#Also several of their other actions were awesome too

[ofmdrecaps]

01/05-08/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; OFMD Recaps on Mastodon; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Samba Schutte; Wee John Wednesdays/Kristian Nairn; Rachel House; Dominic Burgess; Kristen Johnston; Hugo Pierre Martin; Aotearoa Treaty Principles Bill Submissions; Articles; AdoptOurCrew: Call To Action; LettersToSeaForSeason3; Fan Spotlight: Jax/North FL OFMD Cosplay/ Fandom Meet Up; Love Notes/Resources;

== OFMD Recaps on Mastodon! ==

Some awesome news! The absolute sweetest person alive, Lowrah (https://gaypirates.club/@lowrah) has been kind (and brave) enough to join my team and create an OFMD Recaps for Mastodon! She has offered to help crosspost the recaps over to Mastodon (blorbo.social) and manage that which I appreciate so much because I am completely inept at that site! She's also the one helping me with all the alt text (that I am behind at updating tumblr with sorry!) so please send her some massive love if you see her around because she is helping me out so much right now! One thing to note -- Since she's on the other side of the world for me, the recaps cross-posted there will be a bit delayed, so please bare with us :) Thank you so much Laura for all your help! You can check it out here!

Source: OFMD Recaps Mastodon

== Cast & Crew Sightings ==

= David Jenkins =

David's giving us some interesting updates on the eve of the first cancellation of S2.

Source: David Jenkins bsky

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys was in Auckland recording the first Cryptid Factor show of 2025! For all of you Cryptid Factor fans out there, he's also finally gotten to come in contact with the Sir Ed YETI Expedition backpack!

Source: The Cryptid Factor's IG

= Taika Waititi =

The Golden Globes celebrations were this past weekend and Taika was everywhere!

Source: Loop Mag

Source: Instagram

Source: VasJMorgan's Instagram

= Samba Schutte =

"14 years in LA today✨ Arrived on Ethiopian Christmas with one suitcase and 5 guiding steps I had come up with in my hut while staying in a remote Kenyan village, for my future self who would eventually make it to Hollywood. Hope you’re proud Past Samba🫶"

Source: Samba's Instagram

= Kristian Nairn and Nathan Foad =

Some great news! Wee John Wednesday is back on Wednesday the 15th! This news also has some clown potential, so please clown responsibly everyone!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Bsky

Kristian is also going to be attending MegaConLive in Dublin on January 18-19, 2025! Get your tickets at megaconlive.com!

Source: MegaConlive Instagram

= Rachel House =

Rachel House was out with friends looking badass!

Source: Maria Lewis IG

= Dominic Burgess =

Dominic is back from the UK and posted some great "Beef" pics from Skeleton Crew. He fits the Star Wars Vibe so well!

Source: Dominic's bsky

Dominic and several of our other cast members live in California so a lot of folks are being affected by the fires. I'll try to post what I can about safety/news but for now, looks like Dominic and family are prepared.

Source: Dominic's Bsky

= Kristen Johnston =

Our "The Widow Evelyn" is now on Bluesky too! Special thanks to @jilliansauers for catching her!

Source: Kristen Johnston's bsky

= Hugo Pierre Martin =

Our friend and crewmate Hugo Pierre Martin is on Bluesky now! HPM's Bluesky

Source: HPM's Bluesky

= Aotearoa Treaty Principles Bill Submissions =

Now, I generally try to keep "politics" out of the recaps because this is meant to be a positive space for the fans-- but I do know that A LOT of our cast and crew are affected by this bill personally so I do want to throw this in there. It looks like you don't actually have to be a resident of Aotearoa to submit your feelings on the bill. Here is helpful linktree with things you can say and how to submit that I tracked down via a post Rachel House reposted.

Source: NZGreenParty

== Articles ==

Thank you @adoptourcrew! You are article maniacs! So many in so little time! Thank you for always sharing!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Bsky

== Call To Action From AOC ==

January 9, 2024 marks the first cancellation of S2 of our beloved Show. Our fan-crew, @adoptourcrew has asked that you help support our show by: 1. Taking Action 2. Sharing your love 3. Showing your pride. In short-- sign a petition, share something about the show, tell the world how it affected you! If you can get the #OurFlagMeansDeath, #SaveOFMD and #AdoptOurCrew in there, that's great too! Show all the new and seasoned fans how much you love the show!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Bsky

== Letters To Sea For Season 3 ==

The Letters to Sea for Season 3 campaign that was being spearheaded by the darling Molly, aka aproperpirate, is finally coming to fruition! Tomorrow is the day the letters should be arriving! Molly had a special message to share re the letting writing campaign!

Source: AProperPirate's Bluesky

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Jax/North FL OFMD Cosplay/ Fandom Meet Up =

Florida crew! One of the Truly Docked members @ladymekaella is hosting a little get together in Jacksonville on Jan 19! Wanna join in? Follow them on facebook! Deets below!

1/19/2025 11am - 2pm, Atlantic Beach, FL 32233

Source: Truly Docked Instagram

== Love Notes / Resources ==

Hey Lovelies, I know 01/09/25 is going to be a very mixed feeling kind of day for everyone. It's the anniversary of the first time S2 was cancelled. It's going to bring up a lot of sad feelings, and you should absolutely sit with those feelings and embrace them. It was a rough time for all of us. There's no shame in feeling that grief again. I know I didn't show it much, but I cried so many times. Seriously, like SO MANY TIMES. My parents asked me if someone whacked me in the face with a shovel (which, thanks folks, I feel so pretty) but it was true-- I was devastated. It was a slow burn for me too because I wanted so very much to keep up hope. Seeing you all really push for the show helped keep me going-- and helped me learn more about how to cope with that kind of grief (and it was grief for so many of us because the show meant so very much-- and changed some of us at our core). No matter how tomorrow makes you feel though, I do want to remind you what came of it. This beautiful community rallied together and did some absolutely AMAZING things this past year (I wish I hadn't been sick this past two weeks cause I wanted to get you some stats). From billboards, to faxing, and calling in to Max, and Netflix, and Amazon, and Apple TV, to raising a SHIT TON of money for SO MANY charities-- to making beautiful works of art and fiction-- to making our cast and crew (not just the actors) feel loved and impactful-- this cancellation brought SO MANY OF US TOGETHER. People stepped out of their comfort zones-- talked to people they didn't know, reached out to streaming platforms and learned to use their voices in ways they'd never done before. We all built our own little communities within the fandom, bit by bit-- and those little communities have spread so much love, and kindness, and made life worth living for so many of us. It's been almost a year for my recaps too-- those officially started on Jan 13th, once again, because of the cancellation, and because of the camaraderie of the crew and all the support we all gave each other. Jan 9 is probably a tough day for most of us, but it's also the catalyst for so many wonderful things, and I'm so very grateful for it in a way. I've gotten to know so many of you, gotten to experience your joy, and participate in your struggles, and vice versa. I've met so many people from all over the world I'd never have once dreamt I could meet-- and I know SO MANY of you have too. This fandom is one of a kind-- and this special show and it's cancellation brought us together. I am still in full clown mode at all times, and I believe S3 is an inevitability, it's just a matter of when-- but no matter when it happens, I'm grateful we got this past year together, and all that came with it. So thank you lovelies. Thank you for being a huge part of my life, and turning it in a much better direction I could ever have thought possible given where I was. Lean on each other tomorrow, okay? We got through this past year together, and we'll get through whatever happens going forward, as a crew. Take care of yourself lovelies, drink some water, and get some sleep. Love you <3

= Resources =

Outside of the fandom in my day job, I work for a company that works with 211's and non profits, and so resources are really important to me. I have a lot I'm aware of, but if anyone has more they'd like to share around, please let me know! I'm happy to spread the word to help people get support they need right now!

For those of you in California or who know some folks who are-- please be sure to download the Watch Duty App, it keeps track and notifies you of nearby fires in real time.

In addition here's some additional info on go bags if you are in the evacuation areas:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Brown Issues (@brownissues)

Source: Brown Issues Instagram

Also looks like Airbnb will be pairing up with LA 211 to offer shelter for those evacuated from the Palisades fire. You can visit www.211la.org for more information.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Drew Droege (@drew_droege)

Source: Drew Doege's Instagram

As I hear more resources I'll try to share more in the recaps/on socials. I hope you all are staying safe out there!

[bowithoutadaemon]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zentrum für Politische Schönheit (@political_beauty)

BREAKING: Durchbruch!! Der Adenauer hat jetzt auf der Hauptzufahrtstraße der Polizei für die AfD bedauerlicherweise eine PANNE!! Wir blockieren damit seit zwei Stunden, wie uns die Beamten mitteilen, offenbar die (einzige) Hauptprotokollstrecke der Polizei. Die AfD-Abgeordneten müssen jetzt zu Fuß am Adenauer vorbeigeschleust werden. Und wir haben alles für sie an Bord: Wasserwerfer, Lautsprecher, Nebelmaschine. Gemeinsam haben wir mit dem Adenauer gerade Geschichte geschrieben. Die technologische Aufrüstung der demokratischen Freiheitsrechte ergibt also durchaus Sinn.

Hintergrund ist: Wir wurden vollkommen illegal die letzten 7 Stunden von einer Terrororganisation mit Hunden namens „Polizei Sachsen“ festgehalten und daran gehindert, auf eine genehmigte Demonstration zu kommen, deren integraler Bestandteil der Adenauer sogar laut Anmeldung ist!

Unser Eskalationsbeauftragter hat dann eine Pinkelpause der „Polizei“ Sachsen genutzt und ist losgefahren (so Pressevertreter). Nach einer wilden Verfolgungsjagd dann 30 m vom Haus des Parteitags entfernt – eine technische Panne. Wir bedauern den Vorfall und entschuldigen uns bei „Polizei Sachsen“ für alle Unannehmlichkeiten, die wir ihnen damit bereiten! Bitte keine Schlagstöcke, Schäferhunde oder Prügelstrafen. Wir wissen, Ihr seid sehr überhitzt und wollt alles kurz und kleinschlagen, aber prügelt doch bitte einfach auf die Nazis ein - so wie früher! Es ist beschämend, dass Polizisten den Auftrag haben, die Versammlung von einer rechtsextremen Organisation zu schützen, die offen plant, Deutschland zu destabilisieren und die freiheitlich-demokratische Grundordnung abzuschaffen.

[midnightwriter21]

Until Now~ (Tanjiro x Reader Angst)

characters: Tanjiro x reader, zenitsu, inosuke

warnings: angst, unrequited love, blood, injury, character death (reader)

an: Part 3 of the Open Wound series!! Read part 1 & 2 before reading this one! This is the last part!

Open Wound (part 1)

Distant (part 2)

It takes several hours to reach the base of the mountain. It takes several more to climb to the peak. By the time you make it there, it is pitch black outside. As you walk through the snow covered forest, you strain your ears trying to figure out the location of the demon. There are no footprints to track. The snow likely covered them up.

After walking for a while, you conclude that you cannot track this demon based on sound. Because there is no sound. It is eerily quiet. The other slayers that were supposed to be on this mission haven't showed up. There are no animals. The wind is not blowing, rustling the leaves. Everything is still, except for the falling snow.

Chills crawling up your body, you whisper to yourself, "Something is wrong here. Where is everyone?" Throwing a glance at the crow sitting on your shoulder, "Where are the animals?"

Your crow cocks its head at you before launching itself into the air as you gasp, "Wait! Where are you going?"

As it flies into the distance you look around the dark, snowy forest. Finding yourself completely alone.

——————————————————————————

A few hours later, at the butterfly mansion, Tanjiro sits outside pondering over the situation.

‘Should I have told her from the beginning? I only wanted to spare her feelings… but I think I made it worse.’ He thinks to himself when suddenly his train of thought is interrupted.

“Y/N L/N!! IN NEED OF IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE!! MOUNT KOMOTORI!!”

“That’s Y/n’s crow!” Tanjiro says out loud.

“Y/N L/N!! IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE!!” The bird repeats.

Snapping into action, Tanjiro runs to get his sword, passing a frazzled Zenitsu, who turns to follow him, also running.

“Did you hear?” Zenitsu questions, “Y/n needs help!”

Tanjiro glances at him, “Yeah… I’m heading there now.”

“So am I.” The blonde nods.

“I’m coming too!” A third voice joins in.

“Inosuke?” Tanjiro questions.

“You didn’t think you could go on a rescue mission without King Inosuke did you?” The boar-headed child laughs, “I’m gonna get there first, save her, and make sure everyone knows how awesome I am!”

“Y/N L/N!! IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE!! HURRY!!” The crow swoops down pecking Zenitsu on the forehead.

“Alright! Zenitsu, you’re faster than us so you go ahead. We’re right behind you.” Tanjiro orders.

For once, Zenitsu is serious, “You got it.” he nods, before dashing away.

Tanjiro, looks up with a plea to whatever god is listening, “Please let Y/n be alright until we get there!”

—————————————-—————————————

Hours later, Zenitsu is the first to arrive at the peak of Mount Komotori, it is nearing midnight.

“What happened here…” he breathes.

The surrounding area is torn to shreds. Trees snapped completely in half, sharp shards of ice sticking straight up from the ground, and blood, lots of it, smeared in the snow.

Realizing he is in the middle of a fierce battlefield, Zenitsu unsheathes his sword. Shaking slightly, he takes small steps into the forest.

“This is terrifying! I need to find Y/n and get out of here!” he squeaks.

He walks aimlessly for a while before the shaking of a bush paralyzes him in place.

“Coming through!” Inosuke jumps through the bush, pouncing on top of Zenitsu.

“Inosuke wait!” Tanjiro’s voice flows through the air.

Zenitsu, screaming at Inosuke for scaring him, suddenly pauses, snapping his gaze to Tanjiro.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what? Did you see any sign of Y/n?” Tanjiro questions.

Zenitsu pushes Inosuke off of him, straining his ears for the sound, “There! That’s it again!”

“What is it?”

“A sword!” the blonde exclaims, “I hear a sword! It has to be Y/n!”

Quickly, Zenitsu leads his friends toward the sound.

“Must be a hell of a fight…” Inosuke mumbles, observing the damage as they run through the snowy forest.

Getting closer, Tanjiro and Inosuke are finally able to hear the sound of the sword that their friend was leading them toward. Moving to a clearing to see you facing off against a demon who seems to use a blood demon art involving the manipulation of ice.

As they sprint into the clearing, you lock eyes with Tanjiro. Just as a spear of ice, launches itself into your abdomen.

“Y/N!!!” All three boys scream.

Inosuke and Zenitsu take your place against the demon, as Tanjiro runs to your side. Quickly, he pulls you a safe distance from the battle, his frenzied eyes roaming over your battered figure.

“You’re okay, you’re okay,” he repeats, “Focus on your breathing and you’ll be fine.”

You’re not sure if he’s reassuring you or himself.

Choking on a breath, you whimper, “Tanjiro…”

“No. Don’t talk, just breathe. Use your breathing to stop the blood,” he coaches.

But the open wound continues to pour more and more, staining the snow underneath you in a puddle of red.

“Y/n please, you have to breathe,” he pushes down on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, “Y/n you have to listen to m-“

“Tanjiro…” you interrupt, “it’s okay. I’m okay.”

You gasp for air, “It doesn’t hurt.”

At this, tears begin falling down his cheeks, as he whispers your name, pleading.

“I’m sorry.” he hiccups, “I should’ve been faster-, I shouldn’t have kept it from you-, I should’ve done-“

“It’s okay,” you interrupt once more, a whisper this time, “It’s not your fault.”

He brushes the hair from your face, and as he holds you, bloody, battered, and dying, in his arms, he sees you in a different light.

Tanjiro realizes he never quite noticed the sparkle in your eyes until now, when it’s fizzling out.

Or how soft and clear your skin is until now, when it’s covered in blood.

Or how rosy pink your lips are until now, when they’re turning blue.

“Why?” He cries, “Why is this happening?”

You lift your arm, as heavy as lead, to lay your palm on his cheek, “I’ll see you again soon, yeah?”

He runs his fingers through your blood soaked hair, sniffling, “Yeah…”

Your hand falls from his cheek, your eyes close, and you exhale one last choked breath.

[snozzlefrog]

Working on the assumption most people aren't reading kid's puzzle books (although it is a pretty fun, more relaxed time if you fancy it!), I've compiled a list of main series related observations. Please only read if you don't mind spoilers - and the kids aren't mentioned much since they are Jr originals.

The book seems to take place between books 1 and 2 (plausibly could be during book 1, but unlikely)

Many of the events of book 2 and 3 were in motion beforehand, especially with Tekco

Rose, Raspberry and Indigo all have kids - Indigo's specifically is Olivia, one of the main detectives

This means Logico helped murder his junior employee's dad during book 3 (ouch)

Applegreen, Lapis, Saffron and Ruby work in the same school, alongside Raspberry Jr

Emerald and Earl Grey are neighbours

Logico seems to be a bit famous now, at least enough for strangers to recognise him and to be signing stuff

The Detective club is really well funded, and Logico appears to be in a high-up role, if not the president

Irratino is a "pretty swell" Uncle (likely a second cousin rather than secret sibling)

Irratino is consequently pretty good with kids

Logico is TERRIBLE with kids

Irratino has multiple classic secret levers and switches installed for secret rooms and passages in the II (something we'd all probably do with comical amounts of money to be fair)

Irratino has great memory, and has the entire Institute memorised (which may also be how he can navigate the impossible maze with little trouble)

While it's no surprise, Irratino is confirmed as a habitual wonderer and prone to boredom (AuDHD king)

Irratino is similar to Logico in that he likes being included as a suspect when relevant

Logico either does a decent amount of undercover work, or has a LOT of side jobs

Logico earns what I believe is his first colour association - marzipan! (Suitably beige in my opinion)

At least two of the four detectives don't recognise Logico with a very mild change in appearance (mustache and hat) but clearly know who he is - either face blindness is super common in Murdle, or Logico is gathering an army of specifically autistic children

Logico has a houseboat (unclear if it's a full-time home or for the case - I like to imagine it is indeed his)

Logico is good with computers - at least good enough to stump a tech prodigy

Logico is kinda bad at tone/jokes

The DC and II seem to be at least a little linked together now - Logico tries to recruit two of the kids at the II, and Irratino helps with a DC training exercise as a "favour"

The II has at least one other branch, on the Violet Isles

A funny possible plot hole - Logico knew at least part of SPY was corrupt before the events of book 3 (between that and SoM, I'm starting to think Logico got hit a bit too hard during chessboxing - that or I'm checking timelines in a children's book)

Logico not only successfully pulls off the patented Tino-death-trick, but Irratino (presumably) fails to pull off the same trick

Logico is, and I cannot overstate this, the dopiest, most awkward motherfucker on the planet. Seriously, it's so funny seeing him without his internal dialogue colouring all his actions. It's like if Columbo was actually Like That. He thinks he's super cool and awesome and he's actually Laios from dunmeshi (AuDHD king). He's smart in the logic department but the rest of his brain is empty.

NO BUT SERIOUSLY. He earnestly does the Perry the Platypus disguise TWICE. He wears his hat under a second hat in case he needs to do a dramatic reveal. He lets children go to a wartorn country and solve several murders with no plan while believing that this is a totally planned excursion. HE HIRES A CAT. HE LETS A SMALL CHILD BELIEVE HE IS GONNA BE A DETECTIVE BEFORE GOING "oh no sorry that's for the cat, welcome to the force Mr McPaws" WITH GENUINE SERIOUS INTENTIONS.

If I'm honest, I think the cat might be the smartest detective there (including the adults)

[c-u-c-koo-4-40k]

What do I Know About You? - Part 2

Its finally Heeeeeere! This was another Awesome collaboration with @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan who not only lent characters but also cowrote thic massive chunk of words back and forth with me! Also this one is Long so bring a Lunch!

Summary: Lullaby and Khopesh Finally get to have their first date, and things don't go quite as planned. Was there even a plan? No aside from a deeply uncomfortable talk about trauma and expectations. Meanwhile the others back at base scramble to understand the strange Zap and the odd recognition Anrir felt upon seeing Lullaby. Many things stand in their way; fear, uncertainty and worst of all...Paperwork!

