#HI SORRY FOR THE BAREBONES EDIT

[pieflavoredartz]

(CLICK FOR BETTER QUAILTYYY🗣🗣)

quickie edit-tie of these kids bc my 12 year old self is jumpin for joy rn

hello ur lookin at the og!! 🌲💫

[bamsywrites]

And Comes Dawn.

Pairing: sauron/halbrand x reader, more pairings in the future to be tagged

Summary: In all beings, there exists darkness. when the deciver finds one who seems to defy this, he becomes obsessed with finding it within her. and if he can't find it, he will ruin her himself.

Tags/Warnings: clichés abound, opposites attract, sauron being evil but also hot but also evil, no use of y/n. This is pretty barebones. There's not much to tag, I don't think.

Notes: there was a lot of interest in this when I made a post. This is not super duper long and a Lil choppy but I wanna see what people think. Lemme know if you like it. If I should continue it. I have a lot of ideas. It's all written and edited on my phone so I'm sorry if it looks bad or mistakes were made.

Series Masterlist

The wind from the sea felt nice on his face. After so many years spent as nothing more than mud and slime, it was nice to feel. Feel anything. Freedom, independence, revenge. His plan to create order and heal the world would come to fruition. Being stuck on a ship with these men was worth that price. They were like bugs. If he wanted to, he could squash them and feel nothing. Though there was one who spoke to him kindly as a mentor would, and there was the ever so slight stirring of emotions he presumed were long dead. The old man was enough to make him question what it was he desired. Did he want to be good? Did he want a fresh start? What about his plans? The desire for order was there, the want to heal the world and bring peace, but would he get that through evil, through deceit and violence? Or could that be obtained another way? He continued to stare over the vast ocean as the wheels in his head turned, and he waged a war inside himself.

"It's beautiful, is it not?" A voice broke through the silence of the night.

He turned sharply, greeted by the image of a young woman. You were beautiful. He noticed it right away. Never had he looked at a human and thought they were beautiful. The thought was usually reserved for elves, but you were different. He could tell just by looking. You were soft, gentle, pure. There was a light to you that permeated all of your features.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. We have more food tonight than expected, and you had been on your own so long before finding us. I supposed you might be hungry." You held up a bowl for him, which he accepted with a nod.

"Thank you. I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Halbrand."

You smiled softly back at him, giving him your name and taking a few small steps towards him. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

He watched you. It was curious. Everyone here was gruff and rude, not wanting to help a stranger, yet you brought him a bowl of soup instead of keeping it for yourself. He watched as you looked up at the stars and how they were reflected back in your eyes. Humans didn't often intrigue him, but you did.

He leaned back against the railing of the boat with his arms crossed, but before he could speak to ask his question, you spoke.

"The stars are beautiful, aren't they? The light against the immense darkness. It reminds us that there is light in all things. Even in the darkest of times, there is hope."

"Your people were just slaughtered by orcs. You're on the run. Hope in the stars seems pretty useless." His eyes watched you with keen interest.

"Hope is never useless. Without it, all is lost." The earnestness in your voice further fueled his curiosity.

"And what do you hope for in times like this?"

"A new start. A place to start fresh..."

"Yes," he interrupted, "That is what all hope for, but what do you hope a new place or fresh start will do? What do you want from it?"

"I want a safe place to lay my head. I want to live without shame. I want fresh air and to grow my food and I want music and I want laughter. I want to drink tea with my friends. I want to love and feel the wind on my face. I want happiness. I want peace." You smiled and closed your eyes as you pictured this serene future.

He watched you, his brows furrowed. You were odd, but he wasn't sure if that was a bad thing as of yet.

"You have a lot of this hope. It's almost oozing out of you. I can almost taste it." He took a step towards you. "As if there is no evil out there."

"There is evil, yes, but there is good. Do we despair because there is evil or have hope because there is good? I do not think there is truly anything that is created evil. Evil is only when the good is taken from someone, and if you're able to take it, then it's able to be taken back." Your eyes had opened, and you looked up at him.

"I doubt you'd believe that if you knew the evil I'd done."

"Thousands of years ago, the people of the southlands sided with Morgoth. Our ancestors fought alongside the most evil being to ever exist. Most would say that the things our people did were deplorable and worthy of the worst shame. But I look upon my home, I look upon the people I have grown with, and I do not see evil. The people here, I am but a stranger to them. I have yet to meet most of them, but they took me in, as they did you. If my ancestors were evil, they could not have created such good."

“Whatever evil you did, it can be forgiven. You can do good, be good.” You moved closer to him, placing a gentle hand on his arm. The feeling brought a sense of warmth that he had not felt since before he joined Morgoth, when he went by a different name. His eyes traveled down to where your hand rested, and you dropped it back to your side. He'd found himself missing the feeling.

"Your ancestors did do evil, though. They did plenty of evil things. Just as I have."

"Did they do evil out of the desire to be evil? Or did they do evil to protect those they loved? Were they born that way, destined to be only evil? Were you made evil? Or was it thrust upon you in a moment of hopelessness? Does every being have the capability to do both good and evil?"

He was left stunned at what you said, it took longer than usual for him to come up with a response. He wet his lips, looking over the ocean for a moment before looking at you once more. Your hair was gently blowing in the breeze of the ocean and he found the sight captivating. His intuition told him you were telling the truth, that you believed the words you were saying with your whole being. How could that be? There had to be some darkness that motivated you, that tainted your soul.

Everyone had darkness.

His mind played over the interaction long after it had happened. He wanted to feel that warmth again. You were a puzzle, a mystery. He would not know peace until he figured out what darkness was inside you because surely there had to be something. It was one of the many things that plagued his mind late at night. He watched as you slept peacefully. You were rows and rows down from him, but he could zoom in on your form. He watched your chest rise and fall, the calm of your features. You were a mystery that he had to solve.

This was what was on his mind when the worm attacked. He needed to know you. Even now, he watched as you attempted to help an elderly woman stuck under a beam instead of rushing to safety yourself. He couldn't bring himself to save the old man, but his fingers wrapped around the relic, and as water rushed the ship, he lept over and shielded your body with his.

He couldn't let you die. He had to understand you, to know you, to find out what motivated you, he would find your inner darkness.

And if he couldn't, he'd ruin you instead.

next

[savebatsfromscratch]

Heyyyy weird question my sister is trying to get into Minecraft YouTubers but doesn't know who to watch do you have any recckmendations (she's young)

This turned out WAY longer than I meant it too, sorry in advance! XD Also, this is all my opinion obviously, please no one get mad at me!!

Redstoners: 1. Ethoslab is one of my favorites, but his editing style can be a little bit of an acquired taste depending on the episode. (It is very very barebones.) He is completely family friendly and I find him entertaining, but he might be aimed at a somewhat older audience than the person you are talking about, just because of the stuff he does in minecraft being often more technical or specific.

2. If she likes technical stuff but wants slightly more "childish" editing style, Tangotek is a good option. He can sometimes be a little bit inappropriate, but I don't think he has been recently...?

3. Mumbojumbo isn't usually my style but he's another classic family friendly pick. Again, if she likes technical minecraft but not Etho or Tango, he might be a good option.

Builders: 1. Grian is a classic and I like a lot of his stuff, he also does a lot to make himself seem even more family friendly than a lot of even his other family friendly buddies, but not in a way that's boring or overly childish.

2. Goodtimeswithscar is also extremely entertaining and an incredible Minecraft builder if she cares about the beauty of the stuff, but he can be a little bit less family friendly than the other people I have listed. No swearing or excessive joking, just occasional... interesting word choices and stuff like that.

3. Smallishbeans probably has the flashiest editing style out of all of these people, as well as usually the shortest episodes, but they are almost always very engaging and I like them a lot.

Pvpers? 1. I don't watch PVPers besides Purpled* and he hardly uploads anymore, and I don't remember if he is family friendly enough to recommend to this person.

2. *Technoblade may also be a good pick for your sister, but as you probably/maybe know he unfortunately passed away a few years ago now. :9 His videos were always extremely entertaining and are still up to be watched, but it can be a little bit depressing knowing that he's not with us anymore and some of his jokes could be somewhat inappropriate for children at times. Despite all of that he is one of my favorites and I would recommend him to pretty much anyone in, like, the highschool and up range maybe??? I didn't know about youtube until middle school so I could be entirely off and he could be fine for younger people, but it's kinda up to you based on how old she is.

