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#ominous vaguepost :")
mustangs-flames · 11 months
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< A cursed bloodline. >
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sanddusted-wisteria · 2 months
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A Builder, a Researcher, and a Rooftop, Ch. 25: Terminal Velocity
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At 1:22 and 43 seconds, Qi wondered if he should be crying.
Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for MTAS's main story from this point in the fic onward, beginning with the mission "The Goat."
A/N: Welcome to Spoilertown. If you haven't gotten to this point in the game, I highly recommend you pause this fic and play through this act. Don't worry, you'll know where it starts and where it ends.
The back half of this fic's second act is what singlehandedly determined how I structured the plot of the overall story and what expanded my outline/idea dumps into longfic territory. And after several months and some writer's block, I'm so excited to finally be able to share it with you guys. Enjoy!
Also on AO3
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At 7:00, Qi woke up.
At 7:30, he finished his breakfast and brushed his teeth.
At 7:35, he was down in his lab to start the workday.
At 9:13, he finished writing the report from his last experiment on the Mobile Suit’s power capacity.
At 9:46, he decided to take a break from drawing up the diagram for the enhanced processor the builder had requested.
At 12:00, he put down the latest issue of the Vega 5 astronomy journal to break for lunch.
At 12:30, he went back downstairs and started working on the builder’s diagram again.
At 1:17, there was a knock on the door.
At 1:17 and 15 seconds, he was staring at the grim face of the sheriff.
At 1:17 and 20 seconds, Qi suddenly felt ill.
At 1:17 and 30 seconds, Qi could no longer hear what the sheriff was saying.
At 1:17 and 45 seconds, the sheriff had left.
At 1:18, Qi remembered to breathe.
At 1:19, Qi began to move again.
At 1:22, Qi was at the back of a crowd. Several people turned towards him with tears and pity in their eyes.
At 1:22 and 43 seconds, Qi wondered if he should be crying.
At 1:23, Qi realized someone was asking him something. He didn’t know what it was. He shook his head.
At 1:25, the crowd dispersed. More people came up to Qi and murmured words he couldn’t hear.
At 1:26, everyone finally left him alone.
At 1:28, Qi remembered to move.
At 1:36, Qi was back inside the Research Center.
At 1:37, Qi stared at the unfinished diagram on his desk.
At 2:00, Qi stared at the unfinished diagram on his desk.
At 2:3X, Qi stared at the unfinished diagram on his desk.
At 3:XX, Qi stared at the unfinished diagram on his desk.
At X:XX, Qi tried to eat something. He managed a whole three bites.
At X:XX, Qi climbed into bed.
At X:XX, Qi stared at the ceiling.
At X:XX, Qi stared at the ceiling.
At X:XX, Qi wondered why his body hadn’t released the neurotransmitter signals for sleep.
At X:XX, Qi got out of bed.
At X:XX, Qi opened the front door. It was cold outside.
At X:XX, Qi walked up the stairs.
At X:XX, Qi was on the roof.
At X:XX, Qi had collapsed onto a certain spot.
And there he lay. Shrouded in the shadow of the telescope. Alone.
He shivered as a frigid gust of wind rushed over him. Nothing was there to warm him.
No blankets. No tea. No food.
No builder.
Both his vision and his mind were a blur. The only thing his wavering consciousness could cling to was a single, terrible truth.
The builder was gone.
Thrown over a cliff.
A meaningless death.
Maybe it was a good thing that he forgot his glasses. At least this way, he couldn’t see the stars.
The stars…
His greatest source of awe and wonder for so many years. The builder became so entangled in that awe and wonder until they were completely inseparable from it. In Qi’s mind, he knew that the stars had existed long before any of them ever did, and would continue to exist long after everyone was gone. But in Qi’s heart, there were no stars without the builder.
A cascade of memories started pouring out from the dark recesses of Qi’s mind, taunting him with precious memories of their diligence, of their wits, of their laugh, of their touch, of their kindness, of their smile, of their warmth. Many of which were rooted in the very spot he lay.
He still remembered how their hand felt in his last night. He could still feel their last parting hug around his waist.
Deeper and deeper he drowned, as if desperately trying to recreate their presence, soothing and invigorating all at once.
But all it did was remind him of the nothingness he was left with. And the ache in his heart.
