#(there was in my 'verse. well. an explosives expert.)

[madrigaljail]

Oh hey Jared answered my question. Sort of.

[alexversenaberrie]

This is Hiba’s brother Kanan, another one of my OC Mandalorians you’re free to cosplay or do fan art of. Just like my other OC Mandos.

Name: Kanan Fenn Bridger-Wren

Gender: Male

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Year of Birth: 16 ABY

Place of Birth: Knownwrest

Parents: Ezra Bridger (Father) and Sabine Wren (Mother)

Siblings: Hiba (Sister),Minerva (Sister), Eleni (Sister)

House: Kryze

Clan: Wren (Formally of House Viszla but switch affiliation with House Kryze by Countess Sabine Wren, Kanan’s mother, in 10 ABY.)

Titles: Prince of Knownwrest, Ambassador to Navarro, Knight of Kalevala, Captain of “The Ghost”, and commander pilot (During the Age of Resistance).

Appearance:

•6’3

•Light brown Skin (Middle Eastern X East Asian)

•Athletic

•Muscular

•Narrow but round face

•Jet black hair

•Blue eyes

•Shaven

Notable Skills:

•Combat: Considered prodigal in various combatant skills including hand-to-hand combat, light saber wielding, being skilled in the use of Westar 34, 35, and carbine blasters.

•Athleticism: Like the majority of his family clan, Kanan is very athletic as a result of constant training from both of his parents and from Jedi Master Ahsoka Tano.

•Intelligence: Above-average intelligence. Excelled well at both the newly reestablished Royal Academy as a youth and in training with his clan.

•Weapons Expert: Kanan is extremely talented in the field of weaponry. He can build various types of weapons for different variations of combat. They include blasters, pistols, explosives, and sabers.

•Piloting Expert: Due to constant training under General Hera Syndulla, Kanan is an expert pilot who went on to become captain of “The Ghost” during the Age of Resistance, serving both generals Leia Organa and Poe Damermon in all battles against the First Order.

•Gifted Artist: A talented inherited from his mother and maternal grandfather, Kanan is a gifted graffiti artist who is well known for painting other people’s armor with signets, decals and various colors that symbolizes their personal life stories and families histories. He has also painted his own X-Wing ship with different shades of yellow, orange, blue, and purple with imagery that symbolizes his family’s legacy and his own hopes and dreams.

Force Sensitive: Yes, like his parents and older sister. His force sensitivity has given him the ability to read minds, and feelings which allows him to properly judge people and determine if they’re either worthy of the Mandalorian people’s trust or be avoided at all costs.

Additional Information:

•Although he’s the third of four children born to Sabine and Ezra Bridger-Wren, Kanan is a twin to his sister Eleni, who was just four minutes later.

•He’s named after his father’s late friend, master and surrogate father Kanan Jarrus.

•His force sensitivity was discovered by his father not long after his older sister’s. In response, Ezra, along side his longtime friend Ahsoka Tano, decided to train his two force sensitive children to appreciate their abilities and use them for good.

•During his time at the Royal Academy in Sundari, Kanan built a super weapon he named “Carlac” after the snow-bound planet that once served as a temporary camp for Death Watch. The ice berg-shaped weapon, which was built for use by the Resistance, unlike his mother’s “Duchess” weapon, first identifies anyone who is part of the First Order or is a Sith. Then, it beams ice out of its canon, aiming for the target’s chest, causing them become stunned from an internal hypothermic onset. However, the weapon doesn’t kill them but puts into a coma-like sleep for a few hours, which gives Resistance officials time to transport their suspects to their bases or ships where they are then defrosted and awaken for interrogation.

•He’s kind, loyal, compassionate, giving, caring, and daring.

•He’s openly gay and is currently courting a male Pantoran named Quill Woves, House Kryze foundling son of Axe Woves and his Covent husband, Octavian.

•Has a tight-knit relationship with his family clan.

Strengths:

•With his expertise in combat and weaponry, Kanan is a true force to be reckoned with. Especially when it comes to use his of his lightsaber and various blasters he has on him.

•Although he’s not regarded as the Galaxy’s “best pilot” nor does he think of himself in that regard, Kanan’s piloting skills are a great asset for any given mission if he asks for assistance.

•His usage of the force allows them to see through people’s true colors to determine if they can be trusted or not.

•His knowledge on weaponry and how to build them has allowed him to create different types of weapons that serve both the Mandalorian people and the Resistance.

Weaknesses:

•His lack of diplomatic skills tends to put him at odds with politicians and generals. This can lead him to get frustrated during debates and arguments.

•Has a reputation for testing his new weapons once but not test them again through additional trials. This has caused problems with some of his weaponry inventions like not working during a mission, or just suddenly blowing up from an undetected defect that could’ve easily been fixed.

•Gets nervous to the point where he begins to suffer from panic attacks.

•Can be reckless while flying ships.

Armor:

Helmet: A typical Grunt-styled Wren helmet that Kanan inherited from a fallen Clan Wren member who died during a civil war on Mandalore. The hand painted signet on is similar to his late uncle Tristan and serves as an ode to the uncle he never got to meet.

•Chest and Neck Pieces: Inherited from the maternal artist grandfather he never got meet, Kanan’s “galaxy”-styled chest and neck armor is decorated with fulcrum and Jedi “jaig eyes” symbols in honor of his failed namesake Kanan Jarrus, and long-time family friend Ahsoka Tano, who helped train him and appreciate his force sensitivity for the good it can provide to people across the galaxy.

•Pauldrons: Similar to Prince-Consort Din Djarin-Kryze of Mandalore, Kanan’s pauldrons, forged by his future sister-in-law and Din’s daughter Princess Mirta Djarin-Kryze. The “Star Bird” signet represents his parents’s legacy and the role they played in the Rebellion while the “9” symbol represents his code name “Spectre-9”.

•Gauntlets: Similar to Axe Woves in both style and functionality but with classical Clan Wren colors and functions. They were a gift he received from his boyfriend Quill when they first started courting.

•Hand armor: Similar to his mother’s.

•Thigh Plates: Similar to Fenn Rau’s

•Knee Armor: Similar to his late maternal uncle’s but can shoot missiles out of them.

•Shin Guards: Typical Clan Wren-styled shin guards.

•Jetpack: Similar to Prince Consort Din Djarin-Kryze.

Armor Color Scheme:

•Madison

•Light Gold

•Dull Yellow

•Nickle

•Greyish Navy

•Mischka

•Silver Chalice

•Oil (a shade of brown)

•Payne's Gray

•Heather

•Blue Rhapsody

Soft Parts:

•Similar to his late maternal uncle’s but with a dull yellow Sasha around his waist.

Belt:

•Similar to his late maternal uncle’s.

Weapons in Possession:

•2 identical Westar blasters

•1 light saber with a designed that’s mix between his parents’ sabers that’s powered with a yellow kyber crystal.

Ok, he was hard to make as well. I did not know how to show his main skills/role, but then the thing that he is graffiti artist it helped to put a few things on the wall/column next to him :)

[13urningstars]

🎀 RIBBON

𝐎𝐂 𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐉𝐈 𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐒!

🎀 RIBBON - how would they fit into worlds / au's? what au's would you like to try out? what fictional world would they fit / not fit into?

MAN YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW EXCITED I WAS TO ANSWER THIS. I've been enabled. I LOVE au's so much you don't understand it. So i have many au's/variants for cherr, both with canon stuff (show variants including TFP, TFA, Shattered glass, ect) and just basic au's (fantasy, mermaid, ect) so this will be a VERY long post hehhehehe This list doesn't include Cherr's main verse (IDW post war) or her live action verse since i don't know where I'm going with that yet, as well as show variants that i have finished watching but may be added later (including : G1, The unicron trilogy and the prime wars trilogy). I included Beast wars purely because while i might not have finished the series, i already have a pretty solid idea for this variant.

Put under a read more because this is a LONG post

CANON VERSES

ALIGNED

TFP : Same backstory as her main verse. Went on a personal mission to find Optimus prime and his team, eventually finding them after crash landing on earth after her ship got caught and damaged in an asteroid storm. Crash landed in France, and had time to fix up the majority of her ship before ruining into the team while they were on a mission. The teams permanent demolitions expert since wheeljack isn't the kind to stay. The guardian to two human children, Jennie and her babysitter Vera

Rescue bots academy : Would be included as a guest teacher occasionally. She drop's in to bother Joyride (My rescue bot oc), and to give lessons on general safety business (due to her.. experience with explosives), but most of the time she just likes visiting the kids, and teaching them about niche earth things.

Robots in disguise 2015 : Travel's between earth and cybertron, spending most of her time on earth despite the opportunity to go back "home". She travel's around, and ends up coming around to occasionally bother bee and his team once she got word that he was back on the planet. Jennie is 12 and vera is 20 and in college.

CYBERVERSE

While pretty similar to her other verses, cyberverse cherry holds on a bit more to what she was like before the war. A bit more cheeky and mischievous, and just slightly more bitchy and bright. She's as can be and still holds all her normal traits, but she's also just also slightly more willing to dance the line of danger.

WAR FOR CYBERTRON

Pretty similar in terms of everything compared to her main verse. Lore accurate storewide, Cherr stays behind with elita and her team to defend cybertron and dies during the process, but her Beast wars variant would be in this verse as well.

BEAST WARS

One of the pods that fell from the maximal ship, cherr ends up adopting the form of a Galah (pink and grey cockatoo) as her alt mode. She has no original name in this verse, or if she does, no one knows what it is, instead calling her "cherry". Quick and light on her feet, she the maximals eye i the sky along with airazor, and just a BIT of a pyromaniac. [This one's iffy, since i haven't actually finished the series. Im just really attached to bird cherry]

EARTHSPARK

Fun fact! Earthspark was originally her main verse before i switched it to tfp (and then switched that to her post war IDW verse). While the same as most of her other verses in term of personality, Cherr's role is what changes the most in this one. SURE, she's still a demolitions expert, but after having given a proper chance to explore earth after the war, Cherr took it. She travels around the world as basically a tourist, keeping an eye out for any bots making trouble. She knows something's up with G.H.O.S.T, and makes an effort the make things better for the trapped cons whenever she visits any of the detention centers, even if she's breaking the rules to do it. Extra rations, gossip, general company. At one point she got roped into one of the fighting rings in France and became its champion for a year or two before busting out. She's on a personally fueled vendetta to find and shut down any ring she can.

TFA

A singer high on the charts who's mysteriously gone missing. Early on in her life, cherry took rossana under her wing, and taught her everything she knew. She holds no preference for sides, a true neutral in this verse. However, something happed, and she fled the planet. She lives in hiding on earth, having stolen some tech and making herself a holoform projector, continuing her music career there. Constantly mistaken for an Autobot.

LOST LIGHT

Instead of staying on cybertron and finding work in the body guarding business, the moment rodimus sent out the invite to join the crew, cherr jumped at the chance. In this verse, she's practically the same as her main, since this is a bit of an "alternate timeline" thing, but she does have more chances to find cool spots to herself. She wander's around a lot, unless she's at swerve's or mirage's. [Haven't actually finished the MTMTE/LL comics, so things may change later on who knows]

SHATTERED GLASS

This is the verse where she's the most different in every sense. She starts out the same of course, minus her paintjob, which instead of pink white and blue, is dark grey purple and red. But over the years, especially during her music career, she gets twisted. A Yearning to be known, to be loved, adored. In this verse, many of the rumors about her in her normal verse ARE true. Yes, she purposefully killed her producer, and yes, her vocal mod is illegal. In this verse, instead of merely projecting her voice, her voice is able to lure in most bots that hear it like a siren, cue the alias (although, whether or not it'll affect a bot, changes on their amount of will, as well as a few other factors). She never left Cybertron in this verse, and thus has a modified version of her design during the contract. Siren in confident and a flirt and just a bit of a pyromaniac, but also cruel to those who earn her displeasure. Her collections are a bit more... morbid here. Your safe really, as long as she likes you enough

AU'S

DECEPTICON

Au where Cherr never got into the music industry, and thus, learning about the war earlier in this verse, joined the side of the cons. She's an under cover spy within the autobot ranks, due to her deceivingly sweet nature. An amazing liar, with many skill's acquired from the streets and unlost during her (non-existent) career, the femme is not one to be underestimated. Due to not having entered the contract, All of her mods are illegally acquired, and her name changed. Here she isnt cherrybomb, no. Here she's known as Incandescence, but most call her Des.

