#Reactor speaker

[xcziel]

kinda bummed anew that i only understand english

watching vocal coaches from other countries especially sk and japan react to who's english lyrics with detailed breakdowns of how he is singing in english is blowing my mind even without strong understanding

it's so fascinating to look from the view of someone seeing the language and pronunciation as practical or aesthetic *choices* within a song

[missbrunettebarbie]

There's something very surreal about seeing people -well-off, mid-twenties or older people- say with confidence that they don't know what Pandora's Box is, that Jane Austen has a book called Emma or what an anti-hero or a vigialnte is. And like, not just say it in a private conversation, but in videos they willingly post on youtube. These for me seem like facts anyone with an average general culture level should know, but apparently not.

[tardis-stowaway]

This is super neat! The Lakota nation and Marvel have released a version of The Avengers dubbed in Lakota, but with the original Avenger actors involved to record their own lines in Lakota. This seems like a cool way to build awareness of an endangered language and give speakers and learners something fun to watch. Plenty of actual Lakota speakers were involved for other roles as well as coaching.

Here's a behind the scenes video from the article:

[sanguinifex]

They don’t even both suck.

One guy is old and not the best public speaker but he has a solid track record as a career civil servant and has accomplished a lot of very good reforms over the course of his presidency. Stuff like “pardoning gay veterans who were dishonorably discharged for gay sex and reinstating their VA benefits,” and environmental reforms including renewable energy and compact nuclear reactors, has been trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Palestine for months, plus about a hundred more things it would take too long to mention here.

The other guy wants to turn the entire civil service into political appointees for anyone ranked higher than janitor, publicly talks about how he wants to use nuclear weapons, supports Russian imperialism, thinks international alliances only matter when they’re convenient to him personally, wants to obliterate queer people, and would gladly enable the complete extermination of Palestine because he likes watching things go boom.

You have one solid but unglamorous choice, and one choice that is corrupt fascistic chaos.

You have one vote.

[carbonmonoxide-detector]

List of machines that can be considered Friends™

Water coolers (glug glug?)

CO/Smoke detectors (‼️)

Air purifiers

CPAP machine (Dark Vador machine)

Bluetooth speaker

Tokamak nuclear reactor (powers my tooth brush)

Space heater

Automatic power timer (for fun lights n stuff)

CEILING FAN

I'm getting too emotional I gotta stop there

[vikwrites]

Playboy - Tony Stark

Summary ➣ Tony Stark invites you into his Rolls Royce. Pairing ➣ Tony Stark x Reader Word Count ➣ 2.5k words Warnings ➣ 18+ / Car Sex / Power Imbalance / Age Gap. Author's Notes ➣ The first full Tony Stark oneshot! Comments are highly appreciated <3 Requests are also open!

You didn’t know exactly how you ended up here. 

The events leading up to your current situation were a blur, like trying to see through thick fog. 

Here you were, seated in the plush backseat of Tony Stark's lavish Rolls Royce Phantom. A variety of crystal glasses in all shapes and sizes were scattered haphazardly, some full, most empty. The rich aroma of Macallan 1926 filled the air. A bottle had been tipped on its side, its deep tones spilling onto the seat and seeping into a crevice of the leather, leaving behind a multitude of stains, You wonder how many times Tony had to pay someone to clean up these messes.

The past few hours were a hazy mix of neon lights and blaring speakers, the repercussions of Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC filling your ears.  

Then you recalled that Tony had spotted you at Stark Expo, at the Arc Reactor exhibit, standing in front of the machine, mesmerized by the pulsing reactor and the hypnotic hum that filled the room. 

Tony had made the first approach and talked to you for a while, although most of the conversation consisted of you awkwardly sucking up to him, while another part of you was afraid of saying something embarrassing or coming off as too eager.

You never thought you'd be graced with the opportunity to even be in the same room as Tony Stark, let alone talk to him face-to-face. But as the conversation went on, you felt more and more intimidated. You had always admired Tony and maybe even had a bit of a crush on him, but now that he was standing in front of you, you didn't know what to say or do. 

However, when you were invited to his limousine, you couldn't resist. He had lured you in like a moth into flame. 

The air was thick with tension, your fingers found themselves subconsciously fidgeting, you were sitting mere inches away from Tony after all; who was currently fiddling with a Cuban cigar. Your heart raced with a cocktail of excitement and fear - after all, this was the Tony Stark, one of the most influential figures in the world, and you were just a mere woman-in-the-street. This man probably had more money in his wallet than you’d ever have in your entire life. 

Tony seemed to have picked up on your nervousness, reaching over to the mini-fridge and picking up another bottle of liquid courage. The cigar had found its way in his mouth, and is currently hanging from his lips.

“Mr Stark—” You stuttered, trying to reach for the rear-hinged doors of the car, “I’d think it would be best if I left, it’s getting late.” 

“Relax, honey.” As Tony's hand unexpectedly settled on your wrist, pulling you back, the sudden weight caught you off guard. You couldn't help but flinch when you felt his fingers close around your wrist. His touch gentle yet assertive, a delicate balance that leaves you feeling conflicted. He takes another drag of the cigar.

Internally, you battled with conflicting emotions, but externally, you remained still as his hand steadily guided another crystal glass into your grasp, the weight of the cold drink dragging you back to reality. Initially you wanted to refuse, but you didn’t want to let Stark down, or seem ungrateful—downing the whiskey, you felt the liquid burn your throat.

His hand on yours caused a weighty pause in your conversation, Tony smirked, finding it amusing how tense he made you. Eventually, he breaks the silence by redirecting the conversation towards you. "So, tell me about yourself," he prompts, his tone casual and easy. Another cigar made its way into his mouth. 

You took a moment to recollect your thoughts before answering. "I'm studying at MIT," you replied, "I'm pursuing my degree in Nuclear Engineering." As soon as the words leave your lips, you notice Stark raise an eyebrow in surprise, seemingly impressed by the mention of your alma mater.  

Tony leans back in his seat and exclaims, "Impressive, I’m going to assume I’ve probably funded one of your projects, you’ve been to the September Foundation Grant presentation right?" He turns to look at you, as if trying to make a connection. You nod and continue to take small sips of your Macallan whiskey. 

After a few more rounds, you found yourself becoming less tense around him. 

“—and he’s now the forehead of security, get it?” Tony giggled, clapping his hands at his own joke, his laughter was infectious, and you found yourself laughing along with him, feeling a sense of camaraderie that you hadn't experienced in a long time. He takes another puff of the cigar, attempting to blow smoke rings but failing horrifically, the supposedly circular puffs of smoke coming out in flattened, unidentifiable shapes.

"Mr. Stark-" you began, but were quickly cut off by the man himself.

"Please, dear," Stark offered with a shake of his head, "just call me Tony."

You took a deep breath, trying to muster up courage (as much courage as you could get while being mildly to severely intoxicated, you couldn’t tell at this point), and corrected yourself. "Tony," you said firmly, hoping to sound more confident than you felt. "Why did you invite me here?" The question hung in the air amongst the clouds of smoke.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Tony raised an eyebrow, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “I think you’re cute.” 

Your heart skipped a beat at his bold statement. Did Tony Stark really just say that to you?