“Hey…”
And now he was hearing things. He swore the whisper of the wind was the sound of their voice.
“Qi, hey…”
A large blob suddenly appeared above him. Its colors looked familiar. His head shot up.
“Yeah…yeah, it’s me.”
He slowly sat up, breath shaky as he drew closer to the figure. His heart pounded faster as the features of their face came into focus.
Face, bruised and cut in a few places. Eyes, tired but still shining. Lips, curved into a sad, sweet smile.
His builder.
His wondrous, death-defying anomaly.
The tremors in his breath turned to hiccups as tears leaked from his eyes.
At 12:54 and 31 seconds, the builder was in Qi’s arms. He embraced them as tight as he could, as if his arms were the only thing keeping them from falling off that cliff again. Every possible sensation was tearing away at his heart. It was crushed, imploded, collapsed, pulverized into nothing but dust…
The builder said nothing. They simply wrapped their arms around him and buried their face into his shoulder, rubbing circles into his back as he wept.
Qi had so many questions, so many things he wanted to say to them. But all his words were swallowed into ragged sobs. So he let all of the pent-up grief and relief wash over him, desperately clinging to the builder’s warmth as he cried and cried.
He didn’t know how long they stayed like that. But his tears gradually slowed and his breathing evened out again. Slowly, they pulled away.
The builder brought a gentle hand up to his cheek and wiped away the last trail of tears. Qi closed his eyes, feeling himself lean into their touch.
“I’m sorry,” the builder whispered, their expression forlorn. “I-it’s a long story, but… I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“W-why are you sorry…?” Qi breathed. He hit himself internally for asking such an idiotic question. He shook his head. “You’re back now,” he whispered instead. “That’s all that matters.”
The builder let out a hum. It didn’t sound too sure.
“Please…” Qi took a shaky breath. “Please… Promise me that you will be safe in the future.” His tongue was barely able to form the words as all his breath threatened to leave his lungs as another sob.
Something swirled in their eyes. Their lips opened, but no words came for a moment. Despite holding his gaze, he could tell they were itching to look away.
I can’t, their eyes said.
“…I’ll try,” they whispered.
Qi gazed far into the depths of their eyes for a moment longer. Then he carefully pulled them in and pressed their lips together.
Fear. That’s what was hidden in their eyes. Something he never thought someone so strong and courageous could feel.
Their lips were chapped, but still so inviting. Every fiber of him ached to go deeper, to soothe everything that ailed them.
But they were still injured. He had no idea how they managed to drag themself up here without collapsing. He probably already upset something with how tightly he held them. He couldn’t make it worse.
So it was chaste. Brief. Just enough to scratch the surface of what they both were feeling.
He pulled away first, opening his eyes to see the builder even more uneasy. A small flash of panic shot through his stomach. That was exactly what he didn’t want.
But before he could think, he saw the builder’s face twist for the briefest instant before their hands gripped the loose collar of his shirt, and their lips crashed into his again.
They kissed him more fervently than they ever had before, causing Qi to gasp. Their tongue parted his lips, and he let them in, tasting iron and smoke and desperation. The last rational part of his brain wondered briefly if he was the one who almost died instead, before being swallowed by a quiet moan from his throat and a shudder that raced down his spine. He melted into them almost instantly. He wanted to commit every stimulation of every nerve in his body to memory, lest it be ripped away from him forever.
The builder pulled away first this time, gasping for air. Qi took one deep breath after another, trying to pull himself together.
The builder was frozen. They didn’t pull him back in. They didn’t reach for him again. They were silent except for their nervous breathing. They only gaped at Qi with shining eyes.
It looked like they were on the verge of tears.
Qi gently put his hands on their shoulders. “You need to get to the clinic.”
The builder mutely nodded.
With one arm around them, Qi carefully led them down the stairs and down the street. They plodded along slowly, Qi being careful not to trip over something he couldn’t see without his glasses.
They reached the clinic door and rang the emergency buzzer. Fang was quickly at the door, releasing a sudden bright light and the pungent smell of herbs into their faces. Judging by the sharp intake of breath, he was just as shocked to see the builder.
“Rawk! What the heck?!” squawked the bird. “It’s a ghost! OooOOOooOOH!! Spooky scary!”
“X!” Fang snapped. “What…happened…?!”
