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svt-laughing · 5 years

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What I Watched As A 2015 Carat

So I was watching some old SVT videos, and realized there's probably a lot of older performances that newer Carats don't know about. But there's a lot of great stuff, so here's a handful of performance videos I watched way too many times as a Carat in 2015 (before we were called "Carats" 😂) that I don't really hear people talk about. I may add if I think of more, and you’re ofc welcome to reblog and add your own!

Everything's under the cut; there's links to vids and lil descriptions 🤗

Predebut

MV appearances: As trainees, some of the members were in other Pledis MVs. Here’s a handy video that a nice person on YouTube made: [x]

Action: Because Seventeen has a long history with NU’EST, they used to cover NU’EST songs a lot predebut, and i always really loved this performance in particular. (Also Jihoon looks like a scene kid and i appreciate it)

Hello (NU’EST Cover): Alright I’m adding this one asjdnaj I was only gonna put one NU’EST cover on the list, but then I rewatched this one for the first time in forever, and remembered how good it is

Call Me Maybe: Hey you wanna watch Wonwoo dance center with a girl to “Call Me Maybe” while wearing a distressed denim vest? Me too. (And yes, as ruetherae helpfully pointed out, the boys are dancing with some trainees who would go on to debut with Pristin!)

Money Money Money: This has Hoshi, Jihoon, Chan, and Vernon, and it's a predebut dance video that I really love and never hear people talk about

Seventeen Project

If you haven't watched Seventeen Project, you really should! I feel like as time’s gone on, less and less new fans have seen it. There's a lot of good stuff in there, it’s an important part of the boys’ history, and back in 2015 it was the main source of SVT content lmao I could list all of their performances on the show, but I won't~ But here's a few worth noting:

Taste + Bed Breaker (TBB): Still my favorite SVT choreo tbh

No F.U.N original: So they did a challenge where they were split into random groups, and they wrote and performed songs, all of which they've gone on the rearrange and release on an album at some point. No F.U.N was the winner of the challenge for a reason; the original performance is so good! Every album, fans would be begging for No F.U.N to be on it, and then finally it was 🙏

Hello original: i still prefer this version of "Hello". I LOVE the chorus, it just flows so much nicer. I'm sad they changed it when they rearranged it for the album. I think the pacing in the second half of the rearranged chorus makes it sound choppy and unnatural. If you haven't, give this one a listen and let me know what you think!

Drift Away original: This one's good, but I think they improved it a lot for the album

OMG original: I like this one as much as the performance unit version. I like the rap parts, the choreo, and i think Jihoon's voice suits the song particularly well.

2015

Shining Diamond MV: I wasn’t gonna put this on here bc I figured everyone’s seen it, but there’s less than 3 mil views, so maybe not?

Bindaetteok Gentleman: The performance that made me want to make this list! It's a cover of an old, funny Korean song, and the boys have some real handsome looks going~

Sorry Sorry: Seventeen's always been compared to and admired Super Junior, and the number of members mean they can pull off the choreo well. (Before I was a Carat, i was an ELF, so i would get VERY excited to see Seventeen performing any SJ songs lmao)

Adore U Vocal Unit Acoustic version: If you've only heard the vocal unit version of “Adore U” that's on "Love & Letter", you are MISSING OUT. The vocal unit put out this one during Adore U era, and Josh arranged it. I got so excited when I saw it on the L&L tracklist, then disappointed it wasn't the same. It's better imo 🤷 (also they're all rocking some major Boyfriend Looks™)

Adore U Performance Unit version: Hey this one's fun lmao It’s got some awesome choreo around the Pledis building and Josh randomly popping up with his guitar

MAMA 2015: Mansae: they worked the desks into the choreo so well and yooo that part where Hoshi jumps on the desks just as they push them together gets me every time, u gotta watch it

MAMA 2015: Monsta X Collab: MONTEEN MONTEEN MONTEEN I love Monteen, and this stage is great and often forgotten about

Soundcloud: Ah yes their Soundcloud! The boys still put stuff up there (like Dino’s & Minghao’s tracks), but if you haven’t gone back further and listened to their predebut stuff, you should~ (‘Wally’ and ‘Sunshine Remix’ with Yooara are personal favorites)

