#'' ''space'' because they look like PLANETS sheesh.''

[valka-arialitan]

He forgot about it. His crew didn't.

[pretty-chips]

Howdy. I’ve started writing a thing and I want to share the beginnings of it, because I absolutely am too excited to keep it to myself. Here’s a lil’ snippet of the beginning of Electric Love, my Rocket x Brita work. let me know if you enjoy! Thanks to @raccoonfallsharder and my angel babies in the discord server for unearthing my desire to write.

I’ve never uploaded writing to tumblr, especially on mobile, so apologies if the format is weird! The spacing between paragraphs was a lot and that bugged me lol.

“You’re freaking joking. You haven’t seen Footloose yet??” Peter’s voice is kind of shrill, and it makes Rocket’s ears pin back. “DUDE, I’ve talked about it like a million times! You guys kidnapped Kevin freakin’ Bacon for me!”

Two hours of Peter Quill being back on Knowhere, and he’d already brought up stupid flarking Kevin Bacon twice. Sheesh. Rocket shrugs defensively, lifting his hands and gesturing wildly as they walk. “Dude, I don’t know! The only place I ever get earth movies is here in Knowhere and I’m, like…busy, I dunno.”

Peter stops in his tracks, his face screwed up in confusion and surprise. “Wait, there’s a place with earth movies here?”

“Yeah.” Rocket’s arms fold as he regards Quill with a raised eyebrow. “You didn’t know?”

Peter looks absolutely appalled. Offended, even. “NO, I did not know. What the heck, man! I thought you guys were just…getting them somehow with the satellite or something.” Peter holds his hand up to his eyes and scans around, a bit dramatically, and Rocket roll his eyes. “Where the crap is this store? We’re going. Right now.”

With an amused huff, Rocket starts walking and gestures over his shoulder for Quill to follow. “C’mon Pete. Let’s get your stupid movie.”

He catches Peter smiling. Good. That means he heard the ‘I missed you’ buried in those words.

~

“I think I’m going to go insane.”

Brita’s elbows slide across the counter as she holds her chin in her hands. “We’ve heard this song five times. Why can’t we play a radio station or something? We’ve got the satellites for it.” She glances out the big window by the front doors, her eyes flicking wistfully back and forth between every person walking past. They probably had more exciting lives than this.

Her coworker, currently alphabetizing a row of media disks, shrugs impatiently. She doesn’t even give Brita a side glance or anything.

Brita huffs and shuffles her feet back to lean down onto the counter even more, bent at quite the impressive 90 degree angle.

This coworker girl had proven to be quite a stick-in-the-mud, which made for a pretty lame conversation partner. And as awful as it made her feel, Brita still couldn’t remember her name. Calling her Krylorian Coworker has worked just fine in Brita’s brain, but that probably isn’t going to last very long without accidentally slipping out one day. Oh, well. Maybe soon she’ll pull a good old, ‘So how do you spell your name anyway?’

Brita had pretty much used every ice breaker she could think of today, which had very visibly worn Krylorian Coworker’s patience pretty thin. She had only really responded to like, three of them. Brita sighs, her gaze out the window again.

It wasn’t her fault that today had been so slow and sludgy. Like tromping through the sloppiest terrain of the swampiest planet. The ground would probably suck at her boots, making her legs magnet to the mushy ground and her whole body burn with exertion. It would probably be hot, too, the combination of muggy air and sweat plastering hair to her forehead. She’d push it out of her eyes, blinking away the blur, and she’d see a figure come into focus. A familiar figure also trekking through the muck in front of her, strong and stout legs visibly strained with effort. He’d be holding a big gun, of course, probably one with little red blinking lights that flash through the murky air. Air you could feel as you inhaled, such thick and humid air in this swampy environment. He’d turn his head back to look at her, pretty auburn eyes alight with mirth. That fluffy ringed tail would swish behind him, an ear flicking as he opens his mouth to say something clever…

“You’re daydreaming, Brita.”

Krylorian Coworker stares, a hand on one hip and her eyebrow raised. “I can literally see you disappearing.”

Brita blinks hard, the yellow lighting of the media store melting away the trees and mud from her imagination. She lets out a breath as she comes back to reality, straightening up and stretching her arms above her head. “And that’s why I wanted some new music. I’m getting bored out of this dimension.”

Coworker shakes her head, huffing in amusement as she goes back to her alphabetizing.

Brita gives her own huff, and walks around the counter. It’d be better to actually do something with herself. Maybe she should alphabetize like Boring Coworker.

She makes her way down a couple aisles of holo-vid disks, glancing at the labels. She smiles, her heart doing that skipping thing it always does when she thinks about her favorite things. She’d apparently subconsciously wandered to her favorite section, the Terran holo-vids. Movies, she knows they’re called, but that’s not universal enough according to boss man who was in charge of this d’ast store. And the tech is different, anyway, he’d said. Whatever, Brita knew better than that old fart.

Her fingers run along the labels, stopping to reminisce at a few favorites. One day she was going to consume every single piece of Terran media in the store, and even further one day, the whole Terran planet. Every movie, every song, every book…everything.

Ring-ding-ling.

The little bell on the door announces, after at least an hour of nothing, a living being. Brita leans back, angling her head to look at the front doors. A guy with somewhat curly hair and a red leather jacket is stepping through, looking…amazed, actually. As he makes his way towards the aisle she’s standing in, Brita studies him further and is pretty sure she recognizes the things on his t-shirt. Her eyes widen.

An earth dude!

Before she can even process her body moving, she’s in front of him, all smiles. “Hi, how are ya?”

The guy blinks at her, seemingly coming out of some kind of trance, and his face lights up. “How long has this place been here? I’ve never noticed a…what, record store-slash-bookstore-slash-Blockbuster?”

Brita figures that’s an earth thing, and her heart flutters in excitement.

“Yeah, maybe a few months? Short enough lots of people haven’t been in yet, long enough it feels like ages if you’re working here.” She grins, leaning against the shelf next to her casually.

The comment lands, and the guy laughs. “I get that. But, I feel like this is probably the coolest place to work in all of…anywhere. You’ve got something from every planet I know the name of in here, just from what I can tell right away. That’s freakin’…epic.”

His enthusiasm is intoxicating. Brita beams at him, anxious to make this interaction last as long as possible. “Oh, dude, believe me, it is epic. Working here has permanently changed my life. I get to hear earth music and talk about movies…that’s a dream.”

He lights up even more, which Brita didn’t even think was possible, and his big open-mouthed smile says, “You like earth movies?”

She feels a beautiful conversation brewing, the feeling punctuated with Coworker’s exasperated sigh from across the counter, and Brita nods with a grin.

“Hell yeah I like earth movies.”

She’s not even sure how many minutes pass, she’s so enveloped in her favorite conversation she’s ever had. They gush over their favorites, which somehow don’t overlap at all even though they’re both familiar with everything brought up. The difference in taste is almost comical to her. She feels like she could be here for days, the world could pass away and she’d be completely content just standing here, talking to this man in a red jacket. Brita doesn’t even process her surroundings until she hears someone clearing their throat behind her.

Snapped back to earth, she realizes Coworker is raising a brow. Right. Work. Job.

“Sorry,” she laughs lightly and folds her arms as she leans against the shelf again, “you were looking for which one?”

“Oh, yeah. Footloose, can you believe Drax and Rocket both haven’t seen it yet, even though it’s the greatest movie of all time…”

Every muscle in her body stiffens. Her folded arms tighten against her chest and she feels her fingers dig into her arms. He’s still talking, she can tell with his mouth still moving, but nothing he says is reaching her ears anymore.

Rocket. Rocket. All she can see now are those bourbon eyes. A voice rings back into her processing, but not the voice of the dude, it’s deep and rumbles through her core. This guy, this Terran guy, was friends with Rocket. An earth dude that’s friends with Rocket AND Drax, how did he get so lucky…

Suddenly, it clicks.

“Wait, wait, stop.” She knows she’s interrupting, and she doesn’t care. “You’re freaking Peter Quill.”

He mouth quirks into a bit of a confused grin, one eyebrow inching up. “Uh, yeah I am.”

She blinks at him. She knows she looks stupid. “Sorry, I didn’t, uh, I didn’t... Not to be, like, weird, y’know. I just. That’s so cool. I’ve always wanted to actually talk to the guardians, they seem like, such…incredible friends. I hear about you all the time.”

His smile is sly, but there’s a heartwarming expression in his eyes. “They talk about me, huh?” He nods and glances over behind her shoulder. “…They are the best friends I’ve ever had.”

Before she can respond, another voice materializes behind her. One she’s only heard once, months and months ago in real life, but countless times in her imagination. Gravelly yet liquid gold at the same time.

“Pete, holy crap, d’you get lost or what?”

Peter Quill smirks and lifts a hand in mild defense. “Just talkin’ to…” he glances at her name badge, “Brita here about stupid earth movies, man.”

Brita is frozen in place. She desperately begs her brain to send any kind of signal to her body, to make it move, but it’s complete radio silence up there.

The presence behind her moves past, then stands next to Peter Quill. That tail swishes casually and those ears flick, just like in her dreams.

Peter is saying something. She tries to tune in. “Brita, this is my buddy Rocket.”

The furry face tilts his chin up in a nod. The auburn eyes flit up and down her body, studying her.

“How ya doin’?” Says Rocket Raccoon, who is standing directly in front of her on purpose for the first time ever.

Brita can feel how huge her eyes are, the skin above her cheeks and under her eyebrows feels strained. She probably looks ridiculous. Why can’t she say anything? She glances at Coworker for a lifeline. A clue of what she should even do right now.

Krylorian Coworker’s eyes widen, and for the first time since Brita can remember, she looks genuinely interested in what’s happening in front of her. Coworker has been told possibly way too much about the hearty interest in this particular guardian of the galaxy. The subject of all of the daydreams Brita keeps getting caught in. The one that brought her here, to Knowhere, even though he definitely had no idea that was the case.

Brita can feel her mouth opening and closing, and she just knows she looks like a stupid fish. She smashes her mouth shut and conjures up a smile that is probably a little too big. She forces a word out of her mouth.

“Hi!”

[yeonboy]

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥 ♡ choi yeonjun // 03.

↦ break a leg (but not yours);

After facing disappointment with love for years upon years, you have chosen to replace romance with dance in your life, dedicating your entire time to this dance academy you’re employed at. It’s not that you hate men now, you just don’t expect to fall for them anymore because all they do is break your heart. And then Choi Yeonjun enters your life as a new recruit at the academy – sweet, adorable, soft spoken, kind and younger than you. He is everything you have never found attractive in a guy before. But somehow, you’re helplessly spiraling for him.

— prev | masterlist | next

❧ warnings! 1k words | profanity, mentions of bullying, oreos slander, violence threats as a joke (mostly...), mention of 2020 being a sucky year, mentions of financial instability.

You'll be the first to admit, you feel a little silly walking through the doors to the dance academy with a bright red bouquet of roses and chocolates in your hands. With each passing minute, it's beginning to look more like a valentine's gift than a welcome hamper to you. 

You just hope your new assistant likes KitKats.

Quickly, you make your way to the first floor of the building that houses a small room where Jimin has set up his "office." No one knows why he needs it, but the man's adamant about maintaining the space and has even started talking about hiring a manager for it, lately, so you all let him be.

As you near the room, you can already hear muted sounds of laughter emerging from the place, accompanied by high pitched giggles that obviously belong to Jimin.

“...and if he gets super famous in the future, you can always go back to working as his backup dancer again, right?”

The voice is one you have never heard before, so you can only guess that it must belong to Yeji, the new hire under Jimin’s team.

Sakura laughs in response and you see her shoulders jumping from behind when you reach the room. “If Jimin lets me off, sure! But I don’t think he will.”

“Absolutely not. You’re my gem!”

Your eyes meet Jimin’s squinted ones over Sakura’s shoulder, and he waves at you with another giggle.

“And here comes my other gem!”

The seven people gathered in the room turn to you, with Sakura and Somi parting to make way for you to stand between them, while Taehyun and Beomgyu wave at you from their seats on the other side of the room. You nod at them all, quickly focusing on the two new excited faces seated at Jimin’s table.

And, damn, your breath sure catches for a moment. What’s up with Jimin somehow always managing to find the most beautiful people on the planet to hire? Both the girl and the guy look like they could be on magazine covers. They’re dressed pretty casually – with the guy wearing track pants and a hoodie and the girl some washed jeans and a tank top, but they still manage to carry themselves like runway models, sheesh.

When your eyes meet theirs, they are immediately jumping up and bowing to you in respect, and you do the same. The girl, you notice, has a bouquet of tulips in her hands while the guy’s hands are empty.

Jimin tells them your name and they say theirs back. 

“Uh, should we address you as Leader Y/N?” Yeji asks with a small grin, and Taehyun snorts in response.

You shoot him a quick glare and nod at the girl. “You can address me with whatever feels comfortable for you.”

“Yeah, but don’t go around screaming her name, she’s older than you both,” Jimin announces with a smirk, making your eyes widen in horror.

Keeho, Taehyun and Beomgyu had been very adamant with titling you “noona-nim” and being extraordinarily formal around you during your initial interactions. And – look. It’s not that you’re weirded out by it…okay, maybe you’re a little weirded out? You basically just don’t appreciate how them being all formal with you due to your age creates an obvious divide between you and others when you’re all supposed to be dancers that work together.

It took you a week to get Keeho to stop doing it and literal months to get Taehyun and Beomgyu to greet you without bowing ninety degrees every time. So, now—

“You guys can absolutely do that, please don’t listen to Jimin,” you are quick to announce. “He just loves to torment me. We’re all equals here, let’s save time and not to be too formal, okay?”

The two smile a little at that but you can see their shifty eyes which are a clear indication of their unwillingness to drop the formalities. You turn to Yeonjun then, and forward the package in your  hands towards him.

“Welcome to the hip-hop team, Yeonjun!”

His mouth parts and eyes light up when they fall upon the bright red box. “This is… for me?”

You laugh. “Of course! A small gift to make you feel welcomed.”

He graciously accepts it with a bow, still looking awestruck. “Thank you, Leader Y/N.”

Okay, that title doesn’t exactly feel very comfortable to you either, but if it is what these guys wanna address you with, you’re gonna allow it.

“So, how about we show these guys the different classrooms and our choreography room?” Jimin announces with a clap, and you all follow through.

You guide Yeonjun down the stairs and to the choreography room first. 

“So, you’re from SNU?” you ask him with a smile and he nods with wide eyes.

“Uh, yeah. Dance major. I was one of the cursed ones that graduated in 2020, but… I had a dance crew that I worked with for four years so my credits were good enough.”

“I’ve heard a little about it. Somi was part of it too, right?”

He smiles. “Yeah. Somi was my second in command.”

“Ah, and you were the leader?” You smirk at him, surprised to see the way his cheeks turn pink as he nods. “What did you do after college?”

“I used to tutor some middle schoolers in my locality,” he easily tells you, sliding his hands into the pockets of his track pants. “But that didn’t pay much so I took up some extra jobs…food delivery, a weekly night shift at a convenience store… that kinda stuff.”

Oh, you understand him so well. It is hard for dancers to keep a steady job that pays well and their passions alive at the same time. This is one of the reasons why you have a massive amount of respect for Jimin’s hard work with this academy.

“Well. That’s all gonna change now.” Flashing Yeonjun a huge smile, you gesture to the huge hall you have entered. “This is the biggest hall at the academy. We don’t have any classes here, just use it to create and film our cover videos.”

He looks around with actual stars in his eyes, rushing into the massive dance hall to inspect the mirrors on two of its walls, and then the smaller break room connected to it.

“This is…so cool…”

You grin at his star-struck expressions when he looks at you again. “Welcome to the family, Choi Yeonjun.”

— prev | masterlist | next

❧ notes! i intended for the written part to be around 500 words but got a lil carried away, i'm so sorry guys ✋😔 anyways! now that they have officially met, things will be officially picking up yayyyy! ❤

taglist: @bailies-me @samisubi @forever-in-the-sky2 @captivq @jiawji @hyuneyeon

© yeonboy 2023 // do not steal, copy or repost. respect your local content creators, kaythanks.

[evilminji]

You know what would be both hilarious and likely? Since he's NOT trying to do this? His friends and frienemies would be chasing after him like panicked chickens. AND the various Corps probably have at least a few telepaths who would hear the "No! No, no, no, no no no No NO NO-" Frantic screaming going on in his head. Along with the very loud:

"HOW DO I MAKE THIS STOP?! MAKE IT STOP!!!"

And? Not ALL the Red Lanterns are out of control. Just ANGRY. And it IS a lantern ring!

So now? The various Corps have bacisly a God Baby. Sitting on the excelleration pedal of a suped up sports car. In down town. Le F*CK. Evacuations are in order! Herd him away from planets! Ow! *expletives* *gets punched through meteorite belts*

So just? This Super Wrath Baby Lantern shouting "RAAAAAAAH D:< " And foaming at the mouth while he's being corralled by like? ALL the spare Lanterns they can find in a MASSIVE ring just out of his reach. Diving in and pulling back to keep themselves from getting hit. Harrasing him along away from populated areas and KEEPING him there while they figure out what HAPPENED.

Getting the Red Lantern Corp to come get their f*ckin kid. Trainers working together to shout tips to the poor... what race is he? Hu-nan? HuMAN! Got it, the poor human... gonna saaaay? Adolescent? Looks adolescent. Sheesh. Talk about terrible luck. He doesn't even SOUND that Wrathful apparently!

Like, no joke! The telepaths are genuinely really upset. Apparently the kid is more of a green or blue if even that? They say he sounds and feels strong but not the "Distinctly Emotional Spectrum, Summon A Ring" type? How the *expletive* THIS happened is anyone's guess. And likely all different shades of illegal.

Just? Danny sitting in the center of a HUGE orb of Lanterns in space. Involuntarily trying to kill them. Being distracted and re-distracted. Not fighting THAT because he know it helps keep the Lanterns safe. Let's them dodge his sloppy, feral attacks. Weeks spent trying to get the Ring under control.

Finally mastering it enough to just... just HOLD STILL. Too let hundreds if not thousands of Lanterns hold him in place with immovable light. Cujo leading Dex-Starr in to Save Danny(tm).

To bite his wrist with gentle teeth and hold it STILL. As Dex-Starr prys that Wrath Ring from a hand it should not be on. Finally free to return too the Red Lantern Core. From wence it was STOLEN by Dark. Then it's just the Ghost King. With a ring that looks like a Black and White Lantern ring smashed together. Maybe it even IS.

Does Death's Monarch even NEED a Ring to Rule with? Beyond their Crown? Perhaps it's just stylistic now. Because a ring is Expected. So the Crown makes one. Perhaps it's only power now, is it can't be lost. It's rather shiny. Might as well keep it.

But... say... dispite the RAGING headache (many groans are heard once this translates) since he's here... and he HAS all of your attention. Might as well roll with it. What's the Corps stances on interdimension invasions? And solitary nations of singular planets instigation of an interdimension, genocidal, war on behalf of galaxies they were not elected to represent? Asking for a me. Ya'll should visit Earth.

Who wants to learn about the afterlife! And why Earth, America specifically, is trying to literally Murder your dead. ("WHAT!?" Says local Earthling Lanterns. Good to know they weren't told at least. Danny would hate to hate them. Space Heros are Cool after all.)

