#Air Shooting Space Asteroids

[monst]

Day 3: Saving a Lantern

Sex pollen | Jason Todd

Warnings: 18+ content (MDI) Gn. Reader, Sci-fi, action, Dubcon (cause of the pollen), guided masturbation, Pre-relationship, Praise, mild possession kink (He wants you to be his so bad) Boomerang wielding reader, Fucking around with canon: Kyle Rayner, the controllers, and Effigy. You know how you have the main storyline and then there are small sometimes one-issue mini-series based on it? This is kinda written like a one-issue spin-off.

Wc: 8.2k 

    The explosion that rattles off to your left drops you to your knees. The air of the blasts skids you across the metallic floor, your body collides with the steel wall before you can right yourself—light sparkles above you, a plasma shot to the wall before you. The missed shot leaves a sizzling ring in the metal. That was close, closer than you’d like. You crouch around the corner, drawing your weapon from your belt. Gunfire clicks against the wall, the resounding bangs growing louder as your pursuers advance. You angle your boomerang around the bend and count the guards. 

     Too many. Your vision blurs with how quickly you observe your surroundings. The visor of your mask pings with potential solutions and you toss the boomerang. It soars through the corridor before impaling itself on the wall just before the guards. You don’t wait around for it to do its job, but the heat of the explosion still manages to lick at your back. You almost pass the hanger you were searching for in your haste, doubling back with a bounce. As expected, the area is empty. Regardless of your certainty, you clear the room. 

     As you get closer, your silhouette expands against the steel of your getaway capsule. The blinking scarlet lights startle you before the blaring alarm starts up. And you quickly tap the sensor by your ear. 

     “C’mon.” You tap your foot as static plays in your ears. “C’mon. That should’ve given you enough time.” 

     The timer on your screen has you reaching for the door latch. You hesitate and flip through a few more channels. “C’mon Jay.”

     “Yo!”

      ‘Thank fuck!’ You feel your shoulders drop from your ears. “Jeez, cutting it close aren’t ya Hood.” 

     “Handcuffs needed a specific key, Warden had e’m” You hear him grunt. “Where are you?”

     “EPR-13.” You shut the door behind you as the spacecraft powered on. The buzz of the engine vibrated the flashing console. You pushed your worry for its reliability out of your mind when your comms picked up Jason’s voice again. 

    “Turned on my location can you see me?” 

    “Yeah, according to the prints, all you need to do is take three lefts and a right to EPR-37.” 

    “No imma double back to the main chamber blow up their-”

    “Done, it’s rigged to blow as soon as we’re off the ship.” You only hear the clink of his footsteps before he barks out a laugh.

    “Can’t believe you set up explosives without me!” You bite back a grin at his enthusiasm, your fingers flipping over familiar-looking levers on the dash. “Have I told you how grateful I am that you joined Team Outcast?” With how busy the other members have been you’re tempted to tell him that it’s more of ‘The outcast duo’ as of late. 

      “Only about a thousand times this month.” You press down on the button that connects the pod to the mothership, the metal doors shutter as they expose the spotted ink of deep space.   

      “Well consider this a thousand and one.” You can tell Jason’s reached his escape pod when you hear the hiss of the opening door. “Talk to you later.”

      Your vessel shoots forward just as Vilgaxian guards pile into the hanger. They drop to the ground as you zip past, flames oozing from the exhaust. You peel away from the large ship, catching sight of another beam of red heading for the asteroid belt ahead. From behind you comes a blinding light, and turbulence shakes your vessel as you steer into the massive boulders. You kill the engine knowing not a single guard deployed. You don’t let the knowledge slow your momentum, the Vilgaxians are hardy and resentful. You have no doubt they’ll be on you two as soon as they regroup; if they haven’t sent out an APB already. 

    Red Hood is outside your pod before you're ready to step out. You triple-check the jet fuel levels on your boots, the tap against the metal door draws your attention and you see him give you a questioning thumbs up. You return the gesture before venturing out into the stars with him. You travel from asteroid to asteroid. Until you finally land on the one that answers back. The camouflage on the ship flickers, when Jason also lands on it. 

    Once inside you can finally breathe, a grin on your lips when Jason’s fist reaches out towards you. Your gloves meet in a powdery cloud of dust and you're grateful for the full coverage your suit allows. Jason then pulls out a small cylinder tube, pointing to it triumphantly. “And they said we couldn’t do it.” He scoffed. 

    “That’s cause the controllers obviously have ulterior motives.” You frown. “You really think this will be enough to clear his name?” 

    “Has to be.” He huffs. “Rayner doesn’t have much of a defense”

    “And we can’t get anyone to testify?” 

    He shakes his head no and pockets the video file. You unlatch your helmet and follow him into the navigation chamber. “Wouldn’t make a difference.” 

    “What do you mean?” 

    “Look for yourself.” You turned toward the monitor. On the screen was the broadcast of Kyle’s unfair trial. The lantern's fight with Effigy was currently being presented. The unmistakable green shimmery trail was left behind once Van Wyck was defeated, his unconscious form drifting off. 

    “..Yeah that doesn’t look good.” You took a seat as Jason made to peel out of the asteroid belt. The Vilgaxian's burning prison ship grew smaller as you reached the outskirts of the galaxy. Usually, you’d take the opportunity to marvel at the celestial bodies but you were reviewing all the facts presented thus far. “But shouldn’t the fact that they tossed him back on earth originally make this whole thing make no sense? Because if they’re viewing him as property then didn’t they discard him first?” 

     “They’re saying that it was the ‘incubation phase’. To let his new abilities manifest”

     “What a load of bullshit!” Jason agreed. 

    “Yeah, but at this point, it’s a mess of he said she said.” Jason’s palm laid flat over his chest, “But this is actual proof that Kyle wasn’t responsible for Van Wyck’s psychotic break.” 

     You’re both watching the screen when Batman speaks, unaware of the fleet zoning in on you. “This video only corroborates Green Lantern’s side of the encounter. As stated earlier, he came to confront the beings that took Effigy. And was subsequently met with hostility, during the very fight we’ve just observed you can see that Van Wyck’s faculties aren’t intact-

    “Objection! Are you saying that we damaged o-”

   You clicked your tongue in annoyance at the buffering screen. “Honestly, this whole thing could be over and done with if we could find the Spectre. It’s not like he killed Effigy.” You huff. “He can put him back together and let him speak 'cause he didn’t even agree to the experimentation in the first place!” At Jason’s silence, you pause your rant. You almost jolt out of your seat when the ship swerves sharply. 

    “Shit!” Jason’s jaw is tense, he can’t see them behind you. “Long-distance missiles?” 

    “Probably?” You click your seatbelt into place. “But they couldn’t have regrouped that fast!?”

    “Paid off,” he grunts turning the wheel to avoid another blast. You don’t think his assumption is too far off considering how far the controllers are willing to go to get their hands on Kyle. “Gonna jump hold on.” 

      You squeeze your eyes shut and prepare for the vertigo that always comes after a hyperjump. The engine whirrs in preparation causing electric blue flames to spit out of the exhaust, and you lurch forward. You're zipping through space and about to pick up momentum when something slams into the ship, with the right engine blown the hunk of metal veers off course. You’re not sure which is louder the robotic voice repeating ‘warning’ or your screams as the ship spins out of Red Hood’s control. 

      “We’re gonna land!” Jason shouts above the noise. 

      “Where!?” You peel your eyes open when he says ‘There!’ and you’re met with a rapidly approaching sphere. “Slow it down!” 

      “Trying” He hisses through gritted teeth, miraculously he manages to get the vessel parallel before you break through the planet's atmosphere. He’s got both feet on the brakes as you both speed towards the ground. The planet's vegetation comes into view and for a moment you think you're gonna splatter before you can clear Kyle’s name. The canopy trees get a trim while they try to slow your descent. And it’s just your luck that your seatbelt gives and you go sliding across the floor of the ship. 

     You find your footing but brace yourself against the emergency latch. You catch your name being shouted before the high-speed winds begin to lash your body. The air roars as you cling to the latch, and to Jason’s horror the hinges give and the door flies off with you.  

.

.

.

    It hurt. Your body that is, although now that you think of it hurt is such an insufficient word to use in such a precarious situation. Your knees threatened to buckle with every step, each advance causing you immense agony. Whenever the plants of your heels hit the ground it sends painful shockwaves throughout your body. 

Your lungs constricted in excruciating effort to keep themselves with even an ounce of oxygen. Scratchy wheezes escaped your lips as you tried desperately to fill the sacks with air. You could hear your red blood cells crying in agony begging you to stop, praying you’d give them the chance to do their function. But like hell you would. Stopping, even if for a moment would mean certain death. 

You were no longer running on adrenaline. You were running with grit, fierce determination, and one set goal. Live. You ran, ducked, and dodged through the dense forestry. But this wasn’t an epic written by Tolkien and the trees weren’t as kind as to part for your escape. It seemed as though they grew closer, probably angry about their haircut as they huddled together to hinder you, mocking you with their falling leaves as you occasionally collided with their rough exterior. 

Within a fraction of a second you slipped, the fortunate misfortune graced you with life as you saw feathers burrowing themselves in the wood where you had once been. Thankfully the thickets that slowed you also slowed your pursuers. The dense foliage was however still to their advantage as their laced arrows whizzed through the air. You felt tears prick at the corner of your eyes as you saw a bright light ahead. A light that signifies an open field. ‘Fuck!’

Without a choice, you were forced to continue your sprint up the hill and towards the open space. You knew death was certain if you crossed the threshold of trees. There would be no cover….. Why were you still running if your fate was certain? In the haze of such disheartening thoughts, you faltered and as a result, you heard a dreadful thud. Your shoulder had been hit with such force that it dropped you to your knees. Still, you persisted, crawling up the hill in hopes... In hopes…? 

“Agathana!” The shout was clear but you had no knowledge of the Mugoian language and with one final drag you were sent tumbling down the hill into the clearing. You lay upon the purplish grass and looked up into the sky for the last time you assumed. You wondered if Jason survived the crash, the smoke clouds left behind would put him just a couple of miles ahead. You hope he did. But, your eyes could barely remain open as you looked up at the various moons of the planet.

“Unnghh” the groan slipped past your chapped lips as you regained consciousness. Tears blurred your vision as you tried to peel them open. The biggest sun on the planet beamed brightly assaulting your vision with its warm rays. A breathless gasp left your body and with heavy limbs, you turned to your side. Laying on your back wasn’t such a great idea. You tugged on the broken arrow that had pierced your shoulder. Luckily it had snapped when you had laid to ‘rest’ and hadn’t burrowed deeper, but it wouldn’t budge. With great effort, you sat up and pressed your fingers into the front of your chest plate just above your collarbones. The audible click was met with a release of pressure as the armor split and fell off your torso. 

The arrow had pierced through your armor, however, the metallic-looking tip had barely scraped your shoulder regardless you knew it was responsible for your grogginess. Your brows furrowed as you observed your surroundings…

“What the” You winced, it felt as if someone was repeatedly poking your brain with a stick. You grit your teeth clutching your head to your knees waiting for the pain to subside. When the thumping became slightly bearable you began to reassess your situation. You felt your heart leap when you noticed the Mugoi just behind the tree line. You reached for your holster and grasped at air. 

“Fuck.” You sighed dejectedly. You must’ve lost it during the fall. You gazed at the lanky creatures warily, wondering why they hadn’t come down and killed you yet. Pale long fingers beckoned you closer. You scoffed and promptly flipped the tall alien motioning you to the treeline off. You had figured that something was holding them back. Hell, they weren’t even shooting at you… 

This did not bring you comfort. Your intent wasn’t death and you sure as hell didn’t want them to be picking their razorlike teeth with your fibula, but their hesitance was… Concerning, to say the least. Somewhere in this new territory, or on this field was something even the Mugoi were wary of. It wasn’t surprising. You recognized the planet, Jutangai, and it was bursting at the seams with undocumented danger. 

However, as far as your eyes could see nothing was alarming. The suns were just as warm as they’d been when you passed out and the purple grass swayed gently in the wind, the blades soft under your fingers. Everything seemed relatively normal, you even brushed off this planet's version of ticks off your legs… ‘So then why are they so scared…?’ 

You had laid there for what seemed like hours before you got to your feet. This alerted the Mugoi and they chattered amongst themselves. You paid them no heed even as they began to hiss and try to call out to you in their ungodly screeches. It was then that you noticed how there was no sound save for their collective yips. The air around you seemed to grow stagnant. 

An inexplicable chill shuffling up your spine. You moved but a step when even the voices of the Mugoi were silenced. You could hear the pounding of your heart but you couldn’t explain the fear that had begun to grasp at you. You took a shaky inhale and looked ahead, the field ended and from there, the forest continued. It was then that you noticed that something was very very wrong… The grass in the forest was green...

The ground beneath you rumbled, you swayed with the movement but remained standing. Odd protrusions poked up from the purple blades. They rose and fell slowly. Whatever was underneath the patch of earth had sensed your movement. The creatures weren’t near you but it was a long run to the tree line ahead. And even then you had no way of knowing if there were more Mugoi’s waiting for you on that side. 