After 2015

Here's some more underrated performances that aren't from 2015, but seem to get forgotten a lot:

DOC 와 춤을: okay i used to watch this like every day ascvnk its so happy and everyone in the audience, whether they're a Carat or not, is having fun. Seventeen's always been great at covering old songs and GG songs in great and respectful ways, and this is just one of many. It’s impossible to watch it without smiling 😊💕

The Other GG Medley No One Talks About: SVT did a girl group medley on Music Core, and it’s really great, but they also did this one of some older girl group songs for Gayo Daejun in 2016 and no one talks about it but i like it a lot

The Cursed™ Sketchbook Performance: So for this appearance, fans in the audience weren't doing what they were told, and the boys suffered the consequences. So this performance gets pushed to the back of many Carats' minds. Repressed, if you will. But its a great performance! The boys put together a special stage just for the show, and despite everything, they worked hard and it deserves to be seen, and that's why i decided to add it.

Lastly, ik i said i would stick with performances, but i feel like new fans don't know this because he doesn't do it anymore. But jihoon used to dougie like all the time 😂 here's a couple vids: [x] [x]

#i started this n never published it im a Fool acislajl #maybe you'll read this list n think 'what is meagan talking abt ik all of these' idk #im just going by what i hear ppl talk abt n view counts so #seventeen #svt #s coups #jeonghan #joshua #jun #hoshi #wonwoo #woozi #dk #mingyu #the8 #seungkwan #vernon #dino

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docfuture · 5 years

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Princess, part 4

[This story is a prequel, set several years before The Fall of Doc Future, when Flicker is 16. Links to some of my other work are here. Planning to update this once a week until it’s done–next update is planned to be up by November 10th.]

Previous: Part 3

Back at her section of Doc's HQ. Flicker's personal shower was a customized array of converted waterjet cutters. She set the cycle to 'potential biohazard decontamination' and turned the pressure and temperature all the way up. The high pressure streams helped a little. She used emotional and memory compartmentalization as a coping mechanism, but it was fraying around the edges. She'd been able to achieve temporary detachment from the events at the Box, but other issues were creeping back. Burnout wasn't helping, but it was better than unmanaged anger or frustration, so she'd take it. Could be worse. She dressed after a medibot scan and checked alerts. Doc had listed his debriefing as 'optional' but she went anyway. Might as well get it over with. Doc was in the main control room. A rows of vid screens nearly covered one wall, and Flicker noted that the upper left quadrant was still set to Doc's preferred 'remain even-tempered while on a voice call with someone obnoxious' mix--science news feeds and a set of difficult-to-decipher regional heatmaps. She sat down in one of the observer chairs and Doc turned to face her. "I should have slowed down after he stopped struggling," she said. "Getting to the Box fast didn't matter." "Hindsight," said Doc. "And it's not clear going slower for a longer time would have been less painful for Hermes--he was getting dragged by the leg at hypersonic velocities regardless. You did everything reasonably possible. You stopped the rampage. He's gone and unlikely to voluntarily return any time soon--his mystique is shattered. Remember, it took us over a month to catch him the first time." "However." Doc tented his hands, his face concerned. "You still aren't managing your pacing. If you made a mistake today, it was to go on patrol at all--you were only marginally at yellow when the alert hit. I had a discussion with the Database integrity AI. Some of your telemetry on the return trip was very disturbing. And the EMT at the Box reported that you showed signs of combat stress reaction--thousand-yard stare and complete lack of facial expression." "Fine," said Flicker. "I'll skip patrol tomorrow." "I think you should take a longer break. Your stress is--" "Journeyman is more than two hours overdue for his scheduled check-in. I'm not going on vacation when my partner is potentially in trouble." "I'm not suggesting that," said Doc. "You can stay on-call for his backup without handling response for anything else. And he did request a 24-hour buffer before we take any action when he isn't on Earth." "... Yeah, he did." Now I have nothing pressing to do except worry about my partner. Great. Doc was still studying her. "There were some patterns in the probability manipulation flux levels I measured that bother me. Hermes' summoning may have been used as a mask for something. I'm going to be gathering and analyzing more data. If you wish, you could assist in some tests. They should be stress-free." "Okay. I can try that." ***** Flicker had her own place, but its suitability as a permanent home was still largely theoretical. The location had been a rail maintenance shop in a long inactive part of the Iron Range, where she'd been able to secure several important concessions regarding allowable levels of noise and plasma in return for cleaning it up without allowing any contamination to get into the groundwater. It had a full Database backup node, up and running smoothly--sub-microsecond latency was part of Flicker's minimum requirement for 'home'--but everything else was progressing more slowly. It was more than a cot in a workshop next to a giant underground server room, as one of Doc's sysadmins had joked, but not a lot more. It was, however, far enough from Doc's HQ to run some esoteric causal isolation tests for probability manipulation--and rule out certain forms of influence that were otherwise difficult to detect. Flicker was quite willing. Glancing at her Machiavelli study context after the weight of the day's events sank in had turned her stomach. The tests were emotionally neutral--better than anything else available. She sat at her high speed interface keyboard, watching several graphs and responding to a verification program controlled by a random number generator. It let her go away for a while. Update, sent the Database, after a long time. Flicker sped up. Yes? Journeyman has checked in. Message for you: "Back. Will call when home." Something positive to focus on. Finally. Location. Running updates. Check in at Antarctic secure drop. Current location undefined. Flicker slowed down slightly to wait on the updates and felt her emotional reaction start to kick in. Bangkok... Undefined... Tabriz... Undefined... Amsterdam... Undefined... Las Vegas... Undefined... He was skip-porting, staying just long enough to send a blip from his phone then porting again. Was he worried about pursuit? Rural Kansas. She waited. The location didn't change. What is he doing in Kansas? Buying groceries. Okay. Estimate probability he'll be there for at least ten more seconds. 98%+. However, there is a 94%+ chance he will be at his home within five minutes. Groceries implied at least a short stay. Flicker got up from the keyboard and made sure her travel pack had a fresh change of clothes--it had been a while since she'd used it. 'Off-duty' was not a state of mind that came naturally anymore.