Tags: @kit-williams (who let me use Anrir and Ghosk though his presenceis only implied!) @sleepyfan-blog @bleedingichorhearts @passionofthesith @egrets-not-regrets @bispecsual

Warnings: Negative self talk, fear and prejudice speak towards Nightlords and psychers, talk of stress induced self harm (scratching and skin picking), and public PDA

First Fic/Prequel to this series click Here:

Directly previous fic can be found here:

Next one: Coming hopefully soon.

Enjoy!

“Uh- Anrir something… Strange happened,” Claude shuffles over to where Anrir is and explains. “... I wasn’t accessing my powers, I - I wouldn’t hurt someone accidentally, or on purpose, without just cause. I just shook Lullaby’s hand- I… I…I don’t know what that was about.”

He looks down at his hands, unable to look Anrir in the face. Cursed. Having warp powers means one is cursed. Who in the name of the God Emperor ever desired such things is an imbecile. Warp powers are a curse, to the person who has them and those around them.

Anrir's face remained calm- but his eyes were a storm of emotion at hearing the confused, stuttered explanation from Claude. His initial emotion is panic, as Anrir recalls that Claude is unbonded and that means he could take actions against Humans easily. Then he remembers how soft his son could be- and watches how worried and upset the youngster is. Claude hadn't wanted to hurt the human, or intended to do so.

Anrir starts to comfort Claude- he doesn’t fully understand psykers, or their abilities, but he does know that Claude ever strives to control his abilities and really doesn’t like it when that control slips. Especially if he accidentally hurts others as a consequence, because the training that he and the other boys received on Mars hadn’t … well. It had certainly been effective in some ways, and also had a lot of unintended side effects too. Those mechanical bastards.

Claude is really grateful that Anrir is here, trying to calm him down, Karlsor had not been great at that- mostly swearing at him and scolding him, as well as asking demanding questions, that he really didn’t have answers for, and accusing him of doing a Zap on purpose, which he hadn’t done so. 

“Walk me through what happened, step by step,” Anrir asks as he gently pats one of Claude’s shoulders soothingly.

Claude nods and verbally goes over the entire interaction, as well as what he’d been thinking, feeling, and other sensory outputs as well. He looks at one of his slightly shaking hands and once he’s gone through the whole interaction again, he’s a lot calmer, a slightly thoughtful look crosses his face.

“When I was younger… and back on Mars,” Claude says slowly, now that he’s thinking and not panicking, “The times where I would accidentally zap others like that- was if… was if I wasn’t aware they were fellow Psykers and my powers would just kinda… poke at theirs? But- I didn’t think Ancient Terra had native psykers so soon?”

Anrir hums softly and thinks, "They might not be awake. Their powers could be there but they might not be fully active... the Sorcerers have theorized that why the Warp is so weak might be linked to the Eye of Terror... since it's not here in the current time." His fingers soothingly move through Claude's hair. "Which means that only extraordinarily strong psykers can manifest much of anything during this current time which is probably why it's hard for you and you probably can only do it because of your training. Again those are just theories."

“Oh,” Claude says quietly, “... So they have the potential for it then. Like… like ice that has flowing water underneath it?”

“Interesting euphemism,” Anrir muses, “I’ll have to check with some of the Sorcerers, but I think that’s an accurate description.”

Jophiel and Cedric are moving with purpose- but not trying to be super fast as they get to Claude’s side. The Blood Angel is trying not to fluff his wings aggressively at Karlsor or Anrir.  Jophiel gently grabs one of Claude’s arms- the one with the hand that had touched Lullaby.

“Claude- there you are!” Jophiel trills at his brother-cousin, sounding as normal as possible.

Jophiel can be rather tactile- it’s something that Claude knows well. But the way that Jophiel is squeezing his arm, something bugging his younger brother-cousin. Claude’s gaze snaps to Jophiel’s as his gaze sweeps over his younger brother-cousin and notices that Jophiel is Spooked by something. “Did you need something Jophie?”

“... Yes, Ced and I want to talk to Claude. Privately and alone.” Jophiel says cheerfully. His eyes slide over to the First Born and Terran Born Space Marines, lightly trying to tug Claude away from them.

His smile is a tad too toothsome to be polite, and the red is bleeding into his eyes more. Usually Jophie doesn’t get too aggressive so quickly. Just what could be bothering him. “Uh- sure Jophie.”

Before Claude could move towards his brother, Karlsor speaks up with his own growl. One of his hands twitching a little- he usually wasn’t bothered by the feathery little shit head- but the little bastard is hiding something. Karlsor can tell.  

“You can fuckin’ talk with us nearby,” Karlsor points out, with a not quite snarl- noticing the twitchy way that Jophiel was moving. Also teeth. That’s a lot of shiny sharp chompers the brat has. “And it ain’t nice to threaten others, we wanna help.”

Jophiel narrows his eyes a little at Karlsor, “... I want to talk to Claude first.”

Claude had told the other Primaris Marines about that one First Born Raven Guard Captain and his flock of brothers- the ones from M42 who had known what the Captain was doing to him, but looked the other way. 

As well as how Karlsor, Anrir and the rest of the Claw reacted, and how they’d gotten him Justice for the shit-show that had been M42. It has helped his brothers start to trust at least some specific First Born Brothers a bit more. Still- old habits, and Jophiel wants to check over Claude to ensure that he’s not… got spores on him.

"I must Insist your inquiry involve us." Anrir drawls, bringing himself to stand near both Claude and the still clearly upset blood angel. 

The younger blood angel's patience was clearly running thin. "With all due respect Apothecary Anrir, this has nothing to do with you. I would very much like to speak to my Brother regarding His Health..."

The air shifted, and Jophiel suddenly found his frustration turning to fear and a realization along the lines of 'Oh Shit those were the Wrong words to use.' Cedric twitches a little, if things weren’t so serious he would have face palmed or jabbed Jophi in the ribs, the last sentence one should say around an older apothecary is ‘concerns about health’. 

The aura now radiating from the Terran Nightlord was full of pressure. He spoke with firm words that would seem unbothered lest you could sense the venom lurking just beneath them. 

"With All Due Respect...I consider Claude my Son, so If you know something is affecting His Health, Which would Also be My Business as I am an Apothecary, I must Insist," Anrir hissed causing Jophiel to shrink back further. "You inform me This Instant."

Jophiel glanced at Cedric who seemed equally unsure what to do. Then to Claude, who glanced at Anrir.

When Claude turned back to Jophiel, he nodded. "Anrir helped me before, he might know how to help now."

Jophiel deflated a bit, but...if Claude was okay with it, Fine. The Blood Angel squared his shoulders to attention. "Very well but...not here…" Jophiel bargained. "We need somewhere more private, and...I want to look over Claude with my psykery first...or at least while I explain what I've seen."

The glower Anrir had mustered up lessens, "That is reasonable, we can convene and converse in my Medbay office. Let us not delay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The cool of evening was beginning to settle in, though it was still fairly bright outside, as you and your 'date' walked the short distance to the Fire Drake Noodle House. 

You're fortunate when Anrir said it was close he meant by human standards, not Astarte ones. Only about five minutes with a single street crossing. 

"So...you've been to this place before?" You ask Khopesh. Who responded with a pleasant hum. 

"No but I have had takeout from there before. The Scallion Pancakes weren't what I expected but they were delicious." He explains as the two of you wait at the crosswalk. 

"Oh yeah I've tried those at other places! Wait...what do you mean they weren't what you were expecting?"

"Ah well…" Khopesh scratches his head kinda awkwardly. "It was just after I got bonded to Vada and Muti. I was still learning to speak and read the local language. I recognized Pancakes but not Scallions. So…I thought I was getting the sweet kind."

"Pfft!" You chuckled. "Yep, that sounds about right. But hey you still enjoyed them so that's good."

"Yes! My brothers got upset, but In my defense they were Very Good."

Ding! The little crosswalk man popped up and you two abided. 

"Wait, why did your brothers get upset?" You asked.

"Because they were technically a group appetizer and I stole and ate all of them, As well as the entree that had been purchased for me." Khoepsh replied cheekily.

"You did not!" You challenged with laughing disbelief. 

"Oh but I Did!" Khopesh declared. "And though I had to scrub the barrack floors for a Week straight, I regret Nothing!"

"Well, as long as you don't go stealing food off mine or other people's plates we'll be golden." You assure him. "Slight tangent but if you like scallion pancakes there's something else called Egg Foo Young. It's like a mix between an omelet and a pancake with meat and veggies and a gravy like sauce its Super Good-"

"Shit it's a Night Lord." You hear one of the other people hiss. "Uh let's just go the other way around…" The other person says nervously, tugging at their friend’s elbow.

You were broken from your explanation by two hushed but insistent voices. Turning around you saw two people walking quickly back the way you and Khopesh had just come, they must have exited the alley you just passed. 

"What was that about?" But before you could get even a rhetorical answer a different couple had exited a shop a little ways ahead. 

They took one glance towards the two of you before quickly diverting the path and jay walking across the street.

You stood for a moment after they'd walked off. The words came out almost without thinking. "Well...that was Rude."

Khopesh seemed surprised, "What do you mean?"

You gestured after the people that had left. "Them! They don't even know you and they just…" 

Khopesh smiled incredulously. "Lullaby are you...offended?"

You were taken aback by his nonchalance …"Aren't you?" 

He deserved so much better than to be treated like that. A thought comes to your mind that hisses out viciously, ‘He deserved so much better than you.’

"Lullaby," Khopesh cooed, now seeming touched. "I have been called Far Worse things in my time, mostly by Karlsor." He amended. "But yoooou." He brought his big pale hands up and...squished your cheeks! "You are so Cute! Getting mad on my behalf!" He chortled, rubbing and sqwoosing and lifting you Just slightly so your bodies were flush against each other. 

Okay...you actually didn't mind this...odd as it was. But you were in public. But before you could voice that you realized Khopesh was practically nose to Nose with you. "Makes me want to...Eat you up…" He growled with a sultry edge.

Staring into his dark eyes, your cheeks and face ignited, further contrasting your heated skin against his cool. 

You Really didn't mind this. But in the back of your mind you felt the alarm bells. Public, still in public and- 

"And never let you go..."

(!) There it was. Also you realized you were getting stretched a bit more on tip toe now. 

"Too much, down please." You state quickly. 

"Oh!" Khopesh seems taken aback but he releases you regardless. "My apologies, Lullaby, it seems I became too eager again." He chuckled bringing up a hand to gently rest on your cheek. "You're just so Cuuute."

You huff and can’t help but smile as you say teasingly, “You are right eager.”

‘Eager to keep you, or eager to break you,’ Your thoughts hiss at you again. You weren't certain. And that uncertainty starts to gnaw at you.

‘Talk, you Need to have A Talk.’ You think to yourself firmly. ‘And you will!! Just...dinner first. Get some food on his stomach so he's in a better mood.’ 

That horrible voice in your head hisses out at you, warningly, ‘Have you ever really Seen him in a bad mood. Do you want to find out what that looks like?’

"S'all right, learning curve and all that." You reassure him, and you continue walking. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright," Jophiel relaxed both his mind and body and let his warp sight dim. "I don't see anything strange on your soul Claude. You can stand up now."

He leans against the table, that was exhausting. And used far more power than it should have. But it was necessary to do so. He had to make sure that Claude was okay, and barring that, if he was not okay, that he could see what was wrong and fix it, or find someone who could.

"Ah thank you," Claude replied, hopping down from the medical table. Cedric hands him a hydration ration and a ration pack to help Jophiel replenish his energy a little bit.

Cedric, Karlsor and Anrir were gathered in the same room watching as Jophiel conducted his examination. Anrir was the first to speak. Karlsor has his arms crossed over his chest as he tries to figure out what sort of psy-exam the Blood Angel Scout-ling was doing. The younger Psyker was clearly looking for something.

"You've done your examination, now talk. Explain Why you thought something might be amiss with Claude." The Terran Night Lord commanded with no room for exception. "Spare no details, leave nothing out."

Jophiel turned and stood at attention. If he was to reveal this he would do so properly. "Yes sir, I was called by Cedric after the zap occurred. He believed as I do now that the exchange of energy was Not merely a static shock, but wanted me to surreptitiously examine the mortal to make sure."

"And?" Anrir prompted.

Now Jophiel became a bit more uncomfortable, but he pressed on. "The Human, Lullaby, has the spark of psykery. But it is...strange. It seems to originate from something that looks like a bond...but isn't."

"But Lullaby isn't bonded to Khopesh...are they bonded to someone else? And are you Certain they're a latent psyker?" Claude asks now Exceptionally curious, and the latter part of the question sounding a bit morbid. 

Claude's own powers had been Hellish to learn how to control, between the grueling training and the abuse he suffered... he didn't like the thought of a mere human having to go through even Half of that.

"Of that I have no doubt. It is the spark." Jophiel fidgeted a bit, thinking over his next words. "But...rather than manifesting as a plume of warp energy in their soul, or an aura around it...it appears to be originating from a...a mutated bond."

Anrir listened with rapt attention. "Mutated How?"

"It's...Wrong," Jophiel filled in. "From what I've always heard and seen...Bonds are supposed to resemble plants aren't they?"

Anrir nodded. "Yes, that is true. According to the librarians I have consulted, All bonds I have examined in my research have taken on the visuals of plant life. The strength and life span of the bond is displayed by the health of the vines, and usually the presence of flora. The type of which varies depending on the…relationship dynamics."

Anrir felt a slight annoying itch, like the thorns on his own bond were digging into him. He didn't like recalling their existence. His vines were Healthy and beautiful with blossoming roses that Bound his Draga to him Tightly. Just as he liked it, every rose has its thorns so it is Natural.

At least that's what Anrir tells himself. But back on topic. 

"Ahem, also, broken bonds take on a withered appearance until they desiccate back into nothing, or a new bond brings them back to life. So what makes you say this bond is mutated?" Anrir prompted. 

"Well for one, Lullaby isn't currently bonded to Anyone correct?" Jophiel reasoned, they were involved with a Nightlord with a separate platonic bond; if they had a bonded Astarte companion of their own, why would they be giving Khopesh that kind of attention? "They shouldn't even have one, that Alone makes it an outlier." Jophiel stated. "And even if it was a withering broken bond That would resemble dried out, dying foliage, That Thing," Jophiel shuddered. "Is Very Much Alive." 

"It...it was pulsing and glowing and spiraling out like a mycelium network! Some of its tendrils started moving over my Hand!" Jophiel rubbed the hand that had been touched like he wished he could scrub away the memory. "I could Feel it siphoning away my powers! It is Wrong and it is Dangerous!" Jophiel hissed, composure breaking and wings fluffing up. 

He rubs his hands against his legs, trying to get that prickling feeling that itched and scratched some of the skin off his shaken hand with the other one subconsciously as his claws extended and Cedric smacked his shoulder to keep him from making a mess of himself.

Cedric stepped in quickly. "Easy Jophie, it's okay. That Thing can't hurt you here." He said softly, giving his brother a calming presence to ground him. 

Jophiel leans into Cedric, closes his eyes for a moment, stopping himself from spiraling for a moment. Claude lightly puts a hand on his brother-cousin’s arm. Trying to help ground him as well.

Anrir watched the exchange but his mind was Racing. "Possibly the First recorded psyker of the Baseline human populace…" He mused.

Karlsor meanwhile Knew that look. Anrir was going to be in his own head for a bit Fucking Greaaat. Karlsor rubs his face- this is some really big fucking news. And they would need to keep a tight lid on this. This could spiral out of control very fast if it’s not handled properly.

"And an entirely new subset of warp bonds...incredible...fascinating…" Anrir muses out loud

"It is Not fascinating! It is Horrifying! And it carries the shadow of Decay!" Jophiel shot back with a hiss, his wings raised and flaring in his upset.. 

"Decay?" That seemed to wake Anrir up. 

"Yes! Decay! That was what tipped me off that it looked like a Mycelium. I couldn't remember the word for it until I focused on the feeling of decay and remembered seeing a diagram in one of Apothecary Hura's biology books!" Jophile huffed, though he was starting to calm down with both Claude and Cedric comforting him. He wraps his wings around both of his brothers, shielding and half hiding them from view of the two Night Lords as he calms down. The red in his eyes is starting to fade away.

Now Karlsor noted the look on Anrir's face was much more grim. "Penny for your fuckin thoughts?"

"I believe I need to speak to Apothecary Hura." Anrir stated, turning to leave his office. "The rest of you should finish whatever duties you have left, and retire for the evening. Claude,"

“Oh fuck.” Karlsor growls, “What did that fucker do now?”

"Yes Fa- Ah Anrir." Claude asked. 

Anrir smiled wryly at the near slip. "I will send you some currency, this day has been surprisingly taxing for you and your brothers." He said, turning back to the three Primaris, "Get something nice for yourselves from a restaurant of your choice. My treat."

Jophiel and Cedric seemed legitimately surprised by the offer, given the...slight disrespect from earlier. "Ah...thank you Sir."

"Thank you Apothecary Anrir." Jophiel says politely.

"And, for the sake of not causing any Uproar, let us keep this conversation Private." The cold pitiless dread came back into Anrir's voice for a brief moment. The Primaris understood the unspoken threat. 

"Yes Sir!" Jophiel says with a nod, nascent psykers, especially baseline humans faced a lot of fear and scrutiny from the people around them who don't have those powers, or understand it.

 "Understood!" Cedric said with a nod- this was confidential patient information, and unless he had no other choice, no whisper of this would come from him willingly.

"Of course Anrir!" Claude says with a sharp nod, he's great at secret keeping.

Anrir nodded, and made his way out of the room. He needed to have a little...chat with Hura about his Long Term patient. Karlsor follows after Anrir, half curious, half dreading what the flying fuck was going to happen, what information they might fish out of the Death Guard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and Khopesh arrive at the Fire Drake Noodle House, and you can't help but Marvel at the gorgeous space; emblazoned with warm reds, dark greens and shining golds. Banners display dragons and with the light fixtures having Actual Flames and the many metal worked items adorning the walls the whole atmosphere reminds you of a warmly lit forge. 

It’s such a wonderful place, you breathe in the smells of the restaurant through your nose. It smells so good.

The atmosphere inside also feels just as warm and vital as the decor...but that also means you might have to wait for a table.

"It's so pre-tty~" You fawn, utterly taken in by the environment. 

"Hmm...the lighting is a bit much...but the temperature is pleasant." Khopesh surmised, squinting his eyes a bit.

You were confused, till you remembered, "Oh right, your eyes are dark adapted...it's not too much right?"

Khopesh smiled. "You are too much," He pinched your cheek causing you to let out a painless "-Hm!". He was far more gentle than the squooshing earlier. "Your concern for me is endearing, but I have fought my way through battlefields and entire worlds where the blaze of war and the hellfire of artillery were literally Blinding. This Is Nothing, compared to that, and I will be fiiine." He assured you.

FWOOSH! A pillar of fire suddenly burst up in the kitchen with a sizzle, clearly an intentional part of the cooking. But you saw Khopesh flinch and squint even more as his eyes reacted to the sound by locking onto its bright hot source. 

Yeah, not fine. "...We're getting a booth in the back in the corner in the dark." You say simply. 

"But then we may have to wait longer." Khopesh groaned. "And aren't you hungry?"

"Yes, but this isn't Just for me, it's for both of us." You explain. "I want my partner to be comfortable while we're sharing a meal."

Khopesh seemed to take a pause. "Partner?"

You swallowed, "Y-yeah, you're my partner. At least...that's what I'd like us to be…" You explain. 

Khopesh doesn't respond, but he also doesn't seem...offended?? At least you hope not, he just seems to not quite understand.

"We can talk about it more once we've eaten." You finally say. 

Khopesh's smile curves back up, still a bit unsure looking. "That sounds ominous, Lullaby."

You shrug. "You wanted me to be honest, so I'm going to be." You declare. "But After food, cause no way am I doing something as exhausting as being Honest on an empty stomach."