Extra notes: Out of these people, my favorites are Ethoslab, Goodtimeswithscar, and Grian, but any of the others are also really good. :) In order I probably watch them with this priority (depending on which series of course, but I mean in general): Ethoslab, Goodtimeswithscar, Grian, Tangotek, Smallishbeans, Mumbojumbo

I personally much prefer to watch builders over redstoners, but the things that some of those people can pull off (*cough* *cough* Tangotek's Decked Out 1 and 2 *cough* *cough*) is mindblowing. Idk if that's her thing but, like, if it is. Oh my God tell her to check out Decked Out 1 and 2. (Decked Out one is in Hermitcraft season 7, Decked Out two is Hermitcraft season 9.)

Another person I watch who is NOT in this group and is NOT popular is StormLordZeus, he's SO FUN THOUGH. I love him!!! (Also Huntedskelly!!) Scratchcraft!!! Completely family friendly, but very small scale. Tight knight community so maybe not, but I Love It.

As for specific Minecraft series, I recommend Grian's Hermitcraft Season 6, and 3rd and Double Life, Tangotek's Hermitcraft Seasons 7 and 9, pretty much anything from Goodtimeswithscar but maybe especially his Hermitcraft in general and Secret, 3rd, Double Life, Smallishbeans' Hermitcraft 10, Limited Life and X Life, Ethoslab's Hermitcraft 7 and 9 and Secret and Last Life, Mumbojumbo's random little videos, Hermitcraft 10, and Last Life.

For Stormlordzeus and Huntedskelly, Scratchcraft season two feels the most completed. For Technoblade his Skyblock Potato war with Squidkid is iconic. For Purpled his random storytime videos are the most fun.

Life Series order: 3rd Life, Last Life, Double Life, Limited Life, Secret Life, Real Life (april fools episode), Wild Life

TLDR: Ethoslab might be boring to some but he's my favorite, Grian and Mumbojumbo are both very popular for the right reasons and are usually engaging, Smallishbeans might be slightly inappropriate sometimes but he is the most engaging in my opinion, Tangotek is a lot of fun and very engaging but I get very lost in his technical videos, and Goodtimeswithscar is very very funny and very very talented. (If sometimes slightly inappropriate.)

[prskfancams]

Are you planning on hosting the renders on a G-Drive? For easy archiving and quality preservation

hi, yes i do have one! i haven’t been linking it in my posts here because i’ve been too lazy to do so but here it is (project sekai renders are under @/mobage_edits)! i usually upload the transparents to there first if…

the card/s is/are unofficially released yet (aka leaks)

i plan to post to post on twitter (because i always link the gdrive there and i cant edit tweets on that app😔😔😔)

+++ optional but here’s my gsite that i haven’t updated in 2 months (😭😭😭)

it’s barebones but i think it’ll be fun to go through the existing pjsekai transparents that i’ve done there too

the renders there also link back to the gdrive content anyways hehe

tldr; the gsite’s like an extension to the gdrive lmao

sorry for the long winded answer but i’ve been thinking of making a pinned but alas, i am too lazy so i’ll just promote the gdrive here lmao

[becriticizeslight]

Intro post!! a lil barebones but i'll edit it later :3

Hi!! you can call me Bec! There's pretty much only one bec fan on this website or in this fandom as a whole so if you know my main you already know who i am. however if you dont, allow me to introduce myself a little more!

i am a minor (NSFW DNI // PROSHIT DNI + JUMP), i am french so excuse any potential spelling errors when typing in english! this is my criticism sideblog!! i don't have a lot to say that hasn't been said by other crits already, so i might not be the most active on here. however there are some things i want to say that may be a little too harsh for my sparklecare-loving main acc, so i'd rather post them here, yay!

i don't condone harassment agaisnt kittycorn or the zcp. you're entitled to your opinions but my account is not a battlefield about who you do or don't like and i'll stay firm on that matter; this blog is just a critic on the work not the people behind it.

THIS BLOG IS NOT A SPARKLECARE HATEPAGE, I AM YOUR ALLY!! heck, if sparklecare wasnt my biggest fixation i wouldn't care about it's issues! the reason why i made this blog is because i love sparklecare and it's AUs, and would like it to be the best it can possibly be. it has some elements in it that i think could be improved, and i am here to share my opinions about these things i would personally change! i try to make my criticism as contructive as can be, i aint here to aimlessly bash kc's work, rather to pin point what i believe needs to be changed to make sparklecare more enjoyable. you do not have to agree on everything i say and you are more than welcome to tell me about your opinion in dms, comments, inbox etc!!!/gen Tags; #sparklecrit #sparklecriticism : for criticism #becrit : for my own criticism specifically #bectism : autism of bec light content (blatently stolen from oomf's user sorry oomfie) #not criticism : ooc stuff that isn't related to criticism in any way #rb : for reblogs #answer : for when i answer the questions in my inbox That should be it for now! have a nice day!!

[synthient]

Ok slightly more coherent write-up because I Am Right About This:

Agent Johnson (the "only human" upgrade) was supposed to make an appearance in Resurrections.

This was cut late enough in the production that they had his poor actor doing bonus feature interviews alongside Reeves/Moss/etc.

I've always thought that Jude's storyline feels oddly incomplete. His big "Judas betrayal" never quite pays off in a major face-to-face way. Almost like he had one more scene that got cut

I'm proposing: those 2 missing scenes are actually 1 missing scene.

It's right after Neo fights Smith, and en route to his encounter with Trinity and the Analyst. Jude pops up and tries to apprehend Neo. He brags that he "pulled this epic callback out of storage" - probably with some lampshading about how "most casuals don't even remember who Agent Johnson is, but a real fan like me is totally stoked for this rematch"

The emptiness of Jude's fannishness gets demonstrated one last time. Red pill bros get directly equated with agents. And Neo just got his practice session in with Smith, so he pretty effortlessly swats them aside

Late in the editing process, they're looking to cut time, and they go all right, this is basically just a gag scene. We can leave a barebones version of the Jude subplot and cut Johnson entirely (sorry man)

This may have been connected to the fact that they apparently extended the Neo-Smith fight past its planned length because the actors' chemistry was so good. Sacrificed on the alter of homoeroticm 🫡

[elfpunk]

Except we can literally tell you just took some ai generated bodies with melting chains and spikes and copypasted masks that were literally cut from actual photos of the boys (it would literally take me maybe five minutes to find the ones you used because it's so fucking obvious) and then did some barebones editing to make it look half-ass cohesive. We're not stupid. You could've at least tried a little harder to not make IV look stoned out of his mind when you plastered the most bloodshot looking eyes on his actual mask

You don’t like it. Don’t look at it. No one’s forcing it down your throat. And yes I used photos of masks as references sorry I don’t have every nook and cranny of their masks saved in my brain. If you can do better pop off and do it or get off my dick.

Not that I have to justify my shit to you but the chains are brushes in procreate. Ai does fuck all with intricate details. I used suits from fashion show photos I found on Pinterest and masks as references. I’ve been shit on for my art my whole life and I’m not taking shit from faceless fucks like you.

[vantasei]

NO THIS IS SO GOOD AURUHGHGJFHHJG. i will say. one thing i love wholeheartedly abt ff2 is how absolutely barebones it is wrt lore. like. its got nothing. you have the barest skeletons for characters, with the protag himself having visibly LESS definable character than everyone around him and its so funny. but more importantly it means you can do SO MUCH while still maintaining adherence to the existing canon.

now. why did i bring this up, you may ask. well you see. i need to preface my discussion of topics of magic, geopolitics, economics, and culture with that fact to explain how i got from point a to point b. “what the fuck do you mean geopolitics and economics” did i say im like. actually not mentally well about final fantasy 2 yet. because im not. BUT THAT IS FOR LATER. for now i must begin with. baby deumion my little guy my little friend he makes me SO EMO.

one thing that is super interesting to me is that in firions time, the only “mage” capable of summoning is mateus, and only by technicality re: the novel. aside from that, summoning isn’t a thing. leviathan, while it could be argued to be a summon due to its dedication to protecting the mysidian tower, is not described to be anything more than erm. funny fishie. HOWEVER. deumion is described to just. be able to do that. even in his youth, he’s been able to summon (which is why he's chosen to be the seal in the first place). can you imagine that. you grow up and theres this weird but nice kid and also he can pull a funny chained dogie out of space. and that’s just his best friend or whatever. like. what do you do with that. and then hes getting taken by the government and you never see him again and hes a war hero but what happened to him. and his funie dogie. whats up with that.

anyways. the war of the magi ff2 is so interesting to me bc its only offhandedly mentioned initially and was expanded upon pretty much solely in the 20th anniv psp edition with the inclusion of the arcane labyrinth and deumion. HERES MY REGULAR PROPAGANDA TO ANYONE WATCHING THAT THE PIXEL REMASTER SUCKS AND TO JUST EMULATE IT ON PPSSPP IF YOU WANNA PLAY FF2. cough. anyways. like its described that the distribution of magic is limited and for good reason, considering the absolute nightmare disaster that the war of the magi was back in the past. but how does that extend to the present, to economics, trade, politics, and foreign affairs.