Flicker was waiting on Journeyman's doorstep when he ported in. He was in an outfit she'd seen before; a stylized armored vest over archaic-looking clothes. His shapeshifting hat was wide-brimmed and black. He looked like the handsome villain from a poster for a historical drama with skilled costumers but no concern for accuracy. "Hey," she said, then held out her hand, fingers spread. "Yellow." Not great, but able to handle immediate priorities. "Hey." He touched his fingertips to hers in their personal substitute for a high five. "I'm at yellow, too," he said. "What's up?" He waved his hand. "Paranoia, probably. But, you know..." He took a breath. "We can talk inside." He scowled at the multiple locks on his front door. Flicker knew there were invisible wards on it as well. "Can you just port us both?" she asked. "I got into this mess because I was overconfident at the wrong time," he said. He put down the grocery bags, stuck out both arms, and moved them slowly upwards in a smooth arc. Faint green fire trailed from his fingertips. "Sorry for the wait, but I'm not going to get sloppy at the end." After finishing with the wards, he pulled out a set of keys to unlock the physical locks. "I'd like to close this properly after we're inside. You willing to leave it unvaporized if something comes up?" he asked. "Do you still have a replacement emergency exit window handy?" "Yep." "Then yeah," she said. "I'll use that if I have to go in a hurry." Journeyman heaved a sigh after they entered and he closed the door. "Now we can--" Something chirped, interrupting him. "Great." Flicker sped up and checked her sensors. There was no sign of anyone or anything else living or recently mobile inside. The chirp had sounded similar to a low battery alert from a smoke alarm, but had come from midair. Whatever was amiss, it wasn't anything she recognized. She turned to Journeyman and slowed down again. "No obvious intruders," she said. "What alarm is that?" "Higher than expected magic level." He waved a hand to silence the alarm, then pulled out his glasses from a vest pocket and put them on. He used them for detail work and distinguishing subtle magic. He looked around the room before turning to Flicker and doing a double take. "False alarm," he said. "But you certainly have a fine magical glow about you this evening." "Should I worry?" "Depends on how you got that way." He paused to put the bags of groceries on the kitchen counter, then he took off his hat and tossed it onto the hat stand, where it transformed into a flat cap. He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Did you, like, beat up a demigod and take his lunch money or something?" "Does Hermes count?" Both eyebrows up. "...for this purpose, yes. Would that be why you're at yellow?" "I was already at yellow from my shift when he showed. But my day improved when you ported in alive." A short laugh. "Mine too. You up for telling me what happened? Is he, ah..." "I didn't kill him. And he got away, off Earth, because..." Flicker shut her eyes to try to organize what she wanted to say. "Can I show you the feed from my visor cam? That's easier than just talking. I'm pretty burned out. Doc strongly suggested I take time off. But are you expecting an attack? I got really worried after you missed your check in." "Not a direct one. Not anymore. Certainly not with you here." He pulled off his vest and dropped it on a chair, revealing blotches of sweat on the shirt underneath. "The magician part of the 'Byzantine interdimensional magician mess' should be over. But I've been reliving an old style, an old set of habits, as cover, and I'm not all the way back yet, so--" Flicker frowned at a cut in the outer fabric of the back of the vest. "That looks like someone stabbed you in the back." "Yep. That was a while ago. I left the cut to discourage anyone else from trying, then forgot about it." "You forgot about being backstabbed?" "Eh. He was okay, he was just testing me. I finessed it. He laughed when his sword broke because I warp cut it, then I asked if he was done yet. Wasn't even in the top ten most stressful things that happened that day. Not incidentally, I could use some time off, too. But you had a bad day involving magic, and I wasn't here to back you up, which I regret. So tell me, or show me, whatever you want. We can use the TV--it has one of Doc's data scramblers, and I warded it so no one can use the speaker as a mic." "Okay." Flicker set up a playback of highlights from her visor, edited by the Database, then joined Journeyman on the couch. "I had already hit my patrol limit for the day and was reading something kind of depressing when the alert hit..." Flicker described events tersely and spent the vid segments watching Journeyman's reaction. He had red hair, a light complexion with freckles, and a very expressive face. Unfortunately, Flicker wasn't very good at reading faces. He looked intent and slightly alarmed--which was his