@stealingyourbones

Short DPXDC Prompts #801

You ever wanted to go buck wild? Just go apeshit? Just go fucking insane? Yeah well Danny doesn’t Dude puts on the Ring of Rage and it takes over his mind. Danny becomes the most powerful Red Power Ring wielder in all of history and it’s up to the Green Lanterns to help take him down (little do they know that everything Danny does is against his bidding.)

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 318: On Your Left

Previously on BnHA: The Hawksquad+Lurkers were all “well this sucks” and sat around a bit talking about how maybe they should actually come up with a new plan that is actually good, but then in the end they were like “nah.” Deku was all, “THERE’S SOMETHING INSIDE ME THAT PULLS BENEATH THE SURFACE!! CONSUMING, CONFUSING!! THIS LACK OF SELF CONTROL I FEAR IS NEVERENDING. IT’S HAUNTING HOW I CANT SEEM TO FIND MYSELF AGAIN. MY WALLS ARE CLOSING IN.” Just, literally that whole entire song. All Might was all “Deku you should take care of yourself, try eating a thing,” and Deku was all “BYE, ALL MIGHT,” and just LEFT. He left!!! What the fuck!!!

Today on BnHA: Endeavor is all, “maybe if Deku didn’t listen to All Might he’ll listen to me instead.” Deku is all, “[doesn’t listen to Endeavor]” because, well, yeah. The Vestiges are all, “surprisingly, even we are a little concerned -- maybe you should get some rest, kid.” Deku is all, “((Ò ‸ Ó)).” The Vestiges are all, “holy shit.” Deku is all, “[wanders the ruined city streets terrifying the populace on account of him looking like Shelob had a baby with one of the Nazgul].” Some shriveled-up puppeteer villain asshole is all, “HORIKOSHI SAID IT’S MY TURN TO ATTACK DEKU TODAY SO I AM GOING TO SUMMON MY FRIGHTENED HELPLESS ATTACK MOB!!” Kacchan is all “WHADDYA MEAN THEY FOUND THE NERD!!! -- oh wait, that’s me, I found him. I found the nerd, you guys.” And just in time, too. I was about to owe a whole lot of people a whole lot of dollars.

so I have been super good about spoilers this week as always, but let me tell you guys, for the past 36 hours my dash filters have basically been nonstop “manga spoilers” this and “bnha 318” that, and so I’m coming in with a fair amount of hype here. your move, Horikoshi

oh, good! they got Endeavor to call Deku to try to talk him out of it. what a great and wonderful plan

“listen up kid, you haven’t slept since March and you are basically a walking biohazard right now, I’m just telling it like it is. didn’t you get shot like three times?? and there was a whole thing about how you urgently needed medical attention?? and supposedly we gave it to you, but I mean you haven’t even changed your clothes and don’t seem to have any fresh bandages or anything, so did we?? did we, really?? and also we all got blown up yesterday, so yeah.” hmm he’s making some reasonable points here you guys, but you sure do go on and on, Endeavor

oh he says foreign aid is finally on its way! I’m sure they’ll be very helpful. I mean in fairness they can hardly be worse than the home-grown heroes at this point

hey Enji, could you maybe try appealing to Deku the sixteen-year-old human boy, as opposed to Deku The World’s Last Hope? he does have value beyond his quirk. I know that’s always been an incredibly difficult concept for you to grasp, but could you maybe TRY, jesus

and also we’re worried about you as a person?? you’re just a kid and you’re pushing yourself way too hard?? you were going to say that part next, right. why the hell didn’t Hawks make this call instead

“don’t worry about me... I’m completely fine” Deku you do understand that saying it over and over again doesn’t actually make it true

and again with the rush!! all the rush rush rush!! we’re running out of time, we can’t let AFO and Tomura keep getting stronger, I have to end this now, there’s no time to rest, etc. etc. etc. just the constant pressure of this whole big countdown on top of everything else

holy shit, you KNOW it’s bad when even the Vestiges are telling him to chill

these guys are basically the walking talking embodiments of self-sacrifice; if even they’re telling him he needs to take five, then he must seriously be like half a step away from death’s door

OH SHIT LMAO

DIDN’T EVEN LET HIM FINISH HIS SENTENCE BEFORE HE SENT HIM INTO THE FUCKING SHADOW REALM WITH THAT FUCKING LOOK. HOLY FUCK. DIDN’T EVEN KNOW IT WAS POSSIBLE TO DIE TWICE. SHIT

(ETA: so I’m pretty sure this was just Danger Sense activating and so he cut them off to go do more hero stuff, but I’m gonna go ahead and stick to my original interpretation anyway lol.)

anyway so how’s everybody doing. we all good? En, you good? Banjou? Shino? I’m imagining you guys all curled up in a little ball on the floor right now lol. can’t say I blame you though, no shame

lmaoooooooooooo

“SHEESH.” sheesh indeed, lmao. “what in the FUCK was that”

see, this is why y’all need Kacchan. you need someone who’s not going to back down from him no matter what. if it’s a matter of out-stubborning Midoriya fucking Izuku, then there’s only one other person on the planet capable of that, and we all know it. don’t pretend like you don’t. I am not going to shut up about this! we’ve had our hurt so now what about SOME COMFORT, DAMMIT

“I’m afraid that he’s becoming influenced by my conscience” nah are you kidding Nana this is all 100% made-in-Japan pure original Deku right here

see, Banjou gets it. “that kid, he’s totally going on his own.” exactly. this was so inevitable it was basically scientific law

“well I for one don’t see the problem with Deku being so obsessed with saving everyone else that he pushes himself until his body and soul literally fall apart” okay, whose speech bubbles are these?? we’re about to have words

lol of course

well you always did prefer the direct route didn’t you. but even you can’t possibly think this is okay lol

dark AU!Kacchan please tell us more about your badass doomed timeline in which everything went to shit and you apparently had the same character arc that Deku is having right now except it somehow made you sexier instead of turning you into a rabid t-rex. I have so many questions

oh so now you want to help??? well -- good, actually. sorry if that sounded offended just now lol

(ETA: so at first when I got to the end of this chapter I was wondering if Katsuki B. had somehow summoned his alternate-universe counterpart through trippy OFA space telepathy lol. but in the original Japanese there’s no reference to “we”, so this appears to be a mistranslation. this line should probably read more like “if there’s something/someone out there that would be able to complement/complete the current Midoriya Izuku [it would be]…” which, oh hello, is that Horikoshi once again reaffirming that Deku and Bakugou complete each other lol. “guess what guys, the Vestiges ship it too" heck yeah. they know what’s up!)

look how admiring his boyfriends are. HORIKOSHI GIVE US THE REST OF THIS BACKSTORY ALREADY GODDAMMIT

“meanwhile somewhere in the depths of the ruined city, Deku was having a dance-off with the villains”

I like how the villains all have this “AHH WHAT THE FUCK” kind of body language to them lol. I mean if it were me, and an eldritch horror suddenly clawed its way from the shadows with its writhing glowy tentacles and pants-shitting nuclear death stare, I would probably just die on the spot. no need to stick around. only pain awaits

lol for a minute I thought this was Can’t Ya See-kun and I was like “WHAT A FASCINATING CROSSING OF PATHS” but it’s just some random girl

he seems genuinely confused lol

Deku it’s because you look like something that crawled out of a sewer drain, sweetheart

lol they just took his word for it?

so trusting. even though they’re immediately hauling ass anyway just to be safe lmao

“my appearance is frightening to others” no shit Deku it’s because you look like a fucking alien exorcism. you look like a Lich that got caught up in an oil spill my dude

NO NOT THE CHOSEN ONE ANGST AGAIN

I RAN OUT OF ESSAY JUICE FOR THIS ALREADY HORIKOSHI!! I’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT FOR MONTHS NOW WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG!! BUT ANYWAYS, GOOD!! I MEAN, BAD, THOUGH, OBVIOUSLY. BUT YES

“ENJOY THIS MONTAGE OF DEKU BATTLING A RANDOM KAIJU AND WANDERING THE WOODS LIKE A DERANGED GREEN BABA YAGA” okay yes but sir, exactly how much longer is this going to go on. if it’s a matter of you wanting to make sure we get it, let me assure you that aside from a few stray chuunis who think that Deku embracing the Darkness is the coolest thing he’s ever done, all of us here in fandom fully comprehend that this is Not Good

-- OH SO IT’S LIKE THAT

really. with the flashbacks to his loved ones’ smiling faces and everything. not even gonna try to aim above the belt, huh

AND NO KACCHAN??! NO CLASSMATES?!?! IS HE PURPOSELY NOT THINKING OF THEM??? OR ARE THEY BEING SAVED FOR THE NEXT PAGE??? SO HELP ME, IF THE NEXT PART OF THIS SENTENCE IS “CAN PROTECT THEM”, OR EVEN WORSE, “CAN SEE THEIR SMILING FACES AGAIN”, I...

WHAT DID I JUST SAY

(ETA: my man did Sero and Kaminari fucking dirty lmao. I miss their smiling faces too omg.)

the sheer, unparalleled irony of him saying this while he stands there looking like the gargoyle demon from Fantasia got crossed with an umbrella that got struck by lightning. Deku :(

oi who the fuck is this clown

is he controlling this mob with his evil hair. “what if I made an exhausted, running-on-fumes Deku battle a brainwashed mob at Ground Zero.” Horikoshi do you just have like a checklist of horrible things you want to do to your protagonist

easy there Sasori

well joke’s on you buddy because he’s apparently “completely fine”, so

“here’s to hoping that you know more about AFO’s location than the others” jesus christ Deku you really have hung your mercy out to dry huh

now he’s forcing his mob of terrified prisoners to attack Deku ahhhh. sucks to be them. at least they’re not being controlled by bees

so Deku is saying that Sasori’s control can be broken with “physical trauma.” similar to Shinsou’s quirk I guess. but so does that mean he’s gonna have to hurt them? ( •﹏•)

NO NOT MORE SAD EYES

“DEATH BY EMPATHY!!!” HORIKOSHI NO

fuck. he looks like he’s on the verge of passing out

this is what happens when you nerf a character’s self-preservation stats in favor of spamming their bone-breaking stats instead. NOW ACCEPTING BRAIN CELL DONATIONS FOR A BOY IN NEED!! with your loving generosity we can hopefully help him live to the ripe old age of seventeen

OMGFGGG

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[grabs your hands] ლ(*꒪ヮ꒪*)ლ [swings you in a circle] へ(ﾟ◇ﾟへ)

THASSSSSSSS WHATSSSSSSS UPPPPPPPPPP

HORIKOSHI REALLY SAID FUCK THAT MASK (ノ°ο°)ノ YOU FINALLY LEARNED!! IT’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!!

JUST FOR YOU KACCHAN, HORIKOSHI LEFT THIS ONE BAD GUY WHO’S STILL WEAK TO FIRE. GOD BLESS

IT’S YOUR COUNTERPART, KATSUKI B!!!! HOW WE DOIN OVER THERE IN THE TRIPPY COSMIC OFA SPACE REALM LOL. DO WE BELIEVE YET, FANDOM???

LIGHTS!!!!

INSTANT RESULTS!!! IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE!!!

(ETA: imagine what this must look like to Deku though. he’s been caught up in this dark cloud of despair and exhaustion that’s been building up over... I’m gonna go ahead and say “weeks”, because yeah. and now he finds himself here, in the place where All Might’s legacy ended and the torch was passed to him. and the world is in ruins, and he’s surrounded by frightened people who are all trying to hurt him -- because who isn’t trying to hurt him, these days -- and he’s scrambling to figure this all out, but meanwhile the weariness is finally starting to catch up to him, and so he’s basically just standing there in a fog of complete and utter misery.

and then all of a sudden through that haze, he hears the one voice that’s more familiar than any other that he knows. like, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he thought he was just imagining it at first. Kacchan showing up to save him right when he’s at his most desperate and feeling the most alone. Kacchan, showing up to save him.

this is the person he always looked up to as a child (to be fair he was quite a strange child lmao). the person who was even closer to him than All Might. the person he always thought was amazing. and bam, here he is now. appearing in the sky out of nowhere to one-shot the bad guy with a single blast (which, btw, that was his armor-piercing attack too lmao dslkjlk take it easy there kiddo). like, that must have felt absolutely surreal to him, especially coming at a time when he’s already half-delirious and barely hanging on to reality. he must have really thought that he was losing it there for a second.

but he’s really there. it really is him. and for this brief moment -- before the rest of the situation catches up to him, and he remembers about all of the fucked-up AFO stuff, and remembers why he was so afraid and why he was pushing everyone away -- for just this one brief moment, he’s too exhausted and stunned to do anything except to just react. just stands there, looking up at him in awe.

and you know, it almost reminds me of...

just. you guys. the character development. the freaking character development. someone who brings reassurance. someone who shows up and makes you think, “oh, it’s all going to be okay now, because [person] is here.” the role reversals. the growth. the payoff!! because who is the one person who always had faith that Kacchan would one day grow up to become an amazing hero like that. WHO IS IT. YOU ALREADY KNOW.

omg. anyways, bless you Horikoshi, my feels which have been on backorder since fucking September have finally arrived lmao. yes, good, thank you. worth the wait. it is always, always worth the wait. fuck yeah.)

“LOWFRIES” SO YOU’RE TELLING ME THE WHOLE GANG IS HERE, AHHHHHHHH (º̩̩́⌣º̩̩̀ )

BEAUTIFUL. WONDERFUL. SENSATIONAL. I DON’T EVEN CARE THAT JUMP IS ON BREAK NEXT WEEK. THIS RIGHT HERE WILL SUSTAIN ME

[eazyaustin3]

DBZ: Return of the Saiyans (Fanfic) | Chapter 11: Shugesh vs Recoome

The fight continues with the saiyans vs the Frieza Force. Neither side is backing down. Shugesh is locking horns with Recoome, one of the stronger members of the Ginyu Force.

*Shugesh kneels after taking a hit from Recoome. He's confused as to why he is posing a lot*

Shugesh: Would you mind telling me what the hell these poses are supposed to be doing? Because I don't really have to fight you, ya know.

Recoome: Recoome does not back down from any challenge! Hear it again! The name is Recoome! It rhymes with doom! And you're gonna be hurtin! All! Too! Sooooon!

Shugesh: You mean like this?

*Shugesh blasts Recoome's leg and trips him up. He looks up as he falls realizing Shugesh is about to punt kick him in the head. Recoome dodges the blasts*

Recoome: The saiyan race is vastly inferior to the Ginyu Force! We are the strongest team in all of the galaxy! We have watched from the far reaches of space to see your planet blow up into a million pieces! And it came back within just a few days! But let Recoome tell ya something, saiyan! What you don't realize is the power of the great Ginyu Force! And now, feast your eyes on the sheer, raw power of the mighty Recoome! He shall make your face go boom! And it will be a bruisin' and a chewin' all! Night! Longgg!

Shugesh: Sheesh… What are you even talking about anymore? I don't know whether to shit or wind my watch!

Fasha: You both talk too much!

Shugesh: Can it, Fasha!

Recoome: Come now and meet your demise, saiyan! For you have reached the final goodbye of all your friends, all your family, and all of the planet who ceased to exist just a few days ago!

Shugesh: Just shut up and fight already! You're makin me sick to my stomach just listening to you rant on and on and on! Knock it the hell off!

Recoome: *gets flustered* Recoome does not like to be interrupted!

Shugesh: Did I also mention your hair looks like a dead rat on top of your head?

Recoome: *turns beet red* Recoome says take that back!

*Recoome goes for an axehandle on Shugesh's back and knocks him down. He immediately gets back up, turns around to gut punch Recoome. Nothing happens. Recoome slaps Shugesh in the face so hard it knocks him down to the floor once more*

Recoome: You will regret you said anything about Recoome's hair!

Shugesh: *gets up slowly* Uugh… listen… my guy… do you realize how much you're sounding like a big baby right now? But then again, you're a part of the Ginyu Force for cryin out loud.

Fasha: Looks like you two have a lot in common huh Shugesh?

Shugesh: Where do you keep coming from?? Shouldn't you be focused on your fight?

Fasha: Eh, I am. It's just that I can't help but look at how embarrassing the two of you are. You're really the weakest fight in the entire room right now.

Recoome: Did you just call Recoome weak? That tears it! You can call Recoome ugly, make fun of Recoome's hair, beat him down as many times as you can until Recoome can't stand no more! But one thing you saiyans will not do, is call Recoome weak! You want weak? Recoome will show you weak!

*In an instant, Shugesh jumps out of the way of Recoomes attacks. Shugesh rushes him and jumps up really high to drop a huge flaming elbow on top of Recoome, which lands perfectly. Recoome falls to the floor dazed and confused. He ties him up and throws him to the wall where he sees stars*

Shugesh: Well that'll hold ya until your court martial.

[blackypanther9]

Part 29 - Laufey

Your POV...

In the next memory I was again in Jotunheim. Nobody attacked me, instead they smiled at me and greeted me. I was in front of the throne and knelt down.

"Destiny. It is wonderful to see you again."

"I am glad I see you again Laufey. I heard you are King since 2 years. Is it true ?", I asked.

"Yes it is, old friend. I even have a wife."

"My congratulations. Long live King Laufey.", I said happily.

"Stand up you goat. You don't need to bow to me.", he said playfully.

I laughed and got up.

"Is everything alright so far ?", I asked.

"Of course."

"Made a baby with your wife already ?", I asked, moving my eyebrows up and down.

He rolled his eyes playfully. He smiled at me.

"No. Not yet. But we plan on it. We plan to have a kid in 10 years.", he said.

"Sheesh...That's long... Are you both sure you can keep your bodies away from each other that long ? I heard it is almost impossible."

He laughed.

"We will survive it. Right now I still need to get used to this here. And my wife also. We almost forget everyday that we are now King and Queen. One day it was so funny, you would have died of laughter."

"Why ? What happened Laufey ?"

"I went out of my room and went to the throne. I didn't saw my father, so I turned around and went back. Then someone knocked at my door and I opened it. A guard told me I need to start the day now. And he called me King. I was confused at first and just 5 minutes later it clicked. I was King. I totally forgot."

I laughed like an idiot.

"You screwed up KING Laufey !", I mocked him.

"Oh ! C'mon ! Don't be so mean now to me. You hurt my feelings.", he said with fake sadness in his voice.

We both laughed.

Next memory...

(Little do you know - Alex & Sierra) (It shows to me that it can be played.... I don’t know... It also works but I better put it here. I know it shows that picture that it is not available, but it works.)

We saw Asgard. I was standing in the throne room with Odin. He paced around.

"Why did you wish for my presence my King ?", I asked.

"I had a vision. It worries me.", he answered.

"A vision ? What happened in it ?"

"In Jotunheim, Laufey planned to attack Midgard."

I froze.

"My King... Why would he do that ? Are you sure it was a vision ?"

"Yes, Destiny, I am sure. I want to be prepared for it. Warn the others.", he told.

He dismissed me. I did as I got told. And ran to Heimdall. He brought me to Jotunheim. I went to Laufey. We greeted each other.

"Laufey I have to talk with you in private.", I said serious.

He nodded and dismissed the guards.

"What is it ? 10 years and 8 almost 9 months are over, the last time we saw. What is the problem ?", he asked worried.

"Please tell me you aren't planning on attacking a realm. Be honest with me.", I said.