WELL. does a funny little dance. if we consider how mysidia views itself responsible for said distribution of magic, it’s also fair to say that they’re (obviously) also much more versed in it. see: ex-mysidian minwu and their (fat tits) collection of white magic that is not for sale either in fynn or in altair or even for a wide area beyond. like, magic hasn’t been banned outright outside of mysidian control. instead, it could be considered a commodity that acts as its primary export. after all, magic is smth you buy. and when you do [learn it, as one does reading a tome. the gang all spending time walking and reading and practicing spells while travelling. ouegh.], you only get it at level 1. of 16. and leveling it up requires using it in combat, right? (insert my 2 hour spam of having the gang hit each other on double speed until everyone was stupidly buff enough to raze the rest of the game down. i did not play this game as intended i think.)

except, even with the concept that monsters have been around pre-mateus era, when tf are you gonna use magic at high levels? never. theres no real incentive to do so. even leila, who needs it for practical purposes as a sailor, only has thunder at level… 4 iirc? sorry im at work i cant double check my stats. but like that’s 4. of 16. so worldbuilding wise, i imagine the use of magic (general. excluding mysidia) is like. fire for the stove. water for the laundry. you can buy it and use it, but without incentive to use it at higher levels in your daily life, why would you? assuming you even do/can afford it.

then, considering other locations and their offerings like fynn (the kingdoms capital) having more advanced “white” magic on offer—can be attributed to their relationship w the monarchy re minwus own intervention. deist having stronger black magic (dragoons are warriors after all). salamand with warp/teleport as a mining town. etc etc. considering the purported poverty state of palamecia in conjunction with its generally isolated location (desert) and its generally assumed poor international relations AND its evidenced reliance on machinery (the dreadnaught) rather than more powerful magic (excluding mateus himself who. again. looks at satan and starts shivering like a scared dog. doesn’t count.) its like. ok. mysidia probably said hm. don’t trust like that! and you know what? fair! ofc leading up to the point in the game where its like. the gang (mysidia) closes its doors to protect itself and its magic from the war. homies are running around on whatever magic tomes they already had in stock.

like. you can see mysidia as this decided distributor of magic directly influencing how its used in conjunction with what is perceived as necessary per region it interacts with. all of which traces itself back all the way to deumions era where magic was much more freely shared where little deumi gets to summon his funny divine beast and everyone drafted into the war effort knows magic to an extent anyway as its more frequently distributed for the purposes of combat. that’s why to me its like. as firions era pre-mateus was generally peaceful, you can see mysidia opening its offerings somewhat because at the very least the extent to which theyre used is not at such a grand scale as it would in wartime, only to be screwed over by this lax practice since the tomes are now available for purchase and can get to higher levels since fighting is a major thing now.

a question you could ask about the post-ff2 era could be “how are they managing the use and distribution of magic as present and available while nations are still picking up their rubble.” arguably, you could say that it might be more lax anyway as (the ultima tome has been read and likely destroyed following its use) and it could provide assistance to the rebuilding effort. indeed, consider deumions [good end], entrusting firion with revive. it’s a “good” magic, but was still sealed by him until he could trust it wouldn’t be abused by the one using it. does that speak for the general trust in humanity that has been built over the course of the game and firions actions connecting various peoples to band against mateus? how will that affect mysidias foreign policy going into the future?

MUCH TO THINK ABOUT. IM AT 1K WORDS JUST TALKING ABOUT FF2 AND ITS MAGIC I FEEL CRAZY. AND THAT DOESN’T EVEN GET INTO THE GEOPOLITICAL LANDSCAPE OF THE VARYING NATIONS AND TOWNS AND HOW IT MIGHT AFFECT CULTURE AMONG OTHER THINGS. RAHHHHHH.

biting and scratching and crying thinking about deumion, like. LIKE you don't want to kill but your skill means that you're now 1. immortal, 2. alone, 3. forced to kill anyone who reaches you (if you're unlucky.) HE'S LITERALLY SHACKLED TO DEATH ITSELF my man cannot catch a BREAK 💔 on a lighter note, leila is so fun! how did she escape the leviathan? who knows! but what I do know is that I have no choice but to stan. I am gently holding all the ffii characters in my hands. except for borghen.

IT MAKES ME FUCKING CRAZY. hes so young. one of the last things he hears before he leaves to be stuck in isolation for millennia is his mother wailing behind him, desperately crying out his name. hes just a KID THEYRE ALL JUST KIDS ITS NOT FAIR. to be forced (ITS STILL FORCED AND YOU KNOW IT. YOU CANT PUT ALL THAT ON A KID AND EXPECT HIM TO SAY NO) to hold the weight of the future on your shoulders without ever even getting to see it. to be able to do nothing but hope that mankind survives with your sacrifice. everyones futures in exchange for your own and youll never even get to see it.

LIKE. he doesnt know that the shit w mateus was going down!! he has no idea how the outside world is doing! its just him and his ouppy and the arcane labyrinth and eternity. AND THATS THE GOOD ENDING. ETERNITY FOREVERMORE ALONE AND FORGOTTEN BY THE GREATER WORLD. THIS IS NOT A GOOD ENDING DAWG IM CRYING!!!!!!

BUT HIS. HIS DESPERATION AS HE CRAWLS AFTER YOU, DEFEATED BUT UNABLE TO LET GO BECAUSE WHAT WAS IT ALL FOR IF HE FALLS HERE. IF HE RELINQUISHES DESTRUCTION TO A STRANGER HE COULD NEVER KNOW. and even then, all the others he himself had slain to fulfill his role, as someone who loves humanity so deeply that his love is all he is anymore.

HES A KID.

cough. erm.

smiles at u. leila. girlbossing it up in here. TBH even without a ship youd have to imagine shes prepped as a swimmer + leviathan would have no reason to attack her after swallowing down firion and the crystal rod plus the tower is otherwise surrounded by that ring of land. so as unlikely as it would seem, i wouldnt say its outside of the realm of possibility for her to make it to land, esp w leviathan fucking w the currents. the biggest obstacle aside from the open water would be the monsters, but then again, it's not like she doesnt come default w thunder (i have so many thoughts abt magic and mysidia and i would LOVE to hear what someone else thinks abt it if ur ever up for that). so its unlikely, but i cant say its impossible for her to make it out of there... her other obstacle would be making it off the isles Also without a ship but tbh if she swam out of the bay i think she can make it across that channel also. to be quite honest.

ff2 characters 🥰 paul my good friend paul. finally, my chance to live up to my blog title has arrived.

[cdroloisms]

the amount of angst in the post-prison writing you did just gave me massive post-prison dream brainrot and i'm just. sitting here thinking about how sam dealt with the curious looks and glances and having to face what's he's done as a warden. and everyone else's reaction to everything because hey, maybe the prison WAS a torture chamber that nobody deserves to be locked in to be treated like utter trash.

(btw i love your writing and analysis! they give me so much life :DD)

thank you anon!! this universe is ,, Fun ,, im ngl -> have this continuation of it, w/ sapnap and sam!! it’s a bit messy but oh well

(edit: i added these two asks as well bc they fit and i thought it’d be a bit redundant to rewrite this scene lmao -> the implication that dream’s admissions abt exile mightve been the result of ,, torture is. uh. yikes.) 

(This one is DARK, please heed the warnings)

TW: PHYSICAL/EMOTIONAL ABUSE (heavy warning for this one), starvation, toxic relationship, manipulation, references to the prison and exile, c!sam/warden!sam critical, violence, blood, dark themes, emotional distress, child abuse, torture

“Be honest,” Sapnap starts, quiet. “What did you do?”

Sam opens his mouth - hesitates, looks away. He should’ve known that his vague words and half-explanations that had been enough to push away most of the crowd - or at least, postpone the conversation for later - wouldn’t have been nearly enough to convince the man standing in front of him, but a part of him must’ve hoped, anyway. He’s not ready to speak, not ready to admit anything to himself, never mind someone else entirely - but ‘ready’ doesn’t matter, not when Sapnap is right here, waiting.