HUMAN/SPECIES SWAP

Cheryl Benoit. An orphan adopted and raised by her parents, Reyna and Richard. A good life to the beginning on her life, after having been offered a music contract a year of two after graduating, Cheryl, unaware of the consequences, accepted only to be roped into an abusive contract. After a fire burned down the main studio, the girl took her chance, and is currently on the run, travelling the world with some other worldly femme (Swap au Thalia, who's a transformer in this verse)

MERFOLK

In an au where cybertronians aren't really aliens at all, and instead an advanced species that live deep in the earth's oceans. I have three variants for this au in terms of designs. 1) the classic mermaid, with human upper halves. Simple and basic. 2) Where still human-ish, merfolk are more alien in nature. Extra limbs, unatural eyes and skin colors, antenna's and coming in variant sizes. (An offshoot of this is a mer versions of the classic cybertronian softbody art style). And finally 3) Where ocean living, cybertronians are still somewhat mechanical. In this au, cherr's story has many variants, but the current fav is one where she's captured by humans, and her voice is used at entertainment at a classy exotic restaurant.

FANTASY

Simple fantasy setting? Cherr is definitely a fairy of some kind. Delicate, but also with her own genre of danger. Able to change sizes due to magic. Pink little gal. Not much on this au in general yet other then the very basic concept.

FAIRYTALE

A story of a simple maiden girl, married into a lavish life against her wishes, who runs away to become a knight. Not much on this au in general yet other then the very basic concept.

CRYPTID

Montserous in nature at first glance, cherr is hard to spot. A creature of flames and embers, who's crackling voice is rumored to lure human's to dance around her form, to revel in an prison like happiness. She doesn't mean harm, just for friendship. Nevertheless, if you're ever to spot a mysterious flame like glow moving around the dark, paired with enchanting songs that seems to seep into your thoughts. Do not follow it. Cover your ears and hide. [She doesnt really trap those, but many of the friends she have gained are ones who have run away from home, or a bad situation and never seen again, and well. Rumors spread]

[mor-and-more]

I just had the most unexpected pair of OCs come to my mind

Why most unexpected? Because they are from Fallout universe, and I don't often think of anything but FFXIV lately

They are just a friendly neighbourhood Helper Guy named Lucky Thirteen (his father had a way with the words, for sure, and also he was born on Friday the 13th) and his travelling companion, a ghoul everyone knows simply as Doc

Doc used to be a radiophysics PhD (hence Doc) before the War, and worked at a nuclear power plant. "If that nuke fell a bit closer, the hole would've been a lot deeper, and there would've been a lot less ghouls with knowledge of how to operate the plant". Doc talks quite often about nuclear powered inventions from before the War, and jokes that "it was easy to be proud to be a radiophysicist, you'd point at a contraption and know your colleagues made sure it works! Buuut then our colleagues from the other end of the spectrum brought the inventions that got us here". He's just hanging around Lucky mostly because there's nothing better to do, and the guy is fun enough, even if he needs constant reminders that "no, if you blow up a nuclear powered car, it will not be an equivalent of a nuke, it will just be a dirty bomb, that's what is setting your counter off!" He also patiently rebukes that he's not a Doc of medicine (but can do some first aid if you need that), and that radiophysics doesn't mean he's good with radios (other than operating them, if need be), and that no, you can't create a nuke out of whatever junk you'll find and explosives, that's just another dirty bomb with optional shrapnel.

Lucky is from a small settlement situated in the middle of the modern US map. Pre-War there were no targets of note anywhere nearby, so the area is relatively clean - which resulted in the lack of habit to watch out for possible hot spots and getting spooked whenever Geiger's counter goes off. Said counter was given to him by Doc who carried it more out of habit than the need to control the full body dose of radiation anymore, as Lucky was woefully unprepared for venturing out into the wider, more dangerous world. The settlement Lucky was from has been a farming community since right after the nuclear winter, and the only weirdness they'd had so far is an unusual number of twins being born. And Weirder Cows. But that's about it. He ventured out to see how other communities are doing, as there has barely been any movement around where he's from, and he was worried there'd be nothing far to the east or west.

Lucky is good with a rifle and offers to hunt down pests/game for the settlements they wind up in, Doc sometimes does repairs (but he's not well versed in EVERYTHING, so yeah...) and teaches people first aid (as he is very concerned that this Valuable Knowledge isn't so widespread anymore, at the time when it's especially valuable). If people refuse to let Doc in, Lucky usually turns around and walks on. He hadn't seen many ghouls before and is still getting used to the whole Almost Cooked By Radiation look and the knowledge that some people are centuries old this way, but he won't stand for anti-ghoul shit.

Lucky chose the east coast of the US as the first destination, so he might be stumbling around at the time of Fallout 3 or 4, only barely avoiding Dangerous Plot Moments happening around the PCs at the time. And constantly being saved from death by accidental poisoning by Doc yelling at him whenever he gets the brilliant idea to try whatever plant or mushroom he sees around. Yes, Doc is not a foraging expert, so he can't for sure tell what is good or bad to eat, but also he retained the fear of Accidentally Eating Bad. And knowing how bad a case of food poisoning can be in the nuclear wasteland, where the water is scarce or radioactive, is only making him less likely to sample unfamiliar plants and especially fungi. (Also he knows very well that fungi can accurate radiation very well, so that's a potential double whammy)

[thatdamnsquadra]

La Squadra Headcanons

Prosciutto

Gucci head to his feet

Underwear included

Wears a garter that keeps his shirt down and his socks up

Chain smoker

Sailor mouth

Takes pride in his work

Gets annoyed with the others easily

Especially when a job goes wrong

Tries to do that head rubbing thing to everyone

Pesci's the only one who allows it

Pesci

Cannot handle caffeine

It hurts his stomach

Loves milk and cheese

Expert at making charcuterie boards

Extremely skilled at his stand but lacks the confidence to use it properly

Intimidated by the rest of the team but tries not to show it

Cares very deeply about Prosciutto

Major pushover

Extremely protective over those he cares about

Has potential but needs that push

Formaggio

Lactose intolerant

Relaxes after hits by getting wine drunk and watching soccer

Jaywalks every chance he gets

Ladies' man

Was the last to find out that sorbet and gelato were a couple

"just a couple of dudes being dudes"

Sweats a lot

But smells nice

Likes throwing his arm over people's shoulders while they walk

has a few cats but he's not a good owner

Illuso

Nosy as hell

Was the first to find out about sorbet and gelato being together

likes gossip

terrible at keeping secrets

bags on how useless everyone else's stands are constantly

gets irritated when people do the same to him

prefers working alone but doesn't mind being teamed with the others

sensitive to the cold

Ghiaccio

explosive anger (duh)

no tolerance to any type of teasing

blind without his glasses

has punched every member of the team at least once

except risotto

has crashed every car he's owned

holes in drywall

can be calm

condescending "are you going to need my help? >:)" type of guy

Melone

Creep

does not hide his fetishes from his teammates

well versed in astrology and horoscopes

let sorbet and gelato know that they're a good match

has biochemistry degree

reads scientific journals in his free time

very perverted

often returns from hits with black eyes, slap marks on his face

doesn't care that the others find his stand offputting

a pro at blocking out ghiaccio's outbursts

Sorbet

ALWAYS shows up first to get his share of the pay

stingy

dresses nice though

stand is based more on intel-gathering than combat

wicked widow's peak

him and gelato focus more on interrogation

despises the Boss

never satisfied with the pay

Gelato

barely shows up to the meetings

he knows sorbet will bring him his share of the money

hot headed

stand enhances his natural combat skills

will cut anyone who slights him

even his teammates

goes overboard when dealing with hits

often takes out civilians along with their target

much to prosciutto's disdain

morbid sense of humor

attached to sorbet's hip

Risotto

stoic

works more behind the scenes

often does hits alone

horrible at technology

loyal to the team but not the Boss

but discourages the team from actively going against Passione

he couldn't stop sorbet and gelato rip

anemic

not a Capo, just a leader

[abbynx]

That weirdo in High School

Adrian "Vigilante" Chase X Reader

Genre: Comedic

Warning: Swearing, mentions of bullying, mentions of school shooting

A/N: Wherein a high school reunion came in session at the wrong place and wrong time. Also, I hope I did him justice! This is my first time writing him and it is not easy for me, so feedback and criticism would be nice!

Being a bomb expert has its ups and downs.

There's nothing more enjoyable making little harmless explosives out of household objects, nothing out of the ordinary for you. Something that's akin to popping plastic bags, just little noisemakers to lighten up the dull workspace. At least you have a hobby that's productive and harmless. Just the perfect little gimmick to piss off coworkers and get a laugh from their unharmed little heads screaming.

They hate you and your guts because of it, but they begrudgingly refrain from expressing so. You're too much of a valuable asset to let go, it would be a shame if your pretty (petty) little ass would waltz out during the most crucial heist they've been putting together for months, carrying with you your lovely little creations and they can't do anything about it.

And boy, are you a slippery one who can slip without a hair on your head being touched. Apart from being an explosive enthusiast and you took it upon yourself to become well-versed with blackmail for extra credits. Needless to say, you've made quite a list of people who wants your head on a stick but can't do shit about it... Until now.

So here you are, wrists bound above you and had one of your best works strapped on your chest. Apparently you shone too bright among them and now they're leaving you tied up to your lovely little babies. Ironic.

Oh can't a knight in shining armour, or superhero in Spandex... Or body armour... Come rescue this damsel in distress? Apparently not, it looks like you're going to die caused by the only love of your life, big, loud booms.

To be honest, you were more annoyed, practically mildt inconvenienced, you can just wiggle yourself free out these stupid fucking rope... Until you realised you have limited time. Whoever the fuck was in the great beyond wanted you to suffer and taste your own medicine and gave you fifteen minutes before your life would go out and cause numerous public destruction.

Exhausted from squirming, you sank on the floor with a sigh. With narrowed gaze, pouting lips, all that's missing were your arms being crossed to complete the brat look you were going for.

And you thought being bullied throughout high school was hurtful, try being double-crossed by coworkers because you were a cheeky motherfucker who likes putting loud boom makers when they press buttons in the elevator, open doors, sit on the swivel chairs... I mean, it's not like you threteaned to steal their pets, skin it alive and use it as a signature piece of your outfit.

You hope they fuck up their heist, fuck those cunts. They were a bunch of pricks anyways.

You sit idly as the timer of the bomb counts down and you were more impatient, why can't it go off already? Does it intend to salt your wounds further? Well good job.

"What are you doing here? People aren't supposed to be here!"

You looked up, greeted by a sight of what might seem to be the hero you were hoping for when you still had a will to live. You raised a brow at the power ranger wannabe as he just stood there.

"Oh I'm just waiting for my date to turn up, no biggie." You state with a deadpan voice, wanting to flick your wrist at him for an added effect but held by unfortunate events, your hands were tied.

"Right next to a bomb? Doesn't sounds like a good date venue." This guy sounds familiar, reminds you of that one weird kid in high school.

"Well no shit, Sherlock! I'm obviously being held hostage, you dumb fuck!"

"Alright, alright, no need to be so... Wait..." You felt your jaw unclasp in disbelief when he stops himself from untying your hands. "You're that one weirdo in High school! The one that they call a school shooter!"

Upon that revelation to him, he claps his hands in amusement as you sit there, dumbfounded at the dumbass before you.

"Ahh... So are you like... A bomb maker now?"

Without skipping a beat, you spat back, "Who the fuck even are you?"

"You don't know me?" He asks, pointing at himself with an offended tone in his voice.

If your jaw could drop any lower, it would be on the floor. No fucking wonder the attitude was annoyingly familiar.

"Aren't you that weirdo in High School?" It was your turn to ask him.