He stared at me and opened his mouth, but closed it again and sighed. He looked at the ground.

"I...I would lie if I would say that I am not planning it... But before you yell at me and all that...please let me explain why I do it.", he begged.

I sighed and nodded. He sighed also.

"You see... Almost 60% are full of beasts and monsters, we can't kill. We tried so many times, but it's always not working. Instead we lose our best hunters. Our planet is growing smaller and smaller. Our food isn't enough anymore, for all of us. Some of our people don't have much space in their house anymore or need to starve. The beasts and monsters are coming near almost every year. We can't escape them and we can't fight them. I have no other choice as to take another planet for my people.", he said.

I stared at him.

"Why don't you ask for help ?", I asked.

"So they can laugh at me and my people ? No thank you."

"Laufey. I am worried about you. You're my friend and I don't want to fight you. You would start a war with this action. Ask for help, please. I can help you too."

"Destiny...these things...you can't kill them. We tried everything. I don't want to risk your life and nobody would help us anyway. I mean...look...I tell them the problem and would ask for help. They would say no. And do you know why ? Because nobody risks their life for another race. We are on our own."

"But I am here and I can change Odin’s mind ! I know I can ! Why do you always think so little of me ?! Almost everyone does that ! Do I really look that weak and stupid to you all ?!"

"No, Destiny but-"

"Then fucking TRUST me ! At least once ! I am sick of this 'fighting until I can show everyone I can do that' !"

"Destiny I soon have a son !", he yelled.

I stared at him in shock.

"What ?"

"In 3 weeks I have a baby. And I am scared that he will die young. Destiny...I know you can change Odin’s mind, but it will take time and my son doesn't have that with my wife anymore. Most of us are starving for our kids and pregnant women. My wife is still weak and the baby doesn't grow probably. He will be too small as a Frost Giant. Do you understand ? Until you did it, it will be too late for my son. After his birth, he has 5 months of getting milk and then he needs to get teeth. It all will not work, because he is too small, he is growing too slow. So let us say he needs milk 1 year or so and then he needs to eat as much of our food as he can. This would be his only chance to grow up like us. Until he is 5 or 6 years old he needs to do that, or else he will be growing up as a very small Frost Giant. We all don't mind that, but that also means he is dying much earlier as he actually should. I am also scared that my wife is maybe not able to give him milk for that long. And even if she could, we have a problem with the food. He would starve to death. I can't let that happen. Do you understand now ?"

He was crying. He was really crying. I came closer to him and hugged him softly. He returned the hug, but he pulled me onto his lap and hugged me tight. He cried into my shoulder. I petted his back.

"I understand Laufey. But you need to find another way. If you start a war, you may lose the chance to meet your son. You could lose your life or that of your wife and son. Please Laufey...think about another way out... I won't tell Odin for now, but just because you are my friend, who is scared and because you have a family. Don't do anything you will regret later."

He pulled away and tried to smile.

"I don't know what you’re talking about. We are Frost Giants, we don't have feelings."

"Laufey...", I warned him, "You all have feelings. You live and die. Every living being has a heart and feelings. You just can hide them and that always looks like you don't have feelings. It is a facade. And one day, it will drop. Trust me, I know what I am talking about."

He frowned and new tears came. He put his face back in my shoulder and cried.

"Shh. I am here, Laufey. Maybe...maybe I can help somehow... I will see, what I can do to keep your son safe, okay ? Is that a deal ?"

He nodded softly, but still cried.

"I am so scared...you were right...you were always right. I should have had a baby much sooner...Now it is too late...", he said.

I hugged him harder.

"Don't be scared. I will find a way to help you safe your son. I promise, Laufey. You hear ? I swear on my life."

He cried more but nodded.

The pictures changed again....

Part 30

Masterlist with all Chapters of this Story click here !

[captainillogical]

Distant Lands Ch.7

Stranded on a planet with toxic conditions and nothing but the clothes on your back, your only means of survival lies within the gem that got you here in the first place.

Spinel/Reader

collab with my lovely wife @firstofficertightpants​

“Uhhh..” You hear yourself echo out into what feels like empty space. “Is there a lightsource nearby?” 

“There should be, hold on.” You turn to Spinel, to see her gemstone glowing slightly on her chest. Huh. “Give me a second, and I should be able to find the control nearby.”

You watch the glow of her gem move off to the side, and you take a couple steps forward to get your bearings. It smells.. dusty in here. You can’t feel anything around you, so you assume you’re in an open space. Nearly a minute passes in the dark, and you hear Spinel shuffling around a good twenty feet away from you.

“You find anything yet?” Your words continue to bounce off the walls. There must be a high ceiling, too.

“Could ‘ya be a little patient? I don’t see you helping.” You hear her reply.

“I can’t see in the dark, what do you expect me to do? It’s not like I have a gem to light the way for me.” You scoff, taking a few more steps forward.

“I think I found it.” You hear another small click, and all of a sudden the room lights up around you.

You’re about two feet away from something, and when you look up, you realize it’s a statue a good thirty feet tall. The face is strikingly stern, with the chin jutting out in a fierce display of authority.

“Is that Yellow Diamond?” Spinel says off to the side.

“Yeah.” You stare at it a bit more. ���Funny. She looks the exact same now.”

“You’ve met Yellow Diamond?” She asks, perplexed. She’s walking back over to you now.

“Yeah, a couple times, all under very weird circumstances. At least she eventually stopped trying to kill Steven, though." You chuckle, looking at the room around you. 

The walls are long and high, and there’s a couple of really old Diamond murals along it. You see a staircase in the back, leading up to the second floor, and a couple of generic statues off to the side that looked like they were just placed there randomly. In the middle and along one side of the wall there is a bunch of outdated gem technology, with a giant screen taking up a large portion of it.

“She tried killing Steven?”

“Yup. Dunno why you sound surprised, you also tried killing him.” You reply, tired and sarcastic.

“That’s different! I had my.. reasons.”

“Your reasons are basically the same. It all ties back to Pink Diamond.”

“I..” She crosses her arms, and purposefully looks at the gem tech in front of her. “I doubt that.”

You stare at her for a moment. “Well, maybe if you told me why, I’d be able to tell you that you were wrong to your face, and we can finally settle this.”

“Settle what, exactly?” She uncrosses her arms, and wipes the console in front of her. There is so much dust caked onto the controls and screen that her glove comes back with a thick, dark layer of dust. She makes a disgusted face.

“Your problems. You clearly have issues with something that happened, and you’re letting them control nearly every aspect of you. I can tell.” You nearly cough at the slight dust cloud around you, and you have to bring your hand up to your face to wave it away.

“That’s none of your business.” She snaps back with, and presses several buttons in front of her. The console beeps, and the screen lights up in front of you two.

“It isn’t, no. But it’s not like you have anyone else to talk to.” You shrug, watching the screen boot up. You don’t really care anymore, not really. Not since she promised to not harm Steven. 

“You’re kind of a hypocrite.”

“Really?” You scoff. “What makes you say that?”

“You also have problems. I can rarely talk to you without you snapping at me.” She wipes more of the computer down, and attempts to shake the dust off her glove, to no avail.

You glare at her, unable to form your words for a moment.

“Listen, I-”

You’re cut off by the console chiming, and you hear a voice say “Welcome”. Both you and Spinel look at each other.

“You think communications are still up?” You ask, argument momentarily forgotten.

“They should be. Gems built tech to last for thousands of years.” You watch her navigate the menu, display language in something you cannot read. 

Several messages pop up on the screen, and Spinel huffs out her nose in frustration while exiting out of all of them.

"What's wrong?"

"It's giving me connection issues."

"Are you serious.." You want to scream. “Why does everything need to be difficult!? I just want to go home.”

"I'll get it fixed, sheesh. Give me a minute to figure out what it's talking about." She grits her teeth, tongue poking out slightly. You watch her offhandedly, as you really can’t do much else other than wait. 

She’s changed a little since you’ve met her. Not so much appearance wise, other than her pigtails looking a little more frayed, a bit looser. Like she’s let the wild of the jungle get to her. You’ve always found the markings on her face a bit strange, but you’ve grown used to them. The thing that bothers you the most honestly, is that her heart shaped gem (that you now can guess is heart shaped because she’s a friendship gem.. the irony) is upside down? It makes no sense. You won’t ask her why she looks the way she does, though. 

The last couple of days you’ve felt a bit different about her. You don’t really hate her anymore, not really. She’s kind of tolerable, sometimes.

Spinel makes a couple tutting noises which draw you out of your inner monologue. You watch her eyes flicker rapidly across the screen.

“So, good and bad news.” She finally says after several minutes.

“Bad news first.” You reply.

“Okay, all network signals are completely down and I can’t seem to get them back up.”

“And the good news?”

“I attached an SOS signal to a nearby satellite. It should be able to bounce off something from there and get to someone, but who knows at this point.”

Of course.

“That ain’t great but.. it’s something.” You shrug. You’re disappointed, but there isn’t really anything you can do to change this. She narrows her eyes at you.

“I was expecting you to be a lot more.. angry about this. Not gonna lie.”

“Well, it’s kind of on brand at this point for this planet to give me unpleasant news.” You roll your eyes at her. “I’m not fussy all the time.”

“Coulda fooled me.” She snaps back instantly, and you give her a pissy look. Whatever. You’re tired.

A bit done with the whole situation, you disengage yourself from the console while you walk around, looking at everything. It's dusty as fuck in here, clearly from disuse. Off to the side, you see a pile of something and instantly get excited.

"Ohhh fuck yes." You hear your voice echo across the room.

"What are you going on about over there?" Spinel pipes up from her position on the other side, but she doesn't move.

"I found a cloth tarp! A big one!" You shout back, picking up a corner of the fabric, feeling it on your fingers. It's a bit rough, but after sleeping on fucking leaves for the last two weeks, this feels like a luxury.

"..and why are you excited about that?" 

"Because this will make sleeping so much better, and it's the closest thing to a blanket, okay! Anything is better than leaves at this point."

"Humans are so weird." She replies with, staring at you for a brief moment before going back to looking at the screen. You find yourself not really caring.

"Anyway, I'm gonna shake this out and pass out soon. Today has exhausted me." You cough from all the dust you're kicking up. 

"Do what you want." She says, “I’m gonna see if I can somehow restore the corrupted data logs I found on here.”

You will do what you want, you think to yourself. She can do whatever.

You go to grab a bunch of the cloth tarps and move them into a giant pile in the corner of the room, after shaking each one out further away from your chosen spot. It takes you awhile, and when you’re done, Spinel is still at the console, eyebrows furrowed at the screen.

You lay down, and face the wall.

By the time you're half asleep she finally lays down next to you, and you hear her sigh to herself while adjusting the cloth over herself. Sleep comes to you easy.

-

You wake up several hours later due to Spinel getting up from her position beside you and walking away from your bed pile. In your half sleep state, you hear the doors to the Spire open and close. Did she just.. leave? You lay there very groggily for several minutes, wondering if you should go check on her to see what she’s doing. She’s never left in the middle of the night before like this. A few more minutes pass and before you can convince yourself to brave the cold outside, you hear the doors opening again with a swoosh, and the sound of footsteps walking back towards you.

Spinel lifts the drop cloth and gets back under it right next to you, and you try your best to not seem like you’re awake right now. You let your breathing even out, with no further sound or movement coming from Spinel behind you. 

Honestly, this is the most comfortable you’ve been since being on Earth, even if it is just laying on a pile of musty tarps. Minutes pass, and you’re starting to feel your eyes droop again with sleep. You feel your body relax, and then.. something touches the small of your back. It’s just enough of a touch to feel it, and it jostles you out of your sleep again. Is she asleep? You listen closely to hear her breathing, and you’re a 100% positive she’s awake. You move slightly, and she quickly pulls her hand away in response. ...okay. Why was she touching you?

You roll over immediately to see what’s up with her, and she’s staring at you with a strange expression.

“Why’d you leave?” You ask, voice rough with sleep. Her eyes flicker between yours, considering you for a moment before opening her mouth.

“..I had a nightmare.” She says, plainly. Her facial expression is kind of.. vulnerable. 

“Okay, but why’d you leave the Spire?” You’re too tired and not really in the mood to make fun of her for this, and besides, the air around you right now is.. different. It’s hard to describe.

“I needed to get some fresh air to clear my head.” She sighs, and wipes some loose pink hair away from her face.

“Nightmare was that bad?” 

“..yeah.” She replies reluctantly. 

“Wanna talk about it?” You pry, not really caring if she does or not. 

“Not really.” She says, kind of stubbornly.

Ugh, okay. That’s the most you’re going to extend out to her. You’re tired and not really feeling up to this anyway.

“Alright, suit yourself.” You roll back over, and rest your head on your arm for a makeshift pillow. For some reason your tarp pile feels a lot more lumpy now, and it’s making it really hard to find a decent comfortable spot. You adjust yourself multiple times before finally settling, and pulling your drop cloth back up to your chin. Man.. this thing decently keeps in body heat. You almost feel snug under here.

You feel yourself falling asleep again, when Spinel moves slightly behind you.

“...um.” She clears her throat.

“Yeah?” You reply curtly. Can she let you fucking sleep?

“It was about Pink Diamond.” You open your eyes again, and you can just feel how tired your facial muscles are. Of course she wants to share with the class now.

“Was it the same nightmare as last time?” You hear yourself asking.

“...yeah, actually.” 

“That uh. That sucks.” You reply, kind of awkwardly. You don’t really know how to deal with this kind of thing. “Having the same nightmare twice, I mean.”

“I’ve had this happen every night we’ve been here.” She says bluntly, and you roll back over to face her.

“Every night? You’ve had the same exact nightmare every night?”

“Yes.” She narrows her eyes at you. “Is that not normal?”

You stare at her for a bit. You’re almost concerned. You know, if you actually cared about her.

“No, that’s not.. er. What are they about? Are you like, trying to give a serious report to the other gems or something, and when you look down you realize you’re in your underwear? And Pink Diamond is there, laughing at you?”

“No.” She replies, giving you a tired look. “It’s always about her abandoning me in the garden.”

“Pfft, abandoning you? I mean that’s shitty, but I was expecting, I don’t know, something like murder? What kind of nightmare is that?” “A realistic one.” She says, and takes in a long breath of air.

“Realistic.” You stop, open your mouth, and stop again. “Could you explain?”

She looks down at her hands momentarily, contemplating something. When she looks back up to meet your gaze, you feel as if her expression changed a little.

“So. Long story short.. we were best friends, and then she left me.”

You stare at her, waiting for her to continue. Several seconds pass in silence.

“You gonna elaborate on that?”

“This is hard for me.” She presses her face further into the tarps, almost as if she’d prefer to sink into them. “It’s kind of a fresh wound, still.”

“Well, I have time.” You say, neutrally. This seemed to be the right thing to say, because it looks like she just visibly relaxed her hunched up shoulders.

“You know how I said I was a companion gem?” She asks you, and you nod at her. “Well, I was made specifically for Pink Diamond.”

“Why?” You question out loud.

“The other Diamonds deemed her lonely, and also wanted her out of their hair. So they gave her.. me. It was great, being with her. We had our own garden to play in, just the two of us. We’d have hours of fun there.”

“If it was so great, why’d she leave you then?” You say, not quite understanding what she’s getting at here.

“She wanted a colony so bad like the other Diamonds. Pink begged them for so long, and threw so many tantrums that eventually they gave in.”

“And then she just left? You didn’t go with her?” 

“Yeah, and no.”

“What did you do?” “I waited for her.” “You WAITED for her?”

“She told me to. You know, like we were playing a game. And I’m good at games, the best even, but..”

“But?”

“She never came back.”

You stare at her. You feel like something maybe just clicked. You know the rest of Pink Diamond’s story. And.. with Spinel here just telling you hers, and never having met her prior to two weeks ago..

“Spinel?” You meet her gaze, and she’s looking at you nervously. You feel wide awake now.

“Hm?”

“How long did you wait for Pink Diamond to come back?” She tears her gaze from yours immediately. This terrible feeling of nausea and dread bubble up in your stomach, making you nearly instantaneously feel like shit.

She mumbles something so quiet that you can’t make out anything she just said.

“Wanna repeat that?”

“Six thousand years, give or take a little.”

You feel your eyes widen in surprise, and nearly choke on your own saliva.

“You.. six thousand years.”

“Yep.”

“You questioned nothing?” “I thought about it, but if she came back and I wasn’t there..”

“What made you finally leave? Considering you must know by now that-”

“It was Steven’s broadcast. I figured it out after that.”

You both stare at each other for several long moments while you attempt to sort this information out in your head.

Wow. It all makes sense now. There’s a lot to unpack here. God, you.. You feel like shit. She must have warped directly to you guys as soon as she saw that message. She wasn’t exactly kidding when she was talking about a fresh wound.

Sure, it doesn’t excuse her trying to murder Steven, but now you just feel terrible that you’ve kinda been an asshole to her this entire time and she just.. yikes. She clearly needed someone to talk to. She doesn’t even seem like the same gem that used you for a human meat shield two weeks ago. How in the world did she not go insane from being isolated for so long? Er, aside from.. You know. When you first met. How has she gone from thousands of years of silence, thousands of years with no touch, or talking to anyone, all by herself.. to.. to this. Stuck on a shitty planet, and with you. It is her fault, but..

You don’t even know how to proceed from here. You seriously feel like you need to go outside to clear your head to just.. absorb all of this. 

“Why aren't you saying anything?" She interrupts your thoughts, sounding quietly concerned. 

"I'm a bit at a loss of words here. You're gonna have to give me a second." You inhale and exhale, gathering your thoughts. "So.. wow. Wasn't expecting that from Pink Diamond, but knowing so much about her? I'm honestly not surprised at all."

“Yeah I’ve.. had a lot of time to think about it.”

“No kidding.” You say, still in a bit of shock at this. “And look, she’s even plaguing your dreams subconsciously.” “Is there a way I can get them to stop?” She asks you, fumbling with the edge of the cloth between her fingers.

“I’m gonna be real with you here.” You sigh, pushing your hair a bit out of your face. “I only ever got my really bad nightmares to kind of go away by confronting the issue at hand.”

“Which was?”

“I needed to face everything I was scared and insecure about.” You say, and Spinel’s eyes meet yours.

“I.. uh. I don’t know how to do that.” She says, very quietly. The silence of the room envelops around you, and you watch her eyes flicker between yours. 

You feel like whatever you say next might cause your relationship with her to change a little, somehow.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

Her eyes open slightly wider, mouth hanging in surprise. “You want me to talk?” 

“Do you have any other choice to talk to anyone else here?” You have to stop yourself from rolling your eyes.

“No..”

“Anyway, I’m your only option, so.”

“I don’t even know what to say.” She says, fingers gripping around the fabric, clenching them tightly.

“Honestly,” You start, “I didn’t approach anyone with my shit. Steven actually forced me to sit down and talk to him about it, because he could tell I was miserable and losing sleep over it.”

“He sounds like a good person.” “He is. I don’t know what I’d do without him.” You pause, and she looks slightly guilty at what you just said. “But he made me realize I was putting too much on me, and blaming myself for everything when no one is perfect. So..” You take another breath. “What exactly are you feeling here, in these nightmares?”

“Anger. Hurt. And this intense hollow feeling in my chest.” She flicks her gaze away from you kind of.. nervously.