default with anything important. His eyes widened slightly at her exchange with Hermes in the Tyrrhenian, and he spent the replay of the transfer at the Box with his hands clasped in front of his mouth. "...and after I decontaminated, Doc was really insistent I stay off duty for a while," Flicker concluded, after the replay segments finished. "But you were overdue, so I killed time running some tests until you ported in." Journeyman met her eyes. "Whoof. Lots of things I could say. Most aren't urgent, since he lived and you didn't spill any blood. Anything you wanted to ask me about first?" "Well, Doc said Hermes' escape wasn't a big problem. I'm not so sure. What do you think?" "Heh." Journeyman shook his head. "He didn't escape. He got boomeranged when his summoner died--I'm actually more concerned about how that happened, because the whole thing sounds fishy. I'll have to see if I can find out who the summoner was. And I really don't think Hermes is going to be eager to come back to Earth again, which will make him rather more difficult to summon, even if someone wanted to." "Why not?" "Because you live here." Journeyman waved a hand. "You delivered one of the most thorough pseudo-mythological curb-stompings I've ever seen, followed by a disturbingly effective bit of operant conditioning. And that 'fire is hot' bit where you changed your voice? That--" "My voice changed? I was just trying to speak clearly when I was tired and out of patience." "Yeah, well, you didn't sound like a superhero. You sounded like an angry goddess. To me, and to Hermes. You saw his eyes." Flicker looked away. "You know how I feel about being called a goddess." "I do. But if the shoe fits... And I'll need to check on a few things. You're likely to get a lot of weird or disturbing messages. For sure when whatever vid the Box recorded leaks. But that's not urgent." Flicker sighed. "I get plenty of weird emails already. Enough for my Database bots to do robust statistics on small fraction subgroups. I look at the results sometimes when I'm having trouble getting to sleep." "Then rejoice, for your somnolence-aiding samples will surely grow." Flicker snorted a laugh. "Thanks. There's another thing that bugging me a bit, though." "Yes?" "Hermes didn't seem to recognize me. So how did he learn that claiming to know about my biological parents was a plausible trick to try?" "Ah." Journeyman looked down and said nothing for a moment. "What did Doc have to say about it?" "Nothing. And I didn't bring it up because I didn't want to restart the old argument I've had with him since I was twelve. He was more concerned about some probability manipulation detector anomalies. He'll probably want to talk to you about them, eventually." "Ah." Journeyman put a hand to his mouth. He looked worried, like he was trying to solve a hard problem in his head and failing. He stood and shut off the TV, then walked over to the bookshelves. After standing silently for a while he turned back around. "You said you were reading something unpleasant when the alert hit. What was it?" "A heavily annotated translation of Machiavelli's The Prince. I've started trying to learn about politics." "Oh. Yeah, that would... Damn it. Okay. You asked a question. I have a theory about the answer. I owe you an explanation, but it's going to lead somewhere pretty dark, and I'm not sure you're up for it right now. And I have a nasty suspicious mind, and my paranoia dial has been turned to 11 for a while. I could be wrong about any or all of this. I don't know anything. Like whether this is safe. But I don't think it's safe to leave it for later, either." Flicker sped up. DASI? Any idea what's going on? Yes. Care to enlighten me? Not at this time. It would not aid your memory integration and could create an incomplete information bias hazard. Listen to Journeyman. Flicker stared at her visor display for a long subjective time. A hazard if she didn't listen... She slowed back down. "It isn't going to get any less dark if you wait, is it?" "No." "Then go ahead." He came back and sat down on the couch beside her, clasped his hands in front of his face, then turned to look at her. "So. Let's start with why you're sensitive about your biological parentage. You told me about your fight with Doc about your DNA tests. I'm afraid I'm on his side. DNA tests are easy to spoof with probability manipulation if you have any kind of divination or you know how they work. Takes hardly any power. I can do it, no sweat. I could even put a ward on someone to make a DNA test on their blood match the DNA of the tech that did the draw, so they don't get outed as a non-human by a drug test. Hypothetically." "Uh..." Journeyman waved a hand. "That said, I think that if your biological body has two parents and if you were conceived by sexual reproduction, then you're right--Doc is probably your father. It's still the simplest explanation." Flicker looked down. "Doc won't assume that. He told