#He's been telling me a bunch of random facts about Star Trek too it's so sweet

[melonthesprigatito]

Been having a wonderfully wholesome family bonding opportunity this week

[simonfarnabyslegs]

What would the ghosts’ reaction if their was a history fair at button house and there are so many people in period costumes from their time period?

robin

- fucking with whatever technology people have set up (lamps, fans, food truck heating mechanisms, etc.)

- ends up hanging out around some wwi and wwii reenactors outside until the cap finds his way to that group and makes it about war instead of just bros being dudes

- if anyone's brought any dogs he's probably gonna go hang out with a dog or two outside as well (there's always at least one dog at any kind of historical event, i've found. i don't know why. but every time i go to a living history museum or a festival, there are dogs. which i love.)

humphrey

- someone put this man's head on his body because he deserves to witness more than just the shoes!!!

- he really seems to me like someone who appreciates fashion (probably because of his spiel about shoes, and the fact that he's a very well dressed tudor gentleman), so he'd enjoy seeing all the different clothes and hairstyles from all the different periods.

- watches people doing a wine tasting under a big tent. sniffs all the glasses offered by the attendants for attendees to drink, just to see what they smell like or if he can even smell them. makes a lot of comments about the wines like some kind of connoisseur before admitting at some point before leaving the tent that he knows nothing about wine whatsoever.

- walks past the tudor booths and wonders why nobody's eating the peacock (some wealthy people in the tudor era ate whole peacocks and had them sitting on the table looking very much like they did when they were alive), until someone knocks it over and he learns it's just a decoration and it's made of styrofoam. then his reaction's probably just a, "oh! huh. weird."

mary

- sees someone outside dressed in a brightly coloured jester's outfit breathing fire or juggling or doing some kind of contortionist act and deems it witchcraft

- checks out what's going on in the kitchen or in the food trucks and is impressed but confused by the technology and increased speed and efficiency of food preparation, as well as by all the dishes she isn't familiar with.

- watches a group of school children in costumes or festival t-shirts learn how to weave baskets, then excitedly follows their class to a tapestry making demonstration on a reconstructed loom.

kitty

- hangs out with humphrey in the wine tasting area and listens to his commentary, smiling and nodding. he finally admits he doesn't know anything about wine and she just goes, "oh."

- picks one handsome man to fixate on and talk about how handsome he is the whole time, but then spends most of her time complimenting alison on the dress she wore for the event or oohing and ahing at a bunch of other ladies' dresses.

- spends some time making up her own little songs set to the music played by the chamber orchestra.

thomas

- sees a woman he says looks like isabelle (she in fact looks nothing like isabelle, but she is pretty) in a regency lady's dress and follows her acting all dramatically depressed the whole time because she can neither see nor hear him. yet another beautiful woman who cannot return his affection. *siiiiiiigh*

- spots two people in star trek costumes and is Very Confused. alison explains to him that it's a thing. at every historical festival or ren faire there's always at least one small group of star trek cosplayers. they think it's funny. it kind of is. he's not amused.

- listens to the chamber orchestra inside playing a soft, sad song and tries to make it into some dramatic, poetic, brooding moment, but is thwarted by the ghigeon (ghost pigeon) flying past him too quickly, which makes him scream.

fanny

- sees a woman wearing a regency dandy's outfit, or a woman in medieval armour and is quite offended, but manages to keep it down to a disgusted look and an "i never!" whilst the captain or humphrey or pat or somebody walk past like, "oh i thought she looked nice. and she looks like she's having a great time :)"

- sees some victorian and edwardian ladies having lunch and LOSES IT at their posture/the way they're eating.

- develops an intense and hella awkward crush on some random visitor dude in a victorian suit

the captain

- spends approximately five minutes with the soldiers before determining they're NOTHING like soldiers. gets quite offended, and leaves.

- ogles some strong looking men down by the lake who are offering leisurely afternoon boat rides.

- develops a crush on the same random victorian fair attendee as fanny

pat

- stares longingly at all the food, knowing he'll never get to try it. then sees something that grosses him out (probably from one of the tudor booths) and decides maybe it's not so depressing after all that he can't try the food.

- watches the group of school children learning to weave baskets with mary, and offers some tips even though he knows they can't hear him.

- finds his way over to where the cap is watching the men rowing their boats on the lake (cue the captain acting very suspicious at having been caught staring at these strong handsome men on their boats) and reminisces about how he used to teach the scouts how to paddle canoes and one year held a race to see which team could row across the lake the fastest. the captain tells him that on their days off his troops used to do something similar.

julian

- ogling ladies, obviously. trying to guess who's wearing bum rolls or bustles and who isn't (jokes on him, most of them are wearing some form of backside padding).

- peeks into what he assumes to be dressing rooms for the booths selling historical clothing; it's actually the toilets. he still hasn't learned his lesson.

- sees people placing bets on some form of scaled down race or games of strength and gets wrapped up in that for the rest of the day.

the plague ghosts

- blissfully unaware of what's going on upstairs and outside.

- bonus points if they see alison walk downstairs to get something dressed in some kind of fancy dress and none of them even think twice.

- (crowd noise upstairs) "did you hear something?" "no." "okay. probably nothing then."

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 14 first part

(RR The Untamed Masterpost) (Canary’s Pinboard - more Masterposts) 

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Murder Turtle, Continued

Lan Wangji wakes up after a good night's sleep leaning against a rock wall, to find that his leg is no longer splinted, and his perfectly clean and unbloody headband has been put back on his head while he was sleeping.

Leaving aside the "not waking up" part of things, how, exactly, did Wei Wuxian get his headband on without mussing his hair? Did he bring a crochet hook?

Wei Wuxian gives him a sitrep and then they cozy up and have an extended conversation about the nature and history of the Tortoise of Slaughter. Wei Wuxian is interested in everything Lan Wangji has to say, and Lan Wangji talks a lot more than usual; they are completely on the same wavelength here and are enjoying swapping obscure knowledge.

Lan Wangji: My lacerated leg and I are actually super aware that it has big teeth, but thanks for the reminder.

In the course of the conversation, Wei Wuxian mentions his plan to 1. sneak into the tortoise's shell and 2. drive it out of its shell so they can attack it. 

OP did a little tortoise research and learned that the only species of turtle that can leave its shell is the Koopa Troopa.

Good news for Wei Wuxian: If you jump on its shell in the right spot, you can rack up a pile of extra lives.

Does that make the Tortoise of Slaughter a giant Koopa Troopa? Perhaps...the king of the Koopa Troopas?

I'm gonna say yes.

(More after the cut)

Let’s Go Killing

Wei Wuxian is exhilarated by the idea of fighting a giant dangerous monster with Lan Wangji. Some day Wei Wuxian will found the Nike clan, because his motto is definitely "Just do it." 

It's sweet how, in his romantic notions about chivalry and Lan Wangji, he's completely elided the original reason they were (sort of) told to venture together. 

Wei Wuxian: I'm still on the "find the Yin Iron" quest; I'm just skipping the "suppress it" part.  

Wei Wuxian weighs up their chances against Bowser and tells Lan Wangji that even if they die, it will be badass to be killed by a famous monster, so they won't have to feel embarrassed.

This is the exact moment that Lan Wangji's feelings for Wei Wuxian go from "smitten" to "gagging for it."

Lan Wangji: as soon as we get out of here I'm going to borrow a whole lot of books from Nie Huaisang

The boys come up with a plan that involves a rather long montage of collecting archery equipment and deconstructing it. This potentially-dull montage is fun to watch because they are both very, very good looking.

Artists who want to draw Wang Yibo as an elven archer, this is your episode.

Now we suddenly have, with zero explanation, telepathy. Ok, sure. It seems to work kind of like a phone conversation, in which they say specific things to each other, rather than like Cherry Magic telepathy where you can hear everything the other person is thinking. Or at least, neither of them is embarrassed, so I assume they are maintaining some mental privacy.

Club Ruohan

Same, Wen Chao, same

At some point there is a boring sequence at Club Ruohan.  Wen Ruohan doesn't know where Xue Yang is, but really wants his hunk of Yin Iron. Wen Chao thinks that WRH's 3 pieces of Yin Iron should be able to beat Xue Yang's 1 piece, but apparently he is dumb and that is not how math works. O...kay? OP does not understand this either but whatever, Wen Ruohan is boring, moving on. This scene is really just here to make us think about Yin Iron before Wei Wuxian jumps into Bowser's shell.

Bigger On The Inside

So then Wei Wuxian climbs into Bowser's shell, which is, to quote The 12th Doctor, bigger on the inside.

Bowser’s shell is the approximate size of my entire house. It is also bathed in a hellish pure red photo filter, which OP has done her best to remove for these gifs, because it gives me eye strain and it obscures Xiao Zhan's hotness.

Camera Operator: What did I do? 

Wei Wuxian wanders around inside, finding random corpses encased in slime cocoons. Tortoise, spider, xenomorph, whatever. There are also random curtain things hanging all over, and then at one point Wei Wuxian stares into the face of a corpse, and then does a jump scare response at the camera operator even though nothing particular happened. 

I imagine the corpse was supposed to open its eyes and say "killl meeee" but it got censored. He also makes about 8 other faces at the camera operator, so we get that the inside of this TARDIS-like tortoise shell (must...resist...temptation...to...say...TORDIS) is yucky.

Lan Wangji waits outside listening to Wei Wuxian telepathically complain about the smell.  He is anxiously clenching a bundle of string and an arrow, and wishing he could clench Wei Wuxian Bichen instead.

Serendipitous Yin Iron

Wei Wuxian backs his way through the TORDIS until his butt bumps into a sword that is steaming with resentful energy. That's right: Wei Wuxian is about to pull a piece of Yin Iron almost literally out of his ass.

He grabs it and is overwhelmed by its screaming resentful energy and has to let it go again.

So this is what a vibrator with 4 batteries feels like

When Bowser comes looking for him, however, he quickly decides to go for it, grabbing the sword and singing "I've Got the Power (Gonna Make You Sweat)"

Wei Wuxian plunges the sword into Bowser's lower jaw, and Bowser pulls his entire head out of his shell with Wei Wuxian attached, while leaving the rest of his body and all rational laws of physics inside the shell.

Gamera Versus the Cultivators

What follows is one of the more ridiculous action sequences in the history of the world, and I say that as someone who likes Mothra movies. 

Wei Wuxian hovers in a perfect horizontal plank while “hanging from” the sword, which is held well below the level of his torso. While Bowser spins him around. For much of the time, Bowser keeps his head still and just waves his neck around.