“Fuck, Tony Stark thinks I’m cute, never expected that, ever.” But before you could fully process the unexpected compliment, another thought crossed your mind. “Looking past the obvious," you continued, "why isn’t there some Playboy supermodel in my position? Aren’t you just slumming it?” 

“Your expectations of me are too high, darling,” Tony drawled, his voice dripping with charm and confidence. “Honestly, I’d call Playboy right now and make you a model right away. You’ve got the face for it,” he paused to rake his eyes over your body, biting his lip, “—and the bod.” 

A rush of heat spread through your body at his words, igniting a spark of desire that you couldn't deny. The atmosphere became charged with tension, but this time, in a good way. The constant pet names and lingering gazes from Tony were stirring you up, and you could feel something else crackling in the air between you two.

You wouldn't say no to his advances, not when his gaze was so intense and his touch so electric. After all, who would say no to Tony Stark? His smooth words and charming smile were enough to make any woman weak at the knees, and you were no exception.

“I just think that you could do better.” You muttered, all the confidence draining from you the moment he tries to make a move, you cursed yourself for it. 

“Quit being self conscious and just kiss me.” Tony's words were like a soothing balm to your inner turmoil, urging you to let go of your self-consciousness and just give in to the moment. As he leaned in, his lips met yours in a swift motion that caught you off guard. 

Your hands instinctively found their way to his cheek, pulling him closer to you as you melted into his embrace. While his hands grabbed at your hair, caging you in between his body and the leather seat. The taste of his lips and the warmth of his body enveloped you, drowning out the nagging voice in your head reminding you of all the reasons why this could be a mistake. Tony moaned into your mouth, you took a mental recording of that, hoping to replay it in your head later.

In this moment, nothing else mattered except for the feel of his touch and the heat that pulsed between the two of you. You surrender yourself completely, allowing yourself to be swept away by his kiss.

The cigar was carelessly discarded from his trembling hands, the smoke swirling in lazy wisps around the ash urn. The taste of tobacco still lingered on his lips, a bittersweet reminder of his vice. Your senses were heightened as you pulled away from the kiss, your hair tousled and wild from the frenzied grabbing. The two of you shared round after round of kisses, each one more desperate and passionate than the last till Tony decided to go further.

Tony pushed you down onto the seat, his movements were rough and uncoordinated, but it only added to the thrill. Your body responded to his manhandling, and you could feel yourself getting turned on. You laid horizontally on the car's leather seats, taking in the sight of stars twinkling on the headlining, but your attention was quickly diverted as Tony's lips crashed onto yours once again.

"You look so good underneath me, baby." he whispered in that seductive low tone of his, his mouth mere millimetres from your ear. The warmth of his breath sent shivers down your spine and each vibration of his words seemed to make you even wetter. 

Your breath hitched in surprise as Tony's hand traveled down to your core, his fingers grazing the hem of your dress and revealing more of your skin. You were startled by the sudden move but couldn't deny the heat that pooled between your legs. His touch was tentative, tracing circles over your clothed clit with a slow, teasing stroke. Your moans grew louder as he continued, each touch feeling foreign yet undeniably pleasurable.

"F—Fuck," you gasped as his piercing gaze met yours, those maroon eyes no longer their gentle brown hue.

"God, you're so wet for me," Tony's eyes locked onto yours as he brought his glistening finger to his mouth, savouring the taste with a low moan. Just the sight of it nearly sent you over the edge. "And you taste even better." Your eyes rolled back at his declaration, you’re so close and he hasn’t even started yet. 

Your fingers trembled as they reached for the button of Tony's Tom-Ford dress pants, fumbling with it in a desperate frenzy. In this moment, your entire existence seemed to depend on getting his pants off and feeling his naked skin against yours. Tony's hands were still on your clit, his skilled fingers teasing you mercilessly.

You could barely focus on unbuttoning his pants as he brought you closer and closer to the edge with just two fingers, god he was good. Every touch from him felt like electricity pulsing through your body, igniting every nerve ending and making you forget everything else except for the pleasure he was giving you.

"Please, Tony," you pleaded, your voice breathless and desperate. Your body quivered as two fingers slipped into your slick pussy, the wet sounds echoing in the confined space of the car.

At first, Tony's movements were slow and deliberate, teasing and tempting every inch of your sensitive walls. But he knew how to push all your buttons and soon, you were clenching around his fingers, begging for more.

"I'm gonna come," you gasped out, feeling your orgasm building with each thrust of his fingers.

"Come for me, baby,” Tony growled lowly, his voice making you even more wet. "I wanna see you falling apart on just my fingers." And with those words, you unravelled in a mind-blowing climax, your body trembling and shaking against his skilled touch.

As you came down from your high, you felt a new sensation. You realized you had squirted all over the interior of the car, but at that moment, you didn't care. All that mattered was how good Tony made you feel.

You were dazed and lost in the haze of pleasure when you felt him shuffling over you. His pants were unbuttoned and his cock was in his hand, slowly stroking as he took in the sight before him: your flushed skin, your heaving chest, and the evidence of your pleasure coating the seat beneath you.

You let out a soft gasp as he playfully teases you, running his member along your slit. With regained control over your limbs, your hands find their way into his once-slicked back, now ruffled hair. Your legs lock behind his lower back, pulling him closer to you in an attempt to deepen the connection between you two.

His voice is low and husky as he groans, "Your tight pussy feels so good, darling." As he pushes into you, you feel a fullness that you've never experienced before. The initial sting of pain quickly gives way to a deep pleasure that radiates through your entire body.

"Fuck, I love you, Tony." The words escape your lips before you even have time to register them. The intensity of the moment sparking a declaration that surprises even yourself. But before you can worry about whether it was too soon or not, Tony returns the sentiment.

"Love you too, baby," he whispers as he bottoms out inside of you. You can feel every inch of him inside you, and the sensation causes you to writhe beneath him. His chest is pressed against yours, and you can feel his heart beating through the fabric of his suit that was yet to leave his figure, but you figured you’d see him without the suit another time. 

“Fuck, gonna be a good girl and take my cum?” Tony's deep, ragged breaths spurred you on as his orgasm neared. You could feel your own climax building, your body shuddering in anticipation. Unable to form coherent sentences, you nodded in response.

Your back arched off the leather couch as you reached your peak, crying out in ecstasy as Tony's movements became even more frenzied. "Yes, gonna come so hard, Tony. Need you so bad." Your words were barely audible through your moans as he grunted and thrust into you one final time before the both of you came. 

Breathless and spent, Tony's lips crashed down on yours once again.

The heat between your bodies was almost suffocating as you rode out your high. He remained inside you until he was soft, and when he finally pulled out, a trail of your arousal leaked onto the leather beneath you. A groan escaped him as he took in the sinful sight, but you were too lost in your pleasure-drunk haze to fully register it.

You're too spent to move, but from the hazy corner of your vision, you see him in front of a mirror slicking back his disheveled hair. Still dazed and caught up in the aftermath of your orgasm, it took you a while to gather yourself and get dressed. But as soon as you did, Tony turned to you with his trademark smirk. 

"So, about that Playboy call?"

⎊ back to masterlist

[senkusphone]

Dr. Stone chapter 1D Trivia post

Spoilers ahead

We knew there was a slippery slope but we didn't know which one it was.

First things first, as we saw, Kaseki was not dead after all, and neither was Francois.