You exhaled in relief as the ground flattened once more. You turned your head gazing into a couple of curious black eyes. ‘Great an audience’ you thought. You had no idea how quick the things underground were, your legs were sore and the path ahead was uncertain… 

.

.

         You buried your teeth into your bottom lip as you bent your knees to pick up your chest and back plate. You risked another move. This time you put your dominant leg behind you as you shifted toward the Mugoi’s. The ground bubbled once more and you inhaled sharply drawing your arm back.  

You threw the heavy piece like a frisbee and watched with bated breath as it soared through the air and landed close to the edge of the forest near the lanky beings. As soon as the metal bounced off the earth something broke through the ground…. It scared the shit out of you. And apparently, it spooked the Mugoi and they scampered away. The thing had around twelve very thick, very sharp legs. 

A hard shell seemed to cover its body but you could make out various milky eyes. To your relief, it couldn’t see but its legs pierced your armor with ease, its mandible chewing through the metal like paper. To your horror, more erupted from the earth. Some smaller, some... Bigger. While the creatures congregated around the protective piece you yelled at yourself mentally. ‘Run, Go! Now, Run!’ You hesitated, and rethought your plan, even if you threw the piece they could be on you in seconds. 

‘Think, Think, Think!’ You looked at your lower half. You knew what you were going to do. Hell, it was going to leave your flesh very vulnerable but you needed to somehow divert their attention long enough for you to reach the other side. There were so many that you knew some might follow you exclusively but it was a heck of a lot better than all of them on your tail. 

Once they were off you felt lighter and you were ready. You turned quickly and sprinted towards the treeline. You heard them take off after you and dropped a piece. You could hear it getting torn to shreds and tossed the other two pieces laterally. You didn’t dare to look at anything but the trees in front of you. Your heart was in your throat as you ran and you could feel the unnatural warmth of the creatures right at your heels. You felt one get close to nipping your skin and you pushed yourself to run faster.  

‘C’mon (Name)! C’mon! We’re almost there!’ Your eyes were wide with panic ‘Don’t fucking trip! Don’t trip!’ Tears rimmed your bottom lid as you heard one of the creatures growl very very close. Just as you burst into the tree line you turned around bringing your arms out in front of you. The ghastly being pulled its grotesque head out of its shell elongating its neck to snap at your arms with its foaming mandible. 

Your body crashed to the ground as the creature closed its teeth around your arm guards. You felt it give way and quickly brought up your feet. You kicked at it frantically screeching along with it as it pierced your flesh with its strong jaw. With a final kick, it was finally off of you. It wailed as its body touched the green grass of the forest. The thing quickly crawled back into the purple field while hissing at you menacingly. 

Your chest rose and fell hazardously as you tried to regain your breath. Your entire body trembled. You could feel the wet tears slipping down your neck onto the floor as you curled up and hugged your body into yourself. You lay there listening as the creatures creaked and croaked back into the earth. You allowed yourself time to calm down but every so often you shook and no matter how tightly you hugged yourself the shaking did not end. ‘Probably the poison? Was it even poison?’

The smallest sun had taken its place in the center of the sky and in the dimmer light of it, you allowed yourself to weep...

  “Jason.” You mumbled deliriously. Your body felt clammy, your skin burning but your body shivering. You felt as if you had a mouthful of cotton and your nose had decided to close port leaving you gasping pitifully through your mouth for air. 

“Jay don’t go” you whimpered. Your legs shook as you stood on them and your world rocked sideways while you grasped onto trees to search for him. But no matter how much you stumbled you couldn’t reach his voice. You could hear him loud and clear. He was calling for you. In your delusion, you continued your struggle. 

You traversed through snaggly thorns and tripped on veiny floors till your legs gave out. “Stupid limbs.” You groaned “He’s just up ahead….?” Your vision swam as what felt like lava traveled through your veins. You brought your hand up to your forehead, the heat of your forehead brought you out of your delirium. It was then that you noticed a secondary pulse in your being.

A whine passed through your clenched jaw as you tried to pry off your arm guards. However, you gave up on the task as your inflamed forearm pulsed. You were alarmed at how fast you had acquired an infection. “Guess that’s why the Mugoi stay away from e’m” You slurred while reaching into your pant pocket. To your immense relief, your hidden pack was undamaged. You wasted no time in pulling open the box and preparing the syringe. 

“I can’t believe I hallucinated Jason calling.” You mumbled feeling relief flood your system as the drug healed your body. “Alien medicine you are amazing.” 

You let yourself relax for a moment, you had no idea how long you’d been sick. It could have been a couple of hours or days. Standing to your feet once more you shook off the lingering nausea and figured that you should press on. ‘I need to find water.’ A terrifying growl made you grimace ‘And food…. And Jason’

You glared at the beams of light shuffling through the canopies as you trekked to where you hoped you’d find water. You hated planets like this, too many moons too many suns, and no way to tell how much time had passed. Fortunately, due to the medicine, the dull ache in your legs had subsided, although your arm still throbbed but nothing unmanageable. You rushed ahead when you heard rushing water. 

You jumped straight into the clear river, your lower extremities were soaked and they only sogged up further when your knees hit the squishy ground. You didn’t hesitate and dripped your hands into the water to drink. You didn’t worry about the contaminants of the water as the super drug was still in your system ready to wipe out anything potentially harmful. Once you had your fill you looked around. So far there was no immediate danger….

         There was a mountain straight ahead, the vantage point would probably help you locate your teammate. A rustle in the bushes had your shoulder hiking up to your ears. Before you could ready yourself for an attack a large figure burst from the treeline. You fell backwards into the water clutching the wet fabric of Jason’s shirt tight. “Oh thank fuck.” He breathed “I thought you… god, I thought you had” He trailed off, but the slight tremor you felt underneath your fingers betrayed his thoughts and fears. 

     “No.” You replied wetly. “But it sure was close.” His following laugh was ugly, and he kept you close when you both stood. 

     “I’ll bet.” He muttered. “Second night here I was taken by a bird with six wings. And I was almost eaten at least five times yesterday.” He scoffed. 

     “Well, they know a snack when they see one.” You joked. At your jest, you could see the tension melt from his shoulders. 

     “Haha.” He took a moment to look you over and you followed suit. Aside from a couple of scrapes, he looked fine. “What happened to your arm?”

     “Blind, twelve-legged spiders from hell.” He blinked at you slowly, then flicked his eyes around searching. “It’s fine they can’t leave the purple grass.” 

     “...Right.” He coughed. “Looks infected, we should head back to the ship.” To your relief, it wasn’t much further and it wasn’t long before you were sat in a cot Jason hovering over your arm in concern. 

     “I took some antibiotics, so the swelling should go down soon.” He nods and continues to clean your wounds. He’s wrapping your arm when you ask. “How long have we been here?”

    “Three days.” That explained your headache. “Comms?” He shakes his head. 

    “Still down. Haven’t finished the repairs but I’ve been switching channels on the monster.” Of course, the monster survived. The ‘monster’ is the biggest blockiest transmitter you’ve ever seen. Old as balls but probably the most reliable equipment in the Outlaw’s possession. 

    “And the trail?” Jason doesn’t hide his grimace, but his hand comes down on your head gently. “Don’t worry about that, get some sleep.” You want to ask, ask if Kyle’s now going to take Effigy’s place as the controller's pawn but he’s helping you lay down, and as soon as your head hits the pillow you're out. 

    You wake to the sound of sizzling metal. Your limbs pop when you stretch and as your arms are above you, you notice that the swelling on your arms has gone down. There’s a bottle of water on the table in front of you, next to that is a roasted fish. Your stomach growls and you take care of that before getting cleaned up. Finally feeling like yourself you make it to the control room. You see Jason fusing a panel. 

 ��  “Morning!” You chirp. 

    “G’morning.” He grumbles, sliding out from beneath the console. “Feel better?” 

    “Mm. Thanks for the food.” You catch his smile before he has time to turn away. He grunts in reply and you almost mention how Bruce like that is. But you're quickly distracted by the sheet dangling where the door should be. 

     “Fuck.” You groan. 

     “Hn?”

     “The door.” 

     “Where is the door?” He asks. 

    “Oh don’t get me started.” You groan. He motions for you to continue, picking up the torch to continue working while you speak. “I wasn’t lucky to know where we were when we landed but landing in the middle of a Mugoi village was a dead giveaway”

    You put your hands to work, helping with the repairs while telling him about the fun chase through the woods. “It did cushion my fall but to be fair to them, Their very important-looking structure was kinda destroyed by the door.” 

     “We’re gonna have to fight them to get it back aren’t we?” He sighed. 

     “Probably… Maybe…” 

     “Great.” 

   While you both were making steady progress with the repairs, now that you knew the other was safe you were both more concerned with getting information. And, since a break was in order the two of you took the time to climb up the mountain. You avoided the steeper side of the peak, where you saw the six-winged bird Jason mentioned. “Wouldn’t the rocks interfere with the connection?” 

    Jason paused his hike to look back at you. “Usually but we’re running out of options.” He kept fiddling with the knobs as you climbed higher until miraculously a voice came through. 

    “Batman to the Outlaws come in.” 

    “B!” Jason exclaimed. 

    “It’s been days Batman… Maybe it’s time to give it up, they’re deciding today. We should be brainstorming not-” Whoever spoke was promptly ignored. “Batman to the Outlaws come in.”

     Jason adjusted the channel “Outlaws to Batman” He grinned. 

    “Red hood.” You hadn’t known Bruce out of the cowl for long but anyone could hear the relief in his tone. 

    “Hey.” 

    “Report.” Somehow you knew Batman knew that Jason’s eyes were rolling. 

    “We’re fine no need to ask.” he scoffed. “We’re grounded but we’ve got the evidence. Days before Kyle’s fight with Van Wyck, Effigy was spotted attacking the Vilgaxian’s prison ship. Soon after the controllers pick him up. Possibility of an exchange between them, as soon as we left their ship we were surrounded. Long-range missiles not typical for Vilgaxians.” 

    “Hm.” 

     You share a look with Jason but before you could question him, he was crowding you up against the side of the mountain and into a shallow crevice. “They’ve picked up our transmission.” You peek from around his broad shoulders, three ships have entered the planet's atmosphere and begin to scan the terrain. Rocks come into view when he presses you further into the space, your back meeting the cool surface of the mountainside. The radio is silent for a moment but you don’t comment on it too busy moaning in disgust. 

     You had placed your hand on the stone to support yourself but your palm had sunk into something squishy. The cool rubbery substance oozes between your fingers but you keep still until you hear Batman's voice. 

     “We’ve got another piece of evidence to declare. I’ve just received a video from one of our colleagues.” “Let us see it” “Not until it’s been properly analyzed we’d like to verify the authenticity of it first. Now if you’ll excuse me” 

     “He’s good.” You muse. Jason scoffs but doesn’t deny your claims. 

     “B They’re pulling back” You watch as they zip back into space and out of sight. 

     “Good. As soon as you're up and running I want that file uploaded. In the meantime, we’ll look for a paper trail. We'll send backup for you two just in case. This is exactly what we needed thanks, chum.” 

And he clicked off. 

    “Well… That’s that I guess.” You hum. You duck your head to hide your grin at Jason's reddening ears. He grumbles to himself his eyes widening when he notes how he's crowding you in. When he pulls away you're reminded of the icky goo, you curl your lip as you shake the slime-like substance off. “Yuck” you wipe it against the rock. “Eww, that’s nasty what is it?” 

    “Not sure.” He replies. “I came across it yesterday, tingled a bit till I washed it off.” You shrug and follow his lead, rinsing off your hand in the river and thinking nothing of it. Jason goes to spear some more fish while you work on getting the system running to send the clip. When he returns you switch. It doesn’t take long to fix what you need but it does take about an hour for the file to send. 

      You get an incoming call while Jason’s working on the ship’s exterior. Kori’s vibrant green eyes are the first thing you see when you accept the call. “(Name)!” 

     “Kori Hi!” You swirl your head toward the doorless entrance to call Jason in. “Jay!” He comes rushing in as soon as you call him, seafoam green eyes scanning the area for any immediate threat till he sees Kori and Bizarro on the screen. 

     “Oh.” 

    “What not happy to see us?” You can hear Roy’s laugh in the background. “Art how long till we reach Jutangai?” 

     “Two days? You two can hold out that long right?” 

     “Of course.” You grin. “I can do two more days of fish you?” Jason snorts. 

     “This whole lantern thing is crazy.” Roy sighs. 

     “Tell me about it.” Jason frowns. “(Name) and I think they want him because he can host Ion.” 

     “Whose Ion?” Artemis asks. 

     “Long story,” Kori interjects. 

     “We do have time.” You’re sharing goodbyes with Bizarro when Kori begins to tell Artemis of the cosmic entity. You slump back into your chair when the call ends. 

      “I’m beat.” 

      “We’ve already done our part, we can take a break.” So you do, you spend it chatting about what Jay was doing during the time you two were apart. He’s telling you about a giant mantis he fought but he pauses his tale when you yawn. “Boring you?” 

