#bugsiewritesstuff

[bugsieplusone]

My new Nanowrimo project for 2023. Sequel to my debut novel! WOOOHOOO

[bugsiewrites]

I commissioned the lovely @venatohru to draw the family from m original fic - this is Poppy and JB with baby Abigail.

Thankyou Tohru they’re lovely and awesome and give me many feelz! (Finally got around to posting this!)

[bugsiefanfic]

Matters of trust – In seven parts

Kisses are mere manifestations of building trust between two people.  Trust takes time, and kisses come slowly to those who are broken.

(Part one, Part two, Part three, Part four)

Part five – A kiss after hard truths

This kiss comes after a realisation.

The Institute hall had an odour of antiseptic and-- nothing. Vacant of smells, sounds and the empathy he expected from others, from himself.

He wanted to repair the relationship he had with his son, sixty years absent of a father can’t be good for a man. Mitch wondered if he had anyone to rely on. If Shaun had anyone who told him it didn’t matter if he failed or succeeded. Did someone tell him they loved him? Was that declaration of love unconditional and unburdened by a want of a favor?

Mitch grew up in a loving family, he’d say nuclear if it didn’t sound so odd, given the circumstances of the world’s destruction. Happy, he’d been fucking happy. And love? He’d known love in spades. As a boy, as a teenager, as a young man. Backed up with the knowledge if anything ever fucked up, his mother, his father, his brother were there to welcome him home. Open arms and open hearts when he needed it most. He wanted it to be that way with his son too.

What that bastard Kellogg said was true: In another life you probably would have been a good father. But here-- in this terrible reality? You just don’t get that chance.

He didn’t want that chance anymore, he didn’t want to play dad to an aging manipulative version of himself. There was only one way, and it’s the Brotherhood way now.

Madison Li wanted information. On an old colleague, a lover maybe, it didn't matter what this man Brian Virgil is to her. But it mattered who he is to someone, enough that they lied about him, lied about his research, lied about his death.

“It’s that fucking simple,” he said to Danse after Li was safely ensconced on the Prydwen.

“Really, just like that? You’re going to give up your son? Am I even talking to Mitch MacGyver?”

He’d nodded and stepped out of his power armor. “Not sure what you expected I’d do, Danse. It’s not as if I had a fucking choice. What’s done is done. The moment that bastard's bullet killed my wife, the moment Shaun was stolen from her arms. Fuck them, fuck the Institute and fuck--." He was going to say ‘fuck Shaun’ but the words were thick in his mouth. Those words and thoughts, black and choking with enough power that he wasn’t sure they were his thoughts at all.

Danse tilted his head, moved forward and placed a hand on Mitch’s shoulder. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but-- Ad Victoriam, Brother.”

“Ad Victoriam,” Mitch replied. The sentiment hollow, his feelings, convoluted.

On the Prydwen, there’s no privacy; most times, he didn’t care. Neither did anyone else for that matter. How many times had he turned in his bunk to see soldiers fucking one another? More than a five-fingered widow can count. His hand would be slick on his cock, and he’d always come with a groan. No one looked at him; he was only another grunt relieving himself into his hand.

Six months passed since he joined the Brotherhood, and at times, he questioned why he joined. He knew it was right because it felt like slipping into an old habit. It didn’t take long for him to settle in, enjoy the routines it provided as well as its comforts. He could get three square meals a day. No repercussions for bartering weapons, alcohol or cigarettes. Chems too, but they weren’t his thing. Then the sex -- it always came back down to that --freely available.

Tonight he didn’t want his bunk, didn’t want to see others or for them to hear or see him. He just wanted Danse. At night, their fingertips searched for one another but were no more than languid touches. Kisses were frequent, soft and wanting, but not much more than a peck. Mitch wanted more, he needed it, and he was sure Danse did too.

At midnight, they found themselves wandering the flight deck. Then behind a bunch of crates. Their bodies pressed against one another and against the soft cloth of burlap sacks. Danse leaned against him and kissed him, his stubble tickling Mitch’s chin.

Mitch leaned his head back and smirked at the smiling and jovial paladin. “What was that? Have you finally removed the stick from your ass?”

Danse frowned. “What? I find myself, comfortable-- in your company.”

“You find yourself comfortable in my company.” Mitch gave a loud chortle. “Wow, such formality.”

“Shut up MacGyver,” he said and kissed Mitch again.

Mitch responded with a laugh into Danse’s mouth.

Danse broke from the kiss and shook his head. “Well at least that’s the Mitch MacGyver I know.”

Mitch’s brow furrowed as a hand moved to behind Danse’s neck. “What do you mean?”