"Pfft! Ha! You make it sound like Such a burden!" Khopesh chortled. 

"Is the Truth not a burden?" You reply dryly. "Ruminate on that while I talk to the host, also I've gotta use the restroom. If they call for the table before I get back go ahead and sit down okay? I'll find you."

"Of course my Lullaby, whatever you say~" Khopesh replied, it amused him when you got all chatty, and planned and laid out clear, obvious instructions. Honestly, were you able to become an aspirant you'd probably make a good Ultramarine. 

But you'd be Far more pleasant to interact with than one of those paperwork pushing, goody goody blueberries. Well maybe that's not completely fair, Khopesh had known...at least a Few Ultramarines that weren't...completely a drag to be around. 

He could only count those on one hand but Hey! They still counted. 

"Table for two please." You say as you approach the host stand, behind which stands a giant Salamander in a professional looking dark green outfit, with pale but textured hair tied back into a fashionable style. Also the marine in question looks...familiar.

The Salamander smiles in greeting. "It will be about fifteen minutes, I also heard you and your companion discussing your preference for a darker table setup. We can dim or fully extinguish any sconces once a table opens up should you so choose."

You were a bit taken aback by your whole convo being overheard. You were being too Loud again why are you Always so Lo- But you squashed that thought quickly, Astartes have excellent hearing even in a busy humming restaurant. This Host probably even tried to focus on chatter from incoming guests so he could get ahead of their accommodations. 

Clever and proactive of...Pyrus, as his name tag read. 

"Thank you, and yes! We would like that if possible…Go ahead and put the table under Khopesh please." You surmise, you wouldn't be able to hear it in the bathroom, speaking of which. "Ah by the way...could you tell me where I can find the restrooms?"

Pyrus nodded. "Ah yes, simply walk back from here to the left corner of the restaurant. Hallway alongside the patio, you can't miss it."

You give a quick nod, "Okay thanks." And hustle past to follow the instructions given. 

Meanwhile, Kerubiel had been sent by the rest of the Primaris marines as the one who had drawn the short straw and had to pick up the ‘not ration food order’ and it was from the Fire Drake Noodle House. Claude, Cedric and Jophiel had come back from going to the Chaos Base with pensive looks and thoughtful expressions.

When questioned all they would say is that they’d met someone new, who’d seemed nice. Other than that, they wouldn’t say much. Kerubiel knows that they are keeping something from him and the others.

But the rest of the Primaris Marines had allowed themselves to get distracted by food- and Kerubiel was curious about what sort of food this Fire Drake Noodle House place has, and begrudgingly looked over the menu and picked out some things to eat.

As he walks in, his gaze snaps to the First Born Night Lord sitting in the waiting area. His hands clench and unclench as he stalks over to the Chaos Traitor Bastard and glowers at him. Even if his new pride is keeping secrets from him. He can at least learn something.

“Night Lords don't usually travel Alone. Where is the rest of your godless heathen Claw of Bastards?” His curiosity gets a hold of him as he goes over to the First Born Space Marine. 

Khopesh is a little taken off guard by the sudden interrogation by the Dark Angel- he’s a big fucker. But he realizes- as he looks the rude bastard over, that he’s young- looks around the age of Claude and the other Primaris Marines. 

He’s also similarly sized, so he drawls out with a smirk on his face, “Back at base, which is where you should be...isn't it past your curfew little lion Cub?”

“I’m here getting an order,” Kerubiel says with a scowl, “I don’t have a curfew and I’m not a cub! Why are You here?"

Khopesh could see the little kitty was fishing for information. Dark Angels, over one hundred centuries and some things never Change. But fine...he'll play along.

"I'm sharing a meal with my precious Lullaby." Khopesh responded smugly. He let the follow up go unsaid. You know...because someone actually Wanted his company. 

Kerubiel could tell based on context (and logic I mean what space marine would call another space marine Lullaby of all things??) The Night Lord was referring to a human. 

Was this human his bonded? He was unsure if the Night Lord would give that information willingly. No matter though, he could find that out for himself. 

Carefully, Kerubiel drew on his psykery. He had heard about Bonds and other such nonsense. He didn’t really understand it, none of them did. None of them are Bonded. The lack of information was bothering him a lot. Information is key to survival after all.

And like in practice he saw the bond, flourishing and floral (honestly it was kinda pretty-) No! Focus! The strain of using his powers is starting to make his vision waiver, just a little bit.

But...something was off. Kerubiel may not have been the most experienced with bonds or emotions...but he could tell the bond in front of him was completely Platonic. He’d seen a few bonds of different kinds, they had different color-feel-patterns to them.

And again...context and logic. Precious Lullaby Could be a platonic term of endearment but considering how Dopey eyed the Nightlord appeared when he said it that was Doubtful. 

Khopesh grimaced as the youngster continued to Stare at him. He had a feeling he knew what he was doing. He'd let Claude and Anrir study his bond many times. So even without active psykery of his own he Knew the feeling of being examined. 

And this entitled little Snot hadn't even asked permission. But he held himself in Check; didn't want to get tossed out on his ass for being a Night Lord who got in a squabble. "Are you done being an Invasive little shit or are you just going to keep Staring at me Cub?"

Kerubiel let go of his sight, Damn that still took a lot out of him. But he would Not, show weakness. "Why would a space marine lower themselves to break bread and consort with a human they aren't even bonded to?" 

Okay Now, he was going to beat the shit out of the little snot consequence be Damned. One of his hands twitches, as he longs to clock the brat in the face with his fist.

As Khopesh was contemplating the best method of springing up from this bench and Strangling the little bastard in a headlock, Kerubial let out one more jab. "And Why would any sane  human choose a Night Lord of all companions?"

"Because I Like His Company." A terse voice comes from behind the Primaris Dark Angel, causing both space marines to perk up. 

You stand there, arms crossed as the large Dark Green hooded Bastard turns so he can see you, and you now have an unblocked view of your Night Lord still sitting on the waiting bench, though clearly much more tense than you'd left him. 

Honestly you leave for the bathroom, you use said bathroom, you wash your hands and splash your face and Hype yourself up for the talk to come and What do you come back to?? Some large petty nosy space marine getting into Khopesh’s face and asking a bunch of rude ass questions. 

At first you thought they might just know each other, until you heard the other Space Marine essentially ask, “Why would a human want to be with the likes of you?”

"Fuck. You. That's why!" You continue hotly, spurred on by your indignation and putting yourself Between this bastard and Your Night Lord, "He's fuckin Great. And Because, I can choose for myself who I damn well Please to hang out with! And not you nor anyone else is gonna tell me otherwise!" You state hands on your hips as your voice gets louder as you defend Khopesh from this asshole.

Does he need defending? Probably not, could probably fold this guy like a cheap tea table, but is that gonna stop you from puffing up and getting Right into a much larger Space Marine's face? 

Well clearly not you're already doing it. You would be more scared, but you were defending someone else. Someone who you care for deeply, who doesn't deserve to be harassed simply for being in a public place.

"Now you can either trot your merry renfaire ass along or I Will be reporting to your superior officer how you are making a damn Fool of yourself and All said superiors because clearly whoever trained you didn't impart you Manners!" You continue to rant and point a finger at him.

Kerubiel scowls at Lullaby and Khopesh, and starts to growl low in his throat at their rudeness. But while he clenches his fist, he’s no Chaos or Renegade scumbag to hurt a Baseline unless attacked first. His eyes narrow as he glares down at them and back at Khopesh.

Who now has an absolute look of looming Murder on his face. Not at You no no No. Before the prickly little cat bastard had the shitting Gall to Growl at His Lullaby, he'd been surprised and even Exhilarated by you cussing out his aggressor in front of him. 

Defending a monster like him, as if you had even a Ghost of a chance against the Primaris. All puffed up like a bluffing Hen, but you were completely serious. And so was Khopesh about that brutal homicide that was rapidly approaching this Dark Angel if he Didn't- Stop-Threatening-His-Lullaby!

Pyrus comes over- having heard raised voices- moving faster once he hears Growling Dark Angel Noises and calls out to the squabbling group. "Khopesh party of two your table is ready." He announces, trying to diffuse the situation and organically move the two arguing members apart. "We have the sconces dimmed and everything is set, if you'll just follow my fellow host right over there."

You glanced over seeing another smartly dressed host, this time a human Baseline, waving you over. "Excellent, thank you So much for the accommodations." You say in your sweetest most polite voice, before turning back to Khopesh and holding out your hand. 

"Let's go have a nice meal now, and try to forget any...unpleasantness." You gave Kerubial a sharp side eye. The bastard even had the audacity to look insulted.

Khopesh is now in a Much better mood without that nasty bastard growling and prodding at him. He's also pleasantly surprised to see the Host take his side but he pushes that thought away for now, taking his Lullaby's offered hand. 

You smile, and settle into Khopesh's side, literally hanging off his arm. Are you doing it to be spiteful? Absolutely yes, one hundred percent. But just as much you are doing it to be affectionate. 

You even decide to really lay it on, indulging in tucking yourself close to your Night Lord and nuzzling him. Treating Khopesh to some well deserved (after that bullshit especially) tenderness, and showing that green hooded Prick how Happy you were in the company of said Nightlord. Khopesh responds by purring softly, and giving the green hood prick a smug look with full teeth.

As you two move to go to your table. Pyrus moves over and accidentally bumps into the Primaris Dark Angel that’s growling a little and turns to look at him with fire-bright eyes, “Please leave, if you are going to upset guests at this place.”

“I have an order I’m picking up!” Kerubiel protests.

“Who’s name is it under?” Pyrus asks hands on his hips as he gives a disappointed look to the other astarte. “What’s your name and Chapter?”

“Primaris Marine Kerubiel of the Dark Angels. M42.” Says, before Kerubiel grumpily gives Cedric’s name to answer the second question.

 “... Ah- you’re one of the newer arrivals.” Pyrus says, which explains, but doesn’t excuse his behavior. “I’m going to report to Captain Ash’val about this incident.”

“He’s not my Captain,” Kerbuiel says one of his lower lips stuck out a little bit as his eyebrows come down in a scowl.

Pyrus stares at him flatly, he hands him the order, “please leave, unless you want to deal with the Reason we decided to call it the Fire Drake Noodle House.”

Kerubiel is curious- but he doesn’t want to get into that much trouble after finishing up healing and being finally allowed to run around outside without supervision. Fucking- Thressl’s reaction would be annoying to deal with, the cackling laughter and ribbing would be annoying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And for the love of all things Unholy Do Not scratch at the stitches." Hura scolded the newly arrived Space Wolf with the bright mane of red hair. "Unless, you want me to drag you back here and Actually put you in a cone for your impudence." 

"You wouldn't!" Thressel shot back, 

"I can and I Will." Hura assured him, snagging the willful pup by the ear. "I Might even have to shear off some of your precious red locks in order for it to fit properly. We wouldn't want that now, Riiiiiight?"

Thressel went pale, "Ack! Fine! FINE! I understand!" He snarled, barely tamping down on his instinct to Bite the hand disciplining him.

"Good," Hura cheerfully released the Pup and picked up the relevant paperwork. "Other than that your vitals seem good, your hearing is still slightly imbalanced but that may improve yet. Are their any other questions you have?"

"Nope, now let me Go ya Chaos bas-" Thressel caught himself before his big dumb mouth could land him in that dreaded cone. "I mean...I'm Fine, got no questions. And my brothers are waiting fer me."

Hura nodded, smart pup. "Any plans?" The apothecary asked as he wrote a few more notes. 

Thressel hmm'd for a moment. Cedric seemed to trust this Chaos traitor, at least with things related to healing. Sides, not like telling him would ruin their plans. "Says they ordered somethin’ called 'taik out.' Told me it was a special kind of Baseline food."

"I believe you mean Take Out." Hura corrected. "The food can be anything from any culture or style. Take out simply means the food is purchased and brought elsewhere."

Thressel huffed a laugh. "Whatever it is, I'm no one ta say no to a free meal. So can I go now?"

"Yes, pup, go run along."

The excited Space Wolf hopped eagerly off the medical table and ran for the door. No Way was he getting left with table scraps "-Oh!"

As Thressel was exiting he came face to face with a grim old face. Pale and dark eyed, a Nightlord…

"Watch where you're charging you clumsy Bitch!" Two Night Lords, the other one just behind the first snarled at him. 

“Oh Fuck off you gloomy bat!” Thressl growls at them, “I was here first!”

Hura comes over hearing the argument and ready to politely bully his cousins for being naughty if needed, “Ah- Karlsor, Anrir- come in- what’s the issue? Go- on now Thressl. Shoo.”

“Fine,” Thressl makes a face at all three First Born Chaos Space Marines but he does scuttle off to go where his brother-cousins are. 

While he’s curious to see what the Old Bastards are up to, he’d rather heal up a bit first and taste this ‘take out’ is and set Kerubiel on this fuckers, that is entertaining to watch. And the Primaris Dark Angel would tell them if he thought he had some information that he thought they needed to know.

Hura gestures for Karlsor and Anrir to join him in his office- he waits until Thressl’s superior hearing, even among the Astartes, is out of range and he turns to the two Night Lords, “What can I help you with?”

He looks them over, neither of them are injured, and Anrir is an excellent Apothecary, for patching himself and others up. He’s curious to see what it is that has the pair of Night Lords Seeking him out.

“I have some questions for you,” Anrir says, watching Hura sharply as he almost glares.

“What questions?” Hura asks.

“About the Baseline you recognized earlier, and how you and Xerxes helped them recover,” Anrir says, eyes darkening a little, “When you and Xerxes helped them … was there any… additional things that you or he did to them?”

“What do you mean by that?” Hura asks, arching an eyebrow at Anrir, having taken off his helmet to speak with them more freely.

“Did you fucking Chaos twist them?” Karlsor, says, rather not wanting to dance around something, “Cause if you fucking did- then we have a big fucking problem.”

Hura rears back as if he’d just been slapped, and insulted, “I did not, and nor did Xerxes do any ‘Chaos twisting’ on them. And what do you mean by that anyways?”

Karlsor heaves a sigh and then tells Hura what Jophiel had explained to him ending with a, “decay and mushrooms sounds an awful lot like your Grandfather’s grox-shite.”

Hura can’t stop the look on his face, “And you think I, or Xerxes can - what- affect bonds like that?” 

“Can you?” Anrir asks. 

“Or Can fucking Xerxes do it?” Karlsor asks, in a rather rude tone of voice. “And why the fuck didn’t you tell us you could do this?"

“As far as I am aware of,” Hura states honestly, “I cannot affect bonds like that, Nor has Anyone been able to so far, not the way that you are speaking of anyway. And I don’t think that Xerxes can either, if you want, I can call in my brother for you to question him on what exactly it was he did to help...save them.”

Karlsor glanced at Anrir, who had paused to think. "Time is of the essence, I do want to inter-," The old Terran Nightlord stopped himself, before he could commit a Dreadful faux paus in front of the Death Guard who was almost as old and deadly as him. "I mean...I would like your Brother Xerxes's personal recount of the events of course. But I doubt he can arrive here as quickly as we need."

Hura drummed his gauntleted fingers on his chin. "...Perhaps, there is another way...at least one that could hold the information you seek. Or rather Proof, that whatever is presently occurring with that Bond, it was Not apparent the last time my patient was here." Hura stopped his fingers and his gaze turned Deathly serious. 

"What I am about to tell and show you is Highly classified information. The event That poor child has been through sent ripples through the upper ranks, and it was immediately quelled so as not to spark panic or rebellion." Hura explained, motioning for the two Night Lords to follow him out of his office. 

They do so, and to their surprise the Apothecary leads them from the usual travel path hallways of the medbay to a generic looking door in a random room off to one side. Anrir had never truly taken notice of it, as it had the look and smell of an extra storage room. 

Hura pulls out a key card and presses it to the blank wall. A click is heard and the mystery door opens. 

As Hura shambles through and down, Anrir marvels, a disguised Stairwell, how clever. Anrir understood there were places in this base he'd never seen. Each legion had their own separate spaces so it made sense. 

But as a trusted Apothecary he was taken aback that he'd never seen or scarcely even been told about 

Down, down, down they go past more floors and doors but they only stop at the bottom of which resides another door, which Hura instead knocks on. Anrir recognizes the pattern and has to stifle a laugh. 

Shave and a haircut. Two bits.  

Again another click, and the door pops open to reveal a hallway not unlike the regular ones on the floor above. With again...more doors. 

"What the Fuck!?" Karlsor exclaims.

"Language!" Both elders hiss, causing the mouthy Nightlord to clam up.

"Fuck, sorry." Karlsor mutters. 

Hura ambles forward. "The information we seek is behind one of these." He gestures. 

"The fuck you mean...One of these?" Karlsor asks with confusion. 

"The Doors of course, little cousin." Hura cooes, with Karlsor growling lowly in response. "This...extension of the medbay was a collaborative effort between several legions and the high ranking officials within them."

"Ultramarine, Raven Guard and Even Alpha Legion contributed. Despite the primitive setup and materials it's quite...secure." Hura continued, glancing at each of the doors. 

"I'm assuming there's a catch?" Anrir posed. This all seemed too easy. 

Hura nodded smartly. "Astute observation. Yes you see every three months the records and data here are reshuffled with a tweaked or brand new sorting method." Hura explained. "There are also false or incorrect documents mixed in to further muddy things." Hura approached one of the doors. "And of course in lieu of dealing with data breaches...the Ultramarines thought it best if all These records were kept in…" Hura opened the door, revealing shelves upon shelves of folders. "Paper form."

Anrir balked at the mountain before him. Karlsor let out a plethora of swears and Neither apothecary bothered to correct him this time. 

"Fuck this! I'm keeping watch." Karlsor declared. 

Seems he had his work cut out for him. 

“Shall we begin, Anrir?” Hura says, giving the other Apothecary a smile as he starts reading and sorting through the documents.

Karlsor would rather be stuck staring at the fucking sun striped bare ass naked for hours. Then deal with oh four Paperwork. It's why He's never accepted a promotion as then he'd have to deal with the fucking Paperwork that came with such a thing. So, while he wants to know what is going on, he's not that Curious about it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright folks I'll get these drink orders for you, give you some time to look over our menu. Please enjoy, and I Do apologize for that...unexpected upset." The sweet waiter states as the two of you get settled into your comfortable darkened booth in the back in the corner in the dark. 

Well it's not in the corner but the dimming of the sconces directly above you Does reduce the brightness. 

Khopesh snorts, "Wasn't your fault the Lion Cub decided to get all hissy." He assured them. 

"Yeah, no, don't worry about it." You chime in. "We're certainly not gonna let it ruin our evening." 

"Good good. If you need anything else just flag me down and I'll take care of it." As they strode away you took another moment to breathe in the atmosphere. A bit of nostalgia tickled at your brain. 

"Reminds me of this Tiiiiny Italian place my PawPaw used to love going to." You say, making some light small talk, Khopesh seems confused for a moment till you elaborate, "With the dimmed lights I mean. It was always so dark, only place that had regular lighting was the bathroom. And the only lights I ever saw lit in the dining area were the candles on the tables."

Khopesh smiled. "That sounds perfect for a Nightlord, but inefficient for a Baseline restaurant."

"True...funny enough I-" You felt a slight twinge of a headache. "I...don't remember ever seeing any Astartes in there...but I don't think they weren't welcome per se…" You shook off the feeling before the pain could amplify. "Maybe it was just too small a venue."

"Perhaps," Khopesh acquiesced. "Also what was that dish you mentioned on the way here?" He hummed looking over his menu.

"Egg Foo Young," You stated, "Though even if it's not directly called that, they might still have something like it." You surmised. 

The menu, appropriate to the restaurant's name, showed a plethora of noodle dishes and soups. The lo mein seemed tempting, but your eyes also lit up upon seeing they had a Ramen section. 

The appetizers featured a number of your favorites. But you tempered yourself. "Got a lot of good looking items," You hummed. "Just don't want to spend too much on myself. Get whatever you like though okay? As long as it's not gold encrusted or costs the same as a car payment I'm fine to cover it."