(He ignores how ‘ready’ didn’t matter for Dream when Sam had gone in, that first time, pick in hand and nothing but questions and rage spinning in an endless cycle in his mind, whirling together into something incomprehensible, insatiable, vicious - he’s not thinking about it.

He can’t think about it.)

“Well?” Sapnap’s voice raises, impatience coloring his tone, and it’s almost enough to draw a chuckle to Sam’s lips - he’d always been a little overeager, not doing well with silence, waiting, even as a kid. It’s part of the reason why he got along with Dream so well, Dream jumping at the chance to spend time with someone that didn’t shut him down for rambling and Sapnap simply excited at the chance to have someone that would join him on his hare-brained schemes instead of dismissing him as a dumb kid- and oh. Right.

The scrunch of his face is the same, Sam realizes, absently, as the expression Sapnap had when he was little; it’s the same crease between his eyebrows, the same slight jut to his bottom lip. Even with a new scar decorating his left jaw and the shadows under his eyes and collection of faint wrinkles belying his stress, he doesn’t look all that different - still looks young, a kid playing dress up in armor too big and too war-torn to belong to him. It’s easy to forget, but even after all the wars they’ve fought, even with all of the combat experience he’s had, Sapnap’s still barely twenty - only a few weeks out of being a teenager.

(He crushes the thought of what that makes Dream - he’s not. Thinking. About. It.)

“Hello? Earth to Sam?” Sapnap snaps his fingers in front of his face, and Sam blinks away the memories, the guilt, boxing it up and filing it neatly away to deal with - later. Never, ideally.

“Are you going to answer my question?”

Only later is now, there’s no escaping this conversation, and Sam. Really doesn’t want to be talking about this, right now. Sapnap fidgets, leaning on his right foot and then his left and then rocking back again - the feeling is mutual, then, but he knows the look in the younger’s eye well enough to know that neither of them are leaving without an explanation leaving Sam’s lips.

(Netherite and iron and smoke, bloodstained pickaxe tipping up a gaunt face, hand reaching around a too-prominent jawline with bruising force - are you going to answer my question, prisoner? Or are we going to have to do this again?

He’s not-

He can’t-)

“I-,” guilt, thick and heavy, circles his throat, chokes the words rising in his mouth. What can he even say? Can words really capture the sweat-slick desperation, the bubbling lava and heat and smoke stealing away all breath and thought, leaving nothing but a humming buzz of rage burning, hissing, begging for release? Can he really describe the endless darkness and weight settling on his shoulders, the hard edges and jagged fear taking anything soft, anything kind? Words swim in the back of his throat, try to reach his teeth, fall short; bloodstained memories haunt the back of his eyelids every time he blinks; there is so much, too much, to say, and yet nothing at all.

How does he even start?

There is no sympathy on Sapnap’s face when Sam looks, but there isn’t any cruelty either, just dark, watching eyes, lips thin and pressed together, jaw clamped shut, tense. Indifference, or a pale imitation of it, meant to hide the mess of his hair, the tremble in his hands, the helpless, desperate thing growing in his pupils. Sam understands and wishes he doesn’t; regrets, and wonders if he has the right, anymore.

“It- started, as an interrogation,” Sam stumbles over his words, stares at his hands because looking at Sapnap’s face will be too much, is too much. “I was angry. The prisoner- Dream- was desperate. That cell-” he shakes his head, remembers obsidian in his hands, remembers tearing away carpet, paintings, plants, remembers leaving the box bareboned, desolate, a cage and nothing more, “It messes with you. Screws with your head. I knew it, he knew it, but I guess we didn’t realize- I guess I didn’t realize-”

(Blood and crunching bone and shrill screams - tell me what you did to him-)

“I needed information. He wasn’t talking. I got- heated, and he laughed, and something- snapped, I guess.”

(I’ll tell you I’m sorry please please sam stop please)

“All I had on me was a pickaxe. He wasn’t talking, I was desperate - angry - I needed to know. I didn’t-”

(I just knew I needed to drag him away, he was ruining everything, he was destroying everything, I just needed him to leave before he brought down the whole damn server with him - the tnt was supposed to be a one time thing)

“It was supposed to be- one time. Was never supposed to happen, at all. But I guess I got mad - for me? For Tommy? I don’t- I don’t know, and it was- easy, you know? Take away the clock, one day. Give him less potatoes the next.”

(It was easy to do it again, I guess, mess with his invitations a little, take some of his stuff. There was nobody around but me and him and he’d ruined so much, he’d messed everything up - I thought that maybe if I took away his armor enough, he wouldn’t be able to go back. He wouldn’t ruin everything.)

“He’d done- so much. He was so awful to Tommy, to everyone- I thought I could prevent that. I thought maybe if I broke him enough, he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone again. I renamed the pickaxe Will Breaker, to remind me, to remind him, I don’t know. I-”

Sam laughs, tired, poisonous, ignoring the way Sapnap whispers, stricken, looking at his hands and seeing nothing but red. Dream’s face, bruised, bloody, but glimmering with something almost like satisfaction comes to mind - and oh. Oh.

(Bloodstained teeth twisted in a bitter smile - Sam, I thought I had to.)

He gets it now. He wishes he didn't.

“I thought- ha-” His hand comes up to his face - he’s crying. When did he start crying? ”I thought I had to.”

[tsukikoayanosuke]

The Amazing Parker Brothers  (Spider-Man Series AU) - Timeline Drafting

Timeline, my beloathed

A sort of add-ons to my previous ‘what if all Peter Parkers are siblings AU retelling of the movies’. So, I decided to write something, but me being petty decided to make a combined timeline from three movies. I spent my entire lunch hour for this.

References from this Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy timeline video and MCU 2016 timeline. I’ll still be using the Homecoming and MCU timeline as my guide since it has the most structured compare to the other films. The biggest trouble is MCU happens within days and Spider-Man is already in action. Because I’m still keeping the whole “Spider-Man doesn’t join the Civil War”, there’s gonna be a lot of cramping events.

This will be edited as times goes, but for now it's the barebone and it’s very clunky. Sorry about that.

Also as a reminder:

Tobey Maguire’s Peter is named “Petey”, the oldest

Andrew Garfield’s Peter gets “Pete”, the middle child

Tom Holland’s Peter is still “Peter”, the youngest

10th June 2016

Peter discover their father's suitcase

11th June 2016

Pete sneaks into Oscorp and meets with Norman about his father's research

Norman offers an internship position and Pete accepts

Pete gets bitten by a genetically modified spider, and gets sick for the whole night

12th June 2016

Pete first day as Oscorp intern

25th June 2016

Pete and Norman success creating the serum.

Arriving home late, Petey and Pete argue, and Pete leaves. While searching for him, Petey attempts to stop a thief that Pete allowed to escape, and is shot.

Tony who is coincidentally driving through Queens after Civil War, finds them and takes them to the hospital

30th June 2016

After making his first Spider-Man suit, Pete track down the thief and report him to the police

2nd August 2016

After a heart-to-heart talk with Petey, Spider-Man becomes the new local vigilante

20th August 2016

With the new rising popularity of Spider-Man, the Daily Bugle is hiring a photographer. Petey applies to the job.

14th September 2016

The decathlon national with Midtown winning. To celebrate they go to the Washington Monument

Pepper Potts arrives to meet the Oscorp's board members

Attack and Rescue at the washington Monument

21st September 2016

Pete comes across a burning building where the Green Goblin gives his final offers to which Spider-Man refuses. They get into a fight and Pete gets injured.

To celebrate his promotion from a janitor to a housekeeing manager, Petey host a big dinner. He invited the Osborns, Tony, Pepper, and Mary Jane.

Norman notices the scar on Pete's arm and realizes that Pete is Spider-Man. He vows to attack Pete's heart by attacking his loves one.

22nd September 2016

When an intern named Harley Keener is unaailable because of a flu, Peter takes the role as the tour guide for his own class from Midtown.

Green Goblin decides to attack and manages to hurt Peter, but Tony comes to the rescue.

Later that evening, while visiting Peter at Stark Tower medbay, Harry inites Pete to be his date at the homecoming ball. Pete was about to decline because he's worried Goblin might do something to Petey, but his brothers assure him.

23rd September 2016

Homecoming dance, but Pete still having bad feelings. He kissed Harry and left.