This clears things from chapter 232.5 (Dr. Stone Terraforming) where Kaseki was not shown at all, and although Francois was shown to be at the plane at the moment of the crash, they were never shown to be rescued.

We do get a glimpse at Senku throughout his lifetime (hypothetically at least). The pictured time machine, just like the large one they are building, features the telltale disk from the movie "The time machine" (duh) from 1960, based on a novel by H.G. Wells, written in 1895.

We also see him using a bunch of yagi antennas again, as well as a small satellite dish, all pointed in different directions in his homebrew setup, perhaps in an attempt to catch the signal regardless of which direction it's coming from. A concern I've heard is why would Byakuya contact Senku's future attempt but not the one from his childhood, and the answer likely boils down to the technology. As Xeno said they used a specialized detector to spot tiny bursts of petrification beam

I am not sure what such a detector might entail, but since the petri beam involves a flash of light, perhaps something like a photomultiplier tube could do it, as they can detect individual photons

The Tokyo Sky Tree is a radio tower, housing a restaurant and an observation deck, it is also the tallest manmade structure in Japan with a height of 634 meters, or 532.7 times the canon height of Suika in chapter 178.

Here it looks like they've drawn the wrong design for the medusa capsule, this one has a speaker on the inside like the original that was sent to the moon, whereas once whyman was discovered, they changed the design to one with a small antenna in its place, and a speaker/microphone on the outside for them to communicate.

This is what I feel like in university

Yes we are

next up, energy

1.21 Exawatts has no basis I know of other than being a reference to the 1.21 Gigawatts used by the time machine from Back to the Future. 1 exawatt = 1000000000 gigawatts, so I guess Dr. Brown's machine was actually very fuel efficient.

The (exa)watt is technically not a unit of energy but rather of the rate of energy transfer (or how fast energy's being delivered in layman's terms).

I assume he means (exa) watt-hours, a multiple of the watt-hour, which is an energy unit handy for working with electricity calculations. This amount of energy is equivalent to a bit shy of 900000 megatons of TNT. However, if you could capture 100% of the sun's output (and I mean all of it, a la dyson sphere, not just what hits the earth, and with 100% efficiency) and store it, you could collect that amount of energy in just under 30 seconds. This amount is also probably larger than the consumption of humanity over the last 60 years. It is in fact larger than the energy consumed wordwide between 1800 and 2010 by a factor of about two, going from adding and converting the data here.

https://www.encyclopedie-energie.org/en/world-energy-consumption-1800-2000-results/

Helium 3 is an isotope of helium with a nucleus made of 2 protons and 1 neutron (unlike normal helium which consists of 2 and 2 of each).

Because it's a very light gas, it tends to float away from the earth and get swept off into space much like regular helium does, and it is believed that larger amounts of it will be available on the moon, where it is formed naturally in a slow but steady supply when natural lithium is bombarded with neutrons from cosmic rays. Helium 3 can theoretically function as fuel in a fusion reactor, having the advantage that it does not release neutrons in the reaction, meaning it does not bombard other materials inside the reactor making them radioactive (and He-3 is not radioactive itself either).

The big issues are its low availability and the fact that a reactor for this fuel would need even higher temperatures than the reactors we are experimenting with today, and we are barely starting. On that note, Tsukasa eating chip

These robots are very strange, they walk on their claws, only having wheels at the back and carrying what looks a lot like an old time minecart. If anyone knows what the name Johnny 7 might be referring to, let me know. So far I can see that there was a sentient robot named Johnny 5 in the 1986 film Short Circuit, which looked like this.

I could also note that the robots have "Battery A" and "Battery B" noted on them.

It might just be a coincidence, but I like to think it might be a nod to an early project in the series, the cellphone.

The cellphone had two battery packs, the lead acid pack to run the vacuum tube filament, and Gen's manganese battery pack, which ran the tube anode. Historically these two battery packs were designated "A" and "B".

For the record this is also the reason you can buy AAA, AA, C, and D size cells, but no B batteries. Those batteries used to exist, but they don't anymore, since the equipment they powered is long obsolete. Next up, Chrome has a flashback to Ruri's flashback.

Kirisame's headpiece has reverted to the seldom seen spiral horn version, she is most typically seen with the one shaped like cat ears.

Next up:

No, I will not apologise

This does not seem to be the same restaurant mentioned in chapter 43, though I guess it could have changed, since Senku seems older (might it be the restaurant in the sky tree?)

Also Senku puts on Byakuya's coat that was on the back of his chair.

Speaking of chapter 43...

Ukyo is not well

It's no longer Nanami Corp, it's just Ryusui

To conclude, my take on what is happening

It's been hinted multiple times that we may see the involvement of alternate timelines, which comes as an answer to the occurence of a paradox if Senku were to travel back in time or even just contact himself. The title of the chapter comes to echo this. Higher dimensions have been a bit of a popular topic lately with people making games in four dimensions, etcetera. This however is not that by the looks of it, the fourth dimension mentioned would be an additional time dimension, which can be interpreted as the existence of convergent or divergent timelines. One of the less obvious things that remain to be seen is how Byakuya (or someone pretending to be him) knew when and where to contact someone in a different timeline. We also don't know where in time they are located. It is assumed at first that the incoming message is from the future but if we are dealing with a parallel universe it may as well be coming from the past or even be coming in in "real time" (as if such concepts of relative time held up in multidimensional time).

Suika cute pose

[striderl]

This is an odd ask but is there ANYTHING that can hurt Foley, both physically, mentally and emotionally anymore? Idk why but I want to see this lovely, loose screw boi's angst side, to see him so beaten, broken and bruised, feeling defeated and stuff because to me, his walls seems so impenetrable and it's like there's nothing that can harm him in those ways. Um, again. Sorry for such a weird ask ^^;

Uhh ... you could've worded your question differently anon. But never mind, I get what you mean.

Foley is never invincible, they still get physical injuries like getting peppered with bullets or having a missing limb on the battlefield. However, when it comes to mental or emotional damage, he just deflects everything back to whoever causes it, usually in the form of threats or murder. He is rather callous with verbal assaults since he get that a lot from other speakermen, as well as the human supervisors of the speaker faction. Plus, he has been through worse in his bartender years.

Also, ever wonder why Foley has touch aversion?

Author’s note: Mechanophilia is a form of sexual attraction toward mechanical objects or simply machines.

In Foley’s case, they were abused by his owner. He was actually glad that the Skibidi Apocalypse happened so he could get his revenge, and have his faction defuses the bomb strapped to his core reactor.

His former owner was the last individual capable of traumatizing him. Since he now has an emotional connection with the Film Industry, especially with Gaffer, he would be depressed if he lost them all.

[polizwrites]

Duty Calls

This is a fill for today’s  @flashfictionfridayofficial  prompt [#FFF270 Lights and Sirens] as well as my WinterIron Gets It Done bingo prompt: Classic_5 - Favorite Song.  

Fandom: MCU/Marvel Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating: General Tags:  Established Relationship,  Interrupted Date  Summary:  They’d been planning a romantic evening out for weeks, only to be interrupted by lights and sirens.   Word Count: 203

“Sounds like they’re playing our song, sunshine,” Tony quipped as he tapped his reactor; triggering the nanobots to start forming the armor around him.

Bucky growled under his breath;  they’d been planning this romantic evening out for weeks.  He’d heard the sirens a few moments before Tony noticed them, along with the flashing lights coming up the street far below them.  If only he hadn’t insisted on a table near the window. 