       “Nu-uh.” You yawn again. “Just tired. I wanted to take a shower before bed but with how cold that water is” 

       “I got the water heater fixed last night.” You jump to your feet eager for a hot shower. “We’ll put a pin in this, I wanna know how you got away.” You don’t see how his eyes follow you when you leave the room. 

        You stay under the spray for far longer than you anticipated, you were relaxed and the hot water paired with the water pressure has you practically melting. By the time you come out, Jason’s gone from the control room, you don’t see him in the small kitchen, the bedrooms, or storage. Out of concern, you can’t fall asleep, you sit on your cot Jay’s book in hand as you debate on going out and looking for him. ‘What if he’s hurt? Maybe the bird came back?’ You are about to spring to your feet to find the man when he comes through the door. 

       His face is flushed, sweat causing his shirt to cling to his muscles. You’re only mildly ashamed for ogling, but worry overrides the feeling. He steps towards you, his body heat radiating off him in waves. You are about to question him when his fingers pinch a wet strand of your hair. “Y...You okay?” 

      “Yeah, Just needed some air.” His voice is rough. “G’night.” 

      “Good night?” You don’t press him but you do fall asleep bewildered. 

. 

.

.

    He’s good as new the next morning, He’s working on the jagged scrapes along the hull of the ship. You want to ask, but you're not sure how to. You mull over how you’d approach him while you test the repairs. You’re prodding at a couple of cables when you start feeling angsty. You are not sure why but heat begins to pool in your lower belly. And your skin itches to be free from the confines of your clothes. You rest your hot cheek against the metal of the ship walls but it’s stuffy in the ship. 

     You press your thighs together feeling your core pulse. ‘Maybe a dip in the river will cool me off’ You muse. You push past the fabric ‘door’ and Jason quirks a brow at your rushed out. “Need some air!” You throw a  “Going to the river for a swim.” to let him know where you’d be. He doesn’t pay much mind to it, only telling you to stay safe while he gets back to work. The main sun moves a couple of inches across the sky and he figures he should join you, and cool off a bit. 

      On his trek to the river, he thinks back to last night. The odd fire that filled his loins. He’s had thoughts about you before but the way in which he was consumed the previous night didn’t seem quite normal. Maybe foreign subs-

      “Hnngh” He paused at the sound. He was close enough to see the river, your head peeking out from behind a rock. When you whimpered again he heard his boots hitting the earth. He was next to you in seconds, eyes roving over your form to find out where you were hurt. 

     “Are you” The words died in his throat. “..Okay.” He quickly averted his eyes, but the image of you with your hands between your thighs was already burned into his retinas. While a million thoughts raced through his head most of them along the lines of you being as attractive nude as he’d imagined. The one that rang out the clearest was ‘Last night.’ The same thing had happened to him. He cleared his throat remembering how long it took for him to finish. Your broken moans pulled him from his analysis. 

     “J-Jason.” You whined pitifully, it felt wrong, the way his stomach swooped at your tone. 

     “Y-Yeah?” 

     “I can’t” You whimpered, he chanced a look at your face and his heart sank. Your brows were pinched, your lips wobbling as tears cascaded down your cheeks. 

     “Can’t what sweet thing.” He frowned and reached out to wipe your tears pausing when he thought of the possibility of recontamination. ‘The thing on the mountain?’ 

     “Cum.” The air was knocked out of him. 

     “J-just keep doing what you’re doing b-” He paused before he could call you baby. You weren’t his no matter how he felt. “Just keep going I’ll.. I’ll be at the ship sorry.” 

     He was about to get up from his knees when you wailed “No please stay! Help me.” He couldn’t. 

     “I can’t your not, We’re not.” He blew out a long line of air. “You are under the influence of some type of aphrodisiac, you should be fine if you cum a couple of times.” He felt the tips of his ears burn at his words. 

     “M’ not asking for you to touch me.” You gasped, the wet sounds of you playing stimulating yourself were getting harder to ignore. But your words caught his attention. He was caught between being hurt and confused. How’d you want him to help you? 

     “Jay please.” Your voice was going to haunt his dreams. “Help me!” 

     “H-how?!” He breathed, his eyes not moving any further than your chin. 

     “I can’t get off without…”

     “Without?” 

     “..Asmr.” You mumbled. 

     “Asmr?” he parrots. “What do you-

     “Ugh! Just talk me through it!” His cheeks bloom a cherry red at your ask. 

     “O-okay Um, shit.” He holds his breath for a couple of seconds to settle himself. “Okay. I want you to keep doing what you’re doing, mm yeah just like that but not so fast. Go slower for me sweetheart.” He bit his lip at your shaky okay. 

     “You like that?” It’d be easier if he could see but once your head was clear he wasn’t sure you’d appreciate that. 

     “Yeah, Jay feels good~” 

     “Yeah?” “Mhm” “Wanna be good for me?” At your teary yes! He asks you to go faster and press a bit harder. 

    “God you’re so sweet, you just do what you’re told huh?” 

    “Yes! Only for you! Ah! Jason~” He knows you’re just saying that. But if he only knew how much you wanted him to. 

     “For me? Then cum for me. You can do that, right? Cum all over your fingers for me.” You do just that your sex dripping from your release but the fire in your veins is still scorching. 

     “M-more Jay need you to Mmm fuck! Tell me you wanna fuck me!” Oh, he does. He really does want to. And while he knows he shouldn’t his calloused palm cups your cheek tenderly, his thumb pressing your chin up so that your hazy eyes can look into his. He doesn’t look away from your face, watching your lashes flutter with each word. 

      “Of course, I wanna fuck you baby. I’d make sure my baby feels real good. I’d kiss these perfect lips” He dares to brush the rough pad of his thumb on your lower lip. “Till you’re dizzy.” He whispers. 

       “Gasping for me and gripping my hair as I lick down your pretty neck.” You mewl eyes shutting as he paints you a picture. “You’ll be so sweet for me right?” 

       “Yeah promise”

       “Promise?” His deep voice grumbles the words and you rut into your hands with a repeat of the word. “Hmm, then you’d have to stay real still for me as I explore that gorgeous body. I wanna lick you everywhere, gonna kiss and tease you till you squirm.”

       “Please!” 

       “Don’t gotta beg sweet thing, I’ll give you everything, my fingers, my mouth my tongue my cock all yours. Just tell me how you want it.” 

       “I’d want you inside.” You gasp. 

       “Then I’d have to go down slow, get you nice and wet with my tongue, stretch out that pretty little hole so you can take me. Do you want it nice? Slow and deep, or do you want me to stir up that sloppy hole hard and fast?” 

       “Shit! Jay!” You see him through tears, the pressure in you winding tight with each word. “Yes!”

       “Which one?”

       “B-both! Wanna be yours.” Your breath hitches and one of your hands leaves your body to grip his forearm. Your nails bite into his skin when you cum again. Jason lets out a shaky breath when your mouth drops open in a soundless moan. He hasn’t looked down at you once, but your face and voice are doing it for him. He doesn’t touch himself, he painfully hard but he’ll let it go down. He thinks you’re good now and you feel his grip on your face loosen. 

     “O-one more, s-still feels hot.” And while yes, your body is still heated it’s not so much due to the aphrodisiac. He can feel your breathy pants against his fingers and he wets his lips willing himself to stare into your glassy eyes. He can do this, watch you fall apart one more time for him. ‘Just one more’ His dick was so stiff that it was becoming uncomfortable. 

     “Wanna be mine huh? You want me to put my thick throbbing cock into your tight little hole? Gonna let me cum inside? Make you mine from the inside out?” You hissed out a string of yeses. No doubt raw from the overstimulation. “Mmm yeah fuck need you to milk my cock with your perfect hole, gonna make you all sloppy and loose and have you thank me for it, show you how much I lo- want you, get you all drunk off my cock” He feels your hand speed up and he continues “You won’t want anyone else right?” 

      “No! Just wan’ you.” 

      “Just me?” You nod “Gonna be all mine.” 

      “Yeah, all yours!” Your voice cracks a tiny bit and your cum for the third time with his name on your lips, your body slumping over the cool rock as you catch your breath. Jason’s still cradling your face, his eyes glued to your shiny lips. He doesn’t know when he leans in, you don’t know when it happens either. But his rough lips press against your softly, the lightest of pressures but it leaves you more breathless than his filthy words had. Your eyes snap open when you feel him pull back, his pretty seafoam eyes are wide, his lips parted. He wrenched back looking vaguely horrified as if your lips burned him. 

     He doesn’t turn around when you call his name. He’s avoiding you. Or are you avoiding him? You sort of feel like you may have taken advantage of him. That last one you didn’t really need it maybe you’d pushed to far? Or maybe he knows you like him and he’s pulling away? What if he only sees you as a friend?! What if this changes things? What if he kicks you off the team? The what-ifs follow you into fitful sleep. Unbeknownst to you the what-ifs plague Jason throughout the night. 

     He’s devastated, because how could he take advantage of you like that? He has no right to kiss you. You were under the influence, you were saying whatever. What if he ruined things and you want to leave the team? What if you never wanted to speak with him again? And while he likes the rest of the team he’s not complaining about it being the two of you most of the time. But after today will you even feel comfortable being with him alone? Was he too obvious? Did you know? 

    You both looked wretched in the morning. Lack of sleep was apparent as you wished each other a stilted good morning. He worked silently on the hull while you finished up inside. The nerves were killing you and the incoming call did nothing but grate them. 

     “H-Hi Biz.” Bizzaro furrowed his brows at your expression. “Couldn’t sleep.” You lied, it didn’t look like he believed you. “What’s up?”

      “Bad news! We’re a minute closer!” He beams. 

      “Oh, That’s great!” 

      “Don’t tell red him.” He waves at you before cutting off the call. You steel yourself and walk outside. Jason almost drops his tools when you come to stand behind him. He readies himself, determined to hear you out. 

      “Bizzaro says they’re an hour away.” ‘Oh.’ He wonders if that’s what you want. To pretend it didn’t happen. But you don’t leave and before he can turn around and tell you he won’t mention it your apologizing to him? “I… I’m sorry.”

      “What?” This time he does drop his torch. “Wait? Why are you sorry I should be the one apologizing?”

      “The thing wore off after the second orgasm- Huh? For what?” You ask. 

      “What do you mean for what?” He frowns. “Kissing you. Huh?!”

      You both gawk at each other for a moment before one of you snorts and the other laughs. 

      “I like you,” Jason confesses. 

      “I like you too.” You smile. You’re both smiling at each other until you hear the six-winged bird screech in the distance. “We um.. We should probably get back to work?”

      “Yeah.” He watches as you quickly shuffle over and is stunned when you press a kiss to his cheek before you can skirt behind the curtain door into the ship he catches your hand. His gaze flickers down to your lips and you don’t need any further invitation. Sure you’d probably have to have a proper conversation about whatever this was but for now his lips against yours were enough. 

.

.

  The rest of the Outlaws touch down an hour later, the first one off the ship is Roy who throws his arms over both of your shoulders “I guess we have two things to celebrate!” 

    “How could you possibly know?” Jason asks. 

    “I didn’t” He grins. “You just confirmed it.” 

    Kori flies out of the ship and squeezes the three of you into a hug. You hear the breath get knocked out of Roy when Bizzaro joins and you all wait for Artemis to reluctantly join. “Group hug!” 

    It isn’t long before you are all sitting around a fire and Artemis is telling you about how the Guardians of the Universe opened an investigation on the Vilgaxians. “Turns out they really just wanted him so that they could trap Ion” 

    “So how’d the infiltration go?” Kori asks Jason. He’s telling the redhead trio about your quick mission while you chat and chug beers with Bizzaro. 

    “Not been long” He huffs. 

    “Yeah, it has.” You sigh, you're pleasantly buzzed watching as the campfire light reflects off the faces of your friends. While you like being a duo with Jason there's just something about having the whole gang present. You grabbing another drink when Roy spots your arm. 

    “What did that?” 

    “A blind, twelve-legged spider from hell.”

    “Oh, this I have to hear.” When you finish, Kori snaps her fingers “It’s a Kn’vg!” You all butcher the pronunciation when Roy claims it’s his turn to tell a story about a close encounter with death! While Roy yaps Jason's hand reaches yours tentatively and you curl your fingers around his. You’re glad that although everyone sees how you're now leaning into each other no one says anything about you two. You know they’ll ask but not right now, not when this thing between you is still so new. Your friends continue to chat into the night that is until Artemis snorts at Roy’s tale.  “No way that happened.” Jason tucks you under his arm as the shit show begins. 

     “It did” he frowns. 

     “Is this one of those and everyone clapped moments?” Kori asked. 

     “Sounds real.” Bizarro huffed his arms crossed over his chest. 

    “It is.” Before Roy can properly defend himself Jason tosses out a “Bullshit!” 

    “What?! You mother fucker! You were there?!” 

.

.

.

        The next morning you catch Jason's eyes and look away. His smile is shy when he says good morning, you're wrapping your arms around him to pull him into a hug when you hear someone ask.

“Hey, where's the door?”