"What?! No!"

"That guy with no friends? What's your name again um..." You fall through your thoughts waist-deep, forgetting the bomb next to you as apparently, this was more important than your life. You snapped your fingers upon finding your thought. "Ah, yes, Adrian! And by the way, fuck you I'm not a school shooter."

"Who the hell is that? I don't know any Adrian, sounds like a loser's name— I'm not a loser..." He rambles, averting his concealed gaze away from your prying ones.

"Yeah, I remember." Memories that you kept repressed began to resurface. "You tried to befriend the cool guys and wanted to impress them by asking me out to prom and then you stood me up!"

"No I didn't! I told you I broke my leg before prom!" After realising what he just said, his hands shot up to his mouth with a gasp. The triumphant smirk on your face says it all, you got your proof. "Ah, for fuck's sake L/N! You can't do that!"

"That's for calling me a school shooter, asshole." You glared at him, tugging at your restraints with a grunt. "Now get me out of these ropes, otherwise we'll be exploding here."

"Right, fuck sorry."

[geoledgy]

in your expert opinion whats the most cringefail rock. just a real loser of a rock if you will , not necessarily the worst

I think I can cheat a little and extend this on over to minerals as well, and to that I’d say diamonds. The most cringefail mineral in the world in regards to both the diamond industry and diamonds themselves. What such LOSERS, acting all fancy and cool. Diamonds are like the elusive and annoying rich kids you knew at school who think they’re better than you & everyone around them but are incredibly insecure, yet everyone kisses ass to.

even if diamonds didn’t suck, the industry sure makes them suck. Long story short, there is not a shortage of diamonds and companies make it seem so to profit — diamonds are rare, but not as scarce as you’d think. DeBeers started a marketing slogan in the mid century to encourage sales as engagement rings cuz they were flopping (“diamonds are forever” or something like that). Rubies and sapphires are worth more per carat from what I remember (I’m not well-versed in the gem trade so don’t quote me). Some diamond “knock-offs” like moissanite shine more brilliantly than diamonds. Diamonds are the hardest substance known to mankind, but did you know it is not the TOUGHEST? Diamonds can shatter! It’s due to their natural shape, (you’re gonna laugh at this) their cleavage — planes of weaknesses in the molecular structure so it’s where they split when struck. BTW Have you ever seen an uncut diamond before? A lot prettier than processed diamonds imho, many look like dice.

As a mineral, diamonds are among one of the MOST unstable at surface conditions, my professor says the MOST unstable — it wants to become gas, carbon dioxide, really really badly. Like it is desperate to become NOT a diamond oh god just put it out of its misery!!! There is an area deep in the earth’s mantle called the “diamond stability zone”. This is where they party, where conditions (heat and pressure) are just right for diamonds to form. (There are other ways they can form like asteroid impacts but I’m focusing on mantle processes here). Kimberlitic eruptions bring these diamonds to the surface at an incredibly fast pace like surprise, bitch!

I mention that diamonds are unstable — they call it “meta stable” at surface conditions. At normal rates of uplift/mountain building, these diamonds would slowly come up to the surface and become graphite, which are stable at surface conditions. This is the configuration that Carbon likes to be at surface pressure because it is low energy. But explosive kimberlite eruptions carry diamonds up so fast they keep their form. There is simply not enough energy for a diamond to change into graphite in that short travel timespan, but if that energy was somehow transferred to them they’d definitely change forms. Like I said, they want to be a gas SO bad. The process of diamond converting to graphite is very slow, it’s happening but in human lifetime it is unlikely we will see this occur. There are diamonds on the surface out there that are like, 3 or 4 billion years old.

They truly are one of the most epic cringe minerals I’ve ever seen. I don’t think any other comes close but if anyone has minerals and rocks you believe are cringefail, I’d love to hear about it!

[ahliits]

it will be 20 years until i get my oc troopers bios up but here’s the lowdown <3

st - 1136 : skipper / kip

scuba trooper in kit fisto’s legion of clones. serves specifically as a scuba trooper and aquatics expert. absolutely adores sea life and is fascinated by water. during his cadet days, he often got caught for wanting to see if he could swim in the waters. that eventually took him towards his current career path. his name came from what people would often call the head of a underwater expedition; skipper was at first used mockingly in his cadet days and eventually became truth. sometimes people shorten it to kip or skip. he’s proud of who he is. outside the water, kip is a very easy going trooper who thrives off of making people laugh in the darkest times, almost as a light in the dark. he’s usually referred to as the annoying little brother no one expected but always got. his jokes and humor are never at the expense of anyone— aways about himself or anything he can think of! this goes on even when he loses his arm and is on the operating table— he asks his medic “could you give me a hand?”

ct - 5678 / sequence

his name sounds pretty simple, right? something in reference to how his serial number is in sequential order. but that’s not all there is to him. growing up on kamino, they are made to serve specific purposes. he didn’t much care for those purposes— only every cared when it pertained to his batchmates wellbeing. sequence is fascinated by the science behind cloning a specific dna sequence to their own liking. that is where he gets his name. he may be the clone that is most well versed in their dna, with dedicated studies mocked up in barracks. he’s not so much introverted, hes more of a person who only speaks if they have anything to say or provide. he is softspoken and kind, always there to help provide a quiet companionship. if you need a better understanding of the mission on a chemical level? he’s your guy! currently, he’s unassigned in terms of who he works with (jedi etc). so it could be up to plot!

ct - 2222 / twos

twos is the boisterous, heart in the right place, himbo of all my troopers. his name comes from not only referencing his serial number, but also the fact that everyone thinks he has a grand total of two braincells. he is often the main muscle people put into their plans, because he will follow the order and adapt to it as much as needed. he is a bit of a loud idiot sometimes, but he is unafraid of letting people know he doesn’t know what’s going on or what’s happening. twos would asked it explained to him so that he can fully understand the assignment, questions included. mostly? twos is constantly, unashamedly himself. he is also unassigned, so that could he up for plots!

ct - 1013 / brightly

brightly is the quietest among the group. he got his name since being a young cadet afraid of the dark. his brothers made fun of him often. and on a training expedition gone wrong, stuck in the darkness of a moon, brightly came with an idea. he rigged a bomb and threw it to go off as vibrantly and in the most distracting way possible to get everyone to safety. there, he was awarded for his quick thinking. but he doesn’t think he deserves it. he was just afraid of the dark… and he wanted light to shine brightly to make it go away. now he is esteemed with the title explosives expert. he is also unassigned!!

[strange-destinations]

hullo, a while ago you gave me permission to write a fic set in the same 'verse as your Seven and Ace modern au "mice on venus", i've been off-and-on working on something for a while but i was wondering if you have any tips on writing Ace??? i've not really written her much before 😅 (and once again have to say i adore all your writing, it's fantastic)

:D!! i'm so excited now oh my gosh. i'm glad you're writing that!!!

hm, tips on writing ace. let's see what i can do. these are mostly in the context of canonverse because that's what i usually write in, but feel free to extrapolate from these for a modern setting.

so here's some ace meta i guess. hopefully some of it makes sense, because it's going to get very very scattered.

ace is a Big Nicknamer. if she likes you, she'll give you some sort of nickname, whether that be something related to her immediate perception of you ('Professor'), some sort of diminutive/corruption of your actual name ('Narv') or just. something that only makes sense to her that you can't even begin to figure out (why did she call Mel 'Donut' in Dragonfire? that's between her and god). if she doesn't like you, she'll also probably give you a nickname, but it's far more likely to be some sort of dig at your appearance or just a real nasty insult.

a lot of writers end up portraying her as loud, angry, and ready to fight/set fire to anything at the drop of a hat. a lot of writers also tend towards the route of making her not all that smart. i'm not fond of either of these portrayals.

ace is smart. she is really smart. she may have failed chemistry by her school's standards, but she still taught herself how to make extremely functional and extremely destructive explosives from scratch, which requires an impressive grasp on chemistry. she understands flip-flop diagrams in Curse of Fenric to the extent that a WW2 scientist is impressed with her. in some branches of canon she makes it all the way through time lord training, which is almost certainly not designed for humans. ace is smart!! i wish people would stop forgetting that

ace IS ready to fight at the drop of a hat, but only when she sees injustice in the world. she grew up seeing a lot of unfairness in the world that she couldn't do anything about, and ended up channeling a lot of her anger about that into like. destructive tendencies. setting fire to a house. getting into fights. she didn't have any other way to express her anger with the world! so that's why the Explosives.

so i don't know how to articulate this properly but. that's why i try to limit the use of the Nitro-Nine in my fics to... practical, reasonable purposes? like if the doctor and ace NEED to blow up something obviously it'd be stupid to use anything else, you've got a chemistry expert on hand and everything else aside explosions are cool. but being 'the girl who blows up everything' isn't at the core of her personality. that's probably how most people in Perivale perceived her when she was at the peak of her Unhappy Teenage Years and I can't help but think she'd resent that a bit. maybe that's just me

she's good at making friends!! in the tv episodes (and some audios) she'll frequently just latch onto someone who would have otherwise existed as a completely background character, go 'we're friends now, let's go start a revolution' and it almost always works.

in dragonfire, pretty much her entire introduction is her looking at the doctor and mel despite never having seen either of them before and going 'these two seem interesting. i'm going to make friends with them!' and she DOES.

it's just occurred to me that the doctor also does the 'this person seems interesting, i'm going to be best friends with them now' thing as well and that's probably why they clicked as well as they did initially. that makes me very happy.

uhhh what else. ace has a Inbuilt Bias against traditional authority figures. she doesn't like being told what to do if she can't see a good reason for it. she'll get argumentative, snap back, maybe do the opposite of what you tell her just out of Spite

she FEELS, strongly, and kind of wears her heart on her sleeve. if she's happy, you'll know about it. if she's angry, you'll most definitely know about it. her emotions are BIG and explosive.

[nientedal]

Megamind’s Uncles in the Cold Fusion-verse

Anyone who wants to use one of my OCs is more than welcome to do so, please just give credit in a note somewhere and send me a link so I can read your fic! Also you can totally play around with these details to make them fit your fic as needed.

Mitchell Walsh (Uncle Mitch): The only one of Megamind’s uncles who is actually from Metro City. Has three daughters. Is big, works out, is minus one eye and plus many tattoos; he lets little Blue color these in with markers. Was a pediatrician. Is in for life as a serial killer because he masqueraded as a super for thirteen years before he was caught (metahumans and other supers operating under Michigan State Code Chapter 752, Act 126 of 1909, Section 170 are allowed to do vigilante work, including take lives when/if necessary, but mundane humans are very much not). Pleaded guilty. Misses his kids. His cellmate and best friend is Guduza Khumalo; the two of them effectively raise Megamind and Minion. Is ridiculously proud of Megamind by the end of Cold Fusion. 

Guduza Khumalo (Uncle Guduza): South African, Zulu. Explosives expert and enthusiast. Invented a formula for edible plastic explosives. Autistic. Likes philosophy; he and Dex have some very spirited conversations. Is probably the most directly involved with Megamind and Minion’s upbringing. Is the first human to realize Minion is fully sentient. Teaches Megamind stick-fighting. Actually gives Megamind and Minion names that aren’t “Blue” and “Fishie.” Goes along with the “uncle” thing, but fully regards himself as a parent. Has no other children. Is mildly uncomfortable acknowledging Roxanne directly due to cultural reasons (there’s a Respect Thing with Zulu fathers acknowledging their sons’ partners), but he’s aware that this isn’t really a thing here and he does his best to push past it. It’s not really a problem. Also I need to do more research on this.

William “Billy” Sigranes (Uncle Bill): Wishes people would call him Billy the Kid, but nobody does. Is the first inmate to start the “uncle” thing going. Not terribly well-educated, but brilliant when it comes to locked doors. Or windows. Or anything, really. Can crack any safe or security system, no matter how advanced, digital or analog. Comes and goes as he pleases. Amateur photographer, has fiercely protective feelings about black-and-white film. The last time Megamind ever sees him, he’s twelve years old and it’s Christmas; Billy broke back into the prison to give Megamind his first set of really high-quality lockpicks. Billy was gone for three years prior to that. Appalachian. Dies when Megamind is twenty-two but Megamind doesn’t know that; he finds out at some point towards the end of Cold Fusion (or shortly afterwards) when the executor of Billy’s estate finally tracks him down. Billy left Megamind his land in Wetzel County, WV. Has a sister, Edith, who’s a chemical engineer. 