“Right behind you.”  Bucky flexed his metal arm, prompting his own set of nanobots.  He’d finally given into Tony’s pleading and agreed to a vest and protective leg gear, but had absolutely refused a helmet.  Bucky would rather take his chances than be reminded of the clamps that held his head in place during the mind wipes he’d endured during his time with Hydra. 

The two of them ran out to the restaurant’s balcony. Now in full Iron Man armor, Tony stood on the railing and Bucky wrapped his arms around his beloved.  As they took off  in pursuit of the lights and sirens, a familiar guitar riff blasted from the armor’s external speakers. 

“That song’s more like it, sweetheart,” Bucky exclaimed, his pulse already racing in anticipation of their mission.   

[lensman-arms-race]

Titans' core ambiences

I made some little soundscapes of what each Titan's core might sound like if you stepped inside! Each clip begins with the sound of your footsteps entering the core chamber, then shortly afterwards you'll hear the sound of you pet-patting the inside of the core chamber, followed by the Titan's reaction.

I used royalty-free sound effects for these, plus a couple of bits I recorded myself. Check under the readmore for all the sources.

Titan Camera

Reaction to being petted: thumbs-up (sound of leather glove being made into a fist).

Other sounds: the two film cameras on either side of their main lens. TCam doesn't really 'say' much so they get some generic robot metallic sounds.

Titan Speaker

Reaction to being petted: claps, then buzzes amplifier.

Other sounds: softly-distorted amp, guitar and bass sounds.

Titan TV

Reaction to being petted: degausses screen.

Other sounds: extends then retracts the claw arms on their back. Plus general robotic drone sounds.

Bonus: infected Titan Speaker (oh no!)

No footsteps or pet-pats for this one. You don't want to go inside that! This one's shorter than the others because it's not very pleasant to listen to, and I was starting to feel really sorry for Titan Speaker!

Sources

Most sound effects came from: FilmCow's royalty-free sound effects pack on itch.io Freesound.org

Many of them I changed pitch/speed on, and/or added a bit of reverb.

A few sounds were recorded by me! The initial footsteps (before they step onto the metallic surface) are me walking in socks on a doormat. The core chamber pet-pat sounds are me petting an oven tray. I just couldn't find any ready-made sounds that were what I wanted.

All 3 Titans

Janitor's bedroom ambience by tomlija

coal pit mine, machinery, grabber, from short distance by be_a_hero_not_a_patriot

Titan Camera

Steps:

Metal steps by phil25

Ambient drone:

Industrial doors piezo by klankbeeld

Misc sounds:

Krasnagorsk-3 16mm film camera motor by pantax

Super-9 camera motor by pantax

From FilmCow's pack:

glass sliding

lever big

rusty oven

metal cup on metal tray

office chair movement

plastic case slid onto shelf

power on

Reaction:

Leather grip by 32cheeseman32

Titan Speaker

Steps:

Walking on metal 1 by hello_flowers

Ambient drone:

Rumbling drone by nielsvdb

Misc sounds:

1969 Teisco E-110 VS Pioneer SR-60 by johnlavine333 (really good fun, this one! I ended up cutting many parts out of it and layering them over each other)

From FilmCow's pack:

big distant thump

ping pong paddle placed down

plastic cascade

Reaction:

Metal hit by alegemaate

Glove hit by gareth_h

Amplificador by gabrielino

From FilmCow's pack:

punch

punch soft thud

Titan TV

Steps:

Walking on metal by sanderboah

Ambient drone:

Cosmos by pointparkcinema

Misc sounds, all from FilmCow's pack:

gun hit

gun movement

laser gun

metal device extended

metal sheath

metal sliding

projector screen extended

sci fi bell

space presence

Reaction:

CRT-ON- Deg- off by nlm

Infected Titan Speaker

Ambience:

Playing with guitar cord by x172

Reactor room by strangehorizon

Misc sounds, all from FilmCow's pack:

atmospheric noise

big shelves rotated

feedback

space horn

space metal

[jpitha]

On Starjumpers and Battle

Because of their size, value and reputation, Starjumpers were always a target in the Xenni war.

It got to be a trope. Every time there was an engagement, the Xenni would break off all other attacks to try and get the Starjumper.

Eventually, the Humans used it to their advantage. They'd link in with the fleet and a Starjumper, the Xenni would attack the Starjumper, everyone else would attack the Xenni, the Starjumper would link out and that was that.

It was risky for them sure, but they were well informed about what they were doing. The AIs also had signed up to fight; they weren't pressed or drafted. Humanity prided itself on a 100% volunteer fighting force, and that included the starships.

Even before the wormhole generators were installed, Starjumpers - like all human starships - were armed and armored. Humans were too used to fighting to make starships with no weapons. After the wormhole generators were installed, Starjumpers slotted into a place between destroyers and dreadnoughts. They were larger than the fearsome dreadnoughts but not quite as heavily armored. Due to their large energy surpluses (from having some of the most powerful engines in human space) Starjumpers would favor energy weapons over missiles. They'd run 4 or 5 or even 6 banks of high power exawatt lasers

If during the battle the Xenni got a lucky strike, and the Starjumper was damaged fatally, there were a few options available. The ships were so large that they never instantly blew up, so people would evacuate and plans could be made. It was always up to the AI themselves what their fate would be.

They could be downloaded to a "coffin box" - a small box of high density computational equipment that could hold them until they could either be placed into another starship or downloaded into a body. While in this box, they only have one camera and a small speaker to communicate with the outside world. AIs who have been downloaded make point of stating that the never want to be in one again if they can at all avoid it.

They could also choose to link out to another location themselves once everyone was off. This was an option if they thought they could slow or stop the damage that risked their destruction and be able to drift somewhere safe(er) until they could be rescued and repaired. This option was not often taken. If the Starjumper thought they could be saved, they usually tried to stay in the fight.

Finally, they could choose to detonate themselves. If the battle was feeling hopeless, or there was something vitally important to protect, or if the Starjumper thought that the crew was at risk of being captured, killed or worse they would order evacuation, and then get themselves as close to the enemy as possible and detonate their reactors, causing some of the largest explosions humans had ever created. If they were "lucky" the Starjumper would link into the middle of the Xenni fleet and take them out.

The AIs that make this ultimate sacrifice are not forgotten. The AIs keep a private memorial on Earth's Moon that lists them all, and their ultimate fate. They are never listed as being lost or destroyed however. They are always "between the stars."

These days, the AIs rarely have to release their weapons in anger. They drill and practice and maintain their skills and tools, but it's been a while since they've had to make the hard choices that come with a pitched space battle.

But they remember.

[soundprooft-visualz]

Humans are Space Orcs: Leopard Squad

The night was as quiet as it was still in the Great Dismal Swamp. The chirping of various hundreds of bugs brought the insectoid xenolife some semblance of comfort, being reminded of the sound of their sleeping young and mates back on their home planets. As a hive mind, the individual didn't have such feelings, but the Matriarch felt the yearn for her people to be reunited again. She had grown tired of the conquest of this overtrodden ball of dirt. Hundreds, no thousands of battalions had fallen in the conquest, and hundreds more to disease and wildlife. The company of dozens of bugs let out a collective simultaneous buzz, their equivalent of a wistful sigh, silencing the rest of the wildlife around them. The silence persisted longer than they expected it to. Seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes dragged as the forest around them went dead quiet. The prey instinct kicked in and the bugs went onto high alert, drawing their weapons and looking for the predator that was lurking in the shadows.

