#Kraken (vehicle)

[jet-teeth]

Custom vehicle design for the Dark Krakens. Flying-squid inspired!

[atlantis-archive]

Ready for Launch!

Written by: Deborah Barnes Published in: Disney Adventures Collector’s Issue! Atlantis: The Lost Empire Volume 11, Number 6 (pg.44-45). Publisher: Buena Vista Magazines Inc. Publication date: circa July 2001.

(continued from Guide to Atlantis, continued in Decode Atlantean)

[order of transcribed paragraphs]

Text:

Ready for Launch!

Take to the air, land and sea for a look at the awesome vehicles of Atlantis.

All Atlantean vehicles are made of materials known only in the Inner World. Each vehicle is shaped like a sea creature and looks like a stone statue when it's not in use . But when powered up by Atlantis' giant crystal, they fly like supersonic jets.

[1] Kraken If you think you see a flying squid, it's probably a Kraken. Carrying a crew of three, the Kraken's nine tentacles can grasp and crush objects just like a real squid. Plus, it can blast enemies with an energy beam.

[2] Rakuda Watch out! This jumbo-sized fish—which gets its name from its barracuda shape—can really do some damage. Carrying a crew of of five, the Rakuda glides into battle and then blasts even its largest enemies into bits with its energy-beam torpedoes.

[3] Nartak The big, lumbering Nartak takes its shape (and size) from the narwhal. Used mostly to transport troops and supplies, it carries two crew members plus as many as 25 passengers.

[4] Martag Like tiny fighter jets, Martags buzz all over the place during battle. They're small (with room for one or two rider only) and quick, as well as armed with the crystal-powered energy-beam weapon.

[5] Baylokh If Martags are like fighter jets, Baylokhs are like fighter bikes. Built for just one person, they zip in and out of tight places fast and can sneak behind enemy lines. They also look really cool, like a manta ray.

[6] Turtak The Turtak may look like a plain old sea turtle, but it carries a nasty bite. Built for major battle, the midsized attack vessel holds a crew of three to five people. It can flatten buildings with its powerful energy beam.

[7] Martak A crew of two can fight on land or in the air in the crab-shaped Martak. It can scurry across the ground and leap into the air to fly over enemies, dropping energy-beam bombs all over the place.

[8] Energize! Atlantean vehicles are driven by the same crystal that powers Atlantis.

Notes:

It didn't occur to me during the film that every single vehicle in the climax was a war-machine. Whether the hammerheaded one or the one Milo crashed were also intended as weapons are not mentioned here, though the Fandom Wiki seems to have information on them. However, as that wiki constantly discusses the events of a nonexistent third film, I'll wait to find official sources rather than repost what it says. It should be noted this article mixes up the Martag and Martak, describing the vehicle as crab-shaped while the picture is incredibly fish-like.

[follows-the-bees]

I think it's important to remember that Stede didn't necessarily want to be a pirate. It isn't why he set out to a life at sea.

He is using theatre and stories and the tale of pirates that he read to get what he really wants:

A community.

He has never fit in his entire life and he left to find it (in his own unique way.) And he does! And he changes the people around him! He receives and gives love (in all forms) and acceptance, and a queer community that allows him to grow and become his true self.

Like Pinocchio, like Ed with Blackbeard/Kraken, like so many allegories of storytelling used in this show, piracy is just a vehicle and not the endgame.

Being a pirate was never the endgame. (Which is why Stede is not leaving piracy at the end.) Community and acceptance, a life worth living, that is the end goal.

[writersundersiege]

The New Girl in Town

Race Cameron x F! Reader

Warnings; slight angst and someone missing presumed dead like John b’s dad .

Summary: All the kooks are shaking in the designer's shoes as the new girl in town moves from Malibu, California. She moves to Figure 8 with her father, who's the CEO of Surfboard Hut company, which does well selling pre-made boards and custom surfboards. All the girls want to be her friend or hate her; all the guys love her, and the adults think she's a sweet, free spirit. What may happen when the island's notorious bad boy, Rafe Cameron, can't get her out of his mind? Will she take to Rafe as he takes to her? Or will it take time to convince her there is more to him than the bad boy exterior?

The sizeable moving truck pulls up with a Land Rover and a beat-up-looking blue Jeep with a surfboard rack and multiple boards attached at the top, following in close behind. On all corners of the street, Kooks are walking their dogs, assembling, and checking the mail, all to stare at the new arrivals. Rafe is standing around shooting hoops with Kelce and Topper. Rafe hadn't paid any mind yet to all the people outside talking, too busy trying to prove the point to Topper he could still play as well as he did back in school. It is the only reason he's in the perfect place to meet, probably the most beautiful girl Rafe has ever seen.

As the vehicles come to a stop in front of the house, a girl hops out with (H/T), gorgeous tanned skin and a bright smile; as she walks to the Land Rover, she followed, stopping and talking to a man who looks exactly like her in the eyes and nose presumably her father they laugh, until a lovely looking woman; nearly captures the whole neighborhoods attention, heads turn her way with how pretty she is smiling smacking the older man on the shoulder and pulling the young carbon copy of her into her side looking at the house in front of them.

Rafe turns to Topper. “Did you know you were getting new neighborhoods? I thought the old McCaauns didn't want to sell that place since that's where they grow their stupid prize gardenias for the Charleston Garden Expo.” Topper shrugs, grabbing the basketball from Rafe's stagnant hands. “Mom said something about a meeting. Gosh, I can't even remember her name. The mom, though, said her husband owns part of a surfboard hut company with a buddy of his in California. It's called Crush Wave; it's kinda sick.” Topper pulls out his phone and pulls up their TikTok, showing you and your dad making handmade boards.

Topper pulls up a video of you making a Short Board that is blue and purple and a massive Kraken on the back that almost looks engraved in the actual wood of the board. Rafe watches as you talk and laugh, presumably at the joke your dad made behind the recording causing Topper to laugh too, but he stares at how your eyes crease, and the way you throw your head back in pure bliss.

He only looks up when he hears Kelce say with a dark look, “You're gonna have a nice view from your bedroom, Top.” As he looks up, there it is, your side bedroom window connected to the side of the house that looks right into Topper's room. Your curtain shades are open as the three boys stare up into the room, watching you, dancing around your room, organizing posters on the wall, and putting down little knickknacks and what one could only assume are memorable things from home. Your old home. Rafe watches as you open the window a little to let in a breeze, not even paying attention to the three boys ogling you through your window

In a moment, Rafe catches the lyrics of the song. You seem so consumed by you’re forgetting the whole world around you and he thinks he's heard it. Still, the only words he can catch are, “Baby, don't you see I've got everything you need?” and that line sticks with him, a plan forming in his head and a smirk on his face cause Rafe knows he's going to make you want, need, maybe even crave him but that is for later.

Suddenly, the boys are broken from their sudden stupor and infatuation, by a woman's voice. “Hey boys!” your mother smiled back at them, looking just like you in maybe five years; she doesn't look even that much older than you, which makes Rafes smirk deeper, knowing you are running in a solid gene pool. “My name is Andrea, but call me Andy, and that man over there struggling to carry his toolbox kit is my dear, sweet husband Charles.” The man struggling under the weight of a metal box called out “Charlie,” she laughed, shaking her head. “And our daughter.” she points to where you're now loudly singing a one direction song that has the boys laughing and blushing as you act like you have a microphone that is hanging in your hand and disappearing into what they assume is your closet.

“Her name is (F/N). She's 19 and just had a birthday a few weeks ago. She's our baby; her brother is 23 and at Princeton.” She smiles, watching you dancing and singing Fools Gold so loud you could’ve woke a sleeping giant; she turns to see all the boys entranced by you. She looks down and chuckles, “Would you boys mind helping us? We need help getting the dresser upstairs to that room.” The boys snap their eyes back to your mother and shake their heads while hurriedly rushing through the large white picket fence in front of your house.