Right that night, Petey was about to left when Green Goblin crashed through his appartment window. Petey tried to defend himself with his newfound web power, but eventually got captured.

The battle at Queensboro Bridge, leading to Norman's death.

25th September 2016

Norman's funeral

Harry swears revenge on Spider-Man whom he thinks had murdered his father

26th September 2016

Without Harry knowing, Pete resign from Oscorp

[parismemes]

THINGS I’VE SAID ON DISCORD (OCTOBER EDITION) AS SENTENCE STARTERS.

“tell me everythng.” “HEHEHEHEHEHEHE” “i have read every single one of them and do not intend to stop” “i on principle only like songs that go hard” “I DIDNT THINK IT WAS GOING TO BE THAT SAD WHAT THE FUCK” “heehoo. water boy.” “why i always sleep through this shit i hate it here” “gacha games count as gambling” “im also there. im laughing” “u r doing so much math and im just like hehe money” “what the fuck what the fuck NOOO what the fuck im dfgjhhfjgdhjfgkjdkghjd” “what a traumatic backstory” “I CAN SEE YOU READING MY MESSAGES IM GONAN GET FINESSED OUT THE FUCKIN WINDOW“ “THAT’S not good!” “if hes a fraid of dogs that sounds like a him problem” “i honestly deserve recognition for the absolute shit i just pulled off” “YES FUCK YEAH YEAH YEAH HELL YEAH FUCK YEAH HELL FUCKIN YEAH WOOOOOOOOO YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!” “why the fuck would you want that” “yeah hes my only one true love” “by a few i of course mean like 600″ “no one fucking appreciate me” “thank you ___ for being the only person who appreciate me” “i reveal it in pieces and make you put it together like a puzzle” “im smart and never regret it“ “see, i just dont think thats right” “i will continue dangling it in front of your face like a scientist dangling bait in front of a fish (who is also in a maze)” “hes actually like an absolute fucking nerd a complete fool a fucking dumbass” “sorry your message glitched and i cannot read. anyway back to my leverage over you which is forcing you into a corner,” “it's not extortion because i don't know what extortion means” “why do they talk like exes. its because they are exes” “TIME SENSITIVE QUESTION PLEASE RESPOND” “he's a content creator he'll be fine” “what does this mean? but yes” “NICE NICE NNICE NICE NICE NICE NICE NICE NICE NICE NICE” “for future record ___ just used the word poggers” “look at all these fuckin blondes” “its only been like a week and a half at most” “hes doing it out of affection” “ISNT THIS THE FUNNIEST SHIT YOUVE EVER SEEN” “you are terrible and also the worst” “i was going to send it at midnight but i got distracted trying to figure out the most barebones way to say happy birthday without sounding weird” “do you think i get punished more or less if i do sins” “i dont think the sins count as extra points if you commit them on the way to hell” “run over pedestrians” “i am slowly descending into insanity today, as a hobby” “you are a shit boy. a little shit boy go eat boxes“ “it's ok. we can figure it out later” “i didnt notice at first but it is in fact All The Fuck Over” “ITS BEEN OVER 12 HOURS” “hey guys just turns out we might have a ✨ gas leak ✨” “im sure if we put our braincells together we can figure SOMETHING out” “curious georg” “thank god. i could and would have argued this for several hours” “i think the worst thing ive heard today is someone calling the movie enchanted a reverse isekai” “i should not and will not stop” “i was RIGHT AHHAHAHAHAHAGAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA” “that wasnt a question you read it wrong” “i have no idea who this is but that wont stop me” “THIS MAN REALLY SAID HEAD EMPTY WHAT IS MONEY” “sometimes i say things and its best to just pretend you know what i mean” “WOT THIS” “I DONT WANT PEE ON MY BED“ “tired of all these stupid fuckin plants” “could you even really consider jelly filled donuts donuts?” “actually everything is real” “if you eat cereal for dinner, you're not having fucking breakfast” “i think my in real life superpower is that i have freakishly fast metabolism” “i dont care if you are evil you are MY TYPE” “you dirty criminal” “is a dessert item a dessert if it isn't eaten after dinner? discuss” “ok im done for the Right Now” “found a concerning orb. in the sky.” “HOW DID YOU KILL THEM” “why do i do this to myself why do i keep doing this” “the only simp here is me” “I No Longer Wish To Know!“ “DID THEY JUST END AN ENTIRE SPECIES” “WE ARE DETERMINED” “this is also really funny by virtue of the fact that these people are all fucking british” “they throw rocks at me and say we want the himbo” “THE CONTEXT IS IMPORTANT HERE” “its something that i SPECIFICALLY am passionate about” “hanburnger?” “thats just what living with siblings is like” “howd she get there? fuckin beats me dude idk” “i remember everything i am like a shark with an abnormally good memory” “i am sorry that you are predictable” “Hey Guys, Just Checkiing In To Make Sure You Got My Joke, Just Making Sure, I Just Wanted To Check In And See If You Got The Joke, Because I Was Afraid You Wouldnt Get It, So Im Just Checking In,” “i marked your worm” “what are you gonna do. unsend whatever you send me? i am Shaking in my fuzzy socks rn” “you Know i hate the idea of being wrong” “You Did Not Need To Stroke His Ego” “i am too stupid to live and if i was not vaccinated my genes would have no chance of being passed on because i would be dead” “~the oldest anarchy server in minecraft history~” “am i shaking because of adrenaline or rage.... who can tell” “I HAVE SO MUCH ADRENALINE IN ME BUT ITS 1 AM IN THE MORNING” “jokes on u i fucking HATE ___ i think hes the worst” “JUST IMPULSE MADE BROWNIES AT 9 PM HEYOOOO” “cry about it more bitch boy maybe piss your pants while ur at it” “im getting so casually toxic back to toxic gamer boys” “itll be fiiiiiine” “we are all stupid mice who take turns being the piper” “queen of bargains is me i am the queen of bargaining and scoring deals” “its not TECHNICALLY a direct threat but also yes it is” “i see a demon i go possess me then bitch boy u wont” “AAAA THE FUCKIN VIIIIBES” “IM NOT GOING TO STOP BEING MAD ABOUT IT”

[crab-in-a-pocket]

EDIT AS OF MARCH 4, 2021: WORKING ON OLD ASKS I HAVEN'T ANSWERED AND I AM VERY SLOW SORRY.

P.S. ASKS CLOSED RN

EDIT AS OF MAY 1, 2021: HI, I'M BACK AND WORKING ON YOUR ASKS!

---

psa for the people who fear their asks will get rejected:

i am down to write anything

i am down to write anyone romanceable EXCEPT for penny and maru*

i write nsfw stuff

yes i am a wizard fucker, yes i will write for the wizard (all my og wizard posts are tagged under wizard fucker squad RISE)

yes i will answer random asks that arent requests or even sdv related

i mostly post stuff on mobile and only use my laptop when adding cuts so sorry if formatting is super wonky

FOR CLARIFICATION this is not a penny hate page but i think its fucking hilarious that i have become the point person for penny hate.

*i wont write about these two in detail, im sorry. i need practice and im working on it. if its like barebones hc ideas, its fine, but if its anything like ooh fluffy cuddle headcanons i will weep.

ok cool thanks!

EXTRA EDIT BC IM GETTING TERF HATE MAIL... FUCK TERFS!!! SUPPORT TRANSWOMEN!!!

[serindipitysims]

A few weeks ago I started working on a 300 follower gift. I only got two out of four parts completed before I got lost in my recolors and story planning. But now I come with a gift completed! Thank you so much to all of you for following this blog and making the Historian the success it has been!

Now... on to the gift!

Eight sims in the Historian palette! 

Thanks to @fridays-sims we have Historian skintones! Now, we don’t know what the patch in December is going to do to skintones but at least we have these lovely skins for now! If everything breaks in December I’ll be reuploading these sims with my old school technique of layering skin details to get lovely muted shades.

Follow each of the links below to be taken to each sim’s individual page with download and CC information. I tried to keep them as barebones as possible so that you could edit them to your heart’s desire and make them yours! Enjoy!

From Left to Right:

Eden / Hazel / Cerulean / Sterling / Nana / Rueben / Lupin / Rust

Required CC not included in downloads:

Historian Skintones / Skinblend / Body Hair / Body Hair Recolor / Eyes 1 / Eyes 2

When installing double check the included cc as there will likely be duplicates beyond the ones listed above. You’ll only need one copy of the cc. Delete the extra.