"Pfft! You really think my tastes are That expensive?" Khopesh shot back before following up with. "Besides, Anrir transferred some funds to me for this, so You and I can Both get whatever we like." 

"Wait seriously?" Oh...the cellphone exchange while they were back at the base suddenly made sense. 

"Of course! He wants us to have a nice evening…" Khopesh assured, but he noted you looked...conflicted. "Is something wrong?"

You glanced up, seeing Khopesh's vaguely worried expression. "Uh...not really it's just…" Honest remember? Try to be Honest. You let out a soft sigh. "Hmm...I guess I just felt like...expensive or not, I wanted to treat You. Like don't get me wrong! I think Anrir is Super generous for doing that. I'll have to thank him later."

"I just...I know there's not a lot I can Give or do For You. If that makes sense.” You offered. 

Khopesh didn't seem to follow. “I'm afraid I don't quite understand.” 

“Well…I guess it feels like You give me a lot, attention, affection, you make me laugh, you comforted me when I had that bad dream. And for someone like you who's so much more capable, and physically stronger than I'll ever be and…" You trailed off, noticing how Khopesh was listening intently. 

In his focus and with the soft candle light flickering gently over his features, tracing an orange highlight into his dark eyes he looked…

"Why'd you stop?" He asks, breaking you from your trance. 

"S-sorry it's just...you look Really pretty in the candlelight."

Khopesh...did Not expect that. He felt like the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding in his three lungs flew from him silently with a simple but Slightly squeaky "-oh."

His Lullaby...thought he looked Pretty? Pretty? P-R-E-T-T-Y? In all the time he'd been alive he couldn't remember Ever being called that. Fierce? Commonly. Terrifying? All the time. And he knew baselines back in his time revered almost all Astartes with various shades of Fear and Awe. Some could and would even call the most frightening of their kind things like Ethereal.

But something as simple and kind as pretty? Never. The Nightlord felt his cheeks burn and he couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"How do you Do that?" He groaned playfully, placing his hands on his cheeks and his elbows on the table. 

"Do what?"

"Surprise me like that!" Khopesh exclaimed, moving his hands to the table before him. Looking almost like he was preparing for a lunge. "No matter what you do, or if I Think I know what you'll do, you always seem to catch me off guard somehow! It's so Frustrating." He growled but again, there didn't seem to be any real anger in it. Honestly, it came out more like a rough purr. "But I Love it. Which I don't understand, which just frustrates me More." He giggled, running his hands through his long hair. 

Well, you were hoping for honesty, and though it was a...strange thing to find enjoyment in. "I mean...I guess I'll take that as a compliment. But back on topic." You redirected the conversation. "I guess part of me feels a little disappointed I wasn't able to do something nice for you. I'm not mad or anything, and honestly I'm still glad I get to spend time with you."

Khopesh agreed, but something itched at his mind, like there was something he wanted to say in return or perhaps he could sense there was more You wanted to say, but didn't quite know how. 

So instead he'd take a moment to read your body language in the candlelight. 

Khopesh wasn't unaware of his own appearance, he knew his features could run the spectrum of ethereal to eldritch horror in the minds of baselines. He'd known enough Nightlords who, ahem, acquired personal serfs; promising safety and security through whispered sharpened teeth that the baselines shivered from with every possible mix of revulsion and desire.

He hadn't felt that Drive like some of his battle brothers, thus he didn't give much thought to Baseline standards of beauty. Not until coming here, and not until meeting You. 

And in the candlelight you looked so...wonderful. Reminding him of a place that was Warm and Safe, something even a creature as fierce as him had hardly known. 

He looks at your skin that's been kissed by the sun over your farm, and he remembers how you'd felt in his arms. Like his own personal sun, one that didn't burn his eyes or skin but filled him with a tender warmth all the same, as well as a burning hunger and want. The want to hold, to keep, to protect. Maybe that's why his battle brothers took their serfs?

Because bright, sweet things; things that bring laughter and joy and hope don't live long in this hellhole.

Without thinking he reaches a hand across the table, palm up. You glance up from your menu as you notice his gesture. 

You seem unsure for a moment, before smiling, and wordlessly placing your hand on his, instead of directly taking it, you begin drawing soft circles on the smooth skin of his palm with the pads of your fingers. Yet again, you've surprised him, and yet again, he doesn't mind at all. A moment passes before either of you speak. 

"There is something I need to talk to you about." You state, now running your warm small fingers over Khopesh's much larger ones. "But for now, let's enjoy the moment. Honesty can come after food. You ready to order?"

It is then Khopesh realizes he'd gotten utterly distracted and quickly picks up his menu with an "Oop!"

You chuckle. "Well we'll flag down our waiter for appetizers in a moment. I think I'll get some Roulette Dumplings for myself, and some Scallion Pancakes for you."

Khopesh smiled, and you could see him brimming with excitement. 

"But if you steal all the pancakes again I Will run out of this restaurant." You threaten cheekily. 

"You wouldn't!" Khopesh gasped with mock fear. 

"I would." You shoot back. Causing both of you to laugh. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It takes multiple Hours of Diligent review, but Hura and Anrir find the paperwork they'd been searching for.

The folder has a picture attached to the front, and indeed it appears to be Khopesh's Lullaby. Anrir thumbs through the reports page by page. 

It holds Lullaby's personal details, and the accounts and evidence collected from several space marines who were present at the time of the initial attack. Including several loyalist White Scars, the Death Guard Xerxes, and a Renegade Iron Warrior. 

Fascinating. An injury imparted to one Baseline spurred multiple factions into cooperation. Though he wasn't totally surprised, Lullaby seemed quite the sweet soul, and Astartes, however hardened they might be, seemed to have a soft spot in their programming for such things. 

At least...Anrir liked to believe most of them did. (That they were better than the slavish dogs of war they'd been bred for.) And indeed he felt his hands clench and his lip curl at the description he read. 

One of the Emperor's Golden Elite, a Custodes, committed this act. The Emperor who created them to be beacons and vanguards for humanity. It seems this Custodian had forgotten their place and purpose. 

He grimaced as he looked over the pictures taken, the painful looking bruises around Lullaby's neck as they laid in a hospital bed, about how the intervention of Xerxes with his...carrion wasps (Anrir suppressed a shudder.) had saved their life, and the months of painful rehabilitation they'd had to go through as was documented. Thinking back, he had an idea of the Hunt Khopesh was planning to ask for. And more importantly, his own overcrowded memory was coming back to him. 

"I know why I recognized them." He mutters under his breath. "They were in and out of the Loyalist clinic, I saw them in passing a handful of times."

"To think they had survived an encounter with a Custodes. They truly must be a lucky soul…" Anrir mused. 

Hura sighed. "I was brought in to help in their care and recovery, given my Expansive resume of experience." Hura laughed almost scornfully. "And I was Sworn to secrecy, the alliance didn't want to deal with the risk of hunting a custodes, nor the backlash they'd receive for Not calling a hunt on an attempted human killer."

"So they buried the whole damn business. Typical!" Karlsor remarked, peeking his head in. 

Anrir nodded, but that still left one thing unknown. "Not to dismiss your capabilities, but why only You for the overseeing apothecary?"

Hura smiled wryly. "Less bodies, means less lips to worry about sealing. Besides...if you check the dates I think you'll recall you were...out of town when the attack occurred?"

Anrir ran a quick swipe over his memories, true he often went on...business trips of different sorts. "Ah right." Indeed, at the time, he and his sons were taking a small trip to rectify the presence of a human trafficking den in a township nearby.

He'd found some excellent supplies in the process. Too bad he couldn't make the former owners of the place Really Beg for the mercy of the grave. 

Ah well, only so much time in a day. Anrir continued to read. The report further described the presence of a Normal Broken Bond as described by an Ultramarine librarian who examined Lullaby as they lay stable but unconscious after their trauma. 

And though not every visit, they also had their bond examined multiple times. The appearance was the same, snapped vines that were slowly desicating away. 

Perhaps Too slowly…

"Hura, what is the average time for a broken bond to wither away?"

Hura hummed thoughtfully. "Weaker bonds can resolve in a matter of days, for those of moderate strength and age, a few weeks. As for intense bonds…" Hura trailed off. 

Ah yes, one of the more...disturbing sides of this bizarre gift they'd all received. He recalled the first time he'd had Karlsor use his warp sight on a Space Marine who'd lost their intense bond, as the restrained War Hound thrashed and howled in agony. 

He couldn't see it himself, but he'll never forget seeing his son's face go even more pale. 

"It's fucking Strangling his soul." Karlsor swore. 

But back to the present. Intense bonds Could indeed stay longer, but they hadn't the chance to examine their appearance on humans. And without the Custodes present, there was no way of knowing if their side of the bond held those characteristics. 

But still, Anrir cleared his throat. "Well, it does appear my questions have been answered. There's no evidence you Or your Brother played a hand in this bond mutation. But now we must still ask "Why?"

"And what the heck do we do about it?" Karlsor piped up. 

Wait a minute. 

Anrir turned sharply to 'Karlsor'. "What...did you just say?"

'Karlsor' stood there for a moment. "I...ah...I said What the Fuckin heck do we do about it?" He stammered a bit. 

"Hey! You old fucks even halfway fucking done in there or do I need to plan on getting a new fucking bolt after we get the fuck outta here!?" A voice shouted from down the hall just past the door with the knock lock. 

Anrir bristled. "IMPOSTER!" He snarled, lunging and pinning the interloper to the nearest wall. Hura simply stood back, arms crossed and shaking his head. 

"You Really couldn't help yourself, could you?" He sighed, Anrir was confused, until the squirming Bastard wearing his son's face sighed and relented. 

Dark blue became teal, and the pale scarred face took on a more olive tone, with bright teal eyes. 

"Who are you? And if you even fucking Think about Saying Alpharius, I will start with your teeth and won't stop until I've plucked out Each and Every One of your bones!" Anrir snarled, before Hura put a tempering hand on his shoulder. 

"Relax Anrir, I know this one." Hura soothed. He turned to the Hydra and said very sternly, "Zariel…"

The Hydra sighed before acquiescing. "I saw your little family gathering and became curious myself. So I figured...what the hell? Might as well use the fact Alpha Legion helped design this space to my advantage." He shrugged. 

Anrir groaned, but did not release the pesky teal bastard. "How did you get past Karlsor?" He demanded. 

"I didn't, I figured Hura would bring you here eventually, so I got here ahead of you and decided to camp out in one of the other rooms after locating the file." Zariel shrugged. "Honestly, having a third person made it easier for me as I didn't have to worry about only approaching while the two of you were separated."

Karlsor sends Anrir a message [Oi- old man, you asleep in the hell that is paperwork?]

[I and Hura are still awake.] Anrir responds. [Just dealing with a sneaky Hydra.]

[Those fuckers!] Karlsor responds [Need back up?]

[Not yet, Hura and I have the situation handled for you.] Anrir responds.

[Let me know if you need some Psychic muscle Anrir.] Karlsor replies.

[Oh, I will.] Anrir responds.

Anrir focuses on the conversation between this ‘Zariel’ and Hura tilting his head and keeping the Hydra pinned against the wall. For now at least. One should always try to have the upper hand with the sneaky buggers.

“You should have said something or texted,” Hura says with a disappointed sigh and shakes his head. “You are lucky that I was here and that Anrir has yet to take more hostile, understandably so action with this grox shite that you pulled, Hydra.”

“Yes, but this way is more entertaining,” Zariel argues with a huff. Then he winces a little when Anrir pushes into him a little bit. “Could you let me up? I’m here to help. The Primaris Ducklings are also partially under my protection and care too.”

“Still, why are you here?” Hura asks Zariel as he strides closer to him.

Zariel shifts a little and huffs as he says that, “I couldn't help myself, we hydras love secrets and he's willing to share.”

“We who?” Hura asks, narrowing his eyes, “is your squad nearby?”

“They know where I am,” Zariel says, but they aren’t in these rooms, “So if you or Anrir, or someone else try to disappear me they’ll know who to go after and where.”

The file details many different things, more on the details of Lullaby's injuries and treatment. And that even at their last check up they were secretly looked at by a librarian. The bond was taking a While to wither, but it was withering!

Zariel points out, gesturing to one of the Librarian's latest reports, dated two weeks ago at a clinic in their hometown, “There is no sign of the decay Jophiel saw.”

“It’s… could it be a whole new bond type and … could Lullaby possibly be a nascent Psyker? Developing amidst the Baseline populace?” Hura muses.

“What a discovery!” Anrir proclaims as his eyes gleam brightly, fogging over with ideas of what this could mean. Anrir pauses as he thinks over the potential implications and says out loud, almost offhandedly, “ But...if the bond is altered...that could also mean. Ah. I wonder if Lullaby may not be able to form a permanent bond ever again.”

Zariel and Hura are quiet as they ponder those implications and Hura pipes up saying “Lullaby needs to be told. About their potential Psykery, and about the possibility of them not being able to permanently Bond with another.”

“I agree,” Zariel says, as he knows about the nature of various brothers and cousins and says warningly, “They're the patient and if they shock a less friendly space marine and that marine realizes what they are, they could be taken hostage.”

The trio of Space Marines look at each other at that. Some of their brothers and cousins could get highly reactive about certain things. And the reactions they could have were as diverse as the galaxy is.

“... I think telling Lullaby that they have an unviable bond, and that it is so unusual and mutated is… important, it could be affecting their health, be it physical, mental, emotional, psychically or in their soul, but we won’t know until we investigate more.” Hura says with a grim expression on his face.

“I will tell Khopesh he needs to bring them back to base,” Anrir says, “After their date is over to speak with them.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Hura says with a nod. “Don’t want to worry the younglings too much, but it’s important, too important to let it wait too long.”

The three of them are quiet, a somber heavy feeling curling around the three of them. Anrir slowly lets go of Zariel as they ponder what the next steps are to do. Zariel grabs the documents in Lullaby’s file and makes sure they are in proper order.

“Also, I was here to add in more of the falsified documentation and do more of the safety rotation and cipher changing,” Zariel tells them.

He’d gone into these archives for multiple reasons, some of them more legitimate and than others. While his fellow Hydra’s would understand because of curiosity and having a nose for Interview and how curious and strange certain reactions were, most others not of the lineage of the Hydra got terribly annoyed with that answer for some reason.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The waiter came back with a platter piled high with their appetizers and drink orders. He set down the plates of steaming hot food. The smell of it makes your mouth water and the way that it glistens in the low light just enhances the delight as your stomach rumbles as the appetizer plates are set down, and then the sharing plates. The dipping sauces and the drinks.

The waiter asks if they have decided on their dinner, or if they want him to come back in a bit. You've decided on the spicy ramen and tell the waiter as much. 

“Alright, I Must warn you though the highest spice level is more for Astartes, below that is what would be considered very hot for humans, then moderate, and then mild. Which level would you prefer?”

You thought it over. “I'll take it human moderate please.” You eventually settle on, handing the waiter your menu. 

“I’ll have it hot and spicy!” Khopesh says with a grin, “Astartes level hot!”

“... Khopesh,” You say, “are you sure you want to do that?”

“That sounds like a challenge Lullaby, and I don't back down from challenges!” Khopesh declared confidently, “Besides! You seem to like it so I'm sure I will as well.”

“Okay…if you're certain.” You reply with a shrug, deciding to grab and eat one of the Roulette dumplings, and a scallion pancake. 

You bit into the innocuous looking dumpling and hummed at the burst of spicy flavor. “Hm! Hot one on the first try!” You smiled, dipping the remainder in sauce and eating it. 

“Excuse me?” Khopesh asked, grabbing his own appetizers. 

“Oh that's what the Roulette Dumplings are, look.” You grabbed another dumpling and took a taste. A savory and sour flavor followed. “There are three flavors; spicy, sour and regular. It's a gamble what you get with every one you eat.”

Khopesh seemed legitimately intrigued, he picked up one and examined it, before tentatively popping it into his mouth. “Hm!”

That…that wasn't what he was expecting. It started out like a simple prick of sensation on his tongue, then it grew warmer spreading over his mouth, then it was Hot. It left his mouth tingling unpleasantly, even if the flavor was savory and good he-

“You doing alright over there?” You asked, noting the reddening of Khopesh's face.

The Night lord broke from his pain to shoot you a scowl, before he swallowed quickly so the burning morsel no longer sat on his tongue. It left an itchy staticky aftertaste falling down his throat. 

“Ulp! Fine, I am Fine.” He replied, rolling his mouth and tongue a bit as if trying to shake off the lingering taste. “See?? I can handle this Astarte Spice just fine!” He huffed, crossing his arms defiantly. 

“Khopesh, those were regular spicy.”

“-!” You saw him flinch. But before either of you could speak further…

“And here's two ramen bowls! One Moderate Spicy and the Other We have Salamander Spicy! Enjoy!” The waiter delivered your meal items cheerfully, and was gone almost as fast. 

Khopesh started down at the steaming bowl, and he could Feel the spice and the heat and the Hell that awaited his mouth. He felt it in every inhale. 

“Khopesh…you don't have to.” You started.

The Night lord turned his eyes sharply to you. “I will not be Cowed by a bowl of Soup and Noodles!” He declared, frustratedly picking up his utensils. “I Will enjoy it, just as you do.”

Fine! Just let him hurt himself. Fool won't fuckin listen anyway. You rolled your eyes. 

No…no, you're not gonna just stand by. 

“Khopesh…”

“Silence!” Khopesh snarled, focused on his bowl. “Do not try and stop m-”

Khopesh found himself cut off by a much smaller hand coming to grasp his own harshly. He looked up and what he saw Actually made him take notice.

You looked Pissed. Not unraveled but very much in line with; ‘Okay now the angry bitch is coming out’ as his Muti would say. 

“First of all,” You growled back with a convincing level of menace for your size. “Never, tell me to Silence, myself again. And if you even Think about laughing, I will walk out of here and leave your ass in a heartbeat. Do not play games, and Do Not talk down to me.”

Well he was somewhat at a loss for words. Seeing you like this Was kinda hot, good hot not hell hot, but also you might get more mad if he mentions that. 

Still holding his utensil hand hostage you pick up a spoon from your own side, gather some of your own broth, and hold it out to him. 

“Try mine first. Before you decide to hurt yourself to prove some dumbshit point for pride.” You insisted.

Khopesh looked at your spoon, and could smell the similar but Much less threatening aromas coming off it. He allowed you to feed him, halfway between confused and entranced. 

Until the spicy hit him even harder than the dumpling had and he reared back. “Mmp! Mmmmmuhhg Alck kkkkh!” In all his decades and battles and hardships (scrounging for rats and bugs in the gutters of Nostramo, looting and cooking corpses just to keep himself fed one more day-) he had Never been subject to a (not really flavor more like a) food sensation that repulsed him more. 

“See?” You prompted the Nightlord, who was now gulping down his drink to get rid of the bad pain hot sensation in his mouth. 

“By Curze that is Awful!” He gasped. 

You shrugged. “It's not for everyone. But then again hardly anything is.” You reply, taking a mouthful from your own soup. 

Khopesh slumped dejectedly, looking at his now cooler but still Evil bowl of hell soup. He couldn't eat this. 

“Let's go ahead and order something else.” You propose. “Something you'll like more.”

“But I wanted to eat the same thing as You.” Khopesh replied sullenly. He wanted it to be like you were sharing the same meal. Like he'd provided for both of you. “I couldn't do a proper game hunt on such short notice…I was hoping this could be similar. And that we could have more in common with the foods we like.” He explained when you looked confused. 

“ …Why? You know we don't have to be doing the exact same thing or Like the same exact things to enjoy eachothers company right?”

Khopesh glanced up, instead of frustration he saw…softness. “Khopesh. I like being here with you. Heck I'm still blown away someone as powerful and capable as you even Likes My company.”

Khopesh wanted to push you further on that point, but you continued before he could. 