No one said anything for a moment.
“They…didn’t die,” Qi croaked.
“I…see,” Fang muttered. “Need to treat…any injuries…immediately.”
The builder shuffled forward.
“I…assume I can’t stay?” Qi said.
“No,” said Fang, a determined edge to his quiet voice. “Need to concentrate. Must make sure…nothing goes unchecked.”
“Don’t worry, sweetie,” twittered the bird in a softer voice. “Everything will be okay.”
Qi nodded slowly. “Thank you, Doctor.” He turned to leave.
“Qi, wait.”
Qi froze in his tracks. It was the builder. He turned back towards the light of the clinic, hopefully making eye contact with the blur that was them.
“…I love you.”
They sounded so small. His heart once again pulsed with ache.
“…L-love you too,” he murmured, summoning a scrap of courage despite how his tongue instinctually fought against the words. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He heard a quiet hum before Fang shut the clinic door, leaving him alone in the dark once more, with only the moon and the stars.
At 1:41, Qi started walking back to the Research Center, mind and body humming with an emotion he couldn’t identify.
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At 7:00, Qi woke up.
At 7:10, he finished washing up.
At 7:15, he had a quick drink of water and was out the door.
At 7:20, he reached the clinic.
Fang was tending to the builder, partially covered by a privacy screen. Qi idled by the door, hands picking at a loose thread on his pants.
“Awk! Ooh, look at the lovebird, honey! Hello! Hi! Hi!” crowed the bird as it flew from out behind the screen and alighted on a perch next to the medicine cabinet.
“Er…hello…bird,” Qi said with an awkward wave, before his head could question why he was trying to socialize with a raven.
Fang looked up at the sound of the bird’s voice. “…One moment,” he nodded to Qi.
“Hey, Qi-Qi…” came a tired mumble from behind the screen.
Fang quietly shushed them. Qi frowned. Qi-Qi…? 
Still probably dazed. Or maybe that was the medication.
He waited until Fang walked back around the screen. “How are they?” he asked in a low voice.
“Stable,” muttered Fang. “Few…fractured ribs. Couple wounds needed…stitches. No infection. Lots of…bruises and…other minor injuries.”
Qi let out a long sigh of relief. “I suppose that’s the best case scenario for almost dying…”
Fang nodded slowly. “A miracle…if anything.”
Qi didn’t believe in miracles. But it did seem like physics had taken mercy on them. “Can I—?”
“Yes.”
Qi swiftly moved over to the screen, cautiously peering behind it. The builder was sitting up in their hospital bed, a sheepish grin brightening their otherwise bruised and bandaged face.
“Aww, Qi-Qi… You came to see me so bright and early?”
They were back to their usual jovial self, it seemed. It was like a different person entirely had kissed him last night on the roof.
“Of course,” he said as he took a seat on the creaky chair beside them, finding himself a little short of breath. “Why…why wouldn’t I?”
“You skipped breakfast again, didn’t you?” Their eyes narrowed, but their grin didn’t falter.
Qi sighed. “I won’t be here forever, will I?” He gently clasped their hand as they extended it on top of the blanket. “This…takes priority over anything else.”
The builder’s face softened. “I’m joking,” they murmured. “But still…it’s sweet. Thank you.”
They fell silent. Qi idly circled his thumb over their palm, feeling all the familiar calluses.
“Sorry about last night, by the way…” the builder murmured.
“Why do you keep apologizing…?” Qi whispered. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”
They shook their head. “I got carried away. I just…” Their voice shrank to a whisper. “I…I really thought I was gonna die.”
Qi felt his heart ache. He gave their hand a squeeze, hoping that would be more comforting than anything he could say.
“I…managed to fall into a tree,” they said slowly. “Hurt like hell. Passed out for a couple minutes.”
Where did the fractured ribs come from?
Qi swatted the thought away from his mind. Be sensitive. 
“I saw the goat stepping up a climbable…ish path on the cliffside,” they continued. “Probably going back to look for more rutabaga.” They let out a mirthless chuckle.
“So you followed it?”
They nodded. “Reallll carefully. Took me hours, but I did it.”
Since when did they know how to rock climb? Without the proper equipment, no less…
Qi’s brow furrowed. “And…after all that, you didn’t rest? Why on earth did you come find me instead?”