Thank you to the following creators that made this possible: Kijiko, Nesurii, Pyxis, Peachiiesims, AH00B, Ayoshi, WMS, Fridays-Sims, Evoxyr, SqueamishSims, Luumia, Crilender, QRSims, DangerouslyFreeJellyfish, Viiavi, SimMandy, Hula-Zombie, Simbience, Hi-land, Tamo, SugarOwl, Kotcat, Yuulace, an0nymousghost, Marsosims, Ravenpuffsims, Raiichuu, Dogsill, LitttleCakes. Sorry if I missed anyone!!

[kingdomofkitten]

Rant on Disney’s New Star Wars Blu-Rays

So, this is a touch out of the blue, I suppose. But I found enough time to sit down and write about this, so I figured I might as well get to it.

I also know the combination of Disney and Star Wars tends to cause some....friction, amongst people. Please, let’s not turn this into a brawl of Star Wars fans. This isn’t about how George Lucas felt betrayed, or Rian Johnson killing the series, or that anyone who hates the Sequel trilogy is a Trump supporter, or whatever the hell. Please don’t do that. In fact, let us join in unison. Why? Because no matter if you’re for or against Disney’s Star Wars films, if you happen to support this, there’s a decent chance you’re getting royally fucked over.

I was over at my local Target, just killing time (I had sent my dog to get cleaned up, and would need to pick her up in a few hours), and went over to the movie section. Not really looking for anything in particular, just up for browsing. And then I spotted this.

That looked a bit interesting, so I opted to look a little closely. Turns out, it seems Disney themselves (under Lucasfilm) decided to re-release all the Star Wars films they own on Blu-Ray. Presumably to hype up The Rise of Skywalker, which will be coming out in about 2 months from now. At first, I thought that sounded cool! Now all three trilogies can live under one roof! Plus, the cover design for all the films (including Rogue One and Solo, as you can see) are nice and consistent overall.

Then I decided to look at the back of one of them. Ya know, just to see what kinda cool new extras they would include.

I-wait...wait, is...is there no extras? Wha, that can’t be right, what does that sa-

.....deadass?

So, yeah. No bonus features on the Blu-Ray disc. Just on the digital copy....so, if you don’t download that copy in time, tough shit, you just get the movie.

Now, I’m sure some of you are thinking, “well, that’s probably for the Original and Prequel trilogies. They probably just couldn’t get extras ready in time.” Except I double checked.

Please pardon the crumpled up paper quality, apparently no hi-res scans of the backs are available as of now. But yeah, if you look closely, this The Last Jedi Blu-Ray has the exact same thing. No extras on the disc itself, just on the digital copy. Now, here’s the thing. I own the movie on Blu-Ray already. I know, some of you are weeping for me, I never claimed to be a role model. But let’s take a look at that back cover, shall we?

Hold on, there are extras here! A documentary, deleted scenes, commentary, even an Andy Serkis thing! And yet....none of that is in this new re-release? I’m sorry? And you can’t make the argument that Disney couldn’t have gotten the extras ready in time, they released this film already! They couldn’t have just taken the existing Blu-Ray disc, slap a new label on it, and call it a day? They could’ve done that with all four of the Disney Star Wars films so far, and yet they decided to leave them baren.

But okay, I hear some of you going, “well, that’s The Last Jedi, how about some REAL Star Wars films, like Revenge of the Sith? Surely these are all one needs, then.” Well, let’s go back to that first pic, shall we?

Firstly....not sure if you noticed, but Revenge of the Sith and The Last Jedi kinda look very similar here, so you might make a mistake there, and buy TLJ instead. Wocka wocka. :3

But secondly, notice something in the corner? Right next to The Force Awakens? Lemme zoom in for ya.

That is the Star Wars Complete Saga Blu-Ray set 20th Century Fox put out a couple of years ago. There have been a few re-releases of it over the years, sometimes with more stuff, sometimes with less, but as far as I know, it’s still in print. This contains the films from The Phantom Menace, up to Return of the Jedi. Not sure if you can read the sticker, but it has “over 40 hours of extras”. Speaking as someone who has that set, I cannot confirm it, as I haven’t dived into all of the extras, but I would not be surprised. While the movie discs themselves are relatively sparse on extras, they still HAVE some, mainly commentaries by the cast and crew. But if that’s not enough, alongside the six movies, there are THREE discs dedicated to just bonus features. One with behind the scenes material for the original trilogy, one with behind the scenes material for the prequel trilogy, and one full of documentaries and spoofs of Star Wars. Yeah, they went as far as to include PARODIES of the franchise in their big box set. The set was made to where you can dive into the saga, and also get a bunch of added goodies for the hell of it. All for a hundred bucks.

Now, I’m sure some will argue, “well, that’s a premium set kind of thing! This is more budget releases, meant for those who can’t afford that kinda set.” Well, let’s put that to the test. How much are each movie going fo-

JEEZUS

The fuck kinda budget release is that?! For just a movie, I’d expect...I dunno, $5? But okay, fine. That’s the price they want to go with, that’s okay. Now, like I said, that big box set, with the original 6 films is about $100, not including tax. So, let’s just put the prices for those six in. We’ll just round the price to $23, to be fair.

So, the price of those six barebones movies in total, not including tax?

$138.

Again, not including tax. You are quite literally paying more for less here!

My advice, if you want the whole series, get the Complete Saga set, and see if you can find the regular releases of the Disney films. As far as I know, all of those are still in print, and if you know where to look, you can get great deals on them. The big kicker about that? The Complete Saga set was made by 20th Century Fox...who, if you remember, Disney owns now. So if you buy that set, you’re giving them money, AND getting bang for your buck! It’s a win-win scenario, and I don’t understand why Disney didn’t get that!

I don’t speak as a major Star Wars fan. I mostly acquired the movies from my family. But I speak as an average consumer. Disney, I don’t give a shit what you’re doing to that world in a galaxy far, far away. But when you start bordering on scamming people, THAT is where I draw the line. People, no matter where you stand on these films, if you decide to buy one of these things...you’re probably being ripped off. Even for a company as stereotypically evil like the Magic Kingdom itself, this is just fucking gross.

P.S. I am aware there is a possibility that the original trilogy ones may have the original Theatrical versions, as opposed to the Special Edition versions with Greedo shooting first, and all that CGI, that’s on the Complete Saga set. If that’s the case, then to die-hards, MAYBE I can see a reason to buy these, but....again, to an average consumer, does that really add much? I don’t really think so.

[drundertalescum]

You know what this fandom needs? The characters writing game walkthroughs for other games.

Flowey has the in-depth completionist's guide. Just the biggest and most in-depth guide imaginable without a lot of emotion behind it, but it does call you can idiot about 74 times.

Alphys has the deep, rambling guide that breaks off into her opinions of each cut scene and which routes are best and omg you HAVE to unlock this part and omg sorry she got off track um she THINKS what you do here is... Wait hang on that got changed in the update let me just....

Undyne just tells you to fight your way through everything. Get STRONGER!!! It's just the git gud diaries with little time for the other parts of the game. It's all about those combat strategies, and only the GOOD combat strategies that face danger HEAD ON! And save EVERYBODY!!! With a few guides in there on how to help certain NPCs she really loves and cherishes.

Mettaton's walkthrough is a video with so many special effects and dramatic edits that you aren't sure if it's the same game or not, but damn if the videos aren't entertaining

Papyrus's guide is very... Odd. It's... actually not even for the right game??? You don't even know what game his guide is for. The game he's describing doesn't seem to exist, or maybe you've just never heard of it. But it's not this one. Maybe he's confused. Maybe you're confused. He has contact info at the bottom though and says "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE MESSAGE ME IF YOU NEED ANY EXTRA HELP I'M ALWAYS AVAILABLE!!!!!!!!" If you do ask for advice, it always seems just a little off. Also he seems to always know what buttons you just pressed and it's a little creepy. But somehow he gets you through with the most backward and cryptic advice he can give.

Sans's walkthrough is a single .txt document that just says "later" and a URL to another document which says "do" and a link to another doc that says "later." This goes on for a while but if you continue to shuffle through docs, eventually it links you to a barebones password prompt. The answer is fartmaster, misspelled. When you unlock it and get into that site, it's just another text document with an ASCII hard hat, some lorem ipsem, and a button that plays a fart noise.