“I enjoy our time together because we're different, not in spite of it. I love learning about all the little things that make you, You. And I love them just the same if they end up being the same as me, similar to me, or radically different to me.” You explain further, scratching the back of your neck as you felt the blush creep up it with the pseudo confession you'd just given. 

Well at least you weren't the only one. Khopesh had a vaguely surprised expression on his gaunt face, and a blush to boot. It was cute. 

“I guess what I mean to say is…I’m glad I get to spend time with you.” You state simply. “Although saying that, there is one thing…one conversation we Need to have before moving forward.” You place your utensils down and take a steadying breath. Now or never.

Khopesh leaned in. “I am listening.”

You nodded. “I've been thinking it over, and I Think I finally understand what my nightmares have been trying to tell me.”

Khopesh cocked an eyebrow. “You have the gift of prophecy??”

You shook your head. “Ah no. No. Not quite. Just self awareness.” You reply, then continue. “I had another Nightmare before coming here and…in that dream, you saved me from…a threat.” You chose your words very carefully, and subconsciously brushed your hand over your neck. 

Khopesh seemed agreeable to that. Yes of Course he would protect you from Anything. Can you protect them from yourself though? An nagging voice needled at him which he Firmly brushed aside. 

“But in the next part of the dream you ah…Reached Into my chest, and…ripped my heart out.” Well there wasn't any much Nicer a way to put it; Khopesh still looked horrified. 

“Are you saying you think I'd-” But you held up a hand to stop him. 

“Please, let me finish,” You pleaded, and though clearly dissatisfied Khopesh relented. “I…I adore you, Khopesh, I think I might even Love you.”

“But even though what happened to me before wasn't your fault, wasn't in anyway even Involved with you…It still left it's mark, mentally and physically.” More neck rubbing. You continued. “I think the dreams are telling me that what I fear most, is being hurt again. And the way I see it, there's two ways that could happen with you.”

“If there comes a time I can no longer surprise you…or excite you or even just…Amuse you…I’m afraid you'll throw me away…” You say quietly. 

“Or if there comes a day where, for whatever reason, I want to leave…that you won't let me.” You bring your eyes back to the Nightlord who is sitting stock still in front of you. 

His pale features are still lit with candlelight, still beautiful and haunting as ever. The rest of the noise in the background seems to fade away. 

“I Need to know…that if one day this ends. Whether it's you, or Me who decides to walk away. For whatever reason. That you'll let me.” You say solemnly. “I don't want to go down this road if I'll just end up where I was before. Broken and discarded because…because someone with strength and power over me that I could never hope to match, decides that my life and my being as a person isn't…isn't worthy to l-live.” You state, feeling yourself beginning to choke up. 

Not even worth a backwards glance. You weren't even worth a backwards glance. Unworthy to Live, Unworthy to Love! unworthy, Unworthy, UNWORTHY!

“Lullaby,” Now you felt a large cool hand reach for your own. The one that was scratching at you neck. You glance up to see Khopesh reaching over the table, his expression a mix of concerned and confused. “You're afraid.”

You couldn't help yourself, you leaned into the cool hand pressing to your face now and let out a giggle that was more sob than laughter. “T-that part is obvious.” You snort. “I just…” You gestured vaguely. “I want this to be a Choice for both of us, not an Obligation. I want us to both Choose to see where this goes. And if it doesn't work out then…we can both walk away safe. Can we…can we do that? Please?” You asked, more plaintive and less confident. 

Khopesh hesitated, of all things he did not expect…this. To see you so vulnerable, he had once before but this felt so much more Raw, since you'd chosen to show him this. 

Not to mention…the things you spoke of, he was entirely unfamiliar with. No serf would Ever dare bring these kinds of words to their Night lord…but…could he Really say your relationship had anything in common with the ones he'd seen in his own timeline? It was only then he realized he had so little to work off of. 

We could agree, a voice inside him purred, but not Truly. Pull them into our web so they can never leave. Make them believe it is their choice. They'll be so Happy to have all that dreadful stress off their shoulders. They'll never Actually want to leave. The voice sounds almost more like Anrir than himself, and while part of him is disturbed the other Desires. 

Another comes. What is even the Fucking point of this shit if there isn't Trust? You're a Night lord, we don't deal in honestly but we're not Fucking hypocrites either! That thought hurts and it's because it's true. 

Don't they deserve to feel safe? A softer thought chimes in. It's unusual but they seem to Really want this. What's the harm?

The harm is that if we allow this they could come to harm! A rougher voice shoots back. They belong safe in Our arms, why are we even entertaining-

“Khopesh?” The Nightlord is brought back to the present, and at once he is caught by your eyes. Pleading, unsure, fearful but most of all…

Hopeful. They are full of a Hope that Khopesh had long thought was beyond his kind seeing. Night lords did not inspire hope. The moment it was realized What the were, and Who they Were, all softness turned to fear and ice. 

But not you. You looked at him like he could be more than a monster...

Like he could make you feel safe, and loved

Like he could be… a hero…Your hero.

A clear voice comes next. His Vada You take good care of ‘em then.

Khopesh felt the coils of his muscles and the breath held in his lungs release. You still waited with baited breath. 

“I…” Fuck Curze dammit where does he Even start. “I was not…prepared for this I…I am…not sure what to say…” He lets out a low huff. He doesn't like being caught so out of his element.

He thinks back on your words. “I…adore the time I have had with you as well. And I won't lie, I Loathe, the thought of losing you…” He could feel a guttural snarl building up but he tamped it Down. 

“But if…having this promise between us would make you feel safe and…Happy…then I will…Agree…” He stated, still struggling a bit to get the words out, even having to close his eyes and grit his teeth as he did. 

Snff, hiccup He reopened his dark eyes to see you…crying?

Oh sweet hell what now- but before he could complete that thought you'd sprung up, come around the table and launch yourself into his arms with a cry of “Khoopeeeesh!” 

Khopesh let out a surprised “-ooF!” Though the impact wasn't anything he couldn't handle. “Lullaby what are you mMph!”

A little of that spicy bad sensation came back, but This time it was outside his mouth And it was because you were pressing your lips to his in a Firm kiss. The small flickers of displeasure from the spicy, and the feeling of unease from the strange new arrangement he'd just agreed to…all faded to a near imperceptible hum as he found himself utterly melting into your kiss. 

“Mwah,” You pulled back, but still gripped him to you, or yourself to him. Feeling again like a miniature sun, sharing your warmth with eagerness and snuggling up to and kissing him all over his face with gusto. 

“Ah so…are you, Pleased- with my phrasing?” He asked tentatively, okay now he was Really liking this. 

“Yes! You Dork!” You laughed, tilting your forehead so it rested against his. You stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying the physical touch. “That is Exactly what I needed to hear.”

Khopesh felt his chest swell with warmth. Okay…he could do this. 

“Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,” You felt the Nightlord you were still embracing start to vibrate with purrs. 

“Ah…you folks doing okay?”

(!) Both of you jolted at the awkward interjection by your waiter. Really wishing you'd gotten a table fully in the back corner at this point. (It was still further back and most people were still engrossed in their own food and conversations so…)

“Ah sorry!” You scrambled to pull yourself into a more dignified position, now realizing you'd been essentially kneeling on the space of the booth that Khopesh wasn't occupying, and latching onto him like a lamprey. 

“Lullaby…” You looked up to see Khopesh looked disappointed? Pouty he straight up looked pouty that you were trying to move. 

You let your embarrassment pass, and your heart melted all over again. “Here, let's do this.” You slotted yourself in so you were both sitting, right up next to your Nightlord, just like when you'd walked over. Khopesh smiled and wrapped his arm around you, nuzzling the top of your head. 

You turned back to the waiter. “We'll need a takeout box for this, and My partner,” You say the word full of new pride and confidence. “Would prefer something else.” You explain, gesturing to the hell ramen. 

The waiter smiled, still a little awkwardly but nodded. “Ah of course, I'll get right on that.” They also took a new order for Khopesh, who decided on the Egg Foo Young. 

“Wait…I thought you didn't want to eat something this spicy?” Khopesh asked as the waiter walked off. 

You shrugged. “One bite probably won't kill me. Besides, if I can't eat it I'll just let it spoil, then Xerxes can eat it. So either way, it won't be wasted.”

Khopesh smiled, and you returned to you less…emotionally taxing conversations. Now snuggled up close, with the stress and the fear and the awful voices dim in your mind. 

As you waited for Khopesh's proper order. You both nibbled on the Scallion pancakes and the Roulette dumplings; you consuming the spicy and passing the other ones to him. He actually quite enjoyed the sour variety. Even if his description of them was slightly…disturbing.

“The sour tinge reminds me of cooked rotten flesh, but without any actual rot.” 

How were you supposed to respond to that?? “Well…glad to hear a restaurant's food doesn't have any rot in it. What would the health department say?” You reply jokingly, which causes Khopesh to laugh. 

As Khopesh's proper food order was dropped off and you both resumed eating your entrees, you both heard a familiar Ping. Khopesh reacted to the sudden sound by glancing at his vox. 

[Khopesh, return to base as soon as you are able, and bring Lullaby. It is important.] The message is from Anrir, and it makes Khopesh feel both curiosity and concern.

“What's wrong?” You ask, not being able to see the message yourself. 

“Anrir wants us back at the base for some reason.” Khopesh replies, his tone conveying his unsureness with the situation. 

“I wonder why,” you reply a little nervously, “it could be for… not ominous reasons.”

“Not sure,” Khopesh replies, “... I hope we can end this on a positive note.”

Even if he does wonder why Anrir had to send him a message that could be anxiety inducing. He thinks and reflects on his behavior and on his lovely Lullaby's behavior and he doesn't think either of them have done anything To warrant a Scolding.

“We won't know until we see him,” You say, “so let's enjoy our time together and walk back. Yeah?”

Khopesh nods in response, pulling you just a bit closer with a low purr. “Yeah…I'm sure its nothing Too serious.”

[temporalhiccup]

I'm trying to write about this without getting emotional, but it's pretty hard! Hah!

But it's been officially announced so I can finally talk about it! I'm the Lead Designer (damn) on the official Tomb Raider TTRPG (double damn). Shadows of Truth has a public playtest coming up soon, and I'm excited for folks to see what we've been working on!

It's been a wild ride and a fun time, but this is also the biggest challenge I've had to face as a ttrpg designer. Like many indie folks I've drawn inspiration from the media we love (Apocalypse Keys is proudly Hellboy-inspired, among other things!) while still making it our own unique thing.

Tomb Raider has been completely different, in that I have to do my best to translate some awesome video game history into a ttrpg experience. And I gotta be as true to the source material and experience as possible, while still centering what makes ttrpgs great!

Tomb Raider is also a franchise that's been around for almost 30 years and is a HUGE DEAL. It's hard to describe how much of an impact it's made on action-adventure video games, repeatedly! Lara Croft is easily one of the most iconic characters in video games and the genre, and her Adventures include (several) dinosaurs, wild transhuman demonic Atlantean stuff, and apocalypse-inducing artifacts.

But Lara to me, especially since the 2013 game, has been a truly amazing and conflicted heroine. The last three games that grounded her and made her vulnerable, while still creating intense experiences, really hooked me. I really wanted to honor the journey of Tomb Raider and make a really fun and thrilling ttrpg for folks.

But anyone who knows me, knows that anti-colonial design is in all my games. It's just who I am, and it's not something I consciously did at first. It wasn't even until I started designing ttrpgs, in my 30s, that I realized how important my personal decolonization process was, and a lot of that has helped me discover new aspects of my identity (including being a transmasculine person).

So, I don't need to tell you that a franchise called Tomb Raider has some colonial implications, right?

As development goes on, folks have asked me "How is the game anti-colonial?" or "How are you addressing the colonialism?" I want to start off by saying as a team we conceptualized what that could mean while still being true to the franchise. But since then, as Lead Designer, I've had to make hundreds of decisions that are reflected in countless design and structural choices. I can point to dozens of mechanics and things and describe how this is my personal attempt to present anti-colonial gaming, and I'm grateful for the help our team of consultants and playtesters in guiding me.

It's kind of wild, but in chasing after and reaching for anti-colonial design, I've had to figure out how to implement great tech from other designers, but also come up with lots of new stuff too. There's some really cool Adventure design stuff that is really hard to pull off in a PbtA framework where you play to find out. (Arguably, PbtA itself has a lot of anti-colonial play about it compared to mainstream ttrpgs and it's one of the reasons we used PbtA as a design framework but that's a whole other conversation)

I'm really so grateful for the support from the team! It's hard to feel like I'm good enough and can measure up to Evil Hat's faith in me, but they've been incredibly supportive and open, and it's been stellar. Crystal Dynamics has also been amazing to work with, especially because it was important to me that while we honor how awesome Tomb Raider is, we don't downplay the difficult truths of colonialism and its ongoing effects. And they were so incredibly on board for that! It's so rare for a marginalized person like me to be granted an opportunity like this, and I am determined to give it my all.

We've built a team that's been amazing to collaborate with, and @ostrichmonkey-games has been doing incredible work alongside me. I'm really proud of what we're doing as a team! I can't wait for folks to see it come together.

You can also check out the Polygon (!!!) article about the game, which gives you a sense of some of the cool mechanics at play!

I know it's easy to write off an IP ttrpg based on a really big franchise (and for good reasons, unfortunately). But I really do think we're doing something special here! I hope y'all will give the game a chance and check it out when the public playtest starts up!

[tuliharja]

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict episode 7 review

This episode was awesome! It truly got my blood pumping with everything finally rolling into action and some action being taken! Not forgetting some sassiness~!

I must admit I chuckled when Mayuri and Nemu took their own private elevator, that wasn't that private. The fact Mayuri was ready to do some unthinkable things while no one would be looking (all for the name of science!) just to get caught by Kenpachi. xD It was hilarious how Mayuri had all but a mini-heart attack when Kenpachi strolled through his private elevator all sassily. Also, as a side note, it was kind of cute how despite Kenpachi appearing all rough and such, he diligently dried his hands when using the toilet like a good boy he is! Luckily Mayuri stayed behind, just so he wasn't left out of action. Along with his posse. The fact they dragged Hanataro along with them was a bit odd, but I suppose just like with the main shinigami group they knew a healer is a must in a battle.

Unfortunately, the main shinigami group's healers went down almost right away... Which made me think, uh, kido anyone? Like anyone? I feel like after a certain point Bleach threw into a trash can any "lesser" kido spells and now those are exclusive material to some OP people like Aizen. Which...isn't true. When Lille Barro started to shoot his shots, I get it when Hisagi went at first down it took everybody by surprise, but after that? It just felt like creators and animators were "oh no, we allowed too many characters to enter Wahr Welt, gotta weed them out." As manga readers know, there will be a few main battles that are mostly solo ones. But even so...it felt a bit odd. Of course, one could say they (not captain-level shinigami or Rukia and Renji who were trained by Ichibe) couldn't create any kido spells to protect themselves because Wahr Welt is the Quincies' turf, but even so...

Anyway, Renji vs. Uryuu Ishida was marvelous! Those who are anime-only watchers might not know this, but this fight wasn't shown in the manga. (Not to mention several other scenes in this episode, but a bit later on about that.) It was very joyful to see Renji using his real Bankai against Uryuu. It truly felt like Renji's hardworking training underneath Ichibe paid off! Not to mention, what's so bad just using brute force? Especially when Uryuu wasn't that different in the end. Or, at least I couldn't see any epic strategy behind his attacks, except from the 'I've few aces in my sleeve' and in the end, they're stronger than their opponent. Renji put up an excellent fight but sadly lost in the end to Uryuu. I'm not sure if it was about strength, but maybe because he hesitated as Uryuu guessed? Hard to write. But did anyone notice, once again, that we're going with parallels with this all? This fight ultimately made me think of Renji vs. Byakuya. The fact Renji showcased his true Bankai with pride, using his brute force and his opponent taunting him because of that? And the end 'the reason why you lost' speech? Yeah, reminded me awfully lot of from Renji's battle against Byakuya. Unlike Byakuya, it seems like Uryuu shattered Renji's reiryoku center. Which basically would render him useless, unlike in Byakuya's case Byakuya only shattered Renji's pride... Let's hope that isn't the case because then Renji would become a big burden to everybody and his career as a Gotei 13 member would end. I'm just waiting for someone to pop up in the next episode and help him!

Grimmjow deciding to join Ichigo's group, just to deviate from that was funny. His whole chase against Askin Nakk Le Vaar was something that didn't happen in the manga, but I'm glad it did happen in the anime! He truly showed his panther side and the fact he transformed his hands into his claws? So cool! However, it was a bit dirty for Askin to use his poison ball against Grimmjow. I mean, cat instincts seemed to be strong in Grimmjow...

As a side note, it was interesting when Ichigo's group was heading toward Yhwach they were on the street level while both Nelliel and Grimmjow used rooftops to move along. I'm not sure if their animal part played in that or if it was a tactical move as the higher you're, the better you can see, hence, Grimmjow spotted Askin first.

If we go to the beginning of the episode when Yhwach sends his Quincies to fight against the Shinigami and Ichigo's group, I couldn't help but wonder why Yhwach didn't use Uryuu's full name? It just felt odd. I would have understood if the others didn't have last names, but some of them had, so it felt odd. Also, the whole sending them off was very cool, but somehow comical? I don't know, it felt like a big baddie move where the Big Bad sends his henchmen to fight against the heroes, or in this case, maybe the analogy of King sending his most elite knights to fight evil demons would be more suitable? It depends on whose side one is and who we view as bad guys and good guys.

Gerald Valkyrie shouting he is ready to face all shinigami was funny. The fact that Bazz-B, Liltotto, and Giselle went on their own way, just for Giselle to call out they're back home was also funny. And I've to ask...did Jugram have a gigantic mirror TV he used to watch everything unravel while Yhwach was on a nap? I'm not sure if it's day or night in Warh Welt, but because Jugram is Yhwach's 'night' and if Yhwach decided to take a nap during the day...he would need a mirror TV just to see what's going on during actual night he would have Almighty. Unless there really isn't night and day during Warh Welt? Or it's both at the same time? Or when Yhwach adsorbed the whole Soul King Jugram can't really anymore use Almight? But yeah, it seemed like he had a huge mirror TV.

[lionlena]

Dancing With Your Ghost (JavierPeñaxghost!reader) Part IV

Summary: You are a ghost (sort of) and you don’t remember what happened to you. You only know your name and you feel that something bad has happened to you. The only person who sees you and hears you is Javier, so you don’t leave him because you believe he’ll help you. That he will solve the mystery of what happened to you.

Warnigs: the reader is a ghost, mentions of death, angst, later chapters will also include descriptions of severe wounds, blood… And also sadness, anxiety, little smut but later

A/N: Title inspired by this song

Part IV

Javi watched you walk around the office and couldn't help but smile slightly. You acted like a child and he wondered again how old you might be. You looked like 24, maybe 26, but he knew you might as well have been 22 or 28. You couldn't give him an answer to that question. Right now, you were acting like a six-year-old in a candy store.  

And of course, Chris got one blank message on a pager. Javi just rolled his eyes and shook his head as you looked at him. In return, you gave him one of your sweetest smiles and shrugged.

After all, what's the point of being a ghost if you can't make a little mischief? 

After a while, even gathering office gossip got boring and you went back to Javier's office. He didn't notice you approaching him. As a ghost you moved silently, so he couldn't hear you. He was going through a folder with pictures of dead women. You held your breath and squealed. Just then he realize you were there and quickly closed the briefcase muttering, "Sorry."  

You shook your head and quietly asked: "These are pictures... Are you looking for..." 

Javier looked at you sadly: "Your body is not here."  

You nodded your head and bit your lip. "Do you watch a lot of this?"  

"What should I answer you? Too much, for..."  

Javier stopped as he saw Daniel coming towards him. 

"Boss, we have something. We think we know where Miguel's son is. It can get rough."  

Javier stood up abruptly and nodded his head: "Go, I'll catch up with you in a moment."  

He grabbed the receiver of the phone and looked at you with worried eyes.  

"Please Y/N, stay here. I can't during the action..."  