The builder laced their fingers together, a clouded, faraway look in their eyes. “I…I had… I had to find you. I just…had to.”
If they climbed with no equipment…shouldn’t their hands be blistered?
Qi stared at their intertwined hands. “You should’ve at least waited until you got treated.”
“And leave you like that?”
“…I could have waited at least a little longer,” Qi whispered.
“…I couldn’t.”
They both fell silent. The only sounds in the room were the whir of Fang’s odd equipment, and the bird occasionally stretching his wings out. Qi felt every minute twitch of the builder’s hand against his own.
“Does everyone else…know?” Qi piped up suddenly.
The builder raised an eyebrow. “I was about to ask you that. My guess is no, since, y’know, we all just got up.”
“I’m sure Dr. Fang will…hm. No, on second thought, maybe I should make the report. If I don’t, every person in town will be barging into the Research Center today to tell me something I already know.” And he hated when people tried to tell him things he already knew.
The builder chuckled. “Oh no, what a disaster. Other people showing concern for you? Can’t have that, can we?”
“I have work to do,” Qi rolled his eyes. “It’s a distraction.”
“Well…” The builder gave his hand a squeeze with a wink. “So’s this, isn’t it?”
“Th-this is different.”
“Sure, sure.”
They stayed like that for another moment longer. Qi was out of things to say.
Their hands slowly parted as he stood up from his chair. “I should go. I have to talk to the mayor. I’m sure the rest of the town will be eager to see you once the word gets out.”
“For sure. Got a lot of explaining to do, it seems.”
Qi thought for a moment, before he bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of their head.
…Why do they smell like gunpowder…?
“I’ll see you later,” Qi whispered. “Get plenty of rest.”
“Thank you,” the builder murmured. “And you…don’t overwork yourself.”
Qi gave them a small nod, before quietly turning around and heading out.
When the door to the clinic closed behind him, he turned his head up to the sky and let out a long, tired sigh.
He certainly felt lighter than yesterday…but something still creeped at the back of his mind, poisoning the joy and relief he should be feeling in full force.
Doubt.
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A/N: Fun(?) fact: If you've read my angst fic Empty Skies, Hazy Skyboxes (heed the tags), you might've seen a couple of background references to things in this fic, particularly in Act 1 (e.g. Qi hypothetically developing treaded wheels for the mobile suit, the builder telling old myths about the stars). Since ES,HS suddenly sprung into my head as I was starting this fic, a couple ideas for B,R,R carried over into ES,HS to establish the background of Qi and the builder's relationship.
Does that make ES,HS a "bad end AU" to this fic...? You decide. :)
(Btw, ICYMI, ES,HS now has an extension...)
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resident-lover · 5 months
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Not me cracking one open(a monster drink) at the games official release time!!!!
PREPARE TO BE SIC OF ME!!🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽😭
IM COMING FOR YOU BIRD LADYYYY!
That's what you think
Cinder
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dunderbread · 1 year
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One of these days your gonna swing that bat a little too close to the hornets nest and be viciously attacked by Led Zeppelin fans (vaticination)
every time I start swinging my bat (ledzep hate worded in a joking way) im actually at risk of hitting one of two hornets nests: zepheads getting mad at me, or zepheads thinking im funny
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students-of-ruin · 7 months
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bustin' out
*refuses to elaborate*
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dykementality · 5 months
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i love saying ominous mysterious stuff about my life to avoid sharing actual things. if this brand of vagueposting was criminalized i still wouldnt stop. because being vague is worth dying. to me
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immanueldid · 5 years
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Flu is kicking my ass a bit too much to keep reading tonight, unfortunately. I’m going to try to finish tomorrow, maybe. If I can.  I’m so excited. Who is it, why is it, WHAT IS IT.
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skittidyne · 6 years
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come off anon and talk to me, if you actually want to. i did not deserve that message in a space where i could only respond publicly or not at all. 