[nika-the-hunter]

The House of Mist [Ch.6]

Abandoned Industrial Sector, Pacific Northwest

+24 Days

Unfortunately, Nicole’s hunt for viable building materials and decor had turned up nothing that she could actually use. They had found more than one warehouse full of old building materials, however the issue changed into how they were going to transport the resources they found. The Ghost mentioned that if she located some sort of Jump Ship, he would be able to store items there, but she had no idea where to find something like that. Her Ghost however, had some ideas.

Nicole hoisted a plate of sheet metal and tied it to her back with a pair of salvaged straps. There were a lot of those around the area. If she was only going to be able to take one piece, it would have been the one made of the lightest material.

“Alright, which way now?” She glanced down to her helmet's internal clock. They probably had five or six hours of sunlight left.

“If my memory serves, I once saw a ship that had collided with a building across those tracks just south of us,” her Ghost chimed.

Nicole turned and started off in that direction. She could see the berm that the railroad tracks rested on top of in the distance less than a kilometer away; however she did not see any sign of a ship. “What makes you think that it still works?”

The Ghost chirped in her ear. “Well... we Ghosts are actually very good at bringing the dead back to life.”

“I would think that a ship is much more complicated than a person”

“Not entirely, in the past I’ve peeked into the inner workings of that crashed ship, and it looked far simpler than you were.”  

“If you say so, Ghost.” Nicole rolled her eyes. She crossed the tracks and saw the tail of the craft sitting in the wall of a nearby building. Old, torn tarps fluttered in the wind and were secured to the fuselage as some sort of makeshift camp; the former residents were long gone, judging by how ruined the camp was. Walking closer, her Ghost emerged from her back and flew towards the old aircraft. She stepped around a pile of bones that were buried in the dirt. The Ghost stopped momentarily near another pile of bones. “So why didn't you bring any of these back, not that I’m not grateful for the second chance.”

“Well, they didn’t have the spark that you had,” he replied. “Some were close, but I was confident that I would find the right one.”

“Hmm...” Nicole carefully stepped over a single rib cage. It was grim, but they had been dead for a very long time. “Any idea who they use to be?”

“They were soldiers, that’s all I was able to figure out; but let’s let the dead rest, and see about getting this ship running.”

One of the ship’s wings had broken off at one point, and come to rest against a toppled train car. Nicole pointed over to it. “Well isn’t that something we’re going to need? I don’t think that you can fix that.”

“Oh nonsense,” The Ghost flew into the craft’s troop bay and vanished from sight. His voice now came from her helmet again. “With all that glimmer we found, I could just make a new wing.”

Nicole shook her head, and took a cautious step back as a shimmer of light pulsed across the hull of the spacecraft. The vessel began to shake and the engine whined to some stage of life. Bits and pieces of building crumbled and bounced across the hull. “Okay, I'm really impressed.” She said

An engine activated and the vessel lifted, leveling out in the ruins. “It’s working!” The Ghost shouted. Despite the lack of a wing on the right side, the ship appeared to be functioning just fine. At Least that was what Nicole thought.

“Wait... what are those... oh... OH... oh no.” The engine burped and the entire thing shook. Her Ghost appeared out of the bay and rocketed passed her shoulder, appearing just as a blur to Nicole.

“What’s wro-” The ship dropped, falling nearly a meter back into the crash site. She did not get a chance to see it actually land before there was just a white light and a sudden bone shattering pain that engulfed her entire body. It was over in an instant.

The flames burned for hours.

Once the fires had died down enough to traverse the crater, the small Ghost ventured forth. There were bits of... well everything scattered everywhere. Hopefully he would find a large enough piece to restore his Guardian from. If not, he would just use his internal reserves, though that was supposed to be more time consuming. The craft had been fully armed when it had been shot down during the Collapse; the rigging that held the munitions to the craft had degraded over the centuries and his attempts to restore the craft only furthered the failure.

The Ghost’s eye found what it was looking for; her upper torso had been shielded by the piece of metal she had been carrying around. The light swirled forth from the machine, restoring the Guardian’s body from nothing.

Nicole took a sharp breath and looked around at the burning world around her. It had been mere seconds as far as she could tell, but everything had changed. The sun was gone, long passed beyond the curve of the Earth, and everything was ablaze. Her Ghost looked down at her, shining into her eyes with his light. She looked up at him, and blocked the light with her hand. “What the hell happened?”

He twitched slightly and turned off his light. “Well... I sort of blew you up.”

She pulled herself up off the ground and found her assault rifle still attached to her back. “What do you mean, you blew me up?”

“There were bombs... and they were volatile... and they exploded.” He chirped in an uneasy tone, “I would have warned you, but you need me to rez you.”

Nicole stuck her head and shook her helmet enough to scratch an itch on her head. “At least you can do that right...”

“Oh what-ever, you’re alive Guardian.” The Ghost swooped in and bonked her on the helmet.

Nicole laughed a bit. He was right there, she was alive and the ship was not. She climbed out of the crater and back to street level. The building and tracks she had been near were now completely gone; bits of metal rail were sticking out of a building face like arrows not too far behind her. It had been one hell of an explosion. “Well my metal plate is gone now, what do we do, just head back home empty handed?”

“Sorry, looks like we will,” he replied.

“Damn...” Nicole stretched and pushed at her chest armor which seemed to be back to its original tightness. “This stuff sucks.”  She sighed and started back towards the highway. “It seems really weak too.”

“Well it was made out of the barebones materials I had on me.” He replied.

“Any of that metal that we found good for armor?” Nicole asked.

“It did not seem like it, that was all light decorative metal. It doesn't have the strength for armor.” He orbited her head like he usually does when trying to work out a solution. “I also do not have the necessary engrams, or blueprints, for a better armor set.... though I might be able to restore and edit some of that old armor by the...ship... never mind.”

Nicole glanced back at the crater. “Yeeeaaahhh... no... Nothing survived that.”

Something dropped down from a roof not too far ahead of her and skittered across the street. Nicole caught a glimpse of what looked like a Fallen running on all six appendages, or at least four. The figure stopped in an alley shrouded in darkness. Four glowing blue eyes blinked at her.

Nicole raised her left hand, and gave a little wave at the eyes, while her right moved to the grip of her sidearm. She was a bit unsure whether or not they were friendly. “Hello?” She called out in Fallen. It was one of the first words Rykis had made sure she got right.

The Fallen emerged from the shadows, and Nicole actually recognized them. Well, recognized the armor, she hardly ever saw any without their masks. It was Jasix, the other Fallen that met with Rykis regularly. She could speak english well as far as Nicole could tell. “Guardian, Guardian, Guardian, what kind of mess have you created here?” Jasix looked towards the burning buildings behind Nicole.

Nicole coughed and pointed over at her Ghost, floating just beside her. “He did it.”

“I was just trying to restore an old ship for my Guardian here.” the Ghost said, blinking at her.

Jasix shook her head and rubbed her forehead with one of her hands. “Why, we have a very.... skilled...” She seemed to work through her words slowly, making sure she was using the right ones correctly. With what little Fallen Nicole knew, she did the same. “Skilled mechanic here at Mist. Should have gone there. She could help with your armor issue too!”

“How long have you been listening in?” Nicole was curious.

“Turned up after the explosion, Rykis was wondering where you went.” Jasix replied. “There should be transport passing soon if you want to go to Tansis tonight?”

“Transport... Tansis?” the word sounded familiar, but Nicole was just not sure.

Jasix nodded and waved for Nicole to follow. “There is a... train, I think, passing here. And Tansis is Mechanic and armorer.”

“Ah...” Nicole went to follow the Vandal, as she led her towards another set of tracks she had passed earlier in the day. “Sure, take me there.”  

“Yes, yes, this way.” Jasix found a spot nearby the tracks and pulled something off her back. It was a small tripod with a flashing light. She placed it down and aimed the light up north. She then climbed up the side of a building and perched on the roof with her rifle out.

Stepping back, Nicole was not expecting Jasix’s sudden movement. “Uh, is everything okay?” She called.

Jasix scanned the area around them. “Yes, yes, though others may have been alerted by the boom.”

“Do we really need to worry about the Devils this far west?” Nicole asked.

“Likely, no. But never know; they came all the way from the other landmass to bother us, it seems like a very small jump to come a bit farther west,” Jasix replied.

“True, I hope they’re not going to respond though, I don’t have anything to really help against that.” Nicole glanced down at the rifle in her hands. It had served her well in her first and only real engagement, but it seemed to lack power.

Jasix looked down as well. “Maybe we’ll get you something better there too.”

