#WrathWIPs

[wrathbites]

Random fun fact!

The end of the Reaper war isn't the end of life-threatening situations for Rhys 😈

Anyway have this one bit of dialogue from a wip

"I've lived a hundred lifetimes and died a thousand more. Time holds no sway, age no meaning. Tell me, child, why should I fear you?"

#WrathWIPs

[wrathevil]

nothing for the holidays sorry. take this wip with poorly edited christmas hats

#wrathwips #yayyyyy #happy christmas or holidays or regular day

[wrathbites]

"So tell me," Shepard says, icy eyes a barely there flicker as he tips his head back, body thrown into such a relaxed slouch Kaidan briefly wonders if someone's spiked his drink, "what brings you to my neck of the woods, Commander?"

It's - it's terrible, absolutely awful, too heavy on the emphasis to be a casual slip of the tongue, but. But Kaidan laughs, anyway, a startled fizz of it caught in his glass and rattling the ice cubes around, and he has to set it down with a solid thunk before he wears the bright yellow cocktail.

But he laughs, despite the setting and the sense he sticks out like a sore thumb in a place he doesn't belong, despite the curious stares fixed to him like a damning weight, questioning his bare neck and close proximity to a vampire with no permission to bite.

He laughs until there're tears to wipe away, and when he does he just barely catches the ghost of a smile flirting around Shepard's mouth. Oh, he's a tricky bastard, all right.

"I was... curious."

"Never been to a vampire club before?"

"No. I didn't know they were, uh. A thing. At all."

#Wrathwips #Into Darkness vampire verse #in which Kaidan's the Commander and Rhys most definitely is not

[wrathbites]

He's taken a leap of faith before, in another kitchen and another life, faith turned to dust and warmth to ice in his veins. Gentle kisses thrown to harsh words and rising tempers, a relationship forever broken and a friendship strained.

"I can't be human with you."

"Why not? You're so good at pretending."

But it's not... it's Kaidan now, tucked so close Rhys can almost feel his heartbeat on his skin, hear its rhythm in the breath sucked in sharp.

Rhys doesn't dare meet his eyes, can't, won't. If he doesn't look he won't see the disappointment or the distance or - or the walls being rebuilt between them.

He draws back, away, better to do it himself, it'll hurt less, casting around for anything else, a distraction, an escape -

I can't be human with you. Not even if I want to.

- but Kaidan stops him, hand on his arm as absolute as a stake through the heart, rooting him to the spot.

"I'm not asking for human," Kaidan says, voice soft like the curve of his mouth, "I'm asking for you."

#wrathwips #Sunlight and Stardust vampire verse #vampire!Shepard

[wrathbites]

Levi is still in his arms, fingers like claws in his robes, eyes gone wide and dark and void. A viciousness both hers and not, alight in the sparks making maps of the veins clustered in her wrists, her elbows, the sea come calling in one of its children.

"He must die," she says on a hiss, pressing forward. If he were any less grounded he'd yield to her, anyone else and he'd fall to her, the magic swelling within.

"Easy, my heart, easy." He croons to her, cupping a hand to her sealed gills, ever so cautious and tender with such a delicate area. It doesn't calm her, not that he expects it to, but she blinks at last. A momentary reprieve.

"He poisons my home with that machine, Halsin. He must die."

#WrathWIPs #Levi/Halsin #forgot to share this one whoopsie #but I Have Plans mwuahahahahahaha

[wrathbites]

Sunday snippet

Alenko’s a dead weight when Rhys cuts him free of the straps, hitting the roof with a clang and not moving afterward.  Alarms blare, deafening, the Hammerhead’s VI a tinny crackle in his ear warning them of imminent system failure —

No kidding, tincan piece of shit.

— but none of it’s loud enough to mask the heavy, clanking tread of the mech gearing up for another attempt at thoroughly ruining their day.

“Alenko,” Rhys barks, smacking on his breastplate, “c’mon, get up!”

A groan’s his only answer, one arm falling through the smashed window in a weak swipe of reply.  Shit.  How’s he supposed to get a good grip on him given the armour and cramped space?  And fire!  Of course there’s fucking fire.

“You owe me big time for this, Alenko.  I expect TIMmy’s head on a silver plate.  You hear me?”  Metal buckles under his third kick, collapses outward on the fourth, and he clambers out real quick, snagging the Commander’s hand and hauling him along for the bumpy ride.

“Returning from the land of nod sometime this year would be great, y’know.”

At least the mech hasn’t launched another missile yet.  Masked heat signatures, maybe?  But Alenko twitches, then flails, and smacks him square in the head with a bolt of raw biotic power and Rhys is snapped backward hard enough his spine pops, helmet screeching across rock and rubble.

For fuck’s sake.