Israel “Poindexter (Dex)” Cruz Fuentes (Uncle Dex): Metro City Prison for the Criminally Gifted’s resident jack-of-all-subjects genius before Megamind and Minion arrive. Is delighted to have kids around who are legitimately on his level. Is thrilled when it turns out the kids are several levels beyond him. Dies of a heroin overdose when Megamind and Minion are fourteen; they both miss him terribly. Family is Bolivian. 

Nikolai Dyakovich Popov (Uncle Niko): Won’t tell anybody what he’s in for, but it can’t be that bad because he’s Sebestyén’s cellmate and the two of them have the most flexibility in their schedules. He is Megamind’s “helicopter bodyguard” when Megamind is small, and with good reason; not all of the inmates at the Prison for the Criminally Gifted are friendly. He takes a knife for nine-year-old Blue in Mess when a few Aryan Brotherhood assholes take exception to the blue kid. Megamind really commits to perfecting his Russian in thanks so Nikolai will have someone to talk to in his first language. This turns out to come in handy a couple years later when Megamind’s first crush also speaks fluent Russian. 

Kodály “Seb” Sebestyén (Haunt Sebestyén, Haunt Seb): Art forger, thinks taxes are a fun and silly game. Youngest of Megamind’s relatives at the prison. Nonbinary, autistic, bipolar. Ey/em/eir pronouns. They/them are acceptable as well, but ey’ll wrinkle eir nose at you. “Seb” is pronounced the way it looks to an English speaker, but the esses in “Sebestyén” are pronounced “sh” (link). Enters the prison when Megamind and Minion are twelve years old. Teaches Megamind entirely too much about paints and techniques and how to make convincing forgeries, is VERY proud when eir protégé cons Lord Scott out of seventy million dollars this way. Listens to experimental electropop. Hails from Újszász, a tiny town in Hungary with an extremely annoying train station. Would absolutely cut a bitch for Megamind but lacks the fighting skill. That said, do not get in eir face; ey WILL break your nose. Will be released when Megamind is in his late 30s. (Also: I gotta give credit to @infinibastard for Seb; ey was not very well-developed at all until infinibastard put forth a bunch of really fun headcanons!)

Vincent “Vinnie” Kenyon (Vinnie): Shutcall. Entered the prison when Megamind and Minion were seven. Doesn’t really know how to relate to kids but he was highly protective regardless, and he has a much closer relationship to both of them now that they’re adults and “not constantly sticky.”

Lazarus TyQuan Petersen (Uncle Ty): Gambler, former pro tennis player, basketball enthusiast. Current Duke of York (Lancaster and York are Metro City’s largest and best-organized gangs in the CF-verse). Breeds AKC-registered borzois. 

Javier Martinez Peña (Uncle Javier): Was released when Megamind was ten months old. Made the flashcards. Got Megamind his first blowtorch. Family is Venezuelan/Dominican. Lives in San Francisco now; wound up being one of Roxanne Ritchi’s older brother’s coworkers. It’s a small world. 

David “Davy” Vargas (Uncle Davy): The only one of Megamind’s uncles who’s one of the guards at the prison. Takes Megamind and Minion to swim at the YMCA on Monday nights, both before and after Megamind’s stint in DC. Is not angry Megamind became a supervillain, is just disappointed.

(In the Cold Fusion-verse, when Megamind marries Roxanne...at this time (November 2020) I’m pretty sure he changes his name to Mzwamandla Khumalo Ritchi. Minion changes his name to Minion Nkanyezi Walsh. A lot of people at the prison share the “Uncle” title, but the fact that Mitch and Guduza are their de facto parents is something pretty much everyone is aware of.)

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Minneapolis Braces for Verdict in Floyd’s Death (NYT) MINNEAPOLIS—Around midday last Monday, Samir Patel received a phone call from his friend, a dentist: Gunshots had rung out, his friend told him, and the contractors who were rebuilding the office he lost in last year’s unrest had fled. He was boarding up, and he told Mr. Patel he should move quickly to protect his own business, a dry cleaning shop. Elite Cleaners, Mr. Patel’s shop, is on a side street, not far from the shell of the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct station house, which burned last year in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. The surrounding community of Lake Street, a corridor of immigrant-owned businesses—taquerias, furniture shops, liquor stores and cafes—was devastated by looting in the days of protests and the riots that followed. The city has said that the unrest led to $350 million in losses, with more than a thousand buildings either destroyed or damaged. As the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white former police officer charged with murder in the death of Mr. Floyd, a Black man, draws to a close, the city is on edge, fearing that a not-guilty verdict would bring anger, chaos and destruction once again.

New migrant facilities crop up to ease crowding, again (AP) For the third time in seven years, U.S. officials are scrambling to handle a dramatic spike in children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border alone, leading to a massive expansion in emergency facilities to house them as more kids arrive than are being released to close relatives in the United States. More than 22,000 migrant children were in government custody as of Thursday, with 10,500 sleeping on cots at convention centers, military bases and other large venues likened to hurricane evacuation shelters with little space to play and no privacy. More than 2,500 are being held by border authorities in substandard facilities. So many children are coming that there’s little room in long-term care facilities, where capacity shrank significantly during the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, minors are packed into Border Patrol facilities not meant to hold them longer than three days or they’re staying for weeks in the mass housing sites that often lack the services they need. Lawyers say some have not seen social workers who can reunite them with family in the U.S. Both Donald Trump and Barack Obama faced similar upticks in Central American children crossing the border alone in 2019 and 2014. The numbers have now reached historic highs amid economic fallout from the pandemic, storms in Central America and the feeling among migrants that Biden is more welcoming than his predecessor.

Students’ struggles pushed Peru teacher to run for president (AP) As schools across Peru closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pedro Castillo tried to find a way to keep classes going for his 20 fifth- and sixth-grade students. But in his impoverished rural community deep in the Andes, his efforts were futile. Seventeen of the students didn’t even have access to a cellphone. Tablets promised by the government never arrived. “Where is the state?” Castillo, 51, told The Associated Press after a day of planting sweet potatoes on his own land. It was the last straw for Castillo, who over 25 years had seen his students struggle in crumbling schools where teachers also cook, sweep floors and file paperwork. He’d already dabbled in activism with the local teachers’ union and helped lead a national strike in 2017. But now he went further, tossing his name into a crowd of 18 candidates in Peru’s presidential election. Defying the polls, the elementary school teacher came first in the April 11 voting, albeit with less than 20% of the overall vote. The stunning result gave him a place in June’s presidential runoff against Keiko Fujimori, one of Peru’s most established political figures and the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori. It is her third attempt to become president. Castillo’s unlikely campaign comes at a turbulent time for the South American nation that has suffered like few others from the COVID-19 pandemic. It recently ran through three presidents in a week after one was removed by congress over corruption allegations. Every president of the past 36 years has been ensnared in corruption allegations, some imprisoned. One died by suicide before police could arrest him.

New direction needed: EU launches website for citizens to discuss its future (Reuters) The European Union launched on Monday a website for citizens to debate the future of the 27-nation bloc as the exit of Britain, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of nationalism force the EU to reflect on how it wants to develop. The website, available for contributions in the EU’s 24 official languages, is part of what EU institutions call the Conference on the Future of Europe—a forum for debate to help identify issues the EU needs to address in the changing global context. “The conclusions of the conference could be the backbone for reforms in the Union in the future,” one of the leaders of the initiative, member of European Parliament and former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt told a news conference. The website prompts debates on subjects including climate change, the environment, health, the economy, social justice and jobs, the role of the EU in the world, values and rights, the rule of law, security, digital transformation, democracy and migration. Citizens can also launch their own topics.

Cheating at Greek universities (Foreign Policy) Greek universities are experiencing a crisis of confidence in their students as remote learning takes the place of traditional education. Professors have noted surprisingly high marks from previously poor students, raising suspicions that the students may be using underhanded tactics. “Result averages are up, and people we haven’t seen in years are showing up for exams because the system makes it easy to cheat,” Kostas Kosmatos, an assistant professor of criminology at Thrace’s Democritus University told AFP. Sofia, a psychology student, admitted to have taken two exams “on behalf of two of my friends and nobody realized.” Resourceful students have created technological workarounds to boost their chances during exams, crowdsourcing answers in live chats with students at the University of Crete even enlisting a linguistic expert to help them during exams. “But even he got a verse wrong,” Angela Kastrinaki, dean of the University of Crete’s literature department, told AFP. “So I got 50 papers with the same mistake. It was funny.”

Russia Expels 20 Czech Diplomats as Tensions Escalate (NYT) A day after the government of the Czech Republic blamed operatives from Russia’s military intelligence agency for a series of mysterious explosions at an ammunition depot in 2014 and expelled 18 Russian diplomats, the Russian government announced on Sunday that 20 Czech diplomats would be ejected in response. The expulsions signal further escalation of tensions between the Kremlin and western governments, reaching an intensity not seen since the Cold War. The spat between the Czech Republic and Russia comes just days after the United States imposed heavy sanctions on Russian government officials and businesses in response to a large-scale hacking of American government computer systems. In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry called the Czech accusations “absurd” and accused the government of being an American puppet. “In an effort to please the U.S.A. following recent American sanctions against Russia, the Czech government in this instance even exceeded its overseas masters,” the Russian Foreign Ministry statement said.

Montenegro’s billion-dollar dilemma (NYT) Few Europeans thought it was a good idea for Montenegro to take a mammoth loan from China to build a highway. Now the tiny, mountainous country is asking the European Union for help to repay the debt—and the answer, so far, has been no. The situation in Montenegro is the latest skirmish in an escalating global push for influence by China, which has made inroads in economically weak countries by offering loans that demand loyalty to Beijing but otherwise have few strings attached. Montenegro’s first debt payments are due this summer. The $1 billion loan is nearly a fifth the size of the country’s entire economy. Montenegrin leaders say they won’t miss their loan payment this summer even if no E.U. aid is forthcoming. European officials said they wanted to help Montenegro but were searching for a palatable way to do so. Linking the aid to the loan too directly could be politically difficult, since many E.U. officials do not want to be in the position of effectively paying down a Chinese loan that E.U. leaders warned against in the first place. “China has been filling any opening it felt it could,” said Vuk Vuksanovic, a researcher at the Belgrade Center for Security Policy, a Serbian think tank. “Local capitals were hungry for cash, particularly on big development issues like infrastructure. And the Chinese were willing to go places where Western institutions were not.”

Afghan Women Fear the Worst, Whether War or Peace Lies Ahead (NYT) Farzana Ahmadi watched as a neighbor in her village in northern Afghanistan was flogged by Taliban fighters last month. The crime: Her face was uncovered. People silently watched as the beating dragged on. Fear—even more potent than in years past—is gripping Afghans now that U.S. and NATO forces will depart the country in the coming months. They will leave behind a publicly triumphant Taliban, who many expect will seize more territory and reinstitute many of the same oppressive rules they enforced under their regime in the 1990s. The New York Times spoke to many Afghan women about what comes next in their country, and they all said the same thing: Whatever happens will not bode well for them. Whether the Taliban take back power by force or through a political agreement with the Afghan government, their influence will almost inevitably grow. In a country in which an end to nearly 40 years of conflict is nowhere in sight, many Afghans talk of an approaching civil war. “All the time, women are the victims of men’s wars,” said Raihana Azad, a member of Afghanistan’s Parliament. “But they will be the victims of their peace, too.”