Lan Wangji and the camera operator do everything they possibly can to make "guy pulls on string" look interesting. 

Everybody tries really, really hard and the actors are great at pretending something is there when it isn't, but this whole sequence is just horribly conceived.

What works well, though, is the Yin energy and Wei Wuxian's wrangling of it. He starts off being frightened and overwhelmed, and looking like it's too much for him; I dont' know if they made his face puffy on purpose or if that's just what happens when you spend days hanging from the ceiling fighting an imaginary monster. But he looks slack and unwell as he grapples with the iron sword.

Which makes this moment, when he gets control of it, deliciously creepy. He uses the power of the Yin Iron to stick a bunch of pokey things into Bowser's neck.

Lan Wangji has seen him struggling and now sees him...not struggling. Which scares the piss out of him, and he moves to finish the fight as quickly as possible, slicing up his hand and breaking the string. Combined with the pokey things, this does the trick and Bowser dies while Wei Wuxian faints and falls into the water.

Do the Whumpty Whump

Lan Wangji rescues him and wakes him up, and Wei Wuxian clutches the Yin Iron sword and tells Lan Wangji that he was knocked out by the screaming of disembodied voices.

This certainly sounds like a strange and dangerous phenomenon, so Lan Wangji carefully asks him to explain everything.

Ha ha ha j/k. Lan Wangji asks him exactly nothing about the strange sword or the black smoke or his weird evil smile or his new power over pointy objects. Lan Wangji appears to have a Star Trek: TNG level of unconcern about strange phenomena happening directly under his nose. But in fact he has noticed what's up, which is why he will be instantly distressed when he sees Wei Wuxian's flute moves at the Wen Corporate Headquarters.

Wei Wuxian has a fever (stay positive test negative) and comments on Lan Wangji's being so nice to him.

Wei Wuxian: I could never have imagined Lan Er Gongzi acting this concerned about me. Lan Wangji: what else have you never imagined me doing, while we're on the subject? 

Lan Wangji transfers a stream of spiritual energy to him. Lan Wangji has so much spiritual power he can be a battery for Wei Wuxian without breaking a sweat or, like, noticing whether Wei Wuxian has a golden core or not, for that matter.

Wei Wuxian basks in the nice feeling of gigajoules for a while but then decides he's bored. So then he pouts, whines, and cajoles Lan Wangji in exactly, EXACTLY the way he whines at Jiang Yanli.  I think this, while annoying of him, is a leap forward in his relationship with Lan Wangji.

He's letting his guard down and not just allowing Lan Wangji to take care of him; he's demanding to be cared for on multiple vectors, when he asks the guy who's already busy healing him to sing to him as well.

Lan Wangji obliges, singing him the song he composed about their love cultivation journey, while Wei Wuxian (or possibly Lan Wangji) (or possibly both) has a flashback to assorted sexy interactions that they've had so far.

Wei Wuxian memorizes the song perfectly on one hearing, before passing out.

Writing Prompt: Baldur’s Gate III / Untamed Crossover AU featuring elf archer Lan Wangji

I DARE YOU

Soundtrack: 1. Everybody Dance Now by C+C Music Factory 2. Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf 

Wei Wuxian fainting tally (cumulative): 3

[overplannedbutunnamednpc]

Ecstasy: 4, 31 Legacy: 13, 22 Zephyr: 19, 26!

Ecstasy

4. Things you said instead of “I love you”

“Where’re you getting off to so quickly, darling?”

It wasn’t as if Raini had never stayed the night before. Rather, Ecstasy was hoping that it had become something of a routine. Or if it wasn’t, Ecstasy was big enough to admit that she certainly wanted it to be. Not even for the reason of morning sex - though she did have to admit that there is something very gratifying about how good a mood Raini’s in one hour after waking versus one minute after waking.

“Motherfuckers,” comes the reply, which isn’t actually very surprising.

Ecstasy lies back down, her interest in waking up waning now that she’s got no real reason to stay in bed. “What do they have you doing, then, angel?”

Raini waves her hand vaguely. “The usual. Danger for the reason of doing good.”

“Mm. Classified, huh?” Ecstasy opens her eyes to watch Raini getting dressed, and finds herself sitting up. There’s a scar on her back, angry red, the kind of thing that healing magic was only able to patch up superficially, relying on Raini’s body to do the rest of the work while it went on its merry way to help out with the other deep cuts and breaks that would also have been life-threatening.

She finds herself reaching out to touch it, only interrupted by the curtain of fabric as Raini tugs her robes over her head. Ecstasy blinks, the image of the scar curdling her good humor as Raini pops the cork on the healing potion Ecstasy has so kindly left out on the vanity, Raini taking a few sips every time she comes over to clear away the hickies Ecstasy leaves every time. She imagines that it clears some of the redness of the scar, as well, but finds that her mood is still sour about the whole thing.

Regardless, Raini is responding, in the infuriatingly blasé way that Raini can respond when something either matters a lot or not at all. “And dangerous. I’d never bring you into it. Safer that way, etcetera. Plus Lent would hate it if you interfered.”

Ecstasy has to remind herself not to pout about this. Something about “danger” and “Raini” going together has started to ruffle her feathers, and seeing the physical evidence of that when Raini was meant to be staying way back and being protected by her party -

Well. Anyway.

“You wound me, princess,” Ecstasy says, and lets Raini get her put-upon sigh out of the way before continuing, “Sure you can’t be a few minutes - well, maybe a few hours late?”

She watches Raini turn around, probably intending to give a very clear negative, but then again, Ecstasy cuts a pretty nice figure sprawled across the bed, naked with her tail flicking in something Raini doesn’t have to know is frustration at the ‘danger’ part of this situation. So as soon as there’s a flicker of considering on the wizard’s face, Ecstasy pounces.

“C’mon, cupcake. I’ll be gentle with you.”

And it gets her a scoff and an eye roll, of course.

But it also gets her a kiss before she makes her way out.

31. Things you said that you wouldn’t have if it were light out

It’s absolutely on Ecstasy, the fact that Raini’s sound asleep and she’s not. It’s not that she doesn’t want to be, it’s just that she’d gone out to piss after everything and Raini had fallen fast asleep in the two or three minutes she’d been gone.

Ecstasy unwraps the robe she’d donned to keep the crew from being alternatively intrigued or affronted by her naked body, thanks her lucky stars that she has hooves and doesn’t have to worry about putting on and taking off her boots for a trek like that, and, however illogically, doesn’t lay down yet. Instead, she sits on the edge of the bed, the slight movement making Raini stir but not bother waking up yet, and she cocks her head down at the wizard.

“Angel,” she tries, wondering.

Raini barely reacts. Hm.

Ecstasy’s already put out her lamp, so her wizard’s face is all shades of gray with her darkvision. Still, she can imagine every color that lights itself on Raini’s face usually - the pink of her cheeks, the gray-blue of her eyes, the slight glow of the arcane sometimes buzzing around her. It’s probably good that it’s dark, though, because Ecstasy doesn’t think she’d be doing this if it wasn’t.

Not sure what “this” is, exactly, but it culminates in her brushing Raini’s hair back, shushing the discontented mutter it gets her, and pulling the sheet up over her bare shoulder.

Hm.

Ecstasy rolls her eyes at herself and crosses back over to her side of the bed, pulling the sheets down and joining Raini, slotting her body against Raini’s back. Raini’s pulled herself into a ball, but she’s still expressed that she likes Ecstasy’s warmth (“So you really like how hot I am, huh?” “Would you shut up?”) so, spooning it is.

Ecstasy, even as she makes fun of herself for doing so, moves Raini’s hair out of the way and presses a kiss to the side of her head. “Sweet dreams, firefly,” she says, relishing in the lack of a response. That’s better, for her. “See you in the morning.”

And then she settles in to sleep, herself.

Legacy

13. Things you said that were important to you

It’s kind of more what she doesn’t say. The conversation is already moving on without them, but Legacy is caught, just a bit, in Frey’s gaze.

She has the sudden feeling that Frey Holt is the kind of good that makes just about everyone figure out just how bad they are.

It twists something in her stomach, and Legacy’s lips press together when Frey tells her, “Kindness is free, even to people it’s easy to be unkind to.”

GD and their new friends are talking about dinner, so Legacy doesn’t say, “Kindness is never free. Especially not to people who are unkind to you. It’s not even free to people who are.”

She doubts that Frey would agree with her, first and foremost, and more than that she doesn’t know what, exactly, her argument would be. Coming from Legacy, the argument would be rich - hypocritical, considering she’s spent part of her life lying to strangers for money. But it isn’t free. If Legacy were more inclined to be shitty towards Frey she’d probably give a jab about how Frey doesn’t even know how banks work, how should she know what’s free and what’s not?

Frey’s kindness isn’t free. She can’t really think it is. Frey’s kindness, at least the kindness that Legacy’s seen, is turning herself into the smallest dog possible because GD is scared of her, even when it’s obvious how much she likes being large and wolfish and wild. Frey’s kindness is hurricanes and lightning storms in the middle of a city, just to keep people safe, people she met only a few days prior. Less than a few, even. Frey’s kindness is sinking a spell into nothing more than a scrape. Maybe Frey means that her kindness doesn’t put someone in debt to her for it, but there’s still a sunk cost. It’s still not free.

And it’s not naivete, either, Legacy doesn’t think, because she’s seen other types of kindness, too, even just from the few people she’s interacted with so far in the city.

GD’s kindness is letting herself feel the fear when Frey transforms, just so Frey can be that dog or wolf. Sunk cost. Cardea’s kindness is sitting for an hour listening to flutes so she can make sure a criminal is at rest. Sunk cost. Wén Xuěliàng and Yáo Jìngwǎn approached a couple of people talking about murder just to put a ghost to rest, Arianell gave a protective contract to a bunch of basically-nobodies because they’d done a good job and agreed in good faith not to hurt anyone unnecessarily, Klymene granted a random wizard protection just because they’d asked. Sunk cost, sunk cost, sunk cost. None of it is free.

And that’s all to people they like. To people they have no reason to be unkind to. If Frey thinks she’s taking nothing from herself to apologize to a man who only doesn’t want her dead because his people fled in thirty seconds, she’s lying to herself, and she’s certainly lying to Legacy.

But she doesn’t say any of this. And the rest of them are already walking, talking, insisting on paying for dinner.

(More kindness. More sunk cost. Gratitude, sure, but kindness, and still - not free. Quite literally, in this case.)

Legacy wonders how much of that Frey can read off of her, as she starts walking, too, leaving Legacy a little lost.