#Into Darkness vampire verse #WrathWIPs

[wrathbites]

Heads Up 7 Up

Tagged by @korblez to share 7 sentences, and would you look at that, I actually have something new!  Hehe.

Tagging: @tiny-banana-time, @dandenbo, @theoriginalladya, @shadoedseptmbr, @mrsd-writes, @cr-noble-writes, and @happychica, if any of you want to take part :)

It’s not a cafe so much as a crime scene, bits and pieces of armour strewn around as if someone went to town on a kid’s toy soldiers, bodies on the floor, cast aside on the tables, at impossible angles across the chairs, dropped limp and broken over the empty window frame.

And sitting cross-legged in the chaos, perched beside a sparking terminal: Shepard.

“You really don’t like Cerberus, huh?” Kaidan ventures, stepping over a cracked helmet with the visor pried clean off.

“Nope,” Shepard replies, mouth, chin, and throat stained with gore.  His hands, too.  “They’re bad for business and threatened my staff, so.  Peace wasn’t an option.”

#WrathWIPs #Rhys Shepard #yes this is indeed another vampire AU ft Commander Alenko #also completely separate to the ORIGINAL vampire AU ft Commander Alenko I already have in the works RIP lol

[wrathbites]

Snippet Sunday

Tagged by @cr-noble-writes (thank ya kindly!)

Taking a break from my main vampire AU of Sunlight and Stardust to touch on a smaller one instead lol

~

“Would you look at that - fate has a sense of humour.”

Kaidan blinks.  Blinks again, brain stalling on the toasties of the day.  And looks up to find a familiar grin waiting for him.

Intimately familiar, heralding the first of several bites still smarting the morning after.

“What’re you doing here?”

“I work here,” his fanged stranger replies, darting a hand out to pluck the forgotten menu from his fingers.

“You work here.” Kaidan parrots back.  That... that doesn’t... sit... right.  A vampire working in a cafe.  Serving his food their food.

“My, someone’s not a morning person.”  The vampire in question holds the menu up and flicks it forward, nailing Kaidan on the nose with it, to his squawked protest.  “Food’s good after a blood donation, y’know.  Or so I’ve heard.”

Kaidan stares at him and the stupid grin he kissed off his mouth less than 24 hours ago, tongue finding the sting on the inside of his lip it left behind.

“I hear a knuckle sandwich is tasty, you dick.”

“So are pancakes!  Or waffles.  Maybe an omelette?  Bacon and cheese?  Krogan veggies?  Asari seafood?”

“Just coffee, damn it!”

One eyebrow lifts and Kaidan’s tempted, so tempted, to tangle his fingers in that necklace again and yank the vampire over the counter for a headbutt, or a return chewing, or -

No.  Nope.  Not going there.  Not today.  Not ever again.

“Please,” he grinds out and his stranger vanishes, laughter a faint whisper he leaves behind.

#WrathWIPs #don't ask me how many vampire AUs I have hehehehe #Rhys Shepard #Kaidan Alenko

[wrathbites]

The twitching tilt of Shepard's head from side to side is - odd. Like he's observing the room without seeing, face gone slack and eyes distant, vacant, skipping right through Kaidan while fixed directly on him.

"Commander?"

His hands are moving. Not for his shotgun, thank fuck, nor to snare dark energy, just... moving. Wrists rotating one way then the opposite, fingers curling, flexing out again, left elbow bending -

"This one," he says in a flat tone that makes Kaidan's skin crawl, "serves as our voice."

"Who are you?" Kaidan fires back.

"What have you done to him?" Liara, making it two steps before Kaidan catches hold of her arm and tugs her back.

"He is empty. Silent. You will understand through him."

#WrathWIPs #Noveria Sure Is A Fun Time 😁 #not

[wrathbites]

There's no hook on the end of his line, no bait. If he were hunting he'd simply shed flesh for fur and go delving in the nearest river.

But it's not fish he's after.

The little wooden lure with light twinkling between its grooves does its job in the end, three sharp tugs to announce another's presence, and then something is catching him about the ankle and yanking him from the docks, down into the shocking cold of the sea below.

Halsin breaks the surface sputtering to find Levi waiting for him, mischief tucked into the sharp curl of her smile, the claws that scratch just so as she sweeps wet hair back from his face. Certainty in the press of her body against his, no harm will come to him here.

"You kept me waiting," he says.

"Mmm. Can you blame me? I had quite the sight to admire first."

#WrathWIPs

[wrathbites]

Rules: In a new post, show the last line you wrote and tag as many people as there are words

Tagged by: @cr-noble-writes

His reason for a final sweep of the area becomes clear when he holsters his weapon in favour of lowering Benezia's body to the ground, hands free of their gloves so bare fingertips brush her eyes closed, a tiny consideration few would expect of a vampire.