“I drew a map!” You exclaim, you all group around it. “Here is the purple field and there’s the Mugoi village, the door should be right in the center.”

“Biz can not fly and get it.” He shrugs. 

“No I can get it, I want to see the Kn’vg creatures.” 

“We can all go,” Kori suggests. Roy straps on his trick arrows before taking the map and heading off in the direction of the lavender field. 

“The first one to it wins!”

“Hell yeah!” Jason takes off after him after latching on his hood. Kori and Bizzaro speed off and Artemis has already caught up to both Roy and Jason promptly tripping them as she passes. You shake your head at your team but strap on your boomerangs all the same.

“Wait for me!”

  You'd have to talk with Jason later, have a real serious conversation about this, you know the two of you. But right now, you needed to get to that door before your maybe-boyfriend and friends. 

Kinktober2024|Masterlist

[swifty-fox]

Do you have any Clegan fic WIPS or idea/hcs you haven't shared yet? Getting #Clegan withdrawal :'(

lemme rustle through my bag of goodies

I've got my Sci Fi Au:

Entry Log 2043

-DateStamp: 14th July 5399

-Location: DeepSpace Sector G8677-65HG-76789_I

-Personnel File: Maj. J.C. Egan (Zoot Suit) 

Recording_

“This is Major John Egan, callsign ZootSuit, aboard the vessel M’lle ZigZag. Today is the dawn of my final day of exploration, putting an end to a sixteen-month foray into DeepSpace. Initial findings reveal little of note. A few developing stars and planets; an asteroid belt; and a total of six planets, two of which I will be recommending for a second more thorough exploration of due to planets possibly location being within the ‘Goldilocks Zone.’ I look forward to whiskey, solid food and to breathe air that isn’t recycled from a fucking can. I can’t wait to fuck my husband-”

John pauses.

“Ah, computer erase the last seven words. Reasoning: Irrelevant to mission. I will be entering Hyperspace within the hour, once I hit proper trajectory to slingshot around the primary sun.”

He taps the record button to end the log, carefully labeling the file and placing it in a folder with the few thousand other logs he’d recorded over the last year and a half. A verified library of data, observations and the occasional love-letter. A year and a half of research; one of the longest expeditions ever undertaken by any pilot. Considered bold by some and risky by far more. Deep space played with people's minds, the long stretches of isolation broken up only by Hypersleep creating the perfect recipe for a light case of mental instability.John had trained for this, ran through thousands of psychological tests and millions of scenarios. There was not a person in the universe more capable of this task. 

John rubs his jaw, feeling the scratchy beard and spins out of his pilot's chair, leaving the computer to guide the craft. 

Two Fingers down(Bikeriders AU)

“I don’t like liars.”

“I’m an honest liar,” John whispers against his lips

“You cheated.” Gale accuses.

“Cheating implies I was playing to win. Throwing the game to lose on purpose is different.” his hands fumble at Gale’s belt buckle, the metallic sound of it undoing loud in the alleyway. Gale sucks in a ragged breath.

“That’s not-” Gale groans as John gets his free hand around his dripping cock, “-even remotely what it implies. I don’t fuck cheaters.”

“You’re gonna let this cheater fuck you.”

“Is that so?” Gale's hips buck into the tight clench of John’s fist, his pubic hair darker than the rest, almost a sandy brown color.

“Yeah, if you call that cheating then I’m disqualified. Winner-” John bends over to spit onto the glistening head of Gale's dick, rubbing the saliva down his shaft, “-Takes all.” 

I've got my Pirate John AU which is just concepts at this point LOL

Little Beasts is still happening! Here's a snippet from part 4:

“You’re really hitting me in the ‘yes daddy harder’ places with that face you’re pulling right now,” John says, swirling his finger through the over-complicated mess of a coffee in front of him.

It tasted awful, but he ordered it just to see if the kid behind the counter could actually pull it off.

Chick continued to keep his ‘yes daddy harder’ expression, which was in fact a look of profound exasperation and disappointment. And didn’t really awaken anything in John, but he found it plenty amusing to see the way the older mans eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

“I could have you thrown in jail today if i wanted, you know,” Chick Harding takes a sip of his own soy latte, “I could make up a reason, I hold your life in my hands.” 

“That’s a misuse of power and a miscarriage of justice, and also you like me. I’m your favorite little POW just admit it.” 

“Someone’s going to pop you one in the mouth, mocking veterans like that.”

John spreads his hands wide in a dont shoot the messenger sort of gesture “hey, I can claim it. My great gandpops was a POW. Got his flight jacket and everything hanging in my closet. This is my history.” 

“I think I should arrest you.”

John grins at him.

“You been meeting with Brady?” Chick asks, setting his coffe down with a pleased hum, begins folding his utensils wrapper accordion style until the cheap paper has become nothing more than a little square. It’s the same thing he does every time, restless fingers the only betrayal that the parole officer wasn’t just a robot.

Which John already knew was false. He’d looked the guy up the moment he’d had access to internet again. Had a neatly sealed Juvenile record and an exemplary military record which meant the guy was both secretly interesting and also probably a little batshit.

“Every couple weeks just like those fascist fucks tells me too. Just like i meet you every six weeks and we pretend I’m in need of babysitting and you pretend you’re not hoping that college boy will finally write his number on your coffee cup.” John leans forward on his elbows,the table creaking under his weight  “I could do it for you, if you’re too shy.” 

Chick doesn’t give him the satisfaction of blushing, but John can see the way his sholulders straighten slightly.

“He even looks like me a bit too. Curly brown hair,” John smooths his fingers across his mustache, “ the sexy landing strip. You sure you’re not displacing some sexual attraction?”

“You are the devil incarnate. That barista means nothing to me.” 

“You shouldn’t be so grumpy, meeting your favorite little felon.” 

“Only person around here that seems grumpy is you, Egan.”

“Me?” John stretches, tilting his chair back with one foot until he nearly topples backward, “Whay’ve I got to be grumpy about? I’ve got a shitty dead-end job, a dying grandma who, by the way, isn’t actually even my grandma, and i’ve got to check in with some middle aged drill sergeant with a thing for some guy who looks like Sean Cody’s next up and coming.” 

“I don’t know what that even means.”

“Oh you so do.” John smiles.

[dgrailwar]

Round 11, Day 2 - Team Foreigner

In asking for space facts, you received space facts. Funny how these things work. He seemed excited to tell them, fumbling over his words a little.

"Did you… um, did you know… that, that um, Mercury is actually shrinking--"

Before he could elaborate on that little tidbit, he was knocked out of the air.

A writing mass of artificial flesh, tendrils shooting outwards, struck at the Foreigner. Voyager spiraled a bit, eventually steadying himself.

The Voyager leapt from one asteroid to another, dodging the tendrils as they lashed towards him. He caught the edge of a small meteoroid, using the momentum to roll himself on the other side and kick it downwards, watching as it slammed into the entity.

"Okay… space facts later, then…"

He seemed a bit disappointed.

-

Voyager rolled a 'Standard Monster Encounter'!

One choice will result in no damage being taken, another will result in a small penalty being inflicted, and another will result in Voyager taking a wound! Of course, you'll have to guess which one is which!

Voyager's advantage in Monster Encounters is that they operate similarly to Clue Encounters! If the 'no damage' choice wins out, he'll receive further information as if he was investigating!

[empress-violetlight]

Empress of the Hand

May I present her Imperial Majesty, Governor of Nirauan, Grand Moff of the Unknown Regions, Empress of the Hand (and her favourite title), Wife of Grand Admiral Thrawn

Empress Lexx'elarra'nuruodo of the Empire of the Hand -- Xelarra

---

The asteroid, hurdling towards Honoghr, several ships in its path trying, and some failing, to get out of its way.

Its plunge into the atmosphere, reaching the surface in mere seconds, the asteroid itself vapourizing upon impact.

A bright, white bubble of energy emerged from the surface of the planet, ejecta shooting into space like fireworks, the planet itself shuddered from its off-the-scale earthquakes. Smaller circles of light appear on the far side as the impact awakens volcanoes a planetary diameter away.

The barren, greenish oceans rising up, tsunamis over a kilometre high battering the coastlines of the single continent.

The sickly purple landscape turning magma red, as ejecta re-entered the atmosphere, firestorms igniting across the meager plains, the air itself burning like an oven.

Footage from the surface right before the shockwave hit, the primitive dwellings of the Noghri incinerated, before the holocamera joined them.

The ash cloud spreading over the planet, covering it in a black, sooty blanket, an impact winter destined to last for decades.

Xelarra watched the destruction dispassionately, her face carefully neutral.

- "Nightfall of the Final Day"

as one of my commenters put it, don't fuck with the Chiss.

art beautifully provided by my husband

[motionjames]

TRUE LOVE IS POSSIBLE FOR NEW PEOPLE, PT.1

or

char and amuro, snowden, mr.lawrence, the asteroid, the boy, and the place we were born

In the Snowden chapter of Catch-22, Yossarian wakes up in a cold sweat surrounded by probing doctors after getting stabbed multiple times in his side. The doctors ask:

‘Where were you born?’

The fat, gruff colonel reminded Yossarian of the fat, gruff colonel who had interrogated the chaplain and found him guilty. Yossarian sat up at him through a glassy film. The cloying scents of formaldehyde and alcohol sweetened the air.

‘On the battlefield,’ he answered.

‘No, no. In what state were you born?’

‘In a state of innocence.’

Before this it was all comedy. After this– after the knife comes down, after the woman cries for her lover, after Yossarian shrieks and falls to the ground in genuine terror as the past blooms in his side for an uncaring audience– it dies. From now on, there will be nightmares. It won’t stop until the end.

+++

I started watching Mobile Suit Gundam in middle school on the library computers and then I began saving the battery on my school-issued laptop so I could watch it on the bus as well. I loved the mechs and grand, sweeping arcs and most of all Amuro Ray, curled up with whited-out eyes in a near vegetative state as the world orbits around him. I drew him clumsily with a mouse in mspaint and made it my icon for various online activities. His hair was nice. I didn’t understand what I wanted for or from him, but I knew I wanted to watch.

At some point I began to question where exactly it is that Amuro gets doomed. We already know how it ends– in that brilliant burst of cosmic light, the sky painted with shooting stars– but when did it start? When did he lose it all? Amuro is so withdrawn, so singular, so depressing to watch in action, he’s nothing more than a doll for another doll, some flesh and bones that bring a killing machine alive when somebody else tells him to. There’s nothing left. Amuro believes in compassion but it’s too late for him. Maybe it wasn’t always like this.

Following the thread, I found it: It wasn’t in the burning cockpit at the end of CCA or in the elevator in Zeta or through the endless battles of ‘79, it was when he entered the mech. The RX-78-2, a tool for war and a plastic toy I have lovingly placed on my shelf. A machine his father built. His father is thrown into space. His mother rejects him for his atrocities. Amuro is effectively orphaned by the machine and pulled apart and reconstructed and told to continue onward. He despises it, and then he lives it.

Before this it was comedy. After this, it dies.

+++

Char Aznable never really existed. Because of that, nothing he says or does really means anything, no matter how much others would tell you otherwise. Quess adores him for the promises he feeds her, Garma latches onto his support, the world revolves around him. He has an undeniable magnetism. And yet, when he is up on a podium speaking to an audience, he fails. Char is a terrible politician. He has so much charisma but no real ideals– He was a boy with a gun and he’s been coasting ever since then.

A man who has spent his life under a mask will know the script by heart. These are not words of his own but he speaks them like they are, not because he means them or even that he wishes to but because it will advance him to the next scene. The play will keep going. He started this as a means of revenge but his role became too large and now everyone is watching, waiting for his next move, and frankly, there isn’t any reason why he shouldn’t continue. Casval never got to be a person. It’s just the mask and uniform now.

Unable to exist, there isn’t any reason why he shouldn’t destroy everyone around him. Quess is so easy for him. Nanai, too. He’s been doing this his whole life. Incapable of treating his fellow man with any sort of respect, how can he be expected to craft a better future for humanity? Only in the very end in tears and a burning cockpit does he realize something so simple– “Humans, who possess warmth, are still cruel enough to destroy Earth” – and the mask is gone at last. What was he doing this entire time? What was the point? Casval’s eyes open and he cries.

Hatred is so easy. It’s just nightmares to the very end.

+++

“How can you aim a gun at someone like that, and fire?”

Amuro’s mother asks this when they meet for the first time since being separated by the war. Amuro looks panicked because he doesn’t have a good answer– He’s been told to do this, to survive, but death is still death, except he never really wanted to hurt anyone, not really, they would’ve died if it wasn’t for him– and his mother cries and rejects him for what he’s become. She’s so ashamed of him. You’re no longer my son, she says. He’d lost his place in the world as soon as he’d entered the mech but now he really knows it, that the one place of unconditional love he could ever hope for has officially run dry. He is taken away by the White Base and the two strangers never see each other again. Somewhere, his father is melting away in a colony tinkering with trash trying to make gadgets of war just like the old days.

