ok now that i've remembered! and also gotten my adhd meds for the first time in years xD its time for
SHARK MECHANIC AU!!!!!
for @bearbait-adventures and @cryptic-ink, sorry this took forever 😭
anyway! the basic premise is of course a Sharkface Lives AU but this one has 'adopted by the chorus armies' 'close quarters rivalry with the freelancers' and 'Sharkface gets attached to his ducklings' flavors as well :)
Main plot points:
Instead of stopping and bracing, Carolina takes a leap of faith at the lake below the cliff and hopes to use the bubble shield to break their fall (instead of yknow ALL enhancements). Sharkface gets caught up in the avalanche and gets pushed off the cliff as well buttttttt..... lands in a heap, unconscious.
“Looks like the hill ate up most of that, at least,” Epsilon quips. They watch the pile of snow where ‘Sharkface’ disappeared. It’s quiet for a minute. “Think he’s dead?”
Carolina makes a face at him. “I think you’d know if he was.”
“Yeah, I was just fuckin’ with you, he’s knocked out from the impact.”
He wakes up in the custody of the New Republic, and Kimball wants what intel he's got. He won't talk in front of the freelancers, but he doesn't give a fuck about the mercs so he spills what he knows (which isn't much to be honest. He didn't pay much attention to anything that wasn't 'Freelancers')
Kimball needs all hands on deck so she's hoping there's other skills he has that they can put to use, if he can be trusted not to attack anyone.
Jensen drives past with a vehicle at that exact moment and they hear a loud crash and Jensen's apologies. Kimball gives a long-suffering sigh and asks if he's a mechanic. Luckily for her, he has some experience.
He gets assigned to their vehicle "bay" and starts fixing things up under the head mechanic's supervision. He's also got a second, secret job which is to prevent Jensen from test-driving or moving any vehicle by driving it lol
Everyone's pretty scared of him bc jfc did you see his face and he's ALWAYS scowling if he doesn't have a look of focus going on. But he's helpful if not congenial and to his dismay and confusion, Jensen takes a shine to him.
Palomo is worried and confused and jealous because he's told her just to call him "Shark" instead of Mr. Sharkface sir, um, Mr. Shark, I mean, uh. lol it also cuts down on the number of "s" she has to pronounce :)
He tries to confront Sharkface about 'stealing his girlfriend' that he's never asked out or even confessed to but Sharkface is like kid sit down and stop worrying. You guys are too young and I don't like girls. Palomo is like. ...oh. Sharkface is like you better hurry up and confess to her though either of you could die tomorrow.
Tucker comes by later and is like dude how the fuck did you do it. (Do what?) Get Palomo to make a fucking move instead of pining like some sort of pathetic teenager. (Aren't they teenagers?) You know what I mean dude, it was pathetic. (Just told him to step on it because one of 'em could die tomorrow.) ...shit, was that really all it took?
Jensen encourages Sharkface to join them for meals at their makeshift canteen but he usually has her bring him an MRE back to the garage and he eats it alone on a crate. Palomo now starts bugging him to join them too. And then Tucker. He's annoyed but they are wearing him down. One of these days he's going to let someone drag him by the hand to the mess hall.... 😩
Haven't written how he gets along with Lopez yet, but I suspect they'd be the sort of quiet bros who work next to each other, never say anything, but consider each other a quality friend lmao it's possible Sharkface knows spanish, but it might be funnier if he doesn't, but Lopez still takes a shine to him anyway because he 1. doesn't pretend he knows spanish 2. doesn't say weird racist/humanist shit to him 3. doesn't talk to him at all and 4. has mechanical skills on par with at least Jensen. he can't be as good as Lopez because Lopez is literally a robot
Carolina tends to avoid the garage so she doesn't inadvertently piss him off and also because Epsilon HAS to make snotty quips or he'll literally die, so she can't risk it. Wash is usually the one picking up a vehicle or checking readiness status down there, and Shark glares bloody murder at him every time he's in there even tho it scares the hoes (the other mechanics get jumpy when he's in murder mode lmfao)
Also out of his armor, Wash is 100% sharkface's type and he's SO FUCKING MAD ABOUT IT. "get out of my school" note type situation for real
Eventually this could probably become an enemies to hatefuck to ah shit I actually feel something for you situation but I just haven't written that far lol
Anyway, I'm sure there's more to plot out re: the actual timeline of the war but I wanted him to be somewhere safe and feel included :) he's one of those guys that needs people, but all his people were killed, and alone he's just going off the rails and a perfect target for manipulation *glares at Price*
ty for your interest, I've been really happy digging back into these 😊
also one last snip bc i like it
"How'd you do it?" Tucker asked, leaning on the open shell of the Warthog engine Sharkface currently had his greasy fingers in.
"Do what?" he growled. Fucking stupid little cap was just out of his reach.
"Get Palomo to ask Jensen out. He's been like awkwardly crushing on her for months."
Sharkface gives him a weird look and shrugs. "Just reminded him they could die anytime so there's no point waiting."
"Huh." There's a bit of silence in which Tucker watches him fish the piece out from where it was dropped in the assemblage. "I don't actually know if their gross weird teen nerd romance is any better than him insisting there's nothing going on, but he's not bugging me as much, so thanks."
Sharkface squinted over at him. "That's what you came in here for?"
"Yeah, why?"
Sharkface snorts. "You guys really do just stand around and talk.”
"Uh yeah?" Tucker grins. "That's kind of our whole thing, dude."
Sharkface smirks back at him. "Hand me that wrench if you're gonna stand in my light."
@voidedbattery i combed through the book page by page and this is the only stuff i found on the insurrectionists (which is a shame, they deserve more!!) but anyways PLEASE don't hesitate to let me know if you (or anyone reading this) need multiple close-up pictures of each pages or if you (or anyone reading this) need me to dm these to you bc tumblr dropped the quality too low, i'd be happy to provide if you're having trouble seeing!!
