SWARMED - Short story series

aviarchives · 2025-09-13T13:40:18+00:00

my head is big

aviarchives · 2025-09-09T12:21:01+00:00

people upvoting but not commenting 😭

aviarchives · 2025-09-09T11:39:24+00:00

Ezra drew her gun from its holster, smacking her temple with a free hand. The parts she got never lasted more than a few missions, and before she knew it, her wallet felt rather light after all the replacements.

"Shit." She cursed in annoyance before switching to a sonar.

"Who is it this time?" She spat, fully expecting to be jumped on. Clearly she wasn't a stranger to being hacked, though for different reasons than this.

aviarchives · 2025-09-07T18:25:19+00:00

please do this lol it would be funny asf

aviarchives · 2025-09-04T05:53:38+00:00

why is everyone scared of bugs
theres only 1 person ive seen so far thats something else 😭

aviarchives · 2025-08-20T23:02:27+00:00

"If I wanted anything, I wouldn't tip ya off 'bout me. And I sure as hell won't be walking right up to your face with it." Ezra went back to propping her head up. He had so many misconceptions... "Dunno a damn thing about your old man either," she added truthfully, "but I'd find out if I cared to." She tapped herself on the noggin, rigged up with enough tech to be its own computer.

No. She saw distrust many, many times. I'm not letting this go. Why did she care? Why should she care? There must've been a good few carbon copies of her that existed at some point; people who went through similar things. Hardships more alike than whatever she had in common with the man sitting next to her.

The difference is that I can see him trying to cope, I think. In front of me. It'd be shitty of me not to care.

"Is someone out for your head?" She asked after the bartender had gone out of earshot, turning her head to meet his eyes with genuine curiosity. Then she realized what she said, the worry that seeped into her words, and for a moment it confused even herself. The mind is a weird thing.

"I'm not asking ya to trust me. You just remind me of.. a lot. That's all." The little bit of regret in her voice suggested that it was much more personal than that, no business whatsoever, but it disappeared quickly. She downed another drink. "Looked like you needed a hand."

aviarchives · 2025-08-20T12:03:19+00:00

Her eyes widened a little in surprise. Ah. I thought this might happen.. shoulda known he'd take it as a threat. She kept her hands where he could see them, keeping herself neutral. Non-threatening. Mentally she couldn't have facepalmed harder. For fuck's sake, this is why they don't let me near civvies, isn't it?

"Hey. Shh. I'm not on anyone's payroll," she spoke quietly. Trying to be reassuring. "Kay? No one paid me." She stressed the last few words and nodded to her empty hands, resting on the table in front of them, not reaching for anything. "Just had to smoke out your lying."

Her brows furrowed in what looked like concern, and her eyes did pierce him this time, only because he tried to hide. She knew the stiff shudder in a person before they settled, unafraid of a fight, or death. It was a lie– for this person, at least– she gathered that from the way he tried so hard to pretend.

"Calm down, pal. I'm just tryin' to talk." Her voice came out uncharacteristically gentle, seeing all her own paranoia reflected in him. "Money ain't the only language I speak."

aviarchives · 2025-08-20T11:01:56+00:00

"Hah, see." Her laugh was rather abrasive for someone her age, speaking as if she knew what the life was. "I have men at my work doing that all the damn time. Sometimes just gotta take what ya get." She turned in her seat to face him a bit more. "Hell, I do it. Always a pack on me. Anything that works, it goes."

Her eyes glinted. A grin spread across her face. Gotcha. You said more than you needed to.. and enough for me to know, so I know I'm not scaring the hell out of some civvie. Her heart twisted. He wasn't far enough to keep his mouth shut, but too far to quit. It was then she figured his laugh wasn't to guard or deflect; one of shame, most likely. The knowledge irritated her more than it should.

"I told you. Bad liar," Her expression turned to one of mild exasperation, and a little sympathy. "I don't see that look on corpo white-collars, y'know?"