Amuro speaks to his mother in a foreign language. It is a language of violence. It was how he was taught to live. But there is no response and there is no love here; there are no words or violence that could possibly express how alone he has really become. The world revolves around him but he sits at the center unmoving and unchanging, tinkering with the toys that ripped him out of time. It’s the last place he has left to go. It’s too late for people like him.

+++

Amuro and Char are trying to craft a new world. They are the only people who could understand each other because they were both born on the battlefield and remember there must’ve been innocence once, if not in them then around them, and somehow it was lost along the way. If they saw something beautiful they wouldn’t know it because they only know how to speak in guns and swords and nights preparing for something terrible to happen, probably by their own hand. The story makes circles around them and they get closer and closer with time. In their final battle in the original series, Char tries to kill Amuro but then suddenly suggests they run off together instead. It’s such a selfish action. Humanity’s future lies with them.

It is too late for either of them and no matter how pure Amuro’s heart is or how powerful Char becomes, the future will never be born with them or anything they do. They cannot picture a world unlike the one they live in now. White Base’s beloved crew will grow up serving the government without question and have happy families and live in a hell they inherited but nonetheless perpetuate. Somewhere on the battlefield, a boy is born. He does something terrible. He’s given a medal. His father will kill him one day. He watches two pilots burst into light and the galaxy glow with the souls of a hundred mobile suits. With blood on his hands, he catches sight of a future where none of this has to happen.

It was always too late for Amuro and Char. But for the boy–

+++

At the end of Merry Christmas Mr.Lawrence, POW Jack Celliers is dying in the sand. He has been a rebellious spirit for the entire story, pushing back against the senseless cruelty with harmless acts of humanity . He has kissed the Captain of the camp and he is going to die for it. His head lays in a miniature desert with the skin flaking off his sun-scarred cheeks.

The Captain appears. He saws a small lock of hair from the man he’s sentenced to death before bowing and leaving forever. Jack dies. The Captain dies. The Sergeant beneath him is executed years later for his war crimes. Earlier, a young man bit his tongue out and bled to death. Emaciated prisoners collapsed to the ground after being forced to walk from their beds. So much death all around, and for nothing. All of the kindness was crushed underfoot and left behind in the march.

The dread is overwhelming but there are flashes of crimson throughout the film; there are sprouts of kindness between the blows that appear beautiful and bright before they are stamped out. Sergeant Hara gets drunk and hand waves the execution– a move that would normally get him shot– but the usually so venomous Captain Yonoi lets him off with a slap on the wrist and a cigarette with a notable red flower mark on its side. The red flower is not unlike the one Jack offered to him scenes ago and the deliberate act of unprecedented kindness has a similar ring. Hara, years later in his cell before his death day, looks up to his old friend and brings up a joke from the night he was drunk. Yonoi kills Jack but takes a lock to remember him. Everybody dies. Somewhere, there is love.

The sprouts are plucked out time and time again but they keep pushing out from the cruel earth regardless. Jack knew he would die when he stole that kiss, but he planted the seed regardless. It is too late for us, but true love is possible. Just not here. Not for me.

+++

+++

The only thing left for the two men is to die.

The Axis is coming down and it’s going to end at last, finally the play will be over and we can stop reading the lines and pretending like we mean them, but soldiers fly up in their war machines and try to push it all back. They dissolve due to the overwhelming temperature and vanish into stardust. Amuro screams for them to stop. But this is a radical movement of selflessness that will save them all and in the end the two men die and become a part of the green aurora that swims around the earth like a halo. The children look up at the sky and point to the light and smile. It was the best thing they could ever become. And it only lasted a night.

–When people speak of happiness, they almost always refer to the near-impossible everlasting kind, the one that you spend your whole life chasing. But it is easy to forget there were small moments as well; everyday occurrences or inexplicable happenings that plant a seed in us before being swept away forever. They’re a peek into the future. Somebody left it there for us to find. It was impossible for them, but for us…

+++

The moment Jack holds forth his flower is no more than 3 seconds long. But I can take that reel and I can find that frame and I can see it was there and alive and that it meant something. Things never really go. They just sit in a sequence of many other moments, and sometimes– hopefully– they’ll repeat.

+++

Amuro and Char and 100 other pilots become a green moonlit mist that the children of earth wish on. A boy in his mobile suit watches in horror and inherits this moment in all of its love and hope and pain forever and ever. He has killed someone and he is about to get a medal. The earth is saved. The children watch and send their wishes to the sky. For a moment before their evisceration, the centers of the universe saw the world they could never build themselves. It is too late– It is too late– It is too late—

Seeds are planted. True love is possible. A boy named Hathaway watches the dream of thousands pour out from the precipice of the new world.

Somehow, it repeats:

Humanity's future lies with him.

thank you for reading.

[roversrovers]

Soon, NEOWISE will turn into the very thing it studied: A shooting star.

On December 14th 2009, the space telescope WISE (Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer) was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to survey the entire infrared sky in four infrared wavelength bands. During the initial phase of operation it discovered a great variety of objects, such as the first Y-type brown dwarf and exoplanets, but it proved to be especially good at discovering near earth objects when its mission was extended for four months in 2010 and given the name NEOWISE. 

After being put into hibernation in 2011, it was reactivated in 2013, continuing under the mission name NEOWISE, a name that is meaningful in two ways: It is both short for Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer and describes the main function, but it also symbolizes the new life of WISE with the addition of the prefix Neo. Since the depletion of the coolant in 2010, giving WISE a “new” life became necessary, because only two of the initial four infrared detectors were still functioning, making a continuation of the original mission impossible– but it still provided enough data for a new one. 

The space telescope’s new primary role was that of an asteroid and comet hunter and as such it discovered around 3,000 Near-earth objects. Among them was its namesake, the comet NEOWISE.

However, on August 8th 2024, NEOWISE was decommissioned. This is due to the fact that it does not have any kind of propulsion engine and instead relies on a stable orbit– an orbit that is now becoming unstable because of solar activity. During the solar maximum, activities such as solar flares are heating Earth's upper atmosphere, which expands and drags satellites like NEOWISE, causing it to drop lower and lower. Predictions say that in early 2025 NEOWISE will finally burn up in our atmosphere, which we may observe as a shooting star in the sky.

NEOWISE’s story is one of great success with enough data collected to provide the scientific community for decades, and it laid important groundwork in protecting Earth and its inhabitants; a legacy that will be continued by the NEO Surveyor, expected to launch in 2027.

[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form:

I would like to have a planet that has a lot of things viewable and named in the sky. Rings, moons, shooting stars, satellites, asteroids, other stars, other planets, other moons, etc. I just like really want to fill it up. Yeah, you might think many of that is like we have in real life but I want to ramp it up even more, lots of fully identifiable ones other just you know, random dot in the sky. There have maybe 500 constellations. 30 planets and 15 dwarf planets in the solar system, of those maybe 8000 identified moons. As for shooting stars, maybe at any point on the planet they'd always be at least 20 that could be seen within the hour. Perhaps massive events can have up to 500 shooting stars in an hour. And of course the planet will definitely have a massive ring system because that sounds like a beauty to see. Basically, astronomy will be very very rich and active with so many things to observe. And that's just for natural stuff. And then people are definitely going to be putting hundreds of satellites that can be observed as well. Maybe even some space stations. Not to mention if there is plenty of space travel (mostly between the main planet and moons or moon to moon), space shuttles will be zipping through the air the same way you could see planes if you lived near an airport. Though, this will not be a civilisation that puts colonies on other planets, they're mostly just research stations although it won't be unheard of to have a small population of the scientists' families, and there just might be some extremely exotic and expensive vacation spots. The populace makes full use of their own planet and their moons. So, my question is, am I missing anything that makes this not work? Things that I should take into account I haven't? I'm not aiming for it to be super realistic but when I can, that's what I'd like to do.

Tex: Too many fish in a bucket and all you have are dead fish, not any water to keep them alive.

If you’re on a position on Earth where there’s approximately zero light pollution (something very difficult to do nowadays), you can see the stripe of the Milky Way with your bare eyes. It is in all actuality a bright stripe across the nighttime sky, and very hard to miss if unhindered by ground-level light pollution and the brightness of a lit Moon. It’s a small parcel of our own galaxy viewed from our position within it, and is estimated to have in that spot of the sky alone anywhere between a hundred to four hundred billion stars.

It is also, thereabouts, 26,000 light years away from us.

What gives the ostensibly density of the sky its luminescence is not how many objects we can see, but how far away we can see them. We don’t need hundreds of constellations, dozens of planets, or thousands of moons in front of our proverbial noses in order to have an uninterrupted swath of sparkles glittering down on us unimpeded during the night - only less pollution, both chemical and light.

On the other hand - having so many celestial objects so close to a narrative planet in question is indicative of a young planetary system still in the process of settling down in its formation, which is in an astronomical sense quite active. Your indication of frequent shooting stars supports that, which given some basic statistics means that you’re going to have a lot of meteoroids (Wikipedia) in your planet’s atmosphere.

The bigger a meteoroid is, the larger it looks as it burns through the atmosphere. After a certain size, it might or might not burn up in the atmosphere, which on Earth it tends to ignite in the atmosphere at about 100 km above sea level. According to the Wikipedia link, there are already tens of millions of objects entering the atmosphere on a yearly basis. Were you wanting that same amount for your world, or more?

As for another part of your question: It looks like you’re considering a research station (Wikipedia) that grew itself into a colony (Wikipedia). The inclusion of family members who are presumably not also there for the purposes of subject-specific research means that, according to Earth international law - something given more context in the listed Wikipedia links, the location is legally considered a place of habitation, and thus lends itself some form of permanency.

Antarctica, for reference, is considered a condominium in the eyes of international law (Wikipedia). All of these can be contained under the definition of a dependent territory, with various strings attached as to what government(s) they fall under.

The inclusion of vacation spots tells me that the original purpose of a research station has been largely outgrown and is considered a viable place for tourism. Tourism (Wikipedia) on Earth has some particular legal definitions, but for the purposes of your worldbuilding we’ll consider it temporary visitation for the purposes of business and/or leisure - more likely leisure as a vacation spot is generally intended for that sort of activity.

I feel like this would be a planet that has zoned areas as it grows, since it seems at least in part a planned settlement rather than an organic one. A dedicated area for the original research stations, residential areas, the accompanying support areas that come with raising families, and areas focused on leisure. A lot of this would depend on the geography of the planet, and where the original research stations were positioned and why.

[xolta]

Arcade Recommendations

Xolta's big ass arcade game recommendations list

Beat em ups: Alien vs. Predator Armored Warriors Finale fight Volince fight Teenage mutant Ninja turtles: turtles in time The Punisher Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara Battle Circuit Cadillacs and Dinosaurs Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder The Simpsons X-Men Night slayers Gauntlet Legends Guantlet Dark Legacy Golden Axe

Fighting: Killer Instinct 1&2 Marvel Super Heroes Marvel Vs. Capcom 1&2 Mortal Kombat 1-3 Samurai Shodown Super Street Fighter II: Turbo The King of Fighters 2000 Virtua Fighter 1&2 X-Men Vs. Street Fighter Red Earth Dark Stalkers Soul Blade/edge Soul caliber The Last Blade Street Fighter Alpha 3 Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core Monster Maulers Primal rage X-Men: Children of the Atom

Light Gun: Rail chase House of the dead 1-3 Virtual cop CarnEvil Jurassic park: the lost world Point Blank Crypt Killer Alien 3: The Gun The Ocean Hunter Time Crisis 1&2 Beast Busters Jurassic Park

Platformers: Bubble Bobble Magic Sword Donkey Kong Donkey kong jr Mario Bros vs Ballon fight vs super mario bros Strider Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa Dig Dug Congo bongo Joust Q bert Frogger

Racing: Cruis'n Blast Cruis'n Usa F zero Ax Daytona USA 1&2 Super hang on Out run Out runners Virtua Racing Star Wars Episode 1: Racer Crazy Taxi Sega Rally Championship 1&2 Hydro Thunder Mario Kart Arcade GP 1&2 Alpine Racer outrun 2(2006) Manx TT Super Bike Aqua jet

Shoot em ups: Centipede Millipede Galaga In The Hunt Space Harrier Defender Moon patrol Zero wing Robotron: 2084 Sinistar Star Wars Trilogy Arcade Asteroids

Run and gun: Metal slug(series) Sunset riders Mystic Warriors Mercs Nitro Ball Shock Troopers Smash T.V. Berzerk Frenzy

Maze: Pacman Mrs. pacman Lady bug Mr. Do!

Ball rollan: Marbel madness Super monkey ball

Sports: NBA Jam NFL Blitz

Others:

Pinball

skiball

wack mole

Air hockey

[erigold13261]

Who do you think is the most powerful NSR character magic/physical wise?

Oh DJSS for sure. (and this is gonna get messy and not properly organized lol) [Okay while writing this I actually think Tatiana might be more powerful, but I wrote most of this from the perspective of DJ so just read and hang out til the end for Tatiana's part lol]

That bitch not only survives being blasted into space, but they also can shoot literal beams of ultra charged sunlight at you and change his size. Not to mention being able to throw asteroids and planets (disco balls) at you that he has full control of. I'm pretty sure if they were actually trying they could kill you in an instant.