“Makes sense, all things considered. Is there something that you can’t stop thinking about, no matter how hard you try?” You watch her bite her lip in between her teeth, eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah.” She says, softly. “The indescribable feeling of standing there waiting for her, wondering how long it’s been since I last saw her, wondering if something really bad had happened. Then watching Steven’s broadcast about peace and prosperity, finally realizing she literally left me and made new friends, and doesn’t even exist anymore.”

Silence fills the room for several seconds. You feel your chest tightening; her sad, defeated tone striking a chord inside you.

“What an asshole.” You accidentally say out loud, and slap your hand over your mouth. “Sorry, I know that isn’t helpful.” Her face twitches in an almost smile, and that causes some kind of feeling to bubble inside you that you squash down to not analyze later.

“No, you’re right. I just wish I could say something to her.” She sighs.

“And what exactly would you say to her?” You ask, and she meets your eyes briefly before purposefully staring at her hands instead.

“I’d tell her that she’s a half-rate diamond who sucks at playing hide-and-seek.” She pauses for a second, like she’s mulling over something before saying it. “And then I’d ask her..” She trails off, mumbling slightly, and you can’t hear a word of it. She’s very purposefully not meeting your eyes now.

“Could you repeat that last part?”

“I.. I’d also maybe ask her if there was anything I had done to make her leave me there.” She says very quietly, and you barely manage to hear it.

You.. you stare at her. You can see a small amount of tears welling up in her eyes, and your heart breaks for her, just a little.

“Spinel.” You say, and she looks to you, lips trembling like she’s about to cry. “There was nothing you could have done to make her abandon you like that.”

“Look, I clearly deserved that,” She says, voice filled with raw emotion. A tear spills down her face, and she wipes it away quickly. “Because why else would she have done that?”

“No one deserves that. Period.” You state factly, and you want no room for argument about it. “And I don’t know, because prior to this.. no one had mentioned your existence at all. She didn’t tell anyone about you.”

“Hearing that out loud makes it hurt so much worse.” She laughs, and chokes back a quiet sob, wiping more tears away from her face. You feel like your stomach just dropped, and something grips your chest cavity tightly.

“I didn’t mean it like..”

“It’s fine. It’s all her fault, anyway. I’ll get over it eventually.”

“Spinel..” You trail off, unable to form the right words. You don’t really know how to make this any better. You feel awkward and miserable, and you’re rethinking every interaction you’ve had with Spinel up to now with the new information. 

She.. she basically clung onto you at first because she absolutely did not know how to deal with her own abandonment issues and isolation. You’re trying to not blame yourself for your own self preservation, but you feel extremely guilty that you didn’t try to understand her sooner. Because technically, you’ve been a complete dick to her for the last week unnecessarily. Even when she was nice to you.

“I’m sorry.”

She looks up at you, wiping another tear away. She looks miserable, and with her shoulders trembling like that, she seems so small. Small and unthreatening, unlike when you first met her.

“Why? What do you have to be sorry about?”

“I haven’t exactly been super nice to you, like, at all.” You answer bluntly.

“So? It’s not like I gave you a reason to like me. I trapped you here with me, I don’t deserve any kindness.”

“Yeah, well. I’m still sorry.” You shrug, watching her avoid your eyes again. “And.. I think everyone deserves a bit of kindness.” She makes a face like she’s about to protest, so you speak up before she tries anything. “Don’t argue with me about this.”

She opens and shuts her mouth, and continues to avoid your eyes.

“Okay.” She says, and the room fills with silence again. 

A minute or so passes while you lay there, the sound of your own breathing the only thing you can hear. Eventually her eyes trail over to yours, and you make eye contact. You both look at each other for several long moments, neither of you breaking the quiet. You can see her gem peeking out of the tarp she’s covered with, chest moving slightly with every intake of breath. Her eyes look.. so tired. 

“Um..” She shifts her body slightly under the tarp, pressing her face further onto the pile. “I think maybe I should sleep.” “It would be a decent idea, yeah.” You reply. Neither of you move.

“Y/N?” She asks.

“Hm?”

“Thanks.”

“For?” 

“Listening.” She blinks slowly, and you can visibly see her shoulders deflate.

“Don’t mention it.” You say, and give her a half smile.

You pull the cloth up to your face, the smell of dust hitting your nostrils. You don’t really mind. She does the same and you make eye contact with her again, feeling the air between you two change slightly. You don’t really know how to describe it, but.. it’s different.

You find yourself falling asleep facing her this time. 

It doesn’t bother you.

[spectraspecs-writes]

Leviathan - Chapter 103

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 102. Chapter 104.

@averruncusho @ceruleanrainblues @chubbsmomma @strangepostmiracle thank you for reading, you get a tag. @skelelexiunderlord thank you for support, you get a tag.

——–

It takes them about a half hour to take all my stuff. Mostly because I made it difficult for them. By the time they’ve got all my stuff off, they are furious. But like a patient kind of furious, you know? Because they think they’ve got some big surprise in store for me. They think I’ve just got a mouth and nothing to back it up. Like I’m all bark and no bite. They’re in for a big surprise when they find out this kath hound has fangs.

They don’t even bother to blindfold me or nothing as they walk me from the detention area, where everyone else is, and the cell block. At least I won’t need a map to know where I’m going. I just have to know all these turns, get some landmarks in my head.

There’s a cell open, just for me. The Sith trooper gets close to me to push me in. If I can get him to get that close one more time, I can get his passcard out of his pocket. “Come on, girlie,” he says, tired of me, “Into the cell. Let's go, I haven't got all day to waste on you. I need to get back to my post.”

“Quit crowding me!” I say, pushing back against him, “Sheesh, I've met Gamorreans who didn't smell as bad as you Sith.”

Nope, that doesn’t get him close. “You think you're pretty funny, don't you?” he says, “But you're only making things worse for yourself.”

“How come every time you open your mouth to talk the scent of rancor dung comes out?”

Nope, that didn’t do it either. “Maybe a little time in solitary confinement will teach you the proper respect for the Sith! Now, get into that cell!” He shoves me in.

“Who designed those Sith uniforms anyway?” I goad, and I hope this one works because I’m running out of ideas, “A blind Rodian with a sick sense of humor?”

Now he gets close. But not quite close enough. “That's funny,” he says sarcastically, “You should tell that one to the torturer when he comes to deal with you.”

Almost got him. Maybe if I act scared he’ll get a little closer, close enough. “What?” I say sweetly and innocently, “You're… you're going to torture me?”

Got him! “No snappy comeback this time? The thought of torture scares you, hmm?” Almost got it… “Well, it should! The Sith have ways to inflict pain you can't even imagine.” Like the pain you’ll get when your superior realizes a 15 year old Twi’lek stole your passcard? “It may be a few hours before your torture begins; we're busy interrogating your friends right now.” So there’s somebody important with Rena right now? Good to know. “Hey, I know!” the trooper says like he’s being clever, “You could use this time to think up witty ways to beg for mercy.” He closes the cell on me and walks away laughing.

“Or,” I whisper to myself, “I could use the keycard I lifted from your pocket to slice into the security panel and get myself out of this cell.” This looks like one of the simplest systems I’ve ever cracked, geez. “Piece of cake!” I say, “I wonder when people will stop underestimating me?”

Now comes the fun part! Like a big game of hide and seek, except dangerous. Griff and me used to break into the Vulkar base, and he taught me how to walk quietly. He had a sound-dampening stealth unit, but he couldn’t afford two, so I had to be quiet and stealthy without one. He taught me that if I set my heel and my toe down at the same time, it would muffle the sound of my footsteps. So I shift over to the opposite wall and peer around the corner. Looking for a guard or something. He’s got his back turned. I quickly cross the hallway over to the footlockers at the end. Riot gear and contraband - awesome. Both are super easy to break open. My stuff now! There’s some armor, a couple blasters, and some medpacks in the first one, and some computer spikes and a stealth field generator in the other. Plus some other stuff, but I don’t want to load myself down with stuff I don’t need right now. If they had a vibroblade I’d totally use that, but they’re just normal swords. Plus I’ve got the advantage from a distance. Even with the armor on, I can’t take too many hits, and I’m not really strong enough to do a lot of damage with a normal sword. Plus, this is just like that program I did with HK earlier! I’ve got this!

“Psst!” Huh? “Psst!” I don’t think that’s a Sith. I’m being whispered at by a Rodian in a cell.

He starts whimpering at me in Rodese, but I have to stop him. I’ve never been good at understanding Rodese. “I’m sorry,” I whisper back, “I don’t understand you.”

He mumbles a bit to himself, then says in broken Huttese, “You not Sith! Help me out of this cell, and me help you!”

I don’t know… I’m only here to help Rena and everyone else. I don’t know this guy. I don’t think the Sith are right at all, but maybe this guy is in prison for a reason. “Who are you?” I ask.

“Evil Sith unjustly capture me and my ship! They think we spies. They torture all the crew, trying to get information.” This Sith really love torture, huh? “But we not have any information to give. But Sith not care. They ‘interrogate’ captain until his mind snap. Then they grab first mate. Then navigator… they all crazy now. Minds gone.” Oh my gosh, that’s terrible!” So sad, but they nothing but animals now. Me lowest rank on ship, but now me only one left. Soon Sith come to interrogate me, too. But me not know anything! Me just… uh… me just trader in ‘rare’ goods.”

Huh? “What do you mean by ‘rare’ goods?”

“Me bring things to people in need,” he says, “People who need things they can't get normally.”

Hang on. No. Way. “You’re a smuggler?” I say, “That’s so cool!”

“Me helps people, and people helps me!” he says, “You helps me, and me helps you, yes?”

“How can you help me?”

He gets close to the force field. “Me have something special. Something you can use on ship. Something very powerful… an ICE breaker.” A what now? “You use it to override Sith security programs.”

“That sounds so cool!” But wait. “How did you get in here?”

He grins. “Sith, uhm, Sith not very thorough in search, hehe.”

But where could he have kept it that they wouldn’t -- “Eww! That’s gross!”

“Think what you will! But me have way into computers, and computers have way into hangar. Me can get off ship eventually, while you still running around corridors, fodder for guards.”

Well, I mean… I was just thinking about how I have no way to get into the computers on my own. I can get past any door, get into any secured space, but I’m not really good with computers. Neither was Griff, there wasn’t really anything he could teach me about them, you know? I don’t really have a choice here. “Get cards from guards to get me out of cell. Me not want to be here when Sith torture me. You get me out, and me give you ICE breaker. It better than a hundred computer spikes!”

I scoff. “I don’t need to get any cards,” I say, and I pop open the security panel. “For a huge planet conquering operation, the Sith really need to bump up their security measures.” This is too easy! The force field goes down, no problem.

The Rodian looks from me to the panel in shock. “Maybe you no need ICE breaker. You talented little girl.”

“Who you callin’ little?”

He smiles and gives me the ICE breaker anyway. “Here, you helped me, now me helps you. Me has tuned the breaker to work on the brig computers, so you use it on brig level. It not work anywhere else.” My fingers feel gross. “Remember, the breaker only good for one use, so you not waste it. You go fight guards, me go and hide now, wait for chance to get to ship.” He rushes off.

I’m not sure how much fighting I’m going to do, either, though. I remember where the detention cells are - I think I’m just going to activate the stealth field and just sneak my way there. Any Sith I could take on, Rena, Carth, and Bastila could do way better and in way less time.

I activate my stealth field and begin the slow careful walk to the detention area. There aren’t a whole lot of Sith around here, which is weird, but I guess most of them are on the command level. You’d think more would be here, though, since Carth and Bastila are both high-level targets. That’s how Rena and Carth ended up on Taris, they said the Sith attacked their ship looking for Bastila. And Carth was a big deal in the Mandalorian Wars, right? Plus he knows Admiral Karath, so that personal connection has to mean something.

I don’t know why they’re so interested in Rena, though. I mean, sure, she’s bad ass, but so is Canderous and they weren’t so interested in him. I can’t figure what their motivation was for that.

We do seem to be the hot topic of conversation among the guards, though. “She completely buckled under the pressure,” I hear one of them say, sort of laughing, “All the Admiral had to do was threaten her boyfriend, she answered every question!”

“Couldn’t stand to see him torture, eh?” another says, “Not at all like the Revan I remember.” But Revan’s dead. And a dude, right? Unless… what if Revan was a woman the whole time? Maybe that’s why the Sith were so interested in Bastila! No way, Bastila’s a Sith Lord? And they tortured Canderous? Bastila’s been helping us the whole time though! Why would she help us if she’s Revan?

“She doesn’t remember it,” the first says, “The Jedi must have wiped her memory.” Oh, so that’s why Bastila’s been helping us! She doesn’t remember. That’s a pretty horrible thing for the Jedi to do, though! I always thought they were the good guys! I mean, I guess I could be mad at Bastila, but it seems to me that if she doesn’t remember being Revan, it doesn’t really matter anymore. When I picture her in my head, I don’t see any Dark Lord, I see my friend, who’s helped us through everything! Someone who’s like a big sister to me. And it’s not like I’m not going to save her. It’s the right thing to do. I don’t think I should tell her, though. She might not believe me.

“I’ll bet Lord Malak will be surprised to see her,” the second one says, “Any word on when he’s arriving?”

“I know he’s on his way,” the first one says, “Admiral Karath called him shortly after we brought them on board. It shouldn’t be too long now.” Then I better get moving! I don’t want Bastila to still be here when Malak gets here. Since she’s Revan… I don’t even know what could happen! And I don’t want to find out.

The detention area is locked up tight, though. It shouldn’t be a problem for me, though, right? Okay… this is taking a little while.

… that didn’t work. Try again?

… geez, this is harder than it looks…

… why is this so hard to break into? Darn it!

Okay. Time for a different approach. This is a really hard security system. Guess that makes up for how simple it was earlier. If I can find a computer, I can use this ICE breaker and open the door. I think it would have to be a brig computer, though, not just the first one I find. The Rodian said he tuned it for this level, but since it’s only got the one use, I don’t want to risk it. So back to the cell block area.

I didn’t see one near the cells themselves, so there must be one in a control office nearby. The first door I come across close to the cells is just before them. It’s not secured so it opens right up.

Two troopers. Okay. They don’t see me yet, I’ve still got the stealth field up. And I can’t get at the computer because one of them is in front of it. And I can’t afford to wait, either, if Malak’s coming. Who knows when he’ll be here? I’ve got to get everyone out before he does. Maybe Bastila won’t even find out she’s Revan if I can get everyone out before Malak gets here. So I’m gonna have to take care of this myself. I let the door close first, so nobody in the hallway will know what’s going down. I slowly pull out the blaster and fire off two quick shots at the one near the computer. He didn’t even see me coming, wasn’t ready at all, and he falls against the console and hits the floor. I turn to the second one and fire before he can even pull out his blaster. Whoo. That went well. Awesome.

I stand at the computer and pull out the ICE breaker, hook it up to the computer. It processes for a little bit. Then, “ENTER COMMAND.” Cool. Open detention area. “DETENTION AREA OPEN.” Log out.

The walk back to the detention area is just as slow as it was the first time. But the door is open. Another computer terminal, but this one isn’t even secured. Guess they were counting on that heavy door to keep anyone out. I unlock the cells and the storage area at the same time.

“Mission!” I hear Zaalbar call. He comes over and hugs me tightly. Canderous smiles at me, trying to hide it but I can tell he’s proud of me. Glad I’m all right. Then Carth, Bastila, and Rena.

“Good job, Mission!” Carth says, “I knew you wouldn't let us down. When we get out of this I'm going to see you get a medal from the Republic for everything you've done!”

“It wasn’t that much,” I say with a shrug, trying to be modest.

“You did good work, kid,” Canderous says.

Really, though, I’m just… glad I could help.

[gardeningintrests]

Earth is space Australia- weather and seasons part 1 because i need sleep

what do the Aliens think about our weather conditions? what do they think about seasons? most importantly, can they withstand the pressure the weather gives them? if I'm sure enough, weather changes will make the Alien go crazy, i think that they can adapt seasons but not quite sure about he weather, and it only become an issue when climate change is hitting us in the ass as well. 

so I kind of think that maybe the Aliens Home Planet usually is like a setting that is permanent, so once they came to Earth to either study us Terrans or just observe the life of average humans. 

so here is the...… story I might be writing about how Aliens might react to weathers and seasons on Earth. This story might be long though. so hold your weird human appendages hands and lets settle it!

and a lot of ssssss so I'm writing with red lines underneath words.

“Whatssss isessstes like in syour HomeWorld?” Audrie an on board Snake-Like Alien asked a nearby Human-Eugene who is currently packing up to have a small vacation on Earth with other humans since its almost Christmas and about time to go home.

“oh you wanna know?” “Audrie wantsses tsu know how Terransss livee in such weird Planet.” 

it just so happens that Kallos, the Dragon-Like Alien passed by. 

“how bout we go find out? I mean, Miss Audrie has ancestors at Earth called Snakes right??” said Kallos with a huge grin on his face.

Audrie turned her head 180 degrees and looked Kallos dead in the eye. Human-Eugene didn't even bother as Audrie scolded Kallos about how her species is fairly different from the so called “snakes” on Earth. 

Okay so for people who wants to know the difference, here:

Audrie’s kind is known as Pythons ( Reticulated Python, go ask Google for more info) they are 10 times larger than an average snake (or  Reticulated Python whatever suits you) and due to its large size, its difficult for the Pythons to move fast or strangle its enemies, they are a bit more “fat” so moving into small places and close rooms are just what they NOT needed. their head is like a snake head (well obviously) and they have more teeth then normal snakes. Pythons don't need to hibernate, they just eat to refill their energy or smth. 

the commander was doing usual patrol, as he saw...the Snake and Dragon, beside them is a very uncomfortable Human packing his bag preparing to land in a few hours. and due to the great work attitude Human-Eugene has given off since ‘pick-up’ (what they call it when they recruit new crew members)  xe had to go and help a bit

“what's with all this noise, officer’s?” three of them immediately frozen in place as they heard the commanders voice. 

“oh, uh.. Audrie wasss tellingz sstupids Kallosss here how Audrie’ss kind are different from Terransss Earth ssnakesss!” “im sorry okay? sheesh..”

thank the lord Captain has stopped them both. thought Eugene.

for a moment, Eugene suddenly jolted upwards. there was something rattling behind him, he turned to find Audrie’s tail poked him and he asked what Audrie wanted which to she responded with:

“Isss Terranz going to tell Audrie about how Earth iz like?”

due to the fact that the commander was there and Eugene didn't want to disappoint anybody in front of the commander so he said yes. but he would only show her after he is don't packing his stuff.

“which Galaxy Station are we going to stop at next?” asked Eugene. apparently, Spaceships need refilling with energy like how cars on Earth needs to refill oil. and like longgg rides when were travelling to far placing of the country, we need to stop at Rest Areas. but the Galactic Space Travel Traffic Alliance had made their Rest Area a bit more...Interesting than our normal Rest Areas.

they have a lot of activities to participate at the Rest Area, that also serves as a gas station for Spaceships but how bout calling them Energy Refill station instead. you must be asking, why is there like a whole sort of activities that kind of serve as a amusement park in the middle of space and most importantly at a Rest Area?