She stomps a hoof on the ground, once, casts her eyes upward, and walks a bit faster to catch up.

22. Things you said after making a bad decision

(for my dnd party, just to be clear: bad decision is HEAVILY in quotation marks. i love party coherency and so does legacy. but also aren’t all bad party decisions (and there by definition have to be Many) precipitated by One decision, the one to BECOME a party? i rest my case.)

There’s a scream on the docks, which isn’t really a new thing because the crush of the Os Kvelya docks are always loud and there’s always someone screaming at someone else.

But this is a scream. Proper, horrified.

Much more interesting than a walk home, anyway. Legacy alters her course immediately.

She’s not the only one. None of them are city guards, or anything, but there’s three - creatures, considering one of them is a large white wolf - and a clearly distressed human woman, pale as anything and probably the reason for the screaming. The other three, wolf included, seem to have “inspecting the body” down, so Legacy focuses on the woman instead. Having a possible witness passing out on them won’t do anyone any favors.

She keeps an eye on the investigation, though. After a minute, she decides to involve herself. The woman-who-was-a-wolf gives her findings first: “He got stabbed! With a big knife. In his ribs.”

And Legacy replies, invested: “You hate to see it. Do any of you three know him? I'm assuming not.”

Considering the screaming woman is the only one who looks with any fear towards the corpse, and no one else seems to be taking time from their investigation to grieve quietly, sob loudly, or beat their chests in misdirected anger, Legacy has to assume.

It takes her on a bit of a whirlwind, too. Stabbing on a dock leads to necromancy leads to a boat to brunch then to a criminal court, and so on and so forth to a fight with a necromancer. It’s about there that Legacy realizes that she should regret this. Chalk up the whole thing as a bad decision and get back on the road after a few more days in the city.

Except.

She finds herself in a bathhouse with them later, her wounds healed, instead of bandaged like they would have been if she were alone, scrubbing grime off of her and enjoying easy conversation with the two women who aren’t deep in their own heads right now.

The bard, GD (whatever that may stand for), says, “It’s nice to be among friends, if you all would like to stick around.”

And Legacy finds herself not minding the idea. It’s only hours after they meet, with Legacy only half-trying to keep her eyes off a very pretty set of tits, and she says, “GD, I think I'd like to stick around. Those who solve a murder together stay together, etcetera.”

And that, despite what she intellectually knows, the fact that necromancers and Reveries and Asmodeus and going after them all are generally considered bad decisions - well, she’ll just see what happens. She’s got a good feeling about it nonetheless.

Zephyr

19. Things you said when nothing bigger concerned you

“Sir Gentry,” Zephyr coos, chuffing him under his chin. “Pretty boy.”

He chirps at them and blinks, and Zephyr grins. “Okay. Off the desk. I have to study and you’re not very conducive to that.”

They pick him up and set him down, turning back to the spellbook she’d used the Academy funds to buy. Before this it was a shitty three-copper notebook that she took great pains to conceal, but this is a proper spellbook, with thick pages and a pretty purple leather cover. It’s the most luxurious thing Zephyr’s ever owned, and smells a little bit like lavender.

“All I have to do is impress them,” Zephyr tells themself, though she’s not sure exactly who “they” are yet, and don’t yet know how to impress. Their innate magic is very different from the spells they’ve been able to grasp so far - where Zephyr can remember the sparkling feeling of accidentally casting dancing lights or faerie fire on herself, this is nothing of the sort.

This is memorization, more, going over and over incantation and effect and intent and theory in their mind until they have magic concentrated like a beating heart and mind together in their body, just waiting to be released.

It’s the way they’ve learned to make it work. Their professors describe something different, but Zephyr has felt the welling feeling of possibility on the tip of their tongue, and can’t imagine any other way of casting. They’re no longer casting with her joy, but they’re still casting with everything of herself she can throw into it. Today, they’re content.

They open their spellbook proper, the lines on their face hardening as they concentrate. They know how to do this, or something like this. Like they’d said, all she has to do is impress. They’ll start breathing magic.

That’s plenty impressive.

26. Things you said while lying about yourself

“Zephyranthes Mirimm,” she says, holding out her hand.

Lona Mirimm looks at her with vague distrust in her eyes. Zephyr tries not to make it seem like it matters to her.

“I’ve never heard of you,” Lona says.

Zephyr waves that off. It’s easy to rebut, that. She’s practiced it a thousand times, preparing for this. “I doubt you would have. I’m not one of the generational Mirimms like I expect you are - my parents aren’t even Rosohnans. I’m from Asarius, originally. It’s so nice to meet you!”

She gives Lona a wide smile that they hope isn’t going to be seen through, and Lona finally takes her hand, then. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

One Mirimm down, Zephyr thinks to themself. Hopefully no more to go.

They’re not sure how far their pedigree will actually stretch, though she’s sure that when she does better than good in the Academy, no one will think to check.

She looks over her shoulder as she leaves Lona, accidentally catching her gaze. Zephyr blinks, jerks her head back to the front, and focuses on the tap-click of her new heels as she hurries down the hall.

[vivypotter]

Vivy’s Harry Potter Fic Recs

I’ve had a load of people ask me for my favourite tomarry fics, so I thought I’d compile a fic rec! This will probably be updated as I think of things. However, I have a lot of favourite fics which aren’t Tomarry, so I thought I’d add a few other pairings as well. I think I’ll put up a few recs of other fandoms as well when I get ‘round to it, like Hannibal or the Hobbit (I have weird reading habits okay?) It’ll help me find them too xD.

Tom Riddle or Voldemort/Harry Potter

Consuming Shadows by Child_OTKW (WIP)

On the night of the attack, Lily managed to escape with her infant son, but at the cost of her husband’s life. Distraught and distrusting of her friends, she fled to France with Harry, to raise him away from the corruption in Britain and the rising influence of the Dark Lord. She trains him to the best of her abilities, shaping him into a dangerous, intelligent and powerful wizard.

But when Britain re-establishes the Triwizard Tournament, and Harry is forced to return to his once-home, he finds himself questioning whether he really wants to kill the Dark Lord. Voldemort finds an unexpected challenge in the child, and as his intrigue and amusement grows, so too does the desire to possess the spark in those defiant green eyes.

I feel this is genuinely one of the best Tomarry fanfics maybe ever written, and I’m sure you’ve probably read it since it’s so popular - but I thought I’d recommend it anyway! It’s not finished, but there’s enough of it to really sink your teeth into and action is properly going down right now. Harry is such an interesting character and his cat and mouse dynamic with Voldemort is so entertaining. I anxiously wait for every update!

Set the Sails (and don’t look back) by Terrific Lunacy (Complete)

1724. All Harry wanted to do was to cross the Atlantic and start his apprenticeship under one of the most renowned physicians. Tom Riddle is convinced everything floating in the seven seas belongs to him. That includes ship-wrecked, green-eyed youths. Especially if they tell him to fuck off.

This is a fic that’s really stuck with me. It’s complete (a miracle in the tomarry fandom) and there’s a fun back-and-forth between Voldemort and Harry. Our goodhearted Harry is a doctor! And for some reason, I’ve been really into Pirate AUs recently.

A Thousand Paths Among The Stars by haplesshippo (Complete)

Harry Potter, newly appointed Captain of the Marauder and son of the famous Captain James Potter, was falling apart at the seams. His crew didn’t respect him, he was lost in the empty expanse of space, nightmares plagued his sleep, and his Commander deserved the Captain position more than he did. Good thing multiple attempts on his life and a vicious warlord after his head was all it took to turn it all around.

Alternatively, that space fic in which Harry Potter almost dies too many times, Tom Riddle slowly becomes the most smitten fool on the ship, and the rest of the crew are all just a bunch of assholes with popcorn watching the show. And exploding ships, don't forget the exploding ships.

Another pirate AU, kind of! But this one is in space! And it’s actually more of a Star Trek AU. Okay, it’s not really a pirate AU but I wanted to keep the theme going. This is such a freaking good fic- the relationship between Tom and Harry is very unusual (not as combative as the last two fics) and there are some nice twists, as well as combination of HP lore and what I assume is Star Trek (I’ve never seen it okay). And the extended cast is excellent. I fully recommend!

The Dragon's Mate by Strange_Soulmates (Complete fics but WIP series)

Harry Potter has recently escaped from his dragon-guarded tower. So has his fellow prisoner - the dragon who was enchanted to guard him. Harry's friend is missing, however, and so he sets off to assure himself of his well-being before he finds the person responsible for imprisoning them both. Accompanied by a stranger with a familiar name, Harry finds himself with more questions than answers as he slowly learns about the customs of dragons and the history of the dragon he befriended, the fearsome Voldemort.

I really love pretty much all of Strange_Soulmates’ fics, but this is definitely my favourite (and maybe the only complete one? Don’t quote me on that.) The characters are so well done, and although I love the first fic a little more than the second, they are both excellent reads! Dragons and wizards? Yes, please!

Everything's Fine in the Beast Division by Merrinpippy (Complete)

Harry's lifelong ambition is to become an auror, but as his knowledge of Dangerous Beasts is somewhat lacking, Newt Scamander agrees to take him on as an apprentice. Contrary to the Weasley twins' predictions that Harry would die of boredom, Harry finds his time at the Ministry very interesting, and befriending the very attractive Tom Riddle doesn't hurt at all- in fact, quite the opposite.

This is such a fantastic fanfiction, and a crossover with Fantastic Beasts (a franchise I can’t stand but that’s a conversation for another time). It manages to be fluffy without going OOC which is difficult for tomarry fics, and the supporting cast are adorable!

To Be Set Free by Merrinpippy

Harry Potter, raised and abused by the Dursleys ever since his parents died, lives in the cupboard under the stairs. He has no friends or family who love him and his life is dull until one day a letter arrives arrives for him, written in green ink, that promises freedom. Sounds familiar, right?

King Thomas Riddle's illness combined with his political paranoia pushes him to arrange three royal balls, after which his son, Prince Tom Riddle, must choose a guest to marry, thereby securing the kingdom's future and solidifying their strength in the eyes of their allies/enemies. Tom is convinced that he will be able to defy his father and choose no-one, or at least he is until at the first ball he meets an attractive stranger with dark hair and glasses who won't tell anyone his name...

This is also excellent, and I love a good Fairytale AU. Merrinpippy has some really good stuff. I love all of it!

As Clichéd as Clichés Go by thecrimsonmonarch (One-shot)

Harry Potter wasn't known for his social skills, mainly because they were practically non-existent.