Before he finished his sentence, you nodded, "I know. Just be careful."  

"I will," he replied and took his gun from the desk.  

Before leaving his office, he paused in the doorway for a moment and looked at you. You gave him a soft smile and then he continued walking.  

In fact, you really wanted to go with him, but you had already realized that his job was sometimes very dangerous. You also knew you were distracting him, even when you didn't say anything. Javier even told you that once: "I can't help but think what will happen if a bullet goes through you. Yes, I know, nothing should happen to you, but... What if it's like silver bullets and werewolves." You rolled your eyes and he gave you an annoyed look. "Well, if you exist, then maybe werewolves too." 

It made you laugh a bit, but... You didn't want to see what would happen if you actually got in the crossfire. The truth was that neither of you had any idea how this whole, "ghosted" thing worked.

For example, you noticed that it was hard for you to walk through thick walls, so most of the time you chose the door but you didn't know why wall thickness was a problem.

You sighed heavily and sat down in his chair. You were worried about him, but there was nothing you could do. It wasn't just that Javi was the only person you could talk to. Just like that... You liked him.

You spent the next hours wandering around the increasingly empty floor. You watched people gather their things and go home. And all you thought was that you didn't have a home. Maybe in the past, if someone asked you if you wanted to be a ghost, you'd say, "Yeah, sure, that must be fucking awesome."

Well, it wasn't.

There was nothing cool about watching other people can live, while you couldn't even pick a stupid pen off the floor.

There was nothing awesome about not being able to talk to anyone but one person. Yes, Javi was your only ray of sunshine, even when he was grumpy. But that wasn't that nice either. You were addicted to one person. And you knew he was tired of you sometimes.

Lost in your thoughts, you didn't even notice Javier approaching.

"Tough day?" he asked in a tired voice.

You lifted your head up and smiled. You looked at him carefully, looking for any signs of injury, and breathed a sigh of relief  when you not seeing anything.

"Did you catch him?" you asked, but his heavy sigh was the answer.

Javier poured himself a whiskey and sat down on the couch. He was no longer wearing a tie, the top buttons of his shirt undone, and the sleeves rolled up. He was tired, but you thought he looked hot anyway.

"The motherfucker tricked us," he hissed.

You bit your lip not knowing how to react. How were you supposed to help him? If you could, you would sit next to him. Maybe you could start massaging his tense shoulders. If only he would let you kiss his jaw, climb into his lap and undo his pants...

You shook your head. God, where did you keep having these thoughts?

"Stechner's computer burned down," you blurted out suddenly.

"What?" Javier snapped his head up, clearly intrigued.

"Maybe... I was exaggerating a bit. I just wanted to tease him, but suddenly something clicked and the computer started smoking."

Javier tipped his head back and started laughing.

"It's good to know I wasn't the only one having a fucked up day."

You smiled as you watched Javier's mood improve. Maybe he shouldn't be so happy about Bill's bad luck, but... You knew Stechner was an asshole.

Javier finally got up and said, "Let's go home."

You suddenly felt happier. Even if he didn't mean you were going back to "yours" home, you felt better.

 *

(A month later)

It's funny how things can go wrong so quickly. After failing to catch David, Javier grew more nervous and frustrated every day. You've seen how sometimes it's hard for him to keep from growling at you. You heard him mention someone names Cristina a few times, but when you asked about her, he brushed you off in half sentences. Sometimes you deliberately left the apartment before he came back so he could calm down.

You were disappointed and sad. You understood that he was tired, but you had the feeling that he had completely abandoned your case. You tried to be patient, but it didn't always work.

When you showed up at home after midnight, you were surprised to find that Javier wasn't there. You ignored it at first. You figured he'd gone to the prostitutes and would come by in the morning for fresh clothes.

But he wasn't there in the morning or in the afternoon. You started to panic. You turned on the TV on the news program, anxiously awaiting some news.

Killing a DEA agent would have been publicized for sure, but they didn't say anything on the news either.

Late in the evening, you were already so restless that you decided to go to the embassy. You knew the way and figured you might hear something there.

But just as you were about to leave, Javier entered the apartment.

You immediately ran over to him.

"Where were you? I was worried about you. I was afraid that..."

"Are you playing wife again?!" he growled. "What was I supposed to do? Call? From what I remember, you don't have the ability to pick up the phone."

You shook your head and took a step back. You didn't understand why he was like this again. You tried to lighten the situation somehow.

"I'm sorry... Is it weird that I was worried about you?"

Javier put his hands on his sides and took deep breaths. He wanted to calm down, but Cristina's words hit him again and again: "You think you're a hero", "you are a piece of shit ."

She was right, but why didn't you see it? Why didn't you understand that you'd be better off without him?

"You were worried about who would solve your case if I died."

His words were like a blow.

"Why are you saying that? You know it's not true. I like you."

He threw his hands up in the air and looked at you angrily.

"And that's the problem! Can't you see that?! You've been with me for two months and... Nothing! Stop believing I'll help you. Stop believing I'm a good person because the truth is I'm a bastard. I save people when it suits me. I allow people to be killed when I see no other way. You don't know anything about me!" He took a deep breath and calmly said, "I'm really sorry, but I can't help you, it's too hard."

You felt like you were about to cry, but you didn't want to give him the satisfaction. You took a step towards him and growled.

"Have you thought for a moment how hard it is for me?! I'm dead Javier! I will never dance with anyone again, never eat ice cream, never hug anyone, never kiss anyone... Not only you and your work are the most important in this world, you know?"

Javier clenched his jaw and rubbed his hand restlessly across his neck. Why did you have to remind him of what hurt him the most? Yes, he couldn't hug you. He couldn't kiss you. This frustrated him so much and he lost control of his anger.

"Yeah, you're dead! You can wait another week or two... You can wait fucking years, but living people whose lives depend on me can't wait! Yes, it's sad that you're dead, but you can still do something. Why don't you just get on a plane and see the world?! You can be free. You can enjoy..."

"Life!" you growled. You would hit him if you could. "You don't know what it's like to be a ghost! You don't know what it's like to feel that kind of pain!" He looked at you surprised. "Yes Javier, I feel pain, constantly... Pressure, right here." You touched your chest. "You don't know if I have time. You think so, but two months ago you didn't even believe in me, and now you're a ghost specialist! What if we have limited time to get to the other side? What if I'm going to hell tomorrow? Forgive me that I bothered you, but you were my only chance."

Javier took a step towards you, stretched out his hand, and tried to say something, but you turned around and ran outside. You knew he wouldn't follow you. He wouldn't have had a chance to catch you, but you didn't stop running.

You decided to go to the airport and fly to the farthest place you could find. Maybe Javier was right.

He wasn't who you thought he was, and maybe...

Maybe there was someone else in the world who could help you

*

Javier stood paralyzed. What was he thinking? He just let the worst-case scenario come true. You disappeared and he might never see you again. He'll never tell you that you were probably the best thing that ever happened to him. Even if he hated not being able to touch you. Or maybe that's why he talked to you in a way he didn't talk to anyone else woman.

"Fuck!" he screamed and slammed his hand against the wall.

Why did this blonde, snorting cocaine whenever she had the chance, have to mess with his mind? Okay, he wasn't a good man, but he risked his life for her, not only because he needed her husband's testimony. He felt sorry for her, worried about her... But he was much more worried about you. It didn't matter that you were a ghost. Something bad could still happen to you.

"Fuck it!" he shouted and grabbed his car keys.

He had no idea where he was going, but it didn't matter. He was just going to drive around looking for you. He couldn't lose you. Not yet.

*

You took an empty seat on the plane, by the window and watched as you were moving away from the ground. You sighed heavily as you felt a familiar tingle. It wasn't your first time trying to leave this cursed city.

You closed your eyes and when you opened them you were back on a familiar street.

Javier's heart skipped when he finally found you. You were sitting on the curb, on the street where he first saw you. He parked the car and cautiously walked towards you. There was no one around, so he didn't have to worry about what others would think when they saw him talking to the void.

"Hey, I had a feeling I'd find you here. I don't know why, but I thought you might be here."

You pulled your legs closer to you, wrapping your arms around them. Javier stood right above you, but you didn't even look at him. "I'm sorry for what I said." Again, no response. He sighed and sat down next to you. "So what, now you can't see me? It's pretty funny." If only he could nudge you lightly with his elbow to make you laugh a little. "I have to admit, it's really annoying when someone pretends not to see or hear you."

Still not looking at him, you mumbled, "I've tried to get out of here before while you were gone. I got on a plane, but as soon as the machine takes off into the sky, suddenly I'm here. It's the same if I get in a truck when I cross city borders... I land here. Today I tried again and... I've been sitting here for two hours."

Javier looked at you and sighed, "Sorry, I didn't know."

You shrugged. "But it doesn't matter anyway. I've been thinking about it and... What if I traveled the world? Who would I tell about it?" You finally looked at him and saw the sadness in his eyes. "I don't have anyone, Javi. It's just me and this fucking city. If I could at least see other ghosts, but apparently there's something wrong with me. So I'm sorry for stalking you, but..." You swallowed and mumbled, "I only have you."

Javier nodded, and... God, if he could hug you. He would pull you close to him and hold you until all your sadness was gone. But the only way he could comfort you was with words, and that had never been his strong suit.

"Maybe I'm not a ghost specialist, but... I know people and I can tell you that you didn't deserve all of this. You didn't deserve the words I said. And..." You noticed, that he was nervous. "Sometimes I think I only have you." You raised your eyebrows. "Yes, I know how it sounds, but... I don't talk to anyone like I talk with you. No one sees what you see." You nodded. "Sometimes I'm afraid you'll leave and I won't get a chance to say goodbye one last time."

You opened your mouth to say something but realized you didn't know what to say. You couldn't promise him anything. No matter how much you wanted to, you were no longer in control of your existence.

Javier must have noticed your embarrassment because he quickly got up and started walking towards the car. "Come on," he said but did not get into the car. He opened the driver's side door, turned on the radio, and found a slow Spanish song.

You were really surprised by his behavior. "What are you doing?"

"I will dance with you."

You laughed and looked at him skeptically. "Have you forgotten that you can't touch me?"

"Just stay close to me. Come on."

You looked around. "Seriously, do you want to do it here?" He just shrugged his arms. "All right."

You stood as close to him as you could, and he raised his hands as if he were holding you by the waist. His fingers dug into your incorporeal body a little, but you didn't mind. You felt a slight flow of energy from his body and smiled.

"Alright, I'll tell you what to do." You nodded. "A step back."

You did as he instructed and he took a step forward. "Now step left, step right." He followed your movements as if in a mirror image. "A step forward. And again, a step back..."

You giggled and shook your head. "You must look like a lunatic now."

"I'm just dancing with your ghost."

You smiled and continued dancing.

A/N: Sorry, Javier lost his temper, again. And in case you haven't noticed, I don't like Cristina. I think she was stupid and selfish and... Didn't Javi really notice that she was on drugs? :P If someone doesn't know her, here she is: Cristina Jurado

Please don't pay too much attention to the timeline in season three, because I've messed it up quite a bit already.

Part III

Part V

Taglist: @aestheticangel612​ @kittenlittle24​  @creedslove​ @ranahx​ @hxpburn76

[frippschamber]

🔮 ⤷ UFO Crash Site

Today I had the pleasure of visiting the UFO Crash Site, an interesting hidden location in-game. With so little information surrounding it and its purpose, it has got me thinking about the origins of this UFO and it's meaning to the overall Jorvigian lore and storyline.

Location:

The UFO Crash Site is a named location that is located at the coordinates X:137, Y:119 in Northlink, just behind the Baroness' Racetrack and Silverglade Manor.

Its interesting placement is in the currently greyed-out area of the Northern Mountain Range, and as far as I'm aware, the only accessible area in this region that is allowed.

Following a dirt track behind the Championship at the Racetrack, the UFO Crash Site can be accessed through a secret pathway hidden behind dense foliage further up the track.

'They Come In Peace':

'They Come In Peace' is an achievement that can be unlocked by dismounting in-front of the UFO and typing '/gestures' in-chat (a hidden player action that cannot be accessed through the emote menu!).

On a side note, I did try completing this achievement, but for some reason have not been given it. Whether that's a bug or that gaining the achievement has now been removed from the game entirely I'm not too sure.

Theories:

But do they really come in peace? Several ideas floating around about the history of this UFO suggest otherwise.

The most common theory about this UFO suggests that this was the ship that contained Garnok when he arrived in Jorvik.

Little is known about the details of Garnok's arrival, but it is said that he crash-landed somewhere off of the coast of the island in a starship (an idea first introduced in Starshine Legacy: Episode Three), which would also explain why there have been some appearances of him off of the coast during both the trail-ride in the Halloween event, and in Starshine Legacy: Episode Four.

This does question the validity of this theory, as the UFO Crash Site is not only miles away from any coast-line, but is also in the middle of a mountain range.

Other theories suggest that since we now understand that Fripp also does not come from Pandoria, but similarly also from somewhere unknown, this could be the ship that transported him here instead. In my personal opinion, I think that this could make a lot more sense theoretically, but given, again, the lack of canon information surrounding Fripp's origins, it is all very up in the air.

However, we can explore the reasons supporting why Fripp may have a connection to this mysterious ship. Location-wise, the UFO is located in the Northern Mountain Range, and therefore very close to where Valedale, the entrance to the Secret Stone Circle, and the majority of the known Druids live. Also, as simple as it sounds, I think that the blue glowing symbols all over the ship itself seem to correlate more with Fripp and his appearance than with what we know of Garnok.

References and Image Credit:

Star Stable Wiki, Garnok

Star Stable Wiki, UFO Crash Site

Star Stable Forums, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE CRASHED UFO/SPACESHIP?

Starshine Legacy: Episode Three mural images from the awesome Tumblr user @viktoropalmoon!

Various in-game images were taken by me.

———————⋆˚｡🔮｡˚⋆———————

I really hope we get more information on this weird little area, and perhaps about its importance to the history of the island. Perhaps if we ever get more access to the rest of the Northern Mountain Range, we'll get a chance to discover more about it!

If you have anything that you think should be added to this, let me know! It's such an interesting bit of lore that I feel would be really cool to talk about! :))

Here's a little celebratory picture of my character by the UFO at the end of my little trip:

Have a wonderful rest of your day :)

🔮 ⤷ Maya (they/he)

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Light on the Darkside - Chapter Twenty One.

Previous chapters - One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty

Tag list - In the comments. Please DM to be added/removed.

Words - 3,849

Warnings - 18+ throughout. Topics cover depression, suicide and eating disorders. Minors DNI!

“Babe, if you get glue on my seats, your arse is getting slapped. Or bitten.” 

Ella’s lips pursed, slowly curling into a grin as she looked out from beneath her lashes at him. “Don’t you threaten me with a good time.” 

He chuckled filthily, very much looking forward to having a night in a hotel with his wife, where he could make as much noise as he liked while having sex with her, all while feeling the long, dark red false nails she was glueing on shredding his back to pieces.  

“Just you wait, princess. You’re gonna be sore.” 

“What are you two grinning about?” Lyra suddenly spoke from the backseat, removing her headphones to detangle the wire, Freya asleep next to her (as per the usual with any car journey lasting over fifteen minutes) and Zara reading while her i-Pod blared.  

“Nothing your ears need to be picking up on,” James confirmed, unable to keep the smirk from his face. 

“Is this about auntie Andrea accidentally answering the phone while she was... you know... with uncle Steve this morning?”  

He barked a laugh, still entertained at her gaffe of rolling over on her phone and ending up giving James a live action rendition of her sexual howling, only aware of such after hearing his voice boom “G’won, Ands! Give it some, darlin’!” from the phone’s speaker. Lyra only knew because she’d walked into the kitchen at the same time her dad was relaying the hilarity to her mum. “Nah, not about them.” 

“Old people shouldn’t be having sex still, it’s disgusting,” she snorted, her eyes then rapidly flitting between her parents. “Wait. You two don’t still... do you?” 

James shared a side eye with Ella, unable to fully bite back the wide grin. “Number one; we’re all late thirties and early forties, not dead. And number two; you know when we ask you to keep an eye on your sisters of a Saturday morning? Guess what we’re doing?” 

There was a pause, Lyra curling her lip in the exact same way her father did too when he was displeased. “Ugh! So that means you were doing it this morning? That’s so wrong!”  

“What?” he exclaimed, his laughter filling the car. “How’d you think you three got here in the first place? Massive amounts of banging your mum, innit.” 

“Dad!” 

“I’d do it more often if I wasn’t so busy.” 

“Dad, stop it!” 

His laughter only escalated further, Lyra frowning deeply, Ella hiding her face behind her hands. “Okay, enough mortifying our eldest, baby,” she finally spoke, reaching to squeeze his thigh.  

“What? That was tame compared to what I could have said,” he shrugged, snorting again when Lyra made a whining noise in the back. 

“Are we far from auntie Mary’s? I don’t mind getting out to walk,” she bargained, James gesturing around himself with an outstretched hand. 

“Yeah, monster. Pedestrians are a real common thing on the effing motorway, ain’t they?” he snorted. 

Putting her headphones on again, she frowned heavily. “Why’s my dad have to be like this?”  

“Because I’m shitting awesome!” he chuckled, not that Lyra could hear, the sound of who he recognised to be black metal band Satyricon blaring loudly through her headphones again. At least two out of three of his offspring had picked up his taste in music. No prizes for guessing that the second was Freya.  

Although Ella’s tastes had changed drastically over the years, now listening to a whole host of alternative music as well as her beloved dance, the black sheep of the family where music was concerned was most definitely Zara, being a little pop princess. The other two, though, they lived and breathed metal.  

It also gave their eldest severe bragging rights with her friends, her little group of die-hard metalheads all amazed over who her dad was, and who she got to hang out with backstage at festivals every summer since she’d been a baby. There weren’t very many twelve-year-olds who could boast that they’d sat on the shoulders of Nergal, frontman from extreme metal band Behemoth and good friend of her parents, while watching their dad on stage at Hellfest.  

Ten minutes after leaving the M6 and they were pulling into the new-build estate on the outskirts of Glenfield in Leicestershire, where Mary now lived. Even though she was no longer in Warwickshire, it was actually closer, just half an hour up the motorway from their home in Atherstone.  

Pulling into her driveway, the lady herself opened the front door with her usual huge, beaming grin, padding out in her slippers. “Where’s me kids?” she announced, receiving three huge smiles after opening the back of the truck, unclipping Freya from her car seat and bundling her into a hug. “Hello, my little peach! Hello!”  

“Auntie Mary, I made fire!” 

“Ya’s never did, pet! If we gave you matches, there’d be nothing left, like!” she laughed, tickling her. 

“I might’ve let her put lighter fluid onto the fire pit yesterday when I was burning a load of old wood,” James confirmed, scratching his chin. “She might’ve sprayed on a bit too much, innit.” 

“How big were the flames?” 

He snorted, still entertained. “About four and a half feet.”  

She threw her head back, laughing hard as she imagined it, James moving to give her a hug and kiss. “Eee, I meant to ask ya’s, how’s ya mam getting on at the moment with her hip?” 

“Finally got a date for the op. I’m taking her up there on Tuesday morning for the pre-surgery meeting and all that.” A life of activity, especially horse riding and running around an arena for eleven hours a day while she’d taught others how to ride had left Alice with an issue in her left hip, with it being decreed she would need a full replacement.  

“Well, give her me best won’t you, sweetheart. I know how it is with having both of mine done,” Mary spoke, greeting the other two girls with warm cuddles and kisses, Ella too. “Now, have ya’s got time for a cuppa, or are you shooting off?” 

“I will, and yeah, we’ve gotta shift off, unfortunately. Need to get moving before we get stuck in piles of weekend traffic.” James confirmed, moving to begin taking the girls bags from the back of his truck. With their parents hugged goodbye, the kids all ran into Mary’s house, ready for a weekend that usually involved films, lots of sweets and camping out with her in the lounge. As for her parents... 