Hard-line Islamists take 6 Pakistani security personnel hostage amid deadly clashes (Washington Post) A hard-line Islamist group on Sunday took six Pakistani security personnel hostage after days of deadly clashes in the northeastern city of Lahore over a French satirical newspaper’s publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad and the arrest of the group’s leader by Pakistani authorities. A senior police officer and two paramilitary fighters were among those taken after protesters surrounded a police station and stormed the compound, according to Lahore police spokesman Arif Rana. A week of violence across the country has left at least four dead, according to the protesters. Police officials say thousands have been arrested. The tensions driving the protests, led by the Islamist party Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistan, have been simmering for months after French President Emmanuel Macron honored a teacher who was beheaded last year in France after he showed a class the cartoons depicting Muhammad. For many Muslims, depictions of the prophet are blasphemous and deeply insulting. Macron’s comments sparked protests across the Muslim world last year.

India’s capital to lock down as nation’s virus cases top 15M (AP) New Delhi was being put under a weeklong lockdown Monday night as an explosive surge in coronavirus cases pushed the India’s capital’s health system to its limit. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a news conference the national capital was facing shortages of oxygen and some medicine. “I do not say that the system has collapsed, but it has reached its limits,” Kejriwal said, adding that harsh measures were necessary to “prevent a collapse of the health system.” Similar virus curbs already have been imposed in the worst-hit state of Maharashtra, home to India’s financial capital, Mumbai. The closure of most industries, businesses and public places Wednesday night is to last 15 days.

Pacific Ocean storm intensifies into year’s first super typhoon (Reuters) Strong winds and high waves lashed the eastern Philippines on Monday as the strongest typhoon ever recorded in April barrelled past in the Pacific Ocean, killing one man and triggering flooding in lower-lying communities, disaster officials said. More than 100,000 people were evacuated from coastal areas, according to provincial disaster agencies. The core of Surigae, or Bising as the storm is known locally, is not expected to hit land. But with a diameter of 500 km and winds reaching 195 km per hour, parts of the eastern islands of Samar experienced flooding, while several communities lost power. The first super typhoon of 2021 foreshadows a busy storm season for the region in the year ahead, experts say.

Lebanon’s crumbling capital (AFP) Beirut’s roads are riddled with potholes, many walls are covered in anti-government graffiti and countless street lamps have long since gone dark. At night, car drivers creep cautiously past broken traffic lights and strain their eyes for missing manhole covers, stolen for the value of their metal. Many parking metres have been disabled in protest over an alleged corruption scandal, while cars are parked randomly on sidewalks. To many, the dysfunctional capital has become emblematic of a country mired in its worst crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war after decades of mismanagement and corruption. Much of Beirut’s infrastructure started falling apart long before last August’s massive portside explosion killed more than 200 people, levelled the waterfront and damaged countless buildings. Amid the crisis, the Lebanese currency has collapsed and continues its downward slide at a sickening rate that in itself is deepening the problem. As the currency has dived by more than 85 percent on the black market, wary contractors are steering clear of any municipal repairs that are paid for in Lebanese pounds.

Eleven dead, 98 injured after train derails in Egypt (Reuters) Eleven people were killed and 98 injured on Sunday in a train accident in Egypt’s Qalioubia province north of Cairo, the health ministry said in a statement. The train was heading from Cairo to the Nile Delta city of Mansoura when four carriages derailed at 1:54 p.m. (1154 GMT), about 40 kms (25 miles) north of Cairo. More than 50 ambulances took the injured to three hospitals in the province, the health ministry said. The derailing is the latest of several recent railway crashes in Egypt. At least 20 people were killed and nearly 200 were injured in March when two trains collided near Tahta, about 440 kms (275 miles) south of Cairo.

South Africa wildfire (Washington Post) Cape Town ordered precautionary evacuations of communities living along the edges of city landmark Table Mountain on Monday as firefighters struggled to contain a fire that gutted historical landmarks, including the oldest working windmill in South Africa and a library housing African antiquities at the University of Cape Town. The fire started Sunday morning near the memorial to colonial leader Cecil Rhodes and quickly spread uncontrolled beneath Devil’s Peak in Table Mountain National Park in an area popular with weekend hikers and cyclists. By Monday morning, strong southeasterly winds, which were expected to reach more than 30 miles per hour (50 km/h) later in the day, had pushed the fire toward densely-populated areas above Cape Town city. Well-known tourist sites, such as the Table Mountain aerial cableway, were temporarily closed. Heavy smoke engulfed the city forcing the closure of a major highway and other nearby roads. Hikers, park visitors, visitors to the nearby Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden and hundreds of students from the university campus were evacuated on Sunday.

NASA’s Ingenuity Makes First Powered Flight On Mars (NPR) “Orville and Wilbur would be proud. NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has made the first-ever powered flight on another planet, 117 years after the Wright Brothers’ historic flight on this planet. The flight itself was modest. The 4-pound helicopter rose 10 feet in the air, hovered briefly, and returned to the Martian surface.

[chaoskirin]

The Seven Seas--Final Chapter

Fandom: Queen Genre: Sci-fi/Gen Rating: PG Chapter 4 Word Count: 2003 TOTAL WORD COUNT: 8073

A couple notes: I originally outlined this for the inclusion in a zine. When that didn’t happen, I sort of set the project aside for a while... But after The Seven Seas of Rhye came up on my playlist recently, I decided to expand it a bit and write it. My original target for zine printing was 4 pages or 4,000 words, so I’ve expanded it a little. I hope you enjoy the end. Thank you for reading.

---

The magnitude of a concert can be outlined by several things.

First, the talent. In the case of Queen, this was largely a non-issue, as they were four of the most talented people on the planet. To be fair, this was Roger's assessment, and Roger possessed an ego roughly the size of a stack of thirty blue whales. For the purposes of comparing size, it might have been more logical to select something land-based, such as school buses or football fields. However, in dealing with an ego so large, one must delve into the outright ridiculous or downright strange--sometimes both at the same time. Therefore, whales.

Roger's ego was only surpassed by Freddie's, which no scientist has ever been able to measure.

Second, pizazz. No concert performed by Queen could ever be any less than a spectacular free-for-all of pyrotechnics. A smorgasbord of sparkles... Each properly calibrated to draw the most admiration from the crowd. Professionalism demanded a panel of lights so bright and hot that it could melt the cheese right off a hamburger from a whole kilometer away. If the entirety of the fire brigade wasn't on standby, the show just wasn't worth anyone's time. On the other hand, if the venue burned to the ground in the middle of the concert, it made for particularly bad press. It was a very fine line.

(There are other, more mundane things that go into making a concert a huge success, but this is not a bedtime story, and boring the readers to sleep would be far from ideal.)

But most of all, a crowd defined the magnitude of the concert. Without a crowd, nothing else mattered. That was Roger's expert opinion, at any rate. Which meant on the day of Queen's impromptu, unplanned, desperate, world-saving, hail-Mary concert, Roger Taylor delivered.

Though the fallow field stretched for acres in every direction, it was full to capacity, with people pressing in shoulder to shoulder, eliminating any space between them. Queen's stagehands--those they'd been able to rouse from their vacations--struggled to keep the crowd away from the makeshift stage. This task was hampered by a rather massive electronics rig that jutted out into every opportune space... much like an exploding flan.

John and Brian bent over it, whispering to each other as if they were the best of friends. If one could hear their words, though, one would understand that these were not the hushed intonations of friends--barbs abounded; when Brian called John an incompetent buffoon, John retorted by telling Brian in no uncertain terms that he was a technologically inept upside-down tortoise who couldn't wire his way out of a paper bag. When Brian noted that no one would need to wire their way out of a paper bag and that only an uncivilized rutting salmon wouldn't just tear through it to escape, John insinuated something terribly rude about Brian's dear mother.

In other words, they weren't friends at all. They were brothers.  

"Five minutes," Freddie said for the thirteenth time. Delays, as always, remained a trick of the trade. "Is this thing gonna work or not?"

"The aliens are in place?" John asked. One of the lighting scaffolds dimmed, casting the shadows under his eyes into positively evil relief.

"Yes. All of them. Leader, Glasses, Arsehole, and their entire crew." Freddie gestured up onto the far corner of the stage, where they'd built a tiny set of bleachers for the occasion--so tiny that Roger had to squint to see them. The slug-like creatures undulated over them like... Well, like an exploding flan. One must never fail to re-purpose a simile where appropriate, after all. Their shining silver ship lay just behind them, reflecting the light of the setting sun.

John looked at Brian. Brian looked at John. Neither of them trusted each other, and yet they both trusted each other implicitly, with their very lives. They were and would always remain a true paradox in every sense of the word.

"You guys can make out later," Freddie said. "Is the thing ready?"

Brian rolled his eyes. "I can say with absolute certainty... That is, with nearly every resource available to us... Ah, there's a VERY strong likelyhood--and a very TINY possibility that... I guess what I mean is that were I a betting man, which I'm not. Well, I am occasionally, but there's a time and place for it, and it's probably not here. Let me put it this way. I believe, with every fiber of my being--"

As Roger wondered if Brian had an off switch, John interceded: "We're as ready as we'll ever be."

"Good enough," Freddie said.

Brian thanked John for his ability to summarize. John patted Brian on the shoulder. They all climbed onto the rickety stage as the crowd cheered.

The aliens also cheered. Probably. Never easy to tell when you were sitting behind a drum kit several meters away from something approximately the size of guitar pick. Freddie acknowledged the would-be invaders with a nod, put his hand over the mic, and turned to the others.

It was never a good idea when Freddie put his hand over the mic on stage.

"I've changed some of the lyrics, darlings, for this special occasion."

Roger, who would be singing backup, paled enough for Freddie to see, even in the shadows. Freddie smiled and flicked a dismissive hand. "Don't worry, dear. Everything still rhymes."

"But... rehearsals!" Brian argued. "Our chance at--!"

But Freddie had already turned back to the crowd, his microphone live. "We've got something special for you tonight I think you're going to love. A new song!"

He waited, as all great showmen did, for the crowd to both cheer uproariously and fall to silence. As they were taking just a bit too long to get to the silence part, Roger smashed one of his floor toms as close to his own mic as he could get, creating the wiggle of noise juuuuust prior to a sound system emitting feedback. It had the desired effect.

With a devious grin, Freddie sat at the piano and stared daggers at the aliens. In the few seconds between the stage hand whisking away the standing mic and the sound crew activating the mic at the piano, he said, "This is what you wanted. This is what you're gonna get."

Ominous.

Even from the opening piano riff, the crowd was hooked. On their feet. Cheering. And Freddie sang the Seven Seas of Rhye for the first time in public, with some modifications which would never be heard again:

"Fear me, you lords and lady creatures. I descend upon your earth from the skies. I command your very souls, you unbelievers. Leave me what is mine--The Seven Seas of Rhye." Not bad so far, Roger thought as he eyed the special red button just to the side of his bass pedal. Out of all of them, he alone could be trusted with the proper timing, and it had to be perfect. If it wasn't perfect--

Well, it would probably still be okay. But Freddie thrived on perfection, so perfection it was.

The second verse got a little weirder.

"Can you hear me, you slugs and sluggy counsellors? I stand before you naked to the eyes! I will destroy any snail who dares abuse my trust-- You'll leave me what is mine--The Seven Seas of Rhye."

Roger, whose eyesight was very bad to the point where sometimes he couldn't even be sure whether he was staring at his own drums or a series of giant, empty bowls, glanced over at the alien bleachers. He thought--he hoped--they were no longer cheering.

He eyed the red button again. Not yet. First, he had to try to keep up with Freddie's lyric alterations; at the last minute, he decided maybe it would be better to loudly hum into his mic instead, then--either out of charity or mischief--Freddie kept the lyrics exactly the same as he'd written them.

"Sister... I live and lie for you. Mister... Do and I die. You are mine, I possess you. I belong to you forever."

Roger didn't hear the next verse. At all. Brian took over singing along, and Roger played on shoddy muscle memory--After all, he'd only just learned the song, so no one could blame him for missing a strike or two on a cymbal.

If Roger knew anything, though, he knew timing so implicitly, so instinctually... and he knew exactly when...

"I'll come out alive," Freddie sang. His arm blazed with hidden pyrotechnics as he pointed directly to the aliens' home planet of Denmark.

And Roger smashed the button next to his bass pedal.

