a lot longer actually, but 2 years to us - I was running this load of Geth tech from the citadel to the Quarians. Not explicitly illegal, not explicitly legal either. So it was just me and my partner – Soln Vorchanus, an old friend of mine – in this tiny little spaceship, probably no bigger than our cargo hold. So we’re cruising through empty space, nothing on the scanners, quiet day, so Soln and I are eating some dinner in our pilot chairs.

When all of the sudden, out of nowhere, this ship comes out of nowhere, and I mean nowhere – didn’t have it on scanners, didn’t see it on radar, ladar, none of it. It actually looked a lot like the Tempest, strangely enough – same pointed bow, four engines, wings on the sides –much longer, though. Anyways, this dammed ship flies out of nowhere, and we get caught in their engine wash. So we start tumbling around, our galactic plane is nowhere to be found, and we’re starting to feel the force on our seats.

Now, we weren’t in planet, so gravity stayed the same, but Soln, it turns out, gets a little motion sick. I don’t know what you know about turian motion sickness, but it’s pretty different from Human motion sickness. Rather than throwing up, we pretty much just go delirious – manic, crazy, ecstatic, all of it. So, Soln stands up, and yells ‘I’ll protect you!’ and bolts into the cargo hold.

So while I’m busy stabilizing the ship and getting us back on track, I hear all this banging in the back, and next thing I know the door opens. And out steps soln, dressed head-to-toe in used geth parts, wielding a geth prime’s umbrella like a knife, yelling ‘I’ll get them! Just tell me where they are!’. Well, what else am I supposed to do but just break down laughing, and about 30 minutes later he realizes what happened and came back to his senses. We get the cargo to the Quarians, it’s all fine, whatever.

Fast forward six months to his wedding, and he’s opening all his gifts at the assembly, and up comes my box. Well he opens it, and what is in there?”

Wes had been laughing heartily through the whole story, Nyx’s natural speaking abilities bringing the scenes to life as she gestured around herself with narrative energy abound.

“Don’t tell me… was it…”

Vetra was laughing now, her coffee on a table, long forgotten.

“It was! A geth prime antenna, and in it a note that just said ‘Go get them!’. I think he still has it.”

Wes kept laughing, before calming down, sitting on the cough, red in the face from laughing, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

“You know, Vetra, that’s good, that’s good. I like it. Alright, I’ve got one. So, I’m a young lieutenant on this patrol, right, first time out on my own…”

Pathfinder’s Quarters, 2655 Hours

“You didn’t!!!”

“Oh, you can bet your shoulder plates I did! Jumped right through the laundry chute, landed among some very confused room service.”

“Oh my god, Vetra, that’s a whole new level.”

“You’re one to talk, Mr. I-lost-a-shuttle-but-found-it-while-on-a-run.”

“Fair enough, fair enough.”

The laughter from the pathfinder’s stateroom filled the corridor with brilliant mirth. In crew birthing Cora had put in her earplugs to keep the sound out, and Lexi was shaking her head at her table as she made another incision on the specimen.

Vetra and Wes panted from the laughing, both clutching their abdomens as their laughter died out, empty coffee pots and caraffe’s strewn around them, the collateral damage of a night of story-telling. Vetra was the first to notice the time as her visor blipped the change of day.

“You know, Ryder, we should probably be getting to bed. I hope you can sleep after all that coffee.”

“Trust me, I’ve been addicted for long enough, I’ll be just fine. I hope you can after all that… whatever that is. Come to think of it, what is it anyways?”

“What, this?” Vetra held up the empty container she had grabbed from her quarters of the dark green liquid. “I suppose this would be the dextro equivalent to coffee, it’s called Nisean.”

“Is it caffeinated?”

“It wakes us up, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I was. You gonna be able to sleep?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Like you said: Addicted for long enough. This stuff has gotten me through more long nights and close calls than I’d like to admit.”

Both stood up, Ryder walking Vetra to the door. They stopped their, standing an arm’s length away as they kept talking.

“Well, Ryder, thanks for talking. This was… nice. I suppose it makes sense to colonize a new galaxy with a starship full of introverts, it’s just not the easiest for those of us who aren’t.”

Ryder chuckled, a soft smile appearing on his face as he thought about his crew.

“Yeah, I guess they are a surprisingly introverted group. But hey, any time. Exchanging stories is great, feel free to drop by whenever you want.”

The turian equivalent of a wry smile spread onto Vetra’s face as her left mandible flared, her right staying on her face, her brow plates rising on the left side.

“Well, hopefully next time I’ll have some work I can do instead of just bumming around.”

“Ouch. Man, talk about a burn.”

Vetra’s eyes shot open as she thought through what she just said, Ryder’s faux-hurt face giving way to a laugh and a smile as Vetra shook her head at him.

“You know what I mean, Ryder. I’m a natural worker, it’s where I’m most comfortable.”

“Yeah, well, new galaxy, new habits. I’ll see you relax yet.”

“Some other time. Goodnight Ryder.”

“We’ll see ya later, Vetra.”

“Oh, and Ryder?”

“Yeah?”

Ryder turned around to see Vetra smiling at him, a genuine expression of comradeship that he hadn’t seen on a Turian face but had seen from his human friends 600 years away he could recognize quickly.

“I think friends sounds good. Lord knows we need them in this galaxy.”

A quick nod sent Vetra into the night. The door of the Pathfinder’s stateroom closed as Ryder heard crew quarters open to a series of moans as the lights automatically turned on, a rather vulgar protest from Liam sounding across the hallway as Ryder shook his head and laughed. He sat back down on the couch, truth be told he wasn’t so addicted to coffee that 6 cups in 9 hours couldn’t affect him. He looked around, surveying the damage, running through the night, the stories as he did so, laughing to himself at every punchline. His thoughts ran as he cleaned up the space.

Friends does sound good. 600 years is a long time without any.

Hey guys! I'm sorry to leave this story so long, apparently 4 weeks out from graduating college isn't quite the same as graduating, and I've still got a ways to go. So, life took over. Anyways, here's another story. Sort of a combination of fluff and filling in the gaps. To put a timeline to this one: after finding the Angaran, the Tempest goes to Havarl, activates their vault, and after that is where this story starts. Then, they head to Voeld to rescue the Moshae, which is where the second part of the story takes place. Anyways, as always, comments are much beloved, and Kudos are awesome too. Let me know what you think, but most of all, enjoy!!! Oh, and please reblog!!!

#fics #fanfiction #Mass Effect #mass effect andromeda #me: andromeda #Andromeda fanfic #vetra nyx #mass effect vetra #vetra x ryder #male ryder #ryder #vetra romance #rydra

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