me that wherever my body came from could be a lot weirder and still be less unusual than my speed powers." "He has a point. But let's go ahead and assume it for the moment. He's not the problem, is he? Your mother is, because she's definitely not human. You're on pretty firm ground there because of your strength and healing ability. And you aren't happy with what that implies." "No. I'm not." "Sooo... Suppose a demon shows up at Doc's HQ tomorrow and says 'Hi Flicker, I'm your mother', and Doc says 'Could be her', and runs some tests--you know he would--then says 'Yup.' How would you feel?" "I would have many questions." "I'm sure," said Journeyman. "But how would feel? Happy... or angry?" Fury. Flicker sped up. DASI? Is anger a reasonable response? He did not ask for justification. Is anger an accurate description of your projected emotional state? Yeah... She slowed back down. "Angry. Very angry." "More angry than you were at Hermes today?" Flicker took a deep breath. "I... don't know. Maybe. Why did you say 'demon'? You usually--" "Say non-human person or something. Yes. Demon isn't a great word. Emotionally loaded as hell. But it's the one that gets used. It's the one you think, right? So maybe you can understand why she might not want to drop in for pizza and chitchat?" "If she knew, but--" "Now suppose she doesn't stop by, but someone tells you her name. Would you want to go have a little talk with her? Maybe while you're still angry, because of those many questions that haven't been answered yet?" "... Yeah." "So can you see how her name could be used as an attack, against you or her, even though you want to know it? And the correct name might be worse than a lie or mistake?" Another breath. "Yes." "So. Back to your question. I think Hermes was primed with a hint that you were sensitive about your biological parents, either by the summoner or by someone else before he was summoned." Journeyman waggled his hand. "I suspect that the whole thing might have been a premeditated attack aimed at you that didn't quite work, but I'm less sure about that and it's messy to explain. If it was, the probability manipulation Doc picked up on was probably part of it. And it might not be over." "But if Hermes planned to attack me--" "I don't think he did. I don't even think he was the weapon--that would be the summoner. I think Hermes was ammunition. And the planner was someone who had really good intel. A seer at a minimum. You got hit at about the worst possible time, and I don't think that was an accident. But we're getting into wild-eyed paranoia territory now. Both you and Doc are swimming in a sea of probability manipulation, against and for you, because you're both so important to the survival of Earth. So it's hard to sort things out. Anyway. Are you ready for the not safe part?" "Okay..." "You gave him more than one chance to talk. And he didn't try 'I know who your parents are' right away. Not until the last thing he said, right after you went angry goddess. I think he recognized something." "What?" said Flicker. "He'd already seen me." "Your voice changed. I think he heard a resemblance to someone he'd met. And guessed she was your mother." "You really think he could tell just from a bit of voice? Why?" "Because that's what I thought, about someone I've met. At the same spot in the recording." "Do you think it's the same person?" Journeyman looked down. "Important question. Any name occur to you?" Flicker's mind whirled. "No." "Okay. Not sure my guess is right. But I'm a lot more sure that if it is right, she doesn't want you to know who she is. At least not right now." "Who do you think she is?" "Aaand now we start with the dark part. I'm not going to tell you. You'll eventually learn, if I'm right and we all live that long." Journeyman looked back up and met her eyes. "But not from me. I won't be the weapon." Another breath. And a lot of anger that wasn't a projected emotional state. "What was the point of making this so... personal, if you won't tell me?" "You asked the question, and it's a threat exactly because you take it so personally." He looked to the side. "I have another reason. It's more personal for me, and the rest of the dark part. I'll tell you, if you want to hear, but it will take a bit. You up for it?" "Yes." "Okay. But you're stressed and burned out and angry and probably a little buzzed from that hit of magic you picked up, and I'm tired and stressed and hungry, so I'd like to fix dinner first. You want some?" "We can get takeout, you don't have to--" "I cook to de-stress sometimes. That's why I got groceries. And it will give you a bit of a break, too. Are you hungry?" "No... but I probably should be." Journeyman smiled. "Great. Food coming up!" He stood and headed for the kitchen. Flicker felt a sense of emotional whiplash as she watched him. But he hadn't brushed her off or ignored what she wanted... My partner. Helping me remember things I shouldn't forget.