This is a bit random but very fun. Harry is a fucking dork. That’s all there is to say. A thoroughly amusing Lawyer AU.

Lily and the Art of Being Sisyphus by The Carnivorous Muffin (WIP)

As the unwitting personification of Death, reality exists to Lily through the veil of a backstage curtain, a transient stage show performed by actors who take their roles only too seriously. But as the Girl-Who-Lived, Lily's role to play is the most important of all, and come hell or high water play it she will, regardless of how awful Wizard Lenin seems to think she is at her job.

This is a still-uploading fanfic and one of my faves. It’s not for everyone- it’s a fem!Harry and she’s so different that she’s really an OC to be honest, and the story is slightly complicated. This is certainly not a fic to go for if you want IC characters. But I really love the writing and the ideas and it’s basically a new, fascinating universe. And even if they’re not IC, I love the characters all dearly. The Carnivorous Muffin is certainly an extremely talented writer- all of her stuff is excellent.

Little Bits by lordmarvoloriddle

Inspired by Cinderella. Only there's no prince and surely no one is singing about their feelings and Harry's life could be a lot worse than having three step-brothers and a father who didn't liked him. He's going to be proven right.

This is such a bloody creepy fic and so so good. The ending is a complete twist and you should definitely read it!

Drarry

Draw a Line from Your Heart to Mine by CreateImagineWrite (Complete)

Being Harry Potter's best friend isn't always fame and beating off raving fans. It's also the anxiety of hearing your best mate's been cursed by another Dark Lord, or love potioned by some crazy woman. Or having his boyfriend you knew nothing about turn up on the Burrow's doorstep.

This is a bit of a random inclusion, but I was just reading this and it is SO GOOD. Perhaps a bit cliched in places, but Ron Weasley’s inner monologue makes up for it.

Turn by Saras_Girl

One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.

This is an also an excellent fic that I read bloody ages ago and has apparently stuck with me. There’s this whole Harry going into an alternate dimension where he’s married to Draco Malfoy plot, but the really beautiful thing is Harry exploring his dissatisfaction with his life- through carpentry! I know it sounds like a crack fic, but it’s not- it’s a gorgeously written fic.

Away Childish Things by lettered

Harry gets de-aged. Malfoy has to help him.

This does the ‘Harry was abused’ revelation so well and really interestingly explores both Harry and Draco’s childhood. The overarching plot is also excellently done, which can’t always be said for character-focused fics!

Jily

#Jily by Chie (Chierafied) (One-shot)

Twitter seemed awash with the hashtag Jily. Lily blinked at in confusion, until she realised it was one of those silly couple monikers people had bestowed on her and Potter. …Though there was a small dissenting crowd following a tweet from Potter’s bandmate Sirius Black: Jily? Hah! More like LAMES.

This is such a fucking cute one-shot. I love social media AUs (if you find any, send them my way), so I loved this!

The Rise and Fall of the Extraordinary Jilysanschilly: Including Excerpts of their Best Collected Works by elanev91 (One-shot)

James Potter and Lily Evans are both wildly successful YouTubers and Sirius cannot believe that people ship them enough to write erotic fanfiction about them. 

You might be picking up on my love of modern Jily AUs. This is so cute, Sirius is weirdly IC as he gets caught up in a smut addiction and James and Lily don’t hate each other from the beginning so that’s fun. A very sweet YouTuber AU.

Hit the Like Button by elixirsoflife (One-shot)

YouTube star James Potter is living it up at uni: filming videos, getting drunk and professing his love for aspiring singer Lily Evans to anyone who'll listen.

It’s another modern AU, but this time, Lily is a famous singer! This was fucking adorable, enough said.

The White Album by cgner (Complete)

James poses as an advice charm in Lily's diary. He's really got to start thinking through his shenanigans.

This is the strangest mix of angst and fluff that I’ve ever read, but it really, really works. It’s also kind of a crossover, as it’s written by the co-author of:

Haggis from Algernon by Rude Gus (Complete)

The fic about nothing.

Everything written by both Rude Gus and cgner is brilliant (not a surprise as they’re almost the same person), but Haggis really is a classic. And check out their Bachelor AU fic! It’s surprisingly brilliant.

Gen and Misc

Kid by Anonymous (Completed)

A Potion's "accident" turns Harry into an eight year old. Draco Malfoy begins planning his kidnapping/conversion to the Dark Side. But Harry's a passive-aggressive, revenge-obsessed little bastard. Maybe Draco will wait on that whole Dark Lord thing… 

Such a cute fic! A really nice character study of Draco and cute kid Harry is always a bonus. I’m not usually a Draco Malfoy fan, but this is a great fic.

Harveste by kyaru-chan (Complete fics but WIP series - probs abandoned)

He's done it. He's just five years old, but he's finally done it. The Dursleys are gone. And now he's with a new family who seems just as twisted as he is. How strange.

This is a really weird fic series. It’s actually an Addams family AU? Harry kills the Dursleys and gets adopted by the Addams family, and then there’s a separate fic for each HP book up to Half-Blood Prince, where I think they stopped. It definitely still worth a read though. Harry is certainly not IC but it’s a fascinating combination of the two universes with all the quirky Addams family humour. It’s certainly a bit of a crack fic to read when you’re down.

Sarcasm and Slytherin by sunmoonandstars (Complete stories but WIP series)

After ten years of misery with the Dursleys, Harry Potter learns that he has magic. Except, in this story, it's not a surprise-the only surprise is that there are others like him. Including his twin brother, Julian Potter, the savior of the Wizarding world.

This isn't the Harry you think you know.

This is WBWL kind of story (although we don’t know if Harry actually is the BWL yet. Harry is a really interesting character and his relationship with his family- especially Jules - is very well developed and nuanced. Harry’s friendships and the authors interpretation of Slytherin house is also a new twist on old tropes- it feels very fresh! I’m eagerly waiting for updates!

So there it is. Just some of my HP faves. I’m considering doing one for Hannibal, Yuri on Ice, The Hobbit, Labyrinth (my tastes are so weird) etc, so let me know if you’re interested!

[alpha-centari27]

If you’re unhappy with The Rise of Skywalker, and hoping that the holy grail of the #AbramsCut will make you feel vindicated, here’s some relevant news: The Abrams Cut is probably bullshit, but there might be yet another Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly script for Episode IX, that could be the answer to everyone’s unrealized Star Wars dreams.

According to writer and Hollywood insider Robert Meyer Burnett, at least one version of Trevorrow’s unfilmed Episode IX was called Duel of the Fates, and, even if you loved Rise of Skywalker, this leaked script sounds pretty incredible. On Monday, Burnett dropped a lengthy description of the unfilmed, alternate Episode IXon YouTube, and the details are compelling.

The trouble is of course, in determining the validity of the script Burnett claims to have read. Published on his YouTube channel, “Robservations,” Burnett talks for about 18-minutes about his background before getting into the nitty-gritty of the alleged Duel of the Fates script. Presumably, Burnett is making it clear that he’s been in and around Hollywood for a long time, and it’s not that weird to get your hands on an unfilmed script.

“Everything is gettable,” he claims, pointing out that after a movie is actually made, the interest in unfilmed versions of the movies is less important to the general public. Historically, he has a point, but relative to Star Wars, there’s obviously a huge interest (particularly now). Burnett also goes out of his way to sort of obscure how he got ahold of this supposed early Trevorrow draft of Episode IX, and even “jokes” at several points that “maybe I made this all up.”

On paper, the fact that Burnett cops to maybe inventing the script could scan as an admission that the whole thing is fake. But, the problem is, Burnett’s background indicates he has no reason to lie. Unlike full-time leakers like Jason Ward or infamous fake-Star-Wars-news guy, Mike Zeroh; Robert Meyer Burnett is a legit filmmaker who’s worked in Hollywood as a director for a long, long time. Along with Mark Altman, he co-wrote and directed the 1999 film Free Enterprise; a romantic comedy about two Star Trek fans who happen to meet William Shanter IRL. (It’s a pretty good movie!)

Burnett also is known for his work on DVD and Blu-ray special features and if you own any of the Star Trek series on Blu-ray or DVD, the chances you have at least one or two mini-documentaries produced and directed by him are pretty high. He also appears regularly on the podcast Inglorious Treksperts with Mark Altman (a huge, and respected journalist and producer of sci-fi/fantasy shows like The Librarians and Pandora). So it’s not like Burnett is a fanboy. He may be outspoken about his opinions on the directions of various franchises and has frequently tweeted out scathing viewpoints on the direction of Star Trek since its relaunch on CBS in 2017.

I don’t share Burnett’s viewpoints on Discovery, but even if he’s not everyone’s cup of Earl Grey, the reality is, he’s a guy who has worked in Hollywood for a long time and knows a thing or two about sci-fi franchises. So, the question with this Star Wars Duel of the Fates leak is: Why would he make this up and risk ruining his reputation?

Inverse has reached out to Burnett for clarification on a few aspects of the Duel of the Fates script and he has yet to respond. We will update this piece when he does. But for now, here are six major differences between the alleged Duel of the Fates script and The Rise of Skywalker.

Spoilers ahead.

6. The title and crawl

First off, you can tell right away this would have been a different movie. “Duel of the Fates” obviously references the John Williams composition of the same name, which was such a big deal in Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Here’s the alternate crawl:

The iron grip of the FIRST ORDER has spread to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Only a few scattered planets remain unoccupied. Traitorous acts are punishable by death.

Determined to suffocate a growing unrest, Supreme Leader KYLO REN has silenced all communication between neighboring systems.

Led by GENERAL LEIA ORGANA, the Resistance has planned a secret mission to prevent their annihilation and forge a path to freedom…

5. Luke Skywalker’s role was much bigger

In this version of the story, the ghost of Luke Skywalker would have had an ongoing role throughout the film, and he wouldn’t just have been helping to train Rey. In this version, Luke’s ghost haunts Kylo Ren, too. In fact, Kylo Ren’s very first scene in the movie would have involved the ghost of Luke chastising him for going down the dark path. According to Burnett, Luke’s ghost says: “This is where the dark path leads; an empty tomb.”

This is pretty interesting, and clearly is a direct follow-up to Luke’s threat to Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi: “If you strike me down now, I’ll always be with you.” So, in the Duel of the Fates version, Luke takes that pretty literally, following Kylo Ren around, bugging him about being evil.

Luke also trains Rey in this script, (who is rocking a double-bladed saber from the very beginning) and even has a debate with her about the nature of the “balance of the Force.” In what seems like a meta-criticism, Rey questions Luke’s credibility in a pretty awesome exchange:

Rey: Balance? The dark suffocates the light, light extinguishes the dark. Over and over and over again. How is that balance in the Force?