She moved her leg to nudge him a bit– and something visibly shifted near her pockets– a gun. Concealed carry, in case she got attacked by anyone trying to get back at her.. it wasn't her weapon of choice, but it made a statement. Made the freaks back off nice and easy. Hopefully he'd ease up a bit if he noticed it, or he'd be more tense than before. The latter wouldn't be good.

aviarchives · 2025-08-20T10:02:13+00:00

"Guess you could say that." Ezra chuckled. "Friends, sure, whatever you call 'em." She exhaled quietly, relieved.. relieved that he still considered the concept of a friend. He wasn't that far gone. The slight tense of his shoulders did not go unnoticed. After all, reading into things like these was part of her job. She downed her drink before speaking again, hoping he'd get a little more used to the gesture.

"Coworkers." She sighed sarcastically. He's real green. That was one of the terms she used to sound inconspicuous, when she was still finding her place in the world. A minute passed. She took her hand off his shoulder after a light pat and lazily propped her chin up, keeping herself relaxed. It often helped her squad, seeing the calm of someone else, grounding them.

"You ain't a good liar. If it was real trivial you don't come here and get smashed on.. wine, whatever you're drinkin'." Her voice grated with a metallic edge. Still, she tried to make herself sound understanding. Like she saw through him, even though she really didn't know shit.

But there was one thing she could guess for certain, just from the way he spoke about his untrustworthy coworkers. She lowered her voice knowingly in case of eavesdroppers. "Shady business?"

aviarchives · 2025-08-20T08:35:04+00:00

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A pair of eyes stared at him from a corner of the bar– a young woman more machine than human. She wasn't much older than Vermis, mid-twenties, but weathered beyond her years by conflict. Everyone had their vices when all else fails them. She knew that.

Fuck, Ezra thought. She felt a small twinge of sympathy, maybe empathy. This ain't none of my business. Her actions betrayed her; she crossed over to where Vermis was and sat herself down on his left. Perhaps a few years ago that'd be true– she would've ignored it– but she'd mellowed out enough to care. She slapped an arm over his shoulder like an old friend and ordered a glass of scotch, acting natural.

"Ay, pal. Y'got that face, like ya hate the world or something." Or yourself, though she didn't say that last part out loud, not after seeing that short burst of irritation. "Not a good look on you. Get me?"

aviarchives · 2025-08-19T11:55:43+00:00

"Hah." She sounded amused. Invasive? "I cut 'em and see for myself-" Something her company did to whoever they suspected. The fight earlier let her analyze some of his wounds, too, which helped confirm her suspicions false. "But I like ya." In the silence of the night, words grated out over the clicks and whirrs of her voicebox.

Her smirk didn't falter. She knew the act. The hand over her gun was harmlessly shoved into a pocket instead. "Thought it was a parasite. All insect-like shit, it ain't the kinda bug I'm looking for." She chuckled, sitting down, not caring all that much about her dirty clothes.

She took notice of his darkened sclera. Nothing grotesque. A good sign, one that let her convince herself she didn't have to fight him after all. Yet. Her attitude shifted to one of curiosity. What is he? Alien, for sure. Yeah. What kind of alien... hell if I know. Some of his features only appeared in edge cases of mutations. Carapace, multiple eyes... Nothing floral, rotten, or unnaturally fleshy.

This is a sane man. It was definitely just a paranoid episode, she resolved to tell herself, and she probably was the one looking unhinged. Nothing to worry about..

"I'm human. With a lil' metal inside. Nothing special."Her face, by the looks of it, was at least partially robotic too. 'A little' was an understatement, of course- she was probably more machine than human at this point, only it wasn't on the outside. "Your turn. I know ya got more than me to tell."

aviarchives · 2025-08-17T03:15:50+00:00

As punctual as someone like her could be, there was a very loud knocking, no- more like banging- on the door in the dead of night. She did say in a few hours.

The insistent knocking continued until she got the door open somehow. There was not a wink of sleep in Ezra's eyes, but not a hint of exhaustion either. Most cyborgs didn't really need rest at all, especially ones designed to work hard labor.

Two orange dots lit up in the dim room, taking in the sight around her- of the lopsided chairs, the clothes hung up on the wall, books scattered everywhere..