“Right! Let’s go do this, babe! Let’s go eat too much, drink too much, and I don’t think there’s any such thing as too much sex, but let’s give a shitting good go, innit, Mrs. K?” James spoke as soon as they got back into his truck, waving goodbye before roaring off, motorway bound.  

Their next stop was back the way they’d came to collect Steve and Andrea, the four not seeing the sense in taking two cars on the same route when they lived so close by. As soon as James saw his best friend’s wife emerge from the house when they pulled up twenty minutes later... 

“Alright, porn princess! Should have charged me by the minute for that this morning!” 

Andrea hid her face, Steve guffawing behind her. “Oh, fuck right off, James!” 

“What? Sounded like you were giving the old man a right good seeing to! It’s a dirty job but someone’s gotta do it!” 

“Oi, less of your mouth, sunshine,” Steve warned, sliding back the cover on the rear of the truck and putting their bags in. “I’ve already had one gobby shit to deal with this morning!” 

“Wolf?” It usually was their youngest, the five-year-old child exactly as mouthy as his father was capable of being.  

“However did you bloody guess?” he spoke, climbing into the back of the truck and clipping his seatbelt in. “So, I’ve took ‘em up Sainsbury’s this morning to get them snacks and stuff on the way to their grandmas, and we’re waiting in the queue when all of a sudden, he shouts ‘look daddy, it’s Batman!’ I’ve turned around, yeah, and he’s pointing right at this poor Muslim woman wearing all the garb,” he began. 

“A burqa,” Andrea filled in. 

“That’s it, one of them! And he wouldn’t shut up about it, fucking Logan chipping in an’ all, asking her if they could go to the bat cave! Thank fuck the woman in question thought it was hilarious, said it was nice to be profiled as a superhero rather than a terrorist for once. Nah man. Them kids. Fucking mortify me every second of the day!” he laughed, James exploding as he turned right at the end of the road. Wolf was nothing if not complete hilarity.  

“That’s top grade funny, man,” he began, wincing a tiny bit thereafter. “I feel bad for that woman, though. Poor bird can’t even dress how she wants to without being accused of all that bollocks. I bet Batman really did make a welcome change, innit.” 

“Nothing will ever beat Freya and that poor woman who’d had her arms amputated, screaming ‘are you the Venus de Milo?’ at her across the beach in Newquay,” Andrea began to hiss, her scream giggle filling the car. 

Ella turned with wide eyes. “I have never been so bleedin’ embarrassed by her mouth. Thank god the woman found it as hilarious as she did!” It was indeed lucky that most people understood the innocently unfiltered nature of children. At the mention of the event, James and Steve roared, the former remembering how he’d had to abscond to the sea to have a few moments to laugh it out. He’d been impressed, though, that at two years old Freya had remembered the name for the famous armless statue.  

A drive of four hours got them to the capital, the four checking in at their hotel before hopping in a black cab to get over to Camden, where the food festival was taking place. 

“How’s them fleas doing, dickhead?” James spoke over Snedders’s shoulder, kissing his cheek as the drummer turned to eye him disapprovingly.  

“My fleas are pedigree, I’ll have you know, Jim,” he replied, giving his mate a big hug in welcome. “Happy birthday for Thursday, you old bastard. Here, Nell got a round in, for once.” 

“Oi!” his new wife exclaimed as she released Ella from her hug of greeting, passing James a pint while pointing at Snedders. “Gonna catch a fist to the chops for your mouth, Liam.” 

It was still bizarre, hearing anyone refer to him by his actual name. Snedders, Sneds, flea circus, or uncle Ginge, as James’s kids liked to refer to him as. “Aw, Jim mate, there’s a place over there doing a challenge. If you can finish the Carolina Reaper chili fries, you win a hundred quid and your food for free. Said to the missus as soon as I saw ‘em, I said, our Jim’ll be up for that.” 

James nodded, grabbing Ella’s hand. “Easy fucking money, my friend.” Taking their drinks with them, they all walked over to the truck in question, James requesting the aforementioned fries.  

“I think you’re about to lose a hundred quid,” his wife spoke, eyeing her husband with a grin. “He eats phal curries and doesn’t even flinch.” 

The man heaping chilli over the fries smirked in a way that should have made James feel much more worried than he did. “A phal scores one point two million on the Scoville scale. Carolina Reaper’s are at one point six million. Best of luck, buddy.” 

Taking the fries, he dug the fork in, eating the first mouthful with relative ease. Then the second. That was when the spice kicked in. “Shitting hell, that’s a bit warm, innit?” 

Blowing out a long breath, he frowned, continuing to eat. “Mother fucking hell, that’s proper aggressive!” His friends all laughed, never before seeing him react in such a way to spicy food. 

“Good freakin’ god,” Ella chuckled, “has my baby met his match?” 

“Never!” Another mouthful was forked in. 

“I think the wife is right, mate. Is the cast iron stomach about to be defeated?” Steve spoke, wiping a tiny bit of the sauce from the side of the tray and popping his finger into his mouth. His eyes nearly exited his skull. “Nah! What the fuck? Oi mate, did you get that from a fucking volcano?” he cried at the vendor, coughing, quick to down half of his pint.  

“I can finish!” James vouched, another mouthful going in at he felt his face beginning to bead with sweat, turning to Ella. “Wanna try a bit, darlin’?” 

“No. Big time no, baby. You enjoy it,” she spoke, shaking her head in wonder. The things he put himself through. Truly, he didn’t need the hundred pounds, but James being James, he wanted the bragging rights. Even though his mouth felt like the epicentre of a blast furnace. 

“Mate, your arse is gonna be like the gates of hell tomorrow morning,” Snedders chimed, hardly able to believe he’d finished half of the food already.  

“I’ll worry about that then!” On he continued, a few people gathering to watch until much to the disbelief of the people who had served him the meal, he finished it entirely. It was not without feeling like his head was about to explode, though, the meal perhaps the most painful he’d ever eaten.  

“Here, bud, have that. Well done!” the vendor spoke, handing him a glass of milk as well as five twenty-pound notes, the small assembled crowd applauding his success. With the glass of milk downed, his mouth began to tingle a little less, James heading to the toilet portacabins to wash his hands and mouth, making sure he had every last trace of spice rinsed away.   

The rest of the group chose much less violently spicy foods, Ella almost choking on hers as she attempted to take a bite of the chicken gyros stuffed flatbread. 

“G’won, gorgeous,” James nodded, “you’re used to wrapping your mouth around way bigger things than that!” 

“What, before she got with you, Jim?” Steve couldn’t help but chirp, grinning widely as Ella’s laughter failed her attempt at a bite. James gave him the death glare, as standard. 

“Shut your hole!” she pointed at her husband. “And you!”  

“What?” Steve chuckled, “just sympathising with your plight, honey!” 

Ella grinned, winking. "Don't you worry, mate. I married very well in that respect.” 

Her husband beamed, aiming a raised middle finger at Steve. “That’s fucking told you, innit?” 

“How’s your mouth now?” she asked, Steve distracted by Andrea bringing him a drink.  

“Like I’ve got a fuckload of angry bees stinging my tongue, but getting better.” he admitted. God, it really had been a painful eat. It tasted amazing, though, he had to admit. The full entourage had arrived with them after a further hour, Jane and her husband, Sam and her boyfriend, as well as Dan (hilariously with a girl he’d picked up on the train down there) and finally Gaz and Hester.  

Of course, her dalliance with Steve had ended the moment he’d become acquainted with Andrea, and with Gaz and Jane never being anything more than a one night stand all those years ago, eventually the pair had struck up a connection, marrying five years before and now with their first child on the way.  

“Sorry we’re a bit late, Jim,” Gaz began, greeting him with a hug, “had to pull over about five times on the hard shoulder so this one could honk her guts up!”  

Yes, Hester was suffering severe morning sickness, which she felt to be a very unfair description since with her, it could often last all day.  

“Bit queasy, eh, Hest?” James spoke, kissing her cheek. 

“Oh god, darl. I feel like death. But I’m here, raising a glass of pop to your status as a forty-year-old!” 

“Stop shitting reminding me.” he muttered, Hester laughing as she held a soft hand to her tiny bump. While she gravitated over to where the other women grouped together, Steve and James decided to have a little fun at her husband’s expense.  

“Telling ya now, mate,” the former began, swigging his pint of Guinness, “you will never know rage like that of your wife in labour. It ain’t beautiful and it ain’t serene, no matter what they tell you.” 

His eyes widened a little. “Seriously?” 

“Oh, yeah,” James began, pointing at Ella. “The number of times she threatened to cut my bollocks off with the first two. They get vexed and I’m telling you, man, you will be enemy number one for knocking ‘em up in the first place, innit.” 

“Hold on,” Gaz spoke, scratching his head, “didn’t you say it was great with Freya?” 

“Yeah, yeah with her it was fucking over and done within a few hours. Proper speed birth. We were in at 5am, the destroyer of worlds flies out four hours later and by five in the afternoon we were on our way home again. But that was just her. Thirty-nine hours with Lyra and nineteen with Zara. Screaming, shouting and blood everywhere. I lost the feeling in my right arm for two weeks from where she bit down on it, but you gotta do what you gotta do, mate.” 

He gulped, his friends absolutely falling to pieces laughing. “Just giving you a heads up an’ all that!” Steve spoke, gripping Gaz’s shoulder and giving him a little shake. “And then, my friend, then there’s everything that comes after it! Ya get roughly twenty minutes of sleep at any given time when they’re babies, all while being shit on, pissed on and thrown up on by the new tiny overlord of the house.” 

“And you can forget being able to have any relaxing time, like taking a bath on your own unless you go after they’ve gone to bed,” James added, shaking his head. “They have no clue over personal space so they will dive all over you and kick you in the balls. How Freya ain’t fucking neutered me by now, I dunno, man.” 

Steve laughed hard, licking Guinness foam from his top lip. “She still throwing herself in with ya, yeah?” 

“Yeah! Get a fuckload of bath toys lobbed at my bloody head, stood all over, hair fucked around with. Only time she’s bearable is when she’s knackered and then she curls up on my chest and falls asleep. Then I’m stuck there in the bath with the chaos of the night fast asleep, and I can’t call for Ella or I’ll wake her up. So, I’ve gotta try and get out, not drop the wet child on her fucking head, get her dry, pyjamas on, put her in bed and then get back to my stone-cold bath for all of five minutes before she wakes up and comes steaming in again, gabbling her nonsense.” 

“See, that isn’t putting me off much, because Freya is a fucking riot. I’d love a girl if she was like her,” Gaz spoke, laughing as he remembered the various escapades of the tiny demoness of darkness. 

James pointed at him, arching an eyebrow. “Everyone says this, but living with the right honourable princess of doom is another matter entirely. With the screaming and the using my back as a trampoline, kicking me in the dick and yanking my hair, the bathtime invasions, trying to get in the bedroom when I’m trying to get in her mother, the wailing fits, hiding my keys so I can’t go out without her, trying to assemble her own murder of crows by yelling at them at five in the morning, yanking my piercings out, colouring in my tattoos, threatening strangers with witchcraft and in general, being more mental than anything I saw when I was sectioned!” 

Steve and Gaz were in hysterics by the time he took a deep breath after rattling off the list. “But you wouldn’t change her for anything, right?” the latter spoke.  

Change the destroyer of worlds, the commander of the army of the dead? “Nah mate. She’s top grade amazing.” 

“Threatening someone with witchcraft, shit, that’s quality!” Steve guffawed, James nodding vigorously. 

“Didn’t like being smiled at by the nice lady in Sainsbury’s, so screamed that she would, and I quote, ‘do a black magic on you!’ while I’m just standing there, face palming myself to death and trying to think of ways I can shut her up. Ain’t easily done. Even if you cram a lolly in her gob, she’s still loud. It’s just muffled noise.” 

How time had changed the men. Twenty years before and they’d have been standing there talking about women, usually. Now there they were, married fathers, chatting happily about their kids. “Still, though, nobody beats Wolf threatening to blood eagle that fella at the zoo for telling him not to try and climb into the lion enclosure.” 

Steve threw his head back, booming a laugh. “Yeah, and me carrying him away by the arse of his jeans, explaining that it isn’t eight hundred AD and he ain’t a Viking either.” 

Indeed, the tiny versions of them where, whether Steve or James truly wanted to admit it or not, chips right off of their blocks. Hearing his phone beep, the latter pulled it from his jacket, opening up a picture message from Mary. There they were, the three little people who his heart thrummed endlessly for, covered in cake batter and beaming widely.  

He kept it to himself that he’d only been gone from them for six hours, but already, he missed them. Becoming a father was one of the best things he’d ever done, after the happy accident that was Lyra’s conception, making him a dad much sooner than he expected he would be at twenty-seven. Since then, the urge to breed had collared him strongly, to worship his wife’s body as he spilled into her, gave her another two babies, that urge still existing within him.  

They’d said they’d stop at three, and mostly he was content with that, but there was nothing more beautiful to his eyes than seeing Ella pregnant. She’d glowed with sheer radiance throughout each of her pregnancies, thriving as she’d carried his daughters, James unable to keep his hands off her. Nobody thrived on sex quite like a horny pregnant woman.  

Except maybe two parents who found themselves child free and drunk later that night, James ducking down and throwing Ella over his shoulder as they walked across the quiet hotel foyer.  

“Been a while since I’ve thrown you over my shoulder, Mrs. K,” he chuckled, smacking her bum and pressing the button for the lift to descend.  

“It’s throwing me around the bedroom I’m more invested in the idea of,” she spoke as he stepped in, placing her back down on her feet. 

Leaning to her, his lips pressed soft to hers, hands roaming over her hungrily. “Yeah. You can definitely count on that, innit.”  

[mekatrio]

2024 VIDEO GAME WRAP UP!!!! for fun here are my rankings and short reviews for every game i played this year... well not every game but every new game i played and completed that i spent at least 10+ hours on 😚 also no major spoilers yayyy!!! ranking from least fave to fave woohoo

9. aa3

a waste of my goddamn time... not just the worst game i played this year but also the worst game ive ever played PERIOD.... i spent like a good 3/4 months complaining abt it so i wont do that song and dance again, but to summarize it rq... this game does a whole lot to just essentially say 2 things: which is 1.) "minors are capable of seducing adults and can be held liable for doing such" and 2.) "abuse victims do not deserve ANY grace when considering the actions they take against their abusers". if my words were waterdrops i could turn a desert into an oasis with how much i have to complain abt this piece of shit.. anyways FUCK THIS GAME! AND FUCK SHU TAKUMI! 🖕

8. aa1

I DONT hate this game in fact w the exception of aa3 i enjoyed all the games ive played, basically low ranking =/= bad game, but aa1 is down here bc well hmmm it was a good game thats for sure (tho some of its game design was frustrating and could stand to be better; a lot of aa1 was revisting locations again and again to find a story trigger), but it wasnt.. super remarkable to me 😗 at least compared to how excellent aa2 and aa4 were. the homosexuality was sooo delicious tho like trust i still hate phoenicolas wright but i love his derangedness too.. i have a very love hate relationship with aa. ANYWAYS!

7. aa2

i still stand by my opinion that 2-4 is the best case of the first four games like that was a MASTERPIECE in pacing and drama and THEMES AND RAHHHHH I STILL LOVE IT SO MUCH but sadly i cant let one case alone carry my entire opinion on this game, cuz as good as 2-4 is i cannot ignore how weak the other cases were... especially 2-3. i rly dont have to say anything abt big top now do i 😑 but still 2-4 was good enough for me to rank this game above aa3 & aa1.. franziska i love you 4EVER

6. slay the spire

this game really fucking possessed me at the start of the year wrsjdkbxks and i just checked my total amt of game time i played it this year and my god i played fucking um. 200+ hours..?!#? 😭😭😭 so yeah i Truly enjoyed this game i think its so super duper fun and ADDICTIVE and its just a tried and true roguelike that allows sooo much experimentation, its great!! its quite low on my ranking tho cuz ive fell off quite a bit w how busy ive been but also i guess i played it so much that it started to feel repetitive to me HAHHH but thats also after 200+ hours sooo.. its still a pretty damn good game?! but anyways yeah im looking forward to the sequel very very much <3 <3

5. tales of vesperia

TALES OF FUCKING VESPERIAAAAA im still not done picking apart this game yet but god what a fucking. game. thing. EXPERIENCE... is it mid yes. definitely. but also like.... not entirely. like idk after playing i was definitely frustrated with several story aspects but as i was playing through the game itself, especially during the beginning and the middle of the game, the writing was sooo fucking strong and engaging and compelling and that does count for something to me. in spite of Everything i still really enjoyed it. also this game was gorgeous. and i loved how unexpectedly funky the music was. and the combat was soooo fun even tho i was complete ass at it. mediocre game and i mean this in the kindest heartwarming way ever with ALL the love in my heart. i hope yuri lowell gets hit by a car

3 & 4. aa4 and 999 zero escape

i cannot decide which one i like better so fuck it theyre both on the same ranking. ill talk abt aa4 first. although um its a bit hard to talk abt what makes aa4 so awesome without spoilers.. but essentially apollo and trucy >>>>>>>>>> phoenix and maya. in so many ways. i love apollo. and trucy. and their dynamic. also klavier was an extremely compelling prosecutor. godot was a joke and edgeworth was kinda just a tsundere with trauma (franziska is a queen tho), but klavier was veryy rich and interesting in both his actions and his motivations. ok im starting to make myself sad again thinking abt aa4's lost potential WAHHH but yeah its still a gem even if it kinda fell on its face at the finish line. def my fave aa out of the four and also easily my MOST FAVORITE soundtrack too. not just of aa games but of every game i played this year I LOVEEE the music of this game. so much. mwah. also fuck whatever the haters say i loved every case of this game. yes 4-2 and 4-3 were good idgaf

now onto 999 zero escape... another game with absolutely amazing art direction. the music and the backgrounds and the dreary and tense atmosphere is soooooo fucking good. also this is another game thats hard to talk about with spoiling everything. fuck. its ok tho we move. but yeah the [REDACTED] aspect of the gameplay was sooooooo Wowww and WOW and intriguing and there is something sooo so wrong with junpei so it was so fun to play as an absolute weirdo and also the writing was solid enough where i was able to predict a good amt of plot twists which was super satisfying and rewarding like this was a damn good game. its a shame that certain elements were dropped and werent as fleshed out but in spite of this it was still an incredible experience. and yas i cried at the ending that was heartbreaking and GOOD.... great experience. have you heard of the crystallization of glycerin

2. style savvy

STYLE!!!!! SAVVY!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was not expecting to love this game as much as i did but wow it is AMAZING... like first of all the music. gorgeous and chic and fun and popping. and then THE VISUAL AESTHETIC.... this game is incredible. it looks so good and it is so charming and the fashion outfits are great and despite being 10+ years old the models aged sooo well and also i love the skin color diversity too its so fab..!!!! and the gameplay WOWW im in love with how unexpectedly strategic it is like the game wont tell it to u but once you figure out what clothings are from what brands then Thats The Key.... thats how u ace the customers requests on ur first try! and then the limited storage makes buying outfits strategic too and its a balance between having enough to sell but selling enough to buy more later like i loveee love this game so much 🩷🩷🩷🩷

and last of all 1. tales of the abyss

My Game Of The Fucking Year...... goddd where do i even begin. but seriously this game saved me cuz i was experiencing a dangerous level of brain damage from playing 4 ace attorney games in a row like shu takumi's bullshittery was POISONING me so to play abyss when i did was like Ohhh... Ohhh my god Thank You. but like really wow this game is really.... something very special to me. like i dont think the dungeon design is very great. and the combat was probably very good but this was my first tales game and they dont really tell you anything so i was fumbling through the entire thing. and i also played the 3ds port which has so many framedrops and the audio mixing on cutscene was practically non-existent. but the story and writing was so incredibly amazing that i could bear through all of this games weaknesses so easily. this sounds a bit crazy bc a video game shouldnt only have its strength in one aspect but im exaggerating a bit hereeee cuz like the game used its synopsis and in-game scenes to tell its story very well too and the pacing was amazing and solid throughout the game except a few parts in the middle where it faltered a bit, but it was still very strong!! but imo abyss' strength truly lies in its character writing like Oh my goodness this was really.. REALLY something special. there are so many characters and so many of them are so fleshed out and have so many nuances and compelling motivations and connections to one another and its like.. so crazy cuz they almost feel like. real people??? as in yes the game has its share of anime bullshittery and typical story tropes ofc it does, but yet at the same time so many of their reactions and responses to events both past and present felt very incredibly grounded?! this game is an incredible experience that was not only very heart-breaking but also veryyy very moving. and like honestly for a while i had been feeling worried that maybe i wont ever find a game so perfectly catered to me the way mm and ffix were again cuz like ive tried many many games but none of them were hitting the same way... but finally abyss arrived and its. just wow. i love it very very much 😭

AND YEAH this was a great game for video games!!!! TALES OF THE ABYSS GOTY WOOHOO!!!!

