Squiggly Squid

Pilot's Guide to Bad Decisions is officially finished.

The Pilot's Guide to Bad Decisions, Chapter 38: Arrival

She crossed the threshold of the ship without her armor. 

He turned back and stared at her—shewas in a borrowed miner’s jumpsuit a size too small with a civilian breather mask strapped across her face, and a gun that wasn't hers held loose in the hand. The exposed skin of her face was sunburnt red, her eyes bloodshot from dust or atmosphere—or rather lack of it. Her hair had given up entirely, dangling like black icicles from her head. 

She made exactly one step into the helm, pulled the breather off and said:

“They are here.”

She tapped her omnitool. A flick of the wrist sent the audio file to his console.

He played it.

The first voice wasn't human. He didn’t have a word for it. It came through the recording like ocean—deep and metallic and vast, the kind of sound that bypassed the ear and went straight to the back of the skull. 

Shepard. An aberration. Organics fused with the machine. You’ve become an annoyance.

Can say the same about you.

You’ve been fighting the inevitable. Dust struggling against the cosmic winds. You have rejected the solution we’d offer.

Solution? Boomed her voice on the record. Using my people as the fuel for your machines is not a solution!

Irrelevant. Know this as you die in vain: your time will come, your species will fall. You will fall knowing you could’ve prevented it.

Maybe you right. The anger hadn't gone—it was still there, stubborn and defiant like the tree defying erosion from the waves. Maybe your way was gonna fix the galaxy at the price of one civilization. But I’m notta gonna place humanity on the altar of your doing. We will fight, we will sacrifice and we will find another way. That’s what humans do.

A '(Guest)' pfp

𓃡 𓃦 𓃥 𓁢 Disclaimers : I only used my handphone while making this skin so for other devices it might not look as polish as in mobile. Images and pngs are from Tumblr, Pinterest, and one png from a cozy game called Good Pizza, Great Pizza. I don't take request. I used this tag icons(custom) codes, this for buttons, and this to hide the mute notice. Dividers by @wrbbnrse

𓄯 I just realized it's almost/past National Pet Day when i release this skin. I got the inspiration when i was watching "The Plague Dogs" and realized that i never seen any dog ao3 site skin unlike cat themed skin which i don't mind at all because i'm a cat person myself. Intentionally make this skin look cheery and cozy and bright because i'm traumatized by the movie, it's such a gut wrenching animation film, 10/10👏 would not recommend😭😭😭.

my ao3 skins masterlist

Tutorial how to activate the skin + the code :

‌Copy the code i provided in this GitHub, there is a copy button at the top right(•••) of the code box. And here if you prefer Google doc.

‌Sign to your AO3 account, after that go to "Dashboard".

‌On your "Dashboard", tap on a section called "Skins".

‌On the "Skins" page, tap on the button labelled "Create Site Skin".

‌Give your site skin a unique title, i usually use 2-4 word for the skins that i saved. IF YOUR SKIN NAME IS NOT UNIQUE, YOU CAN'T SAVE THE SKIN.

‌Paste the codes you copied from my GitHub into the "CSS" box.

‌When you're done, scroll to the bottom of the page and click a button labelled "Submit". This will save your site skin and take you to a new page where you can see the title of your skin as well as all of the code.

‌Click "My Site Skin" and you can see the skin are added, press "Use" to activate it.

The OG Normandy Crew from Mass Effect! Painted in Posca.

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Where was your OC born, and where did they grow up?

How does your OC remember their childhood? Is this an accurate reflection of what their childhood was actually like?

If your OC could revisit their childhood, what would they want to change about it, if anything at all?

Describe three of the most important photographs your OC owns.

What is your OC's gender identity and sexual orientation? Is this also what they identify as in canon, or are they not (fully) aware?

How comfortable is your OC in their skin? Do they like who they are? What would they want to change about themself?

What is your OC's occupation?

What does your OC's family look like?

Describe a mundane day in your OC's life.

Does your OC have any physical scars? What is the story behind them?

What does your OC carry around in their pockets? What about their bag?

What is the worst thing that has happened to your OC? How has it affected their behavior, their health, and their life in general?

What is something your OC does (to others) that they would not like if others did to them? Are they aware that they do this?

Does your OC hold grudges? How good are they at letting things go? Do they believe in second chances?

What is your OC's fatal flaw?