Freddie sang, "Be gone with you, you small and shady conquerors," and the sky exploded with the most precise of direct hits. As Brian had calculated, Denmark lay at an amazingly fortunate and perfect angle to explode from earth's northern hemisphere. At least, that's what Freddie wanted them to think--for a Queen explosion, this one was rather small, but it had to look real.

Despite their tiny size, Roger could hear the aliens' audible gasp even over his drumming.

Unwilling to break his stride, Freddie continued.

"Give out the good, leave out the bad evil cries. I've challenged the mighty Leader and his arsehole-- And taken what is mine. The Seven Seas of Rhye!"

Although everyone had doubts that the ploy would work given its absolute simplicity, the aliens still piled back into their ship, their slimy backsides squirming over each other like maggots in roadkill. As the ship lifted off to retreat, the stage crew covered their escape with a helpful volley of fireworks that exploded just a bit too close.

Roger turned his eyes to the sky just in time to see the silver saucer streak away into the sunset.

---

"Am I going to wake up at some point?" John queried hours later. Long after the concert ended and the crowds had filed out, Queen still sat on the stage as their crew cleaned up around them. "I feel like that should have been a dream. Was it?"

"I was thinking maybe we were dead," Brian answered, after which the two of them shared a private chuckle.

"No, we're not dreaming and we're not dead," Freddie said. "We've single-handedly saved the planet from annihilation, all thanks to yours truly."

Roger sighed. He knew this whole thing would go right to Freddie's head. Any attempt science made at measuring his ego now would backfire tremendously. People would die if they ever tried to figure out Queen's prodigy of a singer, and they would have been asking for it. No one could pin down Freddie Mercury and hope to survive.

"They'll be back," Brian said, after which John applauded him and handed him a certificate printed on expensive parchment. It was already framed.

Bran scowled. "This says, 'award for the most obvious statement ever,' and it's sealed by the prime minister and the queen."

"I've had that in my suitcase for the past year," John said. "Figured tonight you'd say something stupid enough for me to give it to you."

"But the queen," Brian stammered. John shrugged.

"Be that as it may," Freddie said, "Captain Obvious is correct. They'll be back, but I suppose that's a problem for the future."

Roger very much thought that was the right way to look at things. After all, the future wasn't real. It couldn't hurt them. And with every day that passed, the future technically got farther and farther away. By right of its very existence, the future could never be the present, and Roger preferred to live in reality.

As a dubious corollary, Roger also believed the past didn't exist, insofar as he couldn't get drunk in it. So maybe he wasn't the right person to ask.

"So now what?" Brian asked. "What do we do?"

With a smile and a flourish, Freddie said, "We play, darling. We play."

[mercysought]

@ourdawncomes​​ . 1. Where was your character when the Breach first opened? What was going through their head in the immediate aftermath? - Maxima . little inquisition moments . accepting

   “My Lady we must go.”

It is the first sign that something terrible has happened. For all purposes, this day was not unlike any other. Except, of course, Livius didn’t often enter the chambers that were designated to Magisters. Maxima was not one, however, given her father’s swiftly failing health, she had taken his duties there too. Brining back whatever needed to have his direct attention. Nowadays, she simply chose to feed him gossip instead of matters that were too serious, that pulled too much focus out of the man. That focus was important and so she kept it focused on matters that were needed for her to understand. Behind him, Cato approaches, standing at a distance and yet looking into the chamber that was slowly becoming emptier.

Lucky, in a way. The end of a particularly long discussion, many of the Magisters had already left the chambers while some remained behind. Cato’s eyes are over the Archon’s seat where his guard is on the move. Maxima’s smile smile falters, brows arched as she turns towards both men, walking as if she held no weight herself.

The conversation around her continued, the hushed tones that had been spoken just a few moments before they walked in. Nothing had changed and yet she felt time swiftly running against her despite its slowing “Is Regu — “

   “Accounted for and protected, as well as your Lord father.” Livius flanks her on the side and Cato follows behind closely. She nods, though her thoughts swiftly move past him. What happened that was serious enough to walk into the chambers without having the official guards call upon her? “The Archon’s detail as well as the Divine’s have been informed and will too be moved to a safe location, but we must leave.“ serious enough to warrant a call to warn them without going through her first? 

Her questioning displeased eyes fall on Cato and he moves to accompany them both as they descend away from the corridors. Away from windows. Away from the crowds. Maxima’s hands keep themselves busy, holding onto her staff as they walk at a brisk pace. The echoing of their steps loud over the stones.

   “There has been an explosion of magical nature in Haven during the negotiations at the Conclave. The Southern Divine is dead alongside many others. We haven’t been able to confirm it but...” Cato pauses, glancing over her direction and settling in his own fingers, trying to convince himself of the words that he was about to say “It is said to have been so destructive that it ripped the Veil above the area.” Maxima blinks once, twice. The words still being deciphered as they continued walking. Now into the Sun, though the details of the roads, the streets, the people that surrounded them as they made their way. All those details faded. What the fuck had happened?! 

She knew that the Conclave was a pipe dream at best and a potentially disastrous situation at worse. But this? This was certainly was not what she had expected. They would not have warned me, warned the Divine and Archon if the information wasn’t serious, if this wasn’t a potential threat. Maxima only notices that her mouth had been hanging open, words dead at a tip of a tongue that didn’t often know what it meant to stay still. 

That sounded impossible. Such a thing could not be possible. No explosion, regardless of how strong, could not tear through the Veil or else someone in Tevinter would have been able to do it. Not even gaatlock had such a power and she knew of no other substance that could do it. She was, however, not an expert. It still sounded something out of the verses of light which she had always assumed were nothing but fantasy, stories to inspire hope or fear whatever was needed. 

It was still too soon to know. Still too soon to fully understand if the information that had come was truly as grave and fantastic as what they knew this moment. Still, the thought shook Maxima to her core as she turned to Livius “Call for Aquila and Valens, immediately.“ she turns to Cato, green eyes watching and yet not seeing “Find Lucilla, we must gather more information and know how many have perished and how many are within the area to be able to investigate.”

[soviet-history-detective]

Legasov You Did Not Know

I am going to share an ingot of solid gold right now, the kind that will break your heart and ruin your day.

I have unearthed this some time ago from a book that’s been long out of print. It is the translation of a truly heart-wrenching eulogy written by his late widow, Margarita Mihailovna Legasova. There is a lot of new information about Legasov in this piece, the kind of things only the wife of 30 years would know. 

Defenceless Victor—Margarita Legasova’s title of her reminiscences 

This title in Trud was followed by a quotation by Valery Legasov:

There are two colour photos hanging in my office at work. One of them is of a Nuclear Atomic Plant, the other of storks. These photos hang near each other as a reminder of the close relationship between life, nature and technology, letting one know beforehand of the fragility of life, about the necessity to keep it. I recalled these photos when I worked in Chernobyl eliminating the consequences of the accident at the NPP. Really, could storks in the future, living on the earth, feel themselves to be safe with modern industry? Is such a peaceful coexistence possible? And if possible, then what should be done to achieve this?

It was not until 10 years after the accident and eight years after Valery Legasov’s death that his widow published a short memoir in Trud that unequivocally confirmed that her husband had committed suicide on 27 April 1988. They had first met when students in the same institute and together worked at a students’ building construction project in what were termed in the USSR as the virgin lands. Under the title Defenceless Victor she described her memories of Legasov’s troubled times at Chernobyl and the period afterwards when he was, to a certain extent, ostracized by the establishment. She also includes interesting comments on what life was like for a senior scientist and his family in the Soviet system: very different from the experiences of Western scientists.

***

Last year we at last completed erection of a gravestone on his grave. This was with thanks to my son and daughter and a few supporters and colleagues of the Academician who helped to cover the expenses. That day when the sculptor invited me to his workshop and showed me the completed work, Valery returned home in the form of his bronze sculpture. He often had to travel away on business trips, we tried to be patient and wait for his return, but on 27 April 1988 he was transported away, already lifeless, forever. 

On Saturday 26 April 1986, Valery left for an ordinary business meeting where he learned about the Chernobyl NPP accident and that evening he was already 2 km away from the destroyed reactor. Life seemingly continued but terrible forebodings did not allow us to relax and stop worrying about his health. After 27 April our acquaintances began to say that badly irradiated victims of the accident had begun to be transported to Moscow to Hospital No. 6. Nobody could tell me when he would return. 

On the morning of 5 May about 8am there was a ring at the door bell and Valery entered in a borrowed suit of clothes and carrying a polythene bag with belongings rather than his normal case. He was very thin, with a dark face, red eyes and the palms of his hands were tanned black. He only had time to wash, change, breakfast and ask about his two grandchildren before he had to leave at 10am for a meeting. There was no time to tell us what was the state of events at Chernobyl. Then at lunchtime one of his assistants telephoned and said that Boris Scherbina wanted him again at Chernobyl. 

It was only when he returned home later that he was able to tell us that he had personally entered the most dangerous areas in the fourth reactor and how shaken he was at the criminal carelessness displayed at the NPP before the explosion. 

He next returned home on 13 May and it seemed to us that the biggest difficulties were in the past: but we soon understood that we were mistaken. By summer Valery was already in poor health, suffering from frequent headaches, chronic insomnia, nausea and stomach illness. It was difficult to recognize the earlier Valery in this morally depressed man. He was taken many times for medical investigation to Hospital No. 6 of the atomic establishment. Heart insufficiency, serious leukocytosis, problems with his myelocytes and bone marrow were diagnosed, as well as neurosis. But no official diagnosis was made of radiation syndrome, although I had no doubt that it was so. 

He became an Academician at the early age of 45 but some of the leading figures of Soviet science called him ‘A boy from the chemical suburbs’. However, he was interesting to work with and liked jokes, being famous as an amusing raconteur, although everyone knew that science was the principal interest of his life. His private family life was unknown to his colleagues. 

For five years, 1964–69, we lived in a flat of 22 square metres at Nizhegorodskaya Street. Though we could use only communal transportation we often made trips together with our two little children to Kuskovo, Ostankino and Arkangelskoye. In Tsaritsino we enjoyed ski holidays. It now seems that these were the happiest times of our lives. 

Valery was a car enthusiast for the last 10 years of his life and loved driving at very high speeds. He had always wanted a private car and his first, which was also his last, was a GAZ-25 Volga which we bought in 1977 for 9500 roubles when he was a Candidate Member of the Academy of Sciences. The initial capital for the purchase was his quota from his State Prize received for his achievements in the field of chemistry. 

We usually celebrated New Year in the circle of our family, sometimes in a rest house. One of these days a pure bred chau chau puppy appeared in our family and it was assumed that it was my New Year’s gift. Ma Lu Thomas, as she was called, would recognize only Valery as his owner and loved being in our car. She was inseparable from him and died just after Valery’s death. He was also an adoring grandfather to Misha and Valerik and invented little poems for them and played charades. 

As a boy he received a musical education and for many years was interested in listening and understanding classical music: Grieg, Sibelius, Shostakovich and Prokofiev. He was also fond of Schnitke. Over the years we bought tickets for many concerts in the Tschaikovsky Concert Hall of the Musical Conservatoire. Valery’s last concert was in Lithuania in the summer of 1987: for flute and organ. Little did I know that soon afterwards Valery would make a first attempt to commit suicide. He swallowed a handful of Triptizol tablets but that time the physicians managed to save him. 

In one Soviet TV programme is was said that Academician Legasov was a sincere believer. It is not so. From autumn 1987 he began to read the Bible and thought much about what he read. He was not baptised a Christian, but respected religion even though he was brought up an atheist. 

He considered that the East was weak and during his business trips he tried to see as much as possible of culture. He very much wanted to visit one of the sacred Islamic places, the mausoleum of Hoja Ahmed Iasavi, and the monument erected in honour of the ancient Turkish poet who lived in the twelfth century and was an advocate of Sufism. We visited the ancient city of Yami and worshipped at the grave of the philosopher, and Valery often recalled his verses:

Having met a man of another faith 

Don’t be evil to him

The God does not like people

With a cruel heart...

After their death punishment

Waits for them...