[egg-emperor]

R.E. Eggman is cool: you're right and you should say it. If Eggman wasn't cool, it would feel less fun when Sonic is cool. The times when Eggman isn't cool and heinous, Sonic is so much less cool and heroic. He has to be cool in the Amazing, Terrible, Full-Commitment way, or the stakes simply aren't high enough.

Exactly! Eggman has always been cool just like Sonic. Neither were designed to just be cute and Eggman was always far from innocent. Even when his design was cuter in the classic days, he had his awesome creations with the cruelty of capturing and trapping animals inside, his intricate complex bases that showed he meant business with his evil schemes, and he was a severe threat with the immense environmental damage that he stil causes to this day.

The Adventure games emphasized even more the lengths he'll go to on globally catastrophic scales and how he'll threaten lives and will try to kill to get what he wants. And he hasn't lost his coolness as even in the Pontaff written games, his actions and plans made him a serious threat from creating more powerful death machines, kidnapping and enslaving Wisps and Zeti, building a deadly Interstellar theme park, attempting to brainwash the entire planet, releasing more eldritch horrors on the world, taking over 99% of the planet with a devastating war, to attempting to drop the sun on his enemies and tons more!

And in Frontiers the only reason he didn't get to be cool is because he didn't get the chance, he tried but was then trapped in Cyberspace wishing he could get out there and do cool stuff. XD But he certainly wasn't any less of a bad guy there as he still has the very clear desire to be and he is greatly amused and celebratory at Sonic's cyber corruption death. The morally gray Eggman that's gone soft that people have been misinterpreting him as doesn't exist.

Sonic is cool because Eggman is cool. Sonic's feats would be far less impressive if Eggman wasn't so strong and dangerous of a threat in these many ways with his deadly robots, machines, weapons fleets, destructive evil plots and dark intentions in taking over the world, stealing everyone's freedom and having all the power and control. He's the one that raises the stakes and puts the entire planet in danger for Sonic to save and be the cool guy he is too.

If Eggman didn't want to be the bad guy and have those dark intentions, Sonic would just be fighting a sweet soft old man who didn't really want to fight or do anything diabolical and that'd be way less cool. I guess people who don't see Eggman as cool just want eldritch horror monsters to be the villains instead but who makes the plans and attempts to release them in the first place? Eggman! So many cool things in the series were thanks to him in one way or other.

Eggman's full commitment, confidence, passion, and determination for what he does makes him extremely dangerous and is also what makes him so cool and charismatic. He would lose so much of what makes him fun and interesting and just what makes him who he is without it and so many of the thrilling entertaining badass moments in the series wouldn't exist. Tons of the stories wouldn't have even happened at all without him being a bad guy!

Diabolical villainous Eggman is very important and helps make Sonic whole. If Eggman didn't match Sonic in coolness, power, passion and didn't have full commitment to his villainous role, Sonic wouldn't be the cool hero he is with his impressive world saving feats! He'd just be beating up a poor old innocent man who actually wanted to help the world or something and he comes along like meanie and bullies him. Which would be lame and obviously isn't what Sega/Sonic Team are going for lol

[archoneddzs15]

Sony PlayStation - Castlevania Chronicle Akumajo Dracula (Castlevania Chronicles)

Title: Castlevania Chronicle Akumajo Dracula / 悪魔城年代記 悪魔城ドラキュラ

Developer/Publisher: Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo

Release date: 25 May 2001

Catalogue No.: VX236-J1 / SLPM-86754

Genre: Action

This game is basically a home console port of the Sharp X68000 entry in the Castlevania series. The plot of Castlevania Chronicle is similar to that of the first Castlevania: at the end of the 17th century, the dreadful vampire Dracula is resurrected after a century of slumber. The people in Transylvania flee in horror, but the brave Simon Belmont takes his Vampire Killer whip and ventures into the ominous castle to put an end to the Lord of Darkness. This is the exact same plot as found in the Sharp X68000 original.

When it comes to graphics, I feel I must be honest. These graphics are fairly average, especially for a game released on a platform supposedly capable of arcade-quality graphics, and in 1993 no less. I would say Simon and other sprites, backgrounds, etc. are probably about the same quality as Castlevania Bloodlines. Not bad, but one must always consider the hardware when reviewing. Many arcade ports were lacking on the X68000, but certainly closer to arcade graphics than this version of Castlevania, which looks like an early Mega Drive effort. Think Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle.

Aside from that rant, the familiar-looking Castlevania stages have all been redone, and look definitely better detail-wise, compared to the FDS and Famicom original that kickstarted the series, so at least we can acknowledge them as upgrades. Simon's sprite is certainly different looking as well and it is nice to see the slight redrawn changes of Dracula, Death, and other famous bosses and enemies. The crystal man in Stage 4 sucks ass though. I don't care for his appearance at all, it seems so out of place!

On the bright side, there are many classic Castlevania tunes redone for this release, which include Bloody Tears, Vampire Killer, and Simon's Theme. Exclusive pieces (due to the stages not being present in the MSX, NES, or myriad other versions of the original Castlevania) include Tower of Dolls and Etude for the Killer, both solid compositions that earn their place among CV music. Lastly, Dracula's boss music, while it can't touch Super Castlevania IV (aka Akumajo Dracula on the Super Famicom), is awesome simply because of its name: You Goddamned Bathead! Classic! The gameplay has several changes from the original versions of Castlevania. Simon can whip diagonally down left or right while jumping. He is also able to slightly correct his jumps in mid-air, saving you some unnecessary deaths. We also have a new subweapon that helps to conquer the notorious difficulty of this remake. This is a laurel/herb and for 10 hearts, you can refill 6 life bars. A very helpful and neat idea, proving that the game is not without rules.

The challenge is merciless; this is the hardest traditional Castlevania there is, mostly due to the huge amount of damage that enemies take off with each hit. In the early stages, it is only 2 or so bars. In the later stages, every single attack does 4 bars, causing Simon to die in only 5 hits. This coupled with the still limited dodging and mobility of Simon makes having the aforementioned laurel seem like a necessity if you want to beat this game without a great deal of frustration. The laurel certainly helped me to do as such.

Now you might say that this was the case in the FDS and Famicom Castlevania too. Still, this is an ultimately harder game because of the new enemies and stages. Many more enemies have projectiles that they use to hit you from far away. The dolls in Area 7 are especially annoying, all this adds up to a deeper and greater challenge. Replay value for this specific game is no more significant than the original. There is the added challenge of new enemies and greater incurred damage for each subsequent playthrough, but that cannot be defined as a true incentive to replay as the stages and bosses are identical. The only real difference is that enemies hit harder and that there are more of them.

In conclusion, Castlevania X68000 was mostly unknown at the time of its release, and in playing this, I'm glad it has received greater availability on the PlayStation. There are minor differences in the PS1 version mostly involving the internal system clock option affecting certain stages and graphics, nothing to really write home about.

I try to look at this remake in the context of a Japan-only release or the 1993 release year, but neither bit of reflection gives this product much reason to exist, especially as a far superior remake of Castlevania had already been made in Akumajo Dracula on the Super Famicom. That remake was on a far superior and more accessible system. Perhaps this X68000 version was nothing more than an attempt to sell the Sharp computer (which was sold at super expensive prices with prices starting from US$3,500 for the base configuration) by putting respected franchises on it, similar to the Mario and Zelda games on the Phillips CDi, and we all know how bad those games turned out. Castlevania X68000 is not as bad as those games, it is at least playable, but it feels like an unclear project. Given the PC's limited user base, who was this game meant to appeal to? It is worth a playthrough on the PlayStation version, but I can't fathom the complete sense that would make a gamer hardcore enough to buy the Sharp PC just to play this fairly mediocre remake of the original Castlevania. The limited new features of this version just don't do enough for me.

However, all this pales in comparison to the fact Konami actually added an Arrange Mode to the PlayStation port. Castlevania Chronicle's arrange mode is all about the little changes that may not be initially apparent. It really feels like it was made for the fans, as these are the groups likely to enjoy the changes the most. These are both obvious with the complete musical overhaul and subtle with the slight graphical changes. I think the best way to express my approval is to say that the Arrange Mode not only makes the Sharp X68000 version better, but it also makes it more acceptable as part of the Castlevania series.

[red-carter]

HEHE you opened up the ask box so here we GO-

Compliment: I admire the boldness and bravery you had to reach out to me to say hi!! That’s a scary thing, my dude!

A story (a real one because I suck at doing quick fiction ones on the fly): A friend and I realized at college that if I tucked myself up pretty tightly, I could sit on a storage-shelf-thing that she had on the back of her bike. So for a good several months she would ride around on her bike with me hitchhiking a ride on the back and grinning at people as we zipped past. It was very fun 😆

Why I follow you: Primarily, because I’m so thankful that you follow me, but also because it’s clear that we share so many of the same interests! I want to see what you unearth on this crazy platform 🤩

A cute message: You have no idea how PROUD of you I felt when I saw that you posted art on the discord, since you told me you were nervous about talking on there. Good for you!!

One thing I want to tell you: I’m so happy that we’re chatting ❤️ I am a huge chatter and I get happier the more I chat with people 😆 so it meant a lot to me when you reached out. I don’t have a huge social network irl aside from a few college friends and my siblings, so it makes me SO happy when people choose to talk to ME, ME of all people, online 🤩

Finally, a thing I want to know about you: what’s your favorite color, favorite music genre, and do you prefer movies or tv shows? (And depending on which one, what shows/movies do you like?)

Oh my goodness- Thank you so much! Reaching out really was scary, but I'm so glad I did! Thank you! <3

I love that, that actually sounds like so much fun!

Hahaha, the same goes to you, granted, mostly just to see what all we share sounds awesome to me. I'm sure I'll be bound to come across many crazy things- can't wait to share!

Stoooppp Imma cry. But yeah! I got a bit comfy when we was talking, gave me enough courage to send it. Was scary, but I'm proud of myself as well, thank you so much.

Aaaahhhh! Absolutely same! I love chatting, and my IRL friends are well- I constantly forget are my friends sometimes. I have a lot of people I can talk to, and fewer that I can hang out with. I've always been more of an online person (been mostly online since late middle school). So it always makes me happy to find others who share interests with me and also wanna talk with myself as well. It's- It's really nice!

My favorite color would have to be any shade of blue! Close seconds would have to be green and purple though. More of like a mint ish green, more of that muted color? Not too bright, or neon green is great. Purple, either lilac, or dark vibrant purple. Music genre is a bit tricky. Since I listen to quite a variety and they're all so amazing. If this counts as a genre, I'd say music that people make for content creators. Otherwise, I guess pop? They're all great tho. Goodness- I love movies, a lot easier to binge and just watch and finish. Horror films are great, and I can't watch psychological learned that the hard way-, though I love romance and action just as much. I actually just watched Damsel last night, and oh my god- I loved it. Sad, but really good! TV shows, I love as well, mostly anime though. One Piece is one of my favs, along with ERASED, Fruits Basket, and some more. I can't pick between the two. They're all so amazing.

What about you on favorite movies/shows?

[sweetfirebird]

rambling

I was brain dead on the trip home and still reading the stuff I downloaded but much slower than I had been, and I stopped to consider my disappointment with certain stories and why I was disappointed.

I was reading m/m romances, for the record.

Taste is subjective obviously so there is always that issue. And good writing (language choice, sentence structure, the ability to paint a picture, form a plot, keep your pacing sharp etc) is nice but it's also not something I am going into these books looking for. If it's there, nice, awesome, but I've read books, romance and otherwise, that were well-written and I still found them boring or disappointing. And I paused to wonder if that was the taste issue. Maybe I just didn't care for the subject matter or the settings...

Except I read the blurbs and reviews and chose these books because I thought I would be interested in the subject or the settings. So that's not it.

So what can make an okay-written book also a fun book I enjoy, and what makes something technically proficient and competently written so flat and uninteresting to me?

A question people have been asking about art since forever I know.

But there is plenty of fiction out there that has flaws, glaring or otherwise, that holds more life (to me) than something that has clearly been through a critique or three.

Is it like that cheeseburger at the end of The Menu? Did people forget the ultimate purpose of the romance story and get caught up in the other details? I get that in the romance genre, particularly m/m, a big chunk of a lot of the book can end up being porn and a lot of readers are fine and accept that as part of the relationship building. (And it can be part of the relationship building as well as the characterization, don't get me wrong. It certainly can be. But it is also isn't a lot of the time). I understand this genre convention though some authors do it better than others. But it's other details filling up a romance book I am talking about. An author lovingly describing the old house by the beach in their romance is fine and good but the characters are not interacting and when they do, all the emotion is off page somewhere.

Which gave me a clue to my problem. But then I was reading one of the more 'porn equals love and relationship building' romances after that, and it... had some emotion. But it was more or less two characters who do not talk to each other, or even to anyone else. And I kept being given information about them but not shown anything about them. We are told one is nice and sweet and capable when a crisis isn't making him upset and we are told one is honorable but is now bitter. And we are told they develop feelings for one another but all that I was actually shown was that they are sexually compatible.

...and I hate when people trot out Show Don't Tell as blanket writing advice but... you do have to show stuff. You need to show who your characters are and you need to show what they are feeling. You can do it through dialogue. You can do it through action. You can do it through descriptions in your character pov. But you have to show it.

And that includes the emotions that are not boner-related.

See, that is me using immature language on purpose. You are being shown something about me without being told: R had a sometimes immature sense of humor but also uses humor when things feel too serious.

You could say that of course, like all writing rules, it's never 100% all the time. But you can't only tell your audience that stuff. It's boring as hell. I do not care about someone I am told is funny and nice when he's not being a dick because I haven't seen them be funny or nice. I don't mind a character who is totally a dick, btw, but if that is the case, and it's all I have been shown, stop telling me he's actually nice. Just shut up about it. Or show it. Or make him a charming dick. Something.

So in the one book I read this weekend that was... so fucking boring, and the several I read that were fine or okay or good, what it boiled down to was... nothing reached out to me and nothing made me want to dig harder, because I was told everything. There was no impact. No characters I remember. No dialogue that made me !!! No scene that made me wish I'd written it.

The one good story had a lot of smut, which was fine. But as a romance... I don't care. I wouldn't read it again. I def am not interested in the sequels. And the boring one... I rarely am bored by books or fanfiction to this degree. It shocked me.

The one I liked, really liked, by comparison, was kind of a mess, and incredibly light and also filled with smut for most of the book. And yet I found it charming. The characterization was consistent, if sometimes goofy. And because it was, it made the romance, and smut, more interesting and memorable. A meringue of a story--and I suspect intentionally so. The author wanted to make a treat, and the treat for them and then for us was goofy characters in a lightly plotted adventure with almost zero stakes beyond the first third. They used characterization well. They didn't say "this is character A, he is a bit of a sheltered idiot." they just showed me a sheltered idiot who meant well but definitely needed something competent (and bigger, and stronger) to lovingly take care of him and fuck him into a wall. Or whatever.

Anyway. But just remember I say all of that but my tastes are clearly not what the majority of m/m readers want, going by sales lol I think most readers like being told what the characters are, at least in their romances. Which is fine. But yeah, I get so disappointed/bored, so quickly.

[batmannotes]

The Fastest Man Alive finally gets his own live-action solo flick with several other superheroes from the DC Universe lending a helping hand. Ezra Miller portrays The Scarlet Speedster who uses his superpowers to travel back in time to change the events of the past, however worlds collide when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future.  

Oddly enough, with a number of superheroes making appearances, there is only one major super villain in this 2 hour and 24-minute affair, General Zod … a Superman villain. The Flash becomes trapped in a reality in which Zod has returned, threatening destruction, and there is no one to turn to. The Flash is left to coax a vastly different Batman (Michael Keaton) out of retirement to help rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian … albeit not the one he’s looking for, and to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows. 

The film starts out with an amazing sequence where the Ben Affleck Batman is in hot pursuit of criminals on his new and improved Batcyle and The Flash is left to rescue babies at a hospital. Watching this sequence of Affleck makes me realize how cool a solo movie with him might have been. Besides a large dose of action, the movie also relies on humor to carry the viewer through a nearly 2 and ½ hour film. Some of the jokes land, but unfortunately most of them don’t. Auspiciously though, the action is enjoyable enough to carry the bulk of this outing. 

After Barry changes the past and returns, he comes face to face with himself, or an 18-year-old version of himself. This eighteen-year-old version of Barry Allen is super too … super annoying. Present day Barry needs his other self to help him resolve the problems that he has created. Ahhh … time travel movies.  

Keaton’s portrayal is both nostalgic and fun. He delivers a couple of legendary lines from his original 1989 Bat-flick while his classic musical motif by Danny Elfman plays in the background during the major events. For a lot of Bat-fans this was a dream come true, although I was left amazed at how spry Batman was at 70-year-old.  

Sasha Calle’s Supergirl was lifeless and with no emotion, very reminiscent of Brie Larson’s unlikeable Captain Marvel. Another female character waisted was Kiersey Clemons’s Iris West; don’t expect any notable love story here. The main emotional draw of this film is the love between a boy and his mother. Barry goes to great lengths for the love of his mom, not realizing one minor adjustment to history has major ramifications throughout time. 

The Flash suffers from two major problems; horrendous special effects and the lack of any real villain. It’s hard to believe that with all the money spent on this flick, the computer animation is flat out cringeworthy in most places. The other thing that really bothers me is how DC has such awesome super villains that Warner Bros. has yet to tap into. The Flash is yet another example of that.  

With all that said, overall, I thought The Flash was still fun and much better than the last couple of DC movie releases (Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods). Even with the bad special effects, the CGI cameos were nice to see and added to the film’s enjoyment, however, like Barry Allen, this film is its own worst enemy. Instead of squaring up against a legendary villain from Flash’s large gallery of amazing rogues, the Scarlet Speedster is left to battle a timeline that he put into place with another, much more annoying, version of himself by his side.

MOVIE GRADE: C-

4K Reviews:

VIDEO QUALITY 📽️ : A

In my opinion, you won't get a better picture quality than here. The Native 4K (2160p) transfer looks fantastic even with the horrible CGI in place. Colors burst on your screen at home that are equal to, if not better than, that on the silver screen. 

AUDIO QUALITY 🔈 : A-

Although the dialogue is extremely low and hard to understand at times, the action sequences are bombastic and sound wonderful in this Dolby Atmos & True HD 7.1 sound conversion.

EXTRAS 📀 : A-

The extras (listed below) are great! Included with the digital copy of the film are a wealth of enjoyable featurettes. The only minor thing is Warner Bros. is no longer including a regular Blu-Ray copy of the film. 

“The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus” podcast – Six-part original scripted audio series 

featuring Max Greenfield as The Flash 

The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus Behind the Scenes 

Deleted Scenes 

Saving Supergirl - featurette 

The Bat Chase - featurette 

Battling Zod - featurette 

Fighting Dark Flash - featurette 

The Flash: The Saga of the Scarlett Speedster - featurette 

Making the Flash: Worlds Collide - featurette 

Let’s Get Nuts: Batman Returns, Again - featurette 

Supergirl: Last Daughter of Krypton - featurette 

Flashpoint: Introducing the Multiverse - featurette 

Available at Amazon.