Belyan held a finger to his lips, active camouflage making them nearly invisible as they loaded the battery into the side of a plasma rifle, the barrel glowing white hot seconds later as their helmet picked up movement signatures ahead. They pointed behind themselves without a word and then ahead of them. Eight humans crept through the forest in the dead of night, like shadows over the roots beneath the darkness of the new moon. Leopard Squad was on the hunt, and each one of them knew just what was on the line. This company was looking for an old survival bunker the Collective had just heard of themselves. It could've had food, weapons, survivors, hell, maybe even clean water. It was enough for Earth's last special forces unit to come out of hiding to secure it.

Quanta's visor zoomed out when she saw Belyan's finger pointed at her. That was the signal, it was go time. A few dozen feet to the side and several hundred feet back, she stood up, the reactor of her power armor letting out a high pitched whine before it melted away to a low drone. The bugs immediately tuned into the noise as the panels of her armor shifted into place. She let out a low chuckle and raised her arm, pressing a button on the elbow and hoping her squadmates had her earplugs in.

An old MP3 file of Ezekiel's Horn blared from the speakers of her armor, the sound of the end of the world blasting so loud it kicked the dirt around her up into a dust cloud as she picked up her weapons, lightning arcing through the dust as the barrels spun up.

"That's right, you big ugly bastards, all eyes on me." Quanta cracked a crooked smiled beneath the tungsten helmet, watching the individual vitals ratings of their enemies spike simultaneously. Interesting... they're synced up. She'd have to think about that. Modular, syncronic design could increase the efficiency of her armor.

"Q, you could at least act like you feel bad. We're supposed to be professionals." Even as Belyan's voice crackled in her ear, she could hear them trying not to smile as they loaded a magazine into their plasma sniper rifle.

"Just because I have a sense of humor doesn't mean I'm not good at my job." Three shots bounced off her armor, the impenetrable wall not even flinching as she continued walking forward, thunder cracking every time she fired her weapon into the horde ahead. One got too close and almost slipped past the sensor. As she wound her hand back for a punch it fell over, bursting into flames from a plasma round in the back of the head. She heard Belyan breathe in from the lungs emptied to steady their hand as she shook her head.

"I just had the most fucked up thought."

"What's that?" Quanta loosed a salvo of rockets, stripping a passing dropship out of the sky in a burst of purple fire as the compressed potassium burned everything carbon-based inside.

"We are definitely getting discharged if we win."

"Oh, no fucking doubt. No chance I'm passing a psyche eval after this one."

(( i still have fuckin covid this is all i got

[shelbgrey]

All Of Me(Tony Stark)

Parring: Tony Stark X Potts!Reader

Summary: your sister Pepper seems to beat you at everything and you could careless but when It comes to Tony feelings change.

Warnings: none

My heart shattered and my chest tightened when I saw him with pepper. My sister always got what she wanted, even when we're kids. She got the job in stark Industries on the spot, but for me I had to work very heard to get were I am today. Rather it be becoming an agent of shield or working along side with Tony.

Me and him have grown close, best friend even. We understood each other too well except for one thing. He didn't and probably would never understand the way I feel for him. You can call him what you want. Egotistical, rude, but you probably never seen the side of him I only see. Around me he was sweet, caring, and put things before him. The side of him that would but down his tools late at night if I had a nightmare. The side of him who would Carrie me on his back and put me back in bed and would stay with me through out the night. Or maybe the side of him that would get over protective or maybe jealous if he saw Clint or Rumlow touch me the wrong way during training. But maybe that side of him was all a lie, a lie he used to get to my sister Pepper.

Pepper was never a bad sister but I'm always in her shadow. Yes she was a hard worker, but only when she got something out of it. She gets everything handed to her on a silver plater. It was even like that when we were kids, our parents praised her and had to work hard just for them to take a second glance at me. I went to good college but of course I had to work for the money for it. Working for what I needed or wanted never bothered me but it did when I see first hand how Pepper gets her stuff and I hated and loved her for it.

Maybe that's what makes me and Tony so different. I worked my ass off and as for Tony he got everything handed to him. That was my first impression of him but as I got to know him that was far from the truth. As for pepper it wasn't, but of course I would never say that to her. I've told Tony and he would just sit and listen he looked at me with those chocolate brown eyes like he was holding on to every word and keeping them some place safe. With him I could tell him anything without getting judged.

-------------

I punched the tan bag over and over again as the loud rock music blasted through out every speaker in the training facility. The bag flew in every direction as my fists collided with the leather bag. My heart was beating as fast as I was throwing punches.

"Potts!" a voice shouted but a continued my fight in till the same voice shouted again. "(y/n)!" I threw one last punch making the chang break making the bag fall to the ground and it busted open making the sand spilling out.

"jeez what?" I asked turning to the source of the voice which was Clint.

"stark is looking for you" Clint answered. "he's in the lab"

"what dose the tin can want?" I asked unwrapping my hands then putting my hoodie over my head making stray hairs stick out randomly on my head.

"don't know he just Said he needed help" Clint shrugged and replaced the punching bad I Broke with a new one.

I rolled my eyes expecting it to be something stupid. Tony usually asked help for a lot of things. Some big or small but pepper got to do all the instristing things.

When I finally made into the lab Tony was on one of the exsamaning tables without his shirt exposing his arc reactor. He was hooked up to a couple of his machines, one of them was mesering the beats of his heart and the other gathering data on his breathing.

I arched an eyebrow at him as he just sat there amesly like nothing was wrong. He didn't look hurt or sick he just had his cocky little smirk plastered on his face.

"what is it Anthony?" I playfully sighed.

"I need you to help me switch this out" he responded taping on his little glowing neon blue circle that was now are part of him.

"why me? You know about it more than me" I said walking over to where he was.

"you'll be fine" he said and maneuvered his body so he was now laying on his back. I sighed and started to fiddle with his arc reactor and gently unplugged the wires. The heart monitor started to pick up and I quickly let go of everything. "I shouldn't be doing this, ask Bruce"

"Bruce is out with Nat" Tony said running his fingers through his hair. "you'll be fine, if I didn't trust you I wouldn't have asked"

I took a deep breath and slowly took out the old arc reactor with shaky hands I set it down on the empty spot that was on the medical bed. His brown eyes never left me as I plugged the new one in. As the the cord clicked in and a zapping sound filled my ears. Tony quickly jerked up and grabbed my hips fake screaming.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" I quickly asked not realizing it was a joke. Tony started laughing and wrapped his arms around my body. I quickly put my hands on his bear chest pushing him down.

"don't. Do. That" I said with a shaky breath. A mixture of a laughter and nervousness painted over my voice. I cover my eyes with my sleeve covered hands not looking at his cocky smirk.

I felt his hands wrap around me wrist uncovering my face. His chocolate eye softened and he gave a genuine smile.

"I'm sorry, I was only messing with you"

"I don't think you realize how much of a pain in the ass you are" I smiled.

"thanks for helping me" he only replied and placed a kiss on my forehead.

-----------

The next morning I sat in the kitchen with Bruce and Nat talking about random things In till Steve and tony walked in. "good morning guys" Steve said sweetly.

"hay cap" I smiled and took a slip of my tea. "morning Tony, did you get any sleep last night?" this was a usual thing for us. The only thing we argued about was his lack of sleep and him over working himself.

"good 3 hours maybe" he confessed ready to get yelled at. I rolled my eyes and took the mug of coffee from his hands. "bed. Now" I told him and pushed him forward.

"but i-" he said but I cut him off.

"don't care, your exhausted I can tell that much" I said pulling him out of the kitchen by the sleeve of his shirt.

"I wouldn't argue with her Tony" Bruce said walking past us with his eyes locked on his I-pad.

Tony sighed and followed me into his bedroom. I gently pushed his chest so he'd sit of the bed. He rolled his eyes then wrapped his arms around me. He pulled me so I stood in between his legs and he rest his head on my chest. I smiled and started running my finger through his brown hair.

"thanks" he mumbled.

"for what?" I asked lifting his chin with my hand. His dark brown eyes locked with mine. "nothing. Never mind" he said letting go of my waist.

"what is it?" I asked backing away a little.

"you wanna be my plus one to the party tonight at the X Mansion?" he asked with hope in his eyes.

"I honestly forgot Xavier was hosting it" I said playing with his hair.

"so?" he asked standing up so he was towering over me. I sighed and placed my hand on his arc reactor covering the faint glow. "if you get rest and possibly sleep in till its time to get ready for it I might save you a dance"

"good enough I guess" he sighed then let a smirk break threw his lips when I pushed him back down in the bed.

After putting him to bed I quickly ran down the stairs to hang out with the others but I was stopped by my sister.

"where is tony?" she asked

"he's getting some rest. He hasn't slept at all this week" I told her then tried to move around her but she put her arm infront of me.

"why do you care any way?" she asked.

"because he's my best friend" I said trying to move past her but failed once again.

"I don't want you to get to attached to him"

"why? Why do you care about my personal life all the sudden?"

"because I've seen how he acts with women and I don't want him hurting you" she said sincerely.

"that's the problem he's not like that anymore. If you take the time to actually talk to him you'd know" I said walking away scussfully this time.

I sighed and leaned up against the empty wall away from her. Sometimes I wondered if she actually cared or she was mocking me. We only had each other that was true but the older we get the more we hated each other and I despised that the most.

------------

Later at the party I came in with Wanda and natasha. The girls ditched me to go find Vision and Bruce leaving me alone in the crowd. I sighed not really wanting to be here. I like the X-men and all but we as teams can't figure out how to work together even if Fury makes us. I moved around the crowed area in till I saw Steve. Him being the only one I knew in eye sight I made a bee line for him.

"hay (y/n), you look beautiful tonight" he smiled.

"thanks Cap, you don't look to bad yourself"

We talked for a while In till I saw Tony walking towards us. "hay Cap mind if I take (n/n)?" he asked with a smirk

Steve put his hands up in defense and walked away with a smile. Tony then smirked looking at me. His eyes traveled from my head to toe. "you look gorgeous"

I blushed then looked down. "you want to Dance?" he asked.

"I can't dance" I smiled. Tony shook his head then pulled me by my hand. "it's easy" he spoke then pulled me to his chest.

He placed my arms on his shoulders and his hand fell to the small of my back. "and we just sway to the music" he said softly moving our bodies slowly. I rest my head on his chest holding him close as we moved to the music.

"(y/n) I need to say something" he said pulling away. Oh no here it comes I thought.

"I think I'm in Love with you."

I pulled away from a little harder than I meant to and backed away. "no" I whispered.

"why not?"

"I'm not good enough for you" I spoke and tried to leave but he stopped me. "please (y/n)"

"you can have any girl you want... I'm not the one you were meant to find" I said trying to walk away only to be stopped by his lips being pressed to mine. He kissed me roughly but softly at the same time if that was even possible. "just shut up for a sec" he whispered against my lips.

"you are good enough and you make me a better man" I was about to say something but Pepper came over to us.

"can I cut in?" she asked. I rolled my eyes then nodded walking away from my sister and Tony.

-------------

The next morning I lied in bed still thinking about Tony and what happened at the party. I knew I couldn't avoid him forever so I decided to go talk to him. He was my best friend and I wasn't going to lose him.

I took a deep breath before opening the door to his lab and I walked into his lab.

"hay Tony I think w-" I stoped. My heart sunk seeing them. Pepper leaning on his desk and he was pressed against her. He quickly pulled away and she just stood there not affected at all. "I knew it" I growled and ran off.

"(y/n)! (y/n) wait please!" Tony said racing out side to were I was pacing back and forth.

"please let me explain" he said looking like his life shattered. He walked forward to me trying to hide the stray tears. "n-no just stay!" I said putting my hands up. "stay away from me please"

"don't do this. I never meant for this to happen" he said his voice cracking.

"you know what?" I spoke letting the tears fall down my red cheeks "My hole life Pepper has gotten everything she's ever wanted. The only thing I had that she didn't was you" I said tearing up more I thought of it. Tony stepped forward and tried to grab my hand but I jerked away.

"was all that you said that night at the party a lie? Was it just all bull shit!" I asked.

"no! None of it was" he yelled back his voice cracking. His eyes glossed over with tears trying to get me in his grasp.

"really? So what did i see you doing with my sister, huh? Was our friendship a lie too? Was it just so you could get to my sister?" I cried.

"no! I love you okay? She came on to me" he tried to explain. He stood closer to me his hand shaking as he placed it on my cheek. "I can't loose you"

"I want to believe you, but I can't right now... I'm sorry" I said removing his hand then walked away from him.

-----------

The next week I avoided Tony as much as I possibly could and I did the same with Pepper. I did my job the best I could with out any vocal or social interaction with Tony and the team could tell it was killing him, but really it was killing the both of us. Instead of going to visit him in his lab I would go on a run with Steve or train in the gym with Rumlow or Bucky. If he tried to talk to me or walk towards me I would quickly duck behind someone and leave the room.

"you gotta stop this" Bruce said slamming his books and lab top on the tab I was at. The noise making me look up from my computer. "what are you talking about Bruce"

Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose making his glasses slip if his face and land on the tab. "okay" he said starting to talk with hand movements like he usually dose when he has a rant brewing in his big brain. "you two are my best friends and I know this much. He loves the crap out of you and he is literally dying in that lab"

"Brucie, you didn't see what I did, you don't know what it's like to see some glimpse of hope then getting your heart shatter." I said slamming my lab top close. "you have a perfect relationship"

He raised an eyebrow. "you think me and Nat have a perfect relationship? For your information your the one who told me I was good enough for her when I thought I wasn't... I wouldn't have had the courage to tell her I loved her with out you" he spoke.

"I rather see the people around me happy than see me happy.... And If Tony wants to be with pepper than I'll let him because I want him to have the world"

"you are his world! If you want him to have the world go into that lab!" he said.

"he was groping my damn sister Bruce!" I shouted standing up from the table. "I wanted to tell him I loved him! I really did but like everything else my sister bet me to it" I started to tear up and put my hands hiding my tears from him. Bruce got up and wrap his arms around me hugging me. "he chooses you, but you have to believe that he loves you" he spoke.