On his return from the Chernobyl NPP Valery told very sparingly, with tears in his eyes, about the unpreparedness for the accident. Those days nobody could precisely estimate the number of victims, but Legasov understood better than others, the lack of necessary means of health protection: pure water, food products, iodine prophylaxis. 

In August 1986 Valery Legasov presented a report to IAEA experts at a meeting in Vienna, about the causes and the consequences of the accident. His five-hour report was very well received and he returned home triumphal. But soon his mood changed. During the last two years after the accident he suffered great psychological trauma and his inner strength was broken. 

Twice he was nominated for a high award from the State, and twice the nomination was cancelled. He received a suggestion that he might take up a position with the IAEA in the field of nuclear technology: again, obstacles appeared. There was also the planned nomination for Director of a Research Centre on the Problems of Industrial and Nuclear Safety: this came to nothing. His election as a Member of the French Academy of Sciences was apparently assured and although we went to Paris on 4 February 1988, his last business trip, he did not receive Membership. Also, just after his Paris trip he was hospitalized with acute leukocytosis, pneumonia and severe neurosis. 

Chernobyl was not only a tragedy of international importance but it was also the personal tragedy of the gifted scientist Valery Legasov. 

Source: Chernobyl Record- The Definitive History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe, R F Mould

Notes:

I had a feeling there was more to Legasov than what we see in the written material out there (I read Russian at upper intermediate level so I have access to quite a lot of info, and I have read the magnificent in-depth science-engineering reform articles of him which were absolutely jaw-dropping in their visionary quality. Yet some of the information in this article blew my mind.  Legasov’s intellectual side is far deeper than anyone’s guess, that is evident.

All the documentary films and other material mention Legasov took sleeping pills in his first suicide attempt in 1987, but it turns out it was Triptizol, which is the brand name of Amitriptyline -a powerful antidepressant prescribed for major depression and where SSRI’s don’t work. It has been used as sleeping medicine in the US, but I have no clue if it had such use in the USSR. It is known Legasov developed a serious insomnia problem, but he was also diagnosed with major clinical depression. 

Margarita Legasova was a professor of chemistry, they both graduated from the prestigious Mendeleev School of Chemistry, where they met (as mentioned in the beginning.)

The dog’s name sounds like it’s mistranscribed or something, in Russian language articles written by Legasov’s close friends she is mentioned as Tomka. Poor thing stopped eating after she realized he was gone forever and died shortly after. 

[slightly-nerdy-rambles]

Robstarweek Day 1: City-Sitting (Prompt: Wayne Manor)

Heeere we are, it’s Robstarweek! This is the first year I’ve gotten to participate, and after seeing some of the great writing and art that’s come from previous years I am pumped. These oneshots will all be crossposted to my fanficition.net account under the collective title “Stardust in Her Hair (Robstarweek 2019)” if anyone wants to see them there.

For day one, “Wayne Manor,” I was both intrigued and a little intimidated by the kind of material I’d be tackling. I’m not exactly a Batman expert (or as well-versed in the greater DC franchise as many people here in general), but I do enjoy expanding on the universe connected to the Teen Titans animated series. I’ve been meaning to tackle something related to the ‘verse’s Justice League, Batman and such for a while now, and this prompt gave me a great excuse to do so. It’s actually based on a concept that I’d already been playing around with, and now that I’ve written something for it there’s a pretty good chance that I’ll come back sometime to turn it into a full story.

I should note, a lot of my inspiration for characterization and such here (especially when it comes to Penguin’s personality) comes from animated series The Batman.

City-Sitting

Ragged laughter echoed through the still halls of the Gotham Bay Art Museum. Penguin strode down those halls, as he far too often did, like he owned the place. He wasn’t bothered by the nighttime security systems – his trained birds had already taken care of that – but he couldn’t help but wonder why the museums around here always saw fit to tempt him.

Well, their loss was his gain. With Batman away on Justice League business, Penguin stepped with an extra note of confidence into the newly expanded Ancient Wonders exhibit. It didn’t take him long to find his prize: an elegant – and, more importantly, priceless – sculpture of the Egyptian hawk-headed god Ra.

With a nasty little grin, he approached the statue and reached over its barrier. “Too easy,” he muttered to himself.

As if in defiance of that statement, a small disk flew in and burst at his feet. Smoke billowed out around the would-be thief, sending him back with a startled yelp.

“You didn’t really think we’d leave Gotham unprotected, did you?”

Penguin started again and turned at the sound of that voice. The smoke was thinner here, and through the haze he was able to make out a familiar but long-absent form, already clutching his bo staff.

“Well well, if it isn’t the little bird-brain come back to the nest,” Penguin drawled with a smirk. “I was expecting the other brat, but with Daddy Bat gone this won’t be a problem either way.”

Robin gave his staff a little twirl and showed off a smirk of his own. “I wouldn’t say that if I were you.”

Well, Penguin was done talking. With a flick of his wrist, he pointed his trick umbrella forward and shot off the explosive tip. Robin was forced to step back and shield himself with his cape as it burst against him, giving Penguin a chance to turn around and grab the sculpture through the thinning smoke. In another moment he had his umbrella’s copter mode running, and he quickly rose up past the costumed teen.

Ha! It really was too easy. Those chumps over in Jump must have let Robin go soft.

There was a flash of green light, and his copter mechanism exploded.

Penguin had just enough time to think that he should seriously stop tempting fate before he slammed hard onto the museum floor, the statue of Ra rolling harmlessly out of his grip. Robin stood over him and pressed his staff against the dazed villain’s chest, keeping him down while he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Meanwhile, a purple-clad girl that Penguin had only ever seen in newspaper images flew into his range of vision and swooped down to pick up the statue.

“I thought the Penguin was one of your mentor’s most troublesome adversaries,” the girl commented as she checked the statue over for damage, nodded in satisfaction, and placed it back on its pedestal.

Robin glanced back at her, that stupid smirk still on his face. “He is when he doesn’t get too cocky. You should have seen him the first time Superman was in town.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Robin had to keep himself from laughing as he relayed the story back to Batman.

“I barely had to do anything but distract him while Star got into position. I think that might be the fastest Penguin’s ever been taken down!”

The voice on the other line hummed in thought. “Good work, but don’t get too comfortable,” it finally said. “That only worked as well as it did because he wasn’t expecting an enemy who could fly. Now that you’ve used up the element of surprise, the news of who’s here is going to spread through Gotham’s underworld and you can bet the next criminals will be ready for you.”

Robin fought back a scowl – as much as he wanted to just take pride in this victory, Batman was right. He glanced up at Starfire, who was flying several yards ahead of his cycle as they traversed one of the many secret tunnels leading to the Batcave. She remained silent, though whether she was leaving him to his conversation or simply didn’t have a comment he wasn’t sure.

“I know,” he said at length. “We’ll just have to be ready for them too.”

“This isn’t a vacation, Dick. Don’t think I didn’t notice your choice of partner.”

Now Robin did scowl down at the console on the R-cycle. “Is that seriously what you think is going on here?!” he snapped. “Starfire’s my teammate, Bruce. I didn’t bring her along as a date, I brought her because of how well we work together.” He fixed his gaze ahead and revved up the cycle, bleeding off some of his frustration into the increased speed. Day one in Gotham and he was already missing his home and the rest of his team.

Maybe it was that acceleration or maybe Starfire deliberately slowed down for a moment, but suddenly she was keeping pace at his right. She said nothing other than a tentative, “Robin?” but the concerned look she gave him told him she was ready to mediate if need be.

Meanwhile, a sigh sounded through the other end of the line. “…I suppose I know that,” Bruce admitted. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt out there. Either of you.”

Robin grit his teeth, but his frustration was already starting to drain away. “I know,” he muttered.

The tunnel opened up then, into a vast cavern that Robin hadn’t seen in far too long. “We’re here,” he informed the console as he slowed to a stop. “I’ll update you again later.”

The Batcave hadn’t changed as much as he had expected. The main computer had been upgraded, of course, and the trophy area had a few new additions, but everything still felt so… familiar.

Of course, that wouldn’t mean much to someone who had never seen the place before. Robin couldn’t help but smile at Starfire’s low gasp as she rose slowly toward the ceiling, rotating this way and that to take everything in.

“I take it you approve, Lady Kory?”

Both young heroes looked over to find Alfred waiting for them on the upper floor. Starfire grinned and flew over to alight next to him.

“The Batman’s base of operations is most impressive,” she said with a small incline of her head. “Thank you again for hosting us during our stay.”

Alfred’s lip quirked into a small smile of his own. “Of course. Any friend of Master Dick’s is welcome here.” He turned on his heel and started making his way toward the exit into the rest of Wayne Manor. “Right this way, please. I took the liberty of bringing your bags in, but I will need to ask that you change into civilian clothes once you are inside. One never knows.”

Robin played a little at the edge of his mask as he followed the other two through the entrance into the Manor proper before finally peeling it off. It felt almost wrong – he’d been doing the full-time hero gig for so long now that he was used to only removing his uniform in his own private quarters. Getting called by his birth name on a regular basis again was also going to take some getting used to.

Robin – Dick, now – was pulling his gloves off when he finally caught up to Alfred, Starfire disappearing ahead of them. “’Lady’ Kory?” he asked the butler, one brow raised.

Alfred merely shrugged. “I know I won’t be able to use it if company comes by, but it seemed sufficient given her… unique station.” The corner of his lip quirked again ever-so-slightly, in a smirk that Dick doubted anyone who didn’t know the man well would notice. “I suspected that you would both object were I to attempt the more appropriate ‘Highness.’”

Dick scowled. “I still can’t believe you guys knew she was a princess before I did,” he grumbled.

Alfred strode forward. “Master Bruce’s associates include several high-ranking extraterrestrials, and this is hardly the first time their duties have taken them off-world. I would have been more worried had he not known.”

Dick snorted and shook his head, but he couldn’t help but smile. He had to admit, it did feel good visiting Gotham again… even if he and Starfire had been called away to deal with Penguin before they’d even gotten to the Manor.

Speaking of Starfire, she reappeared a few moments later in casual clothes and one of Cyborg’s holographic rings. She had remembered to stay on the ground while in her civilian wear, but still she seemed to almost glide over the floor. He suddenly found it very hard to take his eyes off her.

“Your k’norf- Your guardian’s home is beautiful, Richard,” she commented with a warm smile.

Dick returned it, and without thinking he blurted out, "So are you."

Immediately he felt the heat rise to his cheeks, and he started stammering, “Uh… What I mean is… I guess you’re right.”

Star – Kory? – giggled a little behind her hand, and a lightly impish smile appeared on her face. “Do I make an attractive human?” she asked, twirling once to show off her disguised form. It wasn’t far too different from her true appearance – human-toned tan skin and hazel eyes, longer eyebrows, and a smattering of freckles that Cyborg had said would break up her face shape, but that Robin suspected he’d really added just because he could.

“Of course you do,” Dick replied, smoother this time. “You’d look great no matter what disguise you wore.”

Kory blushed a little at the compliment, but after a moment she looked around the living area again and her smile softened. She let out a contented sigh.

Dick raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Kory made her way to a plush armchair and sank down into it, turning to face him again. “I am glad that we can visit your old home for a time, even if it is to watch the city while your mentor is away,” she replied. “I know he has his reservations, but I believe we can still have some of the fun here when we are not working.”

Dick snorted and strode over to her, resting his arms on the back of the chair when he reached it. She craned her head to look up at him, a hint of that playful twinkle still in her eyes.

“Bruce is just protective of the people he cares about,” he said. “And sometimes that protectiveness comes out as kind of harsh. It took me a while to realize that.”

Kory smiled again. “He reminds me of Galfore, in some ways. In any case, I believe I will enjoy Gotham.”

Dick snorted. “Don’t get too comfortable. Batman didn’t get his reputation by dealing with petty criminals all the time.”

For a moment, all mirth in his partner’s face vanished and she became dead serious. “Of course,” she said earnestly. “I would not let my guard down just because I wish to appreciate the positive aspects of the city.”

Dick chuckled. Of course she would take a mindful but positive approach to their mission. “That’s my girl,” he murmured, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. She giggled.