Plus I just imaging them as being able to survive in situations that others would never be able to. Not having air, too cold or too hot of temperature, not having food for long amounts of time. DJ and his elemental half of him is very strong and able to do incredible things if he just had a kick in his step.

Sure we see Mama also change size (not counting the end where everyone grows) or Eve manipulate other people's minds, which is power right in itself. But the combination of things DJ can do (and potentially do) outweighs what we see the others do, at least in magical/non physical powers.

Like, going back to Mama because she was also someone I immediately thought of, she is strong, yes. We know this. But she is also using Yinu for attacks during the fight. Yinu shooting the notes while Mama is being more of a tank, with some attacks thrown in occasionally at the beginning and then mostly Mama attacking.

She does have great control over her powers as well, being able to grow far bigger than DJ did (but we don't know if DJ just didn't want to destroy his planetarium unlike Mama who didn't care and just broke the building) and being able to snap to just slam chunks of land down at B2J.

Her power comes more in the environment I feel like. If she couldn't root into the ground (like if it was all snow/ice, water, sand, or something like that) she would be far less effective in her powers. While someplace with lots of plants, like Natura, gives Mama an advantage in her powers.

But DJ's powers come mostly from within I feel. Yes he can use outward powers like the disco balls/planets, but my main thing I cling to is the beam of light he shoots out of his chest along with those noodle arms they could literally use to destroy shit if they were big enough and slammed those things down.

Going to Eve, she also has all her power come from within. I would not say she is very physically strong, maybe more than the average person/human as I feel like she works out, but her power comes entirely from within herself. But her powers are incredibly strong.

Eve can mess with people's minds, which is usually a very OP power to have where you can literally just snap someone's reality and fuck them over for life. But we don't know the true extent of her powers. Does she need the person to be able to SEE her illusions (that would make her useless to blind people, making Neon better than her as I see him as blind) or does she just need a brain to mess with (which goes into the question of if DJ even has a brain for her to connect with, because I don't think they have a real brain, making her powers useless against DJ and them being stronger than her).

Or her powers could be literally changing reality but only temporarily (or a combination of these). However, looking at all of this with Eve, even if she were able to mess with DJ based on her powers, it would be a thing of who's mind is better/stronger. And in that situation I think the two would be evenly matched. They are both extremely smart in their own fields and I feel like the two are self aware enough that they would be able to hold their own in a psychic match against the other. So yeah, compared to Eve, I think DJ can match her in her own powers along with outranking her in their physical prowess.

I don't even think I should have to mention Sayu because mer powers are all based in tech. Whenever ze is in the real world ze would either be a hologram or a robotic body that wouldn't have much power to it, not like when Sayu is in mer tech world. So DJ would easily defeat a Sayu that is in the real world.

But when it comes to the tech world, if DJ did whatever B2J did and went in to fight Sayu.... hmmm, I can see him having both and easy but also hard time. Sayu's attacks are quick and kinda unpredictable at times, with 4 people basically attacking you at once. However, DJ feels like they would be a very hard hitter with lots of health. Sure his speed wouldn't be that great, but he'd be able to destroy the programmer chip things easily. Heck he might literally be able to just attack Sayu directly or grab that trident when ze would try and hit the ground/him with it.

I would say that if DJ can survive/protect his head from constant onslaught of damage (which he seems very bad at doing) he would be able to defeat Sayu pretty easily. If he can't protect his head then Sayu would win, or at least it would be a tie as we don't know WHAT a black hole in that situation would do.

And all of that is if we aren't taking into account how close DJ is with Sayu (or how I see them). DJ would be able to read Sayu and the Crew very well, giving them an advantage over them because I can see the crew and Sayu talking to him about fighting or moves they know how to do, but DJ wouldn't talk to them about his own fighting. So DJ would be able to out beat Sayu just by knowing them really well.

1010 and Neon J are very skilled fighters (at least Neon is definitely). It would also be a 5 or 6v1. Already making it advantageous to 1010. However, 1010 isn't really that strong, they have their shields and their finger guns. Both of those won't really do much damage to DJ, as he will probably be able to easily destroy a 1010. And heck, he would be able to swat the factory right out of the sky.

However, once Neon truly joins the battle using 1010 bots, I can see the fight becoming more even. As explosives are used and quick attacks like the saws or staves, I can see DJ getting run down during the fight. Especially if Neon keeps his distance, which I think would be 1010/Neon's best advantage. If they stay far enough away, they could use their weapons to slowly whittle DJ down. The only thing they would have to worry about is the sun beam and asteroids (maybe the disco ball/planets depending on where they are fighting) which they can have their shields protect them (if fans are around).

So if 1010 and Neon can keep their distance from DJ, which does seem easy to do with their jetpacks/boots and the flying factory, then I can see them winning with some scratches to their bodies. But if this is a close combat fight, definitely DJ for the win just from the size changing alone (like imaging DJ could literally just pick up any of the 1010 and throw them lol, I mean they could do that with almost anyone but still).

And then with Tatiana, I do think she is powerful. She should be, with her fireballs and time movement, I do think her and DJ could be very evenly matched.

Like will that light beam even hurt Tatiana? I'm sure it would somewhat, but not NEARLY as much as any other character who gets hit by it. It definitely would not burn her at all. She could also smack those asteroids away or dodge them easily with her time powers.

I was going to say that I don't think she would do much damage to DJ, but honestly as I am thinking about it I think she would. Even if DJ grew really big, he would be able to block the fireballs very easily, but they would still HURT him. They are fire balls after all. And the ones he can't block, because we all know what a pain those pink parryable fireballs are, would be an easy shot to the head, making the damage even more significant.

I can see DJ doing some damage to Tatiana too though. Constantly hitting her with rocks and beams of light would slowly whittle her down, but she would dodge most of them. His attacks are slow and heavy but Tatiana's are quick and heavy. She would definitely be able to out damage him while still taking on only some damages.

So yeah, I am starting to change my mind. Tatiana would actually start to kick DJs ass. She is hard to hit, takes damage really well (even taken less damage from some of DJ's attacks because of her elemental side), and hits hard too (not to mention she hits with swords which is another added form of damage).

I actually think Tatiana would beat DJ in a fight. But I don't think Tatiana could beat everyone else like DJ could. Tatiana would have difficulty getting shots on Eve and 1010/Neon. I do think she'd be able to take on Sayu, unless something stops her fire (like if the level was coded as not being able to have fire in it because they are supposed to be under water) then I can see Sayu winning, but only by a margin because Tatiana is even faster than Sayu's attacks. And Tatiana would win against Mama alone because of the fire advantage, but might get knocked down if Mama and Yinu can work together fully (those triplets and music bombs would easily overwhelm Tatiana if she also had to dodge Mama at the same time).

So for a quick recap, I think DJSS would be the strongest overall character with Tatiana being able to beat him. There are instances where other Megastars could beat DJ but only if they have the right advantages (such as speed or range). If I had to rank everyone it would probably go:

1.DJSS

2.Tatiana

3.Eve

4.1010+Neon J

5.Mama+Yinu

6.Mama

7.Neon J

8.1010

9.Sayu

10.Yinu

[everygame]

Super Breakout (Arcade)

Developed/Published by: Atari Released: 8/1978 Completed: 27/07/2023 Completion: Played all the modes. Still didn’t clear a screen. Version Played: Atari 50 (Nintendo Switch) Trophies / Achievements: n/a

One of the most fascinating things in history is how often something was invented, some idea was realised, and… someone else had come up with the same idea at the same time. Known as multiple discovery, simultaneous invention, even (appealingly) “railroad time”--Alan Moore has hypothesised that there exists a plane called “ideaspace” where we visit to bring back ideas, and sometimes people come home with the same thing in their bag.

It’s what makes me think that had Tomohiro Nishikado not designed Space Invaders in 1978, someone else would have. Not exactly the same game, no, but something essentially similar. The history of video games is littered with rip-offs, but it’s also interestingly littered with almosts and not-quites, like people took a trip to idea space, tried to bring home the excalibur of ideas but only came home with a broken off bit of the hilt.

We’ve seen it already. Avalanche… isn’t Space Invaders. Air-Sea Battle, an Atari 2600 launch title features a few modes that… aren’t Space Invaders. But they’re not a world away.

I suppose that’s what makes Super Breakout so interesting. Nishikado was so obsessed with the original that in many ways Space Invaders was his “take” on Breakout, and when Ed Rotberg tasked with making a sequel to Breakout he would, mere months after Space Invaders was released in Japan, release a version of Breakout where in one mode, Progressive Breakout, the bricks slowly move down the screen towards the paddle.

(Heck, it’s starting to sound like Tetris, actually.)

Now, I can’t say for sure that Ed Rotberg hadn’t seen Space Invaders; but dates don’t line up with enough time for him to have seen it (very early) and to incorporate it into Super Breakout; it’s more likely to have been inspired by Avalanche if anything–tearing off the same bit of idea space.

It’s really with Super Breakout that you can see the genius leap that Tomohiro Nishikado made. He didn’t need the intermediate step of “bricks moving down the screen” or “falling rocks” he went straight to enemies marching forward, shooting lasers.

By comparison, Super Breakout feels every bit the incremental improvement, if you can call it that; of the three modes here only Progressive Breakout has the spark of anything, with the other two extremely nothingy ideas. Cavity is just Breakout, but there are two extra balls held captive in the brick formation, and when you release them you can try and keep them alive. Doubles is… well, you’ve got a second paddle further up the screen which matches your first paddle’s horizontal movement, and there are two balls straight away.

That’s it. Really both are things that would barely be interesting as temporary power-ups in a later clone, and the things you might expect (different block patterns, etc.) are nowhere to be seen–not that it particularly matters, the game is as brutal as ever with it’s tiny paddle (although I was able to get blocks to bounce off the top row in Progressive Breakout, so that’s something. I mean my score has reached the hundreds, now!)

Will I ever play it again? I’m less interested in playing this than I am the original, honestly.

Final Thought: The weirdest thing about Super Breakout was chosen for Kid Stuff Record’s “The Story of Atari” book and tape/7-inch sets, which recounted the stories of Atari games such as Asteroids and Star Raiders. Apparently written based entirely on the cover of the Atari 2600 version which features an astronaut. Seems like the kind of thing that probably should have stayed in ideaspace, but what do I know.

Support Every Game I’ve Finished on ko-fi! You can pick up a digital copy of exp. 2600, a zine featuring all-exclusive writing at my shop, or join as a supporter at just $1 a month and get articles like this a week early.

[concentratedbitterness]

The Privateer

Unidentified Asteroid Belt: 2054

It smells awful.

Not that rotting corpses ever really tend to afflict the senses otherwise, but there’s something particularly pungent about the way they do surrounded by the vacuum of space, with only an aging ship’s air scrubbers to disperse the odor.  Nathan pulls his scarf up over his nose, resisting the involuntary urge to double over and retch his breakfast onto the floor.  They don’t have time for that.

For a ship carrying only a dead crew there is a surprising amount of noise.  It is eerie in and of itself, to hear the cacophony of the reactor’s hum, the functional systems buzzing and beeping; the faint creaking of the structure as it hurtles through space.  He hates it here, Nathan thinks not for the first time.  Even in better days it was uncomfortable being so far removed from the power of his native realm, but at least it had been interesting.  Now, it borders upon unbearable.  

“Gross!” His companion exclaims behind him, though her tone is not one of disgust, but delight.  

Nathan grimaces, glancing back over his shoulder to catch a fleeting glimpse of her smile.  He misses when it used to light up her face over flowers and milkshakes.  

“He’s not here,” Fig notes unhelpfully, prodding at the side of a dead man’s leg with the toe of her boot.  

“No, but he was.”  His words are muffled by the thick fae weave of the fabric covering his mouth.

The Genesis shrugs, planting her hands on her hips as she surveys the dozen or more bodies strewn around the cargo bay.  “Maybe not?  There’s no sign of a struggle this time.  No trauma.  They’re not wounded.”  

She isn’t wrong, but the conclusion she’s chasing is.  “They died of asphyxiation,” Nathan supplies, trying to ignore the unpleasant nausea stirring in his gut.

Short cropped brown hair brushes the collar of her Siatris uniform as Fig shakes her head.  She shoots her companion a withering look.  “Fuck off.  Oxygen levels are fine here.”

Nathan kneels down beside the nearest body, and presses a fingertip against the hollowed remnants of its oozing face.  “They didn’t run out of oxygen, Fig.  They ran out of hemoglobin.”  

“How’s that happen?”

“Blood alchemy.” 

*****

They find four more ships just like the others before they finally track him down.  Nathan isn’t convinced it was an oversight on their quarry’s part.  There are no dead bodies awaiting them when they step forth from the portal this time, but he can feel the arcane energy.  It feels like an invitation.

He reaches back to slow its closing, and fixes a pointed look upon his companion.  “You oughtta’ go report back.  I’ve got this.”

Fig laughs in his face.  “Are you high?  He’ll kill you.”

“No, he won’t.”