Luke: I know that anger. My father had it too.

Rey: So says my master and his master before him. A thousand masters so eager to tell us how to live.

This is clearly very different than the chummy Luke and Rey we saw in The Rise of Skywalker. 

4. Palpatine is in one scene and he isn’t Rey’s grandfather

The dead speak! Only this time, it’s through a hologram. Just like in The Rise of Skywalker, Kylo Ren does return to the planet Mustafar, but it’s to get a Sith Holocron, not a “Wayfinder.” In this scene, the Emperor reveals to Kylo Ren that he had a back-up plan for Darth Vader if Luke and Vader ended-up being the last two Sith standing. In this recorded message, Palps tells Vader to go the planet Remnicore because there’s a secret Sith master hiding there named Tor Valum.

The Emperor is not alive, and Rey is not related to Palps in this version of the story. Also, the version of Mustafar that Kylo Ren hits-up is very clearly Darth Vader’s castle and not the random woodland area of the planet we got in The Rise of Skywalker.

As for Tor Valum, secret Sith Lord, it’s not explained how the existence of this new character would have been reconciled with the Sith “rule of two,” if at all. But Burnett does say the script describes Tor Valum as “7,000 years old” and “an alien of unknown origin [with] spindly, intense sinewy muscle…very Lovecraftian.” So, basically, a Sith monster.

Notably, Kylo Ren’s face would have been badly scarred by the Sith Holocron and he would have been forced to wear some kind of new mask that was partially made of Mandalorian armor.

3. Duel of the Fates would have returned to two hugely important Star Wars planets

According to Burnett, Unlike The Rise of Skywalker, the important events of Duel of the Fates would have taken place on two very pivotal and famous Star Wars planets: Coruscant and Mortis. In this version, the First Order has constructed a galaxy-ruling citadel on Coruscant, with Hux serving as Supreme Chancellor.

Thanks to Luke Skywalker’s journals, Rey discovers a “Force Beacon,” hidden deep within Coruscant, which would allow the broadcast to be sent out to all the possible allies of the Resistance. A subplot involves Rose, Finn, C-3PO, and R2-D2 heading to Courscant to “light the Beacon.” This feels like Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which is weird, but also pretty cool. It’s very clear Rose had a bigger role in this movie as well. (Burnett claims she’s a major character, but based on the summary it’s hard to see how much more dialogue she has. She certainly has more to do, though!)

Meanwhile, Kylo Ren and Rey would eventually get to the planet Mortis, where they would basically battle to try and balance the Force. At other points in the script, Luke would point out that Rey was “something new” and not related to anyone and that the “Force chose her” for a higher purpose. 

2. Kylo Ren wasn’t redeemed

Although Burnett says Luke, Yoda and Obi-Wan’s Force ghosts would try to “release Ben Solo” in one scene, they aren’t successful and it doesn’t seem like Ben gets redeemed at all. There’s also no overt romance or kiss between him and Rey. It’s also revealed at one point that although Rey’s parents were “nobodies,” that Kylo Ren is actually the one who straight-up murdered them because Snoke told him to do it. (Snoke is not a Palpatine puppet in this version either.)

It’s tough to really see how Kylo Ren would have been redeemed or become the heroic guy we saw in The Rise of Skywalker. Basically, in this version, his journey ends as a giant bummer and in total tragedy.

1. The basic ending would have been similar, but for totally different reasons

Finally, Burnett notes that the idea of “good” Stormtroopers coming to the aid of the Resistance originates in this version of the script, but also says that it’s handled a little more organically. Another subplot early in the script involves the Resistance stealing a Star Destroyer, complete with AT-ATs and TIE Fighters, and then needing an army to operate them. Apparently, the rogue Stormtroopers help fix part of this problem, but, in the end, Lando rounds-up a bunch of smugglers and that fleet of ships seems to help turn the tide against the First Order. Which, though is similar to The Rise of Skywalker, happens for seemingly very different reasons.

Unsurprisingly, the First Order still loses, but the overall conclusion and climax to Duel of the Fates still feels murky. It’s not clear if he only had part of the screenplay or just chose to summarize the ending (or if the whole thing is a hoax) but at this point, it seems like one could imagine a similar ending to The Rise of Skywalker in terms of a space battle, just happening over a decaying Coruscant instead of Exegol (which sounds way cooler).

Is any of this legit? Does it matter? Right now, we don’t know, but if any aspect of what Robert Meyer Burnett presents as Duel of the Fates was ever really under consideration to be the real Episode IX, you have to ask yourself: What happened?

Was Lucasfilm totally against Kylo Ren ending up as such an irredeemable character? Was their pressure from elsewhere to bring in Palpatine back as a legacy villain? For the most part, for all of its specific differences, the broad strokes of this story are relatively the same, at least in terms of the larger galactic politics and the eventual balance of the Force. So we’re in a situation where the Dark side was in the details, and for whatever reason, those details caused a civil war inside of the Disney empire itself.

[zippdementia]

Part 72 Alignment May Vary: The Vortexian Spires

The best laid plans...

Before tonight’s session, I had made some notes on what I intended to lead the group through. They were to go to the Vortexian Spires where the Aether Craws roosted. The spires I described in my notes as huge floating pillars, the broken remnants of a Cloud Giant’s domain, a Cloud Giant who challenged the god-like Genies and was rewarded for his avarice with the destruction of his kingdom. My notes read “He is still imprisoned underneath the Citadel of Ice and Steel and sometimes the city shakes as he rages against the walls of his prison.” Down from the spires dangle impossibly large chains that wind their way up past humungous waterfalls to the underside of the spires themselves, which are littered with the nests of the Aether Craw. A quick trek through some caves leads to the “overside” of the spires and the players’ goal.

Here’s what I believed would happen tonite... this is taken from my notes. As you read through it, note how linear it is and how everything is fairly pre-determined. I’ll talk about that in a moment...

The players, accompanied by Star, Puck, and Alyss, would start out the session already at the spires, climbing the chains. Star shows them these grapple hooks, kind of like the hookshots in Zelda games, which can fire off with pneumatic hisses and pull players across great distances if aimed right. Using these to climb the chains, the players would be attacked on the way up by a giant serpent swimming effortlessly through the sky waterfalls. It was meant to be a beatable fight, though made tricky by their precarious positioning.

They make it to the top, and see the nests, the birds swarming over the peaks like colorful adornments. Star finds the biggest bird. She is going to go for that one. She grapples off towards it and has the players follow, telling them that it will take a show of character and strength to win over their prize. A series of challenges follow to help Star tame the beast.

Once astride, the creature takes off through the mists. At this point, there is a cry below them and Star looks down to see another large bird with a strange wing. Her eyes widen. “It’s Feserania’s bird!” (see previous post for the significance of this) She says she has to catch that bird and gives the reigns over to the players, telling them they are going to have to demonstrate their strength to the Aether Craw in order to ride it. “Meet me on the tallest spire!” She then leaps off, grappling into the mists.

The players are left to handle the Aether Craw and must win contests of strength against it as it dives and spins through the air. After succeeding three times, they control the mount and tame it and make it to the highest spire to await the coming of Star. 

But she never shows and as the day wears on (between three suns, there is never night on the plane of air), the weather begins to shift. A massive storm hits and the Craw becomes agitated and demanding to flee, only controllable by a combination of three successful charm checks or strength checks.

If the Craw doesn’t flee, they are hit with a screaming gale. Puck calls out that it is an elder elemental, they must flee. Regardless, the players are attacked by three air elemental. They may be able to use the Craw creatively to escape as they are chased through the floating spires. If they succeed on all of this, they have their mount. They must name him and prepare for the race.

... are not as good as the machinations of the moment

When I first started DMing three years ago, I meticulously planned everything out. Encounters, NPC scripts, item lists, treasure lists... I rehearsed fights and memorized spell effects and ran scenarios to figure out what would happen if Tyler did this, or Morgaknight choose this attack, or Kavan targeted this guy with this move. I would spend two hours designing and stating out a fight that the players may never face.

All of this taught me things. I learned how CRs on the page translated to CRs in actual combat. I learned many spells and treasure effects. I got deep into the mechanics behind DnD 5e and feel genuinely more nerdy because of it. The best lesson I learned, however, was how NOT to prepare for Dungeons and Dragons and how that makes a game better.

Recently, I’ve been embracing this notion more and more. So when I looked over my two page of notes for the upcoming session and found them to be fairly detailed and descriptive of everything that I suspected would happen that session, I realized something needed to change. I tossed aside the notes and destroyed everything I’d written with two sentences spoken to the players at the beginning of the session:

The Vortexian spires await you. How do you want to get there?

I just handed the keys to the bus to the players. And of course what followed was a dozen times better than my original notes.

So the players decide to ask Immerstal for his help. And because I legitimately don’t know how well connected he is out here, I have the players roll for him. And they roll low. An 8, to be precise. And because of this, I have to make up some sketchy NPCs on the spot, with ulterior motives. Oh, and an airship that will actually take the players to the Spires despite the poor roll (because failed rolls are so much more interesting when they complicate instead of just blocking). I start describing the airship and Stalker (Carrick’s player) says the ship reminds him of the koopa kids from Super Mario Brothers 3.

This is how the players end up riding to the Vortexian Spires with the Koopa Kids. Only here they are a cursed Genasi family, the Minja family, cursed by a Genie for trying to trick it into giving them wishes, forced to wear this bizarre half-human, half-turtle hybrid form. It’s a little creepy, really, as some parts of them are recognizably human and the whole image just doesn’t fit together. Their leader, Otto, explains how they have fallen and how the once proud family is now a bunch of (get ready for it) “Remade Mutant Minja Turtles.”

And this is how what was planned to be a simple and quick opening to a session turns into an entire memorable session with a single roll and an offhand comment. Let’s go down the list and see what changes:

The players, accompanied by Star, Puck, and Alyss, would start out the session already at the spires, climbing the chains.  

Instead the players start on board the Minja ship, where they learn that the Minja family is trying to pay off their debt to their Genie tormentor and that they believe they can kill and harvest a bunch of body parts from the Aether Craws for a ton of gold. The players realize this and quickly make (successful) rolls and speeches to convince the Minjas to instead try and tame the Aether Craws, accept their broken nature, and find peace by bonding with the birds. In an unusually impassioned speech, Imoaza asks them “aren’t you really just looking for someone to accept you?” The Minjas are moved to tears and plan to help the players.