Next: Part 5

#FallofDocFuture #FallMisc

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ohlawsons · 7 years

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the things that matter.

SUMMARY. Commander Natalie Shepard has a bit of a history with her flight lieutenant, but they've long since worked through any lingering awkwardness. Mostly. When she and Kaidan go on a double date with Joker and his girlfriend, it leaves them all thinking about the past, what-ifs, and all the things that are most important. Inspired by a double date prompt. NOTES. nat belongs to @reagans-ramblings! thank you for letting me write about your beautiful bi shepard i love her so much now with an ao3 link! LINKS. [ AO3 ] [ FFN ]

Thinking back, Joker wasn’t sure exactly whose idea it had been.

Setting up an elaborate double date between three of the galaxy’s busiest people and a woman whose job required her to be virtually impossible to track down was, strictly speaking, a terrible idea. Maybe Cal had suggested it, because she loved social shit like that. Or maybe he had, because social shit like that was a surefire way to convince Cal to take some shore leave on the Citadel. There was a pretty decent chance it had been Kaidan, for no other reason than Joker was more than willing to put some good-natured blame on the major. Hell, it might’ve even been EDI who’d brought it up, and in that case he was just glad he wasn’t on his way to meet her and Sam.

Although, awkward as EDI could be, a double date with her and the comm specialist could potentially be less awkward than a double date with Major Alenko and Commander Shepard — the now very pregnant Commander Shepard, who he’d once dated, and who his current girlfriend was definitely a little bit into.

Yeah, he’d rather take his chances with EDI and Sam.

But then his omni-tool chimed with a message from Kaidan saying they were running a few minutes late, and Joker typed up a reply that Cal was still MIA, and it was officially too late to back out. He fidgeted with his suit — again; it was only at the insistence of both Cal and Kaidan that he’d even agreed to wear it in the first place — and opened a vid call to Cal. “Any chance you’re still in another system? Running tragically late and we’ll have to miss dinner?”

She laughed. “Just landed, unfortunately. I’m on my way over.”

“Alright. See you then.” Not leaving the crew quarters just yet, Joker glanced reflexively over to where EDI’s display had once been. “EDI, let me know when Cal gets here.”

“Of course, Jeff. I can also alert the Commander with an updated estimation of your arrival, if you’d like.”

He groaned in response.