“I mean today, when you came back with Doctor Li from the Institute. That wasn’t you. Not how I know you.” He shook his head and frowned again. “I know it’s been tough for you. Your son-- I’ve seen you struggle with what the Brotherhood is, but it hasn’t stopped me from --“

“From what?”

“Being invested in you, and your, well-- happiness I guess.”

Mitch gave a low chuckle and kissed him. “Invested. I like that. The truth is--” He looked down and away, swallowing back every negative thought he had on the Institute, on Shaun. “This is harder than I thought. Playing this role. The Institute will fall, and I’ll be there to watch it.”

Danse caressed Mitch’s chin. “We don’t know what’s to come; hell may rain down, on all of us, or maybe just us.”

He stared into Danse’s wide soulful brown eyes. “It’s not how I thought it would be, you and I. You get me, on a level I didn’t think--”

Danse paused to let Mitch finish but he said nothing further. “We can’t all be the hard man. I’m dutiful and fight for a cause. Courage is not turning away from hard truths. The Brotherhood is my life, and having you here, has made it-- better.”

Mitch gave him a soft smile. “I’ve never been a hard man either-- wait, that’s not true.” He bucked against him.

Danse gave a surprised laugh, gravelly and resonant in the small space they occupied.

“Now that is a sound I can get used to,” Mitch said and leaned in for another kiss.

[rachnilove]

A Pathfinder’s ABC

F - Family

Vetra’s talon scrapes down her mandible, concern drawn across her stark turian features. Her chastisement of Sid echoes around the empty chamber, and Sid, like most teenagers, fusses and pouts before walking towards the shuttle in a surly huff. Vetra shakes her head, turns to Sabine, and sighs. The relief on her face is unambiguous-- not the first time she’s gone through something like this in relation to her kid sister. The worry never ends, and for the first time she sees in Sid, herself. She can’t help shake the worry from her, chuckle and shake her head once more.

‘Kids, can’t live with them, can’t kill ‘em’ is Drack’s motto, and has been for as long as he can remember. Of course, he means kids that aren’t krogan, and anyone under the age of one hundred. Although he may live apart from the Initiative, to have Kesh living on the Nexus, and a proverbial splinter under Tann’s scrawny salarian fingernails, gives him immense pride. Family means him standing between the future for krogan and a cruise missile-- he’s got the quads for it as much as he has the heart.

Kallo says his life is an exciting one, he’s seen more in the short time of the Initiative than most salarian’s will see in a lifetime. He knows there’s an ark out there, one with people just like him, who joined for more than a bureaucrat’s life. He stares at his hands and then over to Suvi, he turns and stares into the empty space ahead, expecting a sense of loneliness to wash over him. Instead, he hears Ryder’s voice and hope fills his heart.

Liam’s heart is embedded in a bunch of holo pictures of his family standing next to old cars and he wonders why he left. He still hasn’t figured out the real reason, why he said yes to the Initiative. He wasn’t looking for an escape, nothing consciously anyway. Maybe it was because he was handpicked by the Pathfinder, or simply his sense of adventure. He tells himself that Alec Ryder saw something in him that he couldn’t see in himself. There’s a whole galaxy to explore, and maybe, just maybe, he’ll find out what made Alec choose him.

Lexi’s heart is in the right place, concern marks every statement she makes, even if the crew don’t like it. Three hundred years feels like barely a scratch on the surface of all manner of medical training-- the real test is out here, with the Pathfinder and her team. Her concern is as a consummate professional, but if only they knew, at night-- she lies awake, considering them more than just patients, more than acquaintances and friends, they are family.

Cora has tried to fit in, the proverbial nerd at a jock party. It was the same way amongst the asari despite a shared biotic bond. She’s the outsider, the one who’s destiny to take over the role of Pathfinder was ripped from under her feet, with no comment from anyone. It’s not the first time something so significant was taken away; she knows it won’t be the last. If it weren’t for her loyalty to Alec, she might have baulked at remaining part of the Pathfinder team. She still yearns for something-- but she can’t quite put a finger on exactly what that is. Surprisingly, she’s not angry, instead it’s a strange calm and a loyalty transferred from father to daughter.

Gil’s not convinced anyone but he knows what they’re doing. Not on this ship anyways. There’s a weight he carries he feels he can never put down. Even back on the Nexus there seems little relief. The bar at least has good whiskey and company. When he discovers Ryder propped up on a stool, he has her in his sights for his poker face. She listens to him, and there’s a sceptical glance from her when he talks about Jill. He senses the discomfort, the sideways glance and the pursed lips and when the words ‘that doesn’t sound like a friend’ he doesn’t hear censure, but wisdom beyond years and advice he might not of otherwise considered.