Star shows them these grapple hooks, kind of like the hookshots in Zelda games, which can fire off with pneumatic hisses and pull players across great distances if aimed right.

The Minjas give the players the grapple hooks and they all grapple off to the chains, pulling the airship alongside and leaving Alyss to man it. This grappling plan... it doesn’t go great. Imoaza and Aldric make it to the floating island fairly easily, but Carrick botches his chain roll and plummets down into the open abyss that is the air planet, only saved at the last minute by grabbing one of the Minjas (a silent bloke named Plato) who barley manages to hookshot the chains and pull them to safety.

Using these to climb the chains, the players would be attacked on the way up by a giant serpent swimming effortlessly through the sky waterfalls. It was meant to be a beatable fight, though made tricky by their precarious positioning.

Because Carrick is the only one climbing the chains, he and poor Plato are attacked instead by the serpent. It’s far too strong for Carrick to take on solo (and Plato isn’t much of a help, his attempt to cast powerful time stopping magic failing to do anything). The snake chases them around the chains, breathing lightning, snapping down with its mighty jaws, and trying to shove them off with its powerful coils into open air. Carrick finally chases it off when he dives inside its mouth and channels divinity from inside it, backfiring its own electrical energy down into it. It doesn’t kill it, but it flees from him, terrified by this display of power. And also by something else, growing beneath them.

It is the elder storm, brought into the scenario a lot sooner because it felt better to put it here and drive the action forward (hilariously, I tried to bring it in earlier, but all the players failed their perception rolls so badly, they failed to sense the storm building up). It begins to form a vortex around the chains beneath Carrick and he begins to climb madly, as Plato finally begins to speak to him in a long winded and almost non-sensical manner about the philosophical nature of storms: 

“The question that we face here while staring into the abyss of the storm is not so much whether we believe that the storm exists beneath us, but whether we believe the nature of the storm is to do us harm. In fact, if the storm is simply a part of nature itself and is acting according to the nature of being a storm, then if we fall into it any effect it has on us is also part of our nature, the nature of being in a storm. Therefore, we do not have to consider what happens to be harm, but rather simply us living out the expected act of being and the storm acting out its purpose in being. Of course, this all assumes that nature itself has a purpose and is not a simple random connection of events and forces.”

They see the nests, the birds swarming over the peaks like colorful adornments. Star finds the biggest bird. She is going to go for that one.

While Carrick climbs, Imoaza and Aldric climb up through the underside of the mountain to come out on its surface. Here they, the Minjas, and Star and Puck begin to try and plan a route to the birds that won’t disturb the nesting. The Minjas say they are super stealthy and good at this kind of thing and, well, earlier Imoaza failed an insight check into these guys, and so now that comes into play. She believes them, and convinces Aldric they are “the real deal.” This is followed by a hilarious botch, a literal roll of 1 on the stealth die for the Minjas as they launch into horrible, horrible action. Battle cries are made, swords are slammed loudly together, and one of the Minjas hookshots a piece of the cliffside only to realize too late he’s hookshotting one of the Aether Craws... who promptly takes off, pulling him off the island and disappearing with him helplessly dangling from his grappling tool. Bye bye, Bill.

Mass hysteria breaks out on the island. The Aether Craw are definitely disturbed by the sudden eruption of movement and noise coming from these mishapen misfortunates charging them with drawn blades and weapons. Star desperately tries to regain control of the situation while Aldric goes running for one of the smaller Aether Craw, determined to bond with it and make it his mount. Imoaza freezes herself in the Tomb of Leviticus (a very cool Warlock effect that encases her in protective damage soaking ice for a round or two) just as one of the bigger birds drops down and rends the crap out of two Minja (in a maul using all four of its taloned legs). If not for Imoaza’s spell, she would be killed too. Instead, she breaks free of the ice in time to take cover behind a large boulder and debate what to do next. Star ends up scrambling towards her and suggesting they need to calm one of the beasts and bond with it quickly, before the whole herd coordinates an attack.

She grapples off towards it and has the players follow, telling them that it will take a show of character and strength to win over their prize. A series of challenges follow to help Star tame the beast.

Once astride, the creature takes off through the mists. At this point, there is a cry below them and Star looks down to see another large bird with a strange wing. Her eyes widen. “It’s Feserania’s bird!” (see previous post for the significance of this) She says she has to catch that bird and gives the reigns over to the players, telling them they are going to have to demonstrate their strength to the Aether Craw in order to ride it. “Meet me on the tallest spire!” She then leaps off, grappling into the mists.

So a lot of this ends up happening. The challenges, Star noticing Feserania’s bird... but Star doesn’t go leaping off any spires. In fact, the players end up leading all the action, which is better. Three birds get targeted: Aldric leaps astride one and plummets with it off the edge of the mountain, wrestling to bend it to his will with his prodigious strength. Imoaza and Star try to calm Fesserania’s Craw, and the Minjas band together to try and bond with a third, led in the effort by Otto and his daughter, Virgo (who is saving up for an art college fund). 

I roll for the Minjas and... it doesn’t go well. After they lock eyes with one of the big birds, they fail to impress it and the Craw charges them, tearing them apart into bloody hunks and finally impressing upon Imoaza that, no, they weren’t stealth ninjas and, no, they weren’t prepared for this mission at all. 

I also roll for Star and roll incredibly poorly for her attempts to bond with Fesserania’s bird. Instead, it is left to Imoaza to try and make Charisma rolls to empathize with the Craw, and she succeeds incredibly (all the more impressive because of her dismally low charisma score). Star joins her on the bird, wiping away a tear. “I’m being stupid,” she explains to Imoaza. “I thought I would be the one to finally tame Fesserania’s Craw and for a moment I thought maybe by bonding with her Craw I could maybe feel her again. Be close to her. But she’s chosen you, instead. Maybe she isn’t ready to forgive me. Or maybe she’s gone, and this has nothing to do with anything. Maybe I’m too close... I’m rambling, damn.”

Imoaza doesn’t know how to react to this. Emotion isn’t her strong suit, yet in bonding with the Aether Craw she gains a flash of feeling that makes her almost heady. Bonding with an Aether Craw is hard to describe. It may be magical in nature, it’s hard to know. It takes all the elements of bonding with a horse and cranks the dial to 11. A good horse rider can feel the horse’s emotions through every movement of the horse’s body and vice versa. With an Aether Craw, the rider has this sensation, yes, and on top of that feels like they ARE the Aether Craw. Experienced riders learn to differentiate between what is the Craw’s emotions and desires and what is their own, but as this is Imoaza’s first time, she has to focus hard to maintain her usual monotone reticence.

Someone else ends up being disappointed as well, and it is also a surprise: Aldric! He fails to bond with his Aether Craw with a series of bad rolls and ends up getting thrown off it, plummeting into the open air. This is pretty angering for Aldric, who has been trying to replace a mount ever since letting his go back at the Fane of Tiamet. And it also poses a significant problem, because it’s at this moment that the players notice the storm building up beneath the mountain. And then Aldric plummets into it.

Carrick at this point asks if Plato can cast haste on him and the Minja Turtle tries, but messes it up and instead blasts him with color spray in the face, causing Carrick to drop him into the storm along with Aldric. Carrick shakes off the spell and manages to clamber up at last onto the mountain, in time to see the remaining Minjas getting torn apart by the Aether Craw. He gets targeted himself and after unsuccessfully trying to calm the Craw goes into full rage mode.

I don’t recall how much we’ve talked of Carrick’s past. At some point, he turned from the path of good and decided that dominion over others was the best way to achieve order in the world and honor his gods. During this time, Carrick wielded a quarterstaff of his own making, imbued with necrotic energy. He still carries it as a reminder of the evil he once did, and he uses it now against the Craw.

Sometimes dice rolls just seem to go along with the story. Tonite is one of those nights. The Minjas have been terrible at everything, the Craw took to Imoaza instead of Star, and now Carrick rolls two critical hits on the Aether Craw he is fighting, and in a show of violence and speed that he has never displayed to the group before, Carrick terrifies the Aether Craw he faces, tearing into it with such ferocity that it is forced to back away in fear for its life.

At this moment, Imoaza and Star land on the mountain and Imoaza calls out to Carrick, bringing him back to himself long enough to get him to join them on the bird before he retreats into himself, horrified by his loss of control. Meanwhile, the storm is approaching. The general consensus is they have to get the heck out of Dodge.

A massive storm hits and the Craw becomes agitated and demanding to flee, only controllable by a combination of three successful charm checks or strength checks.

Inside the storm, Aldric is being battered from all sides. Lightning and thunder, tempest and surging power, lift and spin and rip at Aldric. And then, suddenly, it stops and he realizes he is gripping the Rod of Storms and commanding obedience of the forces that move around him. The storm addresses him then, demanding to know of the power he wields, calling him wizard, and asking how he came to create such an item. Aldric is honest, saying that the Rod of Storms is something he inherited from an ally and he is not sure how he uses it. At this, the storm addresses him again, asking him what it is he desires with such power. Aldric’s mind is filled with the thoughts of rebuilding the Green Company, of returning to Faerun, of being a strong leader for the Company. And the storm seems to understand.

“I will join the company,” it announces in a voice made of the elements. “And together, we shall build it into something worthy of such power.”

And with that, Aldric is ejected from the tempest, the Rod of Storms suddenly seeming to make more sense to him. A piece of the Elder Tempest is in the Rod now, though that does not mean that danger has passed. A storm is a storm after all, and nature is fickle. Aldric finds he can fly for a short moment, and he directs himself towards his companions escaping from the scene of chaos on their Aether Craw (placeholder name is Cookie, because Imoaza loves cookies, as comically established in our prior session). Aldric is none too pleased to see that the snake woman has charmed an Aether Craw while he failed to do so (he fails to acknowledge the fact that he just charmed an elder tempest). Still, there are bigger matters at hand.

The final part of the session is spent escaping the storm while Aldric struggles to direct it with the Rod of Storms. It makes for a narrow escape and a fantastic end to the session, setting us up for next time’s crazy crazy race.

And the point is? The hundred post lesson...

What this session (and this post) illustrates is how a good game of Dungeons and Dragons grows organically with the story telling. It leads me to share one major piece of advice for aspiring DMs, a piece of advice that I believe in so strongly that I would say that if you take nothing else away from the hundred or so posts I’ve made, take this.

Listen to your players. 

This is the number one rule. As a DM you have the burden of being the personal screenwriter for a television series for your players. But you also have the benefit of being able to have their immediate feedback and change direction on a whim if needed. 