“Need I remind you,” Alfred’s dry voice broke in, “that removing your mask alone does not constitute civilian clothes.”

Dick jolted and looked down at himself, finally remembering that he was still wearing most of his Robin costume.

“Uhh…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Right, I’ll go and change now.” He started off for his room, flashing Alfred an apologetic smile and offering Kory an awkward wave. She waved back, her expression impish again.

As he passed by Alfred, the older man held out a hand to stop him for a moment. “I wanted you to know that I took the liberty of preparing a separate room for Lady Kory,” he said. “I hope this was not done in error?”

Dick’s face screwed up in confusion. “No, why wouldn’t she need…” He trailed off as he saw that tiny hidden smirk on Alfred’s face again.

All at once he realized what Alfred was trying to imply, and his face went beet red with embarrassment. He made a disgruntled sound in the back of his throat and pushed past the butler, praying that his girlfriend hadn’t overheard.

[aboyandhisstarship]

SICON verse: the interview/Kvella

Kvella moved down the corridor of the council news service, an private company who handles broadcasting over the councils subspace bands, she entered the office of her Boss a Kalber who groaned “the public is demanding more information after that footage leaked!”

Kvella asked “footage sir?”

The boss asked “you haven’t seen it?” pulling up the shaky footage from Sorak 9, it was clearly shot by civilian who typed a Human protecting a Kalber, the human grunted and groaned in its language before the Kalber followed the Human back to a group of other’s. The Human kept grunting and groaning before the other humans chanted something then a little bit latter there was a massive roar as 5 objects blasted through the air before the footage went crazy after there was a flash of white and the video ended.

Kvella asked “uhh what was that?”

The boss answered “exactly! No one knows and the public wants to know!”

Kvella asked “you contact SICON press division?”

The boss groaned saying “the human kept saying called…classified no idea what it means.”

Kvella experimented with the English word “class-a-fried?”

The boss said “something like that…listen I called in a couple of favors and found out about the Kalber in the footage, His name is Specialist T’Mai and get this…he is currently assigned to a SICON ship.”

Kvella said “so no chance of an interview?”

The boss said “who said that? Not me…The council needs interest in this war and the humans want to improve their image on the galactic scale…so you are being brought aboard The SICON ship Watson for a little while.”

Kvella asked  “sir why me?”

The boss said simply “SICON needed someone with experience in bad spots as a requirement for the job”

Kvella nodded “and I was in the piece core…”

The boss said “exactly…you are on the next shop heading for Fleet station nine.”

Kvella said “sir?”

The boss laughed “human outpost…Pack light you leave in an hour.”

 The Watson:

Lieutenant Ericson entered the bridge of the Watson saluting saying “you sent for me sir?”

The Captain nodded adjusting her hat saying “Will I’m sorry.”

Ericson asked “what exactly is going on Hailey?”

The Captain said “sorry this is official Ships business.”

Ericson chuckled “my apologized Captain Hernandez…should I have to squad prepped?”

Hernandez shook her head saying “not physically…command just came informed me that a council reporter is coming aboard…and will be assigned to Dagger.”

Ericson said “permission to protest this for the record?”

Hernandez nodded “permission granted.”

Ericson said “that’s a pile of nonsense; we don’t have time for a tourist.”

Hernandez chuckled “your protest has been noted…she will be coming aboard when we stop at Fleet station nine I suggest you prep your squad Lieutenant, dismissed.”

Ericson sighed saying “yes ma’am.”

 Dagger squad Quarters:

Sargent Francis Mulligan saw Ericson coming flying to his feet shouting “officer on deck!”

The rest of the squad hurried to their feet and to attention as Ericson saying “at ease…everyone we will be having someone else joining us for a short time.”

Mulligan asked “who exactly sir?”

Ericson sighed “a reporter from the council news service.”

Madeline Depoint Team medic/doctor asked in accented English “why exactly would a reporter want to speak with us?”

Futuba Kurogane the team’s combat engineer, computer genius   and “baby” of the squad answered simply “because of the humans can fly incident…”

Ericson said “that what!?”

Futuba rolled her eyes “remember that air strike back on Sorak nine?”

T’Mai eyes went wide “that’s what they have been asking me about?”

Francis said “what is that Hitchhiker!?”

T’Mai growled saying “my family has been writing me letters asking for how long have humans been able to fly.”

Ericson nodded “apparently a lot of council civs are getting weirded out…to the point Command is worried we could have an image problem and has allowed this reporter to come aboard.

Francis crossed his arms “sure bring a tourist along is wise LT?”

Ericoson frowned “decision has been made Sargent! But I checked her out she is legit, former war reporter with the Council peace core”

Francis stepped back chastised as Ericson said “since she will be joining us for a bit we need to on our best behavior, Understood!?”

Everyone chanted in unison “Sir Yes sir!”

Ericson nodded “alright, carry on I got some paperwork to fill out” before he turned to leave.

Madeline asked “soo this video?”

Futuba smiled “ill pull it up.”

Fleet station nine:

Petty Officer Melissa woods waited patiently in full dress uniform outside of the Medical Bay. After a minute the Alien exited Kvella looked kind of like resembled an earth squid equipped with an torso and arms and legs, she looked around before making eye contact with the Yeoman.

Woods smiled “I assume you passed your medical checks ma’am?”

Kvella answered “yes I did…?”

Woods smiled “Petty officer Melissa Woods I will be taking you aboard the Watson and giving you the standard tour.”

Kvella nodded a little drone like device buzzing around her shoulder as she asked “Petty officer Woods…do you speak for SICON?”

Woods frowned “ma’am?”

Kvella asked “Are you who I am going to be interviewing?”

Woods shook her head saying “no ma’am that will be dagger squad…your news service was quite adamant about speaking to them.”

Kvella opened her eyes wide “the same humans form the humans can fly video?”

Woods blinked “ma’am?”

Kvella smiled “apologies Petty Officer please show me your vessel.”

Lieutenant Ericson’s office six hours Later:

The human shifted awkwardly He was wearing a brownish T-shirt with SICON logo on it a pair of Cargo pants and had a medal Necklace hanging over the front of his shirt that he called his “Dog tags.” Kvella’s drone hung nearby it’s Universal translator microphone pointing at the human who asked “you sure I should not be in dress uniform for this?”

Kvella made a gurgling noise roughly equivalent to human laughter “don’t worry about Lieutenant…we are going for an informal feeling”

The human shifted saying “I’m really not a PR guy…”

Kvella asked “PR?”

The human made an odd noise that the subtitles described as a chuckle “public relations.”

Kvella nodded “well let’s get started a reminder that is going to broadcast all over council space.”

The human went red before baring its teeth “uhh hi everyone?”

Kvella shuttered “please don’t do that…”

The human asked “do wha…oh yea sorry” closing its mouth.

Kvella gurgled again before saying “soo the first question is the big one what exactly was those birds?”

The human frowned “birds…wait what birds?” the footage from the flying human incident was shown with subtitles showing what the humans were saying.

Kvella said “those birds…you referred to them as Rollers.”

The human scratched his head saying “those are planes…do you guys really not have planes?”

Kvella looked at him blankly as the human explained “a long time ago A couple of brothers living in a place called Ohio decided that they wanted to fly so they crashed a bunch of prototype’s until they eventually succeeded for about 14 seconds. After that aircraft have been developed and used in many of the major conflicts on earth as well as the first contact incident.”

Kvella asked “so humans can fly using machines…do they flip like wings?”

Ericson shook his head “no…the planes used in that footage are jet propelled aircraft.”

Kvella asked “jet?”

Ericson recited “Jet propulsion is the propulsion of an object in one direction, produced by ejecting a jet of fluid in the opposite direction. By Newton's third law, the moving body is propelled in the opposite direction to the jet. Or in layman’s term we shoot something out of the back of the plane that pushes it forward at high speeds.” Kvella replied “wow that is…insane!”

Ericson nodded “I guess it is ma’am…I am no expert on that topic so you have any more aircraft related questions I can’t help you.”

Kvella asked “so what about that flash in the video.”

Ericson nodded “that was dentation of a low yield tactical nuclear device.”

Kvella said “wait a nuclear bomb?”

Ericson answered “it was a low yield device.”

The Lieutenants console lit up and he said “sorry ma’am but you can’t be here for this communication…we will have to resume this interview later.”

Kvella turned to the camera “stay tuned for more exclusive interviews.”

 Dagger squad quarters:

The drone drifted in to see a group of different humans doing various things, one was on her bunk reading a book another was on her computer and another was playing a video game the Camera locked on to the Kalber as Kvella approached “T’Mai?”

The Kalber glanced up from his grooming saying “yes?”

Kvella said “I’m Kvella from the council news service I would like to interview you about what’s it’s like on a human ship?”

Before T’Mai could say anything one of humans grunted the subtitles reading “officer on deck!”

The camera whipped around as Ericson entered saying “listen up! We got a group of dug in bugs on Tozau. Council folks already landed but they want us behind the lines we are out of the Chekov and ready to drop in forty questions?”

Ericson looked into the camera saying “Futuba…get the reporter combat ready.”

Watson equipment room T minus 27 minutes until drop.

A wide shot was shown as Kvella was standing up a young human fitting a metal casing around her body the subtitle’s displayed  “this is your power suit…it will keep you alive as well as in contact with the rest of the squad when we land.”

Kvella asked “land?”

The young human said “yep orbital insertion” Kvella looked like she was ready to protest but was cut off as the human held up a slivery weapon saying “this is Marita A14 P pulse rifle it fires projectiles very fast and can punch holes through bugs like they were not even there, underneath it is a grenade launcher for explosive’s.”

Kvella said “of course.”

The Human said “alright you’re ready…as you will ever be.”

The screen went black before cutting to a helmet camera inside of a tight capsule subtitles reading “inside of the human drop capsule just before dropping out of hyperspace”  as second later the Camera Jerked around hard for several seconds as the subtitles read “dropping out of hyperspace” there was a loud noise and a tap on Capsule the subtitle’s read “they are checking that I am set” Kvella hit the capsule back making a taping noise.

Human grunts were heard over a loud speaker the subtitle’s said “Dagger squad coordinates dropping now!”

The capsule began to lurch before it shook again once hard before it began to vibrate and Kvella was heard screaming the subtitle’s said “drop has started”

The vibrating got worse as the camera shook, rocking form side to side as the subtitles explained “the capsule is shedding outer layers making the falling capsule harder to track using computers.”

A minute of shaking later the entire capsule opened up and the camera was pointed at the sky seeing Anti-aircraft explosions before the camera flipped around to see other sets of power amour bellow rapidly approaching the ground.

The wings open up on the back of the suits deploying rockets, a second later the camera started freaking out as the subtitles read “my jets just activated.”

The camera hit the ground shaking for a second as loud noises was heard everywhere and Ericson spoke “Move out! Kvella turn that thing off!”

The camera went black.

When the camera turned back on when it hit the ground Kvella leaned over a dirt mound as a bug charged but was shot by a human whose helmet had the name “Depoint” written on the side, the medic said “Stay close Kvella”

The camera showed the other side of the dirt mound as hundred’s bugs charged. It looked down to see the Mortia rifle in Kvella’s hand start firing.”

Depoint fired a series of bombs blowing bugs up before moving out of the shoot as a giant Bug charged the camera rolled again and went black.

The camera was on the ground as a human groaning was heard the subtitle’s translating “corpsmen!”

The power armored human leaned down adjusting something out of the camera view before groaning in response the subtitles reading “she is hit but it’s not bad she is just out of it.”

Another human groaned subtitles reading “good work Depoint! On your feet tourist!”

Kvella was dragged up by Depoint and Mulligan as a human groaning was heard the subtitles reading “come on you want to live forever!” the camera want black again.

 Watson infirmary:

The drone buzzed over to Kvella’s bed side as the human grunted smiling “you wasted a good set of power amour you know”

Kvella said “Sorry…”

The human said “don’t be…you did good work…for a tourist.”

Kvella made a gurgle noise before one of pain saying “stop being amusing human!”

Ericson shook his head “get well soon…” before the camera went black