Jaal’s knows these strangers that walk amongst them need time to adjust as much he and his people do. The story of a father, daughter and brother, makes his skin tingle-- empathy for an alien he knows little about. His own family torn apart by the kett and the horrors that followed. The Roekaar and his wayward siblings bought to reason by the steady hand of the Pathfinder. He welcomes her with open arms and his family fall into line. Trust is more than just a blood tie, its honoring an agreement, helping those who need it with measured decisions. His heart sings.

Peebee doesn’t need family. That’s what she tells herself anyway. A part of her though doesn’t believe it and for a brief moment, she misses her mother, her sister and all that she left behind. Leaving the Milky Way she thought she’d found a sense of self, but taking someone for granted isn’t that. Leaving the Nexus and K-- she stops from uttering the name-- the best thing she’s ever done; however the restlessness in her blood remains. It’s only when she finds Ryder, and the crew of the Tempest does she feel the return of that easy spirit only her family had given her.

Ryder asks Suvi why she is so hopeful, given everything that’s happened since they arrived. Suvi looks to her and her eyes sparkle, she’s spent a lifetime justifying herself to others, all she can do is smile. The truth though, blends in with the tea she drinks and the tears she’s shed for her family back home. When she hits the comm to the meeting room she hears laughter, cheer and bawdy jokes and remembers her heart is more than a rock and more than the expanse of space before her.

Sabine doesn’t dwell, her family is here in her heart—her mother and father forever a part of her. She taps her chest, her brother, Gabriel, still comatose, lies there too. If she were of a religious bent she might pray that he comes around soon, for now, she just hopes, and leaves the prayers for those who truly believe in a higher power.

Her boots tap against the hard metal of the Tempest’s floors as she makes her way to a squad meeting. Her eyes dance from one member to another as they gather and chatter in a small space. Then in hits her, family need not be blood, it can as easily be two hearts as lovers, an adopted Grandfather, a less irritating brother, a friend who knows loss, one who know the divine, or an ally to show you the way.

Family comes in many forms, loved or despised, a tether to someone not necessarily of your choosing, or perhaps it is, no blood mix necessary – we are six hundred years from home, our families-- if they weren’t with us-- are left behind to who knows what fate. The family we have in Andromeda, is here and now.

Read on Ao3 from the start here.

[bugsiebuilds]

Part of me writing The Road not Taken - I imagined MacCready returning to the Capital Wasteland to collect Duncan and bring him back to the Commonwealth and to Sanctuary Hills. 

In order to do that I have tried to set up a visual as to what a successful Homestead in the Capital might look like. I used County Crossing as the base (as per @teklacat‘s suggestion) as I imagine the landscape isn’t that different. However, the settlement wasn’t big enough for everything, so I tacked on a workbench down near the river and adjoining the settlement. This effectively doubled the size of the settlement and I could utilise the abandoned caravan as an area to store farm equipment and a spot to rest for the settlers when having a break from their duties. Also there is a Protectron robot that I can utilise for security purposes.

I also moved Mac and Duncan’s home from where I originally created it at Egret Tours Marina. Some of the accomodation is meant to be temporary as there are settlers from the nearby settlement who were attacked by mutants and so they have boxcars as sleeping quarters. I also built a school as there are six children in the settlement.

Not shown: There is a small graveyard and also a cabin near the water just outside the settlement with a weapons workbench. I had to dispense the poor ghoul who lived in there but now it can act as a separate space for work if needed. I also built a cubby house for the kids in the playground.

None of this is canon, just a build to keep my creative endeavours flowing and I did the build on my sole survivor Nate’s pt (I headcanon that both Molly and Nate send MacCready to fetch Duncan).

Anyway, if you have any questions on the mods, please let me know. Also vid is a little shaky, not that skilled at that side of things, but I hoped you enjoyed the tour! 

[bugsieplusone]

Well I reached my nano goal 7 days early! Still gonna forge ahead for the next few days to finish of the scenes I plotted out - so I might reach 60k if I’m on top of it! 

My reward of purchasing the new Assassins Creed is tantalisingly close.

[bugsieplusone]

Well, that’s a wrap! First draft done and Nano done for another year (finished a day early!) I am very happy.

[bugsieplusone]

An Easter Lily on the Somme

Before she knew it, she was kissing him. A deep defiant kiss. Irrational, illogical, and everything she’d fought against since she’d met him. She felt his moustache tickle her upper lip and his hands grip her waist tight. The kiss made her heart swell. Her emptiness filled with mischievous euphoria. And for as long as his lips remained pressed against hers, sorrow, pain and anger dissolved into joy.

I commissioned the very talented Anna (mauvaise-reputation) to draw two of my characters (Ivy and Maurice) from an original short story coming out in a published historical anthology this Easter.

Anna it’s amazing and you are so talented. Thankyou!

(If you would like a link to the anthology, please message me!)