Fortunately for Joker, the Normandy was blissfully empty given that they were finally getting a rare bit of shore leave. Adams was still down in engineering, and he was pretty sure Tali and Traynor were both around somewhere, but with EDI’s help it had been easy enough to avoid them all evening. This whole ordeal — dressing up and looking presentable and going out to a fancy restaurant — was certainly not high on his list of ways he typically preferred to spend his time on the Citadel, and the last thing he wanted was to have to deal with comments from the rest of the crew.

But by the time he’d met Cal down in the CIC, he’d almost changed his mind about dressing up and going out; her short hair was combed back into its usual style, and she wore simple heels and a fitted suit with a black jacket and a crisp white shirt left partially unbuttoned, and she was quite possibly the best damned thing he’d seen since the start of the war. Or ever.

Joker pointed to her shirt. “You missed one,” he said, clearing his throat as he tried to find his voice.

“I prefer to think of it as giving you a head start, you know, for later, but I can always—” Cal moved to fasten another of the buttons, and he quickly retracted his statement.

“Actually, on second thought, it looks great.” He paused, not bothering to hide how his eyes roamed across her figure. “You look great,” he added, voice filled with sincerity, and emphasized the statement with a kiss, just a light brush of his lips against Cal’s.

“I look fucking fantastic,” she shot back, stealing a quick kiss of her own, “and you’re not so bad yourself. But I was promised dinner, and company that I haven’t spent the last four months with.”

He took her hand as she led him out through the main airlock and towards the skycar she’d brought. “Is it that bad?” Joker frowned; Alliance special ops weren’t easy during the best of times, but with the war, Cal’s N7 training had been pushed to the limits. He knew it had been draining her, but the level of exhaustion in her voice was still unexpected.

She gave little more than a shrug in answer, climbing into the skycar and not surrendering Joker’s hand even as she keyed in the location of the restaurant. “War sucks and everything’s classified.” Despite her words, Cal launched into a vague explanation of her most recent mission, detailing the soldiers she’d lost and the relative lack of success they’d had against the reapers. Joker chimed in where he could, adding sarcasm or supportive comments as needed., and Cal’s mood had nearly lifted by the time they reached the restaurant.

They were the first ones there, and a quick message to Kaidan confirmed that it wouldn’t be a long wait. The reservation was under Natalie’s name, and apparently being Commander Shepard meant no waiting in lines, because Joker and Cal were almost immediately led to a relatively secluded table near the back. The second couple joined them before they’d even ordered drinks, and Joker wasn’t sure whether he or Cal was being more obvious about their staring; he’d long since accepted that Kaidan would always manage to look unfairly handsome — and it didn’t hurt that his suit actually looked like it fit — but it had been a long time since he’d seen Nat out of uniform and she was practically glowing, with her hair pulled up into an elegant bun and the contrast of the deep green of her dress against her warm brown skin.

“Calliope Olson.” Cal stood, just a bit too quickly, and held out a hand first to Kaidan, then to Nat. “Joker talks about you all the time.”

Nat raised one perfectly arched eyebrow as she sat across from Cal. “Does he?”

It had been years since they were together — they were just kids on Arcturus, back then — but damn if it wasn’t suddenly very, very awkward. Repressing the sudden urge to get up and head straight for the bar, Joker shrugged. “What can I say? Cal’s a longtime fan of yours, and I aim to please.” Cal snorted at that, and Nat gave her a pointed, knowing stare; the urge to leave grew, and was accompanied by a rush of heat to his face.

“No, he’s right,” Cal admitted as she recovered from her laughter. “I’ve been following your career since Elysium. You caught my eye after Eden Prime,” she continued, turning towards Kaidan. “The only biotic originally on board, and with the woman who would become the first human Spectre? Of course I was interested.”

The two shared a sidelong glance; Kaidan looked a bit overwhelmed, but Nat seemed to be thoroughly unimpressed. She got recognized far too often for Cal to even phase her. Joker, who was fairly certain that his attempt to disappear into his chair was not working, was nearly prepared to intervene — as much as he loved how excitable Cal could be about everything from Nat to sniper rifles to wheat fields, this was not a good time — but was saved by a waiter bringing their drinks. The conversation lulled, and after a moment Kaidan set down his whiskey and cleared his throat. “So, Calliope, how’d the two of you meet?”