(note: i have no fucking idea what the Rest Stop at Rural Highways is called and i searched it on google and it seems that its called a Rest Area)

well Spaceships require a large amount of energy that can be found in decomposing bodies or waste of Aliens, so its kind of like a waste reducing order(????) so the Galaxy ends up too much waste produced.

at the next 3 hours, they are gonna be stopping at that specific Rest Area and then Human-Eugene has everything planned to tell the Crew members of his ship about Earth, he somehow got the other 3 Humans involved and they are now currently laughing like kids planning on stealing some candy from a drawer their mother stored all the candies in at the cafeteria.

the Aliens who have passed by are terrified.

finally they reached their destination. they first  went to get some supplies restocked, and check in for a Stay-Overnight-Pod(something like a hotel but for Space travelers) their energy restocking is in line after the first 2 get theirs energies restocked and they cant sleep at the ship because its gon have a power shut down for cooling and safe travel.

they all had separate rooms except the Humans, they somehow can sleep together in one room without being worried about a sudden ambush of their own species(Aliens tend to loose their self control at some times and can end up hurting their crew)

when they unloaded their stuff, they headed to the main lobby which the meet up.

“are you all ready?” Human-Eugene said to all the Aliens of his Crew.

note: there are only three kinds of Alien Species on Eugens ship, and all of their Species names are all according to their own Scientific names

Snake-Like Species {Pythons}

Dragon-Like Species { Draco Vulgaris }(D.V.)

Plant-Like Species {Plantae}

there is currently 15 aboard on the ship, 4 humans, 5 Plantae’s, 3Pyhtons and 2 D.V.’s

the ship name is MoonShine(because of the metal they used to build this ship are the ones from Wellioan (Plantae Species metal) that somehow shine  under the moons( yes i know moonshine is a poison but its interesting aye?)

(i feel like i am giving you all a lesson about science and animals rather then letting y’all read a story)

everyone or everylien (get it? oml so cringe xd) basically every Alien on board on MoonShine had heard the news about the Humans bringing them to a places where they can physically experience the weathers of Earth.

“so considering your question about Earth, Audrie. Us humans have planned that we would show you the basics first : weather.” most of them got confused. what is weather?? is it a natural habitat of a fauna on earth? is it a name of one of the highly respected humans?? oh how curious were they but little did they know...what whole bs are weathers.

they reach a place, its a weird circular room. soon one of the humans, Human-Heloise noticed the confused looks of their crewmates. Heloise told Eugene and then they ask the most obvious question.

“you do not know what a weather is, am i right?” said all of the Humans at once that spooked the already confused Aliens. “-sigh- welp, guess we have a huge explanation to do”

~after explaining cuz im LAZY AS FAK~

“and that's about it!” said Human-Eugene with a proud looking face because for once he does not need google to help him explain everything and he can do it themselves.

“SO YOUR SAYING- THAT THERE ARE WATER FALLING DOWN FROM THE SKY CALLED RYAN-” “its rain-” “THEN IF THE RAIN IS TOO HEAVY ITS GONNA CAUSE FLOODING AND THEN THERES ELECTRICITY COMMING FROM THE SKY CALLED THINDER-” “no its called thund-” “AND THEN THERES WHEN DAYS HAVE NO CLIDS-” “clouds-” “ AND ENDS UP HEATING OVER 40!!! 40 DEGRESS CELCIUS HIGH!! THATS HALFWAY BOILING-”

the humans are a bit stressed at this point, their crew are from outside Planets ofc...

after a good 20 minutes of calming down, the Humans start to proceed the show their fellow friends what its like to experience those so called “weathers’

first was...Average Day, simple and straight foward. like many of the planets permanent setting. the Aliens seem to have gotten fascinated by the beautiful view of flower fields and high mountains. then moving on to cities and villages.

(note this device they are using is kind of like VR but you don't need the headset and it feels like your really there)

second was...Rainy day, normal raining and the windy blows. they are standing at the balcony of some sort of...home? the Aliens did not pay attention to their surroundings, they were enjoying the breeze of the wind and the sounds of the pouring rain. its somewhat peaceful for them. 

but then suddenly.... something clicked...

no one really realize it but something broke, but it didn't matter.

now for this third one

its midnight wtf, i will be continuing these tomorrow, i need sleep

[jeontaeh]

TWELVE¹²

"Reaching planet Sunreese in 12 minutes." The robot voice commented from the control panel, and Taehyung pressed a little button and then turned around.

"Who wants to go out?" Taehyung asked, and Yoongi turned around in his chair. "Since there's talking involved, Jimin and I should go. Namjoon should come too, and Jin in case of an emergency."

"Can I come too? I need to find some parts which seem to be missing in the engine room." Hoseok explained, and Yoongi nodded, so Hoseok gave him a small smile.

"I'm gonna go with Yeontan- since he wants to be on the planet." Jungkook said, and Taehyung chuckled.

"How would you know?" Taehyung asked, and Jungkook sighed, looking at him angrily. "He told me. Anyways- M'gonna go put on some clothes." Jungkook said, since he was just in his boxers.

"Yeah, we've been meaning to talk to you about that. Could you.. not go around in tiny boxers? We have clothes for a reason, y'know." Jin said, and Jungkook pouted a little.

"It's comfortable," Jungkook said, and then Taehyung smirked a little.

"I think he looks nice." Taehyung said, and Jungkook looked at him, and then smirked a little himself.

"M'sure it'd look nicer if I took it off, no?" Jungkook winked, and Taehyung blushed a little, but then his grin grew. "Sure would, Cherry."

Jungkook licked his bottom lip, and then turned around and walked out of the control room.

"What the fuck was that?" Jin asked, and Taehyung turned to face him. "What was what?"

"You guys were flirting so hard! It was painfully obvious." Yoongi scoffed, and Taehyung hummed, turning around to face the control panel.

"Cherry finally admitted he wants some of that jupiter dick, didn't he?" Jimin said, and Taehyung looked at him with disgust.

"That's disgusting.. and yes." Taehyung grinned, and then Hoseok cleared his throat.

"Is it true that everything is bigger in Jupiter? Because you're like 5'7," Hoseok said, and Taehyung frowned at him. "I'm 5'10 and literally taller than you."

"I heard people in Jupiter are like 7 feet tall." Jimin said, and Taehyung hummed. "Maybe. I dunno, never been there."

"But aren't you from there?" Namjoon asked, and Taehyung continued pressing stuff around on the panel. He just nodded.

"How come you've never been there? My cousin's dad is from Venus and she goes there every summer." Yoongi aid, and Taehyung smiled a little.

"I guess you need someone from the planet to take you there.." Taehyung chuckled, and then Jimin frowned. "Your mother..?"

Taehyung paused, an obvious shift in his body which everyone sensed. Namjoon cleared his throat. "Anyways- is everyone ready? We need to leave soon."

"Yeah. Tae, you and Jungkook will stay on the ship, right?" Jin asked, and Taehyung nodded.

"Shut the fuck up you fucking pig I already fed you three WHOLE pieces of chicken!" Jungkook shouted from the hallways of the ship, and Jimin sighed.

"I've heard him talking to himself like 8 times today. He also keeps saying the dog talks. So like, can we all agree he's gone insane?" Jimin said, and Taehyung laughed.

"Leave him alone, the space stuff is probably fucking with him." Taehyung said, and Namjoon sighed, sitting down on the captain's chair.

"This space stuff is fucking with all of us. There's no way to contact anyone.. we could die any moment and no one would know." Namjoon said quietly, staring out at the black abyss.

"Check out Mr. Existential Crisis over here, sheesh." Yoongi said, and Jin tsked and walked up to Namjoon, running his hand through his hair.

"He's right, it is fucking with us." Jin said, and Namjoon gave him a small smile, and then Jungkook walked into the control room, setting Yeontan down.

"We're landing, Kook. Sit down somewhere." Namjoon informed, and Jungkook saw everyone was strapped onto seats. He walked towards one of the chairs, and then Taehyung turned his chair around to see him.

"There's a seat right here, Cherry." Taehyung smirked, sitting with his legs apart, wiggling his eyebrows at the younger.

"I'm good." Jungkook said, and Taehyung scoffed, and then turned around, picking Yeontan up and placing him on his lap.

"Well, Yeontan likes my seat very much, thank you." Taehyung grumbled, and then Jungkook saw Yeontan lay down on his lap.

Hoseok pulled the ship towards the planet to land, a technology adapted for passengers to feel nothing as the ship hurled towards it, and then stopped. There was a bit of quiet, and then "Damn y'all thighs comfortable as FUCK."

Taehyung screamed.

He pushed Yeontan off him, and then jumped off the chair. "Oh my god! He just- h-he just-"

"Did that puppy just talk?!" Jimin let out, and Jungkook got up.

"I told you guys!" Jungkook snapped, and then looked at Yeontan. "Dude, why'd you talk?"

"I'm getting off here anyway, so these gays can know my mouth BIG." Yeontan remarked, and Jungkook huffed, and then looked up to see all the boys with their mouths wide open, eyes enlarged.

"Oh shut your mouths. I told you guys he could talk, but none of you believed me. So hah. There." Jungkook said, and then saw as Yeontan rolled his eyes. Jungkook pursed his lips. "No point talking to him, he's really mean-"

"I just want to thank you guys for letting me join on this marvellous trip with all of you. You've all been so considerate, hospitable, and sweet. I have lived on Woofzuno for a long time, but my sister lives here, hence I snuck onboard to come here and finally embrace my long lost family. Thank you so much, I am forever grateful." Yeontan said, and Jungkook's mouth dropped.

"Aw, Yeontan! You're so nice!" Jimin said, walking up to him.

Jungkook stared, frozen in shock. "Of course we'd let you come here, Tannie. You should've just told us! You wouldn't have had to deal with Jungkook," Taehyung laughed.

"Yeah Yeontan. You helped us on Woofzuno too, buddy. I hope you meet your sister." Namjoon said, and they all circled around him to pet him.

"I-I hate that stupid dog," Jungkook grumbled under his breath, and then kicked his chair, angry.

Jimin set Yeontan down. "Why don't you get ready for leaving, Tannie? Take all the food and snacks you need!" Jin said, and Yeontan nodded with a wag of tail.

"Thank you so much, you are all ever so sweet." Yeontan said, and all of them aww'ed, and then Yeontan walked up to Jungkook, who crouched down.

"So, you were just being mean to me to let you get on here?" Jungkook asked him.

"No you used tampon." Yeontan snapped, and Jungkook cowered his head. "I don't got no sister. I came here to fuck BITCHES and get MONEY. Tha's the way of life, sis."

"Oh.." Jungkook said, and then sighed. "Well, I still hope you-"

"Shut up, coloniser. I was joking. I came here 'cause my sister lives here." Yeontan said, and Jungkook smiled a little.

"Oh! I-I knew it! Knew you were actually a nice dog. A good boy. Who's a good boy? Yes you are, the goodest little boy in the-"

"Shut the fuck up big nose."

"Jeez okay." Jungkook said quickly, pouting a little. "You should get ready." Jungkook said, and Yeontan nodded, and Jungkook smiled and reached to pet him- but Yeontan growled and tried to bite his hand, so Jungkook got up and rushed away.

✭

"Bye Yeontan! Be safe! I'll miss you!" The boys called, and Jungkook leaned down and hugged him tight, and Yeontan punched him in the face and said "Don't suck too much dick." and then left.

"Okay guys, we'll get going. You sure you two will be safe here all alone?" Namjoon said to Taehyung and Jungkook, who nodded. "Yes captain." They both said together.

"Alright, good. We'll be back in an hour or two. Don't mess things up." Namjoon warned, and then he, Hoseok, Yoongi, Jimin, and Jin went off, leaving Jungkook and Taehyung alone.

They both waved at them, seeing the spaceship door close on its own. There was a long pause. And then-

"Let's watch a movie-"

"Can you suck my dick?"

Taehyung paused, and then turned to face Jungkook. "What?"

"Can you please suck my dick?" Jungkook asked politely, and Taehyung scoffed.

"God, Jungkook. Is everything to you about sexual contact? Do you know nothing of being friends with someone, or-or-" Taehyung started, and Jungkook blinked obliviously, so Taehyung sighed. "Only if you suck mine too."

"Deal!" Jungkook grinned, and then grabbed Taehyung's hand and rushed to Taehyung's bedroom.

Taehyung stumbled inside, and then turned around, and saw Jungkook walking over to him. "Down. Now." Jungkook snapped.

Taehyung let him walk closer and place his hand on his waist. "I said get down on your-"

"Talk to me like that and we won't get anywhere, Cherry." Taehyung snapped, and Jungkook pursed his lips.

"Get down on your knees please Taehyungie?" Jungkook asked in a sweet voice, and Taehyung smirked, and then reached his hand down to Jungkook's boxers, and pulled them down in an instant.

Jungkook's eyes widened, and his hardened cock jumped out. "Already hard? Little needy, huh?" Taehyung smirked, and Jungkook blushed and shook his head.

"Shut up. Suck my dick." Jungkook snapped, and Taehyung rolled his eyes, and then got down on his knees.

He took Jungkook's cock in his hand, and gave it a tug, looking up at him with his daring silver eyes. Jungkook bit his lip, and then saw Taehyung reach his lips around the head of his cock.

"Go ahead, m'sure you've done it before." Jungkook smirked, and Taehyung yanked his cock really hard, and Jungkook yelped.

"A-ah- o-okay- sorry." Jungkook said, and Taehyung wrapped his lips around his cock, making him hum in delight.

"Fuck-" Jungkook let out, feeling Taehyung's warm lips moving down his length. "Yeah- t-that's it-"

Taehyung kept going, and Jungkook kept hitching moans, until Taehyung gagged, having taken him fully. Jungkook reached his hand back. "Of course you can deep-throat," Jungkook smirked, and then Taehyung looked up at him, pretty plump lips wrapped around Jungkook's cock.

"Well if you've done this before, I'm sure you wouldn't mind-" Jungkook said, and then grabbed Taehyung by the back of his silver hair and bucked his hips in, making Taehyung gag a little more, and then moan around his cock.

Taehyung grabbed his ass, and Jungkook felt his longer fingers squeezing it. Jungkook shivered a little, tingles running down his spine. He continued fucking Taehyung's mouth for a good minute or two- until he was closing his eyes, gripping his hair tightly.

"T-Tae I'm gonna cum-" Jungkook said, and Taehyung slapped his ass, making Jungkook buck his hips in. "Ah-" Jungkook let out, and then came, spurting ribbons down Taehyung's throat.

Taehyung pulled away, breathing heavily, a clear tent in his sweats. "Did I say you could fuck my throat?"

Jungkook smirked. "Sorry. Couldn't hear you with my cock in your mouth." Jungkook said, and Taehyung stood up, shaking his head.

"Brat." Taehyung said, slapping his ass again. Jungkook slapped his hand away, glaring playfully. Taehyung just pinned him against the wall and grabbed his ass with his other hand.

"T-Taehyung.." Jungkook let out, and Taehyung smirked. "What? S'there something you wanna say to me?" Taehyung husked, and Jungkook shook his head, eyes big.

"Then get on your knees and suck my dick." Taehyung snapped, and Jungkook got down on his knees while huffing.

"No need to be mean about it, jeez." Jungkook mumbled in a small voice, and then Taehyung pulled his sweats down till his thighs, and then let his cock spring free.

"Go slow." Jungkook said, and then opened his mouth.

Taehyung looked at him. Jungkook looked back up with his mouth wide open. They stared at each other for like, 12 seconds.

"Oh am I supposed to start-" Jungkook started, and Taehyung rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Sorry, sorry-" Jungkook giggled, and then wrapped his hand around the base of Taehyung's cock.

He wrapped his lips around the head, sucking on the member with blue and silver veins running through it. Jungkook heard Taehyung moans, so he kept going, bobbing his head back and forth while going deeper, taking him deeper and deeper, and then-

Jungkook gagged, he felt his cock hit the back of his throat. Jungkook opened his eyes, and then heard Taehyung snicker.

"Can't even take my whole cock, can you, Cherry?" Taehyung said, and Jungkook saw that he only had half (or less) of Taehyung's dick in his mouth, yet he was already gagging. He tried going further, and felt tears spring in his eyes, feeling himself choking.

Taehyung gripped his hair and pulled him back a little, and just started fucking into his mouth lightly, not pushing all the way in. "Jack me off." Taehyung ordered, and Jungkook wrapped his hand around the part of his cock he couldn't wrap his small little mouth around, and started moving it up and down.

This kept going for minutes, until Jungkook felt his mouth sore, looking up at Taehyung and going limp. He saw Taehyung with his head tipped back, just moving Jungkook's head back and forth.

"I-I'm-" Taehyung started softly, but Jungkook didn't hear him, so he pulled his lips off Taehyung's cock to complain. "Tae you're taking too long-"

Suddenly, Taehyung came. He looked down, eyes going big in haste, and Jungkook just gasped, silver cum splashing onto his face.

There was lots, so Jungkook quickly wrapped his lips around his cock, and felt his cum go down his throat.

Jungkook gasped. It tasted like white chocolate.

Jungkook took in more of Taehyung's cock, trying to get all of his cum down his throat, feeling bad that he wasted any of it on his face. Fuck, it genuinely tasted so good, that even when Taehyung was done cumming, Jungkook was lapping it up, smacking his lips.

"What the fuck.." Taehyung said, and Jungkook gulped, looking up.

"It tastes like white chocolate!" Jungkook sprung, eyes big, smile reaching his face.

"No it doesn't, what the fuck-" Taehyung started, and then froze.

Jungkook frowned. "What's wrong?" Jungkook asked, looking up at him. Taehyung seemed to go a little pale. "Tae, are you okay?"

"Oh." Taehyung let out, and then stepped back. "I-I.. I need to go." Taehyung said, and Jungkook tilted his head.

"W-was it something I said?" Jungkook asked in confusion, and Taehyung took a step back, pulling his sweats up in a haste.

He looked around, realising he was in his own room, and then looked at Jungkook. "Get out."

Jungkook's eyes grew big. "W-what? What happened?" Jungkook asked, standing up. Taehyung looked disheveled, really, really flustered and confused himself. A little.. upset and shocked?

Taehyung placed his hand on Jungkook's bare back and pushed him out the room. "Tae- what's going on?"

"Nothing, Jungkook. Just- I need to be alone right now." Taehyung snapped, and Jungkook's breath hitched.

"M-my boxers-" Jungkook squeaked, but then Taehyung slammed the door shut.

Jungkook stood there naked outside Taehyung's room, really confused, and then huffed. He kicked his door, turned around, and walked into his own room, making sure to slam the door shut as well.

✫  ✬  ✭  ✬  ✫

https://jeontaeh.tumblr.com/post/647227667856424960/thirteen%C2%B9%C2%B3

[sleepykittypaws]

The Christmas House

Original Air Date: November 23, 2020 (Hallmark) Where to Watch?: Hallmark will replay it multiple times this season, and for every season in perpetuity

It's impossible to review Hallmark's The Christmas House without noting that this time last year, then-Crown Media CEO Bill Abbott was personally taking phone calls from a SPLC-designated hate group, and pulling a Zola ad showing two brides chastely kissing from his network, at that hate group's behest. The ensuing firestorm of well-earned criticism following Abbott's bad judgement, is, without question, what brought us to today, with Abbott ousted, a woman of color, Wonya Lucas, now at Hallmark's helm, and a still totally G-rated holiday lineup that now regularly features former Hallmark no-gos like, interracial romance and LGBTQ+ inclusion, improving Hallmark's abysmal diversity record, one movie at a time. 

