Fic or Treat 2011

[wallwalker]

I haven't done one of these in a while, so! (Borrowed from cypher.)

Fic or Treat!

• Leave a comment with a fandom, pairing, character and/or prompt.
• Multiple requests are encouraged, although I will treat them as options rather than a shopping list. Options are good!
• You will get something, either a fic or a treat!

• Fics: Drabble-length (or longer?)...
• Treats: icons, music, picspam, recs, etc.

You're more likely to get things if you request something I've seen/refreshed myself on recently - FFVIII, Mass Effect, Star Ocean 2, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, possibly Dragon Age: Origins. But the truth is that I've dabbled in lots of fandoms, and pretty much any of those are fair game to ask for! (And even that's not an exhaustive list...)

Comments

Mean Tricks (Shadowrun, PG13)

[wallwalker]

Borrows heavily from both Sega and SR4 stuff (referenced here.

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They were standing watch in the quiet hours of the night - nothing out there but rats and the occasional runner that night, and frankly Napalm was starting to wonder why they were bothering with night watch - when Howler spoke up, his voice raspy in the quiet. "I miss Ratspike."

"That so?" Napalm tried to keep her voice down, but it didn't feel like she could stay quiet enough for a conversation like this. "How old were you when he was running things, eight?"

"What difference does that make?" he snapped, drawing himself up. He was skinny, even for an elf.

Napalm stared him down; she wasn't afraid of a skinny kid, not when she could snap her fingers and leave him engulfed in flames. She could feel more than see the holes in his body from the 'ware, the bits and pieces of his essential self that had been hollowed out to make room for more tech. Kid said he had a flamethrower implanted in his hand, but if that was true then only the guy who'd decided he was worth a shot had seen it.

It was a long, tense moment before he finally settled down, looking away from her and sighing. "I was ten, okay? Yeah, I was just a kid. But that shouldn't matter. I remember how things used to be when it was him in charge. It was... different. We didn't have to be so... so creepy all the time. Not like this."

Napalm sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "You’re still just a kid," she said, as gently as she could manage. "And yeah, I remember him. Wish he could've made it."

Howler didn't answer. He didn't have to; she could see it in his eyes. He'd been there when the Ancients had run them out of Redmond; he'd apparently been beneath their notice, and therefore one of the few to live to tell the tale. And it hadn't been a pretty story - dozens of elves in their green jumpsuits, with their damned thermal armor and their guns, killing everyone they could catch. He said he'd seen Ratspike go down right in front of where he'd been hiding, big grin still on his ugly face. Said he should've burned the place down, took all of them with the big man, but he hadn't been able to do it. No one blamed him.

So there they were, holed up in an abandoned office building downtown, watching for shadows and waiting for the best chance to take back everything that the Ancients had stolen from them. And yeah, nobody blamed the kid for bein' sore. Some of the drek that Nightmare was pushing 'em to do - the horror BTLs that she didn't even wanna touch, the firestorms that didn't have a fraggin' thing to do with the corps... well, they scared her as much as they scared everyone else. The Halloweeners had always been about scaring everyone else, yeah, but not themselves. It had been fun back then, like kids playing pranks on each other or egging some jerk's house - that was what the whole mess with the corps was about, because it wasn't like they couldn't take it. But this drek... it was going way too far.

Best not to talk about it, though. You never know when Nightmare might show up. That guy creeped her out like nobody else ever had, if he was a guy. Nobody knew, except maybe a few of his top men... and Napalm couldn't swear to that, anyway.

Howler had lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, anyway. Best to let him brood. Maybe if he brooded long enough, he'd remember how dangerous it could be to second-guess the new boss. World had gotten a lot more dangerous - and a lot more serious - after the Crash. Kids like him, well, they'd better learn to remember that.

Re: Mean Tricks (Shadowrun, PG13)

[squeemu]

Eeeee, this was so awesome! I had pretty much no hope that you'd write anything Shadowrun-related, and then you went and wrote this awesome thing. :D

You do such a great job with atmosphere and descriptions. And I have so many hearts for two Weenies, reminiscing about the old days, having a heart-to-heart. Plus: their names! Brilliant. And you do a really great job getting their personalities across, too, even in this short scene.

She could feel more than see the holes in his body from the 'ware, the bits and pieces of his essential self that had been hollowed out to make room for more tech. Kid said he had a flamethrower implanted in his hand, but if that was true then only the guy who'd decided he was worth a shot had seen it.

It was hard to choose, but I think this bit is my favorite from the whole story. I love the description of cyberware from a mage's POV, and then the bit about "the only guy who'd decided he was worth a shot," awww Howler. You're an unwanted street punk. <3

tl;dr This was awesome, thank you so much.

Re: Mean Tricks (Shadowrun, PG13)

[thebaconfat]

This was so, so cool. So cool! Really enjoyed the atmosphere, the seamless way you manage the slang, and how much character and backstory you get across in a few well-chosen words.