Nicole nodded and smiled under her helmet. That would make her feel better about being out in the middle of nowhere; maybe she could go out even further on her own in the future. Over the sound of the raging fires, she could hear a deep rumbling sound coming from the metal tracks near the platform.

She glanced down the rail and into the darkness. Other than the occasional streetlight or other intact lighting system, there was nothing she could see approaching their position.

Nicole glanced up at Jasix and the Fallen held up a set of binoculars to her four glowing eyes. “Here they come.” She looked down at Nicole with a nod.

“I don't see anything though.”

But that was when she spotted a dull red cluster of lights, further down the track. The rumble grew louder and louder; sounding deeper, but very similar to the tank from weeks ago. It was still barely discernible from the darkness when the sound suddenly changed in tone, winding down rapidly. The machine slowly glided across the rails into view.

She had seen plenty of rusted out trains while walking outside the ruins of Bellevue, but this one was not a normal train. The base of it had been one at some point in time, but the Fallen had attached the front end of one of their Spider tanks over the original engine compartment. Armored plates covered the train's cab, and a multitude of sensors had been affixed to the rooftop. It was pulling flatbed cars, too many for her to count in the dark. There was one box car directly behind the engine.

The train came to a stop just passed the light Jasix had placed, the door to the boxcar slid open and a group of Vandals spilled out in a loose formation. They swept the area, making sure it was a safe place to stop. Jasix jumped down from her rooftop and approached one of the Vandals; they spoke quickly and quietly, Jasix gestured to Nicole and the Vandal nodded.

“Come aboard, human.” The Vandal said, waving to Nicole. “We must be on our way.”

It surprised Nicole that the Vandal spoke better english that Jasix, but she hopped aboard anyway. The boxcar had seats attached all around the walls, but only a few of them were occupied. Nicole took an open seat next to Jasix as the train lurched back into motion. It rapidly began to pick up speed and head further south.

Nicole’s Ghost appeared at her side and blinked at the surroundings. “I have to say, these Fallen have done wonders getting old human technology working again.”

“Right? I think this will save me a lot of time getting around the area in the future.”

“You should ask about how far it goes,” he said.

Jasix leaned over and poked the Ghost, turning him towards her with a single finger. “I can answer that, Little Machine. Rail runs all through Mist land, we have some that is starting to head further south, but it still being restored.”

“Hmm, interesting... Can you answer a few more questions?” He asked, sort of hovering towards Jasix. “How did you combine the spider walker and the engine?”

Nicole watched her Ghost and Jasix float away towards the forward door and out of the car, leaving her with seven other Fallen sitting on the wall. On one hand, Nicole was glad her Ghost was talking to the Fallen on his own, but on the other, he just floated away without saying anything. She frowned but remained seated.

The train rumbled south for nearly half an hour. They did not make any more stops after she had come aboard. Jasix and her Ghost had been gone the entire time; Nicole was starting to think that maybe they had left her on the train; in a joking manner of course.

Nicole suddenly felt the tug of deceleration as Jasix and her Ghost returned from the engine and she took her seat. “Enjoy your time alone?” She asked the little machine as it came to her side.

“Only now that I have you to come back to, Guardian, yes.” He replied. That made her smile a bit, and she opened her palm for her Ghost to land. He settled down and vanished into a flash of particles, going somewhere in her armor. “Looks like we are arriving, let’s see what Tansis has to offer.” As the train came to a stop, one of the Vandals opened the sliding door and Nicole hopped out of the train car. Jasix lead the way off the platform and towards a group of buildings that were outlined by a cluster of flickering lights. A Fallen Captain stepped out from a doorway, ducking on their way out. He walked over to Nicole and Jasix, greeting them in the Fallen language. Nicole’s rough understanding of the language let her pick up some of the conversation. “What can we help you with, Vandal Jasix?” the Captain asked. Jasix bowed her head, “We are here to see Baroness Tansis to provide armor for the Guardian.” “Hmm, that would be a problem right now. Tansis is asleep, she and her crew have been hard at work bringing our reserve vehicles online,” the Captain motioned for them to follow him. “I will let her know you visited in the morning. We can provide accommodations, follow.”

Nicole glanced across the runway; the formerly uninterrupted concrete apron was broken up by centuries of cracks and plant growth. Large clumps of grass dotted the area, only dimly illuminated by the flickering light poles that dotted the area. She could see the outlines of aircraft resting at odd angles; surely they were long gone in terms of operational status.

The Fallen lead her into a short structure with small windows. The old lettering over the doorway denoted the building as one of the bases barracks buildings. There were the spotted tarps that the Fallen liked to use scattered all over the building, covering holes and broken windows. This seemed to be one of the only non-hangar buildings in the area that was still relatively intact.

She walked in and could hear the chattering of unseen Fallen elsewhere in the building. There were strange rounded chairs around the first room with similarly styled platforms that she interpreted as beds nearby.

Their escort spoke and Jasix translated for Nicole. “There is an open room for you just down this hall. He says that you can pick any bed, the room is not in use right now.”

“Oh, thank you,” Nicole replied, using her limited understanding of their language.

“You speak Eliksni?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Just a little,” she shook her head and returned to English for Jasix to translate. “Not enough to hold a good conversation yet.”

“Ah, I understand,” he replied and said something else that she did not know the words for.

“He says that the kitchen has a working... war... um... Ah, water pump and food in the store room. It’s upstairs.” Jasix nodded in an affirming motion.

The Vandal gave a small sudden nod and left the two of them in the hallway.

“I will be going as well, Guardian. The day is just beginning for me.” Jasix adjusted the strap of her rifle and drew a hood over the top of her head. “Tansis knows your language better than I; just let her know what you need.”

“How will I tell who she is?”

“She stands out from others here. Just ask for her. Have a good rest, and may the Great Machine bless you.” And she just jumped out of an open window, disappearing into the night.

“Well that was an interesting exit,” her Ghost piped up from her helmet speakers.

“There was a door, just down the hall.”

“Fallen, what can you do, huh?”

Nicole walked to the end of the hall and into the open room and glanced around. There were plenty of the Fallen styled beds with folded fabric sitting on them. She removed her helmet and took in the air, and found it surprising that the smell of mildew that she had become accustomed to in her tower was absent. Picking a blanket off a bed, she brought it to her face and smelled it. It was fresh, clean; there was some sweet scent there that Nicole could not place.

Her Ghost appeared in the air around her and took a look around the room. He flew through a door in the back, and she could see the light of his eye flashing about in there. “It looks like their shower room should work. You should take one while you’re here.”

Nicole nodded; she had never taken a shower or heard the word used before, yet she understood what it was. It had been a few weeks since she had been brought back, so it was probably a good idea.

She unclasped her thin armored chest plate and stripped down out of the padded bodysuit. There was not a smell, which was something she was surprised by. Though it made sense, her Ghost had rezzed her less than twelve hours ago. That probably refreshed her. Nicole would still take the shower; this was probably her only chance with working water.

The floor was cold, but clean; it looked like it had been cleaned recently. She turned a pair of knobs and there was a groaning sound from the walls. After a few moments, water sputtered from an overhead nozzle. Nicole stepped beneath the flow and let the hot water rain down upon her. It was really a great feeling, like sitting on the tank in the snow. She was calm and relaxed again.

Her Ghost flew into the shower room. “Don’t forget to use soap.”

“What soap?”

“I think that might be some.” The Ghost flew towards a canister on a shelf.

Nicole grabbed the canister and twisted the lid off, and then took a scoop of the paste. It was gritty and slick, almost like it had tiny bits of stone. It was all she had, so she used the soap. Once she was finished, she turned off the water and glanced around the room.  “So... what do I use to dry off?”

“Oh... I don’t know.”  Her Ghost scanned the space. “That appears to be an issue.”

It seemed that there were no towels in the shower room or in her view back out in the bunk room. She resorted to just shaking the water off of her skin and stealing a blanket from one of the empty beds. The blanket was rough, but acted well enough as a substitute towel. “Next time, we make sure I have one before.” “Sure thing, I’ll mark that down for later.” the Ghost blinked. Nicole rolled her eyes and sat down into her chosen bed; it was much more comfortable than her old flat mattress in her tower, perhaps she could get one in the future. That was something to talk to Rykis about when she got back.

It felt weird to be out of her armor, nothing except for the blanket to protect her. She felt vulnerable, and of course, naked. She had slept in that armored bodysuit for the last three weeks, it was all she knew. But the comfort she felt and the warmth of an actual blanket; that far outweighed any concern she had.

Nicole slept so well, she did not hear the rustling in the room that morning.