So, even though Hallmark had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, it's still hard not to be at least a little emotional that they're finally joining us here. The bigots are still having online temper tantrums about losing their all-white, all-straight safe space, but Hallmark's holiday ratings are up 7% year-over-year—a significant jump in a world where cable subscriptions are declining by 10-15% annually.

Now, what that progress looks like on a network known for being “clean,” conservative and about as unwilling to take risks as any channel on the planet, is another story. Frequent Hallmark star, and out gay actor, Jonathan Bennett, has been tirelessly talking about The Christmas House, since the day it went into production. And Bennett brings a lot of energy to this ensemble story, written by co-star Robert Buckley, of a family getting together to decorate their home one more time before it's sold. 

Buckley and Bennett play the sons of Sharon Lawrence and Treat Williams, a recently retired couple struggling with that fundamental shift in their relationship. Buckley is the star of a ridiculous court show, Handsome Justice, of which we luckily get to see a clip, and Bennett, a baker, and his husband, played by Brad Harder, are waiting to hear about an adoption, after several previous disappointments. 

Bennett and Buckley bring more humor than is normal for Hallmark to their portrayal of loving, competitive brothers, who clearly enjoy ribbing each other.

How conservative was past hallmark, you ask? Well, that Buckley's girl-next-door love interest is divorced, not widowed, is still a somewhat shocking twist in that world, as is the fact that both Buckley and Bennett are "allowed" to sport some facial scruff, rather than be clean shaven. Oh, and that the family next door is (gasp) Latino, is also something we likely wouldn't have seen in the Hallmark of yore. All of which is just mind-blowing, since those “days of yore” for this TV network were [checks notes]…2019, not 1968.

Lawrence and Williams are believable as a long term couple, and their life-change struggle to re-center their relationship feels real, but the way it's revealed is almost as anti-climactic as its resolution. The movie laid very unsubtle hints along the way—all storytelling progress aside, Hallmark movies are still written so you can half watch and not a miss a thing, allowing folks to join 20 minutes in, or do the dishes and come back without being confused—that Williams and Lawrence's wanting to have "one last Christmas" was about more than just downsizing in retirement. 

When Lawrence told the story of the clearly-actually-brand-new-and-from-Homegoods Santa pot, and what it meant to her, I thought Williams was going to later accidentally break Checkov's sentimental teapot and, in her anger, Lawrence would blurt out something about that's why they were separating, shocking their grown sons. 

And, honestly, as predictable as that would have been, it would probably have had more impact than what did happen…Lawrence just casually telling Buckley while stringing lights, and then nobody really mentioning it again, excepting oblique references during a single conversation between the brothers, and then Lawrence just announces at breakfast that they're not doing that after all.

Definitely feels like Hallmark's aversion to conflict in its stories is one of those provisions that is still firmly in place. (We saw a similar unwillingness to commit to actual marital difficulties, despite that being the central plot point, in Cranberry Christmas.)

Which is too bad, because Lawrence and Williams being much better than the actors usually used for these parent roles, could have handled a more realistic story well, and brought some real emotional beats to the movie.

As expected, Buckley's romance with Ana Ayora was the definite A-plot here, but why did their memory lane rekindling catalyst have to be close-up magic, the worst of all entertainment options? Was there no mime troop they could have been teenage members of? When it comes to magic, and jazz, I'm like Indiana Jones and snakes…Why'd it have to be magic?

Also, no way that 29-year-old guy they have playing "teenage" Mike grows up to be Robert Buckley. Nope! They definitely had to soft focus all the mostly unnecessary flashback scenes so that those actors, easily less than a decade younger than our leads, didn't quite look their age. 

And, c'mon, Buckley, who, again, is the star of his own TV show, gives the love of his life a necklace he bought…in high school? For real? I'm surprised we couldn't see her neck turn green in real time. At least get a gal a little upgrade. Sheesh! 

The whole rival real estate agent thing went nowhere. And what was that subplot even supposed to be about? Would have much rather seen a scene from the Handsome Justice episode where Buckley's character defended a dog accused of murder, than that whole waste of time. 

On the other hand, loved the Grift body spray mentions, and so glad we go to see that ad. Hallmark doesn't do subtle—"But will they get it?" is basically the network's motto—but this is one case of subtext just being text that worked.

Oh and, how did his parents buy a house on the Hudson river just by selling a nice, but fairly average, suburban home? Sure, they said it was a fixer upper, but anything on the water is gonna be way more pricey than where they were, and you've still got to have the cash to do the fixing. Also, you know the old adage about how nothing soothes a struggling marriage like a whole house renovation project, amirite?

Speaking of money…Why didn't Buckley just buy his folks the house right away if he didn't want to see it go? I mean, even if he's only a mid-level TV star, this wasn't some extravegent manse, and certainly wouldn't be an unusual thing for a well-off child to do for their middle-class parents. Why all the rigamarole with the weird guy and the rescinded offer? And, like, what was that all about? So many stories I'd have rather seen from this talented cast than some of the filler we actually got.

Harder didn't get nearly enough to do, but he and Bennett had decent chemistry and they got most of the best lines. The joke about "Will we decorate like this for our kids," and Bennett's emphatic, "No," cut the tension of an emotional scene well, with perfect timing, making it actually, laugh out loud funny—a Hallmark rarity. And when Harder appears in doorway after hearing from the adoption agency, and Bennett knows just by looking at his face what the call said, I got emotional.

That all the couples in this one got to kiss, including Bennett and Harder, is important. With the specter of last year's Zola debacle absolutely lingering over the entire movie, it's hard to think of a better, actual example of #LoveWins, than that moment.

I also teared up when we saw Bennett and Harder's family at the end, not only because it was a long overdue Hallmark milestone, but also because Harder's real-life son, Kael, played he and Bennett's on-screen adopted child, and is just so stinking cute.

Am I giving this bonus points for finally having an LGBTQ+ storyline, even if it was pretty far from the foreground? For sure. But Buckley and Bennett also brought humor and heart to this one, of a variety not usually found on Hallmark, and Lawrence and Williams also upped the ante on the quality here. Notable that Hallmark also sprung for two actual, name-brand holiday songs, so they were willing to spend a little bit of extra cash on this effort, which says more about their “commitment to diversity” than years of empty promises ever did.

Would have liked House even more, if Hallmark had been brave enough to swap the storylines; Bennett falling in love the boy next door, and Buckley and his bride waiting to hear about adoption, but barring that, do wish it had been bit more of a true ensemble (i.e. all three love stories had equal weight).

Despite quibbles, I'm still putting this on top of the 2020 Hallmark heap, at least for the moment, because I laughed, I cried and I felt good about the progress that has been made, no matter how long overdue it is.

As I've said so many times, representation really does matter, particularly on a channel like Hallmark, which caters to exactly the audience that most needs to see LGBTQ+ people laughing, living and loving, just like every other family.

Representation really can change lives. It opens hearts and minds. It can help those struggling within themselves feel seen and worthy. Really can not underestimate how transformative these normalizing glimpses can be, particularly for a network like Hallmark, with a large "conservative" audience. 

"Conservative" is in quotes, because there's nothing genuinely conservative about human rights, and respect for those unlike you. Empathy and acceptance for others should be a baseline standard for living in a society—not a political statement. 

No one has the right to deny someone else's humanity, and someone's choice to hold hate in their heart deserves no respect from Hallmark, or society at large. Really hopeful that some kid out there who feels excluded and awful about themself because their family and upbringing has told them everything they're feeling is wrong and sinful, can now see representation like this on their family's safe space TV channel, and know it's going to be OK.

It's a small step, but it's definitely a good one, and I'm really looking forward to the actual lead LGBTQ+ holiday romances coming soon, like Hulu's Happiest Season (Nov. 25), Lifetime's The Christmas Setup (Dec. 12) and Paramount Network's Dashing in December (Dec. 13), and hoping Hallmark joins that club in 2021.

Until then…

Final Judgement: 3 Paws Up

[imagine-lumpygrab]

Hello secret and please... Might we lowly peasants have some... Excerpts from your godly fics... Please...

Well, uh... to be honest I don’t have that much written but I do have a bunch of fics that are in very early stages and I love to ramble about stuff I write, so...

This excerpt is from a fic I’ve given up on where LSP has to go home to attend to her queen duties, leaving behind her few precious friends and Lemongrab as well, and since her dear sweet boyfriend misses her greatly, they keep in touch through texting. Except then there’s a storm and LG has a panic attack and LSP literally drops everything to go back and see if he’s okay. Like I said, I’ve given up on it and probably won’t ever finish it, the only real reason I’m sharing it is because LSP kinda roasts Bubblegum :D

———

“Aw, well I’m gonna miss ya’ll too, guys,” LSP smiled at them endearingly.

“But you know who will be the saddest when you leave?” Marceline grinned and sang slowly: “Your citrus boyfriend~”

“Oh here we go,” Bubblegum mumbled under her breath.

“Oh yeah, how did he take the whole queen–from–another–dimension thing when you told him?” Finn asked. He was on good terms with Lemongrab for a pretty solid time now and he was kind of concerned about his relationship with someone like LSP. Not that he didn’t like her, but both her and the earl disliked not having things their way and that could turn out to be a topic of arguments. Then again, they seemed to be right for each other in many ways and Finn hasn’t actually ever seen them argue. As far as his knowledge went, the pair had had a date probably every day of the last week in an attempt to mentally prepare for a long-distance relationship.

“He like, totally understood,” the purple cloud of a princess said with relief apparent in her voice. “He even promised me advice on ruling and stuff!”

Bubblegum cringed a little but tried to keep her composure. She failed, all three pairs of eyes noticed and were now looking at her rather scolding-like. “What?” she asked. “The Earldom of Lemongrab isn’t exactly the best example of how to rule!”

“Well, like, I mean,” LSP murmured, “neither is you experimenting on him, but here we are, girl.”

———

BOOM get rekt Bubblegum >:)

Ok another thing I’m really excited about even though I don’t have much to show of it is “The Battle over the Planet Lemongrab,” which is kinda inspired by Wander Over Yonder in a way. Basically it’s an AU in which the series happens not only on Earth but numerous different planets, so like... Lumpy Space is actually a planet, and the Earldom of Lemongrab is the Planet of Lemongrab, and an entire planet is called Ooo, stuff like that. So it’s kinda a space adventure!

And in this AU, Bubblegum is basically the overlord of a part of space. Guess it’s like a Star Wars imperium, but usually they’re the good guys.

Okay, and Princess Bubblegum of course needs armed forces to keep all the planets under her control in check, and LSP, believe it or not, joined this army. She was asked to find a job so she decided she could as well get some adventure out of it, and now she works for Bubblegum as a space assassin, basically. Now bear with me because it’s about to get crazier.

Lemongrab was supposed to be PB’s heir, right, and when she deemed him a failed experiment, she sent him off to his own (pretty desolate) planet, later she made him his brother Lemonsoft, and stuff’s good for a while before it’s not so good anymore.

In the end though, both Lemongrabs survive, that’s the big difference. Lemongrab lives on as a terrifying dictator that rebelled against Bubblegum and declared independence of his planet, and Lemonsoft joins Bubblegum’s force in search of making himself tougher in what could be describe as a desire to feel stronger.

Note: he has a really cool mask over the bitten-off part of his face (kinda like Sally Face if any of you know that game), except it has a prosthetic eye and everything, making him partly a cyborg. He bonds over this with Finn later, while LSP doesn’t like the mask that much because it reminds her of her past crush on Finn.

Well, all of this happens before the actual story. Where we actually meet our main characters is when Bubblegum calls LSP and LG2 to her office and gives them the mission of assassinating the original Lemongrab. Lemonsoft is reportedly chosen for the mission because even though it’s horrible that he has to kill his brother, he’s the only one who knows his castle’s layout and can use the environment properly. LSP is chosen because, well, Bubblegum doesn’t trust that her son can really kill his twin and someone has to do it. Also she is immune to a lot of magic stuff and that helps.

Before they even get to the planet they encounter a bajillion problems, bounty hunters, laser fights, all sorts of sci-fi space craziness combined with the Adventure Time characters and environments, all of that fun.

But I only have the skeleton of that story. The only piece of actual writing I have is.... this:

———

*they end up sleeping at an inn*

“So.” LSP started a small fire in the fireplace and carefully set a can of beans above it. She has been informed earlier that the inn had no food left after their king’s latest rampage and it honestly annoyed her more than anything. But now her dinner was cooking and she shot her partner a look of curiosity. “All of this is a family drama to you?”

“Mmm,” he nodded. “The Earl of Lemongrab is my brother.”

“Woah, like, for real? That’s… that’s… sheesh.”

“Yeah. I actually have this,” he pointed at the metal part of his head, “because of him.”

“Damn.”

“Indeed.” He would be most comfortable with leaving the conversation there, but he wasn’t allowed to.

“How did it even come to that?” she inquired.

“How did what come to what?”

“You know.” She looked at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “These types of people always have tragic backstories. At least you definitely have one, and your brother is either a villain, or–”

“He’s not a villain!” her partner retorted immediately, but when he saw her jump, his anger quickly deflated. “He’s just...” wrapping his arms around himself, Lemonsoft sighed. “He must’ve been so lonely these past years without me.”

Silence spread through the room then, and LSP found herself unable to break it. What happened to the brothers?

———

Yeah, what happened indeed. We might never find out because I’m a procrastinator and a lazy moron. But oh, well.

Since this is getting kinda long and because I only have a few other ideas written out I’m gonna leave it at that. Two exerpts are fine right?? Right????

What I actually think I might be finishing soon is a small fic about yet another AU, though I’m very fond of this one. So look forward to that!

[tessatechaitea]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, S1, E5: "Where No One Has Gone Before"

I'm a cynical reviewer first and a fan second and the first part of me believes this episode was written simply to tell the audience that Wesley Crusher was important. This was the episode that said, "Look. We know you Star Trek fans have a lot of theories about everything and take everything way too seriously. You all know Picard hates children and, even if he wants to appear likable to them, you can't understand why he keeps letting Wesley on the bridge. Well this story should shut you up!" I don't know if it shut anybody up because the "I hate Wesley Crusher" Trekkies are pretty vocal about hating Wesley Crusher. Sometimes they're so vocal about hating Wesley that they convince themselves that they hate Wil Wheaton too. Which is weird because haven't they heard of acting and writing and television shows before? Who watches an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and thinks, "I don't like that Wesley Crusher. Why would Wil Wheaton invent the character and write all of this dialogue I hate and wear such ugly sweaters?" Obviously Wesley Crusher was meant to have an important role in the show. While Star Trek has always been touted as being a show which embraced diversity (even if, at times, it stumbles in the execution), it completely left out the youth. And while many kids watched and were inspired by the show without needing a gateway character that represented them, you can't argue with the Robin Effect (no matter how often and vehemently you'd like to). Introducing a younger character that kids can identify with works. I don't know why it works since even as a small child, I identified with old men. George Burns and Art Carney's Going in Style was one of my favorite movies. I used to ask my mom if I could go play with John, the oldest person on the block on which I lived. My favorite teacher in elementary school was an old man who taught the Speech Therapy class (which I was in but I have no memory of why. Did I lisp? Was I just so non-verbal that somebody thought a little individual instruction would help? Or did I notice this old guy teaching a special speech class during regular class and just decided to be nearly incomprehensible so I could get into his class? We'll never know because my memory for detail is terrible! But that's just my own individual anecdotal evidence that the Robin Effect is shit. The real evidence is that fans of Batman comic books loved Robin when he was introduced and didn't instantly think, "Well this is weird and awkward and highly inappropriate. What is this rich old guy doing dressing up a kid in a suggestive outfit and taking him out into the dangerous streets of Gotham late at night?" No, most kids just thought, "Cool! I could hang out with Batman too!" But even if Wesley was a way for growing kids to see themselves as part of the crew of the Enterprise, a shitload of viewers were still going to need to be convinced that he had a place on the bridge. And that's what this episode does. And even if Wesley dresses himself like a 13th century bard who happened to have purchased his wardrobe from a time traveler from the 80s, you can't deny he's a fucking genius. I mean, you might have been able to deny that before this episode. But this episode is all, "Look at this alien! He has powers and abilities far beyond that of human beings. And he understands the relationship between time and space and thought. And guess which character totally gets what this super genius alien is saying? It's Wesley! Wesley noticed the alien was behind the impossible travel. Wesley understood what the alien was doing with the warp drive. And Wesley was all, 'I get it! Thought and space and time are, like, the same thing!'" Some viewers probably rolled their eyes and, entrenched in the adult cynicism that, years ago, had murdered their childlike sense of wonder, thought, "That Traveler fellow wants to fuck Wesley so hard." And those viewers might have missed the point that Wesley was intuitive and smart and special. So before the Traveler disappears into the realm of thoughtspacetime, he pulls Picard aside and says, "That Wesley is a special boy. You know, like Mozart but maybe even more special. You have to encourage him because remember how I just said he's going to be super duper important and special? But you can't tell him or anybody else! This message is just for you and the old fart viewers who can't stop wondering why you'd constantly let this kid on the bridge or come with you on away expeditions or let him tinker with engineering and the holodeck. Every future episode of the show should just continue as normal, as if I'd never revealed this secret that totally needed to be revealed because the writers and producers of this show know how fucking vocal their Goddamn overzealous fan base can be. Without this aside to you, Picard, they'd be writing letters about Starfleet protocol and how that dumbass weird sweater wearing kid shouldn't be anywhere near a photon torpedo launch button. But now they have to swallow it because it's canon that Wesley is special and being groomed for my bid dick. That's a metaphor for his future place in the world of thoughtspacetime! Everybody will be so surprised by the arc we have for this genius kid! Hoo boy! That is, if he survives the free sex planet episode. Which he somehow will due to a super anti-climactic ending which we'll get to." As for the actual plot of this episode, it's barely worth mentioning. The crew of the Enterprise wind up in the far flung reaches of the universe where their every thought can suddenly transform reality. Picard understands the import of this and, to get home, encourages the crew to think about nothing but getting home safely. Which is really odd because as soon as it seems like maybe they won't be able to get home, Picard says, "We're not going to make it!" What the fuck, Picard?! Thoughts become reality in this place and you're on the bridge spouting out negative shit like that! Holy fuck, I'd relieve you from duty immediately if I were Doctor Milf Crusher! I was mostly disappointed by this episode because everybody was making their thoughts real and yet we didn't find out who the horniest crew member of the Enterprise was. Sure, Worf made an old pet real and then Tasha made an old pet real (before she then made the Rape Gangs real! Sheesh, Tasha! Think of something other than Rape Gangs for once! Although, I suppose if I were constantly chased by Rape Gangs my entire childhood, I'd definitely never shut up about it ever. "Oh, you're sorry my soup is cold? Well I fucking had to evade Rape Gangs my entire childhood so I'd hope being sorry for cold soup is the least you could fucking do!"). But how come nobody made a bunch of naked people sucking and licking them all over real? I suppose it wasn't needed since we already know Tasha Yar is the horniest member of the crew. One crew member made the hallway erupt into fire and the Non-Certified Spouse was all, "Why was he thinking about fire?" Good question! We now know which crew member to investigate when the Ten-Forward lounge burns down.