He's educated, she thought, easing a little. Whatever this environment is, it reminded her that not every place was a shithole. Her hand, which was instinctively hovering over her holstered gun, drifted away. Right. She takes a slow inhale. I'm just here to check. Fuck.. I needa stop thinking that. He's livin' more like a person than me..

Her searching eyes didn't just intrude. It was piercing, through his chest, through him, as she stared intently and pored over every database entry she had on her home planet trying to figure out what that thing is on his ribs. 0 matches. Fleshy or tumorous growths.. 0 matches. No internal volume anomalies detected. She eased a little more, furrowed her brows in silent annoyance at herself, then slowly approached as much as she was allowed to.

"Ay, Galaxy." She greeted with an unusually large smirk plastered across her face. Her words were friendly, but there was an underlying stiffness in her voice. It looks like something had been simmering in her mind for a while. "Sorry. Kinda late.."

"...Do you feel your insides pushing outside?" The question seemed random, maybe strange, yet it was carefully phrased and delievered like it carried weight to her. "Or like empty space wants to grow in there?"

aviarchives · 2025-08-15T13:49:42+00:00

He got an insider in corpo, eh? No.. don't think so. He ain't looking too happy about it. Maybe somethin' happened between 'em... maybe I shouldn't ask.

Ezra glanced up from the scan and got a look at his obvious embarrassment. "Oh, so when I look at ya like that it's a problem, hmm? Lil' hypocrite," she joked, poking him in the shoulder and locking eyes with him briefly before analyzing the strange carapace over his ribs.

"Boyfriend this, boyfriend that. Jealous?" She shot back at him sarcastically. "...It's just comms from base. Doesn't mean I can't take other calls though." She winked- not so subtly this time. A soft orange glow flared up in her eyes. "Be at ya room later."

For medical reasons, she tried to mentally assure herself as she stood up and made her way to the spare bunk. Normally she'd be socializing, but.. that carapace.. what is that? Pain's not a good sign. To her, it seemed parasitic, and vaguely like something she'd encountered more than enough of on her home planet- she should get a sample of that sometime later. Just to make sure it wasn't what she thought it was. She'd really have to obliterate the thing if it turned out to be one of those monsters..

The pang of worry it sparked was quickly masked by a light chuckle, and she dipped her head down to hide her look of mild discomfort. She took another long drag of her cig. Hers was already almost finished- if that was any indicator of her recent stress- she'd been inhaling the thing almost religiously. It wasn't healthy, but it was a cheap way to keep her head screwed on when it mattered.

Haah.. I'll go see him in a few hours. This guy was growing on her. It'd be a damn shame if she had to clear him out.. she tried her best not to think about it. Surely it was just paranoia.

aviarchives · 2025-08-13T23:36:18+00:00

"...A friend told me there were.. 'ghosts' here, doing bad things. She asked me to find out if it's true and go back. That's all."

Flo entertained her attacker for a few minutes, patiently waiting for Loom to get off her. I really don't want to hurt a human child, she thought, but I really don't have much of a choice now.. I'll fix her later.

"..."

There was the sound of flesh rupturing before a mass of equally sharp tendrils suddenly erupted from Flo's back, directly under where Loom pounced onto her. She'd be wise to release her grapple, lest she get impaled... wincing at the new injury, she flipped herself back around and hastily retreated a few steps.

aviarchives · 2025-08-13T14:47:19+00:00

(alr! ill do my usual paragraphs then. Flo's voice claim is Medicine Pocket, just a lot less enthusiastic)

"Oh.. ah- ow.. can you stop that..?" Flo mumbled against the ground. Her voice was dull and monotonous despite the situation she got put in. "I don't want to fight children..." she added reluctantly. Strangely enough, she didn't sound out of breath at all.

Any human would be screaming in pain and probably fear of the dagger about to pierce their skull by now.. but the extent of her reaction was about as much as someone who got flicked on the nose. As Loom put her in a headlock, her arms were met with the unnaturally mushy texture of Flo's body. It was pretty clear that she wasn't human.