“What makes you so sure?” She asks, clearly dubious.

Nathan isn’t sure, but he certainly isn’t going to admit as much to her.  This timeline is a bleak one, and the man they’re after has adapted to endure it.  “Just trust me.  This will go better without you here.”  That part is a narrow truth.  Fig is a hammer these days.  Not every problem is a nail.

The Genesis purses her lips.  If he didn’t know any better, he’d swear she was worried.  “And if it doesn’t?”

“Then you and Luna come back here and do what you have to do.”

She stares at him for a long moment, not in her usual way–full of apathy and resentment–but with an intensity that brings a rush of heat to the warlock’s face.  And then, with a blink, she turns away.  “--Whatever.”

“Whatever,” Nathan echoes back, and watches as she steps back through the portal.  His hand falls to his side, and the doorway closes behind her.  He wonders if he’s going to regret this.

This ship is a small frigate; mostly reactor bay, but it still takes him a while to find his way through the maze of halls and bulkheads to the command deck.  He can hear the crew at their stations as he draws closer, chatting and carrying on as though nothing is amiss.  They have no idea what is on board.  Nathan doesn’t speak their language, but some ideas are universal.  He clears his thoughts, focusing on the ghastly images of dead crews on the other ships, the escape shuttle on the lower deck, and pushes the telepathic message as forcefully as he can muster into the minds of the people he senses nearby.  Telepathy isn’t always intuitive, but his aunt was an excellent teacher.  The result is as blatant a wordless warning as they come; get off this ship if you want to live. 

It would appear the message is received, he thinks, as he hears the panicked shouts just beyond the doorway.  Nathan rounds the entrance just in time to see the first crew member go down, bleeding from every orifice in her skull.  Three more follow suit in rapid succession before he realizes he’s paralyzed where he stands, helpless to do anything but watch as the last crew member succumbs and collapses to the floor with a wet squelch.  Too late.

“Not your best work, kiddo,” A man’s voice drawls gruffly behind him, and Nathan feels his muscles twitch, shifting unnaturally as the blood in his body is compelled to move them against his will.  It’s a profoundly violating sensation, one that the same man in another life had passionately argued against inflicting short of a last resort; life or death.  Now, he does it as casually as breathing, hands motionless at his side. Not even Santiago had been able to cast at will so effortlessly.  

Nathan is more fortunate than the crew, at least, for instead of violently rupturing aneurysms he only finds himself turned around and dropped unceremoniously into a vacant chair.  It occurs to him that he may have been overly hasty in sending away his cosmically powerful field partner.  “Wait!  Wait…I just came to talk.”

“So talk,” he shoots back without missing a beat, the soles of his heavy magboots locking against the decking with an electronic ting with every step as he makes his way closer.  It’s almost enough to mask the hobble.  

The decades leading up to this reality have been hard ones, Nathan knows, but he was not prepared for the toll they have taken on his former mentor.  Shaggy chestnut curls and a careless five o’clock shadow have evolved into a stark white mane and a full beard; the softened form of an academic shaped by days in the kitchen and nights in the laboratory has been hardened and whittled away by a harsh existence in zero gravity and a perilous addiction to arcane conductors.  There is no trace of the man Nathan had grown up idolizing.  His grandfather is scarcely recognizable.  “This isn’t who you are.”

The old man huffs a quiet laugh, but there’s no mirth in his eyes.  “That so?  Look around you, kiddo.  Our present circumstances would seem t’ indicate this is exactly who I am.”   

“The Malcolm Brockway I know isn’t a fucking space pirate…”

“Privateer.”

“Wait, are you serious?”

“It’s an important distinction.  Where’s your wife?”

“--It’s not like that in our timeline.”  It’s an important distinction.  Nathan furrows his brow, letting his gaze fall away, “I told her I needed to speak with you alone.”  Maybe it was a mistake to believe he’d still be reachable after all this time.  “There’s still a chance.  To fix things.  We found a viable timeline…”

A system alert chimes on one of the artificial gravity consoles, and the old man pushes a dead crewman out of his crash couch before flopping down into the newly vacated seat to toggle the controls until it stops.  “It’s not this timeline.”

He hesitates for a moment before he shakes his head.  “No.  Not this one.”

“Then why are you here?  Augusto put you up t’ this?  Or was it Zadkiel?”

Nathan tries to lean forward, but the other warlock has not yet relinquished his control.  “I’m here because we need you.”  

Malcolm shakes his head, “I’m done with all that.”

“Please, just hear me out…” 

“Sit still.  Isn’t there a me in that one?”

Defeatedly, he stops struggling.  “Yeah.  There is.  But he can’t do what you can do.”

The corners of the old man’s lips tug upward into the wryest of smirks.  “Can’t, or won’t?” It's an important distinction.

“I don’t know,” Nathan admits honestly, “Outcome’s the same either way.  If you help us, then maybe that version of you doesn’t have to become��” He stops himself before he says it, but the word may as well have already been spoken.

“This.” The old man finishes for him.  “Or maybe everything was always gonna’ end up this way.”

“Only in the timelines where you gave up.” The accusation comes out more harshly than he intends, but he doesn't retract it.  A heaviness settles in the air between them, silent but for the sounds of the ship, and at long last Nathan feels the blood magic’s iron-fisted hold subside.  He’s on his feet at once, putting a few steps of distance between himself and the other warlock.  There’s fresh blood on the deck, and it’s a wonder he manages without slipping on it.  “It would’ve shattered his heart to pieces if he ever had to see you like this.  I hope you know that.”

“I do.  It haunts my every wakin’ thought, kiddo, but he’s still gone an’ knowin’ it didn’t change a damned thing, did it?  Now get off my ship.”

He’d like nothing more.  Nathan takes another step back, and calls forth a portal.  “Will you help?”

“I’ll think about it.”

[postgamecontent]

‘Atari 50: The First Console War’ DLC Switch Review

The second paid DLC has arrived for Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. The First Console War adds a new timeline to the story, along with nineteen additional games. It tells the tale of what Atari suggests is the first console war, when Mattel's Intellivision came at the Atari 2600 very aggressively. There was competition in the space before, but I suppose the case can be made that the position of this particular battle makes it feel more like a "war" than what came before. As usual, there are some interviews with various people including developers from the era, along with a bunch of other materials to look at.

The interview content is quite good, as we have come to expect from these Digital Eclipse offerings. There are a few people from Intellivision, David Crane and Gary Kitchen of ex-Activision fame chime in, and a few other familiar faces like Mike Mika and AtariAge Albert pop up as well. It feels more than a little tilted in favor of making Atari look good and it gives the impression of a look from the outside, but this is Atari 50 after all. In general, there isn't quite as much behind-the-scenes material to enjoy here as we saw in previous timelines, and in the end it comes off a little thin. I wasn't as satisfied with the story here as I was with those of the previous timelines.

I think the biggest issue here is that for all the talking about Intellivision that this timeline does, no actual Intellivision games are playable here. I suspect Atari might be saving that content for a separate Intellivision-themed collection, but how much more interesting would it be if we could directly jump in and compare those football games after seeing George Plimpton talk about them? This is a good, if one-sided, overview of this console war, but the interactive element that was so strong in previous timelines feels a bit lacking due to the omission of one half of the topic. It's also a little odd that a number of the newly added games don't pop up in any timelines at all.

As for the games, we're going to do the usual thing. That’s right: it’s quick thoughts time!

Air Raiders (2600): A fully original Atari 2600 game from M-Network, and I believe the only one of that nature released back in the day. This is a very simple combat flight simulator, and it's actually quite good for what it is. You take off, try to shoot down as many enemy craft as you can, then land and refuel before heading out again. You only get as much ammo back as hits you've made, and when you run out of ammo completely the game is over. You also lose if you take too many hits. It's worth checking out.

Antbear (2600): A previously unreleased Atari 2600 port of Stern's arcade game, Anteater. As the titular antbear, you have to snake your tongue through an anthill, trying to eat all of the larva before time runs out. You can eat tasty ants and worms along the way, but you have to approach them with the tip of your tongue. The longer you've snaked your tongue out, the higher the chance you'll get bit. It's up to you to decide when to retract it. This is a solid adaptation of a really enjoyable game.

Armor Ambush (2600): Based on Armor Battle for the Intellivision. A two-player tank game, essentially serving as Mattel's spin on Atari Combat. You get varied terrain here, plus the ability to drop mines. You also have two tanks you can swap between as you like during each round. If you have a second player that doesn't mind diving into games of this vintage, this is fun. If you don't? It's amusing for a minute or two, I suppose. With no CPU opponent, there isn't much to the game if you're flying solo.

Astroblast (2600): Based on Astrosmash for the Intellivision. The original game was one of the biggest original games on the Intellivision, exciting players with its blend of Asteroids and Missile Command. It's no less enjoyable in its 2600 form, and might even be better due to speedier gameplay and a higher level of challenge.

Frogs & Flies (2600): Based on Frog Bog for the Intellivision. You've got your frogs, you've got your flies, and you've got a day that shifts to night. Jump between the two lily pads and try to eat more flies than your opponent. Most enjoyable in hard mode, where you have greater control over your frog's jumps. The original game was good simple fun, and so is this. You can play alone against the CPU, or with another player.

International Soccer (2600): Based on NASL Soccer for the Intellivision. Very loosely, in this case. Instead of the 3/4 side view of the original, this game uses a vertically scrolling field. You need two people to play, though you'll each only control a single player. It's reasonably entertaining for what it is.

Dark Cavern (2600): Based on Night Stalker for the Intellivision. Night Stalker is one of the more cherished original games in the Intellivision's library. Dark Cavern sacrifices a lot of that game's atmosphere, along with some of its enemy types. At the same time, it's a much faster game. Because it doesn't keep you quite as tight on ammo, it's more action-packed overall. Is that good or bad? I'm not sure, but it's definitely different from the original game in terms of feel.

Star Strike (2600): Based on, er, Star Strike for the Intellivision. The inspiration for this game isn't even remotely obscured. You're doing a Death Star trench run, and you need to bomb eight vents on the super weapon to destroy it. You'll be aggressively pursued during the course of this run by enemy ships and lasers. Should you fail, you get to watch your home planet get blown up. This adapts the original game almost to a tee. I found this game to get old pretty quickly, but it's certainly cinematic for its time and place.

Super Challenge Baseball (2600): Based on Major League Baseball for the Intellivision. It's for two players only, so you won't be able to do much on your own. A relatively deep take on the sport for the hardware, and decent fun if you have someone else willing to play a sports game this old with you.

Super Challenge Football (2600): Based on NFL Football for the Intellivision. This two-player only game delivers a fairly impressive take on the sport given the hardware. It looks the way it should, and there's some depth in terms of how you make plays. Not bad, but you will need a second player to do pretty much anything.

Swordfight (2600): An original game for the Atari 2600 that didn't get released back in the day, Swordfight is a two-player fighting game of sorts that is clearly inspired by Star Wars. The characters are large and you have a few different attacks you can use. This game finally saw a limited release in the year 2000, and has been included in a few collections as well. Cheap thrills, but the requirement for a second player limits the appeal.

Sea Battle (2600): Based on Sea Battle for the Intellivision. This was developed back in the day but wasn't released due to concerns about its market viability. It was eventually issued in limited quantities in 2000 and has seen a number of releases since. A simplified yet still strategic take on one of the more popular Intellivision titles, Sea Battle is quite a good time if you find the right person to play with. No CPU opponent here, so you'll need to rope someone else in.

Tower of Mystery (2600): Based on Tower of Doom for the Intellivision. One of the real prizes of this bunch as it has never before been released. This is quite different from the original game, but still a very interesting game. You have to escape the Tower of Mystery, a process which involves exploring floors, gathering and using items, and dealing with monsters. It's a solid game, and it's fantastic to see that it wasn't lost.

Video Pinball (2600): Given the capabilities of the Atari 2600, the quirky nature of this attempt at recreating the feel of a pinball table isn't that surprising. Give it some time and learn how to use the nudge to your advantage and you might find it holding your attention longer than you would expect.

Basketball (2600): Keeping in mind that this game was released in 1978, Basketball is at least recognizable as basketball and a decent bit of fun. It's too straightforward and offers too few defensive options to spend too much time with at a time, but as an early example of a sports game on a console, it has merit.

Hardball (Atari 8-Bit): Atari recently reacquired a number of its assets, including a bunch of Accolade games. This is the first game released from that bunch, I think. I remember this more as a Commodore 64 game, but this Atari 8-bit port is pretty good too. Do people want to play a quarter-century-old attempt at a baseball sim? I don't know, but if you do this is one of the better choices you could make.

Final Legacy (5200): This was originally an Atari 8-bit game, but a 5200 port was found in 1998 and is the version we see here. At first it comes off like it's going to be a complex game of grand strategy, but once you figure out how it all works it's really just a handful of simple shooting games stitched together with a fancy-looking map. Fun enough in short bursts.

Xari Arena (5200): A prototype that has been in circulation for a while in various collections, this is a variant on Breakout where you need to protect the bricks on the sides of the screen while eliminating aliens called Xari. Collect fireballs with your paddle and use them to destroy the Xari while fending off attacks. Clear the Xari and you're on to the next stage, lose all of your bricks and you're out. It's good once you know how it works.