[tiny-opal-essence]

Pocket Paladin Chpt 1

Where are They Now?

While rescuing Shiro from the Galra, Lance is given a new perspective on life. How will everyone handle his new stature and how long will he be stuck like this? What does this mean for team Voltron? What are the villains up to?

or, Lance gets shrunk and shenanigans ensue.

(This is also posted on AO3 if you want to read it there)

“Look out, Hunk!” Lance said as he flew the red lion out of the way of the robeast.  The robeast spread its wings and brought them down, creating a hurricane-force wind tunnel aimed right at the yellow lion.

“Ooof.  Aaaaaah!” Hunk yelled as he was thrown around mercilessly by the wind tunnel.

“Are you alright, Hunk?” Allura worriedly asked while she brought down some of the Galran fighter jets using the blue lion.

“Ugggh.  I’m okay.  Just remind me never to do that again.  I think I left my stomach behind.” Hunk groaned out through the coms.

“I didn’t know that could happen to humans.  Do you need us to cover you while you go back and get it?” Allura asked.

“Oh, I didn’t actually leave my stomach behind.  It just means that my stomach is feeling upset.” Hunk informed her while he shot down another fighter jet.

“Why wouldn’t you just say that your stomach isn’t feeling well?” Allura questioned as she flew the blue lion out of the way of one of the robeast’s missiles.

“It’s an earth thing.  It’s a lot more fun to joke about it.” Lance explained as he shot down two fighter jets with the red lion.

“Now is not the time for jokes!  We have to keep the Galra’s attention on us while Pidge and Keith are on their ship.  They might be able to find out where the Galra are keeping Shiro and Pidge’s father.”  Allura snapped as she barely avoided getting caught in another wind tunnel that was unleashed by the robeast.

“Pidge, Keith.  How are things going on your end?” Hunk asked, including the other two paladins in the communication loop.

“I’ve almost downloaded the prisoner database here.  There aren’t any prisoners on board, so once we’re out you can open fire on the ship.  I’ve also got the ion cannon rigged to blow once we’re a safe distance away.” Pidge responded before going back to making sure that the Galra wouldn’t notice they were being hacked.

“How’s the robeast situation?” Keith asked.

“It’s going great!  You’re missing out on all the fun down here, Mullet.” Lance teased Keith while taking out yet another fighter jet.

“Will you stop calling me that?” Keith asked, annoyed at Lance’s comment on his hair.

“I will if you get rid of the mullet and admit that I’m a better pilot than you.” Lance smugly answered.

“Well we know that’s not gonna happen anytime soon,” Pidge commented with a smirk in her voice.

“Oh come on.  I’m a great pilot, right Red?  Ooof” Lance yelled as he was hit by one of the fighter jets.

“Heh.  You were saying?” Keith commented failing to hide his amusement at the situation.

“Oh shut it mullet.  You try flying a different lion than you’re used to.” Lance grumbled out.

“I am?” Keith reminded Lance.

“Oh yeah.  Well, at least I don’t have a mullet!” Lance exclaimed.

“Wow.  Great come back.  Can’t argue with that.” Pidge said with sarcasm evident in her voice.

“Paladins, please!  We have a mission to do here.  We need to focus on protecting the Vorurteil from the Galra empire, not on someone’s hairstyle.” Allura reminded everyone of the reason they were there in the first place while reprimanding Lance.  “We cannot allow any more planets to fall prey to the empire.”

“Don’t worry princess, Lancelot and his noble steed are on their way to save the day!” Lance said as he flew closer to the robeast to help Allura and Hunk.

“Good reference Lance!” Hunk encouragingly said as he shot down another fighter jet.

“Lancelot?  Who is Lancelot?” Allura asked as she froze a fighter jet before ramming into it and shattering it into space dust.

“You know, knight in shining armor, slayer of dragons, savior of princesses” Lance answered unaware of the missile coming right towards him.

Luckily, Allura noticed it and was able to push the red lion out of the way

“More like saved by the princess.” Hunk commented.

“Lance, are you implying that I can’t defend myself?” Allura asked.

“What? No!  You can take care of yourself.  Most princesses faint at the sight of danger, but you sure don’t.  You could kick my butt any day.”  Lance quickly said.

“Really?  Well in that case, it looks like you could use some more training.  That’s an extra half varga of training for everyone tomorrow.” Allura responded.

“Oh come on” groans and similar sounds came through the coms.  “Why should we all be punished because Lance couldn’t keep his big mouth shut?” Pidge asked.

“Because we’re a team.  We train together to win together.  What one individual does affects the whole team.  It is only fair that we share in their fate.”  Allura stated.

“Remind me why the girl with super strength is in charge of training.  Not all of us are Wonder Woman you know.”  Pidge muttered to herself.

“What was that, Pidge?” Allura asked, having not heard what she said clearly.

“Nothing.  Just saying that I could use some peace and quiet so I can focus on not alerting the Galra to the fact that we’re on their ship.” Pidge responded.

“Sorry, Pidge.” Everyone chorused.

Lance noticed that the robeast was aiming its missiles right at the yellow lion.  Hunk was distracted by all of the fighter jets swarming him and didn’t seem to be aware of it.  Not even thinking, Lance charged across the sky and slammed his lion into Yellow letting the missiles hit Red instead.  “Uggggh.  That’s going to leave a mark.” Lance groaned out.

“What did you do to Red?” Keith questioned.

“Nothing.  Sheesh.  We just got hit by the robeasts missiles.  She’ll be fine.  Stop backseat lion driving.” Lance answered.

“Can you two leave your little rivalry for later?  I got the database downloaded.  We’re on our way to our lions now.  Once we’re out, let’s form Voltron, defeat this robeast, and blow this popsicle stand.” Pidge said.

“We really should start naming the robeasts.  It’s hard to keep track of them.” Hunk suggested.

“I don’t think naming them is going to help us fight them,” Keith said.

“Yeah, but think how much better the story of saving Shae and the other Balmerans would be if instead of saying that we faced a robeast with lasers all over its arms we say that we fought the lazer squid.  It rolls off the tongue a bit nicer and adds a bit more of pizazz to the story.” Lance said as he used Red’s fire to melt through some of the fighter jets.  “Any suggestions for names for this one?”

“Yeah, how about shut up and focus Lance!” Pidge yelled through the coms as the Green and Black lions zoomed out of the Galra ship while the ion cannon exploded from the inside just as Pidge had told it to.

“Mmm good try, but I was thinking something more like the Terror-dactyl, cause it looks like a pterodactyl and inspires terror in its victims,” Lance responded.

“Good one, Lance.” Hunk commented.

“Could you please focus on the mission?  Honestly, it’s like dealing with a Glolnor.” Allura said, muttering the last part under her breath.

“Alright.  Let’s form Voltron and fight the pterodactyl.”  Keith said

“Keith, it’s called the terror-dactyl.” Lance tried to correct his teammate.

“That’s what I said.  The pterodactyl.” Keith responded.

“No, it’s…oh never mind.  We’ll work on it later.” Lance said

“Form Voltron!” Keith yelled as the paladins all flew in formation focusing on their bond as paladins.

“Did anyone see any weaknesses for this guy?” Pidge asked.

“Our lazer guns have some effect, but they aren’t able to pierce through the armor.”  Hunk answered.

“The most they could do is hold the creature at bay, but we can’t do that forever,” Allura added on.

“He didn’t seem to like Red’s fire.  Maybe we can try to draw him closer to the volcano over there.” Lance suggested.

“That’s…actually not a bad idea,” Allura commented.

“Why do you sound so shocked?” lance asked incredulously.

“Yeah, I mean, even a broken clock’s right twice a day,” Pidge said.

“Yeah, uh-huh, exactly.  Wait…” Lance started to say before he was interrupted by Hunk yelling

“Guys!  On our left!”

“Pidge, shield!” Keith yelled upon seeing the robeast’s missiles heading right for them.  The impact from them hitting the shield was enough to push back Voltron.

“That gives me an idea!  We can use my gun to force this guy up against the volcano, just like how he was able to push us!” Lance said excitedly.

“That could work, but you’re not enough on your own.  We need more power if we want to push this guy back.” Keith commented.  “Hunk, your weapon should work, so get ready.”

“I was born ready.”  Hunk said.

“Now!” Keith yelled as Pidge’s shield went away and Hunk’s canon emerged.  He fired at the Terror-dactyl and hit it dead on.

“Direct hit!  Nice shot, Hunk!” Lance called out as the robeast stumbled back towards the volcano.

“Thanks, I try.” Hunk said.

“One more hit like that should force the Terror-dactyl right next to the volcano,” Pidge remarked.

“He’s starting to get up, guys!” Lance exclaimed.

“Hunk, how long until your cannon’s charged?” Keith asked.

“Just a tic more and…ready when you are.”

“Ready, aim, fire!”

Most of the shots hit the Terror-dactyl, but a few of them missed and hit the side of the volcano.  Unbeknownst to them, this robeast still had one trick up its sleeve.  As Keith summoned his sword, the Terror-dactyl fired what looked like a net at Voltron.

“Really?  A net?  That’s the best the Galra can do?” Pidge commented with a smug look on her face.

Suddenly electricity flowed through the net that had Voltron in its clutches.

“What the cheese?  I can’t move!”  Lance yelled.

“Neither can I!” Allura said, with the rest of the paladins confirming that they were also unable to move.  “Somehow, this net must be able to immobilize Voltron.  We can’t get out!”

“What do we do, Keith?” Lance asked worriedly.

“I…I don’t know,” Keith responded, voice sounding small.

“What do you mean you don’t know?  You’re our leader!” Lance yelled on the verge of panic.

“That doesn’t mean I know everything!” Keith yelled back.

“Shiro would know what to do,” Lance muttered to himself.

“Well, guess what, Lance.  I’m not Shiro.  He’s not here.” Keith responded angrily, though that anger was more directed at himself.

“If you would please stop antagonizing each other perhaps we could figure a way out of this situation,” Allura interjected.

“Sorry, Allura.” They chorused.  Suddenly they were thrown in the air towards the base of the volcano.

“Uggh.  I still can’t move.  Pidge, do you think you can hack our way out of here?” Hunk asked.

“No.  Green won’t let me in.  The net is stopping the lions from doing much of anything.” She responded.

“Does anyone else feel like the ground is shaking?” Lance asked.

“Now that you mention it, yes,” Allura answered.

“I think the volcano’s going to erupt!  Hunk’s cannon fire and Voltron hitting it must have triggered it.” Pidge said.

“Can Voltron survive lava?” Hunk’s worry showed in his voice.

“For a short while, yes, but only the red lion can survive more than 5 dobashes.” Allura responded.

“So we’ve got 7 minutes until we’re toast.  Literally.”  Lance said.

“We’ve got to get out of here!  Can anyone move?” Hunk asked only to receive a chorus of “no” in response.

Suddenly there was a great sound of thunder as a plume of smoke rose up into the air.  Lava began to flow down the slope of the volcano all the while the robeast approached Voltron, ready to strike.

“It was nice knowing you all…and Keith.” Lance said.

“Really, Lance?” Keith said exasperatedly.

“Do you still have to pick a fight with Keith when we’re about to die?” Pidge yelled through the coms.

The lava was nearly upon them.  The Terror-dactyl roared in Voltron’s face as it steadied itself against the volcano and Voltron to aim its missiles right at the lions.  Before it could fire, the lava reached its hand that was on the volcano.  With an agonizing roar, it released its hold on Voltron and stumbled away.

“We’re free!  Let’s go!” Keith said as Voltron regained its movement and stood to take down the robeast once and for all.

“Your sword should be able to pierce through the armor,” Allura commented.

“It would be better if it were Shiro’s flaming sword,” Keith said dejectedly.

“Well, if all else fails, Hunk can always knock him back into the lava,” Lance suggested.

“Yeah, if we don’t get caught in that net again.” Hunk worried out loud.

“We won’t.  We know about it, so he no longer has the element of surprise.  We got this guys!”

“Everybody ready?  Let’s go!” Keith said as they approached the beast once more.

The Terror-dactyl had finished grieving over its charred skin and was ready to finish what it was created to do.  Voltron and the Terror-dactyl charged at one another.  The robeast fired its net at Voltron once again, but they were able to dodge it.  With a quick swing of the sword, the robeast was sliced clean through.  Its corpse fell into the lava that still flowed down the volcano.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The Vorurteil humbly thank you all for ridding our planet of the Galra.”

“It was the least we could do after receiving your message.  You must be Virelai.”  Allura said.

“And you must be Princess Allura.  Even here we have heard tell of you and Voltron.”  Virelai said at seeing her surprise at knowing who she was.  “Though I must say, the stories do not do your beauty justice.”

Allura blushed slightly at the comment before regaining her composure.  “Thank you, but we are not here to just exchange compliments.  We would be honored if you would be willing to join the Voltron Coalition.  Together, we will be able to defeat the Galra empire once and for all.”

While the two leaders were discussing, Lance looked over at Keith and noticed a thin line of blood flowing down his face.  “You’ve got something on your face, Mullet.”  He said while pointing at Keith’s cheek.

“I wish you would stop calling me that,” Keith said as he brushed away the blood with his hand.  “I must have bumped my head during the fight.”  He began to take off his helmet to better inspect the wound.

A wave went through the crowd as the Vorurteil nearest to them grabbed their rifles and pointed them at Keith.

“What is the meaning of this?” Princess Allura asked.

“He is Galra.”  Virelai spat out, fury evident in her voice.

The other paladins formed a circle around Keith to shield him from the crowd upon seeing their reaction to Keith’s ears giving away his Galran heritage.

“So what if he’s part Galra?  He is a paladin of Voltron!” Pidge exclaimed.

“A position for which his kind should never have been chosen for.” Virelai retorted.

“He risked his life to save your planet.  I believe the words you’re looking for are thank you.” Lance said.

One of the Vorurteil near them spat at Keith “I would rather die than be saved by the likes of them!”

“Okay, that’s a bit harsh there.  How about everyone puts their guns down so we can talk this out peacefully.” Hunk put his hands in front of him in a calm down motion.

“And leave ourselves defenseless for him to attack?” Another Vorurteil yelled out in the crowd.  “How do we know you aren’t working for the Galra empire?”

“I can assure you that we are not and will never affiliate ourselves with the Galra empire,”  Allura responded.

“And yet there is a Galra among you.” Virelai icily spoke as she narrowed her eyes.

“Keith is a valued member of our team,” Allura emphasized Keith’s name.

“Yeah!  He’s one of the good Galra!” Lance exclaimed.

“The only good Galra is a dead Galra.” Someone in the mob shouted.  Other voices echoed in agreement.

“Actually, that’s not true.  The Blade of Marmora have helped us out quite a bit.” Hunk continued trying to calm the crowd.

“And just who are the Blade of Marmora?” Virelai raised a hand to silence the crowd.

“They are a group of Galra who fight against the empire and among our most trusted allies,” Allura replied.  “Keith himself is a member, as was his mother.”

“How do you know that his mother and the others were not preparing him to be a mole on your team?” Virelai prompted.

“Well, that would be kind of hard for them to do given that my mother left when I was a baby.  I only found out I was part Galra a month, err, pheeb ago.” Keith responded.

“Yeah.  Don’t go around dissing the Blade of Marmora.  Without them, Voltron wouldn’t be here now.” Lance commented.

“If it were not for the actions of their man on the inside, Thace, Voltron would have been in the Galra Empire’s clutches.  All would have been lost.” Allura stated.

“Not to mention if Ulaz hadn’t freed Shiro, we wouldn’t have even found Blue at all.  Without the Blade, there would be no Voltron.” Lance added on.

“We owe everything to them,” Allura said.

There was indistinct murmuring though out the crowd before Virelai once more silenced them with a wave of her hand.

“If what you say is true, then perhaps there is hope for an alliance.  There’s just one problem.  How would we tell someone from the Blade from someone from the Empire?”

“If they truly are from the blade, they will have a knife like this,” Keith said as he held up his knife.  “They will also be able to activate it like so.” A purple light surrounded the knife as it transformed into a messer.  “Only those with Galra blood who have officially joined the Blade can do this.”

“Thank you for this information.  We thank you all once more for your assistance and would be honored to be included in the coalition.  I would also like to apologize for my people’s and my reaction to you, Keith.  We should know better than to judge based on what one is.  It is one’s actions that determine who they are.” Virelai said as she bowed her head to Keith.

“You don’t have to apologize.  I know how hard it can be to accept that there are good Galra out there when the Empire is doing such terrible things.  It took me some time to accept that part of myself.” Keith responded.

“It was an adjustment for everyone.  I was…less than welcoming to the idea.  The empire had destroyed my planet and my people among many others.  How could someone of their blood possibly be chosen as a paladin of Voltron?  I did come to realize that it was not Keith who did those things.  The people who committed those atrocities are long dead, save for Zarkon and Haggar.  I could never forgive them for what they have done, but their descendants I could seek reconciliation with.  I trust Red and Black’s choice in Keith serving as a paladin.” Allura stated.

“Both Lions chose him as a paladin?  Is that why he wears red yet pilots the black lion?” Virelai asked.

“Something like that.  Our true black paladin, Shiro, was captured by the Galra.  I’m just subbing for him until we find him.  I don’t like to think of myself as the black paladin.  I’m the red paladin and once Shiro’s back, I’ll go back to piloting Red.” Keith responded.

“Is that why some of the rest of your team’s colors don’t correspond with their lion’s colors?” Virelai prompted.

“Yep, you got it, pretty lady,” Lance responded.  “It has taken some getting used to, but the ‘paladin shuffle’ has held up.  We’ve had our struggles, but they help us grow closer as a team.”

“And we as a people are thankful for it.  You can count on the assistance of the Vorurteil in your fight against the Galra Empire.”  Virelai stated.

“Here’s a communicator.  If the Galra Empire comes back, give us a call and we’ll be happy to assist you.” Allura said as she handed the communicator to Virelai.

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“Greetings paladins!  How did the mission go?” Coran asked as the rest of team Voltron filed into the bridge of the castleship.

“It went well.  The Vorurteil have agreed to become part of the coalition.” Allura responded.

“How are the castle upgrades going?” Hunk asked.

“Quite well in fact.  Within a few varga, the particle barrier should be able to withstand more than a single blast from an ion cannon.”  Coran replied.  “I am sorry that I couldn’t provide any air support for you all on the mission.  My grandfather designed the ship to upgrade something only when the system was turned off.  If the ship had been there, it would have been a sitting…what was that animal you said, number 5?”

“A sitting duck.” Pidge supplied.

“Ah yes.  A sitting duck.  Quite the interesting creatures your planet has.” Coran commented.

“Well, if we’re ever in the neighborhood, we could make a pit stop and show you a duck,” Lance said.  “My family has a farm in Cuba, so there would be plenty of animals for you to see.”

“That would be smashing!” Coran replied.  “Is there any more news?”

“Not yet.  Shiro and Dad weren’t on board, but I did download their prisoner database.  I should be able to find a clue of some sort in there once I decode it.” Pidge said as she tried to stifle a yawn.

“That’s wonderful!  I wish you luck.” Coran exclaimed.

“Please do try not to stay up all night working on it.  Remember, extra training in the morning.  For every dobash one of you is late, it’s an extra 5 dobashes for everyone.” Allura reminded the team.