“He doesn’t shut up about you,” Nat interjected, sipping at her water, “but none of us ever really paid attention. ‘I’ve got a girlfriend, she’s just involved with top secret Alliance missions and she’s really hard to get a hold of’ isn’t exactly the most credible story.”

“Just Cal. And well, it was… actually…” She trailed off, giving Joker a look that clearly said help; it was never easy to bring up the two years Nat had been gone, especially for those who hadn’t actually discussed it with her before.

“It was while I was grounded,” he offered, knowing Nat would catch his meaning. “We were at a bar, she asked me to dance, I told her I didn’t feel like breaking a femur.” He shrugged. “Typical meet-cute. You know.”

If Kaidan was shaken by the mention of Nat’s death, he didn’t show it. “Somehow, I don’t have too hard of a time imagining that,” he said dryly, not quite rolling his eyes.

“What about you?” Cal asked, pausing to take a drink of whatever bright pink concoction she’d ordered. “How’d the two of you meet?”

Nat gave a flat, “My father,” at the same time that Kaidan said, “A tech issue.” They both laughed, and Nat explained, “My dad handpicked the original Normandy crew. He chose Kaidan specifically for his biotics, and Joker specifically to piss me off,” she added with a mock glare in his direction. “But actually met face to face? That… yeah, I guess that’s what it was. I had an issue with my omni-tool and Kaidan helped me work it out.”

“That’s so much better than ‘we saved the galaxy and they hooked up.’” Cal emphasized the words with air quotes, tossing a teasing grin in Joker’s direction.

“In my defense, I did try my best to stay out of their way.”

With dinner out of the way — which, if Kaidan were being honest, hadn’t gone as badly as he’d feared it might — the four of them began walking back towards Nat’s apartment. It wasn’t far, and the streets were quiet enough that there wasn’t a need to get a cab. They were in no particular hurry to get back, and Kaidan walked with an arm around Nat’s waist as they made their way through the Strip.

The bright spot of the evening, he thought, had been getting to spend so much time talking and reminiscing about their time on the SR-1, before things had gotten so damn complicated. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, as it were.

He watched as Cal and Joker walked a ways in front of them, hand in hand, laughter occasionally ringing out into the night. Kaidan had known that Nat and Joker had been together, before, but their double date had piqued his curiosity — less about the two of them, and more about Natalie, and how she’d been when she was younger. He wondered if she’d laughed more, back on Arcturus, back before she’d fought her way to hell and back and returned triumphant. Before life had hardened her, before all the scars that he knew so well — the ones he’d once learned and re-learned, after Alchera, and the cybernetics from Cerberus that still sometimes flared up.

Kaidan wouldn’t ever give up the woman Nat had become, but sometimes he still wondered.

“You’re quiet tonight,” Nat observed with a tilt of her head, eyes searching his face.

“Just thinking,” he assured her.

“About?”

“You.” He leaned over to place a light kiss on her forehead, right above her eyebrow, where he knew the bright lights of the Strip hid the soft glow of her cybernetics.

Nat gave a quiet laugh. “You’ve already got me, Kaidan, you don’t have to butter me up.”

“Mm. Let me enjoy it.” He fell silent for a moment, attempting to collect his thoughts; in front of them, Cal stripped off her jacket and tossed it at Joker, following it up with a less-than-subtle innuendo and laughter at his half-hearted protests. She wobbled a bit as she slid out of her heels, tucking them under one arm and falling back into stride with Joker. “It’s just— Do you remember being that… carefree, I guess?”

“No.” Her answer was automatic and unhesitant, but after a few moments she amended, “More than now, maybe, but never entirely. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone without some sort of weight on my shoulders.”

Kaidan’s only response was a thoughtful hmm as he considered all the things that had weighed her down over the years — himself included. He was under no illusion that the state of the galaxy was in any way his fault, but things could’ve perhaps been different if he’d been the one to receive the vision from the beacon on Eden Prime, all those years ago, instead of Nat stepping in because she’d wanted to save him.

But maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe it would always be complicated, and what mattered was being at Nat’s side when those complications arose.

#cal shepard #nat shepard #shenko #shoker #reagans ramblings #brooke writes things #fic: cal #otp: cal/joker #i still need a Real Name for them lmao #also like.... everyone in this fic is bi #all of them #except my beautiful lesbian wife traynor

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