Desert Falcon (7800): When the last DLC arrived, I asked why the Atari 2600 version was included and not the Atari 7800 version. Well, here's my answer. This isometric shooter is better than the 2600 version in its 7800 form in every single way. Not the best game in the world by any means, but it's amusing enough and has some interesting ideas.

The First Console War isn't quite as interesting as the previous DLC in terms of the documentary side of things. It doesn't go quite as in-depth as I would have preferred, and talking so much about Intellivision without letting people play those games feels a little hollow. That said, the games alone make this worth the meager asking price. There are a few games here you probably won't play that often and a number of them require two players, but the best of the bunch are very good indeed. I think it's worth biting on the DLC bundle if you enjoyed what the base Atari 50 offered.

Score: 4/5

[karanseraph]

rewatching Tf:tM

Something I realize on this Nth rewatch is that during the 'Instruments of Destruction'/shuttle hijack scene it's not actually shown how the Decepticons catch the shuttle after it's launched from the moonbase.

There's an exterior shot of the Autobot shuttle with like planets/moons and asteroids in their vicinity of space.

Then, interior of the shuttle with Prowl piloting or such.

And then, right after, purple explosion rips a hole in the side of the shuttle. A bunch of Cons come inside. Megatron, Starscream, and Constructons first.

There's a shot where through the hole Soundwave, Dirge, and Ramjet can be seen still outside in space.

Then when Megatron and Starscream talk, after the fighting, Soundwave, Skywarp, Dirge, and Shrapnel swoop in and take the crew stations.

But then in another shot it looks like Kickback is the Insecticon in the chair??

Megatron shoots Ironhide.

Then exterior shot of the hijacked Autobot shuttle heading for a planet which probably is Earth, but with no other Decepticons visible outside.

So, I'm guessing, from later scenes I know to happen, that Astrotrain was involved??

And also that Cons like Thrust and Thundercracker and all the Insecticons must have been with them. Also Blitzwing.

But we don't see Astrotrain in pursuit of the shuttle. As shown, it's as if the Decepticons just flew into interplanetary space and attacked a shuttle?

I mean, I guess Starscream had that ability a few times. He just flew back from Snowball Earth to Cybertron on his own, once, apparently.

Or, was Cybertron just really close to Earth in 2005 after various shenanigans with space bridges and such?

They should have just drawn Astrotrain in there is what I'm saying.

But also, until now nearly 40 years later, I didn't really notice they never showed Astrotrain or any other ship. I kinda just assumed? Even though establishing exterior shots don't show what happened.

Or, we can choose believe Thundercracker is inside Astrotrain somehow filming the whole thing, which is why we also don't see him.

Blitzwing, Thundercracker (briefly) and all Insecticons are part of the air assault on Autobot City. Then Thundercracker is one of the Decepticons shot by Optimus Prime outside the gate (unless that was miscolored Skywarp who was earlier at the gate, but both got injured somehow.)

But Astrotrain is barely seen until Starscream calls for him to transform to get them out of there. And when we see him, he's approaching on foot from a distance and converts to train mode to collect everyone?

[blsm-m]

Earth is constantly bombarded by fragments of rock and ice that have drifted from space, known as meteoroids. Most of these are about the size of a grain of sand or a pebble, and burn up completely high in the atmosphere. Meteoroids larger than a golf ball can be meteor Or a shooting star On a dark and clear night.While very small meteorites are common, meteorites larger than a dishwasher are not uncommon.The meteor is Aerospace and Geophysicist Normally, man-made objects are not suitable for study because it is impossible to predict when and where they will hit the atmosphere. However, on very rare occasions, it is possible to study man-made objects that enter the atmosphere, such as meteorites. These objects are space A mission designed to deliver samples of extraterrestrial material from space EarthDue to its similarity to a meteorite's impact, the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) is often referred to as the "artificial meteorite."Recently, more than 80 researchers from more than a dozen institutions collaborated to study such "artificial meteors." NASA's OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule – It occurred upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere.Related: The first examination of samples from the asteroid Bennu suggests the space rocks could be "fragments of an ancient ocean world."These institutions include Sandia National LaboratoriesNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, TDA Research Inc., University of Hawaii, Air Force Research Laboratory, Black Nest Nuclear Weapons Facility, Boise State University, Idaho National Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Kochi University of Technology, Nevada National Security Site, Southern Methodist University, University of Memphis and Oklahoma State University.The latest space news, rocket launch updates, astronomy events, and more!This sample return gave our team a unique opportunity to measure sound waves and other phenomena generated by objects from space as they pass through Earth's atmosphere.To capture the signals, numerous highly sensitive microphones and other equipment were placed at strategic locations close to SRC's flight path.While space agencies and private companies launch objects into space, time, Osiris Rex The SRC is one of the few objects to have returned to Earth from interplanetary space since the end of the Apollo program, as these are the only objects capable of achieving the same speeds as natural meteoroids. Their re-entry is valuable. To study the properties of natural objects. Asteroid sample collection National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Origin, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer, or Osiris RexThe mission was completed on September 8, 2016. Near-Earth Asteroid Bennuand samples were taken from its surface in October 2020. Specimen, sample Returned to Earth Launched in a sample return capsule in the early morning of September 24, 2023, the SRC re-entered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean at speeds of more than 27,000 miles per hour (43,500 kilometers per hour), landing in Utah just minutes later. A close-up of the OSIRIS-REx sample capsule on the ground in Utah. (Image courtesy of Mark Koenig/University of Arizona)SRC generates shock waves As it penetrates deeper into the atmosphere, a shock wave appears that resembles the sonic boom produced by a supersonic jet plane. Breaking the sound barrierThe shock wave then subsides, leaving only a low frequency sound. It is called infrasound.Humans cannot hear infrasound, but sensitive scientific instruments can detect it from great distances. These instruments can be ground-based or suspended in the air from balloons.Observation of SRC Our team of scientists saw the SRC's re-entry as an opportunity to learn more about meteors. Siddharth Krishnamoorthi NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratoryused the SRC's re-entry to test an infrasound detection balloon that could later be used in space. Venus.Another

team led by one of us – Elizabeth Silver - and Danny Bowman Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories used the SRC to better understand how sound can be harnessed. [gather information about meteoroids].These observation campaigns involved researchers from many institutions across the country.Our team strategically placed instruments over a 300-mile (482 km) stretch from Eureka, Nevada, to near the landing site in Utah. The instruments ranged from high-tech, custom sensors to smartphones on the ground around the SRC's flight path and landing site to monitor infrasound waves during SRC re-entry.In addition to ground-based sensors, the researchers mounted instruments on balloons that floated at twice the altitude of a commercial airliner during the SRC's re-entry. These balloon-mounted sensors recorded sound waves generated by the SRC's shock wave. These sound waves conveyed information about the SRC, its movements, and the environment it passed through.One of the balloons launched early in the morning, equipped with sensors to detect infrasound emitted by the OSIRIS-REx capsule as it re-enters. (Image courtesy of Emmalee Huff)The balloon team had to time it carefully to make sure the balloon was in the right position when the SRC passed by. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Oklahoma State University and Sandia National Laboratories Several types of balloons were launched before dawn from Eureka, Nevada.OSU, Sandia National Laboratories, University of Hawaii They also placed ground-based infrasound sensors at the Utah-Nevada border, close to the SRC's landing site, and at Wendover Airport, which detected clear infrasound signals even though SRC had already slowed and Wendover Airport was about three times farther down the flight path than the Eureka site.Researchers from these teams are currently analyzing the data to identify the points in orbit where instruments recorded the SRC re-entry signal. Because the SRC's flight path was approximately 300 miles (482 km), researchers need to determine where the signal originated when it was detected by various sensors.This is the most measured Historical hypersonic reentries.This work will help our team understand the pattern in which the low-frequency sound waves propagated through the atmosphere and where the shock waves peaked.Team members from the University of Hawaii and Oklahoma State University during the deployment at Wendover Airport. (Image courtesy of Milton A. Garces)Our team is still analyzing the data, but preliminary results show that our instrument captured many signals that will be useful for future research using infrasound waves to study meteors.By understanding the complex mechanisms behind how low-frequency sound waves travel through the atmosphere, researchers could use infrasound to detect dangers on Earth. Tornadoes, etc. avalanche.

[empress-violetlight]

A natural disaster of the type not seen in the civilised galaxy in millennia has stuck the Outer Rim planet of Honoghr. A very large asteroid has struck the planet without warning. Initial reports indicate that all higher lifeforms on the surface at the time of impact – including the indigenous sapient species, the Noghri – have been completely wiped out.

Stent watched as the visual changed from the annoyingly-happy Core world human female giving the report, to footage of the planet itself:

The asteroid, hurdling towards the planet, several ships in its path trying, and some failing, to get out of its way.

Its plunge into the atmosphere, reaching the surface in mere seconds, the asteroid itself vapourizing upon impact.

A bright, white bubble of energy emerged from the surface of the planet, ejecta shooting into space like fireworks, the planet itself shuddered from its off-the-scale earthquakes. Smaller circles of light appear on the far side as the impact awakens volcanoes a planetary diameter away.

The barren, greenish oceans rising up, tsunamis over a kilometre high battering the coastlines of the single continent.

The sickly purple landscape turning magma red, as ejecta re-entered the atmosphere, firestorms igniting across the meager plains, the air itself burning like an oven.

Footage from the surface right before the shockwave hit, the primitive dwellings of the Noghri incinerated, before the holocamera joined them.

The ash cloud spreading over the planet, covering it in a black, sooty blanket, an impact winter destined to last for decades.

---

That's what Thrawn's wife did for him. "Kill for you" only begins to describe it.

actually the best ship dynamic is i would kill for you. i would kill anyone who layed a hand on you. please let me kill for you. please let me show my devotion by dirtying my hands, it's the only way i know how. let me destroy anything that hurts you. i've hurt you too. i'm destroying myself.

[dragkbluire]

It is I! The Wizard!

. .. . .

They say in the past. . .in 20- something or what not, humans still lived on a planet called earth. Humans are smart creatures yet stupid as well, maybe that's why they didn't care for their planet until it was too late. They discovered space travel and other words far beyond the milkyway and when they left their burning, dead planet they left the Milkyway as well. . .

Now days us cosmodians believe the Milkyway to be a myth, in this Stargate date of 5073. The universe we know it had changed. .. New civilizations, species of Flora and fauna have appeared, and many planets are now connected. The cures for cancer have been found and radiation poisoning is a joke.

But space pirates and threats against the galaxies have appeared too, and it was up to Cosmos Warriors to defend the galaxies from these people. How do you fight in space? Well, space ships and stands of course.

What? Didn't think stands would be common? The asteroid stands originated from was from the depths of space, so naturally almost everyone has one.

So yes, there are the Space pirates, Cosmos Warriors and us, the bounty hunters. Which leads us to here.

"J.J.!" The female voice of Honeysuckle yelled in the mic reached Jodha Jorik's ears as the spacecraft of both pirates and the two bounty hunters zoomed around in the asteroid infested area near the planet Ziron. "Son of a Bitch! There has to be an outpost!"

Jodha growled into his oxygen mask, buckled securely into his spacecraft, a deep blue and white ombre ship that had a pilot steering control and buttons on the dash infront of him, ans did a barrel roll, shooting fire blasts onto the ship he had rolled over. the pirate craft exploded and he saw Honeysuckle's ship in the corner of his eye, a white and yellow ombre, and he heard his best friend's voice cheer at the take down.

Honey had a different craft than Jodha's, it was a stick controllerbut still had a breathing mask. Her legs locked into the sides and her waist secured on her seat as she dodged and shot, zooming over Jodha, both destroying more ships as they spotted the outpost. "Hell yea! we are getting our credits- worth this time!"

Jodha laughed with his friend, blasting another pirate spinning around before activity his sheild, and ramming into the ship. It blew up, and Jodha grinned. Then, the two bounty hunter's attentions went to the outpost, a large ship with a strange glow.

"Can't believe there's an outpost this big with such a small bounty. . .they most likely build this recently." Honeysuckle said, floating towards them when a golden beam flew past her. She dodged, looking back and seeing it his Jodha. She gasped as his ship was envolped by the golden light and vanished.

Honey immediately radio him in shock. "J.J.?! Jojo?! JOJO!" she yelled, in shock, wondering were the hell he had gone. . .

Jodha appeared in a large feild, in shock. He looked at his dash, trying to call Honey when he looked and saw a large man with blue hair and many muscles standing there with 8 others. He paused, seeing the shocking amount of oxygen in the air and unbundled, raising the hood. He looked at the group and shyly waved. "Uuh. . .hey?"

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SO COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!

It's like mixing Star Wars and Jojo!!

Jodha and Jonathan would be very confused because of the time difference.

Besides it is really cool thinking about a civilisation raising where the stand meteorite came from!!

I like the way you portrayed the future society!! And making them fighting with ships!

I love it I love I love it!!!