“Yeah, Lance.” Pidge snidely remarked.

“Hey, it takes time to look this good,” Lance said as he gestured to his face.

“You’re joking, rights?” Keith said with a small snicker.

“I wouldn’t expect some desert heathen to understand that moisturizer is your friend,” Lance said in a joking manner.

“Oh haha.” Keith said dryly.

“I can go whip up something in the kitchen if anyone’s hungry.  I think I’ve perfected space pancakes.” Hunk suggested.

“Woohoo! Breakfast for dinner is the best!” Pidge exclaimed.

“That sounds delightful, Hunk.  What are pancakes?” Allura asked.

“Wait.  You’ve never had pancakes?  They’re like one of the best kinds of food ever.  You haven’t lived until you’ve tried Hunk’s.” Lance responded.

“Yeah.  He makes the best pancakes in the universe.” Pidge added on.

“Aww, guys.  You’re gonna make me blush.” Hunk commented.  “But if I’m gonna make the ‘best pancakes in the universe’, I’m going to need a taste tester.”

“Called it!” Lance excitedly raised his hand in the air as everyone made their way to the kitchen.

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Before heading off to bed, Lance had finally gotten the chance to ask Coran about the creature Allura had mentioned during their battle on Vorteil.  The conversation was still floating through his mind as he tried to fall asleep.

“A Glolnor?  They’re brainless creatures from planet Gleedon.  Quite daft little things.  My grandfather said that some once tried to keep them as pets, but they had a tendency to become distracted.  Quite a few died because they were distracted from eating.  Can you imagine being that senseless?” Coran said with a chuckle.

“No, I can’t.” Lance said 

I guess that’s how Allura sees me.

“Why do you ask?”

Not wanting to say Allura had referred to him being similar to one of those creatures, Lance quickly said “Oh, I just read it in something in the library.”

“Ah.  It’s nice to see you contributing more to the team.”

Guess I don’t contribute enough.

Other bits of conversations started spiraling in his head as he tried to fall asleep.

‘Not enough.’ Keith said

‘Broken.’ Pidge commented.

No.  That’s not true. Lance tried to assure himself.

‘Shut up.’ Pidge spoke again.

‘Focus on the mission.’ Allura said.

I was.  I do focus on the mission.  I just have my own way of dealing with things. Lance weakly argued.

‘Stop antagonizing each other.’ Allura stated.

‘Worst pilot’ Keith commented.

‘Naturally dumb.’ Hunk said.

‘The only reason you’re here is that the best pilot in your class had a discipline issue and flunked out.’ Iverson barked out.

I know I’ll never be as good as Keith or any of them, but I’m trying.  Tears began to fall.  Why can’t they see that?

He heard a worried *Squeak* from his nightstand.

“Oh.  Hey, Chulatt.” Lance sat up as he brushed away his tears.  “What are you doing here?”

Chulatt started doing charades to talk to Lance.

“You’re worried about me?”

The space-mouse nodded with a *Squeak* of agreement.

“You don’t have to be, though it’s nice to know someone cares.”

Chulatt raised his hands in a grabbing motion.

“You want me to pick you up?  Okay.  Hop on.” Lance said as held his hand flat on the nightstand next to Chulatt.

The blue mouse climbed onto his palm and gave him a thumbs up.

“Alright, going up.” Lance raised his hand that was holding Chulatt.

The mouse held onto his thumb like a handrail.  Once he was in front of Lance’s face, he started hugging himself.

“You want a hug?”

*Squeak*

“Aww.  How can I say no to that face?”  Being careful not to squeeze Chulatt too hard, Lance lowered him to his chest and pressed him against it.

Chulatt nuzzled into the embrace as Lance began to pet him.  A few minutes passed as Lance continued to pet him.

“Thanks for worrying about me, but it’s getting late and I’m sure Allura and the other space-mice are wondering where you went.  You should probably head back before they miss you.  Oh!” Lance exclaimed as he brought Chulatt back in front of his face.  “Before you go, can you keep this between us?  I don’t want anyone else to know I was crying.  I know crying is not a bad thing, but please?  I got some mouse treats at the space mall.  If you don’t tell, I’ll give you one.”

Chulatt tilted his head to the side in a thinking motion before gesturing to Lance, crossing his arms and shaking his head, then moving his fists to his eyes and making a crying motion.

“You’ll think about it if I stop crying?”

*Squeak*

“Alright.  You drive a hard bargain, but I’ll try to stop crying.  You’re very persuasive for such a small mouse.”

Chulatt let out an indignant *Squeak* and stomped his foot on lances palm.

“Sorry, sorry.  For such a sweet mouse.”

Chulatt beamed at the praise as Lance placed him back on top of the nightstand.

Lance opened the drawer on his nightstand and pulled out the bag of treats.  He grabbed one out of the bag and handed it to Chulatt.

“There you go.”

*Squeak*

“You’re welcome.  Goodnight.”

*Squeak* Chulatt said before he dashed back off towards Allura’s room.

Lance tried to fall asleep once more.  The voices were still present in his head, but they were much quieter now.  He soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

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“Sir, the paladins were able to defeat the cruiser and the robeast.” Acxa informed Lotor.

“I would have expected nothing less of them.  Truly remarkable.  We have their leader, and yet they remain a force to be reckoned with.” Lotor responded calmly.

“There’s more.  The green one was able to access and download the prisoner database you put on the ship, just like you said they would.” Ezor added on.

“Perfect.  They’re playing right into our hands.” Lotor stated.

“Why did you put that on there anyway?  Now they’re going to know where all of our prisoners are.” Ezor questioned.

“It’s all part of the plan.  Besides, they’re only interested in two of our prisoners.  And of those two, they are more likely to go where they believe we’re holding their leader.  That location is the only accurate information in the database.” Lotor explained.

“I still don’t get why we couldn’t have gone there and bashed some heads,” Zethrid said as she cracked her knuckles.

“All good things to those who wait.  We can chase them in circles like a yupper chasing its tail, or we can wait for them to come to us.  They have something we need.  It would do us no good to destroy them at this point.”

“Ooooh.  Are we going to trade their leader for it?” Ezor asked.

“Something like that,” Lotor said with a smug smirk on his face.

Narti pulled up some of the security feeds from the cruiser the paladins had taken down earlier.  These cameras were powered remotely by their ship, so the paladins were none the wiser to being observed and mistakenly believed that they had shut down all security feeds on board.

“Narti’s right.  We should continue to analyze the security feeds of the paladins.” Acxa said.

“Yeah!  That way we know the best way to beat them in a fight!” Zethrid exclaimed.

“Remember, there will be a fight, but we will let them get away with what they came for.” Lotor directed at Zethrid.

“As long as I get to fight the princess again, I’m happy,” Zethrid said.

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Next          Masterpost

[timedriving]

DocRip for the Ship meme because it sounds cute af

send me a ship and i’ll tell you… ( accepting )

who hogs the duvet they share. rip doesn’t move much, the doctor doesn’t move much, and so the duvet stays blissfully where it is... and so does rip’s face where it’s buried itself in the doctor’s back or his chest, his arms wrapped firm around him. i don’t think either of them sleep much, but in the moments that they both manage to do it at the same time, rip savours it immensely

who texts/rings to check how their day is going rip checks in more often, but only because he’s less of a scatterbrain and remembers to do these things at a semi-regular basis. the doctor doesn’t always reply right away (but honestly, the tardis has always been a bit odd about receiving messages), but when he does rip often gets an incredibly long reply, which he’ll-- embarrassingly-- read several times before finally writing back although sometimes he reads it several times because he has to reprocess everything the doctor’s written. even his writing is incredibly excitable and sort of resembles a stream of consciousness sort of thing

who’s the most creative when it comes to gifts the doctor, hands down. and it’s not always physical stuff-- though he does like to bring souvenirs when he comes back from periods or places that rip’s never been to (which are a lot!), and rip lovingly places them in his office on a special shelf that’s just for the doctor’s stuff for him. anyway, the doctor’s creative in that he goes from physical gifts to gifts that are experiences to gifts that are just, you know, leaving a sweet voicemail that isn’t intended to be especially sweet or anything, but ends up being sweet anyway because of the way the doctor’s mind works. when he thinks of rip even a little bit he ends up thinking of rip a lot, and it makes for the most embarrassing things to listen to... but only because rip doesn’t know what to do with all these admiring feelings towards him it makes him wish he were better at the whole gift thing in return. he’ll probably never beat the doctor at it (especially with the frequency that gifts are given), but he’s probably given a fairly rough poem or two here and there... or a sketch of the doctor he’s drawn from memory...

who gets up first in the morning the doctor gets up earlier than him and it’s surreal. rip isn’t used to being the one that’s surprised in the morning, and he probably will never be; fortunately, he’s so attuned to the doctor’s voice that he never feels panicked when he is woken... even if the doctor’s sort of flailing about excitedly and rip’s half-asleep mind is just struggling to catch up with all of it the doctor likes rip all freshly woken up; he’s a lot more honest when he’s groggy, what with how he isn’t conscious of what he says or what he sounds like. rip’s also a lot more mushy, and it’s funny in an endearing way seeing him whinge about wanting the doctor to just come back to bed already

who suggests new things in bed the doctor, probably? rip’s tastes are fairly simple, and the doctor’s probably seen way more shit in his 1000ish years of life through time and space. but then they’re both simple in terms of what satisfies them; neither of them really need much? it’s usually just to spice things up here and there, and sometimes it isn’t even overtly sexual or inappropriate (“what if we rode a roller coaster fifteen times-- i think the adrenaline would make the sex after incredible” “...okay” and then rip ends up too dizzy to nail him and the doctor has to pat his back). either way, rip is pretty open-minded, so it’s not like it’s especially difficult

who cries at movies oooh, i feel like they’re both... not the type to cry at films? like they’re both removed enough from these sorts of things that they don’t have enough context to cry about it? rip is probably the first human companion that doesn’t question the doctor even a little when he doesn’t get the deeper humany-wumany emotional details of things... because honestly, rip doesn’t get it either when the movie is so far removed from him he can’t feel any proper attachment to anything. useless

who gives unprompted massages the doctor’s more likely to try doing it unprompted; rip always asks first, and even then i imagine the doctor has to teach him how to do it the first time or so to get his good spots (but after being corrected once here and there, rip picks it up pretty easily!) anyway, the doctor’s pretty good at easing in from gradual touch to, like, serious massaging, so rip doesn’t feel too surprised by it. it’s kind of surreal. also, rip never notices how tense he is until the doctor fixes it... what a wise guy

who fusses over the other when they’re sick rip finds it funny in a sort of silly way that the doctor fusses about him. but then the doctor wouldn’t be so fussy if rip was just a better patient!! rip never friggin’ sleeps properly though, and he always argues about wanting to do some work first before getting his bed rest, and the doctor is like “rip hunter, you are an incredible human, one of the best, but you can’t be the best any more if you get sicker and sicker, all right?” and it’s. it’s so disarming, that the doctor is so kind in this way, and so despite the fact he’s grumbling about it rip does, in fact, get some sleep for him, sheesh

who gets jealous easiest probably rip. it’s intimidating having a partner that’s as old and experienced and worldly (universely?) as the doctor, and sometimes he does worry he’s inadequate for him, which sort of translates to some, uh, unfortunate jealousy here and there. he doesn’t need to be reassured constantly or anything, and it’s not something that makes him angry with the doctor and what not, but it’s there. and he gets a bit tense, sometimes. and the way his eye twitches whenever someone openly flirts with his time lord is something that the doctor notices every time, silly captain hunter no lie, though, rip does like being reminded that he’s the doctor’s favourite. he’s simple. let him be

who has the most embarrassing taste in music i don’t think they have enough understanding of the concept of embarrassment due to music taste to really feel it?? rip’s interested in whatever nonsense the doctor likes to show him, always, and the doctor thinks rip’s eclectic collection of human music is a fascinating way to show how music on earth’s evolved over the years. it’s very honest and wholesome

who collects something unusual they’re both! stupid! collectors! but really, rip’s souvenir hoarding’s got nothing on the doctor’s, but given that the doctor’s breadth and scope of adventuring is a lot wider than rip’s is, the doctor has a significantly larger collection. i think by virtue of that the doctor’s got more unusual things. i like to imagine that he has the equivalent of “getting a starbucks mug from every country you’ve been to” in like... universal terms. probably there are planets out there that have the alien equivalent of starbucks? the doctor with universal starbucks mugs is really cute rip’s most diverse collection is his collection of cereal and various other confectionaries... he has a special time chamber/time lock thing that prevents the contents from ageing and he keeps all that stupid stuff there

who takes the longest to get ready the doctor ALWAYS has to look fly, down to the way his hair is styled, and he tries out new things here and there that rip himself has no inclination towards. rip wears the same clothes, like, all the time, as in same shirt same waistcoast same trousers same hairstyle same beard cut and what not, so he doesn’t have to think much or do much to maintain it as opposed to the doctor’s more ~unique tastes

who is the most tidy and organised rip, i think! in fact, first time he was on the tardis he tried to fix a few things, but then he found out rather quickly that she likes to behave in whatever way she pleases, so he... doesn’t do much any more, save for fixing about the room that the doctor decided was his whenever he chooses to stay over. but then whenever he decides to stay over the doctor also stays in the same room like the goofball he is, so i mean. they end up making a bit of a mess sometimes, anyway

who gets most excited about the holidays the doctor knows SO many holidays! so many! in so many different places and times! and he’s different from rip in the sense that he’s actually celebrated them at least once in his life! rip is fortunate that the doctor chooses not to share the more boring holidays with him, but the ones with festivals or parties or gifts or bright lights or good food and stuff? yeah, rip is getting a crash course in all of them and rip’s not much for interacting with too many people at once, so for the livelier holidays he does like to hang back after he’s reached his threshold of dealing with other people and just watch the doctor have the time of his life. occasionally he will even draw the doctor partaking in these festivities... he always looks so happy

who is the big spoon/little spoon rip quite likes being the big spoon in this scenario. the doctor is so much smaller than him, it’s kind of addicting to hold him and be able to press his face into his hair, or his shoulder, or his back. rip’s also incredibly fond of listening to those twin heartbeats of his; somehow it’ll always be a little surreal, but it’s fitting for a man so full of life, isn’t it? there is just this mutual safety in it, and a sense of honour when rip considers who he’s holding. the doctor could be the most dangerous being in the universe if he chose to be, and rip is here holding him in some metaphorical act of protecting him (even if it’s more likely that the doctor will save his ass more than the other way around) also it’s fun teasing the doctor a little with his touches when rip spoons him... sorry he’s trash.............

who gets most competitive when playing games and/or sports oh no... i think they are both pretty competitive, and it can get pretty intense! these two probably have the most exciting chess games ever, frankly, and it’s kind of funny how they both get some form of adrenaline rushes, but they’re both geniuses aware of their intelligence who like feeling mentally challenged, aren’t they? i also think the doctor appreciates being able to play chess with someone who matches his smarts as well as rip does, even though the doctor tends to beat him more often than the opposite outcome cards can also get straight up hostile sometimes. LMFAO

who starts the most arguments rip has a shorter temper of the two, but when the doctor gets mad he’s WAY more dangerous... that being said i don’t think they argue much besides shallow, playful ribbing of the couple sort just to be shits to each other?? probably the worst thing they could argue about would be for something dangerous and it being, like, “you should stay here where it’s safe!” “no i’ll come with you” “NO YOU’LL STAY” rip’s probably most argumentative about not being left behind, though. definitely. and he’s a growling, stupid dog about it, too

who suggests that they buy a pet the doctor suggests it, and the pet that the doctor suggests is in no way familiar to rip’s earthly traditions. LOL. they’re here with a single-celled, six-winged, alien bird-like sort of thing and it barely needs to be taken care of, and rip can’t pronounce the name the doctor’s given it, so it has a nickname that his sad human mouth and tongue are capable of forming. the pet survives quite nicely in the tardis too, incidentally?? rip is able to teach it tricks somehow with the use of clicking his tongue and whistling and the doctor picks up the technique but not the bird’s cooperation... so unfair. what do you do to make her listen to you, rip!!!

what couple traditions they have they like to leave each other messages in time! in a kind of ridiculous way of like, if rip meets the doctor’s future self in the middle of a mission, he’ll be sure to leave something for his past/present self to find when he eventually gets to that point in his time, you know? the doctor does the same thing. it’s a fun kind of tag along mini scavenger hunt sort of thing, and since history-altering interactions with a time lord don’t seem to ruin the stability of space-time, it’s a fun thing for rip especially

what tv shows they watch together not much... rip doesn’t care about television? i don’t think the doctor does, either. they’ll give a series a try, and maybe there’s something here and there that they end up liking (i am leaning towards westerns?? also the doctor WILL call rip “sheriff” at some point just to tease him and rip will be like *PING!* and the doctor’s never going to let him forget it, just so that’s clear), but it’ll take them AGES to finish because the doctor is incapable of binge-watching anything without getting bored of it halfway through

what other couple they hang out with the ponds i don’t... know really?? maybe martin and clarissa; i like the idea of the doctor and rip joining their trivia nights! and the doctor suggests being the one to come up with trivia questions at some point and rip has to remind him “nobody on earth will know the answer to that, that’s not fair” whilst the doctor is like “hmmmm, it’s their fault for not being better universal students, though” and rip just laughs... that’s his silly time lord...

how they spend time together as a couple besides the adventures they go on? rip is SUPER interested whenever the doctor does any tune-ups for the tardis, and he’s smart enough and talented enough in the engineering biz that he’s not useless when he does it. rip will never know all the secrets to the tardis-- the doctor will never teach him everything, and rip himself won’t be particularly pushy about having to learn it all either-- but he will know enough that the doctor can ask him for help with the more common issues and needs and rip can do them easily without asking for advice

who made the first move the doctor, absolutely, which isn’t to say that rip had never started to develop feelings, but when you grow up idolising the time lords and the culture of gallifrey and then suddenly find yourself able to spend time with the most legendary one of them all, it’s kind of hard to move past that concept that “oh god, he’s so much better than me, it’s not like he’ll see anything in me more than friendship, is it?” i don’t think the doctor is blind, but he isn’t completely sure if rip likes him in that way or if he’s just misreading things? but in the end it is, in fact, the doctor who goes the extra mile, and then rip just loses his whole mind and needs some serious self-control when he finds out he’s allowed to kiss the doctor in this way

who brings flowers home aw man... i like to think the doctor surprises him with it in an attempt to court him in a human way. and though rip isn’t a regular human he does know what flowers symbolise, and it gets to him because... aw, man, he got him flowers! one day it is going to be flowers from a planet that isn’t earth, and rip-- in all his tendencies to keep comfort items-- will end up pressing every flower he gets and keeping them in scrapbooks he thinks he’s being sneaky about it and the doctor doesn’t know, but... the doctor definitely knows that rip’s a sentimental bastard, and that’s wh he keeps giving him this stuff

who is the best cook is rip surprised that the doctor cooks better than him? he is not. what he is surprised by is the fact that the doctor can handle food with as much seasoning as rip needs, because he’s so used to having to adjust to other people’s “normal” tastebuds instead of them adjusting to the fact he needs killer amounts of seasoning to be able to taste anything no offence to his adoptive mum, but in objective terms of taste alone, the doctor might make better food than she does... i don’t think rip’s eaten as often as he eats with the doctor in ages, too