As they walk in, they see a fantastic amount of items from all over the world, Maps of almost all countries all over the globe. Significant framed photos of you and your family in front of Buckingham Palace, You in front of the Eiffel Tower posing with a massive smile on your face, a tall boy who looks like you, his arm around your shoulder smiling just the same, Your family in traditional silks and gorgeous materials smiling with a beautiful woman and man she had ornate henna all down her arms and legs. Another photo with your arms over your head, standing on a waterfall, looking like an angel with the water creating a rainbow around you.

All over, there were little statues, maps, books, ship blueprints, rugs, and throws from all different kinds of cultures as the boys walked past the dining room that saw a Chabudai table set up with gorgeous adorned pillows and a large china cabinet full of different types cutlery and ornamental chinas. Rafe squints his eyes, looking at a large framed map that looks super old and says Amazonian on the bottom with more notes. Topper pipes up from one side of the large hall, picking up what looks to be a golden skull from a box. “Um, sorry, Andy, what kind of work are you into?” he says, holding the figure up and wincing as he twists it to look at it.

Andy chuckles, walking back towards the boys, grabbing the skull from him and placing it on the large bookshelf in the hallway. “I'm a history professor, and I just transferred to St. John’s Academy for boys. Do any of you go there?” she asks quizzically; all that boys can think to do is shake their heads. Suddenly, they watch the fumbling and tumbling of your dad with four boxes that cover his frame entirely. “Hey honey, I don't think (F/N)’s couch is gonna fit in that new room cause of how it used to be lofted; now it's a single floor plan, and the ceilings—oh hello.”

The boys grabbed the remaining boxes to reveal your dad's smiling face, staring back at them as he said, “And you are.” Rafe, Topper, and Kelce introduce themselves hurriedly as they set the boxes down and line up to shake your dad's hand, which they do. “Seems like their nice boys with gentlemanly manners out here in the outer banks will be a nice change for our little songbird up there…” but before your Dad can continue, your mother rounds behind the boys pushing through the kitchen saying, “Anyways, he babbles the dresser is in the garage” pushing the three through she opens the double doors to the garage so the three boys can easily fit.

They each take a side and quickly lift it up and through the house up the stairs down the hall to the first set of French doors; your mother knocks when, all of a sudden, the muffled sound of music becomes the center stage, and the bursting smell of ocean water, sandalwood, and coconut hits them in the face. Finally, when their senses returned to them, you were standing there holding the handles of the doors and the sun's yellow glow behind you and a grin from ear to ear.

Then, like a bunch of doves were let off into flight, in a soft, airy voice came your words, “Hello boys, it's mighty kind of you to help me bring my new casa into a retrograde” You laughed a small laugh that had them buckle slightly under the pressures of the weight of your dresser you pointed to the wall opposite the window they were all staring through earlier and said, “Right there would be just fine.”

At this point, Rafe looks around to see where your mother is, and it seems like she is nowhere near at all; this gives him more confidence not to make a fool of trying to talk to you. He has this weird pull for you, and he needs to know why. So far, your family may be the most remarkable group to have moved into OBX since any past gossip and any that will come, but he wants to know you.

After they place the dresser in a specific spot against a wall between the borders, you've created with tons of pictures of you and girls and guys your age, you and your brother surfing, you on a boy's shoulders messing up his curls as you look down on him laughing. He’s laughing up at you, holding you tight, more of you at almost every natural monument you can think of, like the catacombs, Everest, Mushroom forest, and more.

One picture catches Rafe's eye again; it's the curly-haired boy and you with white shirts and what looks to be yellow stripes on your shoulders; he turns to ask, “Were you a deckhand on a yacht?” you look up from the box you were going through crisscrossed on your bed and smile widely with a hint of devilishness behind your eyes. “Not just a deckhand, the lead deckhand, and that was my second 2nd; his name is Luca; we grew up together.” Rafe shakes his head slowly, looking over the boy and then at you. “Luca still around these days?” Topper and Kelce eye you both suspiciously while they are meandering, pretending to look at bookshelves and shells and things from your past on the walls.

Suddenly, the mood becomes grim, and you look down, hand coming up and thumbs running over a small ring attached to a shell necklace. “He's been presumed dead for nearly a year; he and his brother Cameron went deep sea fishing somewhere out here, actually on the coast, and they know their ship went down almost 400 km from shore. They are still gone. Nothing has been found besides this ring and a note in the black box of the boat Cameron got just in case cause—” you suddenly cut off.

You got up, holding a picture of once again the curly-haired boy. Still, he looked to be no more than 12 on one knee, and the girl standing in front of Rafe but so much younger, even brighter than he'd already seen, if that even seemed possible, with a ring pop slid on her ring finger she was no more than ten years old smiling ear to ear.

You look up with a sad smile. “The note said I told you I would get you a real ring one day, but if for some reason I am not there to give it to you, I'll be shining next to the north star, waiting for you to shine back, you know what I mean” she smiles sadly “I'm so sorry I —” You start to laugh “Rafe. Stop that.” Both of the other boys keep watching, stunned. “Luca always said that the only way we can survive as humans is by letting the world ride around us like a wave and holding fast to it, so that's what I do every day, see?” she shoved her wrist into Rafe's hand, which gently wraps his fingers around it to lift to his face to see and caligraphy type wave with a small sailboat and the words “Hold Fast” underneath he smiles and rubs his thumb over the small tattooed skin which send chills down your body

He smiles and says, “Brave the storm like the stories, huh?” Her face immediately lights up. He doesn't know a ton of history but Wheezies been obsessed with that new Percy Jackson show and watched an episode or a few with her and has learned some stuff.

You turn to wrap your hand through his interlocking fingers and drag him to your bed while you pull a big leather-bound sketchbook from under your bed. You flip a few pages to a beautiful pencil sketch of a gorgeous-looking woman holding a baby close to her face with tears trailing down to land on the baby's blanket. It's so detailed she drew and shaded the mother's tear stains on the blankets. At the very bottom, in scripture-style lettering, was “Hold Fast Perseus, Brave the storm.” you can see the swirling raging seas and the baby floating in the basket slowly and sleepily over the raging waves in the back.

He looked up to see that Topper and Kelce had slowly slipped out of the room and down back to Top’s yard and were sending him thumbs up from below in the window they were all just looking through, laughing and hitting each other as they went in Topper's back door.

He clears his throat, realizing you're still staring at him wide-eyed. He swears he can see the whole world through your eyes when finally words don't fail him saying, “This may be the prettiest thing I've ever seen,” not even breaking a moment of eye contact to reference the picture just looking at you. “ you're kind Rafe” you giggle nudging him with your shoulder when you both hear a slight knock and look up to see your brother Jason standing the hall you run and jump in his arms as he laughs and spins you around “Hey kiddo came here for the weekend to check out the place and get all moved in” he points to Rafe “already got a boyfriend I thought you said you were gonna leave the whole California surfer guy thing in the past.”

She throws her head back, laughing, and pushes his shoulder. “Jaz stops. That's Rafe. He's from OBX. He was helping Mom and just got caught up in my blabber fest.” Rafe stands to shake your brother's hand and, shaking his head, adds, “I enjoyed hearing what you were saying. I kinda like learning more history.” now he's lying through his teeth, but it makes you smile, so he smirks back. He doesn't understand why your family is compelling him to be so gentlemanly, but for a moment, he has to catch the smirk he feels from thinking of introducing himself to your brother as his future brother-in-law but thinks better of it.

After the introduction, he turns to you and says, “If you ever need to find me, I live at Tannyhill. It's not hard to miss. Just ask for me, and I'll be there.” he smiles. “ I hope to see you. Around.” You smile at him shyly, looking down and saying, “Me too,” and then you jump on your brother's back, saying, “Onward boah, we've got places to see.” he smiles and shakes his head but continues as Rafe slowly makes his way out of your house and down the steps.

He stands in your yard, watching you and your brother hop in your blue Jeep. It rumbles to life as the music blasts through your speakers so loud everyone in the whole neighborhood can hear the words from Cold Cold Cold by Cage the Elephant from your car as you jump out the top, yelling to your parents as Jason speeds off, saying “Catching some waves be home by the set love ya” you laugh throwing your head back again capturing Rafe with your whole aura.

He stands there watching you disappear, with loud music, a bubbly laugh, and a bright smile in tow with you. Kelcle and Topper walk up behind him, and Topper pats him on the shoulder. “She’ll be the death of you, that's for sure.” Rafe shrugs his hand off and stomps back to the pavement in Topper's yard and says, “Ball-in Top, let go.” Topper and Kelce laugh, shaking their heads, knowing he's already down bad as Rafe is simultaneously thinking about inviting your good Ol’ Pops and Brother to the country club for some golf and town talk to show them the outer banks; he has an excellent feeling about the new girl in town with a devilish smirk and pep in his step he starts to think.

Hey all this is my first writing I've done please let me know if you like and want more of this or something else in open to all suggestions thank you for reading this it means a lot 💕

if you would like to keep on reading:

The New Girl in Town - Masterlist

All rights belong to the owners of Netflix and the Outer Banks. I do not own any characters except the family. The fiction is simply for fun. All copyrights belong to the original owners.

[asteroidtroglodyte]

[scene: living room, day.]

Me, to me wife: Whatcha watching?

My Wife: Ruby something, Teenage Kraken, something like that.

Our Son, babbling happily: Pretty!

My Wife: He picked it

Me: Any good?

My Wife: mmmmmmm…

Me: No?

My Wife: It’s trying to be Turning Red and Luca at the same time.

Me: Oof.

My Wife: No but seriously they’re doing, like, line for line rips of scenes

Me: Is it… working?

My Wife: I guess? No. Not really.

Me: Yea I mean those 2 movies are saying radically different things-

My Wife: Exactly!

Me: -Like ok there’s some very surface overlap with them being animated films for teens about being shapeshifting “monsters” but. Like.

My Wife: For very different reasons!

Me: Exactly! The shapeshifter monster form metaphor is a vehicle for completely different arguments! I don’t see how you could hybridize them!

My Wife: Poorly is how!

Our Son: QUIET!

My Wife: sorry, bug

Me: …It is very pretty.

My Wife: Too bad it sucks

Me: Kinda makes me think of Hotel Transylvania

My Wife: You silence that slander this instant Hotel Transylvania was fun and had a plot-

Our Son: [turning around to glare at us] Quiet!

Me: sorry bug

[end scene]

[bornulhuu]

Large human vehicles made as mobile living spaces since its too dangerous to be living in one spot when there are living mountains walking around. And a friendly, young rodent kaiju Mumuju

Huge kaiju battle, these conflicts can cause natural disasters of legendary proportions.

Eatra chasing after a kraken and some enormous algal debree

[talltalesandbedtimestories]

“Let You Off With A Warning” - Beau Arlen x Reader

Part of the “Guardian of the Gulch” Series

Rating Teen

Beau Arlen x Reader (eventually)

Tags: Fluff and Flirting

Word Count: 1900

There's a new sheriff in town. And he just so happens to have parked his RV in your campgrounds. What's a park ranger to do with all that Texas charm strutting around on a fine pair of bow legs?

I'm participating in @jacklesversebingo and this part will fill my "Food as Bonding" square.

Image created in Canva (credit for photo used: ABC/Michael Moriatis)

Corey’s eyes are ready to roll right out of his eye sockets. He slumps over the counter, office phone pressed tight to his ear.

“Absolutely.” He enunciates every syllable. “Yes. I can see how that would be quite an intrusion.” Those stubby fingers snap to get your attention. 

You’re finishing up your checklist after vehicle patrol. When did fireworks become an every night of the week event for days prior to the Fourth? The annoyance can become dangerous in Black Sandy State Park. Especially when bored kids and drunk adults get it in their heads to light things on fire on campgrounds during drought conditions. You’re figuring that’s what the call’s about. Things had been relatively quiet so far that night.

You had hoped they were going to stay that way. All you wanted to do was clock out in the next five minutes, get home, and catch up on “The Bachelor” episodes filling up space on your DVR.

“We’ll have someone head over and take care of it.” Corey smiles at you.

You groan back at your Park Manager. You’re the only other someone.

~

You head to the campsite that phoned the office first. It’s a husband and wife with a large brood. They’ve got every creature comfort under the sun - or in this case, moonlight - in their parcel paradise by Hauser Lake. The Class A motorhome makes you wonder what kind of house they left behind. 

The wife is the one running her mouth at you even though the husband had called to lodge the complaint. You try to wrap your head around the noise she’s harping about and how it’s possibly bothering the four kids. All of the children are laser-focused on handheld devices. They don’t even look up when mom asks them to corroborate how annoying the sound from their neighbor is. 

If you had your way, you’d block all WiFi access in every part of Black Sandy. 

After the requisite pleasantries, you turn and trudge through the shadows to the lodger who’ll be getting a talking to. Though not the talk Mrs. Devonshire is expecting.

You adjust the cap on your head. The voice emerging from one solitary speaker is muffled and mono on your approach. The silver Airstream is curvy and sleek. A standout that manages to sparkle even in the dark.

Its owner sits in a lawn chair. He’s watching some old time western projected onto a white sheet tautly stretched between two poles.

His eyes have cottoned on to your movement seconds ago, you're sure of it. His day job requires him to be hyper aware of his surroundings at all times.

“To what do I owe the honor of a house call this late, Ranger? Raccoon invasion? Dump station on the fritz?” He stands to greet you. An open beer dangles from his fingertips.

“Nothing that exciting, Sheriff.” The Bachelor’s got nothing on this specimen. The handful of times you’ve crossed paths, you are never quite prepared to be in this man’s presence.

“I’m not on duty. Call me Beau, remember?” He grins to confirm the allowance of such informality.

You sigh. “Afraid I am on duty. And have to request a favor.”

He nods and tilts his head over to the Devonshires. “Let me guess? I’ve done something to upset Linda.”

You raise an eyebrow. “How’d you know?”

“I had her figured out as soon as she waltzed over to introduce herself bright and early this morning before I left for work.” His lids widen in emphasis. “Ten minutes of my life I’ll never get back. Is she about to release the kraken?”

You chuckle. “Just turn down the volume on your movie a smidge, please.” You pinch two fingers together. “We’ve never had a complaint about you before, so no worries. We’ll let you off with a verbal warning this time.” You grin.

He’s amused at that. “Mighty kind of ya. Well, let me do it right in front of you, so you can put it down in your incident report.” He strolls over to the speaker and dials down the knob. “Perpetrator immediately complied with the request.” He announces, a little on the loud side. “In case Linda’s watching.”

You stifle a laugh. “I’m guessing she doesn’t know you’re the Sheriff of Lewis and Clark County?”

He shakes his head. “How would she? I don’t think I got five words in this morning.” He lifts the lid of a green cooler with the toe of his cowboy boot, bends down and pulls out another beer bottle. He has a bounce in his step on his way back to you. “But, you know, I don’t reckon it would’ve even mattered. She still would’ve had Larry make the call.”

“How’d you know Larry called?”

He shrugs and offers you the beer. “Lucky guess.”

You wave a hand. “On duty, remember?”

A tip of his wrist has him checking his watch. “You getting paid time and a half? It’s almost nine.”

You smile at how well he catalogs information and smooth talks with all that easy Texas charm. By your second run-in with him he’d found out your work schedule and how important it was for you to stick to it. He even had you fess up, somehow, to your penchant for reality TV, especially shows of the love competition variety. You grab the beer and twist off the top. The beer tingles down your throat in a welcome swallow. “It’s all your fault I’m still here.”

“Well, then, let me make it up to you. Sit a spell.” Before you can register, he’s snapped open another lawn chair near his own. He presents it with a flourish.

“I guess I should hang around for a bit. Make sure you don’t get yourself in more trouble.” The chair settles into the dirt under your weight.

“Not the first time it’s been suggested I need a chaperone.” He sits alongside you.

You nod at the movie. “What’re you watching?”

He stares at you, disheartened. “Really?”

“I don’t do westerns.”

“Pale Rider. Clint Eastwood. It’s a classic.” His head shakes. “Kids today.”

You scoff. “Kid?”

“You can’t be more than 25,” he states with complete earnestness.

“You don’t need to butter me up, Beau. I already said you’d get off on a warning.”

“How about some bribery then, just to ensure nothing ends up on my permanent record.” He nudges a bowl on the tiny circular table in your direction.

It’s hard to make out the contents. You squint. Light from the projector brightens up the scene for a moment. “Oh, you found them.” You pull out a cherry and tug at the fruity flesh between your teeth to release the stem.

“I did. Saw ‘em at a farmer’s market in town. You were right. Flathead cherries are amazing.”

“Hm.” You concur and indulge in the sweetness. “So good.”

Beau snickers. “You two need some alone time?”

“So good,” you repeat. “First pick of the season reminds you of what you’ve been missing all year.”

He nods and grabs a couple for himself. “That’s what the guy at the stand was spoutin’.”

Beau Arlen has only been the sheriff for a few weeks. But you agree with the assessment that most have of him. He’s an affable and acceptable substitute while Walter Tubb recuperates. Arlen’s smart and ingratiates himself easily with everyone in the county. He knows those that keep things running in Helena by their first names already. And as you are someone that secures and protects a part of state land in the county under his jurisdiction– well, you get to share a beer and some cherries with him tonight. 

The conversation is light and dances about with no rhyme or reason.

“What’s your favorite meal to eat back home?” He asks with great interest. With an angling of his head upward, he shoots a cherry pit out of his mouth like a mini cannonball into the shadows. You think he’s intentionally aiming in the direction of the Devonshires. “Like, the kind that needs your undivided attention?”

“Easy. Grilled salmon and roasted asparagus with mashed potatoes.”

Beau takes a swig. “Found anything comparable here?”

“Not yet. Doubtful it’ll be anything close to what I could get back home in Oregon.” You course correct and try not to be too hard on the place you’ve called home for the past two years. “But, you can fish a decent dinner out on the lake.” You thumb at the water behind the trailer. “The trout and perch are tasty.”

“I haven’t gotten around to fishing in Hauser yet.” He sighs.

“Seems like every time I turn on the local news, something major is going on in the area. Most of it ain’t good.”

“Tell me about it. I thought this would be a slow drip favor of a job for a friend. I was saying to Hoyt today that a dam holding back all the crime must’ve burst as soon as I got here.”

You make a note to give Jenny Hoyt a call. You haven’t hung out with her or Cassie in a bit. It’s time to catch up and get all the details you can about the new sheriff in town. “Well, what crime has Helena committed when it comes to your favorite meal back home?”

“Oh.” Beau’s lips flap as he releases air from his lungs. “Haven’t found a good T-bone yet. Tried grilling a couple myself but I don’t know, just not the same. What I wouldn’t do for a melt in your mouth steak with some buttered corn on the cob and a baked potato topped with sour cream and chives.” He licks his lips with a far away stare.

You grin at how fond his expression is over the memory. You kind of wish he’d stare at you like that for even a second.

Some soft pops ricochet in the night air. You both sit up at the sound.

“Fireworks.” Beau states. You nod and then wait to see if anything can be seen in the distance lighting up the sky. It quiets again after some seconds. “You better get home before you can never leave,” Beau decides. You open your mouth to protest. He only shakes his head and cuts you off. “Hey, if Corey’s got something to say about it, just tell him the sheriff can pinch hit if he needs backup.”

You smile. “Not sure if that’ll fly coming from me.”

“Then you tell him to call me if he needs confirmation.” He nods and this time the smile he gives you is fond and, dare you think it, a bit flirty. “Besides, you’ve got a bachelor waiting for you at home, doncha?”

The laugh bubbles out of you. “I doubt he’ll be any better company.” You purse your lips at the confession that gave more of your thoughts away than intended.

He stills at the compliment and takes it in for a long beat. The smile that curls up is soft and sweet. “Thank you.”

“Thank you.” You rise and leave the half drunk beer on the table. 

Beau rises as well, always the gentleman. 

“Have a good night.” You hurry out the words to match your steps.

You don’t dare turn to look back at the sheriff. You can’t stop grinning like a giddy school girl.

His voice, low and warm in the summer night, draws out, “You have a good night as well.” He adds, “Ranger.”

Read Part 2 Here

[caracarahoney]

H.I.V.E. Birthday Bundle 2024:

With the best worst father with too many names, Cypher!

(And the color gold.) Buckle up folks, it's a long one!

Playlist- Not Afraid (You Should Be)

The Lab Era Mad IQs- I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME GUY.exe- Superfruit On The Run E.V.O.L.- Marina and the Diamonds Pork Soda- Glass Animals Lent- Autoheart Paranoia in B Major- The Avett Brothers Family Man Clusterhug- I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME C Sections And Railway Trestles- The Avett Brothers The Loss Paper Scars- Lovedrug Black Light- My Epic Cypher Is Born So Called Life- Three Days Grace Look Away- The Dear Hunter Me Against You- Three Days Grace Rumors- NEFFEX The Siege Absinthe- I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME Yin Yang- USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) NFWMB- Hozier All Alone Leopard- Jack Stauber Paul Newman vs. The Demons- The Avett Brothers Gone Rogue P.O.L.I.T.I.C.S.- MISSIO Wolf In Sheep's Clothing- Set It Off Bleeding White- The Avett Brothers Gone Forest Whitaker- Bad Books, etc.

Art:

I got a rabbit as my animal, which honestly fits- lots of cool symbolism there. Something, something, snares and escaping and prey animal vs predators, etc. I honestly think this man is motivated more by fear than he lets on. Fic: A Temporary Alliance (A negotiation leads to an effective, if begrudging partnership between Cypher, three girls… and a pilot in deep over his head.) Headcanons:

Extremely paranoid ever since he began working in the villain industry, and this only became exacerbated after Xiu Mei’s death. Also misanthropic and believed most people are more bad than good, though he recognized a few exceptions like his family.

Instead of a plain oval of glass, his mask was a modified helmet resembling a motorcyclist’s. Alongside gloves, it allowed him to cover every inch of skin to prevent anyone getting hair or fingerprints for DNA testing.

Had long hair ever since he entered G.L.O.V.E., as he became paranoid that someone would assassinate him while cutting it. As Wu Zhang, he cut it himself and kept it up in a high ponytail (when down, it was a little past his shoulders). After losing Xiu Mei, he didn’t keep up with caring for it as often and let it grow a few inches longer, tucking it into his helmet as Cypher and tying it up otherwise.

Wore his mask anytime he was around others during his Cypher era, including his own henchmen. If he ever needed to sleep– such as on long flights– he would sleep with it on and hold a gun the whole time.

Based his Cypher look on some of the Power Rangers-esque shows Wing would watch as a child; he would watch them with him sometimes as a form of easy bonding time.

Adored Darkdoom’s exploits and would tell Wing bedtime stories about him; took inspiration for the Kraken from Darkdoom’s vehicles.

Despised Xiu Mei at first after the Overlord incident, but acknowledged they were stuck together. Their escape from China was full of violence, running from enemies, assassination attempts, and the usual actiony antics. This is when they first learned to appreciate each other as they both saved each other a few times. 

As a husband, Mao was less physically affectionate. He showed love through gift giving, usually by making Xiu Mei small robots or trinkets or buying her nice things. He was very aloof as a person in general, so she valued being one of the few people he would willingly be close to. They enjoyed having movie or tv nights at home more than any other kind of date, which they’d usually end with a cuddle on the couch.

As a father, he was distant, but hardworking and comparatively loving. He knew from his teen years that he wasn’t cut out for family life, but did his best once avoiding it was no longer an option. He preferred to do the “maintenance work” of the family (house work, handling paperwork, planning stuff, etc) behind the scenes while his wife handled the face-to-face parenting. After Xiu Mei’s death, he was emotionally negligent and occasionally verbally abusive whenever he and Wing would argue, but never lashed out physically. He feared how angry he could be as he grieved and would separate himself early to avoid outbursts, but the absences only made things worse.

After Xiu Mei’s death and a small depressive period, vengeance became his primary goal and he began training himself in combat. This is where some of his absences in Wing’s life came from and where Wing’s early fitness started, as he tried a few times to work out with his father to bond with him. Considering that Wu was always very upset when doing so, it never worked out. Cypher was roughly at Nero’s level in combat by the end and had some training with most weapons; he’s not a boxer and wouldn’t do well in a fist fight, but if he was armed or given the chance to strategize, he could be very dangerous.

Did not build his criminal empire from the ground up– he instead infiltrated and worked under another villain for a year or two before assassinating him and stealing his holdings, using a few robots he’d made to bolster his defenses until he was powerful enough to use his reputation.

Genuinely believed Nero stole Wing for hostage purposes, as he received a letter that appeared to be written by him threatening Wing after his disappearance. In reality, this letter was crafted and sent by Overlord to encourage Nero and Cypher to go to war.

Needed glasses or contacts; his vision wasn’t horrible and he could function without them, but he was prone to bad migraines without them. As Wu Zhang, he preferred contacts, but switched to glasses as Mao Fanchu. During his time at H.I.V.E., he would become very uncooperative if not provided with glasses and an occasional exam. Also had high blood pressure and other chronic stress issues, but knew how to manage them. 

After the fall, he had to do daily physical therapy. Nero ensured he had equipment to do so (which was stored under his bed), but he struggled with chronic pain for the rest of his life. Also occasionally had chronic pain from Overlord’s blast, but this was less frequent. One of the closest relationships to amicable he had as Cypher did come from this though, as he developed an acquaintanceship with Dr. Scott.

After Overlord, he was a brontophobe (feared lightning in particular) and had a strong distaste for the color red despite using it as one of his cardinal colors. Also feared A.I.s and almost threw up at the sight of H.I.V.E.mind in Rogue.

Resented most supervillains’ “they’re disposable” attitude towards their technicians or low-ranking staff, especially as Cypher. He also preferred to avoid killing enemies’ staff, but did so to fit in and get closer to Number One, seeing it as genuinely necessary in his mission to save the world. 

And finally, Prompts! (AKA my rejected fic ideas for this...) - Darkdoom the pirate finding siren Wu after the latter got in a scuffle with the infamous Captain Nero. - A student finds Cypher's cell and talks to him through the door. - In an AU where he survives, Cypher playing Battleship with Laura. - Wu Zhang and Xiu Mei fleeing from G.L.O.V.E. after the Incident. - Cypher arguing with Nero in his cell about bringing Overlord online too early.

Anyways, hope y'all had fun! Can't wait to see what you've all created!

[screamingoverfiction]

Loving and Dying

I'm obsessed with masked men who could easily kill me. Ghost(MW2) x f!-reader, codename: Kracken. Angst with a little suggestiveness and brief smut. Canon typical violence.

Word Count: 2.87k.

There were bullets, smoke, and blood. So much blood. She couldn't remember nor tell whose it was, and she didn't care. The only thing on her mind was staying alive and finding Ghost.

She swallowed thickly, ignoring the burning in her throat as she inhaled diluted smoke. Her head burned with adrenaline, but her mind raced with fear. She was scared.

It was a mission gone awol, 141 needed intel. Ghost, Soap, Gaz, and her were sent to retrieve it. It was supposed to be quick and easy. Get in and get out, but it didn't go smoothly.

She was shot in the stomach as soon as their vehicle entered the town. A sniper in a building has had eyes on them since the beginning.

After she got shot, everything went to shit. The car got its wheels blown out, sending the team spiraling away. She managed to crawl her way out, calling for Ghost, Soap, Gaz, anyone. But there was too much gunfire.

She heard Ghost's demanding voice shout at her to run, get away from there and find cover. So she tried, and now here she was, in an abandoned house, bleeding out, dried tears on her cheeks, her life flashing before her eyes.

The first time Ghost kissed her.

It was after she and he had sparred, he, of course, had come out victorious, but she always gave him a challenge.

She was drenched in sweat, hair plastered against her face, head knocked back, chest heaving for air. She glanced at Ghost, who had been watching her intently, an unreadable look in his eyes.

"You're staring, lieutenant," She spoke with a smirk, taking a drink from her water bottle and setting it down on a bench.

"You're a tough fighter, Kracken," Ghost commented, crossing his arms over his chest and cocking his head sideways.

Kracken smiled, shaking her head and inhaling sharply. She'd earned that nickname after a mission out on the water when she'd popped up and slaughtered them all in a blink.

"Not tough enough to beat you, though," She replied with a breathy laugh, wiping across her forehead with her arm.

She'd started to walk away, but Ghost caught her arm, drawing her back to him, pulling his mask up just barely, and crashing their lips together.

She was surprised, but only for a millisecond. It lit a fire deep inside her stomach to know he wanted her as bad as she wanted him.

They hadn't hesitated in deepening the kiss until they couldn't breathe, teeth clashing, tongues battling, hands grasping at whatever they could.

Ghost had fucked her against that wall, covering her mouth with his palm to suppress her moans, marking her neck with hickeys, and whispering dirty things into her ear.

Her legs were wrapped around his torso, her back arching into him, eyes rolling into her head as he fucked her through her high.

And that was only the beginning. Soon their little 'meetings' became something more. It seemed like each time they met alone, their feelings for each other would strengthen.

After the first time they fucked, they'd made a promise that fucking was all it was, no feelings attached, but a blind person could see that was a lie.

Kracken didn't know if she would make it out of this house, but she wanted her last thoughts to be of him, his lips on hers, his hands caressing her skin. The soft-spoken words he said only to her.

She leaned against the stone wall, more tears rolling down her cheeks as she quickly took off her tactical vest and pressed her fist against her stomach, trying to slow the bleeding.

She had been wearing a vest when the sniper shot her, but it could only do so much if she hadn't worn it. She would've died on the spot.

She squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath. Accepting that this was it, the end of the line. No more. She was dying, and she would die alone.

A crackle came from the radio strapped to her chest. It broke her out of her death-ridden trance.

"Kraken, How copy?" Ghost's panicked voice rang out. His tone was laced with concern, fearing that she wouldn't respond.

She tiredly clicked the button on her com, barely whispering her reply.

"I'm fucked up, Ghost," She said quietly, inhaling sharply, a sting of pain shooting through her abdomen. She heard him curse lowly, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'll come to you. What do you see?" He asked, his tone still worrying.

"I don't really know, fire, smoke. I'm in an old house, red roof. I can't be more than 500 meters away from the hummer," She breathed, grunting in pain, sweat dripping from her brow.

"Fuck, we scattered from the hummer. I'll be there in ten minutes. Stay alive for me," He spoke, his voice stern and scared. He couldn't lose her too. It would kill him.

Kracken inhaled again, they were bound to send reinforcements soon, and they'd kill Ghost and the others in a blink.

"Don't come for me. I'm dead weight. I'll hold you back. They're gonna send reinforcements," She said, trying to convince him even though she knew it was pointless.

"You're bloody fucking daft if you think I'm leaving you to die," Ghost stated angrily through the coms.

Kracken closed her eyes, having no energy to keep them open. She knew she was dying, and it was terrifying, but she couldn't stop it.

"Hey, don't go quiet on me now," Ghost said, listening intently for her reply.

When she didn't, he started panicking even more, his blood turning to ice and his chest tightening.

Ghost's eyes locked onto a small house with a red roof. He sprinted towards it, shooting an enemy without looking, his mind hyper-focused on finding her.

He burst into the building, eyes locking on her figure, slumped in the corner, eyes closed, blood seeping from her abdomen.

Ghost's eyes went wide, and he rushed over, dropping to his knees, his gloved hand going to her neck, feeling for a pulse.

"Come on, Y/n, don't die on me," He whispered, his free hand going to stroke her cheek, thumb brushing over the grime-ridden skin.

He audibly breathed in relief when he felt her faint pulse. But he knew it would only be there for so long. She needed medical attention immediately.

Ghost pressed his hand against her wound, doing his best to keep her blood in. The action caused a spike of pain and adrenaline to shoot through her body, jolting her awake.

Her hand shot down and wrapped around his wrist, using her remaining strength to try and defend herself. When her eyes locked with the hazel ones behind his mask. She calmed down.

"Ghost," She said, relief evident in her tone, tiredly slumping back into the wall, eyes barely open.

"Don't close your eyes, alright. Just talk to me, love. I'm calling for help," He said, keeping pressure against her wound, his free hand leaving her cheek to press his radio.

"I don't wanna die," She whispered, chest rising and falling rapidly. She was going into shock from lack of blood.

"Fuck, Gaz, she's going into shock. Where's the closest medic?" Ghost demanded, his voice stern enough to make a firefighter shit themselves.

"You're not gonna like my answer, lieutenant. They're at least a half hour out," Gaz said, his voice sounding solemn and sympathetic.

"We just found a kit from the hummer, get her back here, and we can patch her up," Soap said through the coms.

"I'm getting you out of here, love. Keep pressure on that wound," Ghost said softly, wrapping his arm around her back and lifting her into his arms.

He carried her through the building despite her cries and groans of agony, each step sending another wave of pain through her system. She was bleeding all over him, but that didn't matter. She was the only thing that mattered.

"Ghost, please," She begged, the hand that wasn't pressing into her stomach clenched onto his clothed shoulder, nails digging into the flesh.

"I'm sorry, I know it hurts, just a little longer," He replied, swallowing thickly, adrenaline fueling his steps.

"I can't, please, Ghost," She begged again, sweat dripping down her face. She was paling, and her breathing was labored and rapid.

"Fuck, Just talk to me, alright? Tell me about anything, anything you want," Ghost practically pleaded, his eyes locking with hers.

"I-I've always dreamed of getting eloped on a beach, the sun setting in the background, nothing on my mind except how in love I am," She managed to whisper, hands starting to shake.

"Yeah? Well, stay alive, and that'll happen one day," Ghost said, kicking a door down and shooting a man in the head with his pistol before returning his arm beneath her.

She let out a dry laugh, making Ghost look at her, confusion in his hazel hues.

"I'm never going to get married, not in this field of work," She whispered, swallowing and exhaling shakily.

"And why's that?" His voice was softer than she expected.

"No one's going to want to marry me, Ghost. I've got a lot of baggage," She muttered, her eyes closing against her will.

"Well, I know at least one man who'd marry you in a heartbeat," Ghost said in a whisper, his chest swarming with anxiety.

If she wasn't dying in his arms, a giant grin would've spanned across her face. She would've wrapped her arms around him, kissing his lips until neither of them could breathe, but she couldn't.

They reached the outside, the ablaze vehicle only about 300 meters away, but it felt like 20 miles.

There was little pain now, but that scared her more. It meant there was little they could do now. If she wasn't airlifted to a hospital in the next five minutes. She'd be dead.

Tears rolled down her cheeks at the realization. But she didn't want to die like this. It was a horrible way to go. How would her family and friends cope with her gruesome death?

"Simon," She whimpered, blood-covered hand going to caress his masked face, smearing red across the hard skull.

Simon looked down at her, tears stinging his vision. His heart shattering into millions of pieces at her broken, pleading voice.

"I'm not gonna make it, Simon," She whispered shakily, hands trembling, eyes watering, her body so physically exhausted she could break in half.

"Don't you fucking say that, Y/n. You're gonna be fine. Johnny is coming with the kit. H-He'll help you," He declared thoroughly as if he was trying to not only convince her but himself as well.

Her eyes closed, and her arms fell limp. She couldn't hold pressure against her wound anymore. She was too tired.

"No, no, fuck," Simon gently set her down behind a small concrete wall for cover, applying pressure to her gunshot and pressing his coms.

"Johnny, we need you now! We're 250 meters away from the hummer, behind some concrete," Simon demanded, releasing the radio and placing both hands on her abdomen.

"Stay with me, Y/n," He breathed, a single tear tipping from his eye and rolling down his cheek.

Y/n opened her eyes just barely, gasping for air and gripping his wrists, crying out in pain.

It hurt him to see her like this. If only they'd checked the area before deployment. If only the windows in the hummer were tinted slightly more. Why didn't he sit on that side?

"I'm on my way Lt." Johnny called through the radio, his voice sounding panicked.

"Simon, I'm sorry," She whimpered, releasing her grip on his wrist and instead bringing her hand to his face brushing her thumb over the skull. Simon realized something at that moment. She hadn't seen his face. She'd never pressured him into showing it, never asked him to take off the mask, but now he regretted not showing her.

Careful to keep the same amount of pressure on her wound, he lifted one hand to his face, taking off his helmet, hesitating momentarily when he gripped the fabric of his mask.

Y/n's eyes went wide. She reached up and grabbed his wrist to stop him from removing the piece. She didn't want him to feel obligated to, but Simon simply shook his head.

"I want to," He said in a shaky breath, swallowing thickly. Y/n's hand fell from his wrist, and Simon slowly pulled the mask off.

He was beautiful, strong cheekbones and blond hair cut short but slightly longer on the top. He had various scars along his face, one on his lip and a burn scar on the upper part of his neck. His nose was defined, and his blond eyelashes stuck out from the black grease paint around his warm brown eyes. He was younger-looking than she expected, but his face still showed years of battle.

"You're bloody handsome, lieutenant," She whispered, brushing her thumb along his cheek again, eyes hazily open.

"It should be a crime you kept that face away from me," She said again, using her last few breaths to try and get him to smile.

Simon closed his eyes and dryly chuckled. Reaching forward, he cupped her face, leaning his forehead against hers.

Using what little strength she had left, she leaned forward, pressing her lips against his and holding his shoulder.

"I love you," He said quietly against her lips, swallowing his tears, keeping his hand on her wound.

She smiled sadly, her arm wrapping around the back of his neck to keep herself steady.

"I love you, Simon," She whispered. Her heart rate slowly started decreasing, and her mind slipped away.

She kissed him until she couldn't, her final breath fanning against his skin as her body went limp in his embrace. Her body slumped against the concrete, eyes closed.

Simon's eyes shot open, panicking at her lifeless body, he grasped her face trying to wake her, but there was nothing. Strings of fearing curses left his lips as he searched for her pulse.

Nothing.

"No! No! Y/n! Fuck, come on!" He cried desperately, quickly using his free hand to pathetically attempt one-handed CPR, knowing that if he tried with two, her blood would just spill out.

After a few seconds, he knew it was pointless. There was no more Y/n L/n, no more of the girl he fell in love with. All that was left was her body, her lifeless body.

A sickening sob left his lips before he could stop it, and tears ran freely down his cheeks. He leaned over her body, cradling her head in his hand and sobbing into her neck.

He'd failed.

Running footsteps could be heard from behind the wall, but Simon didn't care. He'd gladly take a bullet to his brain.

"Fuck," A Scottish voice cursed. Footsteps approached Simon from behind, and a hand fell on his shoulder.

"I couldn't save her, Johnny," Simon said with a shaky breath, hands trembling as they held her body.

"I'm sorry, Simon," Johnny said, swallowing his own sadness and looking at the ground. He knew of Simon's feelings for Y/n. You'd need to be worse than blind to not see.

"Simon, we need to get to extraction," Soap spoke, standing up with a grief-ridden expression.

Simon exhaled shakily, reaching over and pulling on his mask and helmet.

Ghost stood, bending down over and snaking his arms under her body, pulling her lifeless body into his arms.

Soap finally saw her clearly, blood-covered shirt, face smeared with blood, sweat, and tears. She didn't deserve to die.

Ghost walked out from behind the wall with Soap beside him. Ghost's eyes were red from tears, but he needed to get his mind straight. He was still in the field. But with every step he took, he'd see her in his arms and have to force the tears back in.

They approached the extraction point. Gaz was already there, hurriedly talking to a medic. His eyes snapped up at the sound of footsteps, relief washing over his face for a split second until his eyes locked onto the body in Ghost's arms.

Gaz felt sick to his stomach. That couldn't be her. She was alive. She had to be. She wouldn't go out like this. She was a fighter.

His fears were confirmed when the medics rushed over to her, but Ghost simply plowed past them. Gently placing her body in the truck bed.

Gaz could only stare. Her once full-of-life eyes were shut. A smile would never cross her lips again.

His eyes snapped to Ghost's noticing their blotchiness, but Ghost said nothing. He merely stared at her body as if his mind could bring her back.

"Kraken KIA," Soap's voice said through the coms to Price, his voice shaking.

"What?" Price responded, not believing his ears.

"Y/n's dead," Simon repeated, closing his eyes, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

Everyone Simon Riley has ever loved died because of him indirectly or not it didn't matter.

Simon Riley Ghost wouldn't make the mistake of loving anyone ever again.

I'm only half sorry.

[in-love-with-my-car-zine]

A Vehicle Zine? What Exactly Kind of Content Are You Wanting?

Short answer. Take a vehicle that a) is part of the canon Good Omens universe, or b) could logically fit into the everyday Good Omens universe without stretching things too far and create a fic or art around it. Simple!

If it's art, feature the vehicle in your drawing. Ex. If you want to draw Aziraphale and Crowley smooching in front of the Bentley, have them leaning on the bonnet or something. Don't have the car parked in the background over by the coffee shop.

If it's a fic, devote at least half of the story to the vehicle. Don't just have Newt drive Dick Turpin over to Anathema's place, then leave poor Dick outside while the story continues in the cottage. Unless you're going to talk about Dick Turpin inside, like maybe a fic about Newt needing Anathema's help finding a new door online for his car after he lost the one almost hitting Tibetans in the road.

What defines a vehicle? Simply put, something you can ride in or on. Yes, horses count. Last time we had Aziraphale and Crowley jousting and a slightly naughty Lady Godiva Crowley riding horse Aziraphale.

And as for non-canon vehicles, we need to draw the line somewhere, really without hindering people's ideas too much. So, the vehicle, if not canon, must be something that fits into the character's everyday life. Last run, we had Crowley stealing a very expensive Bentley just for a quick joyride. Aziraphale bought a car so he didn't have to depend on Crowley to chauffeur him around the South Downs. And the teenaged Adam was gifted a vehicle of his own.

That's it. Take whatever fun idea you come up with and run with it! We're trying not to be too picky. After all, we did have a fic where the Kraken fell in love with the whaling ship.

[lex1nat0r]

The Danse Mechabre: White Elephant

AAR #01

Ran the first session in what is hopefully going to be a full Lancer campaign over the weekend. Gonna be posting these after-action reports from the GM perspective in case it's useful to anyone (and it turns out there are a couple of things I need to make sure I remember). No spoilers because at least half of the players are on the tumbles (eye see you).

Characters (LL 0):

Raiju (Hacker/Ace/Centimane) - GMS Everest - Delta

Sunshine (Grease Monkey/Technophile/Leader) - GMS Everest - Exchange of Affection

Rook (Walking Armory/Stormbringer/Brutal) - GMS Everest - Not Fun By Myself

Daylight (Technophile/Crack Shot/Infiltrator) - GMS Everest - Hits Different

Magpie (Hacker/Technophile/Centimane) - GMS Everest - General Protection Fault

You will notice right away that there are three - count 'em, three -characters with the Technophile talent. That means there are three bonus NHPs in the party. And the first thing I neglected to do is prompt for more interactions with the bonus NHPs. The only one that got characterization in this session was Molotov, Sunshine's little buddy.The reason I didn't prompt for more interaction is mostly because this group is used to 2.5-3 hour sessions and I am trying to hit one combat per session, which does not leave a lot of time for roleplay outside of combat. The schedule will need to be adjusted somewhat.

So in the year 4570u the PCs depart as crewmembers (and one stowaway) from the secret KRAKEN facility on the highly experimental blinkship Eye of the Tiger. The crew of the Eye of the Tiger had secretly been replaced with revolutionaries, planning to use its blink carver to quickly head towards the core worlds and help overthrow Union's Second Committee. They go into stasis, trigger the ship's blink carver and wake up to a variety of alarms blaring. It eventually turns out the year is now 5016u and the blink carver may have moved them in space as well as time. Or something. They fix up the ship a little and realize that they're near a planet that is putting out a distress call. When they also get the opposing force's broadcast about returning the planet to 'traditional Cradle values' they decide the situation requires mechanized intervention. Important note: I'm very happy with my players for not immediately deciding they need to intervene on the side of the people putting out the distress call and that maybe they need more information before getting stuck in. Keep hold of that instinct, just because you didn't need it this time doesn't mean you won't in the future.

So while the Eye of the Tiger engages the enemy fleet in orbit, the lancers drop right in to protect an urban area.

Combat 1.1: We get to be the Cavalry for Once

Sitrep: Control

OPFOR:

Pyro x2

Priest Vehicle x2

Hive x2

Grunt Breacher Vehicle x6

Outcome: PC victory, 11 - 8

No PC structure or stress damage, though Hits Different and Not Fun By Myself both used a Repair. The only mech to not get hit was Delta, which secured the lower left control zone and blasted away with its howitzer (whoever put the howitzer on the default Hacker loadout in COMP/CON is a real joker).

Here's the aftermath of the battle after I invoked the mercy rule when it became clear the NPCs couldn't take enough control zones some time around the middle of the last round (not pictured: the Hives' Razor Swarms that were still in 3/4 control zones).

(Tokens by Retrograde Minis (on the basic blank 1-hex tokens that come with Lancer so they show up well), map by Interpoint Station's pixel art assets, they released their new mapmaking tool like the day before we played. VTT is Roll20)

Most of the civilians had already been evacuated from the area with two exceptions: the blue building just above the lower left control zone (some kind of cultural building maybe, there were a lot of civilians around it), and the orange building to the left of the lower right control zone (an IPS-N showroom/liaison office). Those were both intact at the end of the combat, which will be relevant next session.

The enemy comp is very short-ranged which ended up working because the PCs had to get at them to get into their control zones. It also features a lot of burn which I ended up not using correctly (see below). I maybe went a bit hard on Strikers with that many Breachers, but I knew it would be fine because Breachers can only hit something once in a blue moon (Hits Different was the only one to get tagged by a Breacher shotgun). A lot of vehicles because I like combined arms in my mecha (I think I get this from my exposure to Battletech). No optionals on any of the enemies to reduce cognitive load on me, and even then there was plenty I forgot (see below).

I was worried about cover and LoS going into this because it doesn't feel like the Lancer rules have enough detail on that but it was easy enough to adjudicate in practice. Also shout out to one of the best rules in Lancer: the PC that went last nominates the PC to go next. That helped speed things up a lot.

Overall for a first combat with 5 PCs, getting through it in ~2.5 hours is pretty impressive! HOWEVER:

Things I Definitely Forgot About:

Tech attacks ignore cover!

Engagement gives +1 diff on ranged attacks!

Pyros deal double burn to anyone who already has burn!

Pyros can put out their FIREBREAK shield at the end of each of their turns!

Breacher's shotguns have a threat of 3!

All the PC talents!

Thankfully this can kind of be written off in fiction as the OPFOR being kind of bozos and the PCs not being fully familiar with their mechs (maybe some residual grogginess from stasis and the fact that mech warfare was still pretty new to them).

So definitely some things to keep in mind for next time - I'll have to come up with a format of NPC stat blocks that works for me because just using their stats in the core book clearly means some things get overlooked.

Next Time: Straight into the Wall?

INDULGE ME:

Campaign notebook is a Maruman Mnemosyne N195A, 7mm lined. A month ago I swore I would only use binders for campaigns going forward but Lancer seems constrained enough (note I did not say 'on rails') that I can get away with not doing that (as opposed to, say, a hexcrawling sandbox) that I can get away with it. Plus this notebook was only holding a half-done campaign idea that is unlikely to see the light of day so I figured I'd use the rest of the pages up. I've found the paper is very good at taking fountain pen ink, though I'm not using a fountain pen for these notes. I've settled on a Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.5mm gel pen as working best, and I do like that pen (it's what I used to finish out my #Dungeon23 notes).