If your players express an interest in something, in anything, go with that. If they are enjoying a scene, keep playing with it. If they seem to be disinterested in something, mix it up and take a hard left to bring them back.

Don’t confuse this with giving the players everything they want to happen. If a die roll or a bad decision kills them or loses them the big treasure, so be it. But when running your session, don’t be afraid to let them steer the action. Again, if they steer it directly into a cliff, that’s okay. As long as they were the ones who brought it there, they won’t mind. Probably. Not too much.

If you build a dungeon room and threw in some meaningless tapestries just to fill it out (”there’s some decaying tapestries on the walls”) and suddenly one of your players is fascinated with these tapestries, convinced they hold some deeper meaning, then give the tapestries some deeper meaning. It is clues like this that tell you what experience your players want to be having. Pay attention to that, and I promise you your games will always be memorable and enjoyable.

That’s why, when my players decided to go with Immerstal, I changed the scenario to suit it. Because they were laughing and getting a kick out of the Minja Turtles, I made them an integral part of the night’s session. When Imoaza took it upon herself to try to calm Fessoriana’s bird and managed to do it, I didn’t have Star butt in and do it better. Instead she bowed to the player’s expertise and the story changed. For the better, honestly.

Listen to your players. They will tell you what they want. This goes two ways, of course. You are also trying to tell a story and have your own style and aesthetic. A good player will understand this and will be looking to plug into that more than they will be trying to fight it. That’s a bigger issue for another day, but for now, my biggest advice to you as a DM is to listen. It’s advice that took me a while to get used to, and for my first couple of years of DMing I took hours to prepare before each session. I think it’s natural to believe that as DM you need to over prepare in order to create a good experience. But trust me: let go a little bit and just see what happens when you let things be steered by your players. Even if just a bit. You’ll be surprised the places your group will go.

[voyagerafod]

Star Trek Voyager: A Fire of Devotion: Part 4 of 4: Hotter Than Hell: Chapter Twelve

Janeway struggled to her feet, still feeling dazed from when she and the others had all slammed against the wall. She was grateful that the Cyberman ship’s inertial dampeners, or whatever their equivalent was, hadn’t failed or she and the others would be so much splattered mess. She looked around. Tom had already gotten up and was frantically trying to hail Voyager, even though he had to know it was no use. Vorik was helping Gilmore to her feet, while Lydia Anderson was checking the back of Jaffen’s head for injuries.     “Report,” she said.     “We’re near Earth,” Tom said, sounding dejected. “Just not our Earth.”     “Can we contact them?” she asked. A part of her hoped that perhaps the Earth of this reality, the one where the Cybermen had originated, would have something they could use to re-open the rift just long enough to get home. At least the fact that Voyager hadn’t replied when Tom tried to contact them meant that, presumably, the rest of her crew had made it home.     Tom glared at the image of the planet on the main monitor.     “No,” he said. “I was able to tap into the satellite network. The Earth of this universe is still in the early 21st century, though unlike us they didn’t have a Eugenics War. This Earth is more advanced in their 2014 than we were in ours, but not enough to do any good. They don’t even seem to have noticed us yet near as I can tell.”

    Tears began forming in Tom’s eyes. He punched the navigation console. “Dammit, dammit, dammit!”

    Janeway wished she had the words to help Tom, but she just didn’t. He had every right to be upset after all. Being separated from people you loved by over seventy thousand light years was one thing, but now there was an entire universe and hundreds of years separating him from his wife and newborn daughter, a child he’d spent mere days with.     She looked back at the others. She could see sadness beginning to take hold over Anderson and Gilmore already. Jaffen seemed fine, if a bit dizzy. Vorik was as implacably Vulcan as usual.

    Will we forget them too? she thought. Like we forgot about the Cybermen when they came to our universe? Or is it different for us now that we’re in their realm?

    “So. What do we do now, Kathy?” Jaffen said.     Janeway took a deep breath. She felt deep down like what she was about to say was a lie, but she needed to say something to give her people hope. Her crew, anyway. Jaffen would be happy wherever they were so long as he was with her. That was something she was glad for at least.

    “The barrier between our worlds has been breached more than once,” she said. “It can be done again. I don’t know how long it will take, but we will find a way. I’ve gotten my people home before, I can do it again. Hell, if we’re lucky, it won’t take us seven years this time.” She added a smile to that last line, surprising herself at how genuine it felt. This speech was as much for her as it was for the others.     “There is a man here, a time traveler, who helped Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise defeat the Borg/Cyberman alliance ten years ago,” she said, though Tom and Jaffen already knew that part. “If we can find him, I imagine he could get us home to our universe.”     “How do we find him though?” Marla Gilmore said.     “She’s right,” Tom said, slumped in his chair. “You heard what Seven said about him. He goes all over time and space, seemingly at random, in a ship smaller than one of our class 2 shuttles.”     Janeway thought about it for a moment. Tom was right about that, but she remembered something else from that briefing; about the kind of man the time traveler was. Everyone looked at her, patiently waiting for what she would say next.     “We make an impression,” she said. “Vorik, Gilmore, let’s get this ship in the best shape we can. Tom, go over this ship’s records. I want to know where the major hubs for information and trade are in this universe.”

    “Ma’am?” Tom said.     “It’s simple. We fix this ship up, we go around looking for sentients in need, and we help them,” Janeway said, now feeling genuinely hopeful instead of just trying to project it. This plan she was formulating had so many ways it could go wrong, but it was the best she had.

    Besides, she thought, is this really that much more difficult than some of the crap we went through in our own reality?

    Vorik raised an eyebrow. “With all due respect, I fail to see how that helps us return to our reality, Captain.”

    “This time traveler,” Janeway said, “this man who simply calls himself The Doctor, has been an enemy of the Cybermen for centuries. Sooner or later, word is going to get to him about a ship belonging to one of his oldest and most dangerous enemies going around doing good in the galaxy.”

    “And if I were in his place,” Anderson said, “that sure as hell would get my attention.”     “Exactly,” Janeway said.     Jaffen walked over to Janeway and casually put an arm around her waist.     “I gotta say,” he said, smiling, “I like this plan.”     “Can’t hurt to try, I suppose,” Tom said, sighing.     Janeway looked up at the monitor. It was almost eerie how the Earth here looked just like the one she called home. She wondered for a moment if maybe it would be so bad to settle here if The Doctor never came.

    No, she thought. I’m not ready to give up yet. Either we get to go back to our home, or we die here as heroes.

---

    B’Elanna Torres cradled her daughter in her arms as she looked at the picture of Tom on the table in Admiral Paris’ home. Physical pictures weren’t the norm amongst the people of the Federation anymore, not with digital photo frames that could easily hold hundreds, even thousands of pictures instead of just one having been available to humanity even in the time before Zefram Cochrane’s first warp flight. The practice had never gone away completely though, and with the fear that the Voyager crewmembers who were trapped on the Cyberman ship when it got pulled through the rift would be forgotten an ever-present reality, they went from a mere act of sentimentality to a necessity. The new project that Admiral Paris, Reg Barclay, Lewis Zimmerman, and others had started on Jupiter Station required physical copies of photos of the lost crew, any information they had on them written down on real paper. The computer records of them were not lost completely but were spotty, incomplete, and easy to miss unless you knew what to look for. Or even that there was something to look for.

    “Thank you for letting me stay here, Admiral,” B’Elanna said.     “Please,” the Admiral said. “No need to be so formal. I’m off-duty, and you’re my daughter-in-law. Call me Owen. Besides, you don’t exactly have a place of your own right now.”

    “That’s certainly true,” B’Elanna said. “I don’t even have a ship anymore.”     Owen Paris sighed. “You heard about that, huh?”     “I figured R&D would want a look at all that Delta Quadrant tech we brought back with us,” B’Elanna said, shifting on the couch slowly so as not to jostle the baby too much. “I don’t understand why they had to hide Voyager away though.”

    “That was Nechayev’s idea,” Owen said, sighing. “She has this idea in her head that the new technologies inside Voyager would be a prime target for the Federation’s enemies. She’s not one hundred percent wrong, I’m sure the Romulans would love to have a look at that slipstream drive, even if it is burned out. But Elena is, well, Elena. Just keeping Voyager in the Sol system isn’t secure enough for her, she has to move it to one of her,” Owen groaned before completing the sentence. “Black Sites as she calls them. I don’t know if she doesn’t know the history behind that phrase or just doesn’t care.”     B’Elanna nodded. “I knew that there was a chance, even with the pardon, that I might not get to serve on Voyager again, but that doesn’t make the mental image of a bunch of Intelligence types pawing at her warp drive any easier to stomach.”     “With your credentials, record, and reputation,” Owen said, “I don’t doubt that once your maternity leave is up that you’ll be in anything less than high demand. There are a lot of captains in Starfleet who would kill to have an engineer with your skills on their team.”

    “I don’t know,” B’Elanna said. “I might just try to join the team at Jupiter trying to figure out how to get Tom back from the other universe. If I didn’t have Miral, I’d be feeling so helpless right now.”     “I can see about that,” Owen said, surprising B’Elanna who just assumed that he would be against it, perhaps arguing that she was too close, too emotionally invested. “Fact is, having people there who have more cause to care than anyone about the people we lost in that rift is probably the best way to ensure that they aren’t forgotten. If my own science training wasn’t a few years out of date since becoming an Admiral I’d be there myself.”

    “Maybe we’ll go to Jupiter together then,” B’Elanna said. “It would certainly make it easier for you to spend time with your granddaughter.”     “Speaking of,” Owen said, motioning towards Miral, “May I? I haven’t actually had the chance to hold her since you got to San Francisco.”     “Of course,” B’Elanna said.

---

    Harry Kim stood outside the airlock to the U.S.S. Delaware, reluctant to go inside. He reached into his pocket and fiddled once again with the folded up paper photo he had of his best friend, what was his name? The one who was in another universe now, or something like that. Why was it so hard for him to remember the name of his own best friend?     “You understand, Lieutenant,” Lieutenant Ayala said coming up behind him “that the ship can’t take off from starbase with you standing in the connector.”     “Right, sorry,” Harry said. “I guess it just doesn’t entirely feel real. I guess I just assumed I’d be going back to Voyager once I returned to duty.”