Is there anyone your OC has lost contact with? What happened?

What are some of your OC's coping mechanisms during stressful or overwhelming periods in their life?

What are your OC's bad habits?

How does your OC handle preparing for and initiating a difficult conversation? How does the conversation itself go?

How quick is your OC to shift blame? Do they own up to their mistakes, or are they prone to start pointing fingers at others?

How does your OC handle criticism?

How good is your OC at apologizing, if they do this at all?

What is your OC like when they're angry?

What is your OC like when they're upset?

What is your OC's deepest desire? Would they ever ask for this?

How quickly does your OC reach their breaking point? What are they like when this point has been reached?

What are some assumptions others make about your OC? Are any of them true?

What does your OC think others are saying about them behind their back? Is any of this true?

What are three traits your OC has that can both have positive as well as negative qualities?

How paranoid is your OC? How does this affect their daily life?

Are there any places or people your OC is avoiding?

How does your OC handle rejection?

How does your OC handle jealousy?

What would be some of the signs your OC is starting to push people away?

If your OC had to kill someone, how would they do it? If killing is a near-daily occurrence to them, what is their preferred method?

Does your OC believe they deserve it when bad things happen to them?

What is the most common feeling or emotion in your OC's life?

What is the most recurring theme in your OC's nightmares?

What is your OC's pain tolerance like? What is the worst pain they have ever felt?

What is your OC afraid of?

Has your OC ever hurt someone, either physically or verbally?

How easily influenced by others is your OC?

What are common things your OC worries about?

Do others consider your OC to be scary or intimidating?

Does your OC keep their promises? Have they ever broken one before?

Does your OC carry any guilt with them?

If your OC had to pick a new identity and skip town, what would they come up with? Where would they go?

What would your OC do if they knew that this was their last day alive?

Does your OC fear death?

Hi!!! Thank you so much for your interest in #mywoman…

She lost her parents around the age of six, to a plague that swept the city. They were far from wealthy, but she was precocious and bright, and they worked for her to attend a good academy. At that age, she would have had a hard time narrowing down what she wanted to do when she was older — she was the kind of child with an interest in nearly everything, eager to find out more about the world. Maybe a scientist, maybe a scholar. The only thing she wouldn’t have said she’d like to do would have been joining the Alliance, quite literally. There are other ways for a well-educated, accomplished woman to get to space, if that’s where she wanted to go.

But they died, or at least she thinks they did. No funeral, no bodies; one day they were taken to a hospital and the next week, she was legally an orphan. The state wasn’t going to spend credits on a private school for her. She got stuffed in an overcrowded class in an underfunded school in a low-income neighborhood, where the orphanage was — she was far from the only child whose parents had been taken by the virus. She developed anger issues. Her grades dropped. When she ran, no one tried very hard to find her.

In the end, the Alliance was her only option to get out. Both off the streets, and off this rock.

There was a center for at-risk youth she frequented in her teens. Less during her time with the Reds, more when she split from them and had to strike out on her own. The organization partnered with the Alliance recruiting offices, but the woman who ran the place in Shepard’s neighborhood wasn’t a fan of them, to put it mildly. Would rant about the Alliance taking advantage of her kids, turning them into cannon fodder. Shepard heard it all. She still signed up. Maybe broke that woman’s heart a little. Not because she necessarily believed in the military, but because she knew where her skills lay, and they were physical. They’d taken books and academia away from her and this is what she grew up to be instead. 

She’d been an informant for law enforcement for some months before her split from the Reds, and she knew the Alliance wanted her, anyway. They represented security in a way not unlike the Reds, but less overtly criminal. They’d make good use of her skillset. And well — if you’re good enough, score high in aptitude tests and do well on your first assignments out of boot camp, you might have a shot at going to the academy to become an officer.

A real school, at last.

Wing-It commission for @squigglysquidd of their precious Merrybelle 🎶💛

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The Amur Leopard and Clouded Leopard (which recently celebrated its 50th cub born at the zoo!)

The Sumatran Tiger

The Red Ruffed Lemur and Ring-Tailed Lemur

The Cotton-Top Tamarin and White-Cheeked Gibbon

The Colobus Monkey and De Brazza’s Monkey

And the Mexican Spider Monkey!

Fuck that! Unrealistic! Computa! Give the Commander chronic pain and hella body integrity dysphoria with a side of itchy scars!

shepard: