#Or shining star system I guess I should say now- | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

accordingtopluto · 1 year ago

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Random thoughts of the day.

Anyone ever have to abandon your accounts because of a hacker? This gal did! Oh well. Been meaning to switch over to my AccordingToPluto brand for a while now and go in a different direction for my social medias, mainly to focus on my original creative works and posting my kittens in as many places I feel comfortable posting to.

I guess another thing that has been on my mind is just how many indie games I have in my backlog. Like, I have two games from the creators of the Anodyne games in my backlog, still need to finish Here Comes Niko, and LOTS of RPGs, like Furquest and Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, to get around to. And who coulda guessed that Everhood was gonna get a sequel!? That news caught me VERY off-guard, though I definitely am gonna play the shit out of it once it comes out if it lives up to the awesomeness of game one.

Speaking of games, did anyone feel caught off-guard when both Super Mario Wonder and Mario RPG Remake were slated to be released this year? Firstly, a 2D Mario was inevitable, though I could never have guessed the fever dream that we are getting in October! Like, who's first thought for a 2D Mario made by Nintendo in-house would include four playable Yoshis, a friggin' elephant form taken right out of the Shantae series, and the fact that we are in a brand new kingdom that exports friggin' flowers that alter reality itself into a drug trip version of itself. Talk about chaotic, but I like it. Second, how and why is Super Mario RPG getting remade for Switch? I mean, I am damn happy about it, since it is super overlooked by Nintendo themselves lately. However, it seems kinda random at the same time. I literally had to watch both trailers for the aforementioned games over a dozen times just to confirm that I wasn't hallucinating it. Oh yeah, did I mention Peach is getting her own game for the first time in forever and Dark Moon is getting what seems to be a ground-up remake that both release in 2024? As a Mario fan, ya girl is hecka hyped to say the least.

While we're on the topic of Mario games, is anyone so sick of people hating on Color Splash and Origami King for not being like games one and two of the Paper Mario series? Like, I can sorta understand Color Splash's hate due to how similar it is to Sticker Star, but I can see past its comparisons and enjoy it as its own thing. Origami King, on the other hand, I just can't understand the hate. Like, I understand the ring battle system can be irritating, but I can see what they were going for in making the strategy about puzzle-solving rather than basic RPG mechanics given that that is what the current trilogy does best at. Hell, even the Paper Machos kinda follow this sort of thing, as you have to figure out their locations and attack patterns in a sort of puzzle-y sort of way that Zelda does. If I had my way, though, I would reserve the puzzle system exclusively for the boss battles, as that's where the system shines brightest in my opinion. And can we talk about how gorgeous the overworld is!? Like, it is so pretty and well-thought out to be both accessible and rewarding for those that are completionist types. There is something satisfying about filling holes with confetti and finding those origami Toads every which way. A big criticism towards Origami King is the fact that they find the paper focus distracting and the whole origami plot hard to take seriously. My counterpoint is that one should focus on the characters only in the world they are in and take into consideration how and why they fear and do the things they do. Like, imagine if you were a papercraft character in a world of arts and crafts. You would definitely fear being forcibly folded into a shape you can't undo on your own and would DEFINITELY fear something that could damage your paper body easily, like a hole punch or scissors. Likewise, if you were brought to life by origami with full awareness of the art of the fold and the rules that come with it, I can imagine how pissed off I would be if someone seemingly and thoughtlessly scribbled on me. Hell, I'd be pissed off if someone wrote on my three dimensional meat sack of a body without permission. To further defend King Olly and Olivia, Olly was never made aware of his purpose and probably felt lost and confused as hell. Think like an AI left without a dedicated directive. Meanwhile, Olivia was created with very clear motive and such, so of course she would be much clearer headed and positive. Final thought on the game is its soundtrack. OMG, one of my favorite and most listened to OSTs since Everhood found me. Easily in my top three Mario OSTs, right next to the Galaxy duology and Super Paper Mario.

Last thought of the day. Who else thinks that a Venusian colony makes far more sense than a Martian one? Think about it, Mars has a third less gravity, is energy poor, has toxic soil that can leave a crew very ill, and lacks a strong atmosphere to protect herself from the solar wind and cosmic rays. Yeah, Venus has few of these problems, at least if you stay about 34 miles up. The temperatures are hot, but very survivable, the thick atmosphere levels out to 1 bar (one Earth atmosphere at sea level), and the gravity is the closest to Earth's at between 89 and 92% of our blue rock's. Aside from that, fixing Venus for a land colony just takes a series of mirrors to block most of the Sun's rays, which will freeze the atmosphere after a few centuries, and leave us with a pure nitrogen atmosphere about 3 bar thick. After that, we just find a few water rich asteroids and comets to send Venus' way and eventually fertilize it with cyanobacteria to make the air breathable. Any excess CO2 we don't want, we can cut it from the surface and let it accrete into a satellite around Venus for later use, such as fluffing up the Martian atmosphere. The tech needed for this to work is not even that far off. Even if we don't terraform Venus, we can still have large cloud cities with thick, acid resistant material filled with Earth air. I say Earth air, as Venus' atmosphere is so thick that air from our planet actually would allow something to be buoyant in the clouds, kinda like a boat in the ocean. The thick air also would make any repairs much easier to do, as it would make the hole leak at a far slower pace than helium on Earth does. Add in Venus' regular proximity to the Blue Marble being much more common than Mars and you have a recipe for a perfect colony among the Venusian clouds. Of course, having a lunar base already stable on our Moon would definitely speed things along in either case.

That's all I have for today. Take care and be safe.

Good ol' Avery C., September 3, 2023/

#random thoughts #shower thoughts #paper mario #venus #mars #the moon #space colonization #video games

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kalopsia-stars · 3 years ago

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Stubborness

warnings: self-aware characters, mentions of blood

Xiao wasn't one to be stubborn. But when you appeared, he found himself fighting more than he thought. Fighting his own suffering, and the new experiences that come with your appearance. He's been ignoring it, but it's hard for the others to ignore how stubborn he's become fighting back at their suppressor.

Aether finds him to try and calm him down.

"How-" Xiao doesn't look back, but Aether knows he's got a frown on his face. "How did you find me?"

The blond sighs, sitting himself down on a nearby rock. He can only imagine how many mobs Xiao had slashed down with how there were puddles of dark crimson surrounding them, staining the grass and slightly splashing on the stone he's sitting on. Surprisingly, there's not a single speck on the Vigilant Yaksha. Or, at least Aether can see so far in the star-lit night.

"Zhongli told me you were around here. Said the last time you two met up, you weren't doing so well. Thought you might go to a place like this."

"Of course he did," Xiao mutters to himself, spear disappearing into the air in shining floating particles.

Aether reaches into the air in a grabbing motion, light enveloping his hand before it dims, forming into a plate of Almond Tofu. Despite being punished by the very same System that gave him the ability, he does find the functions useful when he uses them the same way as Them.

"Here," He sets the plate beside him on a flat part of the stone. "I made one for you." 'So I don't use the dishes They made and get in trouble.'

Xiao pensively turns his head over to the side at the scent of the dish, deciding whether or not to give in to the temptation. In the end, he gives in, knowing he needed something to take his mind off of everything.

Aether makes room for Xiao as he approaches him, lifting up the plate and scooting to the side.

Everyone has been worrying about Xiao recently. At first, they thought it was that karmic debt of his--until Aether found him screaming in anger about their current situation out in the wild as he had cut away at surrounding trees. Sure, he was happy that there was another person who knew about Them and the System, but he felt conflicted about how Xiao had reacted.

'He didn't take it well the first time it happened.' Aether thought as he watched Xiao slowly eat the Almond Tofu, seemingly savoring the taste. 'Guess he couldn't handle that so-called punishment.'

"Say, Aether." Xiao's voice interrupts his thoughts, bringing him back to the moment. "Are you able to hear them, too?"

His eyes widen at the sudden question before Aether could only give a sheepish smile. "Ah- I guess I could say that."

Xiao pauses his meal. "You guess you could say that?"

"Well, it's a bit different for me.."

"Different?"

Aether stops to think about how to explain it.

"It's different from how others have described it. Venti told me They sounded like listening to distant wind chimes. Albedo told me he hears whispers. But for me..." He looks to the sky then back at Xiao. "It's like instead of hearing them, I feel their voice. Like they're speaking from inside of me and I can feel the vibrations."

"Does-" He looks away from Xiao's face nervously. "Does that make any sense?"

Clearly, the Yaksha is pondering what he was told as he looks down at his plate as it becomes silent for a moment. 'I feel uncomfortable now.' Aether wants to shrink.

Xiao looks up at Aether before continuing his food. The traveler wanted to say something but was unable to find the words he needed, feeling paralyzed sitting next to the teal-streaked male beside him finishing the plate of tofu.

Just before he could blurt something out, his view is blocked by the sudden appearance of the now empty plate.

"Thank you."

Aether slowly reaches to take it back, voice almost wavering. "Yo-You're welcome."

The awkward silence feels thick between them, the blond unsure if he should speak up. "I-"

"They sound like the other voices."

"Huh?"

"Like my karmic debt. But unlike the cold screams," Xiao looks away up into the stars. "They don't sound loud. It's different when I hear their voice."

"It's softer." He mumbles, though loud enough that Aether can hear.

Suddenly, he stands up from his seat.

"So," He gives a serious look at the traveler. "I wanted to know if you could understand them."

Aether stares back. "Understand them? Why?"

"I want to talk to them. I heard that you made contact with them earlier."

Xiao thinks back to the kind treatment you've given him since you appeared. 'I want to tell them thank you.'

'And that I'm fighting to meet them.'

#sagau #genshin self aware #kalopsial stars writing #self aware genshin #genshin impact writing #genshin xiao #genshin aether #wrote this when I should be working on an assignment due tonight #does this count as #xiao x reader #??#Make SAGAU Normal Again

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honeysunai · 3 years ago

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𝐁𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐀

Nishinoya Yu x fem/reader

Your first late night date with your classmate Yū Nishinoya was going so good until you both saw red and blue light shine through the gates of the park you were at.

author’s note: This was in my drafts for so long! I hope you enjoy some fluff about our favorite libero!

wordcount: 2k

When you raced home you quickly tried to put on something pretty, but at this very instant everything looked ugly and never enough until your friend came over to help you choose. You asked Noya about what you should wear and he responded with : “Whatever you feel comfortable with, you always look pretty.” Wow! That had you blushing. So his confidence didn’t leave his body earlier, I guess it is a bit stressful to ask someone out.

Your best friend decided that the usual will be fine if he, too, didn’t want to pick. A gray sweater with a pair of leggings would do the trick.

“It’s a date in the park, you don’t need to dress like you’re going on a fancy restaurant date and he said comfortable, you’re always comfortable in those.” Your best friend says as she picks some silver jewelry for you. She knows you too well.

“Says the girl picking up jewelry for a date in the park.” I laugh and she slaps my arm jokingly.

“It’s still a date, after all, with your crush.” She reminds you and the stress starts to kick in once more. “Relax! It’s still the Nishinoya we know, he’s not going to bite you– or does he?” If you could’ve crawled under every surface of the Earth you would. You were starting to get hot at the thought of going out with him, after all he was Karasuno's libero. The one who stands out. You? You felt like you were like any other teen in your year, nothing stood out, you blended with everyone. Why would Noya want you if he wanted all the other girls as well? “Earth to my friend. You’re overthinking.” Was she a mind reader? “Nishinoya doesn’t ask girls around for fun, if he has an eye on you that means he likes you, don’t even worry about that.”

You were somewhat relieved to hear this, but you will ask him yourself when you see him. If you ever have the courage to get out of your room…

You walked through the metal gates of the place you were supposed to meet your date and saw Noya on the top of the small hill in the back of the park. He was waving at you as you jogged to meet him.

“What’s the plan tonight?” You asked as you sat next to him on the blanket he installed for the both of you.

“Stargaze with some homemade onigiri.” You could clearly see the seal had the logo of the supermarket your mom goes to on it, but decided to not call him out. “I know how much you love stars and what lies beyond it, so I thought you’d like this.” He paid attention when you told him about the solar system and how much you love learning about astronomy. You had this conversation because of an exam he wasn’t prepared for, but he did remember when you told him about this little fact about you.

He gives you an onigiri which you eat with pleasure. You couldn’t even eat dinner because you were anxious, but now that you’re actually here with him… You feel relaxed.

“Thank you for remembering. I didn’t think you were paying attention since it was about school.” You admit and he snorts.

“If it’s important to you, it’s important for me too.” He smiles and so do you.

“Same goes for me, Noya.” You looked up at the sky and could barely see any stars. That damn smog! Even if you couldn’t stargaze properly, your heart couldn’t help but be filled with butterflies that Noya tried for you. He tried to do something you loved with you. Next date you should ask him to teach you volleyball. He would go crazy if you asked. Next date… What a silly thought. You can only hope for more dates if this one goes right.

If you wanted more than just friendship with him, you had to ask. It may ruin the mood for a minute, but you need to know why? Why did he choose you over all the other girls?

“Hey Noya?” He turns his head towards you, giving you all of his attention. “Why did you want to go out on a date with me?” You ask him bluntly.

“Why wouldn’t I? You are a wonderful person, you’re always taking care of others, you’re fun and absolutely beautiful when you smile. I can’t believe you’re even asking me this–” He cuts himself short realizing what he had just said. “I mean… every guy in our year thinks the same about you.” He looks away clearly embarrassed that he said that out loud and admitted other guys had maybe a crush on you. “Why did you accept?”

That was the easiest question he could've asked you and yet you were lost for words.

“I–”

“Oh! You’re freezing!” He catches your hands to feel the coldness of them. They were bright red. “Here.” He sits up to take off his hoodie and hands it to you.

“Wear it.” You do as you were told and can smell the faint scent of peppermint on his warm hoodie.

He sits right in front of you and grabs your hands between his to create heat. “Won’t you be cold?” You asked him in panic.

“I was getting too warm anyways.” So you weren’t the only one anxious here. Noya gets really warm when he’s anxious before an exam. I guess this date does the same, but in a good way. Right? To be honest with yourself having his hoodie on, with him touching you… You were getting warmer, especially your cheeks.

You finally looked up from your hands clasped together and met his gaze. He was mesmerized by you and didn't notice you caught him staring at you.

“Noya?” You ask, trying to get him out of his daydreaming. A soft smile grew on his lips as he brought his hand to your face, without breaking eye contact, to brush a strand of hair behind your ear. Soft pink was showing on his cheeks and you smiled slowly leaning in. He was surprised that you were leaning in to kiss him, but he did the same wanting to press his lips against yours. In the corner of your eyes you could see glowing lights, not just any lights, red and blue ones. “You there! You’re trespassing in public places after the scheduled time!” A deep voice shouts from the gates you entered earlier.

Noya grabbed your hand and lightly chuckled. What has this devil in mind?

“I told you it was a bad idea Noya!” You yelled at your best friend who’s clearly leading in front of you, holding your hand tightly afraid you’d lose him.

“You say that all of the time, girlie!” He grunts. The red and blue lights seem brighter only signifying that the cops are catching up to us. You do tell him all of the time that his ideas are bad ones, but this one tops it. “Do you think we can take them on?” He’s joking at a time like this. What an idiot! You were about to kiss and the cops ruined it for you, those bastards! He looks over his shoulder to see how far we are from the cops, and he glances at you giving you a quick beautiful smile to reassure you. How could he look so handsome while running?

“Just because I did taekwondo this morning doesn’t mean I want or can fight the cops!” You laugh trying to catch up to him as you start to fall back.

It felt like you ran for hours, yet it’s been minutes, the cop wasn’t letting you too go. I guess he was bored, because we were only having a picnic while stargazing. What was so wrong with that?

Your first date wasn’t going according to plan at all!

Noya never let go of your hand as he silently figured out a way for us to outrun the police officer chasing us. Sharp turns and alleys were your best bet to get out of this until you got to his house which was closer, but we needed to make a long way around just so he doesn’t know where Noya lives.

“You kids need to stop!” The police officer demanded as if we were going to abide by his demand.

“When we get to my house, jump on the trash can into my backyard.” Noya tried his best to be subtle so only you could hear him and you nodded. You could see his house from where you were, but you needed to make a few more cuts around the neighborhood just so there was enough distance between you two and the man.

We ran through one of his neighbors' yards to get to the other street behind and that was the smartest thing you’ve done so far. The cop would slow down to either get over the fence or run around the block. This is your last sprint to his house and no matter how much your legs hurt and your lungs feel like fire, you kept going.

Arriving at the trash can Noya made sure you were the first one to go so he could watch if the man was still after you. You could hear faint footsteps getting closer, too close.

You jumped onto the trash can in front of his yard over the fence and hid behind it. Noya followed your steps and dropped on you. Both of your faces turned red and before he could apologize, you covered his mouth with your hand and brought him closer, out of sight. The steps came to a stop right next to you and the cop chuckled.

“Oh what the hell am I even running for?” Noya’s eyes went wide.

Everything okay, chef? A voice on his radio is heard.

“Yeah, I can’t believe I ran two blocks after two kids. Let’s not mention that in the report.”

Copy that.

The footsteps soon started to fade until you couldn’t hear the cop anymore. You finally take your hand off Noya's mouth and he chuckles. You were so shocked that you managed to outrun a cop, that you burst into laughter which Noya couldn’t help but do as well. Both of your laughs collided to create a melody to your ears. You’ve never truly laughed out of breath with him and now that you knew how it felt, you couldn’t get enough of it.

While trying to calm yourself down, Noya caught you off guard by cupping your jaw and quickly placing his lips against yours and pulling back right after. You were so shocked; you couldn’t properly process that he just kissed you. His smile was slowly fading realizing what he had done and how you reacted. He thought that maybe you didn’t want this anymore, but you did. Your lips slowly curl into a contagious smile which Noya was relieved to see.

You lean in to gently place your lips on his. It could drive you insane how soft his lips felt against yours. You slightly pull back from the kiss to meet his beautiful eyes and brushed off his bleached strain of hair out of the way.

“You’re insane.” You laugh once again thinking how close you two were to get grounded for life.

“Yeah, but you love me, don’t you?” He smirks and you snort.

“Somehow.” You joke. It wasn’t that hard to love Noya, he had a beautiful happy soul. “I do, I really do like you Noya.” He leaned in once again to peck your lips.

“I think we’re past the second name basis, girlie.” He kisses your cheek. “I really like you too.” His voice was so soft as he placed one more kiss to the tip of your nose.

I guess Yū was right, it wasn’t such a bad idea.

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paxesoterica · 2 years ago

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So! I finished Episode 12 of Revue Starlight! I mostly enjoyed it, but for more detailed thoughts, see below:

I'd heard about this series a few years back, when it was first released, and was intrigued but didn't watch it at the time because I was busy with other things.

The reason why I decided to check it out now? @ladyloveandjustice made a post about how Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury had a first episode that was a homage to the first episode of Revolutionary Girl Utena, so I checked it out, loved it, and am eagerly anticipating the next episode.

However, as great as Witch from Mercury is (and y'all should really check it out if mecha anime flavored w/ a dash of Utena [specifically the parts about criticizing unjust and violent systems and their abusive effects on everyone, and the part about the main heroines being really gay for each other in a slow-burn way] sounds like something that would even remotely appeal to you), it admittedly lacks musical swordfights with backdrops filled with surreal imagery that symbolize an internalized struggle that one (or both) of the duelists is currently experiencing, which, I'm happy to say Revue Starlight does not lack.

So yeah, the revues themselves were definitely a highlight for me, along with: the “I am Reborn” transformation sequence and music; Mahiru's focus episode in general, but especially the bizarrely hilarious imagery of her revue (which includes a cardboard cutout of Karen with a distressed look and sweatdrop getting chased by a cardboard cutout of an overly-cheerful Mahiru); pretty much everything to do with Nana Daiba; the revelations about Hikari's return from London; costuming choices (not quite sure why, but I like the swashbuckler-esque boots with the tassel that everyone wears, as well as the tiny crown which Karen's hair ornament transforms into); the sequence with everyone taking turns escorting Karen down the staircase in Episode 11; the animation in general; and of course, the metatextual aversion of tragic endings for heavily queer-coded stories.

I'd also like to highlight director Furukawa's decision to use a visual language of surrealism and symbolism, akin to that of his mentor, Ikuhara, but slightly more accessible; I know some folks might find it a bit offputting, but I feel it encourages a higher level of audience participation and engagement with the material (and can help train you to better analyze stories and practice media literacy), as well as making it more re-watchable, not to mention offering a visually wild ride from beginning to end.

(On a sidenote: I get that Giraffe-san is supposed to symbolize the audience, but why *is* he a giraffe, specifically? If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably related to the tower, and maybe reaching for the stars, but it's something I'll have to look into more).

Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed it, Revue Starlight does have a few weaknesses, the first of which I observed as early as the first episode: it's too short.

The other major issue I had, which admittedly might be personal bias on my part, was that it didn't have enough 'bite', both in its critique of Takarazuka theater and its use of queer (sub)text: the stress the revues inflict on their participants, and the allegory of the top star stealing the 'shine' from all the losing competitors is certainly critical of the system, but it feels like it lacks an incisive conclusion other than small reforms.

I have seen the contention, more than a few times, that modern anime is 'inherently' inferior to older, 'classic' anime, an absolutist view which is blatantly not true; there are, however, a few factors working against modern anime cultivating the fandoms that classic anime have, one of which is nostalgia of course, but another, more relevant factor for this discussion, is frequently shorter runtimes. Back in the day, even a lot of mediocre anime was able to get at least two cours (if not more!), while many series these days struggle to get more than one cour, no matter their quality (seriously, how is there only one cour of Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, I *know* the mangaka wrote more than that).

I don't hold this particular fault against Revue Starlight, since it's very much a systemic issue (and not just for Japan, but with even a lot of American television, animated or otherwise, running into a similar struggle), but the brevity does work against the central tragedy of the series: namely, the eventual separation of our cast, which would be far more poignant if the audience got to spend more time with them (a tragedy which, or so I'm told, is very similar to the recurring tragedy of bonding with your fellow cast members for pretty much most theatrical productions, in which, everyone will audition for various parts, be given their roles whether onstage or behind, form incredibly close friendships with each other as they work together to make the production a success, celebrate once the work is done, and then part ways, possibly working with a few others again at some point in the future, but just as likely not; given this context, it's small wonder that Nana went a little, well, 'bananas' trying to make sure everyone stayed together); for comparison, consider that Revolutionary Girl Utena had a similar sized cast, and gave us 39 episodes with them, all of them receiving multiple focus episodes (given both her focus episodes and the filler episodes that typically involved comedy at her expense, Nanami Kiryuu almost had enough material to essentially form a short spin-off series starring herself!), and I can't help but think Revue Starlight would have similarly benefitted with at least another cour for character-developing 'filler' episodes.

Meanwhile, the extensive queer-coding of, well, everybody, is appreciated, even going to the extent of its cast being referred to as 'sinners' (and while the surface text suggests that the sin referred to is the hubris of reaching for the top, when paired with all the previous queer subtext, an entirely different 'sin' is implied, especially when abutted with Junna's flippant response: “We're sinners? So what?”), which is more than many shows might do, but ultimately doesn't stray from the confines of plausible deniability, which is a bit disappointing for a series released in 2018, though I suspect, given the director's work with Ikuhara on Penguindrum and Yurikuma Arashi, this might have simply been a case of studio execs only letting the show go so far in its display of queerness (also, the fact that I watched this alongside The Witch from Mercury, which, at the end of its first episode more or less stated outright that gay marriage was normal, and only sheltered conservatives would think otherwise, probably contributed to my slight feeling of disappointment).

So! Overall, highly enjoyable, not quite one of my all-time favorites, but still very worthwhile, and I’d definitely watch again.

Now, as for the next show I’ll watch-

Wait, what’s this?

…

There's a few shorts, which might help alleviate (even if only slightly) the lack of filler episodes I previously mentioned.

Hmm

Ah, there's also a movie? Oh, but it's just a recap with only a few new scenes-

Oh, but it's from Nana's POV, which fits perfectly with the series' time loop shenanigans, hrmm

Ack, there's also *another* movie? This one an actual sequel to the tv series and its finale? Nrgghh

Welp! Looks like we're not done just yet, stay tuned…

#text #long post #revue starlight #musings #review

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mckinlily · 4 years ago

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Idea where the Voltron Paladins start to develop elemental powers from their Lions. Except...not the most obvious ones.

Shiro can teleport. Well. That’s the most visible aspect of his power. What he actually does is warp the fabric of space-time because of course he does that. You know how Shiro basically fights like gravity is optional? Yeah, that just got 100x worse. Shiro essentially floats and drops and moves however he needs, and now he affects space-time for everyone else, too. You can tell when Shiro’s gotten really pissed because there’s this immense pressure and everything is suddenly heavy. Or in a combat, his enemies who were grounded are now bouncing and floating. And if you think “space”= “no gravity”, you’re forgetting this is the star pilot of the Garrison who certainly knows about orbitals and gravitational assists. He doesn’t need any alien robot-lion bond to calculate multi-body trajectories instantaneously in his head even with changing gravitational fields. Teleportation might be flashy and all, but every member of team Voltron knows that’s the least dangerous thing he can do.

Lance is an empath. At first, he’s disappointed he didn’t get anything cool and flashy like Shiro. Actually, at first, Lance didn’t think he got a power at all. This is just a normal part of forming Voltron, right? Right?? Why is no one else so exhausted from all the feelings? Guess I’m just weak... Lance actually has a near breakdown before the rest of the team clocks it and realizes he’s constantly swimming in everyone’s feelings and yeah, no. No one can handle all that. Allura steps him to teach him how to build boundaries, and still, he has to spend a few days avoiding Keith and Shiro (”What the hell, you two?! Do you guys feel ANYTHING that’s not twenty shades of repressed trauma???”). But with time, Lance learns to control and use his power to help the team. His connection is strongest with the other paladins, and he mostly uses his power to look after them and help them out during the down times. Lance has learned the importance of being a support and takes pride in healing his team when they’re down so they’re ready to kick ass in battle. But he also shines on diplomatic missions. His ability to ping what other people are feeling not only helps him smooth over offenses or fears, but he can pick up on inconsistencies and unseen red flags. Not to mention, Lance can nudge other’s emotions. Normally just slightly, but it’s enough to swing things in their favor. Lance might not be flashy, but that doesn’t make him less powerful. And anyone on the other side of the negotiating table quickly learns that.

Keith has precognition. Think Jedi see-things-just-before-they-happen Force shenanigans. His instincts aren’t just on point--he’s often reacting to things just before they happen. Naturally, this makes him almost impossible to face in combat. Incidentally, this is also part of why Keith is so bad at communicating: he’s often thinking in multiple points of time at once and condensing that down to one point to talk about is just...it doesn’t work like that. But slowly, as Keith learns how to work in a team and, if he can’t quite communicate with words, to let the others in so they sense what he’s sensing, Keith’s precognition stops throwing him out of sync with everyone else and pretty soon Voltron has the same too-fast reflexes as Keith. The others have gotten used to the flashes of Keith-thoughts zipping through the Lion bonds and letting him move them when they do. Now not only are the Lions practically indestructible, but Voltron is nearly impossible to land a hit on in the first place.

At first Pidge is annoyed about the paladins powers because--Green Lion? Of course she’s going to get plants. And Olkarion might have helped her appreciate the natural world more, but she still thinks plant powers are lame. She’s not Poison Ivy. Give her computers and climate control any day. But then she starts talking to Green as she’s coding, and at first she just figures she’s a genius (which she is, thank you very much) but her programs are like nothing she or anyone else has seen before. Especially the viruses she writes for Galra tech. They grow. She can plant a “seed” on one part of system and later she’ll find that code sinking its roots into an entirely different part of the enemy ship. It creeps like vines, breaking through any firewall, tangling up any kind of security, alive in a way even the best AI isn’t. Pidge doesn’t even really need an access point anymore, just let her loose near some tech and like an invasive species, soon she’s overrun it all. Pidge’s code is like vines, like ivy or tangle weed, and once it’s in there, you can try to root it out. But you won’t succeed. Pidge likes this kind of plant.

And finally Hunk can kind of just...bend reality. Normally it’s little things, like cables that shouldn’t work suddenly don’t need an adaptor, the rust jamming certain gears is magically clean, that fuel cell that’s been on empty for the last three varga is still going strong. Of all the paladins, Hunk appreciates that difference little things can make (for good or for really, really bad. You won’t think changing the rotation rate of that star by half a second would make a difference, but turns out that changes the magnetic fields which create solar flares which...). Hunk’s happy making small, manageable adjustments to reality that he can predict the full consequences of. Mostly. But there’s still definitely been a time that someone’s held a gun to one of his teammate only to find--the gun isn’t there anymore? It never was? There wasn’t even a gun in existence in the first place? And occasionally someone will realize that aren’t really limits to what Hunk can change besides those Hunk sets himself. Those people start to back away very slowly as Hunk talks to himself about whether or not he should turn this rock into space chocolate That’s a pretty big molecular change, not telling what side effects with come with that. But if he took something that was already food, now there’s an idea... Hunk doesn’t use his power in combat that much. Or, at least, not in ways people notice (but isn’t it convenient that with Hunk around, armor lasts longer, equipment runs better, no one’s amo ever runs out...)

All these abilities would be chaos to work with, except that the paladins have grown to develop a low-level mind-meld like they have in the Lions. Normally it’s white noise far in the background, but it can flare up when needed and nothing is quite as disconcerting as when Keith pings something and all of them turn as one to look a second before something happens. Sometimes people swear that even when the paladins are outside of their Lions, doing separate things, they still move unnervingly like part of one unit. And in the Lions--

Gone are the days of inexperienced pilots attempting to survive. Pidge is turning your tech against you. Keith is predicting your every move. Shiro and Hunk are wrecking havoc on reality and all known laws of physics. This in addition to all the bells and whistles and impossible weapons they’ve unlocked in Voltron. And while you’re panicking, trying to figure out how the hell you’re supposed to fight this thing, Lance is there cranking your dread to eleven. Suddenly, it’s no longer surprising that Voltron is the most powerful weapon in the universe.

“Don’t they ever scare you?” ask some planetary leaders after witnessing the might of Voltron. Sure, the paladins are supposed to be the good guys, but... “What if they stop listening to you?”

“Oh, I’m not worried,” says Allura, the woman who has the power to heal and destroy planets in her fingertips. She smiles like her teeth haven’t turned sharp and blinding white in the last minute.

“I am their Princess.”

#voltron #vld #shiro #keith #lance #pidge #hunk #allura #shiro and hunk trying to serve cookies to the locals: why are they scared of us :(#pidge: maybe because you guy are kinda big?#shiro: [distressed shiro noises]#lance: *sighs* [gets to work soothing emotions so his scary-but-sensitive friends don't get their feelings hurt]#voltron paladin powers #mckinlily writes: vld fic

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fruitcoops · 4 years ago

Note

Could you maybe write a “73 questions with Sirius Black” Vogue one? Or something like that.

Yes! I had never seen these videos before and it was a fun challenge to write. Hope you enjoy! Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove!

The house is large, two stories tall and painted a soft gray with white trim around the windows. Holiday lights have yet to be taken down and shine in all colors of the rainbow from the eaves as the camera crew walks up the front steps. The curtains in the window tremble for a moment, then a dog pokes her head through—she is all-black and curious, and looks quite large.

Dorcas Meadowes knocks on the front door; a moment later, it swings open and reveals Sirius Black. “Hey, guys, come on in! You can leave your shoes by the door inside.”

“Thanks, Sirius.” Dorcas kicks off her flats and follows him inside as he sets a dish towel on the end table and leans against it. “How are you today?”

“I’m doing pretty well. Morning practice was productive and I’m feeling good about our upcoming game.”

“We’re here today to ask you 73 rapid-fire questions while you lead us around. Sound good?”

“Sounds good. You can all come inside instead of freezing on the porch,” he laughs, waving them closer. The door shuts with a gentle click.

“First question: on a scale of 1-10, how excited are you about life right now?”

“Hmmm. A solid seven.”

“Do you have any pets?”

“I do!” Sirius leads them into the other room, where the dog is curled up on the couch below the window; he picks her up and gives her a kiss on the head. “This is Hattie and I love her very much.”

“Cute! If you could do a dramatic love scene in a movie with anyone, who would it be?”

Sirius sets the dog down and thinks for a second. “Aside from my fiancé, I’m going to say James Potter. We would kill it and I don’t think it would be that awkward.”

“What’s the origin of your name?”

“Pretty much my whole family has star-themed names. Sirius is the dog star from Canis Major.”

“Brightest star in the sky, too. What’s one thing people don’t know about you?”

“I’m an introvert. Lots of people assume that I’m super social because of my job, but I’m very quiet in real life.” He walks back out to the entrance and takes the towel off the table, then moves into the kitchen. It’s well-lit and painted a deep, warm red. The countertop is scattered with knickknacks and picture frames—clearly, this is a place people spend a lot of time. Hattie, who followed them in, lays down by the oven with a heavy sigh.

“What’s your wakeup ritual?”

Sirius reaches up and pulls two mugs out of the cupboard. “I wake up around seven am and make coffee while Re is in the shower, then rinse off and get dressed while he makes breakfast. It’s a good system. Want some tea?”

“Sure. What’s your bedtime ritual?”

“I don’t think I have one,” he says as he puts the kettle on and ignites a burner on the stove. “Usually we read or watch a movie, then go up to bed and talk for a while. There’s not a big routine or anything.”

“Sounds nice. What’s your favorite time of day?” Dorcas sits on the other side of the kitchen island while he takes a box of peppermint tea down.

“That’s a tough one. I like the in-between spots, like just after sunrise or dusk. Three in the afternoon is usually pretty chill as well. Does anyone else want a cup?”

There are a few murmurs behind the camera and he takes two more down. “What is one thing no one knows about you?” Dorcas asks.

He raises an eyebrow. “If I told you, everyone would know, and it wouldn’t count.”

“Fair enough. Dream country to visit?”

“Anywhere. I think I want to go to Ireland first, though.” Small wisps of steam begin curling out of the kettle, but it doesn’t whistle.

“Do you ever feel pressure to post things on social media?”

Sirius makes a face. “I used to. Eventually I just got tired of it, you know? The whole point of social media is sharing bits of your life with people and it makes me happy to show off my dog, or Re, or my friends. I post things just for fun now.”

The kettle begins to hiss and he reaches back to turn it off. “Sneakers or skates?”

“Skates.”

“Vintage or new?

“Vintage, especially for t-shirts and sweaters.”

“Who is your biggest role model?”

“Pascal Dumais.” Sirius stops pouring for a moment to look up at the camera. “If you ever get a chance to meet him, listen to what he has to say. You’ll be better for it.”

“Wise words. How do you deal with negativity? Oh, thank you.” Dorcas wraps her hands around the mug and takes a small sip while Sirius passes the other ones to the crew.

“Honestly? I don’t give a shit. It used to really bother me, but I’m happy, I have a job I love, and my family cares about me. Why should I care what people I’ve never met think of me?” He sits on the counter and rests his elbows on his knees, blowing on the hot water.

“What are three things you can’t live without?”

“My dog, Remus, and my family.” There is no hesitation in his voice.

“Not hockey?”

“I’d be devastated if I couldn’t play, sure, but it’s not the central focus of my life anymore.”

“What’s one ingredient you put in everything?”

“Does salt count?” He winces as he takes a drink. “Ugh, burned my tongue. I put salt on a lot of things because I drink so much water that it throws my balance off.”

“What is something you’re completely bored of right now?”

Sirius rolls his eyes. “Gossip columns and tabloids in general.”

Dorcas hums in agreement. “What’s your biggest fear in life?”

“Losing my loved ones.”

“Window or aisle seat?”

“Window. Anyone walking by always steps on my foot or hits my elbow if I’m in the aisle. Plus, I get a good view and an easy nap spot.”

“What’s your current TV obsession?”

“Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I’m watching for the third time already.” He shakes his head. “It’s just so good.”

“Favorite app?”

He takes a second to think. “Spotify.”

“Secret talent?”

Sirius looks at her over the rim over his cup. “This is going to shock you. Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Hockey.”

“You’re the worst.” Despite her words, Dorcas smiles. “What the most adventurous thing you’ve done in your life?”

“Uh, probably going to Europe with some of the guys last year. We had a lot of fun, but it was crazy.”

“I can imagine it was. How would you define yourself in three words?”

“Tall, dark, and handsome.”

“And apparently not humble,” Dorcas teases. “Favorite piece of clothing?”

“Hoodies.”

“Clothing item everyone should have?”

“Hoodies.”

A door opens behind them and the camera turns; Remus walks out of the basement, covered in sweat as he wipes his forehead with the hem of his shirt and holds his skates in his other hand. “Baby, have you seen…” he trails off when he sees the group of people in the kitchen. Hattie’s tail thumps on the floor. “Um. Hello.”

“Hey, Remus, how are you doing?” Dorcas asks mildly.

The camera pans out to catch both Sirius, who is laughing quietly, and Remus, who flushes pink. “I’m good. I thought you were coming at ten?”

“It’s ten-thirty, sweetheart,” Sirius says, hiding his smile in his tea.

Remus glances at the clock before giving an awkward nod and walking toward the stairs. “I guess I’ll take a shower, then. Sorry about that. Uh, carry on.”

“What’s a superpower you would want?” Dorcas asks as soon as he disappears.

Sirius shakes his head with a grin. “Uh, teleportation. That would be really cool.”

“What’s inspiring you in life right now?”

“Ah, une grande question.” He thinks, then tilts his head toward the staircase. “Moments like that. And the Stanley Cup, of course.” He reaches back and knocks on the wooden cupboard.

“What cause is closest to your heart?”

“LGBT+ rights, especially trans rights. I’m privileged enough to have a platform and I intend to be loud as hell about that.”

“Good.” Dorcas sets her almost-empty mug on the table. “What’s one thing you’d say to your teenage self?”

Sirius lets out a long breath and drums his hands on the light blue ceramic of his cup. “I would say…it gets better. It really, really does. You’re going to feel super shitty for just a little bit longer, but then I promise you will be so incredibly happy that you wake up every morning and it hits you all over again.”

Dorcas nods, and the kitchen is quiet for a moment. “What’s a book that everyone should read?”

“The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien.”

“What would you like to be remembered for?”

“This is going to sound so corny, but I want to be remembered for just being a good person.”

“That’s not corny. How do you define beauty?”

“Remus Lupin.”

“That’s corny,” she laughs, making him smile. “What do you love most about your body?”

“I’m a big guy, which can be a little bit intimidating, but it means I give really great hugs. I’m sure everyone saw the video that went around a while ago.”

“Cap Cuddles?”

He snorts. “Right. You’ve got Finn O’Hara to thank for that.”

“In your opinion, what’s the best way to take a rest or decompress?”

“Being alone,” Sirius says. “There is literally nothing better than getting home and sitting down with a book or something while I can hear Re doing his own thing and Hattie’s napping. It’s one of my favorite parts of the afternoon.”

“That’s the most introverted thing you’ve ever said.” Dorcas grins and finishes her tea just as a faint beeping noise begins in another room. “What’s your favorite way to experience art?”

“Through music, for sure.” He slides off the counter and walks down the hall, leading them toward the laundry room. He gives the camera crew a look as he pulls dry clothes out of the machine and heads back to the living room. “What? Did you think I didn’t do my own laundry?”

“You lost a sock,” Dorcas informs him, picking it off the ground and laying it on top of his head.

“Thanks, D.”

“What question do people ask that you wish they wouldn’t?”

“Lots of people have asked me when I decided to be gay, which is wrong on so many levels.”

“If you could master one instrument, what would it be?”

“Guitar or piano.” He dumps the load of laundry on the couch and opens the back door, holding it for the crew as they walk out into the sunshine. Hattie weaves through their legs and disappears into the bushes along the back.

“I might have to take your dog home with me. If you had a tattoo, where would it be?”

Sirius mock-glares at her. “Let me have my girl! Um, I would love to have a tattoo somewhere on my arm.”

“This might be a hard one. Dolphins or koalas?”

“Oh, that is hard. Probably dolphins. The ocean is terrifying but those little guys are just having a blast.”

“What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?” Dorcas asks as he picks up a tennis ball and throws it across the yard. Hattie emerges from the bushes and races after it in a blur of black fur.

“An engagement ring.”

“Yeah, it was.” Remus walks into the backyard and kisses Sirius’ cheek before bending down to catch Hattie in his arms. His hair is still damp from the shower. “Hello, sweet girl!”

“Who’s your favorite musician?”

“Queen.” Sirius laughs at her surprised look. “I’m gay, what did you expect?”

“True. What’s your favorite board game?”

“Monopoly.” Remus and Hattie disappear from the frame, but the bouncing sound of the tennis ball creates some background noise and Sirius watches them for a moment with pure affection.

“Favorite color?”

“Blue.”

“Least favorite color?”

“Orange.”

“Bowties or knot ties?”

He frowns. “Don’t they all have knots?”

“Smartass.”

“Yep! Uh, regular ties.”

“Bowties are superior!” Remus calls.

“Get your own questions!” Sirius laughs.

“Going off your music answers: records or CDs?”

“I don’t own a lot of records, so I’m going to have to go with CDs. I love the way vinyl sounds, though.” His eyes widen as he looks to the side. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Remus wheezes. “I didn’t need those ribs anyway.”

“For the viewers, the dog just football-tackled him into the grass,” Sirius says, and Dorcas snorts.

“Your hair is famously luscious. Blow-dry or air-dry?”

“Air dry.”

“Coffee or tea?”

“Coffee, but tea is nice in the evenings.”

“What’s the weirdest word in the English language?”

Sirius laughs. “There are so many. Uh, ‘jeez’ is the one that comes to mind first.”

“What about the French language?”

“Oiseaux,” he says in a crisp accent. “It means ‘birds’, and you pronounce about three of the actual letters.”

“Good to know. Do you prefer dark chocolate or milk chocolate?”

“Dark chocolate.”

“Stairs or elevators?”

“Elevators. I don’t want to walk up three floors after playing hockey for two and a half hours.”

“Summer or winter?”

Sirius bites his lip in thought as they walk around the yard, where small flowers line the fence in beds and colorful pots. “I love summer because I have actual free time to be with my friends, but winter is hockey season. I don’t know, next question.”

“What’s a dessert you don’t like?”

“I’m not a huge fan of caramel. It’s too sticky.”

“A skill you’re working on mastering?”

“Will you ban me from more interviews if I say hockey?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, I’m working on keeping plants alive, as you can probably see.” He taps the nearest flowerpot gently with his foot; it has ‘Harry’ painted across it in sloppy blue letters. “My godson made that for my birthday.”

“What’s the best thing to happen to you today?”

“This, for sure,” he says with a smile. “I haven’t seen you and Marley in ages.”

“We missed you, too. What’s the worst thing that happened to you today?”

He pouts slightly. “Burning my tongue on tea.”

“Hugs or kisses?”

“Hugs! Though I’ll accept kisses from a few very specific people.”

“Do you have a favorite smell?”

He pauses and cranes his neck to look behind the cameras. “Re?”

“Yeah?”

“What shampoo do you use?”

“Uhhh…” There’s a moment of quiet. “It’s something with lavender, I think.”

Sirius turns back to Dorcas. “Something with lavender.”

“How specific,” she laughs. “What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?”

He smiles to himself. “There was a young woman, maybe sixteen or seventeen, that came to one of the games earlier this season. I saw her standing with a puck and went over, and while I was signing it she looks at me and says, ‘you are exactly what I wish my older brother was like’. Turns out, she was bisexual and her brother wasn’t super accepting of her. That was…” He shakes his head. “That meant the world to me. I’ll never forget it.”

“You’ve definitely made a big impact on the community,” Dorcas agrees. “What’s the last piece of content you consumed that made you cry?”

“I watched ‘Soul’ the other night and almost had to pause it at one point to pull myself together.”

“Do you prefer animated movies or live-action?”

“Animated, mostly because I wasn’t allowed to watch Disney movies as a kid, so I’ve been catching up as an adult and they rock.”

“What’s your nerdiest quality?

“I love watching documentaries.”

“Sweet or savory?” The back door creaks a bit as they walk back inside and the camera catches a few frames of Hattie and Remus running around the yard together.

“Sweet.”

“In ten years, you have a daughter. What age do you let her date?”

Sirius gives Dorcas a look. “Whenever she wants to. I’m going to impose curfews and stuff, but I’m the last person on the planet to police her love life.”

“Good answer. What’s a song you can listen to on repeat?”

“Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen. Absolute banger.”

“If you could switch lives with someone for a day, who would it be?”

“Arthur Weasley,” he says after a moment. “I would love to know what it feels like to get up in the morning and know you’re about to spend another day wrangling our team. It’s a miracle he hasn’t killed us all with his clipboard.”

“How do you know you’re in love?”

“Oh.” Sirius blinks at her in surprise at the sudden topic change. “Well, for me, I think it’s just…being comfortable around someone. Being able to spend time with them without saying anything and knowing you’re safe, no matter what. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

“What are you most excited about at this time in your life?”

A slight smile crinkles his eyes. “Getting married. That’s going to be awesome.”

“Who is your go-to for having a good laugh?”

“James Potter. He’s the best, and I love him.”

“Last question,” Dorcas says, sliding her list into her pocket. “Many LGBT+ people, especially teenagers, have spoken about how you’re an inspiration. Any words for them?”

Sirius hums in thought. “First of all, thank you for being so open and welcoming. I would never have expected the sheer force of people’s love to come through like that when so many people were saying horrible things. Second, to any kids out there who need to hear it: I’m proud of you. It takes a lot to be true to yourself and even if you’re still in the closet, you’re just as valid as the rest of us. Stay proud.”

“That’s a wrap.” Dorcas gives him a quick hug that he happily returns. “Thanks for letting us crash your morning, Cap.”

“Any time. Thanks for tuning in to Lion Pride, everyone!”

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teacup-crow · 3 years ago

Text

Maybe, Maybe, Maybe

Fun bit of survivors’ guilt for @badthingshappenbingo, based pretty heavily off Don’t Poke the Bear and Variations on a Theme. Post-finale.

They take it in turns to keep watch for when he wakes up: Doug, Reneé, Isabel, first names still such a novelty. Just his luck, he opens his eyes to the impassive face of Captain Lovelace.

“Hi, dickbag. Sore head?”

“Unnnnhh…” he whines as if he’s lying under a ton of rocks rather than a cosy quilt on Renee’s living room floor. His face is a patchwork of bruising. “Aspirin?”

She takes pity, and passes him two and a glass of water. The sitting up takes longer than he thought it would.

“You look terrible. Lucky for you, Renee makes a mean chilli con carne. Never would have guessed she could cook.”

“No thanks, I should, should be going-”

“You need food in your system, that’s non-negotiable. First thing’s first, though, you’re having a shower, and you either go willingly or get dragged bodily, because you goddamn stink. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir,” he mumbles automatically, and he remembers the Colonel - Warren? Was it on a day he could call him Warren? - once saying something similar and his head pounds. ((“mr jacobi, of all the irresponsible, stupid shit i have seen from you this really takes the-“))

“Bathroom’s on the second floor, just past the master bedroom. Dominick put a pile of clean clothes in there before he left for work. And it’s Isabel, okay? Not sir. Not Captain. Never again.”

***

“Who did this to you?”

He grips his mug of sweet tea like it’s thousand dollar whiskey. He’s still ashen. “I did this to me.”

“You beat the shit out of yourself? Okay, yeah. Don’t buy that one.” Isabel repeats the question. “Who did this to you?”

“Just some guys I pissed off. I don’t know how many. I don’t know who. Happy now?”

The room goes silent. Isabel continues:

“And did you go provoking them deliberately?”

Not for the first time, Renee wonders whether they should have included Doug in this little intervention. He’s been through so much just like the rest of them, but he doesn’t know it, and he’s clearly freaking out at the situation.

“Why would he want something like that to happen? He looks terrible!”

“I don’t know, Doug,” Isabel says levelly. “Care to answer, Jacobi?”

He’s not on a first name basis, apparently.

“Not… I didn’t... no. No, no, no. I was too drunk and… picking fights, but suddenly there were too many of them, okay? But I got out. And if I want to drink then that’s my own problem, so thank you for the hospitality but-“

Renee cuts in there. “When you drink yourself into a stupor, get attacked by a gang in a back alley, and stumble into my doorway at 0300 hours after six months of radio silence, it becomes our problem.” Her look of pity makes his stomach churn even more than the chilli did. He breathes in, hold, out; in, hold, out; in-((alana’s breathing technique and why why why is she everywhere in everything why does he have to see her out of the corner of his eye when it’s been so long he can’t properly remember her face-))

“Fine. What do you want from me?”

“You are a good man and you saved every single one of our lives and we need to understand why you’re so intent on throwing yours away.”

Jacobi starts laughing then, guttural laughs that worsen the ache in his head and bones but he can’t seem to stop them. “...me? I’m a good man? Oh my God, Lieutenant, that’s hilarious. Give us another.”

“You need to take this seriously! This is a form of self harm! You could have died!” Isabel is pacing up and down. She and Renee do good cop, bad cop like it’s a professional sport.

“Boo fucking hoo. And the world would forever be worse off for my passing.”

Isabel stops, and turns back towards him with some heat in her gaze. “I have lost too many crew members who deserved to die far less than you do. Okay? Is that what you want to hear? Do you need me to reconfirm that you are a an asshole? Do you need to hear about how Fisher, and Hui, and Fourier, and Lambert were all far better people than you will ever, ever be? Or will you accept that you are good in there? That deep down you’re on the right-“

“We burned their letters.” He’s staring at the duvet he’s wrapped in, running his finger over the flowers on the pattern. “Okay? Still think I’m a good person?”

“...wait. What?” She laughs a little, in shock perhaps. “But you told me…”

“I told you what I needed to tell you to make you trust me. We burned your crew’s letters. Lambert’s… I remember those especially. His hands were shaking really hard when he wrote them, weren’t they.”

It’s not a question.

Isabel stops pacing, and Jacobi grins again but it doesn’t reach his bruised eyes when he looks up at her. “More than mine, even. You could tell he was sick. They didn’t make any sense. We laughed at them. The irony of a Communications Officer who can’t communicate. Are you listening to me? We read their letters and we burned them and we laughed about it-“

Renee loses her softness. “Jacobi, that is enough!”

Isabel has a hand on her chest as if something has hit her there. She counts to ten in her head, ((fisher’s technique to try and stop her fighting with sam, never worked but still stuck in her head, or this copy of her head, or whoever she is now-)) and leaves the room.

They hear her slamming drawers in the kitchen.

Doug glances at Jacobi and shakes his head, before hurrying after her.

“How could you,” Reneé says. “How could you.”

“I don’t know. Will you let me go and ruin my own life now?”

“Never,” she replies. “Because, God help me, you’re still a member of my crew.”

At that, his eyes prick with tears he can’t explain. He rolls over on the air bed, and closes them.

***

“Lovelace?” Jacobi finally makes himself walk into the kitchen, grimacing like each step is on hot sand. The words are monotone. “I’m so sorry. What I did and said is... inexcusable.”

“Nope. That’s too large a word for your vocabulary. Come back to me with an apology Renée didn’t script,” Isabel snaps, going back to scribbling in a sketchbook.

“Look, I’m not much good at this-“

“You’re telling me.”

“I’m… really used to people yelling at me and hitting me until they feel better. Or you can shoot me if you like!”

“Jesus. Well, I am not about to do that to ease your guilt. You look like you’d snap if one more person poked you. So apologise properly.”

“I’m sorry…”

“For?” Isabel prompts over the top of her book.

“I’m sorry for burning your crew’s letters.”

“You did what you were ordered to do. It is what it is. I’m not condoning it.”

There’s a moment of silence, and Jacobi realises she’s waiting for him to continue. “And… I’m sorry for bringing it up. That was… needlessly cruel. It sucked.”

“It really did,” she replies, putting the book down. “Tell you what: that sounded somewhat genuine, and Goddard brought out the shit in all of us. You look so pathetic, I’m going to forgive you. Not because you deserve it, but because I don’t bear grudges. Not anymore.”

She holds out a hand, and he shakes it. “Thank you.”

“Wow. That actually hurt for you to say.”

Jacobi nods. He sits down across from her at Renée’s huge darkwood table, and thinks about how she and Dominick must have bought this when they moved in together with plans to have people over for dinner every other night. Maybe even plans to have kids.

He wonders if Dominick ate at it alone while his wife was gone.

“So, you gone on that holiday yet?”

“No, actually. I’ve legally been dead for about seven years, so getting a passport is proving pretty tricky.”

“I can imagine.”

“Where have you been, anyway? We tried to get into contact with you. We drove down to your old apartment - got your address from the Goddard database - but it was cleaned out.”

Jacobi looks sheepish. “Yeah, well, I’d mostly been staying at Alana’s for the last few years or overnight at… yeah… so I’d not been a very good tenant and turns out they took ‘lost in space’ as the perfect opportunity to kick me out. So I’ve been sofa to sofa, on the streets a bit-”

“For heaven’s sake, Jacobi. We would have helped you, you stupid asshole! All you had to do was ask and you could have stayed here! Renee and Dominick would probably even let you have a cheese collection or whatever the fuck it was.”

“Guess the amount of drinks it takes for me to lose my pride is somewhere over eighteen?”

“How do you have a functioning liver?”

They sit in an almost comfortable silence for a few minutes, Isabel reopening her sketchbook.

“I never knew you drew.”

“You never knew me outside of a life-threatening situation.” Isabel sighs, twists the pencil between her fingers. “I don’t think I did. Before. The old ‘me’, I mean. But I was bored and I can’t get a job because of the ‘being dead’ issue, so I thought I should take up a hobby or something. Might be therapeutic. I’m not very good at it…”

“Can I see?”

“I, uh,” Isabel suddenly looks uncertain. “I drew her. Maxwell. I drew everyone, actually. Are you sure you want to look?”

“Yes.”

He leafs through the pages, at first simple doodles before branching into full portraits. Eiffel, upside down and smoking a cigarette. Hilbert, looking troubled at a shadow behind him he can’t quite see. Two ghostlike figures in lab coats staring out at the star, the man with a prophetic terror etched on his face - must be Isabel’s old crewmates. Mr Cutter smiles up at him with far too many sharp teeth in sharper lines where the pencil was pressed far too hard and he turns the page quickly. There’s Kepler, mid-whiskey speech and it almost stops his heart. He pauses. Maxwell.

In the picture, her eyes are shining as she stares at Hera’s console, fingers nothing more than a blur - the three-day stint she spent trying to get the AI online. Aside from the orange and blue of Wolf 359, elsewhere in the book Isabel has barely used colour, but here the room is bathed in a serene green light from the screens. Behind Maxwell, Jacobi sees himself, little more than a stocky, sketchy outline, waiting for her to finish.

He looks so proud of her.

He looks so… content.

After staring for a long moment, Jacobi closes the book and hands it back. “Thank you.”

“You can keep the pictures of them, if you like,” Isabel offers, but he doesn’t know whether he would like, so he says:

“Tell me about your crew.”

“What?”

“Your old crew. Tell me about them. Was Lambert the one staring at...?”

“No. No. No, that was Kuan Hui, our senior astrophysicist. He was whipsmart and funny and fearless, until the time Goddard Futuristics played around in his brain, stretched out his perception of time. He was completely alone in the dark for two weeks. His smile never really reached his eyes after that.”

Jacobi sips tea awkwardly, even though it’s cold.

“Something like that, it stays with you. At least he had Fourier, though.”

“That’s the woman behind him?”

“Junior physicist. Victoire Fourier had eyes like stars. Cleverest person I’ve ever met. She played six instruments, spoke four languages and she had the most gentle soul. She used to read to Hui when he got sick with Decima. Coughed up every organ in his body. I thought it would break her, but she was made of stern stuff. She vanished off the space station in the final days and I still don’t know what exactly happened to her-”

“I… do. If you want to know, I mean.”

Isabel shakes her head. Then pauses. Then shakes her head again. “I get the feeling whoever is to blame is long gone.”

Jacobi shrugs. “Who else?”

“Well, there was Mace Fisher. Fisher… Fisher died because of me, not Goddard Futuristics. Asteroid shower tore him from my hands. He had a boyfriend waiting at home. He was sensitive, sensible, grounding. A real older brother type. I- I didn’t deal particularly well with his death. Well, you know that much.”

((Pill popper!)) Jacobi gulps more cold tea.

“And Lambert?”

“Sam Lambert. Officer Samuel Lambert had a stick up his ass. He was whiny, and authoritarian, and he treasured his copy of Pryce and Carter more than Reneé and Kepler combined did. He drove me nearly insane, and I drove him likewise. The best second in command you could ask for. A damn good man. Sam got sick after Hui, so we knew what was coming. What it meant. He was brave, though. At first.”

((“C-Captain, please shoot me, please, it hurts, it hurts, Captain, please, I just want it to-”)

She falters.

“Lovelace?”

“Yup?”

“You know, it’s not even really about the Hephaestus. I keep… it’s insane, but I keep thinking about… I was an explosives guy for the Air Force. Before Goddard. A trigger failed and two men died. Andrews and Sullivan. I haven’t thought about them in years and suddenly-“

“They’re everywhere?”

There’s a sudden understanding between them.

“They’re everywhere. Them and Maxwell and Kepler. They’re in mirrors, in the back of my brain, around corners.”

“Flashes of them.”

“And if you just reach out far enough, maybe-“

“Maybe-“

“Maybe.”

((let’s go be monsters)), Jacobi’s brain echoes. He grits his teeth.

“Did it stop for you? When does it stop?” He finds himself asking. Isabel doesn’t answer.

#wolf 359 #bad things happen bingo #Daniel Jacobi #isabel lovelace #w359

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dustysandwiches · 4 years ago

Text

Family (TMVSTM)

Summary: Eric and Deborahbot 5000 feels like they didn't belong with the The Mitchells and run away to live their own lives

"Purple glasses woman, why did you saved me?"

"Oh come on, you boys are family now"

Family…?

It is such a complex word, too difficult to truly understand. For a robot create just to following orders, Eric did not understand it yet, though he did looked up the definition of it but despite that he plays along for the sake of his and his Pal Max brother

They're heading to the Silicon Valley, The night sky is filled with no stars but the green "fun pots" containing human to somewhere. It makes the sky lights up with green light. It is an unusual sight even for robots.

The Mitchells are really going to destroy Pal?.... If so, what will happen to the remaining robots? What if..they failed..?

The bot are lost in his memories and Net Work to find something he's looking for. It seems like he's in too deep in the system Until he feels someone shaking his shoulder part lighty

"Eric...Eric, are you there? Is your system too damaged?" A voice speaks in hushed tone

Eric turn his mechanical head to another Pal Max bot, Deborahbot 5000

His brother

"What wrong? you've been so still like you shut down. I'm…. worry"

Deborah grip Eric's shoulder part lighty. Robots isn't supposed to have feelings but they're the defective now anyway, so it's not surprising that he would express what he "feels"

The car stop at some abandoned gas station. Only Katie, Aaron and the loft of bread are sleeping in the car at the moment. Mother and The male Mitchells are inside the store for something. Eric finally answered and grip Deborah's hand back

"I'm okay, my system and outside damage is unchange at the moment. I'm sorry I didn't acknowledge your question earlier. Don't need to be worry"

"Okay… but tell me if anything is acting strange, will you? I don't want to lose you, brother...We're only defective robots here, if you're gone, what am I going to do?"

"I'll always have your back like you have mine, brother. We are going to survive, one way or another"

Eric tells what he thinks is logical to his robo brother. He let go of Deborah's hand and turned his head to Mother, who's making her way back to the car with her partner and tells her the safest route to Silicon Valley.

The car is running along the road at night. The robo brothers looking outside of the car, expanding their data about the human environment and hearing the conversation between Katie and Mother. They're talking about The male Mitchells, Rick of how he's just trying to make her happy.

Eric wants to feel this "happy" too and he wants Deborah to feel the same. Maybe it would feel really nice, like getting their system updated.

But how could they do that? They're about to went through most protected head quarter in the world right now and there's no guarantee that the plan would work but the show must go on

"Mom, what is that?"

"Oh my god!!"

The car suddenly stops, making their head jerks back, Eric and Deborah turn their heads to the front window. As the Mitchells get out of the car to stand in front of the giant building as tall as the sky.

"We're here...the Head Quarter" Eric said as he's getting out of the trunk

"Oh boy, I don't like this. Do you think we could get to the top without others noticing?" Deborah ask, stepping beside Eric in front of the car, behind the Mitchells

Slowly, Eric extends his hand to the side to his brother, knob and gears whirring while he processes his next word. Deborah immediately holds his hand and they're both looking up to the tower.

"No matter what happens, we're going to be alright"

__________________________________

The plan did not go well. The Mitchells got caught by a new robot, Pal invented. The sounds of the alarm is almost deafening, after the cable car has fell down and crashed. Deborah's vision is trying to adjust after he hits the ground. The first thing he see is the face of Pal Max bot with some face drawn on.

"Are you alright, brother?" Eric said as worrying as his robotic voice could spunds while kneeling next to him

Before he could answer, The black robot burst through and captured Mother and Rick. The Mitchells is being taken away and Deborah knows he need to help

Because they're his family now too

"Mitchells, we will help"

"Oh no no no, you won't. download new order"

Suddenly, like the virus creeping through their system. Making the robo brothers clutch their head like they're in pain, unable to take control of their body any longer.

New order appears : Capture the Mitchells

Deborah trying to break free one last time

No please I don't want to do this. Eric, Mother, Anyone…Can you hear me?..

"We're sorry, Mother"

Then, everything went blank

__________________________________

"Let's take a photo after we saved the world!" Linda said cheerily to Eric after handing or rather putting it in his hand

The battle is over the human won and the uprising is over. All of the Pal Max and the new robot has been shut down, Well almost every bot.

Eric and Deborahbot 5000 have broken through Pal's control and helped Rick Mitchells to put the video of the bread dog on, neutralizing the other robots. Now they're celebrating without them

They broke the code and helped this family save the world and now they can't even be in a photo? Eric thought but took the photo anyway. Maybe they're just too excited like humans always does.

The Mitchells tell the brothers, they can stay at home with them as a member of the family. The Mitchells welcome them, Linda teaches Deborah how to draw stuff like the Sun, the tree and other things. Rick shows them how to build a shelter from branches and leaves. Arron always talks to them about dinosaurs in his books and Katie sometimes asks them for ideas for her project. It was a good time.

Time passes and the robo brothers feels like they're more like a servant than a family. The Mitchells tells them to do things for them like chores, collecting the mails, mow the lawn and many things. Most of the time they haven't called them by their names or acknowledge them when they do something for the Mitchells. At first the brothers gladly do them, thinking it was a part of being a family but this time they had enough.

At night, when everyone is asleep. Eric and Deborah sit on a rooftop, looking into the sky. The moon is full today, shining bright along millions of sparkling stars. They come here every time they want to say something they went through each day, like updating each other. Today is different

"Today Rick called me Robot instead of my name again, I don't really think it's from force habits anymore" Deborah speaks in a quiet voice, mechanical head looks up to the shooting stars, then to his brother.

"But at least Mother let me help her cook dinner! It was really interesting, I learned how to peel a potato today, Look!"

He grabbed the potato peels besides him and held up to his brother. It's ragged, uneven and still has a big chunk of potato attached to it. Eric chuckles in a monotone like his robotic voice always does.

"That's great, Deborah. You know today Mother also let me do the laundry too! There was a lot of foam but I think I did well, Mother's face looks so surprised when I tell her I also put her bag in there too. She rushed past me so fast, I can't even see her"

"The purple bag? Oh yes, she loves that bag. Very thoughtful, Eric."

Then Deborah held out his hand, attempt to high-five Eric but they kept missing each other's hands, so they tapped their heads together gently. The glass tink softly as they did.

They looked up to the sky again, thinking about their lives with the Mitchells. Of how they've been treated lately, how they've been struggling to fit in the family and how they feel like they've been ignored.

Eric broke the silence between them and speaks in a quiet voice, hands gripping his knees tighter.

"Making our own order is great, we can do everything we want now"

Deborah nods " but why do I feel like we're doing The Mitchells order everyday"

"I understand if they haven't felt comfortable with us but they should have told us and we can be somewhere else. Not…. keeping us servants..like this.."

He looked back at Eric and asked in a hushed voice, if a robot can cry tears, his voice would be shaking like a human...but he's not human.

“I wonder if there’s any bots like us.. You know, the defectives. What are they up to? Where are they now? Do they stay with humans like us?”

“I don’t know, brother. I don’t know. I guess Pal wasn’t prepared for anything like this. She didn’t put any program for tracking other bots for us.”

“We should go find them. That way we can have our own robots family! We don’t have to listen to any humans anymore!

Deborah grab his brother shoulders part, turn his body to face him and said firmly

“You say it yourself, Eric. We take our own orders now. This is the time we can truly do that. Don’t you see? Other Mitchells except Mother didn’t treat us very well. They call us Robots rather than our names. They give orders. They got angry when we didn’t complete what they requested. They didn’t acknowledge us most of the time like we aren’t right there!”

His voice drop low and finally he hugs his brother, a gesture he saw human does to their family and the one they cared for

“We did everything together...but we’re just in the background every time..We aren’t supposed to feel emotions but I do...”

Slowly, Eric lifts his hand and hugs back tightly, mechanical gear and wires clicking as he thinks about his brother's words.

It’s true. They were in the background most of the time. They were more like a maid robot than a member of a family like the Mitchells said. Maybe his brother was right, this is not where they truly belong. They need to get away from humans. For good this time.

“You’re right. We should go”

Eric let go of his brother and stand up. Looking into the distant city, held out his hand for Deborah. They will make their own future with others, if there are any more of them left.

“Let’s go say our goodbye to the Mitchells. Though they may have treated us like this but they still help us from Pal.”

“Should we leave a letter or something?”

“If you want to, we can. Oh oh! We should put the glitter on!”

Together, they jump down from the rooftops and go inside the house. Writing a goodbye letter for the Mitchells, telling them they appreciated everything they did but they want to live their own lives somewhere else without anyone giving them orders

After sometime, they put the letter down at the dinner table with a flower Eric collected from the neighbor's house, The Poseys.

Now, the brothers stand in front of the house. Looking back one last time before leaving.

"Let's go, brother" Eric said.

_________________________________________

The sounds of the jet under their feet break the silence of the night. They jump and fly into the sky, green trails from the jet painting the night sky. They fly and fly further away from the house. Until the dawn came, they stopped at some abandoned cabin in the woods. It appears there's nobody living here for a long time.

"This place is in a good condition and I believe there's no human living here." Deborah said, feeling satisfied

"Yes, but we should look around just in case. Could you check around the cabin? I'll check inside." Eric asked while looking around and scanning the cabin with the camera on the top right of his head.

Deborah nods and goes out the door to check for anything or anyone. Leaving only Eric inside.

Eric wanders into the halls, scanning every room. The cabin is dusty and there were some traces of wild animals making a nest and shelter. Some kind of nuts and leaves were scattered all over the floor.Everything seems normal for an abandoned human cabin, until he spotted muddy footprints. It’s still wet, this only means one thing. There’s someone here.

The sound of a metal clanking from further down the cabin. It appears the sounds came from the kitchen. Eric changes one of his hand to the plasma beam shooter, being on guard and slowly walking to the origin of the sound.

#the mitchells vs the machines #My fantasy #Family (TMVSTM)#part 1

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just-my-fandom · 4 years ago

Text

One After Another (Cisco Ramon x Allen! Reader)

Chapter 1

Table of Contents

Part 1; Reader and Cisco meet their son from the future. Nora and their son admit to why they can’t go back to the future.

Request; Hi yes! Can I request a story? Or two long parts? Where the reader (Barry’s twin sister) and Cisco are married and reader is actually pregnant, and Nora shows up with a boy couple years older than her, and they reveal to be Barry and Iris’ daughter and the boy is reader and Cisco’s son, Dante? You don’t have to if you don’t want! Not forcing!

Tag list; None currently.

. . .

“Are you sure you dont want to know the gender?”

“I’m positive, Ralph,” You nod your head slowly, once, hands at your stomach and holding up your glass cup of (Favorite/Drink), “I mean, it’s not a big deal to me. We’ve already decided on names, Dante for a boy and Nora for a girl, simple,”

“But you guys could have a huge gender reveal party!” Ralph pleas, when Barry gets up to answer the door that was knocked on twice, “You could have party poppers, or have Joe dress up in a diaper!”

“I’ll kill you,” Joe threatens, and you snort, looking over your shoulder when two figures step into the living room, both darting their eyes around the living room as to scan each member of team Flash,

“I’m sorry,” Your brother rubs the back of his neck, brows pinched together as Cisco shifts in his spot beside you, arm along the back of the couch as his free hand held his wine glass- lucky, “Who are you guys?”

“I’m Nora,” The girl hesitates, hands wringing together, “Nora West-Allen,”

Before anyone can question on her last name, the boy next to her shifts, his eyes flicking to you, “I’m Dante,” You feel your chest tighten strangely, “Dante Henry Ramon,”

You feel Cisco cough on his wine, his hand behind you covering his mouth as he looks up at the young male, his brows pinched as his eyes then flicked to yours, “What?”

“I know this sounds super weird!” Nora tosses her hands in front of her, watching as her aunt and uncle stared at each other, before looking back up to her and Dante, “But we need your help,”

“I thought we were done with time traveling,” You sigh, tiredly, Cisco cocking his head in a “seriously?” motion, so you shrugged,

“What-what can we help you with?” Barry stammers, eyes narrowing slightly in thought,

“Dante and I were able to come to the past,” Nora explains, “Which is where we helped you destroy that satellite,”

“Wait, you’re a speedster?” Cisco points to Dante, your son forcing out a nervous laugh and a nod of his head,

“Great,” You murmur, so everyone looked to you, “I lose my speed and my son gains them,”

“Uh, you actually get your speed back after you give birth, Aunt Y/N,” Nora smiles, and watches as your lips pull upwards,

“Seriously?” You punch the air, free hand on your stomach, “Yes!”

“Okay,” Cisco shakes his head, standing up, “You’re telling me that the baby inside her right now,” He points to your bump, then raises his finger to Dante, “Is you?”

“Exactly,” Dante nods, “But I’m from 25 years in the future,”

“So you’re saying,” Barry runs a hand down his face, hand resting at his chin, “You’re my-our daughter,” He gestures to Iris, “And you’re my nephew?” Dante nods,

“I was named after both dads brother and Grandpa Henry,” He explains, looking to Nora, “Nora was named after Grandma Nora,”

“I see it as a win-win,” You grin, Cisco gesturing a hand out to you in disbelief,

“How are you so calm?”

“We’ve seen weirder things than this,” You remind, grasping the edge of the couch to stand, “Get me up, I can’t stand watching you drink wine while I’m stuck with (favorite/fruit) juice,”

“Why don’t we go to STAR Labs,” Iris speaks up, watching Cisco take your hand and raise you to your feet, allowing you to fully get a look at Dante, “We can figure all this out there, let you guys explain,”

. . .

“This is...”

“Weird,” Cisco finishes Barry’s sentence, looking to his brother in law who nods, both watching the two speedsters race around the speed lab, a mix of purple and yellow lightning blending with (favorite/color),

“Man I really miss my powers,” Your lips purse in a pout, hands curled under your stomach as your eyes easily kept up with the two speedsters,

“Can you really believe that’s our son up there?” Cisco murmurs, your eyes flicking to him, smiling at the grin on his face, “No matter how weird this is, it’s cool as hell,”

“I just can’t believe that we have a son,” You glance up to the running speedsters, “I was pretty sure Baby Ramon would be a girl,”

“Okay, we both know I was routing for a boy,” Cisco reminds, and you laugh, head tilting back with a grin.

“We need to be responsible with this,” Barry speaks up, your smile faltering as you look to him, “We need to find a way to send Dante and Nora back, and fast,”

“Yeah, I kind of agree,” Cisco purses his lips, “Even though this did ruin the “find out the gender at birth” scheme we were going for,”

Two figures speed to a stop behind you, your body turning to look to Nora and Dante both grinning at each other, them then looking to their parents in front of them,

“Okay guys,” Caitlin steps up, ordering the two to give her a hand, where she pierces their finger with a needle, “This is gonna link us up with your biometrics,”

“And these scrunchy things,” Cisco nods, moving in front of Dante to clasp the device around his wrist, “Is gonna analyze your connect with the Speed Force,”

Both teenagers nod as they both in sync look at their devices, grinning at each other before sprinting back around the speed lab,

“And what does it say?” Barry asks Caitlin, who types up the screen in front of her,

“A quick analysis of their DNAs show patterns that are familiar to all of you,”

“I knew it,” You nod, pursing your lips, “They’re our kids,”

“Well of course, Dante’s got my amazing hair,” Cisco twirls a lock of his hair, grinning when you shake your head.

“What about them being stuck here?” Barry continues, watching the quick interaction between his sister and best friend,

“Everything’s normal,” Cisco mutters, his own eyes on his screen as you move next to him, “They both have the speed force in their systems, they’re just... not going fast enough to open up the portal back to their timeline,”

Barry nods as his phone vibrates, glancing down with a short huff, “Damn, I was supposed to meet Singh at CCPD an hour ago,”

“Be safe,” You demand, your brother nodding before he speeds off, allowing you to look back up at the two speedsters, smiling lightly before looking back down to Cisco, his eyes looking up to meet yours before his hand presses to your bump, winking,

. . .

“I can’t believe I’m wearing the same tachyon enhancer my dad used to meet Supergirl for the first time,” Nora grins in excitement to her cousin next to her, who allowed Cisco to make adjustments to the same advice on his chest,

“I know, right?” Dante nods, gesturing to the device, “Mom had one too. But just the thought of them meeting Supergirl- cool as hell,”

“Alright,” Caitlin laughs, stepping back from Nora, “You’re both all set,”

“Did all these suits shrink?” The team looks up to Barry pulling at the bottom of his old Flash suit, your nose scrunching, “And why does it smell so bad?”

“Because it’s the one you used when you swam against King Shark, Uncle Barry,” Dante snickers, Barry nodding in realization,

“We should get going,” Barry presses his lips together as Dante and Nora frown to each other, Nora nodding in agreement, sadly,

“Then this is goodbye,” Dante says, clapping his gloved hands together as he glances to you, where you smile, softly, “It’s good to see you again, mom. I guess I’ll see you in a minute,”

“It was great meeting you,” You nod, “Even if it was six weeks too early,”

Dante laughs, glancing to Cisco, who holds up a pointed finger, “Answer this for me. Do I keep my long gorgeous locks even when I’m in my fifties?”

Dante holds up a finger to his lips, Cisco’s eyes widening in terror as he looks to his wife, where you laugh and snort against your hand, watching as Dante moved to the side of Barry Nora wasn’t at.

You wait, patiently, when the three speedsters rush off, looking over when Wally speeds up next to you, his hand at your arm, warningly, “Did they already leave?”

“Yeah, why? What’s up?” Iris asks, Wally shaking his head as he releases you,

“We have to stop them,”

Your eyes flick in alert to Cisco, flinching in alert to the explosion heard from behind the doors,

. . .

“Sorry I was too late,” Wally leans forward on his elbows, looking up to Nora on the labs bed, Dante and Barry both holding ice packs to their heads, “We got their Gideon to scan Nora and Dante’s blood samples,”

“Whatd she find?”

“Negative tachyons,” Wally sighs, your brows pinching as you glance to Cisco next to your chair,

“Negative tachyons?” Cisco questions, “So what, instead of speeding you up they slow you down?”

Wally nods, warily, Cisco frowning and huffing, “Well damn I was just joking, that’s a real thing?”

“Yeah. Ava and her team at the time bureau have encountered them before, but no one knows where they come from or how they’re generated.”

“Like Dark Matter for the space time continuum,” Barry nods,

“Exactly. They’re keeping Nora and Dante from entering the Speedforce,”

“Okay. I’ll work on this, you guys go help Ralph with the Gridlock crime scene,” Barry demands, ordering Dante and Nora to stay at the labs,

. . .

“We have to tell him,” Dante leans against Cisco’s desk as he watches Nora stare at the group photo of their family, his eyes staring down at the floor, “Uncle Barry at least deserves to know,”

“Nora,” Barry speaks up, so both Dante and Nora looked up at him, “What happens to me? In the future?”

Nora, Dante and Barry all stand in front of Gideon’s screen, the bright words, “FLASH VANISHES IN CRISIS,” shining in their faces,

“How long?” Barry orders, Nora tapping the screen so a new news article shined, saying, “25 YEARS LATER- FLASH STILL MISSING,”

Barry clenches his jaw, Dante clearing his throat, “You never come back,”

Barry glances back to look at him, then Nora, “How old were you when it happened?”

“I was born a few years before you vanished, I was at the age where I don’t have memories, but Dante, was,” Nora answers, shortly,

“Youre not stuck here, are you guys?” Barry realizes, Dante glancing down at his feet before looking up at his uncle,

. . .

“So you’re not stuck here,”

“No, we’re not,” Nora glances up to look at Iris, who sits in the seat in the corner of the West living room,

“So the reverse tachyons in your systems?”

Dante looks to Caitlin, “Were put there because of us,”

“Are you kidding?” Cisco asks, leaning on the couch beside Ralph, “Do you know how many credit card points I just blew just trying to get rid of those negative tachyons? I just bought a brand new spectral tachyeometer when I could’ve taken Y/N on our Fiji get away,”

“Why didn’t you guys tell us about this before?” Iris asks, “And why tell us when Y/Ns not here? She will be thrilled to know Dante gets to stay longer,”

“We can’t tell Y/N,” Barry instructs, Cisco looking up at him with pinched brows,

“And why not?”

Nora lifts her wrist to show the hologram of the same news letter from earlier, Cisco sitting up to read it more clearly,

“Barry never returns?” Cecile gasps, looking over to Cisco,

“Y/N doesn’t even know I disappear,” Barry explains, “And she can’t know. Not now,”

“And why not?” Cisco repeats, “You just want to throw it at her last minute as if we don’t know it’ll happen years in advance?”

“We don’t know what the news will do to her,” Barry reasons, gesturing to Dante, “She could go into early labor, complications can happen due to stress,”

“When uncle Barry does vanish later, mom falls into depression,” Dante tries, Cisco looking to him, “The realization of her losing not only Grandma Nora and Grandpa Henry, but uncle Barry disappearing, it takes a huge effect to her,”

“That’s why you came here,” Joe points to Nora, “To see your father,” Then Dante, “And your mothers brother before he vanished,”

“Well,” Iris stands up, Nora glancing up to her, “Looks like Dante and Nora will be able to train some more, after all,”

Dante and Nora look to grin at one another, Barry announcing to meet at STAR Labs in the next hour, “We’ll make an excuse as to why Dante and Nora are able to stay longer,”

. . .

“Babe? We’re home,”

You look up from the stove with pinched brows, stepping in the entrance of the kitchen so you see not only Cisco, but Dante,

“We?” You question, Dante pressing his lips together with a wave, “Were you not able to get him and Nora home?”

“Actually, yes,” Cisco nods, setting down his jacket, “But, Barry has decided to let them stay longer, train them more on their powers,”

“Will it not affect the future?” You ask, glancing up at Cisco when he moves up to you,

“Barry’s got it all under control,” Cisco nods, “Dont worry,”

“Okay,” You sigh, hands at his torso as you look to Dante, “Well. Welcome home I suppose. Why don’t you go get settled in the guest room, since, you know. Your bedroom is still a nursery,”

Your son laughs, nodding, “Yeah. Thanks mom,” You watch as he disappears down the hall, glancing up at your husband of three years,

“Mom,” You repeat, Cisco smiling as your eyes flash with warmth, “I’m never gonna get used to it,”

“Two more months,” Cisco reminds, hands slipping from your waist to your stomach, hands under your shirt, “And we get to meet baby Dante,”

You laugh, nodding, hands sliding around his neck to tangle in his hair, “I love you,”

“Mm, not as much as I do,” Your husband teases, leaning forward so his lips met yours, hand sliding to your back to pull you closer, so your stomach pressed to his,

You release a sigh against his mouth, smiling as you lean back, “C’mon, I made your favorite,”

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pennamesmith · 3 years ago

Text

For Want of a Skeletor

Entrapta hosts a Princess Alliance meeting at the Crypto Castle and absolutely nothing goes wrong. More Skeletor stories!

The lights were on late in Dryl.

Stars shone outside the windows. Entrapta sat hunched over her desk, studying datapads and readouts. A polite cough from the laboratory door caused her to look up from her work.

“Oh! I’m sorry Hordak, did I wake you?”

Her partner stepped softly into the room and shook his head. “Imp did. You know how he gets when either of us take too long to come to bed.”

Hordak crossed the cluttered floor and joined Entrapta at the desk. He was holding Imp in his arms, and the smaller, winged clone whined plaintively when he saw her. Entrapta kept her screens on, but leaned gratefully into Hordak’s side and curled a tendril of hair around his waist. She yawned, despite herself.

“I know. I just want to make sure I get everything right before the other princesses come over tomorrow.” She glanced back at the data, nervously tapping her fingertips together. “I’ve never hosted an Alliance meeting before! And this rescue will be our biggest mission since… well, you know. I don’t want to mess anything up.”

Hordak smiled. “Your diligence is admirable. But I also seem to recall someone telling me that imperfections are beautiful.”

Entrapta stuck out her tongue. “No fair.”

“I’m afraid the science is sound. Come to bed, my dear.”

The scientist scoffed, but she did not protest when Hordak gathered her up in his arms. She wrapped more of her hair around him, and Imp settled sleepily in the resulting nest. Entrapta could already feel herself drifting.

“You will be a shining star tomorrow,” Hordak promised, as he carried his family back to rest.

“Tomorrow,” echoed Imp.

The next day saw the Crypto Castle’s largest meeting room filled with princesses, dignitaries, and other honorary Alliance members. While Scorpia and Perfuma admired the tiny refreshments laid out for everyone, Mermista split her time between groaning at Sea Hawk’s boasts and trying every available chair to find the most comfortable one. Glimmer and Bow stepped uneasily around the edges of the room, watching carefully for anything that might be a trap, and Frosta followed their lead. Netossa and Spinnerella tried their best to find a chair Swift Wind could sit in.

Adora and Catra, wearing increasingly baffled expressions, were conversing with two domestic-looking robots who sat at the head of the table next to Entrapta. One was tall and skinny, and the other wore a welded-on handlebar mustache.

“Entrapta has parents?” Catra was asking, her face a galaxy of disbelief.

“Adopted, technically. Or adapted,” the skinnier bot explained. “We’re Entrapta’s parental units. She built us when she was six. You must have seen the painting in the foyer.”

“Yeah, we’ve been here pretty much the whole time,” the mustachioed model added. “You kids sure made a racket during your last few visits. What was that all about?”

“Uh,” Adora faltered.

To her immense relief, Hordak swept into the room at that very moment, flanked by Imp, Emily, and the reprogrammed Horde drone Entrapta had dubbed ‘Skeletor.’

“Welcome, everyone,” Hordak boomed, bringing the gathering to a respectful hush.

“Witless fools! I’m in charge now! And if you know what’s good for you you’ll do as I say!” Skeletor shouted.

Hordak scowled and shooed the fussing robot away from the table. “Pay no mind to that one,” he grumbled once he’d regained the floor. “Now then. Please allow me the honor of introducing the unparalleled mind who has made this operation possible, Princess Entrapta.”

“Thank you all for coming!” Entrapta started, while everyone took their seats. “I know you’re all excited about what we’re planning, but there’s still a lot of preparation to do before we can take off. As the chief science officers for this mission, it’s vital that Hordak and I gather as much data on your abilities as possible! Interdimensional travel is severely unpredictable and —”

“Hold on,” Mermista interrupted. “Exactly how high are the chances of us getting mutated by cosmic space energy or whatever? Because I only want cool mutations, not gross ones.”

“Maybe thirty, thirty-five percent?” Entrapta guessed. She shrugged. “A lot of this is theoretical. You guys will be like my guinea pigs! By which I mean the small robotic animals in the castle I protect and care for. And experiment on, sometimes.”

She laughed heartily. Glimmer and Bow shared a nervous glance. Perfuma turned slightly green.

Entrapta regained her composure and pointed back to the display board. “Ahem. Anyway, the good news is we already know some things about where we’re going! Probably.” She shuffled her notes, gaining confidence as she spoke.

“Before Adora found the Sword of Protection, historians debated ancient records of She-Ra. Some claimed she was called ‘Her-Ra’ and fought for the ‘Power of Grayskull.’ But I theorize that what those archaeologists actually uncovered was evidence of —”

“I have a question!” Frosta yelled. “Will there be hunky guys in the other dimension? I’m asking for a friend.”

“It’s funny you mention that, actually,” Entrapta replied. “Listen, just let me finish and…”

Unfortunately, anxious impatience had already gripped the assembled Alliance members. They clamored with questions, all talking at the same time. Entrapta shrank back in her seat and pulled her welding mask down, seeming to reach for something under the table.

Hordak stood up. Just as it looked like he was about to do something violent, a loud alarm sounded and the lights in the room flashed red.

“Uh-oh.” Entrapta glanced around at the assembled company. “Um, get ready to tuck and roll everybody!”

“Get ready to what?” Mermista cried out, but it was already too late. Multiple trap doors swung open across the meeting room floor, and with flailing limbs and startled shouts the guests were sent tumbling down chutes in every direction. In moments they had all vanished.

“I always feel so much better after doing something bad!” Skeletor cackled. “Now we begin phase two!”

Adora and Catra, who had clung to each other as they fell, landed with a bump in a darkened, underground space. As soon as they arrived, bright lights flickered to life and a huge screen lit up against the wall.

Entrapta’s face appeared on the monitor, larger than life. “Oh good! You’re alive,” she chirped when she saw the other two.

Adora clambered to her feet. “Entrapta! What’s going on?”

The scientist glanced away. “Well, I guess Skeletor didn’t like that we were ignoring him. So he stole my map of the castle and activated the security systems! Which means we’re all lost in the labyrinth until I can catch him. Isn’t that great?”

“It’s something,” Catra groaned, rubbing her head.

“Exactly! Now, without my map I can’t come find you. But if you can make it through the traps, the hallway you’re in should take you back to the meeting room. Then you’ll be safe until I can fix things!”

The screen dimmed again before Catra or Adora could protest. Left with few other options, they turned to get a good look at whatever dangers lay ahead.

They were standing at one end of a long corridor. Square blocks floated along its length, suspended in midair with anti-gravitational tech. An interrogative punctuation mark flashed on one, while a squat robot with painted-on angry eyebrows shambled slowly back and forth beneath it.

Catra took it all in. “You have got to be kidding.”

Adora had already drawn her sword and begun to venture forward. Catra was about to follow her, when something made her ears flick. A suspicious frown crossed her face.

“Hey, Adora!” Catra called. “Listen!”

“What?”

Catra pressed her ear to the wall. “There! Do you hear that?”

“Obviously not,” Adora huffed. “Now stop dawdling, the first puzzle looks pretty easy.”

Catra stayed where she was. “Hold on a second. This part of the castle feels familiar. I remember walking through here back when, uh, back when it was still Horde territory.” She coughed awkwardly, and then reached up to tilt the frame of a big-eyed kitten painting. “Look!”

Something clicked and the wall slid open, revealing a new passageway. Distinctive laughter could be heard coming from the other end of it. A purple neon sign reading “Secret Entrance!!!” buzzed to life.

Adora sighed and rolled her eyes.

“One time Entrapta had me and Scorpia over for a life-size Snakemen and Ladders game that got a little out of hand,” Catra explained as they entered the tunnel. At the far end there was a brightly lit office; inside, it was filled with laboratory equipment, video monitors, and a humble but dignified desk.

Hordak was sitting at the desk, in what appeared to be a smaller version of his old Fright Zone throne. It swiveled. Entrapta was sitting on the desk, and she waved as the other couple entered.

“Myaah! Sleep gas and stun-rays only, my evil minions!” muttered Skeletor, who was busy working the video monitors. On closer inspection, Adora realized that each of them showed some of the other princesses as they traversed the castle labyrinth.

“Welcome to mission control!” Entrapta sang, spreading her arms wide. “Hordak didn’t think you’d find us, but I had a hypothesis you might.”

“It was a ruse!” Adora gasped, scandalized. “You’re not lost at all!”

“You really need to hang out with Entrapta more if that still surprises you,” Catra observed. She looked at the monitors. “Ah, are they gonna be okay?”

“Better than!” Entrapta sprang off the desk, hanging by her hair as she showed off multiple datapads. “Everyone was getting a little… distracted upstairs, so I just decided to speed things up a teensy bit! The princesses using their powers to escape the maze will let me get all the readings we need, and then we can have a nice little party! I had the baker make tiny cakes.”

“I made sure Hordak’s doomberry pie was especially tasty!” Skeletor piped up.

“And it’s all perfectly safe!” Entrapta promised. Discreetly, a ribbon of hair reached out to push a blinking button. On the monitors, Mermista and Sea Hawk were rescued from a robot shark attack by a convenient change of the currents.

“This is hilarious,” Catra laughed, looking more closely. On one of the screens, Swift Wind was gleefully running loop-de-loops along a curving racetrack. “I think they’re actually having fun in there. Can we stay and watch?”

“I’m afraid not,” Hordak said. She-Ra’s — and your — assessment is the most important of all. But we’d love to have you over to the castle for dinner soon. Shall we say eight o’clock next week?”

“That sounds nice!” Adora chimed, before Catra could stop her.

“Splendid. I’ll cook,” Hordak concluded. Then he pressed a button on his desk, and a trapdoor sent the younger women plummeting through the floor.

Catra and Adora yelped in surprise, only for their fall to be cut short by an enormous pile of pillows on the level below. They struggled to their feet. Another corridor stretched away in front of them, filled with further challenges. Floating gold coins, each about four feet tall, indicated a pathway.

“Try not to have too much fun,” Hordak called good-naturedly as the trapdoor slid shut.

“Use the warp zone! It’s faster!” Entrapta added.

“Have a nice trip down!” said Skeletor.

Hordak settled back in his chair (it had soft armrests, and a cushion for lumbar support) and watched his partner at work. Entrapta flitted from screen to screen, taking notes and making adjustments. On one display, Bow and Glimmer had met up with Netossa and Spinnerella while navigating a cage minefield. On another, Frosta was making an ice bridge to help Perfuma and Scorpia cross a slow-moving spike trap.

“I’m sorry you had to use your backup plan. They really are utter fools if they ever doubted your genius,” Hordak mused.

“Different people have different strengths and weaknesses,” Entrapta replied, without looking up from her work. “And a good scientist collaborates whenever they can! Even if that requires a little creativity sometimes.”

Hordak nodded. “Fair enough. Nevertheless, I would not blame you if you wished to have nothing more to do with the Princess Alliance. Even their attempts to help you can seem… insensitive. You’re not obligated to forgive that.”

Skeletor looked up from his control panel and shook a fist. “Don’t you get awfully tired of being a hero all the time? Don’t you ever feel like doing something evil?”

“They’re trying to be good friends,” Entrapta defended. “And so am I. And if I really did need their help, maybe things would be different. But I’ve got it all under control!”

She vaulted across the room, flipping switches and turning dials along the way. On the monitors, Perfuma’s fall from a tall platform was gently broken by a sudden anti-gravitational field.

“Besides, forgiveness isn’t always about the person being forgiven. It’s also about taking back potential energy that was lost.”

“Did you learn that in my brother’s therapy group?” Hordak asked.

Entrapta smirked. “Actually, he got it from me.”

A pleasant ding sounded and Entrapta clapped her hair. “Hooray, everyone made it back! I’ll calculate the high scores and then we can continue the social experiment!”

“You astonish me every day,” Hordak purred as he rose to follow her. Entrapta put out her hand, and he took it.

“Wait for me!” Skeletor cried out. “You might get lost by yourself!”

One week later, a much smaller gathering of royals met in Dryl.

Catra and Adora sat together in one of the Crypto Castle’s least intimidating dining rooms, listening with barely-contained delight as Entrapta’s parental units thoroughly embarrassed their former boss.

“...And so I said to him, ‘I have charging ports Hordak, can you download raw data offa me?’ Ha! Oh, you shoulda seen his face!”

Hordak slouched in his chair. “I do not think we need to bore our guests with the details of this particular story,” he protested, feebly.

“Oh, I’m not bored at all! I want to hear everything,” Catra said. She leaned forward, grinning. “So, was this before or after you hooked him up to the lie detector?”

Entrapta giggled, and gave Hordak a gentle pat on the shoulder as she reached for another helping of his tiny quiche. All things considered, the night was going surprisingly well.

It was exactly what Entrapta wanted.

After dinner, wheeled bots carted away the leftovers and dirty dishes. Hordak poured coffee for himself and Adora, and the parental units retired to wherever it was they lived in the cavernous castle. Entrapta, lost in thought as usual, felt a familiar feline presence approach her.

“Thank you,” Catra said, sincerely. “Not just for this. For everything. For being so nice all the time. For making this mission happen. It means a lot to me.”

Entrapta smiled softly. “To me, too. Everyone makes mistakes. It would be a shame not to learn from them when we can.”

“Did you say something?” Skeletor squawked, suddenly materializing in the doorway.

Entrapta, unbothered, immediately produced a datapad. “Oh we’re just talking about the big rescue mission! Actually, you should probably take a look at my data, Skeletor. I haven’t told you much yet, and we might need you!” She held the blinking screen out happily.

Skeletor looked at the datapad. At first he seemed confused; then he boggled as he registered the information in front of him. “Eternia?” he gasped in disbelief. “Grayskull?”

His voice rose to a fevered pitch. “He-Man!”

For once, Skeletor had no words. He shrieked incomprehensibly instead, fists shaking.

Hordak chuckled. “It’ll be just like the old days!”

Skeletor screamed.

#spop #skeletor #entrapdak #entrapta #hordak #Catra #Adora #the princess alliance #smith stuff #fan fiction #thank you for reading

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isuspectyouhavefantheories · 4 years ago

Text

The Crossroads to the Sun 🌞

Takemura/Female V

Rated: M for mature themes and explicit content NSFW 18s only

Trigger Warnings: Themes of death, suicide, gallows humour

Part 1 of ???? “The Sun Series”

Link to part two :

https://isuspectyouhavefantheories.tumblr.com/post/641314624666468353/search-for-the-sun

Will eventually be posted on my AO3 account when I get this beta’d. 🤟

———

She had decided she wanted to be away from night city when she pulled the plug. If anything, she wanted it to end under the blanket of the starry skies, part of her hoping they would guide her into the next world safely. Driving through the neon jungle felt like a technicolor funeral procession. Or perhaps a walk to the gallows? She was thankful she still had most of her senses as she pulled herself from her morbid reverie just in time to avoid a badly placed bollard on a sharp turn straight down the road heading towards the city limits. She swore under her breath but continued. The pain was dull, but festering in her mind, less so than before, but enough to keep reminding her of the internal ticking clock that was getting louder with each passing hour as it neared to zero. She breathed deeply though her nose and steeled herself. But more doubts began to drift through her, like a slick fog encircling her mind she thought of all the people she would be leaving behind and hoped they wouldn’t hate her after tonight.

Goro’s name flashed up on her biomon and it took her a minute to register. She nearly rear ended a truck at a traffic light before finally answering.

“Yes?”

“Where are you?” His voice was gruff, demanding and her eyebrow crinkled in irritation.

“What’s it to you?”

“Let me help you V. Just take the deal with Hanako, we make this right and you get back your life. If I were you, I would not waste the chance.”

“You mean you get back your life.” She spat, Takemura went quiet on the other end for a moment, his eyes flinching at her tone. “Don’t try and pretend this is concern for my well-being and as far as making this right goes... You really still think you and Arasaka can fix this? Goro I know when I’m beat. Nobody can fix this. I’m done for and it’s time I just fucking faced facts and made my peace. I’m done. I’m calling it.” She hadn’t realised how hard she was gripping the steering wheel until she felt the alloy begin to crunch lightly under her guerrilla cybernetics.

There was a long pause and she thought for a moment he had hung up until she heard the shuffling of erratic, hurried movement on the other end.

“Where are you V?” He demanded, his voice was direct, to the point, no room for nonsense, no room for anything but answers.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve left a data chip with Misty. It contains all the relevant evidence, via brain dance, you need to get the vindication you so desperately require.”

“V, tell me where you are right now. ” It was sharp this time.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help more. Goodbye, Goro. It was a pleasure to have known you.” She hung up and looked down at her phone, closing her eyes a moment only to be jolted by Takemura calling again. She took a deep breath before turning it off and throwing it in the passenger seat and popping into third gear as she trolled though the gates past the city limits to security. She was quickly flagged through with little bother from security. They seemed more interested in what was coming into the city that what was going out.

It took her an hour to get to where she needed to go. The edge of the badlands. The final touch stone before she headed further in, back to all she ever knew. Just another busted down prewar gas station covered in sand, nature already claiming back its land. She parked her car outside and managed to pry open the front door after digging some accumulated sand from the way.

—————

She woke to the whistling of the desert storm on the shutters, the dilapidated old outpost rocked shakily. She almost felt as if she was in the belly of a ship at sea being pulverised, to and fro, by an onslaught or roaring waves.

She sat up, listening to them a while, until eventually the weather died down to a gentle lulling breeze. She stepped outside for a moment and thanked whatever powers that were out there that the sky was clear enough to see the moon and a dim scattering of stars. She climbed from her make shift cot and stepped outside.

“Still think you made the right call? Those Saka assholes might have fixed you up all nice.” Johnny flashed back into her peripheral vision, sitting on a bench under a busted canopy with his guitar slung across his lap.

“I dunno. I guess we’ll see.”

“Val.”

She looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

“They were just going to extract you and dump me the moment it suited them. What, you think I was just gonna put my head in a hungry lions mouth and just hope everything would just sort itself out? For all I know they would have just cut me open the minute they got me up there. I’d rather die out here, on some dusty ass terra firma in the wastes than lose my mind up in some space prison.” She flipped out Evelyn’s cigarette case, only three left in place making her sigh before pulling out one and lighting it up.

Johnny groaned at the sensation of the nicotine flooding her system from her first drag. It had been a while since she’d allowed herself such little pleasures, but for the first time in months she wasn’t on deaths door, bringing death so someone else’s door or trying to kidnap an heiress, so exceptions can be made.

“Weather out here huh? Never notice it in the city but, fuck. Mother nature sure is a feisty broad.”

“You have no idea.” She chuckled.

“Pretty good we got here before the worst of of the storm hit earlier. I would not want to be the sorry sack of shit that had to drive through that.” Johnny chuckled.

—————————

It was about 5am, sun already shining and blistering the ground, she had scavenged a few things from the outpost to keep her and Johnny going long enough to get to the Aldecaldos

Or just long enough. The thought of kicking it just before saying goodbye to Panam and Saul and the others churned uncomfortably down into the pit of her stomach but she attempted to occupy her mind, busying herself with prep work and repairs on her gear. She was going to try at least.

Before she could think of the next task, Johnny materialised again, already on edge.

“Someone’s coming.”

“Raffen? Cops? Arasaka?”

“Can’t be sure. I’d get ready if I were you.” He was gone again, and all she could think to do was get back to the gas station and ready herself for the visitors.

A Herra Outlaw that looked as if the chemical desert had taken a shit on it, genuinely one of the most out of place thing she had ever seen in the badlands and that was saying something, pulled up with a soft screech as the brakes engaged and the engine shuttered off. The pop of the car door made her grip her baseball bat tighter as she edged closer to the door, so as to be on the hidden side when it opened.

The door flung open, nearly ramming her in the face had she not hugged the wall so closely, she held her breath as a darkened figure entered the room, but the rasping baritone that filled the air made her freeze.

“V?” Takemura’s voice cut through her and all she could do was stare in disbelief.

“What the fuck?”

He whipped around like lightening, his wild searching gaze landed on her and his eyebrows all but flew up into his hairline and his eyes widened in disbelief but seemed to relax after a moment, a wave of relief washing over his features as of up until this moment he had been in a panic.

It was all a blur, he pulled the rusted metal door closed, nearly wrenching the door off its screeching hinges before his arms suddenly reached for her. He pulled her forcefully into his chest into an embrace that should have shattered her spine with the implants this man had. The newly back online ones, she noted.

She scrunched her eyebrows incredulously at him when he pulled away, his fingers tracing down the length of her arms until they still rested on her shoulders as he continued to look at her as if he was afraid the moment he took his eyes off her she would disappear into thin air.

“What are you doing here?” She breathed, still struggling for air after the uncharacteristic ribsplitting hug.

He looked down now, almost sheepish in his manner but he did not waiver when he returned his gaze to her.

“Stopping you from making a foolish choice.”

She sighed deeply.

“And since when do you have any right to tell me what I can and can’t do?”

“I do not. But I can try at least to make you see reason.” He wasn’t budging, she wasn’t budging.

“Goro...” she pinched the bridge of her nose and temple in an attempt to quell the newly forming tension migraine.

“You could have your life back. You would be good as new, Arasaka would ensure it if you testify at the board meeting. Arasaka always rewards loyalty.”

“I know that’s some rhetoric you’ve been spoonfed your whole life but unfortunately I have a very different opinion on the subject of ‘who Arasaka serves’ and it most certainly isn’t people who have a history of stealing from them.” She dead panned, making Goro groan.

“If you would just listen to me you would know that is not the case. Hanako-sama has extended this life like to you V do not waste it.”

“I’ve been listening. And watching. From the very start. I’ve seen them from an angle you have yet to even comprehend and part of me fears even then you wouldn’t see the truth.”

“They are-.”

“Only in this for themselves. I won’t argue with you about this, there is nothing you can say that will change my mind. I’m not selling my souls to the fucking devil, man, I’m sorry but that’s how this situation feels to me. I know there is nothing anyone can do for me, not you, not Arasaka, not Hellman, not even Alt fucking Cunningham’s AI ghost from beyond the Blackwall knows how to undo this so fuck this. I refuse to spend the last days of my life scrambling for answers only to whither away to nothin and die anyway. I’m leaving this hellhole on my own fucking terms. So just let it go. Just forget about me and go back to your cushty little life as Arasaka’s cheerleader or body guard or whatever the fuck it is you do.”

She couldn’t remember how, but during the course of their verbal spat, he had pushed her against the adjacent wall from the door and upon hearing her retorts he snarled in frustration and slammed his hand into the wall beside her head, denting the already disintegrating plaster, sending a cloud of dust in the air around them. The pluming cloud fluttered and caught the small rays of morning light seeping through the crags and cracks in the windows and walls of the abandoned gas station. She managed to push him off with a forceful shove only to have him lunge back to her. His martial arts clashed with her own brand of badlands fist fighting. She was flexible, contorting her body out of his reach before rounding on him with a left hook followed by a hasty jab aimed for his face. Unfortunately, he had reach, countering her wild strikes with a wave of his arm and tugging her to him. She lifted her knee between them to vault herself from his grasp but lost her footing at the end and it took only a single low sweeping kick to her other leg that sent her off kilter, but Goro followed her to the ground where he pinned again, this time on the floor with both her hands above her in each of his. She struggled against his vice grip, twisting and squirming beneath him to roll him off but he refused to be moved barely even flinching as she thrashed beneath him, awaiting her to finally stop. She roared in frustration but refused to give up. If she couldn’t knock him with her strength then she could knock him with her words.

“Hanako knew!” She spat at him, the intensity of her glare ripping though him.

“Knew what?” He asked with narrowed eyes.

“She knew it was Yorinobu who murdered her father. She knew you were telling the truth, that you were being framed and she still let you go down. Then guess what the kicker here is?” She laughed bitterly. “Saburo’s not even dead. He’s being kept as an engram, he’s been planning something with Hanako this whole time and they were going to let you go down regardless!! They were going to discard you, who served them faithfully your whole life, for their own fucking agenda. So tell me, why you think for one fucking second that they will actually help me?” Takemura was quiet, his hold on her waining enough for her to flip them, her hands balled into his shirt begging him to look at her but it was as if something had been shattered in him. They both were panting from their verbal and martial exchange, but they were far from done.

He suddenly reached up, his hand cupping her cheek gently, tracing the cybernetics of her face with the tips of his fingers before pulling her down to him without warning, his lips finally met hers in a heated kiss.

She gasped into his mouth, giving him the chance to shove his tongue in to explore her. He didn’t know when he would get the chance, if he ever would again after this. But she had yet to bite his face off so he took that as a good sign. In fact she had nearly gone limp from the shock of his sudden advance. He pulled away slowly, his face still inches from hers but his eyes bored into hers with a renewed intensity.

She pulled her hand from his now loosened grip and reached down gently and placed a delicate hand on his cheek, only for him to lean into it with closed eyes. He pressed his own hand over hers and took a deep calming breath.

“Goro, look at me.”

His eyes opened again, staring down at her with so much hope yet one word from her could shatter him into a thousand shards. And fate was a cruel mistress.

“I’m going home.” He looked down at that, his brow tugged in an unreadable expression but she chased after his gaze and held his chin so he had no choice but to stare wordlessly at her.

“I’m going home. To the people I love. To say goodbye. And maybe... maybe, for once in my life just try to do some good in this world, not for eddies or cred or some fucking illusion of grandeur, but just to do something worthwhile. I want have something real. Before I... before I can’t anymore.” She stroked his cheekbone with the back of her knuckle. “I don’t expect you to understand. But it isn’t up for debate.” Not what he had wanted to hear, but the finality in her words left him no room to argue. And so he was then left to stare down the inevitable horribleness of a world with no V.

He rested his face in the crook of her neck, her soft sun kissed skin, slick with sweat from the desert heat.

“Then let me have this at least.” He whispered against her, causing her to shiver under the weight of his words.

He returned his lips to hers, an even more energised passion driving his need and to his surprise she returned it, hands cupping his face gently. She then pushed him back down on his back and dove back to his lips. He began unbuttoning and loosening her clothes as fast as his hands could allow him. He pulled off her tank top and stopped a moment to admire her perky little breasts before pulling her back to him and lavishing her chest adoringly with bites and kisses that made her mewl against him.

“You have been taunting me since the day we met. Not wearing anything but that tight blue netrunner suit.” He growled against her chest, biting at the underside of her breast, his eyes primal and burning hers with an unspoken need to be closer.

“I’m a net runner you gonk, ah-!” He bit a little harsher around her nipple at the comment but lapped at it gently afterwards. “I-it was for practicality’s sake.” She shivered against him.

“It was to torture me.” He chuckled.

He lifted them suddenly, his hands under her thighs again as he deposited her on a near by countertop, her legs wrapping around his hips as he ground himself desperately into her while trailing his lips from her ear lobe to her jugular and back before biting then tugging sharply causing her to yelp softly.

“Maybe a little.” She gasped, casting him a delighted grin which elicited a growl from deep within his chest. He leisurely ran his hands along the hem of her jeans, tugging at them slightly before slipping his hand down underneath to grab a handful of her ass, squeezing it appreciatively before moaning at how soft and pliant her skin was under the extra sensitive touch of his cybernetic hands. He allowed himself to become lost in her for a moment. Mapping her every contour in his mind, committing each breathless sound that fell from her lips to memory, savouring her sweet breath on his tongue and wondering if he would ever again taste something so perfect as her. He felt her pull away lightly, a few centimetres from his face to gasp for a breath and still his lips chased hers. It was as if she could read his mind sometimes, she was looking at him with those confounding purple eyes, her smile faltering as if she could see how banefully torn he was.

“This won’t change anything.” She whispered sadly against his lips .

His brow creased under the weight of his anguish, another growl, not so carnal as before but instead a roar of frustration and he attacked her body with a new found, punishing fervour. He pulled her up effortlessly once again and threw her into the cot, her body’s weight caused the springs to groan and he had managed to discard his shirt fully, then turned to her. She was now only in her underwear, her golden skin glistened in the low orange morning haze. Her body was lithe yet athletic, her skin tantalisingly smooth to the touch yet disturbed by stray scars scattered about her person. Her years of fighting for her survival in this hellscape had shaped her and moulded her into this picturesque model of strength and beauty. He kneeled before her, nipping his way down her navel to the hem of her panties that he then quickly slid off in one fluid motion. He dove between her legs, basking in the sweet gasps she made as he drove her wild with his tongue. Her hands twisted and twined themselves into his ebony and silver locks, pulling his bun loose to let his hair cascade down his shoulders, grazing her nails over his scalp delicately. He introduced a single finger to her and pumped deeply inside her yet at a controlled pace, eliciting another quivering gasp that made him smile against her.

“Goro...” the way her breathless lips formed around his name drove something in him. She was able to bring out the strangest and most wonderful of feelings in him.

He was sure from her cries she was nearing her climax and before she could taste the sweet precipice of her release, he rose up to kiss her. Her taste on his lips had a lewd yet arousing effect on her, but her climax, once so tantalisingly close was now receding and the heat biting and curling in her abdomen made her squirm against him. She pulled away after a moment and gasped a quick breath.

“You ass.” He pressed his face into her neck again and she felt the rumble of his chuckling. He continued to kiss her neck and his hands pinched and rolled her nipples in a torturously teasing manner. She writhed under him, a mewling mess.

“Stop teasing me.” She pleaded, her own hands cupping either side of his face to pull him from his ministrations on her neck that she was almost certain would be bruised to absolute fuck in the morning.

He nudged her legs to open and she obliged eagarly.

He teased her entrance lightly running his tip up and down coating himself in her essence before sliding steadily inside of her. He had to stop half way and swallowed a guttural moan. She was so tight. Like a warm vice pulling him further inside her and dragging him impossibly closer to her. Her legs had wrapped around his hips, her thighs quivering around his girth. He took another moment to make some experimental, shallow thrusts and groaned once more at how deliciously slick she was.

“Oh... V...” his forehead pressed against hers and his grip around her hips tightened.

“Don’t.... stop...” she was barely above a whisper, which made Goro want nothing more than for her to be louder.

He took this as his moment to flip her onto her stomach against the cot.

His right hand held both her arms behind her back, folded and solidly trapped there. His left hand was holding her hip, dragging down to guide her over his girth once again. He rather enjoyed the view of her at this angle, he was so lost in the way she bounced against him, the feeling of her walls rubbing so exquisitely against his length, that he was sure he wouldn’t last long. The thought of having their tryst cut so short however did not appeal to him, the feeling of being fully encased by her was so unequivocally amazing he never wanted it to stop, so he forced himself to slow down to a languid yet laborious pace, favouring drawn out leisurely strokes.

“Jesus Christ...” she gasped, arching her back in a way that made him want to go back to pounding her within an inch of her life but he was controlled, no foolish young man driven by a cardinal need, but a mature and tentative lover who wanted to make his partner see the stars before this was over.

He reached around, dragging his hands from the underside of her bellybutton to glide along her ribs, up and over her breast, giving it an appreciative squeeze before cradling her throat gently and turning her head to look back at him as much as she could in the position which granted wasn’t much. He leaned forward, still thrusting inside her at a restrained pace, and ravaged her neck, suckling the flesh at the junction of her shoulder and neck before trailing his bites to the underside of her jaw, then to her ear where he nibbled her lobe gently.

“Tell me what you want.” He breathed against her, the lewd sound of their bodies meeting in their primal dance and the soft gushes of wind rattling the shutters were all she could hear above their own crescendo of panting and haggard moans.

“Don’t... be a dick...” she gasped, earning her a sharp smack on her ass cheek.

“Tell me.” He thrust inside her, harder but not hard enough to satisfy her fully, leaving her trembling for more.

“Ah... fuck! Please...” she breathed, trying to shove her own hips back into his for more friction but his hand migrated back to her hips, a solid anchor, preventing her from getting her way.

“That’s not what I asked you.” She could hear the underlying cockiness in his tone and it pissed her off almost immediately.

How could this man illicit such polarising reactions from her, she thought. One moment she wanted him to bend her over a desk, the next she wanted to snap him in two. But the sentiment remained, she wanted him.

“Please... Goro... fuck me... harder...” he hummed in satisfaction and released her arms from his vice grip.

“Then I suggest you hold onto something.” He had leaned forward his lips against her ear, the vibrations of his bassy timbre tickled her in an irresistibly tantalising way.

But her inward musings came to a hault when he began his unforgiving pace, she could feel him hitting her cervix with every thrust and she cried out, hands barely holding on to the edge of the cot as her body rocked against the force of his hips.

His hand came down to tease her slit, circling her sensitive nub in a maddeningly delicious way that caused more mewls to erupt from her lips.

Goro stared down at her, enraptured by every twist and twitch she made. Her arching back defining her musculature and he’d be lying if he was doing any better than her right now. He was holding on for dear life, dragging this out for as long as he possibly could. But eventually, the warmth and curling in his abdomen could not be ignored and he quickened his circling around her clit to drive her to her end. She screamed softly into her hand as her release rolled over her in wave after wave, his continuing thrusts helping her ride out her climax to its fullest. He followed her soon after, nearly collapsing on her, his forehead resting between her shoulder blades as he struggled to regain his breathing. She recovered before Goro and pulled him further onto the cot where they crumbled into it. He curled around her, his arms pulling her flush against him as he savoured the feeling of her skin on his. He pressed his nose and lips to the top of her head, inhaling her scent deeply, attempting to sear these details into his mind for a later date. He tried his best to keep his eyes open, but she began to stroke his chest in a soothing circle, and before he knew it he was out like a light.

——————

He woke with a jolt, the room now completely darkened by the night and a sudden anxiety disquieted his mind. He reached for where V had been but his hand grabbed nothing but empty space.

“V?” He called, sitting up and listening for anything, then scanning the area. He could see from his thermal scan she had been gone from his side for nearly two hours.

He pulled himself up, dressing quickly and wrenching the front door open to see that her Thorton was gone, whatever tracks that were left had been swallowed by the desert wind and he stood in silence.

“This isn’t going to change anything.” Her words echoed in his mind and he clenched his hands into fists, a slight shake evident from his barely controlled emotions on the cusp of breaking through to the surface.

“They were going to discard you, who served them faithfully your whole life, for their own fucking agenda.”

He tried to quell his anger, his hurt, his inescapable feeling of betrayal. He fought to keep his composure but the memory of her touch was seared into his mind and body yet it did nothing but only make him ache to have her back in his arms. He would never feel that again, never experience that intense, intrinsic connection to another human being. The thought did nothing to disquiet his mind. Eventually he broke and turned to punch his hand nearly completely though the wall of the garage as he breathed in ragged and strangled chokes. Unshed tears burned in his eyes and he wrenched his arm back to completely break through the wall altogether with the force of his strike. He didn’t stop. He pummelled the wall until his cybernetics were scuffed and cracked. Warning signs flashed in his peripheral vision but he ignored them, slumping to the ground he cradled his head in his hands and roared in futility. He stayed there a moment, still, quiet and thoughtful. He raised his head with a thud against the nearly dilapidated wall and he looked off into the distance. On one path, the further reaches of the badlands, down another was the fluorescent and blinding lights of Night City, beaconing him back with a curled finger.

And not just night city, but the ominous red looming glow of Arasaka Headquarters illuminating the night and further banishing the stars. The only life he had ever known was within Arasaka’s ranks. All he had ever been was a vassal, a loyal one at that. Traded his life and limbs for them. Let them carve him into an instrument of their empire from the moment they had deigned to elevate him from the slums, only after he had skinned his fingers to the near bone scrubbing his clothes in the chemical sickened canals. He had given Arasaka his life.

Yet Hanako knew he was innocent. Not only her but Saburo, his lord tono, his idol. He had known. It stung him to his nucleus, like nothing ever had. He was stilled, inaction gripping him to his core. He found his gaze always defecting back to the badlands. To her lands. He didn’t make a choice so much as follow an instinct.

He rose from his seated position and opened the door to his car, looking back at Night City one last time, not saying goodbye to the city, but farewell to all the possibilities it held. They were not meant for him. A defiant grin stretched over his lips before a determination set in his eyes, looking back to the badlands. He dove into the front seat and revved the engine before backing out to the edge of the main road and quickly pivoting into position then tearing out onto the dusty highway, sending a plume of dust in his wake as he made for the badlands, his spirit lightened and rejuvenated. He undid his top shirt buttons, ripping off the front Arasaka logo to his cybernetic neck plates and throwing it with a quick flick out the car window, then looking down at the Arasaka patch logo on his arm which he also tore from his jacket then sent it too flying out the window. With each metre he put between him and the city, the younger he felt.

“I’m coming V.” He whispered under his breath as he pressed harder on the gas.

#goro takemura #cyberpunk 2077 #takemura x v

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