    “I did too,” Ayala said. “But I guess R&D had other plans. The jerks.”     Harry chuckled. “Yeah. Jerks.” He took a deep breath. “Okay, Let’s do this. At least I’ll have somebody from the old crew here. That should make it easier to adjust.”     “More than one somebody,” Ayala said. “Didn’t you hear? Todd Mulcahey and Susan Brooks got assigned to the Delaware as well.”     “I didn’t know that actually,” Harry said. “I’ll make sure to say hello after I report to the Captain.” The two men made their way through the open airlock onto the Nova-class ship. Harry had to admit it was a bit odd being on one of this class again, considering his last experience with one was the Equinox, but he didn’t want to dwell on it. He felt something in his pocket, not sure how it got there, but he figured he’d take it out later, once the Delaware was out of the Sol system.

    He went through the open airlock first, Ayala close behind. The two quickly made their way to the nearest turbolift and rode it to the bridge, only to find it almost unoccupied. The only person there was a short haired red-headed human woman. Only when she turned around and Harry saw the four pips on her collar did he realize that this was his new commanding officer, Captain Kilkenny.     “Ah,” she said, smiling. “Lieutenant Kim. Lieutenant Ayala. You’re early. I would’ve arranged for you to meet the rest of the senior staff if I’d known. Welcome aboard.”     “Captain,” Harry said, standing at attention. “I look forward to serving with you.”     “And I look forward to hearing some of your war stories,” the Captain said, practically radiating enthusiasm. “I mean, you two served aboard Voyager. You’re practically legends, and here I am, the one who’s going to be giving you orders.”     Harry blushed. He looked over at Ayala, impressed at the man’s ability to maintain his composure. Harry turned back to face the Captain, but something behind him caught his eye, something sitting on one of the arms of the captain’s chair.

Is that a plush cat? He thought.     The Captain realized he was looking at something behind her and turned around.     “Oh, I see you’ve spotted Desmond,” she said.     “Desmond?” Ayala said.

“My kitty,” Captain Kilkenny said casually, as though it should’ve been painfully obvious to him and Harry. “He’s been with me since my first assignment; the Kilimanjaro.” She sighed. “She probably would’ve been my first command if we hadn’t lost her to a Dominion sneak attack during the war. Could’ve been worse though. Out of 900 crew members 893 made it out alive.     “But enough about old war wounds,” she said, her smile suddenly coming back. “Command has cleared us for departure at 0900 hours.” She checked the PADD in her hand. “Both of your quarters are on Deck 3. Feel free to get some rest before we head out.”     “Aye, sir,” Harry said.     “Aye, Captain,” Ayala said.

---

    “A pleasure to finally meet you in person, Doctor,” Bruce Maddox said, extending his hand to The Doctor.     “Likewise, Commander,” The Doctor said, accepting the handshake offer politely.     “I was sorry to hear about what Starfleet Command decided to do with Voyager,” Maddox said. “Any plans, since you’re losing your sickbay?”

    The Doctor looked around, his gaze falling on the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance.     “Not really. I have been offered a teaching position at Starfleet Medical,” he said. “I may take it, but not this semester. Some of my Voyager crewmates have invited me to meet their families. I think they feel they owe me since I treated them during our time together, as if I ever would’ve not. I imagine their spouses, children, and what not wish to thank me for making sure their loved ones made it home. I appreciate the sentiment, but because of it I can’t help but think about all the people on Voyager I couldn’t save.”

    “I don’t think you need me to tell you even the best doctors Starfleet has can’t save everyone,” Maddox said.

    “I’m well aware of that,” The Doctor, “but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept.”

    Maddox nodded, and turned to look at the bridge as well.     “I imagine that seeing the faces of your crewmates’ families might help. It won’t make the guilt go away, unless you decide to remove it from your program. But if Commander Data can learn to live with the downsides of having emotions, I doubt you will have any problems.”

    “I suppose you’re right,” The Doctor said. “In that case I probably should go then. My first invitation just for today is meet with Lieutenant Carey and his family. Perhaps I’ll see you some other time.”     “I wouldn’t mind that,” Maddox said. “I can read the Voyager logs anytime I like, but hearing about it from someone who was there is an experience no report can properly convey. If possible, I can even arrange for you and Data to meet. He’s mentioned that he finds your story inspiring.”

    The Doctor smiled. “I would very much love to meet with him. I’ll get in touch once I know I have some time to spare, and we’ll see what we can do.”

---

    Seven of Nine pulled her robe tight around her as the air grew colder. She looked at the night sky on the Ktarian homeworld and was amazed at how many stars you could see, even this close to a major metropolitan area. She watched as off in the distance at the spaceport the ship that had brought her and her family here, the Starfleet passenger courier Lois McKendrick, took off.     Naomi was on the other side of the city, spending time with her father and his parents. Icheb had, mere months after arriving in the Alpha Quadrant, earned early entry into Starfleet Academy. Samantha had fallen asleep on a small couch in the room they were sharing while they were here, until their leave was over. Or so she’d thought until she heard Sam walk up to her. She didn’t turn to look as Sam slipped her arms around Seven’s waist and rested her chin on Seven’s shoulder.     “Trouble sleeping?” Sam said.     “Not tired yet,” Seven said. “Just... thinking.”     “Still hoping we’ll see them again?”     Seven didn’t need to ask to which ‘them’ Sam was referring.     “The barrier between the universes has been breached before,” she said. “At least twice, and that’s just what I know of. Who’s to say-”     “It’s okay, babe,” Sam said. “I think we’ll see them again too. If I know Captain Janeway as well as I think I do, she’s probably already got a plan in motion.”

    Seven chuckled. “Probably an ill-advised plan with a low probability of success.”     “Yeah, well, those have worked out for her pretty well so far,” Sam said before kissing the back of Seven’s neck. “Now, if you aren’t going to come to bed, at least close the balcony doors. Ktarian cold winds can sneak up on you. And don’t forget we’re meeting my sister tomorrow.”

    “Okay,” Seven said, watching Sam as she went back inside. Seven turned and looked up at the stars one last time before doing so herself. Even if her crewmates never did return from the other universe, even if they hadn’t survived the breach, she would make sure that they wouldn’t be forgotten.

~The End~

Dedicated to my Dad, an OG Trekkie, for introducing me to Roddenberry’s vision.

My biggest regret was that he didn’t get to see how this story ended.

[sleepinglightt]

answer all the questions you reblogged

1. selfieI have several on here, just go to the me tag on my blog :)
2. what would you name your future kids?I’m not sure, I mainly just want fur babies
3. do you miss anyone?Yes
4. what are you looking forward to?I’m looking forward to moving to going on road trips after high school
5. is there anyone who can always make you smile?My beautiful girlfriend 💖
6. is it hard for you to get over someone?Yes, it’s very hard especially if I loved them 
7. what was your life like last year?It sucked tbh, I wasn’t happy at all. 
8. have you ever cried because you were so annoyed?Yes. All the timeeeee. 
9. who did you last see in person?My grandma & grandpa
10. are you good at hiding your feelings?Very good, most people don’t know when something is wrong
11. are you listening to music right now?Yes, I’m listening to This is the day by The The (it’s a weird band name I know) 
12. what is something you want right now?I want to cuddle with my girlfriend bc I really miss her 
13. how do you feel right now?I feel pretty good, but I’m sick 
14. when was the last time someone of the opposite sex hugged you?My grandpa hugged me earlier 
15. personality descriptionI worry a lot, I love too much, and I hide my feelings a lot 
16. have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn’t?Yes yes yes
17. opinion on insecurities.I think it’s normal to be insecure, but you shouldn’t let your insecurities keep you from doing what you wanna do 
18. do you miss how things were a year ago?Not really
19. have you ever been to New York?No, I wish I could go 🙃
20. what is your favourite song at the moment?The girl by city & colour
21. age and birthday?I’m 16 and my birthday is June 8
22. description of crush.She’s gorgeous, she always knows how to make me smile, and she makes me so happy. Just being in her presence fills me with butterflies and she’s just so perfect. I could go on and on and on about her
23. fear(s)Losing people, heights, and dying
24. height5 ft 6 in. 
25. role modelRupi kuar 
26. idol(s)David Bowie for sure
27. things i hateLiars, and people that play with my feelings
28. i’ll love you if…You buy me Starbucks & take me to book stores 
29. favourite film(s)Perks of being a wallflower is my absolute favorite 
30. favourite tv show(s)I love the x files, Star Trek, breaking bad, and the walking dead
31. 3 random facts-I play guitar, ukulele, and piano-I love anything sci fi related -I have the cutest girlfriend ever 
32. are your friends mainly girls or guys?It’s kind of a mixture but mostly girls I guess
33. something you want to learnI wanna learn how to play the clarinet 
34. most embarrassing momentMy entire life is an embarrassing moment lmao 
35. favourite subjectI love science 
36. 3 dreams you want to fulfill?-getting married-visiting all of the places on my bucket list-opening my own coffee shop
37. favourite actor/actressELLEN PAGE OMG
38. favourite comedian(s)I don’t know if very many comedians? 
39. favourite sport(s)I love watching baseball 
40. favourite memoryI don’t have a specific one, I have so many good memories
41. relationship statusTaken by @dreaming-in-a-wonderland 💕
42. favourite book(s)13 reasons why, perks of being a wallflower, the monsters trilogy by Ilsa j bick, milk & honey, and the delirium series by Lauren Oliver 
43. favourite song everOh Lordy that’s a hard one. I have so many I can’t choose one 😅
44. age you get mistaken forMost people think I’m in college but I’m not 🙃
45. how you found out about your idolI’ve listened to him since I was a little kid and I love his bravery and his uniqueness 
46. what my last text message saysMy girlfriend said “that’s good” lol 
47. turn onsNeck kisses are the bEST I SWEAR
48. turn offsI haven’t really thought about it. Idk? 
49. where i want to be right nowAt a coffee shop drinking really good coffee with my girl
50. favourite picture of your idolI have no idea oml 
51. starsignI’m a Gemini 🙃
52. something i’m talented atPlaying guitar? I’m not quite sure tbh
53. 5 things that make me happy-my girlfriend-my best friends-coffee-nature-books
54. something thats worrying me at the momentComing out to my dad 
55. tumblr friendsI don’t have very many, I have a bunch of mutuals. Does that count? 
56. favourite food(s)I love Vietnamese food 
57. favourite animal(s)Deer, foxes, and cats 
58. description of my best friendI have two. One is super super tall, she has short hair, and she is super funny and sweet. The other one is about my height, he has longish hair but always wears some kind of hat, he’s always there for me and he’s a theatre kid like me, we get along very well. 
59. why i joined tumblrI had my original blog like 4 years ago and I started bc I thought it was cool, but I deleted that blog and had a couple different blogs, and then I started this one about a year ago 😊