"i just can't right now" I whimpered. Bruce was about to say som but F.R.I.D.A.Y spoke threw the speakers. "all avengers to the quin jets.. All Avengers to the quin jests"

"this conversation isn't over" Bruce said running down the hallway with me then into the jet. As walked in Clint quickly handed me my crossbow and suit. I quickly put the patch on my chest and the nano tech covered my body forming into my suit.

"you alright doll?" Bucky asked walking up to me a Bruce.

"I'm fine buckaroo" I smiled and padded his shoulder.

-------------

I ran through the empty halls of the Hydra base completely lost and separated from the rest of the team.

"(y/n), (y/n) where are you?" I heard Tony say on the calms. Why do you care I thought to my self. I didn't respond and continued to run. "God Damnit (y/n) nows nto the time for the fucking silent treatment" Tony said again.

"(y/n) I found you and I'm coming" I heard Sam say next.

"I'm coming Sammy" I quickly met with Sam after a couple of feet and hallways. We both quickly got out before the building exploded. I quickly looked around and my heart sank. "wait! Where is tony?"

"Tony? Tony, where are you?" Steve spoke.

I quickly looked up and saw his suit being shot out of the window and free falling. "Hulk help him" I spoke looking at my green friend. Hulk growled and jumped up and cought him. Tony looked like a toy in his arms. Hulk quickly landed on his feet and gently laid Tony on the concrete. "Tony? Tony please be okay" I said as I dropped to my knees next to his stiff body. I quickly ripped his dented mask reviling his cut up face. His brown eyes were closed and his beard was panted red with blood.

"Tony? Tony come back to me" I said tears poring out of my eyes. I placed my hand on his arc reactor as it's light started flickering. Hulk quickly let out a lion like roar making Tony jolt awake. He quickly panted and looked around. I sighed and fell back on my but and rested my elbows on my knees. "damn you" I cried. I looked up at him and quickly lunged forward slamming my lips to his. His eyes widened but quickly melt into the kiss. He placed his metal covered hand to my cheek and the other fell to my waist pulling me closer.

"alright break it up" Nat chuckled leaning on hulks arm.

"I Love You I said looking down at him."I thought I lost you... I'm sorry for acting like a total bitch I should hav-"

"hay, hay it's okay" Tony said cutting me off. He quickly stepped out of his broken suit and placed his hands on both my cheeks. "I understand but you need to believe me when is say I love you and I want you and only you" he said. His chocolate eyes I loved so much stared into my soul. He slowly lowered his face to meet my level and pecked my lips. "I'm not talking to my sister though" I spoke.

Tony ground and pulled away. "of course your not... Because your so stubborn" he smirked.

"and you love me for it" I said placing my hand on his arc reactor. "but I learned it from you"

"I'm a bad influence on you, I'll say that much" he chucked.

"that maybe True but she's an excellent influence on you Stark" Steve spoke up. I chuckled then placed a kiss on his chest where his reactor is because he's so much taller than me and his reactor has always been eye level to me. I always loved it and thought it was cool.

"marry me" Tony said lifting my chin up with his pointer finger. We were the last to left out side and everyone elses was climbing back into the jet.

"little early don't you think?" I smiled.

"I've waited to long to call you mine Im not waisting a second of it"

"then yes, yes I'll marry you" I smiled.

[teeth--thief]

HI UM! i was just looking through your blog and i saw that you really like toptunov and. ummm yeah me too AUSHSHSNSNSNA im so excited :33

i was wondering if u had any resources to learn a bit about him? im gonna read through the books on the drive but if theres anything specific on him i would love to know !!! i read midnight in chernobyl so there's that! but if theres anything else

and um yeah! his whole story and being is so. captivating to me. he was just a guy!!! he told jokes ajd AUGHHH can u tell that im insane

Wow that is so odd that you'd ever think I have an interest in that man. I'm a serious and respectable researcher. So anyway, let's get into my girlfriend, dead wife and favourite boy - Lyonya!

I'm afraid there isn't one definite source to read to learn all about him... what he was up to after the explosion is described in a particularly gut wrenching way in the book by Yuri Shcherbak, (not the translated one, the Russian original) if that's something you're interested in. Midnight in Chernobyl is probably the book to read if one is interested in his person, there's little else you can learn about him from other books, sadly.

I can share any and all interesting bits I do know about him that aren't just in any particular... thing... that I have learnt up until this point in my quest to find out absolutely everything. For starters in Midnight in Chernobyl, Sasha Korol claimed our dear Lyonya got into a drunken fight with the thermodynamics tutor, right? Well, Lyonya's room-mate from collage says otherwise :)

Y.I. (I'd rather not put him on blast in case he'd prefer to keep a low profile) commented under Kupnyi's interview with Korol:

The translation is in the alt text but the jist is this: there was never any fight with any tutor or professor or anyone else (Y.I. says Toptunov was "non-confrontational"). There was, however, an argument between Lyonya and another student, which got reported to the higher ups by a professor who witnessed the whole thing. And yes, his dad saved his ass, just like it's described in the book. Not something he would have been saved from that easily if he actually beat up a member of the teaching staff, I reckon.

Korol is an unreliable narrator, unfortunately. Nothing against him, I'm sure his objective in life is not to make Toptunov look bad, if the fact that they had each others' keys and were always real... close together in pictures - hey, I'm not judging, you guys do you - is anything to go by, but to me it's pretty clear that the years took their toll on him. Perhaps he wanted to make Lyonya seem cooler.

He worked (or interned?) in Kiev, in the Department of Nuclear Safety and Control of Reliability of Reactor Installations. Maybe that's where that one mysterious photo of him, in which nobody knows what he's doing, comes from...

Another interesting thing? Apparently Lyonya wasn't too keen on being a Lyonya. He preferred being called Lyosha. Okay, well, what does that even mean? asks any non-Slavic speaker at this moment. It means that he used a diminutive not for his name - Leonid - when introducing himself, but for the name Aleksey. So much so that in an interview with Stolyarchuk, he just straight up calls him "Aleksey Toptunov". Lyosha is also how (at least one of) his Prypiat neighbours knew him. Given that his name was not that popular in his generation, maybe he felt as if it was too old school... an Old Man's Name.

There are two lost media... bits regarding him, too. I learned about both from @/toptunovleonid on Instagram who is THE Toptunov expert, truly. Nobody does it like she does, 10/10, I'd trust her with my life. One is an apparent article from around 2015 claiming that he was in the collage choir for a short period of time and another being medical documents, perhaps related to army admission or training. He was apparently 185cm and 86kg at, I'm guessing, 18-19. There is literally no "professional" explanation as to why and what do I know this for.

With this weirdly specific titbit, I'm done. For now, at least. Can't share all the things at once, can I? Hope you enjoyed this alarmingly long post. Next time I shall share Every Picture I Have Found Of Him. Perhaps. We'll see.

[msn-04iinightingale]

Dogs of War

The two Leopard Class drop ships broke past the atmospheric friction and heat and into the skies of Helios proper. Already charcoal black, the searing and flames only darkening the crimson patches of each to a rusty bloody red. Had anyone been able to see it, they would have found that fitting.

The aerospace fighters had given them a path to the planet, the rest was up to the drop ship pilots. The Dando and Churchyard plummeted towards their objective, ignoring or weaving between the scattered flak and lasers from the neighboring AAA batteries. Like two black hammers, they descended with grim purpose towards the small city below.

They'd punch down, bloody the Word, and see if they can't clear space for the Fursona's Fusiliers dropships flying with them.

Simple.

Suicidal.

Perfect for Barghest Company.

——-

Commander Owen felt each jump and judder of near misses through the drop ships hull and the body of his mech, the Marauder II swaying and shaking in its restraints. Across from him was the angular visage of Victoria’s Axman, Vance’s Thug and Anya’s Thunderbolt occupying the neighboring berths. In the upper corner of his cockpit, a timer counts down the minutes until they drop.

Another close by boom rattled the drop ship.

Drop: 10:00

Owen keys open the Barghest Company channel. 

“Alright boys and girls, are you ready?”

Drop: 09:00

Seven voices reply with “Yes Sir.”

“Can’t hear you Machwarriors!”

Drop: 08:00

“Yes sir!”

“COME ON, YOU CALL THAT A YES?!”

Drop: 07:00

“YES SIR!” the seven voices scream.

The light in the Mechbay turns red. 

Drop: 06:00

“That’s more like it! And who are we?” He shouts, something bordering excitement creeping into his voice, predatory and keen.

“BARGHEST COMPANY!”

Drop: 05:00

“Damn right we are! And we are going to go down there, sink our teeth into their flesh, and DRAG THEM ALL TO HELL!”

“DRAG THEM ALL TO HELL!”

Drop: 04:00

The doors of the drop ships begin to open with the whine of machinery. The familiar voice comes over the internal speakers, as his mech powers on.

Reactor, Online.

Drop: 03:00

The drop ships slow, the dull bangs and thuds of small arms fire ringing off the hull. The plan had been to drop fast, and get below the arcs of the other AAA emplacements to drop the two lances and then provide close air support as fuel allowed, before braving the trip back to orbit or more likely, linking up with other elements of Touchdown for refueling and rearming. The Blakests below had other ideas, and were mustering everything they could to deal with the new threat of two Leopard drop ships landing in their midst.

Sensores, Online.

Drop: 02:00

A series of rumbling booms signals the drop ships returning fire with LRMS, PPCS, and Lasers. The first rack of LRM rounds are live warheads, ripping apart light tanks and fixed positions in storms of shrapnel and fire. PPC bolts snap out with thunder cracks to strike down heavier vehicles, Large and Medium lasers lancing out to spear clumps of infantry, or rake across those in cover in buildings. The second reload of LRM's are smoke, obscuring the streets and buildings around the landing sites.

Weapons, Online.

Drop: 01:00

His mech rotates, along with the others of his lance, to face to now open door, beyond a hell of swirling smoke, tracer fire and lasers snap and stitch through the air.

All systems nominal.

Drop: 00:00

Owen tilts his head back and howls over the comms, the seven other members of Barghest Company following suit, their radio distorted voices forming a nightmarish call worthy of their namesake, blasted over every available enemy comm line.

Owen slams his controls forward, moving the 100 ton assault mech into motion, and out into the firefight, his seven other mechwarriors following. Dropping the short distance between the ramp and the street below with an earthshaking thud, the two lances immediately moved away from their dropships. The ramps were already closing as the craft start to lift off, volleys of LRMs and laser fire snapping out at targets the mechwarriors couldn't yet see.

The city was a small one, by Inner Sphere standards, but still had plenty of buildings taller than most mechs. It would be a tough fight, city fights always were for mechs, but at least they couldn't bring superior numbers to bear fully just yet. There were reports of enemy Marauders and fixed positions, and rumbling of even a superheavy in the area, plus the Heavy Level II's and any reinforcements the Word sent their way to push them off the dropsite.

A voice came over the Barghest Company comms line, one of the dropship pilots.

"Enemy resistance is light for now, Commander, but we're getting at least a dozen reactor signatures closing rapidly. We'll circle the site and provide air support as we can until the Fusiliers get more boots on the ground. Good luck and good hunting Commander."

In response, Owen raised the right arm of his mech, saluting them as they lifted off.

"Good hunting, flyboys."

"Commander, we've got contacts." It was Maria, he could already hear the thrum of her ER Large Lasers as she engaged a target over the comms. "One Level II, two Assaults, one Heavy, one Medium and one Light."

A pause.

"Make that two Level II's, one closing on your position."

The familiar feral grin split Owen's face. This was it, what he was born for, what his mother raised him to be.

"Garm Lance, form up, we've got guests. Let's show them how we do it in Barghest Company."

Three acknowledgement pings come over his comms as the lance moves forward, clearing the immediate LZ for the rapidly approaching Fursona's Fusiliers dropships.

———

Drop: -05:00

The first enemy mech to die was a Tempest, cockpit spit open by Victoria’s Axman’s hatchet as she lurched from out of the smoke and flame of the wrecked tanks and buildings around the LZ.

"That one was for Mary, you bastards!" She yelled over the comms.

Owen smiled, and laughing over the open comms for the enemy to hear, bringing his twin ER PPCs to bear against a Legacy before it had tome to bring its autocannons to life, feeling the heat spike in his cockpit despite the double heat sinks installed in his mech as the bolts punched through cockpit and pilot with equal ease. Oh what he wouldn’t give to have Katie here for this.

To his left Vance was delivering point blank SRM volleys into the side and back of a Blakist Thug, rippling explosions tearing the side and rear armor of the enemy mech to pieces before the reactor is breached with a dull KRUMP.

"Be at peace, brother." Vance murmered.

Anya's Thunderbolt released another volley of Clan LRMs, and pulse after pulse of laser fire into a Crab, and Mongoose. The Mongoose falls first, unable to withstand the onslaught of LRMs and lasers. The Crab takes longer, large lasers slicing and melting several chunks of armor before being rocked to the side by the impact of a LB-X/20 round. Staggering, the medium mech only just rights itself in time for the combined fire from Anya and Victoria shred the smaller machine.

"Thanks for the assist, Vic." Anya says.

"No worries, gotta get the blushing bride home in one piece, eh?" Chuckles Victoria.

In the next square over, a former parking lot for a now burning warehouse, Maria's Mad Cat, Elenor's Crab, Bill "Billy"'s Archer, and Kei's Stalker gun down the remnants of the first QRF Level II's that engaged them. The last to fall was a Perseus, cored completely by large laser and missile fire.

So far, damage was minimal, with the worst being a faulty leg joint in Vance's Thug, the result of the now burning Word Thug's own SRMs and PPCs. Not bad for a first engagement.

"Good work Barghest Company, we are touching down now and will deploy mechs shortly." It was one of the Fusiliers dropship pilots. "We've got more pings in the city, routing to you and your dropships."

Owen's minimap flashed as new dots peppered it. That was a lot of red to the as of now very little blue. He watched as the two icons indicating the Dando and Churchyard circled the area immediatly surrounding the LZ, and some of the red dots, although not nearly enough for his liking, winked out.

"Oh boy...Barghest company, eyes up, here comes the real fun. Black Dog Lance, form up behind Garm Lance, prepare for volley LRM fire on designated targets. The rest of you, I want at least two mechs for each target. The faster we kill them the faster this ends."

"Let's hunt."

(OOC: tagging @is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not and @combined-arms-merc-groups incase you wanted to add anything now that I have edited this, since we share a landing site.)