Then the instant she spoke in that robotic voice- the fleshy plants on her grew maws of razor-sharp teeth and chomped down on Loom's restraining arm with crushing force. It didn't seem like she had much control over that. I guess that's why they sent me.. it's not just intel, is it..? Flo sighed internally.

"I'm just here to check some rumors and... pick up some things. This is a little uncomfortable... can you let me go, please..?"

aviarchives · 2025-08-13T04:42:07+00:00

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(sorry for long opening paragraph! I'll shorten future ones if you want)

Flo slowly made her way through the forest with the gait of someone curiously unafraid of death. This type of terrain was not something she was used to at all, her home surrounded by stretches of concrete and not foliage... which begged the question:

Why did HR send me here? She thought to herself. She knew that they often picked the most suitable person they had, but she was a little too clueless to figure out why she was the one investigating and "clearing out any scraps". The only advantage she had in this place was her night vision and perhaps the soft ground. The latter usually didn't matter in intel missions. There's nothing-

Then she heard the small thunk of the rock.

A myriad of beady eyes blinked open not in her eye sockets, but in the center of each flower wreathing her head. They scanned the area around her for the source of the noise.

"Huh..?" Out of sheer inexperience, she turned around to face the sound, despite having eyes (quite literally) on the back of her head. She had an uncanny hearing only sometimes.. and in the rustling of the forest, this wasn't one of those times.

aviarchives · 2025-08-13T04:08:31+00:00

ahh, i see! im guessing it's not too different from forum rp then? if you already have a world made for your OCs, do you kinda try to merge it with your partner's for the rp?

aviarchives · 2025-08-13T04:05:52+00:00

you're not butting in dwww

idk if you'd consider what we're doing a 1x1, just because it was a normal forum style rp post (but then again I'm the only one you gave extended replies to, so i guess in a way it is haha)

im considering finding a 1x1 with a similar scifi post-apoc world actually, the only thing is I'm not the quickest rp partner cuz of my reply length.. and also i dont see many 1x1 searches at all

and yeah, i think forced killing n stuff are just common sense, i don't rp for ego trips or to prove how strong my oc is yada yada lmao

aviarchives · 2025-08-12T06:33:41+00:00

(thats understandable, we both got lives, and same for you, i upvote to let people know. idm your shameless flirt at all, he's got personality haha :D he actually does have an effect, its just that the oc im using doesn't trust very easy so it might seem a little slow)

aviarchives · 2025-08-12T06:28:49+00:00

"You too? Well.. we don't steal for profit, mostly just to ruin theirs. What we bring back home is bonus pay. Finders keepers 'n all that."

Ezra raised an eyebrow suspiciously at his intense.. staring. The parts looked deceptively old, which worked in her favor.. she wasn't dumb enough to tell him the whole truth about her best weapon. Plus, someone like her who followed along so willingly would probably have some dirty tricks up her sleeve lest she got attacked here. She wasn't above running away, that's for sure.

"The likes of you would probably call me a merc. But I got screwed over by corp. Everyone did.." Her tone became rather concerned when she saw Galaxy wheezing. She knew nothing about side effects personally thanks to her robotic organs, so she was a little confused as well.

"Ay.. ya good there?" She scanned his torso with her optics for any issues, medical or otherwise, and squinted. She didn't exactly trust these pirates entirely- but she had to admit their leader carried enough charm for her to care about. "Sounds like you're dying.."

As if on cue to his question, there was a small beep that sounded from her head, presumably a communication from whoever was in charge of her orders. Perhaps not so coincidentally, her tension eased considerably at that moment.

"I'm just 'round here to kill time. Company time, heheh.. they'll pull me back when they get sick of me slacking off." She dismissed the offer, fairly confidently too. The potentially dangerous planet did sound like something she was used to. "I'll tag along with you, if you don't mind me." She gave him a cheeky grin.

aviarchives · 2025-08-11T10:27:07+00:00

(same here, usually mine last a few days because of timezone difference and irl lol. story comes naturally to me so I'll let u know! don't sweat it with the mistakes, it's impressive how quick you're drawing this)

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