There's no way in hell I'm tagging that many people so uh... lemme see... @theoriginalladya, @ghostxofxartemis, @tiny-banana-time, @korblez, if any of you wanna take part in the last line meme 😁

#WrathWIPs

[wrathbites]

Kaidan stares at the phrase. It buzzes neon green and pink right back at him, uncaring of his incredulity and the whip-quick delight of the vampire next to him. Rhys rocks up onto his toes, mouth pulled wide on a grin, and Kaidan shoots him a scowl before he can utter a sound - and it's there, right there in that sparkle of mischief in his eyes.

"Do not."

"I was just gonna ask if you wanted something to eat!"

"I suppose you do, too?"

"Since when have I ever passed on dessert, Kaidan?"

He looks back in the window again, to that godawful "I like it when you bite me" and the display underneath. Funny thing is, he's not sure what dessert is for Rhys - the doughnuts, or him.

#WrathWIPs #Sunlight and Stardust vampire verse #this spawned from a shop in the city with this actual phrase bright and bold in the window lol

[wrathbites]

SKIDS IN omg for the wip titles “In which Kaidan realises he fucked up” PLEASE

From the WIP title game here. Aha! You picked the Granny Shep route 😄

Rest in pieces, mate. His Granny's a goddamn menace.

In hindsight he should've taken the warning to heart and refused the trip. He should've taken one step into her house and about turned and run, fast and far away from her aversion to modern technology.

But he's a fool out to help a sweet old lady, keep her from a trip too long and a strain too much. He looks at her and sees a frail woman, not the calamity walking responsible for Shepard's upbringing.

But he's an idiot. And the flat stare levelled at him says as much.

"The only artificial thing allowed in here is my hip, dear. I thought you'd've guessed that by now."

"VIs aren't fully self aware - they're perfectly safe to have installed in your car."

"Says who, them? Ever stop to think if they can lie?" As if to lessen the sting in her tone, she pats him twice on the arm. "But if it makes you feel any better, just remember everyone else on the road has one. We'll be just fine!"

It doesn't. Not by a long shot. Does explain her grandson's handling of the Mako, though.

#korblez #Wrathreplies #WrathWIPs

[wrathbites]

WIP Whenever

Then why are you here? It's on the tip of his tongue to ask, but the answer presents itself almost immediately, a shadow at her back, catching the words in his throat and choking them off.

There's a biting chill swarming around her that has nothing to do with cheap, knock-off environmental controls and everything to do with the biotic field Kaidan hasn't felt in two years. Barrier active as it always is, casting a pale shimmer over clothing and skin alike.

Skin that looks blistered and raw around the embering lines carved into Shepard's face.

#WrathWIPs #Rhys Shepard #this isn't actually in the Sunlight and Stardust verse #it's a standalone thing that's been haunting me the past two days #but MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN #if I didn't already have something planned this idea WOULD BE IT #OWIFREEHBFRIUWEFUIWEFUWF

[wrathbites]

"Something on your mind, Ma'am?"

She pauses with the teaspoon mid-rotation, to find cool grey eyes fixed on her. There's something... off about Shepard's stare, a patience that isn't quite... kind. Like he's biding his time, a coiled spring ready to loose, not simply waiting for her answer.

"Pardon?"

He blinks exactly once. "You worry your lip the same way he does when you're lost in thought. The teaspoon, too. Stir twice, cut down the middle, tap four times."

"Oh." She drops it in the sink, and he's not quick enough to bury the flicker of a smile. "It's nothing, really, just that Kaidan mentioned you're a biotic?"

"I am."

"Like him?"

"Not quite, no. He's stronger, but I'm... hm... craftier, I suppose you could say."

"How so?"

Another blink. Eyebrow arching. Knife set aside as he stretches for the dishtowel out of range. "Looking for a demonstration, Mrs Alenko?"

#WrathWIPs #Rhys Shepard

[wrathbites]

Okay I'm curious about all of those WIP titles, but how about 'A brief hello, a lasting goodbye'? 👀

From the WIP title game here. One of the several Rhys/Coats WIPs I have rolling around in my head lol.

"You have no respect for privacy."

"Your window's open."

"Fifteen storeys up! That's not an open invitation to every vampire in town!"

"No," Shepard replies, stepping in so close Coats could headbutt him if he were so inclined, and he's fucking tempted, "but following me is. You've no been subtle in your pursuit, y'know. Aria's people had a mark on your head."

And you? But Coats doesn't ask. He knows already. Shepard might play the part when needed but he's nobody's pet, no matter the colours they fly or the logo they wear.

"Why're you here?" he asks instead.

"A question best aimed at you, I think, Jack."

#tiny-banana-time #Wrathreplies #WrathWIPs