[thetruearchmagos]

To make up for a lack in recent Worldbuilding stuff, I'm gonna take the time to rapid fire a few details and let people choose which one interests them most before I eventually decide to elaborate on them in turn.

Be warned, none of these are interesting:

1. Vehicles on the road drive on the left in the United Commonwealth, though when it comes to private car ownership that's basically non-existent.

2. The UC's currency, the Chequer, derives its name from its pre-Commonwealth history as promissory notes and cheques between the major financial institutions of the nations that would eventually form the UC.

3. I have a meticulously planned out history of Inter-World communication in the 12 Worlds that spans about two centuries, and which terrifies me everytime I think about explaining it.

4. So-called 'Kraken', which at the recorded smallest are as large as corvettes, swim across and between the layers of the Warp and various Worldly oceans.

5. Ash Shrub, once regarded as a hazardous wild grass prone to seemingly spontaneous combustion, briefly served as a source of fuel so effective as to rival coal and oil when put through the right industrial processes. While the sheer scale of the 12 Worlds' oil deposits have since assured black gold's dominance in much of the energy sector, Ash Shrub derivatives still hole some market share

And.... that's a wrap! Feel like doing more of these, they're much easier than the usual long-form articles.

Tagging @athenswrites @caxycreations @hessdalen-globe @theprissythumbelina @moonscribbler @thatndginger @lividdreamz @avrablake @imslowlydisintegrating

[twixtandshout]

Not to get too Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons, but I think Ruby Gillman  Teenage Kraken should get to meet and be friends with Meilin Turning Red and Luca and Alberto Luca.

Admittedly there would have to be some time shenanigans to bring the Luca crowd in, but come on. Teenage (non-mutant) undercover sea monsters. (You could bring the Ninja Turtles in if you really wanted to, they’ve certainly got appropriate parallels, but that is not this post.) Ruby and Luca bond over math and their respective years in hiding. Alberto is seethingly jealous for a hot minute over Ruby’s size and powers and More people invading the friend group, but Ruby is too sweet to hate and also is totally enthralled by his stories and swimming skills, so that helps. Ruby, for her part, is tearfully thrilled to have found some Actual super seafolk besties. Connor and Giulia bond over being left behind on land but loving this new relationship with the sea, and also their respective Wheeled Sports Vehicles tm. Maybe there’s a mutual “Ruby/Connor’s gonna leave me for this person/these people who’re more like her/him,” which after the requisite teenage miscommunication angsting and shenanigans obviously gets debunked because come on, they Clearly like you, it’s just nice to have someone who Gets It. These new people aren’t Romantic Competition, they’re your new wingpeople!!

Meanwhile on the Turning Red side, obviously Margot, Trevin, and Bliss get along wonderfully with Miriam, Priya, and Abby. Abby cracks her knuckles and begins the business of badgering another shut-in into having fun. Ruby and Meilin bond over maybe being a little too anxious to tell their friends to chill out with the merchandising – look, the support is nice, but sometimes it feels a little too supportive, you know? I’m still me, even if I Am a giant creature sometimes. Much fun is had with the “We’re just Canadian!” joke. Margot and Priya go on double dates with their respective five-second girlfriends. Bliss quickly becomes Priya and her girlfriend’s third (and is advised to take anxiety medication). Trevin and Miriam have some friction at first, cause he’s a Redditor and she’s a tumblrina, but Ruby is Very tumblrcore so Trevin clearly can’t mind That much and also we are all holding hands and smooching these days. Anyway I think Miriam should introduce him to gender and crack her egg.

[acesgroupchat]

work just sent me an EMERGENCY EMAIL about Kraken traffic.

I've been complaining about 1:30 PM Tuesday puck drop for WEEKS and somehow did not put together until JUST NOW that this also means the game is going to end.... at 4:00. on a Tuesday. AKA RUSH HOUR. on a TUESDAY.

They are dumping an entire stadium worth of people onto RUSH HOUR MERCER ST.

This is going to be a shitshow. I am taking bets:

So this is just to say that if you're going to the game... maybe make dinner reservations too?

[chloeth6969696969420]

I love kerbal space program, have hundreds of hours in the first one. Got KSP2 when it came out early access bc I simply love the game. idc about the bugs, just wanna show off my ship I made. Been playing a lot more since the exploration mode released since that was the game mode I enjoyed most.

Anyway, this ship I spent many hours building and then assembling in space is gonna do like 3 or 4 different missions (and as I type this I just remembered I forgot the tiny lander meant for The Mohole (TM) so I'll have to add that on the very tip of the station, luckily I have a small docking port available to attach onto).

At the tip is the return vehicle for my crew of 3 (specifically 3 bc one of the missions). Below that is the lander they will use to land on Ike. The side things in green are just satellites so the probe parts of the station can operate without a kerbal on board. Then in grey is the scoence part. Do science, collect science. Orange is the solar array arms. I had those folded up along the side of the science part for launching into space, detached in space, then aligned correctly. Pink is the main engine of the station which will be used after the red side engines are depleted. There is so much fuel on this bad boy. 4 Nerv nuclear engines on each side part and 5 on the middle.

Hopefully the kraken leaves me alone for this mission. Already had an encounter with it in assembly. Also, all the parts of the station makes the fps pretty low lol. tfw early access.

[ariesgamesandminis]

BattleTech Miniature restocks from Iron Wind Metals are up!

10-058 "Undead" Lance Pack 20-226 Ostroc OST-4L 20-247 Shamash Recon (Standard) (2) 20-311 Jupiter Standard / 2 20-328 Legionnaire LGN-2D / LGN-2K 20-331 Mad Cat III 20-340 Kraken "Bane" 4 20-382 Heavy LRM Carrier 20-457 Titan II TI-2P 20-465 Raptor II RPT-3X 20-477 Rampage RMP-2G 20-485 Balius Prime / B / C 20-5042 Ebony MEB-9 / MEB-10 20-5061 Osteon Prime 20-5070 Shen Yi SHY-3B 20-5074 Dola DOL-1A1 20-5093 Lament LMT-2R 20-5107 Malice MAL-XT 20-5150 Anubis ABS-5Y 20-5169 Shadow Hawk SHD-2Hb 20-5179 Neanderthal NTL-AG 20-5183 Locust LCT-1V 20-5202 Awesome AWS-8R / 8T 20-5210 Raider JL-1 / Mk II JL-2 20-5215 Mastodon Prime 20-5220 Jade Phoenix A 20-5223 Savage Wolf Prime / A 20-722 Anhur Transport 20-724 Mechbuster Fighter 20-741 J-27 Tow Vehicle, Thumper towed gun, trailer, and boxes 20-777 Falcon FLC-4N 20-819 Maxim Hover Transport (2) 20-879 Clint CLNT-2-3T 20-956 Tessen TSN-1C 20-972 Uziel UZL-3S 20-997 Gurkha GUR-2G AC-006 Flight Base BT-005 Grenadier Battle Armor BT-006 Phalanx Battle Armor BT-154 Tatsu Micro Fighter BT-155 Oni Micro Fighter BT-198 Tengu Battle Armor BT-212 Preta Dominus BT-215 Seraph Dominus BT-335 PWWKA S-PW-1LAM (Air Mech) BT-337 Yurei S-YR-1LAM (Mech) BT-355 Black Knight BL-X-KNT "Red Reaper" BT-364 Gabriel Hovercraft BT-370 Kurita Infantry (3) BT-371 Davion Infantry (3) BT-372 Savannah Master Hovercraft BT-387 Gnome Battle Armor (3) BT-399 Shadow Hawk SHD-2K BT-413 Marauder Battle Armor BT-444 Flatbed Truck (2) - Cargo & Wpn options OP-116 Equipment 20-317D Ostroc 4C Arms Sprue 20-5022D Blade BLD-7R / BLD-XL Jump Jets Sprue 20-802B Mongoose MON-66 Arm Sprue