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greentrickster · 3 years
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I am certainly suspicious and concerned (and also excited!) about your ominous posting, but what concerns me the most is wondering whether I'll have forgotten about it completely by the time it gets published! Of course I'll enjoy it just as much regardless of whether I remember your posting or not, but the anticipation is killing me. Metaphorically and in an enjoyable way.
nabexis Ah, sorry if I should've added a tone indicator. I love vagueposts like that, they get me excited for the future of the fic. I was hoping the lighthearted Simpson's meme would convey that. Definitely meant it in a lighthearted way 😁
cyber-flow Given that you have had previous posts stating how you are going to give us fluff so fluffy it will feel more intense than the angstiest angst, at this point I don't assume which feeling exactly you are implying you will inflict upon us in the future XD I just approve in confusion
ooftimesone ahh im good right now! I'm nervous in an excited way, and no matter what happens I have other comfort fics (or can re read previous chapters haha)
I'm just relieved to hear that everyone's in the excited-terrified camp - as long as people are having fun with my nonsense I'm happy to provide, but the minute it stops being fun and starts being a genuine stresser, that's where I draw the line. Regular life had too much stress even before the pandemic, you all certainly don't need any more from me right now!
Gonna say this while we're on the topic, if anyone's ever nervous about what direction Saturation is going to take in this sense of things, please don't be afraid to ask me about what's concerning you, I'm pretty decent at giving the information you need to make an informed decision without ruining the surprises. I've had authors in the past treat questions I asked them for my mental health as opportunities to be vague and ominous, not being malicious but not taking me seriously either. To a one, I stopped reading their works after they did this to me, because it felt absolutely gross, and I don't want anyone to have to go through that with my writing. Maybe it's selfish, but I've been blessed with a group of wonderful, excited, interactive readers here in the AA fandom, and I want to bring as many of you with me as far as I can go in crazy endevour of mine. :)
Also, no worries about remembering all this, because the next chapter's probably going up tomorrow or Wednesday - it's all typed, I just need to do a read-through to check for typos!
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attackradish · 4 years
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youre not as clever as you think you are
No I’m not. I’m not trying to be particularly clever anyways, so whatever. The fact that you chose to be anonymous is intriguing, and the ominousness of your vaguepost even more so.
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turbobyakuren · 5 years
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How about Yukari?
My BROTP for them
Not a lot of characters manage to match Yukari’s personality so they could truly be “bros”, but i can’t help but imagine that Mamizou manages to tick all the boxes. Mysterious ladies? Check. Fluffy and ominous? Check. Vaguepost all the time? Check. It’s there.
My OTP for them
Yuk of Yuyu... A friend of mine showed me the joys of YukaYuyu and ever since i keep thinking of it, it’s a really adorable ship with a good backstory, headcanons, and dynamic
My second choice pairing for them
YukaRei has always been my OTP for Yukari so i don’t think it’s gonna ever stop. I find them fun. Their mechanics are so fun.... Okay..... Also i find Rinnosuke and Yukari particularly cute together please don’t bully me i love the ship idea
My fluffy pairing for them
Yukari and Okina? It’s a recent one and i’m so sad there’s not much. These two blondies deserve fluffy screentime together. please... Please let them be dorks together.
My angsty pairing for them
YukaYuyu already checks those so i’m gonna go with that..? The idea of Yukari knowing Yuyuko before dying and witnessing her death and her descent into amnesia is so painful. And i live for it.
My favorite poly ship for them
Gensokyo
My weirdest pairing for them
Yukari and Yukari (but with a gun!)
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mustangs-flames · 11 months
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"And if one thing had remained true since the beginning of everything, it was that a son will always wish to understand and be accepted by his father.
Even at the cost of himself." - 'Its Name Was Cesar Torres', Chapter 2.
I'm sure this has nothing to do with Adam. :)
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uiruu · 3 years
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my new thing is that when i see a post or hot take or opinion i disagree with or think is bad or whatever, i just vaguepost my response lol. like I'll just post "is it though" when someone says that something is good, when i think they're wrong. no context at all lol. so if you see me ominously posting things like "nobody cares though", just know that it's probably about something incredibly insignificant i saw on my dash, and I'm just being catty, but vague
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tetrahedrals · 7 years
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hahhh well after seeing a few ominous vagueposts about The State of Things I made the mistake of looking at the news and now its time to get back on the elliptical and see if I can outrace my anxiety
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broadcasted-idiocy · 7 years
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I have been informed that reverse vagueposting is confusing and ominous Good.
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smoothestjazz · 6 years
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i think we need to phase out vagueposting because sometimes i just really need to know that the ominous post you just made was not about me even when it probably wasn’t
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